The news that the owner of “Qingfeng Hao” had committed suicide out of guilt fell upon the capital like a silent snowfall.
It stirred not a single ripple.
To the common folk of the capital, a merchant implicated in the imperial procurement case taking his own life “out of guilt” after being targeted by the Dali Temple was nothing more than an expected turn of events.
But for Wen Yan.
This was a declaration of war.
It was the most direct, most arrogant provocation from the puppet master lurking in the shadows.
Inside the Dali Temple’s evidence examination chamber, the atmosphere was as oppressive as a tomb.
Mo Xingchuan pushed two case files side by side in front of Wen Yan. One belonged to the manager of “Desheng Xiang,” the other to the owner of “Qingfeng Hao.”
The two cases were identical in every detail.
“Look at this,” Mo Xingchuan pointed at the autopsy report of the Qingfeng Hao owner. “Another hanging. The doors and windows were locked from the inside, a suicide note was left, and the handwriting matches. From the evidence, it’s flawless.”
Yet Wen Yan’s gaze did not fall on the files. Instead, she stared at the wooden plaque on the wall inscribed with the words “Heaven’s Justice Prevails.”
Her eyes held no anger, only a chilling calm.
“Flawlessness itself is the greatest flaw.”
She finally spoke, her voice soft.
“Lord Mo, have you noticed? Their methods are too clean. So clean it feels like they’re deliberately mimicking our investigative logic.”
Mo Xingchuan was taken aback, then quickly understood.
When investigating Desheng Xiang before, Wen Yan had criticized that “the emotional consistency in the suicide note’s handwriting was off.”
So this time, the handwriting in the Qingfeng Hao owner’s suicide note maintained that “perfectly measured” trembling throughout, flawlessly replicating the psychological state of a desperate man.
Previously, Wen Yan had said “the scene was too clean to be natural.”
So this time, the scene was littered with shattered wine jars, overturned tables and chairs, and even the puddle of water designed to mimic a “drunken stumble” was crafted with artistic precision.
“He’s evolving.”
Wen Yan gave a cold laugh. “He’s learning our investigative logic, anticipating our anticipations.”
“This person isn’t just a madman; he’s a masterful chess player.”
“We’ve only moved a ‘rook,’ and he immediately sees we’re targeting his ‘knight.'”
“Then, with a smile, he removes the ‘knight’ and replaces it with a piece coated in deadly poison, waiting for us to swallow it whole.”
“Investigate Desheng Xiang, and the clues point to Qingfeng Hao.”
“Investigate Qingfeng Hao, and the owner directly commits suicide.”
“He dies in a perfectly reasonable manner, drawing a neat conclusion to the case.”
“Continue investigating? The next witness will also ‘commit suicide out of guilt.'”
“He’ll shear away our clues like wool, cutting them off one by one with precision.”
“Until in the end, we’re exhausted and bloodied, yet we can’t even touch the hem of his garment.”
Mo Xingchuan felt a chill run down his spine.
He had always thought they were chasing a thief, but now he realized they were facing a monster with “full map vision.”
“Then… how do we break this game?” Mo Xingchuan felt a sense of helplessness for the first time, his voice growing hoarse.
“We don’t.”
Wen Yan suddenly smiled.
That smile held no trace of frustration.
Instead, it radiated a startling, almost lawless audacity.
Like a gambler seeing the most thrilling hand.
“Since we can’t keep up with the speed at which he cuts the threads, then we won’t cut them.”
“We’ll tear this entire web apart.”
She stood up, walked over to Mo Xingchuan, and word by word, laid out an earth-shattering plan.
“Starting tomorrow, Dali Temple will cease all investigations into the ‘Deshengxiang Case’ and the ‘Qingfenghao Case.'”
“My ‘Innocence Advocacy Hall’ will also be suspended.”
Mo Xingchuan was puzzled: “Are you… admitting defeat?”
“No, I’m making a decisive move.”
Wen Yan’s eyes gleamed with an almost frenzied light.
“Isn’t he fond of watching the show?”
“Does he enjoy seeing us flail around like headless flies, savoring the expressions of our repeated failures?”
“Then I’ll just tell him the grand finale.”
“Lord Mo, help me spread another message. Say that Guogongfu’s eldest young lady, Gu Xiewei, after days of investigation, has discovered that the ‘Deshengxiang Case’ and the ‘Qingfenghao Case’ were perpetrated by the same group. Moreover, she has obtained irrefutable evidence of the mastermind behind it all!”
Mo Xingchuan gasped sharply: “Are you insane? We don’t even know who the other party is—where would we get such evidence?”
“If I say I have it, then I have it.” Wen Yan’s logic was domineering and unreasonable.
“I want him to know that his so-called schemes are ‘transparent’ in my eyes.”
“I want to force him down from his lofty seat as a spectator behind the scenes and turn him into a clown on the stage. I want to make him go from being the chess player to becoming my pawn!”
Wen Yan extended two fingers, her gaze sharp as a blade:
“Then, release the second message.”
“Say that Gu Xiewei has already written a shocking ten-thousand-word memorial. This memorial details in full how the mastermind manipulated the court, persecuted loyal officials, and plotted rebellion.”
“And this nuclear-level evidence, I will publicly reveal—before His Majesty, before all the civil and military officials—at the palace’s Thousand Elders Banquet seven days from now!”
“Boom!”
Mo Xingchuan felt as though his mind had exploded.
This wasn’t investigating a case—this was a suicide attack!
This was using her own life as a bargaining chip to force the ghost hiding in the shadows to reveal itself!
“You don’t have any ten-thousand-word memorial!” Mo Xingchuan’s voice trembled. “This is deceiving the emperor—it’s suicide!”
“No, I do.”
Wen Yan pointed to her own head.
“The evidence is here.”
“The story, I can fabricate at will. If he can forge a crime scene, why can’t I forge a ‘truth’?”
“He wants a silent conclusion? Then I’ll give him the grandest opening.”
“He wants me to be disgraced at the banquet? Then I’ll turn the Thousand Elders Banquet into his execution ground!”
“This is a reckless gamble! You’re betting that he’ll stop at nothing to silence you before the banquet!” Mo Xingchuan finally caught up with her mad logic.
Wen Yan snapped her fingers. “As long as he makes a move, that’s the flaw.”
“This is our only chance to win, our opportunity… to turn the tables from a desperate situation.”
Mo Xingchuan stared at this frail yet astonishingly energetic woman before him, speechless for a long time.
Common sense? To hell with common sense.
In this utterly rotten game, only the mad can win.
After a long while, Mo Xingchuan let out a heavy sigh, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes replaced by ruthless determination.
“Fine.”
“I’ll bet my life alongside you.”
…
On the day the messages were released, the entire capital erupted.
If the earlier “Goddess of Innocence” had merely been a topic of casual conversation among the people,
then this “Memorial Presentation at the Thousand Elders Banquet” was a political gamble significant enough to be recorded in history.
Almost everyone thought Gu Xiewei had gone mad.
But it was precisely this madness that propelled the reputation she had previously built to an unprecedented peak.
The common people spread the word far and wide, and new chapters of the storybook were published overnight, titled The Noble Daughter’s Fury for the People, Pleading Before Heaven at the Thousand Elders Banquet.
Public opinion was completely ignited.
At this moment, no one cared anymore about poisonings or shopkeepers. Everyone’s gaze was fixed intently on the Thousand Elders Banquet seven days later.
The entire capital was waiting, waiting to see what kind of “trump card” Gu Xiewei would play to expose that mysterious “mastermind.”
…
Prince Jing’s residence, Jinyue Pavilion.
Bai Wanyin’s puppet relayed this news word for word to the reflection in the mirror.
For the first time, the elderly face in the mirror did not show anger.
Instead, it revealed an intensely delighted, almost morbid smile.
“Interesting, truly interesting.”
“This girl has far more guts than her predecessor, that Lin Shuyou.”
“She actually thinks she can pressure me with public opinion? She wants to turn the tables on my own turf?”
“Does she think she’s the hunter?”
The elderly voice laughed, nearly hysterical.
“Pass down the order.”
“Increase the guards for the Thousand Elders Banquet tenfold.”
“I will turn the entire imperial palace into an impenetrable fortress. I might even let her walk safely before His Majesty to present her nonsensical ten-thousand-word petition.”
“Then, I will let her see with her own eyes.”
“In the face of absolute ‘power,’ her so-called ironclad evidence and the public opinion she stirred up are as laughable as toys made of paper.”
“I will be waiting at the Thousand Elders Banquet for her to come and meet her doom.”