Du Shanhui is the Minister of Revenue of the Great Chu dynasty.
As a Prince Consort, it was only a matter of time before Song Mingzhi encountered him on a formal occasion.
Worried that Du Shanhui might recognize him during a future meeting, Song Mingzhi deliberately disguised his natural voice and said to him, “The faction of Yan Yuanbo intends to kill Feng Ronggui to silence him.”
Thunder rumbled across the sky: “Rumble!”
In the dark room, Mu Yanzhou slowly narrowed his eyes. There was not a hint of surprise in his gaze.
Du Shanhui clenched his fists and pressed for an answer: “How exactly do you know this?”
Song Mingzhi did not answer his question. Instead, he coughed twice and said directly, “This evening, around the hour of Xu, Yan Yuanbo’s men will go to the Feng residence to kill Feng Ronggui. They will then set a fire and claim outwardly that he, cough, cough, committed suicide in fear of his crimes. If you do not want this case to become a headless mystery that fizzles out, then relay this information to the Prince of Qi immediately.”
Song Mingzhi’s tone was exceptionally calm, devoid of any emotion.
Although the Ministry of Revenue official’s manor did not have many servants, there was no guarantee that someone might not come looking for someone in the main house at this time. After saying this, Song Mingzhi immediately turned and headed toward the door. Seeing this, Du Shanhui could not restrain himself and said, “Wait, how did you know I could relay this to His Highness, the Prince of Qi?”
The man in the bamboo hat paused, threw back a sentence, “You do not need to know that, Minister,” and left the room without looking back.
“You!”
Du Shanhui could not help but walk forward to look out the window. The new green leaves on the trees were being pelted by the rain, and the water pooling in the courtyard was rushing rapidly toward the lower ground. Not far away, a servant was approaching under an umbrella.
Everything was normal.
The figure of the person from moments ago had completely disappeared from his sight in the blink of an eye. Du Shanhui’s heart sank heavily.
He quickly closed the window, turned around, and asked the dark room, “Prince, what do you make of this?”
The man from earlier not only knew the private plans of Yan Yuanbo and his associates, but he also knew the Prince’s secrets and that Du Shanhui was his contact. Thinking of this, even Du Shanhui, who had seen all sorts of grand situations, lost his composure.
There was no longer any laughter in Mu Yanzhou’s eyes.
He slowly stood up and said, “Take action. Protect Feng Ronggui.”
The Prince was always cautious. Du Shanhui was startled. “But that man is not only of unknown identity, he also provided absolutely no evidence!”
Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyes and said lazily, “True.”
As he spoke, he walked out of the dark room.
In this life, one cannot have absolute certainty about everything. Sometimes, one simply has to take a leap of faith and gamble.
With that, Mu Yanzhou opened his umbrella and stepped slowly into the rain. He looked up toward the horizon. In the torrential downpour, the sky over Chongjing was nothing but a leaden grey.
The overly calm, emotionless voice of the man from earlier, along with his intermittent coughs, echoed in Mu Yanzhou’s ears once more.
Who could it be?
Compared to the matter of Feng Ronggui, he seemed even more interested in the man from moments ago.
The heavy rain finally ceased.
Song Mingzhi had left the Prince’s manor before dawn. When he returned to the Zhuohua Courtyard, it was just the hour of Si.
Living in the Prince’s manor, Song Mingzhi did not need to perform morning greetings and was accustomed to sleeping until he woke up naturally. After some time together, the servants in the courtyard had gradually learned his habits: Song Mingzhi did not need servants to assist him with washing or dressing, nor did he like being disturbed early in the morning.
Therefore, it was not until Song Mingzhi returned silently to the Zhuohua Courtyard, changed out of his simple clothing and hat, and ordered the servants to prepare his attire that there was finally any movement in the courtyard.
An hour later, Song Mingzhi finally let down his long hair, stepped barefoot into the steaming hot spring pool. Unlike Huiming Hall, the Zhuohua Courtyard was built according to the terrain, and its structure was not very uniform. Aside from the main hall, there were only two rooms: one for living and one containing a pool made of white jade.
There was a hidden channel beneath the pool connected to the hot spring in the courtyard, and the water in the pool was drawn from there.
Because of this, a thin layer of light red fallen flowers floated on the water.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
The warm spring water enveloped Song Mingzhi.
In an instant, it drove out the cold from his body. Song Mingzhi could not help but sigh lightly and slowly close his eyes.
Everything he could do had been completed. The rest would be left to the Prince of Qi.
If the treacherous faction could be eradicated early, the Great Chu would surely not suffer from widespread refugees due to natural disasters, nor would it endanger the court and the world. Perhaps, by uprooting the source of evil early, he could prevent the fragmentation and chaotic wars that would otherwise occur a hundred years later.
Thump, thump.
Song Mingzhi’s heart, which had been cold for many days, finally warmed along with the spring water.
This time, I should finally get to see the Prince take care of business!
…
Yan Yuanbo had already given the word. His subordinates were determined to do their utmost to ensure this matter went without a hitch.
At the hour of You, at the Yangqing Workshop, the Feng residence.
Feng Ronggui had been suspended from duty. Although he had not been thrown into prison, he was restricted from leaving his estate. As a member of the treacherous faction, everyone around Feng Ronggui had more or less ties to Yan Yuanbo. Knowing his own predicament, he had not been able to close his eyes for several days and nights. Last night, he finally made up his mind to drink a pot of wine and had his first solid sleep in days.
At this moment, Feng Ronggui, hungover in bed, was completely unaware that the butler he trusted so much and a portion of the family guards had secretly received orders from Yan Yuanbo to kill him and silence him.
The backyard of the Feng residence.
The rain had just stopped, and the eaves were still dripping.
A middle-aged man dressed in a tawny robe, accompanied by the drip-drop sound of water, whispered instructions to the people beside him, “You lot go to the east courtyard first, lock all the doors, and pour sesame oil in every room.” He then turned to the other group. “You follow me. Deal with Feng Ronggui.”
The east courtyard of the Feng residence was where Feng Ronggui’s son lived. Worried that Feng Ronggui might have already leaked this matter to him, Yan Yuanbo specifically instructed them to cut the weeds and dig up the roots. They were to lock people in and then set fire to the mansion.
The people around him responded quickly, “Yes!”
As soon as the words fell, they carried the sesame oil and disappeared into the backyard.
The man in the tawny robe gestured at that moment, “Good. The rest of you, follow me.”
As he spoke, he drew a blade from his side.
However, just at this moment, a faint sound suddenly came from the ridge of the house.
The man subconsciously looked up toward the top, but before he could see what was happening, more than ten figures in black descended from the sky.
There was no time to think.
He subconsciously took a step back.
Tightening his grip on the blade, he shouted, “Kill them!”
Before the words had finished, he led his men in a charge.
“Yes!”
Cold light shattered the evening glow on the horizon.
A heavy, thick scent of blood instantly overwhelmed the fragrance of the courtyard’s flowers and plants. In an instant, the air was filled with murder.
…
The heavy rain had washed clean the leaden surface of the city.
The thick clouds on the horizon were burning like fire.
In the marketplace, pedestrians stepped out of their homes. In the stillness, no one had yet realized that somewhere in Chongjing, blood was already flowing like a river.
The servants in black clothes killed all the treacherous faction members in the Feng mansion.
After taking away the sesame oil, they abducted Feng Ronggui, who had not yet woken from his drunken stupor, out of his home and headed toward the Pingxi Workshop in the eastern part of Chongjing City. This was the largest city workshop in Chongjing, inhabited primarily by ordinary commoners.
Chongjing City was built during the previous dynasty and had been ravaged by war several times.
The Pingxi Workshop had not been renovated. Its internal streets were winding and narrow, lined on both sides with slightly dilapidated and crowded civilian dwellings. People unfamiliar with the area could not find their way out once they entered Pingxi Workshop for at least an hour or two.
Mu Yanzhou had long ago secretly bought a private residence in Pingxi Workshop.
At this moment, his servants were heading toward that location:
“This way!”
“You lot, cover the rear quickly!”
“Everyone, be careful, someone is following us!”
The Feng residence had not burst into a major fire as planned. Yan Yuanbo’s subordinates responsible for monitoring the situation discovered the anomaly and immediately engaged in a fight with the Prince of Qi’s men. Unlike the guards and house servants responsible for setting the fire, these few individuals were top-tier experts.
After a bout of fighting, a few of them, still concealing their presence, pursued them all the way into Pingxi Workshop.
The servants exchanged a glance and immediately split into two groups: half took Feng Ronggui toward the residence, while the other half stayed behind to cover the retreat. “Yes!”
The population density in Pingxi Workshop was too high for a protracted battle.
The crisp sounds of clashing blades instantly filled the entire narrow alley. A servant caught a glimpse through the flashing blades. In the distance, more pursuing troops heard the sound and were rushing toward this location.
This place was less than a hundred paces from the Prince’s residence.
The situation was dire!
On the other side of Pingxi Workshop.
Arrows pierced through the sky, aiming at this location.
Just as the servant gritted his teeth, prepared to fight to the death with these people, a light green figure suddenly descended like a cold wind from the other side of the Pingxi Workshop. “Form a formation! Do not let a single person escape!”
He held a long sword in his hand.
He also wore a silver mask on his face.
The moment the voice fell, he raised his hand and struck with his sword, shattering the incoming arrows into two halves.
The servant widened his eyes. “You?!”
The Prince of Qi had actually come!
“Enough talk.”
The sound of killing echoed to the sky in Pingxi Workshop.
The people at both ends of the alley had nowhere to retreat.
At the same time the words fell, Mu Yanzhou was already holding his long sword and heading toward the other end of the alley. Seeing this, the servants exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and charged forward with him.
Raindrops rolled down from the eaves.
In the dents of the stone slabs, they gathered into a pool.
Amidst the flashing blade light, within a few moments, blood melted into the water, staining the entire alley red.
It splashed onto Mu Yanzhou’s shoulder.
Blood flowed like a river at the manor of the Ministry of Revenue official, Feng Ronggui. In just one evening, more than thirty people died in his mansion. Feng Ronggui himself, who had been under investigation, was nowhere to be found, and his life or death was uncertain.
At the very moment the incident occurred, the news reached the Feng’an Palace, and the Emperor was furious.
That night, the capital was placed under martial law.
…
Liao Wenbai’s father was responsible for commanding the troops to ensure the external security of Chongjing City. The Imperial Guard within the imperial city was entirely under the command of the First Prince, the Prince of Liang, Mu Sian. He was temporarily responsible for today’s major case.
The night was clear and dust-free; the moonlight was like silver.
The spring breeze swept through the flowering trees in the courtyard, making the peach blossoms tremble, falling like scattered pieces of jade across his face.
The Zhuohua Courtyard, however, was empty.
Guessing that something major would happen today, Song Mingzhi had dismissed all the servants around him early in the morning, bypassed the guards in the Prince’s manor, and kept watch outside Huiming Hall in silence. The situation had not yet settled, and Song Mingzhi was still a bit uneasy.
“Clatter, clatter.”
The sound of horses’ hooves startled the long night.
Song Mingzhi, hidden in the large tree facing the vermilion gate of the Prince’s manor, saw from afar that nearly a hundred Imperial Guards, holding torches and armed with spears, were passing through the Yaoguang Workshop and heading straight for the Prince of Qi’s manor. The flickering firelight instantly illuminated most of the street. In the blink of an eye, the Imperial Guard had arrived in front of the courtyard.
They stood in front of the door and shouted in a loud voice:
“This evening, several criminals carried out a massacre at the residence of Ministry of Revenue official Feng Ronggui, causing many casualties and abducting Feng Ronggui, who is still missing. We are acting under the Emperor’s orders to search every house in the capital. Anyone who obstructs us will be executed without mercy!”
The Prince of Qi had made his move.
Song Mingzhi thought, “I won the gamble this time.”
Although he had expected this, Song Mingzhi’s heart still trembled uncontrollably when he heard this. However, before he could feel excited, Song Mingzhi saw Yuan Jiu step forward and say something to the Imperial Guard.
The other party spoke again toward the manor: “Today these criminals killed more than forty people in one go and are still at large. No one knows whether the criminals are still in the capital. We are searching the manor for the sake of the Prince of Qi and the safety of the Prince Consort.”
Yuan Jiu seemed to be blocking them.
The lead Imperial Guard said with a shameless face, “What if the criminals, in their panic, hid in the Prince of Qi’s manor? How dangerous that would be!” As he spoke, he pulled an imperial order carved with a golden dragon from his sleeve.
This was bestowed by the old Emperor just now.
Under the soft and hard tactics of this Imperial Guard, Yuan Jiu had no choice but to step aside.
Song Mingzhi watched from afar as the gate of the Prince of Qi’s manor slowly opened.
It is over. The Prince of Qi has not returned yet!
Song Mingzhi instantly gritted his teeth.
The young nobles in the capital all knew that although the Prince of Qi had the reputation of being “rotten wood,” as the son of Empress Xianping, he was the most legitimate heir to the throne. It was precisely because of this that the First Prince had always regarded him as a thorn in his side, targeting him everywhere.
Mu Sian, dressed in scarlet-yellow silk robes and riding a brown horse, followed behind the Imperial Guard and arrived at the Prince of Qi’s manor, heading straight for Huiming Hall.
Song Mingzhi slowly retreated from the tree.
The First Prince naturally did not have the ability to see through the Prince of Qi’s plan. This time, he was mostly likely just wanting to use this opportunity to search the Prince of Qi’s residence. Regardless of whether he could find anything valuable, Mu Sian could use this opportunity to annoy the Prince of Qi.
Song Mingzhi thought, “He won’t actually stumble into a dead mouse with a blind cat this time, will he?”
Bundles of torches made the night in the Prince’s manor as bright as day.
This place was not suitable for a long stay. Song Mingzhi quickly held his breath and headed toward the Zhuohua Courtyard. In the chaos, he heard that the Imperial Guards under Mu Sian had entered Huiming Hall. A few seconds later, the Imperial Guard suddenly rushed out of the door and shouted in a loud voice, “Report to Your Highness, the Prince of Qi is not in Huiming Hall!”
…
Hundreds of Imperial Guards entered the manor and, along with Mu Sian, caused chaos here.
There was panic in the Prince of Qi’s manor.
Only in the Zhuohua Courtyard was it as quiet as if there were no one there.
Song Mingzhi did not light a lamp.
At this moment, he was standing alone by the courtyard door, patiently listening to the movement in the Prince’s manor.
The mist dissolved the moonlight in the courtyard and melted into his eyes. Song Mingzhi’s eyelashes could not help but tremble lightly.
Tonight, there is martial law in Chongjing.
The market is closed, the people have returned home, and no one is allowed to move freely on the streets.
As the saying goes, a prince who breaks the law is punished the same as a commoner. The Prince of Qi not being in the manor was already unjustifiable. Not to mention that the old Emperor had always been wary of him; if this matter reached the Emperor’s ears, it would probably cause no small waves.
Outside the Zhuohua Courtyard, the noise grew louder. After searching Huiming Hall, Mu Sian actually led the Imperial Guard to the outside of the Zhuohua Courtyard.
At this moment, he was not far away, saying triumphantly:
“I heard…”
“My third younger brother seems to like this Prince Consort very much.”
“You all tell me, he is not in Huiming Hall tonight, could it be that he is here with the Prince Consort?”
The situation was not good.
Song Mingzhi’s finger lightly pressed against the door panel, whitening slightly from the force.
He hesitated for a moment and decided to retreat back into the room.
However, in the blink of an eye:
Just as Song Mingzhi was about to turn around, a soft “bang” sounded in his ears.
The door of the Zhuohua Courtyard suddenly opened.
The night breeze blew through the courtyard door, rolling up the fallen flowers on the ground.
The person who entered wore a light green robe, hidden in the moonlight. His lapels were stained with blood at some point, leaving speckled red marks like peach blossoms falling all over his shoulders.
The arrow wound on his collarbone was still oozing blood.
Even though his eyebrows and eyes contained a smile and he was born with a temperament of indifference and romance, he could not conceal the chilling murderous aura all over his body.
Song Mingzhi’s heart sank heavily.
He subconsciously closed the courtyard door and looked toward the courtyard door with vigilance. “Prince?”
Mu Yanzhou, as he had the first day they met, pressed his finger to his lips. “Shh.”
The Imperial Guard had already arrived outside the courtyard.
The firelight shone through the gaps in the courtyard door.
In the blink of an eye, Mu Yanzhou had already taken off the blood-stained clothes on his body.
With an irresistible force, he clamped Song Mingzhi’s wrist and, holding him, fell toward the hot spring under the tree.
“Splash!”
The world suddenly flipped over, and the spring water surged up.
The two people’s breath instantly became entangled.
“!!!”
The pure gold arm ring was carried to his side by the water flow.
The jade-colored robes became messy in an instant, and Song Mingzhi’s body trembled heavily, as if he had been electrocuted.
Outside the gate of the Zhuohua Courtyard.
Yuan Jiu made a final effort, “Although the Prince Consort is a man, he is, after all, the Prince’s brother-in-law. How can one enter the brother-in-law’s room so casually? I hope the Prince of Liang will think twice!”
He wanted to use this reason to block Mu Sian.
Wait until early tomorrow morning, then insist that the Prince of Qi was in the Zhuohua Courtyard tonight.
But Mu Sian was not a man who spoke about etiquette.
“If the criminal is hiding in the Zhuohua Courtyard and injures my third younger brother, who can take the responsibility?” Mu Sian said while approaching step by step. “Or is it… my third younger brother is not here at all tonight?”
Immediately, someone chimed in, “The manor is noisy tonight. Even if the Prince of Qi were really in the Zhuohua Courtyard, he should have heard it and reacted, right?”
Mu Sian gave a contemptuous laugh.
As the words fell, he stepped around Yuan Jiu and said in a tone that brooks no refusal, “Search for me!”
The Imperial Guard took the order: “Yes, Your Highness!”
As he spoke, he came toward the courtyard door.
Inside the Zhuohua Courtyard.
Water splashed, and steam filled the air.
Mu Yanzhou slowly lowered his eyes.
Under the moonlight…
Song Mingzhi’s skin was as delicate as white porcelain, with only an ambiguous red mark slowly appearing on his wrist. At this moment, he was looking toward the courtyard door with bated breath, his long neck exposed pale under his gaze, trembling lightly with the rhythm of his breathing.
It seemed to be enticing someone to strangle him with their fingers.
Mu Yanzhou’s gaze licked over Song Mingzhi’s neck.
Finally, he slowly raised his hand…
Everything was in the blink of an eye.
Outside the Zhuohua Courtyard, it was brightly lit.
The First Prince had already sent the Imperial Guard to move forward and strike the courtyard door.
There was no time to hesitate.
Song Mingzhi gritted his teeth and turned around abruptly. “Prince!”
The situation was urgent; he had to prove that the Prince had been in the manor all night.
Mu Yanzhou’s fingers flickered lightly, and he took the opportunity to tuck a strand of long hair behind Song Mingzhi’s ear. “What is it?”
Song Mingzhi took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, I understand.”
In the face of danger…
Isn’t it just providing cover?
Everyone is a man; it is no big deal.
Song Mingzhi decisively raised his arm and took the initiative to climb onto Mu Yanzhou’s neck, hiding the arrow wound on his chest, and whispered, “I can provide testimony for you.” He then raised his eyes to look into his gaze: “The Prince was in the Zhuohua Courtyard tonight, and other than that, he has not been anywhere.”
Moonlight swayed the smile in Mu Yanzhou’s eyes.
He suddenly used force, covering Song Mingzhi’s waist and back with one hand, and said lazily, “Not enough.”
…Not enough?
Before Song Mingzhi could understand what he meant.
Mu Yanzhou had already raised his hand and stripped the robe from his shoulder.
Finally, he whispered in his ear, “My apologies.”