The carriage moved slowly through the small alleys of the capital city in the deep night. In the dim carriage compartment, Yan Chi firmly held Qin Wan’s hand.
Qin Wan frowned and said, “Prince Jin himself isn’t the killer, and he never admitted to it. Yet the dagger belonged to him, and he was the first to appear at the scene. If he had killed someone, he would have had the opportunity to replace the dagger with something else, or simply hide the murder weapon and deny everything. But he didn’t do that, and in the end, the dagger turned out to be his own… This is truly bizarre… Madam Qian said that after the incident, Prince Jin was first seen by everyone together, then the Imperial Guards arrived, after which Prince Jin was placed under surveillance, and later, he was sent to the Imperial Punishment Department. So he must have switched the dagger before others arrived.”
Yan Chi continued, “Song Xiwen was by Prince Jin’s side at that time. He should have known if the dagger had been switched, yet in front of the Empress, he still said that following the trail of the dagger would reveal who killed Imperial Consort Jin…”
“He was reminding the Empress that the issue lay with that dagger,” Qin Wan stated with certainty. “The Empress believed it at the time, but in the end, the dagger turned out to be Prince Jin’s. Was Song Xiwen trying to remind the Empress to trust Prince Jin and look for a new dagger?”
Yan Chi hesitated, “In that scenario if the dagger was switched, the real murder weapon must still have been at the crime scene. He couldn’t have taken it away.”
Qin Wan’s heart skipped a beat as she suddenly thought of another person. “The second person to appear at the crime scene was the Ninth Prince!”
With these words, Qin Wan’s heart began to race frantically. Could it be Yan Sui? Though Yan Sui was very young at the time, he possessed a maturity beyond his years. Would Yan Sui know where that murder weapon was?
Qin Wan spoke urgently, “After Imperial Consort Jin’s incident, because of suspicions about her relationship with Prince Jin, and the fact that she was inexplicably assassinated, her palace was searched. After the search, many of her belongings were destroyed. The Emperor didn’t want the Ninth Prince to keep Imperial Consort Jin’s things, but the Ninth Prince still hid many small items she had given him. He concealed these forbidden items in many places throughout the palace, and even gave me several pieces to take out of the palace.”
“A dagger?” Yan Chi quickly responded.
Qin Wan shook her head, “No, things like longevity locks. However, the Ninth Prince was the second person at the scene. He must know what else happened at that time.” Qin Wan sighed, “If only it weren’t so late now, I could enter the palace immediately.”
Yan Chi squeezed Qin Wan’s hand reassuringly, “Don’t rush. Entering the palace tomorrow is fine. This matter is of great significance; you must be cautious even when questioning Yan Sui.”
Qin Wan nodded seriously. She certainly understood the need for caution. If all previous matters had been mere speculation, from now on, from the moment they heard Madam Qian’s explanation, they had truly touched upon last year’s case for the first time. Once they had this beginning, they could only press forward, regardless of what awaited them ahead. The fear in Madam Qian’s eyes seemed still fresh in her mind, and even Qin Wan felt a shadow looming over her heart. None of the previous cases had made her this terrified, not because she was cowardly, but because she realized this grand chess game might truly involve the current Emperor…
Regardless of what role the Emperor played in this case, he certainly didn’t want anyone to uncover the truth. Otherwise, last year Prince Jin wouldn’t have “committed suicide out of guilt,” the Shen family wouldn’t have been exterminated, and this year, the Emperor’s attitude toward the corpse case wouldn’t have been so unnaturally calm.
The law only applied to common people, while the royal family stood above it, let alone the supreme current Emperor!
Qin Wan felt like a traveler walking in the mist, stepping into a swamp one step at a time. By the time she came to her senses, she was already deep in the mud. Moreover, she now didn’t know whether what awaited her ahead was an even deeper quagmire or a bottomless cliff where one misstep would lead to destruction.
“Prince Jin was willing to take the risk, willing to give up the strongest evidence that could clear his name, just to switch the dagger. He must have been trying to conceal something… What could have been so important to him?” Qin Wan murmured, “That dagger… could it… be related to the Emperor?”
Qin Wan struggled to voice the deepest doubt in her heart. She wasn’t a rebellious person; in her heart, she also upheld the belief that all under heaven belonged to the king, and all people within the territory were the king’s subjects. The Emperor had always been someone high above, someone she could only kneel before and look up to. She had never imagined that one day her suspicions would fall on the Emperor.
Yan Chi brushed Qin Wan’s cheek, and despite seeing the difficulty in her eyes, he said, “The possibility is very high. Even if it’s not related to the Emperor, it must be connected to someone else very important. Prince Jin’s character is also very straightforward. If he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t admit to it, but if he wanted to conceal something, it must have been for a greater cause.”
Qin Wan became confused and began to seriously consider the possibility that the Emperor had killed Imperial Consort Jin.
After ascending to the throne, the current Emperor had worked diligently and could be considered a wise ruler. Regardless of what he had done to Prince Rui, or how he employed the art of ruling, if you were to ask ordinary citizens, they would probably praise this emperor. Especially since the Empress Dowager had said that the Emperor’s character was steady and dignified, elegant and wise, and the Emperor she had seen also possessed true imperial dignity. Such an emperor surely wouldn’t suddenly go mad and kill a favored consort without reason, and if Imperial Consort Jin had committed some wrong first, then even if he had killed someone, there would be nothing to hide. So why would he leave the murder weapon behind?
Qin Wan shook her head internally, rejecting this bold and absurd notion. At the same time, Yan Chi said, “The possibility of the Emperor killing Imperial Consort Jin is too small, and there’s no absolute evidence yet…”
Qin Wan nodded, “Yes, let’s wait until I enter the palace tomorrow to ask the Ninth Prince.”
Yan Chi made a sound of agreement and simply put his arm around Qin Wan. They didn’t say anything else for a moment. Things were becoming increasingly complex, and as they learned more, the truth became increasingly difficult to accept. After thinking for a moment, Qin Wan spoke again, “Prince Jin finally ‘committed suicide out of guilt’ in the Ministry of Justice prison. The prison was heavily guarded at that time, so if someone wanted to poison him, this person must have held a high position of power.”
Yan Chi nodded, “It could only be the Emperor and Empress, the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng, and at most the Minister of Justice.”
Although all six ministers held high positions of power, other ministers couldn’t easily visit a place like the Ministry of Justice prison without leaving traces, especially since Prince Jin was imprisoned there at that time.
After a pause, Qin Wan continued, “At that time, Father must have discovered something, as he immediately wanted to take us away from the capital. Father must have known that if we delayed even one step, we would lose our lives. But shortly after leaving the Shen residence, we encountered the Imperial Guards, who began killing without saying hardly anything. Such an order must also have come from those few people…”
Even if it had been confirmed that Shen Yi had indeed harbored Prince Jin, the proper procedure would have been to arrest and interrogate him before passing judgment. But at that time, it was an execution.
Even if the Shen family’s attempt to flee was wrong, this method was somewhat radical and bloodthirsty. The person who gave the order, or rather the person who interfered, must have had a clear purpose: Shen Yi had to die, and everyone around him couldn’t be allowed to live. Qin Wan vaguely felt that even the Crown Prince at that time couldn’t have issued such an order.
“I’ve also investigated this matter these past few days…”
Upon hearing Yan Chi say this, Qin Wan quickly turned to look at him. Yan Chi looked at her and said, “The person who gave the order at that time was indeed the Emperor. The Emperor had a private conversation with Li Muyun, though what they discussed isn’t known, but they should have confirmed that Lord Shen was guilty. Later, the Emperor hesitated for half a day before giving the order. At that time, it should have been an order for the Imperial Guards to arrest Lord Shen, but it later turned into a massacre. Whether the Emperor gave a secret order in between, or if someone else passed along different instructions, can’t be determined now. The person who led the troops was Lin Zhang.”
Lin Zhang, the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guards, was responsible for guarding the entire imperial palace.
The imperial palace was the most crucial part of the capital’s defense, and the Emperor had trusted him for over a decade. It could be said that Lin Zhang and Yuan Qing were his most trusted people.
To send Lin Zhang to arrest Shen Yi… the implications were self-evident.
Qin Wan’s heart grew colder, but as she thought about this, the fear and hesitation in her heart suddenly vanished.
If the Emperor was considered the heaven above all people of Great Zhou, she had always maintained a sense of humble reverence. However, thinking that the order to massacre her entire family might have come from this emperor, Qin Wan’s heart suddenly turned cold and hard. Even if he was the emperor, so what? Her family had committed no wrongs, and even an emperor had no right to casually decide their life or death! The entire Shen clan, twenty-four people in total, might have been insignificant in the Emperor’s eyes, but they were everything to her.
Qin Wan took a deep breath, “After I see the Ninth Prince tomorrow, I’ll come find you.”
The weather was getting colder, and the bitter wind howled through the gaps in the carriage curtains. Yan Chi held Qin Wan in his arms, silently kissing her forehead. Before long, the carriage returned to the Loyal and Brave Marquis’s Manor from the southern part of the city.
Qin Wan alighted from the carriage and went straight to Pine Wind Court. Upon returning, she took out the few items Yan Sui had given her to examine, but looking through them, they were merely small trinkets from a mother to her child, completely unrelated to any murder weapon. Qin Wan’s heart felt heavy, but she forced herself to rest.
The more precarious the situation, the more she forced herself to remain calm.
When Yan Chi first mentioned the Emperor’s art of ruling, she felt somewhat uneasy. Later, when Yan Chi mentioned it again, she only felt a chill in her heart, yet subconsciously excluded speculation about the case being related to the Emperor. Today, Madam Qian’s words had cleared away the final layer of mist.
Even if that person was the Emperor, she would handle it with calmness and restraint, without showing her hand.
After a night of light sleep, Qin Wan headed straight to the palace early the next morning.
Shoukang Palace was as quiet as usual. The Empress Dowager was getting older and increasingly disliked noise. Moreover, since Shoukang Palace rarely had visitors, even the serving maids had developed quiet dispositions. As soon as Qin Wan arrived at the main hall, she asked Matron Chen about Yan Sui’s whereabouts. Seeing the package Bai Ying was carrying, Matron Chen smiled and said, “Has the Princess bought something fun for the Ninth Prince again? The Ninth Prince has gone to study with his tutor today, and probably won’t return for another hour or so.”
Qin Wan felt somewhat disappointed, but this emotion flashed by quickly. She soon adjusted her mood to accompany the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager, having heard her question, smiled and said, “You’re always thinking of Little Nine. Now that he’s studying, you’re still buying him so many trinkets. Be careful not to distract him from his studies.”
Qin Wan smiled, “I had already promised His Highness before. Please don’t worry, the Ninth Prince is very diligent.”
The Empress Dowager smiled kindly, “I certainly know that. At such a young age, he can practice calligraphy alone for quite a while. Even the Emperor couldn’t do that when he was young.”
After the Empress Dowager had breakfast and took a short walk, she rested and her playful nature emerged. She quickly asked Matron Chen to set up the chessboard.
Qin Wan smiled wryly, “My chess skills are quite poor. You’ll have to give me a handicap.”
The Empress Dowager teased, “I’ll play a warm-up game with you. Yan Ze will be here later. If your chess skills were half as good as your medical skills, I wouldn’t need to wait for Yan Ze. How about I give you three pieces to start? See how you want to arrange them…”
Qin Wan contentedly placed her three pieces first. Matron Chen poured tea for them and said, “The Empress Dowager is improving rapidly now. Not just the Princess, even the Emperor would have to admit defeat.”
In the past, Qin Wan would have remained calm upon hearing the word “Emperor,” but now her heart skipped a beat. “I remember Young Master Yan saying that the Emperor used to be excellent at chess. How come now…”
Speaking thus, Qin Wan smiled embarrassedly and said in a low voice, “I hope these words aren’t disrespectful?”
The Empress Dowager and Matron Chen both laughed, “Not at all! The Emperor lost three games to me that day! I even said his chess skills had deteriorated!”
The Empress Dowager’s face showed a hint of pride. Qin Wan’s smile became somewhat stiff at the corners of her lips, “What did the Emperor say?”
The Empress Dowager placed a piece and shook her head with a sigh, “The Emperor has been focused on state affairs these years. Since ascending to the throne, he hardly plays chess anymore, and in recent years, he doesn’t seek any pleasures at all.” The Empress Dowager seemed intent on letting everyone know about Yan Huai’s hard work, and continued, “You don’t know, but even the late Emperor wasn’t as austere as he is. He rarely even visits the imperial harem nowadays, spending his time either reading memorials or meeting with officials to discuss matters of state. While I’m pleased to see him so diligent, it pains my heart greatly.”
Since it was only suspicion, when Qin Wan heard the Empress Dowager’s words, her heart unconsciously relaxed a little. Perhaps such a diligent emperor wasn’t so despicable after all?
With her mind wandering, Qin Wan lost this game of chess even more quickly. The Empress Dowager teased her about it, and Qin Wan could only smile wryly. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Yan Ze and Yue Ning entered the palace. Yan Ze’s face was covered with a medicinal cloth, while Yue Ning supported her at her side. The two arrived together, making a beautiful couple.
With Yan Ze’s arrival, Qin Wan was saved. Upon learning that Qin Wan’s chess skills had regressed rather than improved, Yue Ning also teased her. When the chessboard was reset, Qin Wan observed from the side. After a while, Yue Ning said, “With the New Year approaching, I wonder when the Emperor will allow Father to return.”