That night, both Penglai Hall and Shenlong Hall remained sleepless. Outside the palace, Cui Xun was unaware of the turbulent waves in Daming Palace. At the first light of dawn, he prepared to enter the palace for an audience with the Empress Dowager. Li Ying had also awakened early. With the owl dead, a great weight had been lifted from her heart. The Investigation Department had already cast its net, and within three days, Jin Ni would likely be captured. By then, the Court of Judicial Review would have no way to implicate Cui Xun.
Her mood was light as she sat by the window, resting her chin in her hand, watching the crabapple blossoms outside. She saw Cui Xun adjust his official robes, preparing to go to Daming Palace. Looking at his jade-like figure in crimson official robes, she suddenly recalled the blush that had appeared on his pale face when she teased him in the wisteria corridor. Her gaze shifted to the redwood table, where today’s plum vase held wisteria blossoms.
Li Ying plucked a wisteria flower and quietly threw it onto his back. When he turned to look, she felt inexplicably nervous and hid to one side. Cui Xun saw no one in the window, smiled slightly, then walked to the window and said, “I see you.”
Li Ying’s beautiful face finally appeared in the window. Perhaps embarrassed at being caught teasing him, a faint blush spread across her face. She didn’t dare look at Cui Xun and, after thinking for a long time, finally stammered, “Are you going to the palace now?”
“Mm,” Cui Xun nodded.
“After seeing Mother, you’ll attend the morning court, right?”
“Mm.”
“After court, you’ll come back, right?”
“Mm.”
Li Ying was inexplicably annoyed. She knelt by the table, looking down as she plucked at the wisteria in the plum vase. “Can’t you say a second word…”
The wisteria was nearly bare from her plucking. Cui Xun watched her delicate hands pulling at the flowers. Her annoyance troubled him. His temperament had always been cool, and he had never interacted with young ladies before, so he didn’t know what to say to please her. After a pause, he said, “We should be able to catch Jin Ni soon.”
This time, he had said more than just a second word. Li Ying stopped plucking the flowers and turned to look at him. Cui Xun continued, “The Princess’s case might also be resolved. Then, the Princess will be able to reincarnate.”
Li Ying was slightly stunned. She turned her head again and sulkily resumed plucking the wisteria in the vase. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
Cui Xun thought for a moment and said, “Fumangtang has a new honey cake made with honey and jujube paste. It’s no less delicious than the tea cakes from before. After court, I’ll bring some for the Princess to try. Would that be all right?”
This time, Li Ying stopped plucking the flowers. She turned her head and smiled, “All right.”
Seeing her cheerful again, Cui Xun couldn’t help but smile. “Then I’ll go to the palace now.”
Li Ying nodded. She rested her chin in her hand, watching as Cui Xun’s figure gradually disappeared from view. She didn’t even notice that the corners of her upturned mouth never fell.
However, that day, Cui Xun was unable to go to Daming Palace, and Li Ying didn’t get to taste the honey cake.
Because Jin Ni had turned himself in.
Last night, the owl had been shot dead by Cui Xun, and Jin Ni knew he could no longer escape. Recently, he had found Pei Guanyue, hoping to be smuggled out of Chang’an. Pei Guanyue had proposed a plan, saying that if Jin Ni agreed, he could secretly switch him during the execution. Then, the whole world would think he was dead, and naturally, would no longer pursue him. He could live out the rest of his life without worry.
The offer was tempting, but Jin Ni was extremely cunning. Throughout his life, he had betrayed many people and had also been betrayed. When he was in Türkic territory, he hadn’t gained Nidu Khan’s trust, so even though he had discovered that Sutai planned to kill his brother, he didn’t report it. Instead, he allied with Sutai. But unexpectedly, after Sutai succeeded as Khan, he wanted to kill Jin Ni. This made Jin Ni increasingly distrustful of anyone, and Pei Guanyue was no exception.
He hadn’t agreed, but circumstances had changed. Now he had no way out. Among the three people in Chang’an who could save his life, Ashina Wuduo had explicitly refused, Cui Songqing was pedantic and upright, capable at most of giving him a forged travel permit. Only Pei Guanyue could save him. He entered Pei Guanyue’s residence overnight, and after leaving, went directly to the Court of Judicial Review to surrender. There, he confessed to his crimes of treason without reservation, answering whatever Deputy Chief Lu Huai asked, fully cooperating. Toward the end of the interrogation, Lu Huai asked him, “Did Cui Xun also surrender to the Türks?”
Jin Ni nodded. “Yes.” After a pause, he added, “And he also killed the commander of the Divine Military, Guo Qinwei.”
Guo Qinwei, the commander of the Divine Military, was a battle-hardened warrior of great prestige. He had once led a lone army deep into the desert and killed a Türkic chieftain with a single arrow. He was the enemy most hated and feared by the Türks. In the Battle of Luyan Ridge, Guo Qinwei chose death over captivity, committing suicide for his country. His head was cut off and displayed throughout the Türkic army. Although Guo Qinwei’s loyalty and valor were commendable, his strategic errors had led to six prefectures in the Guannei region falling under Türkic iron hooves, making him the target of severe criticism.
But according to Jin Ni, Guo Qinwei hadn’t committed suicide; his head hadn’t been cut off by the Türks. Instead, Cui Xun, fearing for his own life, had killed him and cut off his head to present to the Türks. With the Divine Military leaderless, they had been utterly defeated at Luyan Ridge.
This testimony shocked everyone present.
Lu Huai asked, “If Guo Qinwei was killed by Cui Xun, why didn’t the Türks say so before? Why did they instead send a message to the Great Zhou saying he had committed suicide?”
Jin Ni smiled ambiguously. “Naturally, it was because the Türkic princess favored Cui Xun. The princess indulged Cui Xun in everything. Cui Xun feared that if this matter were exposed, he would have no place in the world, so he begged the princess to send word to the Great Zhou saying that Guo Qinwei had committed suicide and that he, Cui Xun, had been captured. But was he captured? When the Türks besieged Luyan Ridge, he already had thoughts of surrender. He was Guo Qinwei’s trusted aide at the time. Taking advantage of Guo Qinwei’s carelessness, he killed him, then took the commander’s head and happily went over to the Türks.”
The matter was of great importance. Even though Lu Huai despised Cui Xun, he was unwilling to rashly believe Jin Ni’s one-sided account of such a shocking crime. Besides, although Cui Xun might be low, wasn’t Jin Ni, a Captain of the Imperial Guard who had long surrendered to the Türks, just as bad? He pondered, “Do you have evidence for what you say?”
Jin Ni replied, “Consort Hui in the palace is also from the Türks. She can testify.”
Jin Ni was confident. The Consort Hui in the palace was naturally part of the plan. As long as Consort Hui testified, along with his testimony, Cui Xun would be imprisoned, even if not killed. And in prison, everything was arranged by Pei Guanyue. This time, they would surely take Cui Xun’s life.
But what he never expected was that the previous night, Consort Hui had been caught by the Empress Dowager when leaving the palace and had nearly been strangled to death in Penglai Hall. How could she dare to come out and testify? And even if she dared, the Emperor wouldn’t allow it.
When Lu Huai inquired, Consort Hui only made excuses, saying that she had long resided in her Türkic maternal home and was not familiar with the events at Luyan Ridge. With Consort Hui suddenly backing out, the entire plan was overturned, leaving only Jin Ni’s testimony.
Annoyed, Lu Huai interrogated Jin Ni again. When about to use torture, Jin Ni cleverly exclaimed in desperation, “I have evidence!”
“What evidence?”
Jin Ni said, “Guo Qinwei’s head was cut off by Cui Xun using the bowstring of an iron-core bow. If Cui Xun’s iron-core bow could be obtained and compared with the cut marks on Guo Qinwei’s head, the truth would be revealed.”
“Where is Cui Xun’s iron-core bow?”
“It’s in his hands.” Jin Ni recalled seeing Cui Xun from afar the previous night, using a wooden crossbow modified from an iron-core bow to shoot the owl. He gritted his teeth in hatred. “Guo Qinwei’s head is still in Türkic territory. Now that the Türks intend to improve relations with the Great Zhou and have sent Princess Ashina Jia for a political marriage, if we ask the Türks for Guo Qinwei’s head, they wouldn’t refuse.”
Lu Huai said, “Requesting the head will take time, going to the Türks will take time, and returning will also take time. With all this back and forth, it would take nearly a month at the fastest. How do I know this isn’t just your excuse to stay alive?”
Jin Ni replied, “If Deputy Chief Lu doesn’t want to go to such trouble, you can simply report to His Majesty and have Cui Xun imprisoned. Under severe torture, he would also confess the truth.”
Lu Huai coldly said, “Forced confessions are Cui Xun’s style, not mine. Although I am unworthy, no unjustly accused soul has died under my watch.”
Jin Ni sneered, “How rare that in the prison of the Court of Judicial Review, there is such a just official as Deputy Chief Lu.”
But could Lu Huai be as just as he wished? The place he saw as one that redressed wrongs and upheld justice had long become a place of power and manipulation. Otherwise, why was it that four years ago, when Cui Xun returned from the Türks covered in wounds and begged them to investigate the truth in the Türkic territory, the prison of the Court of Judicial Review had turned a deaf ear, instead torturing him to confess to treason? This Court of Judicial Review, which should uphold justice, had long been filled with the ghosts of the unjustly accused.
Lu Huai could only be so naive because he had his uncle’s protection.
Hearing the mockery in Jin Ni’s words, Lu Huai frowned but didn’t argue with him. Instead, he said, “You say we should request Guo Qinwei’s head from the Türks. The Türks are cunning. How do we know they won’t send a fake head?”
Jin Ni replied, “Cui Xun’s reputation for treachery and favor is known throughout the world. He was also released by the Türks. If the Türks speak well of him, that would be suspicious. But what benefit would the Türks gain from speaking ill of him? Moreover, the iron-core bow is in Cui Xun’s hands. Could the Türks, from thousands of miles away, produce a fake head with cut marks matching an iron-core bowstring?”
Lu Huai thought that what Jin Ni said made sense. He said coldly, “Jin Ni, if you have spoken a single false word, I will make you wish you were dead!”
Jin Ni merely replied, “A dying man would not dare to lie.”
Lu Huai pondered for a while. “Very well, I will report to His Majesty and then decide.”
When Lu Huai reported Jin Ni’s testimony to His Majesty, the entire court was in an uproar. Even Cui Songqing was utterly shocked. After recovering, he felt deeply ashamed and was unwilling to defend Cui Xun with a single word. If he were like this, not to mention the neutral officials and Lu’s faction.
Amidst the public outrage, the officials requested His Majesty to execute Cui Xun immediately. Lu Huai, however, suggested waiting until Guo Qinwei’s head arrived before making a decision. But the journey to and from the Türks would take nearly a month. His Majesty thus ordered Cui Xun to be detained in the Court of Judicial Review, with further action pending the investigation.
Before the imperial edict was issued, a decree came from Penglai Hall. The Empress Dowager stated that the Court of Judicial Review and the Investigation Department had always been at odds. If Cui Xun were imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review, she feared he might lose his life before Guo Qinwei’s head arrived. Therefore, he would be confined in his residence, with further discussion later.
Lu Huai couldn’t believe it. His first reaction was that the Empress Dowager was showing favoritism toward Cui Xun. His second reaction was to feel wronged. He knelt before Emperor Longxing, his eyes slightly teary: “Although I am at odds with Cui Xun and have always despised his character, I would never falsely accuse him because of personal grudges. If I were such a petty person, I wouldn’t have proposed requesting Guo Qinwei’s head from the Türks to discern truth from falsehood. The Empress Dowager’s treatment of me shows that she underestimates me.”
Emperor Longxing was helpless. He, too felt that the Empress Dowager was showing favoritism toward Cui Xun. But he had already had a falling-out with the Empress Dowager over Consort Hui and couldn’t afford another dispute with her over Cui Xun’s place of detention. He consoled Lu Huai for quite some time, but Lu Huai still felt extremely wronged. Finally, the Emperor privately told him, “The Empress Dowager’s refusal to have Cui Xun detained in the Court of Judicial Review doesn’t mean she hasn’t allowed you to guard him. She has still left some face for the Court of Judicial Review.”
But Lu Huai didn’t see it that way. “If what Jin Ni says is true, then Cui Xun has committed an unforgivable crime. The Empress Dowager had already released himx from the Court of Judicial Review three years ago. Three years later, does she still need to protect him from the hands of the Court?”
Emperor Longxing smiled bitterly. “I don’t know why the Empress Dowager wants to protect this man’s life. Like you, I despise him greatly. But the Great Zhou is governed by filial piety. I cannot always disobey my mother.”
With Emperor Longxing appealing to both emotion and reason, Lu Huai finally kept quiet, though his face still showed displeasure. The Emperor comforted him further, “Since the Empress Dowager’s decree is to confine Cui Xun in his residence, treat him as you would a prisoner. Given how much the Empress Dowager has already favored him, she probably won’t say anything more.”