Li Er was the type of person who wouldn’t show a hint of surprise even if the sky came crashing down. He sat behind his desk, munching enthusiastically on an old corn cob. Yun Ye glanced toward the corner of the great hall but didn’t see the two corn stalks that had been planted in lotus vats. He quietly took out the tiger tally, preparing to present it. This item was now purely honorary, no longer holding any practical significance. The seal that remained at the Ministry of War was what truly gave Yun Ye the authority to command the Lingnan naval forces.

“Keep that thing. Items I give out are generally not taken back. Who did you offend this time that made them go to such lengths to frame you? Zhang Liang and Cen Wenben were probably just caught in the crossfire, weren’t they?”

“This subject also doesn’t know. Among the powerful people in Chang’an, aside from Zhang Liang, I haven’t offended anyone. Every day I’m too busy carefully maintaining a pleasant demeanor—who would I dare offend?”

Li Er tossed the corn cob onto the table and rapped his knuckles against it, saying, “What a fool! You’ve been harmed and don’t even know by whom, yet you still have the face to consider yourself clever. If it were anyone else who didn’t know you well instead of me, heh heh, right now you’d be sitting in the Court of Judicial Review.”

Only then did Yun Ye notice a small iron plate on the table, blackish and very familiar.

“Does it look familiar? An armored plate from your Yun Family’s passivation process—impervious to blade strikes, resistant to water corrosion. The court has studied it for a long time without figuring out what this passivation process is. Qing Que stubbornly refuses to explain, so the court can’t use your family’s products. Ha ha, now it’s gotten interesting—an exclusive trade item, yet it shows up at a crime scene as iron-clad evidence of your Yun Family’s guilt. Boy, eating alone isn’t a good practice. Just like now, no one can speak up for you. The assassin who escaped from Cen Wenben’s house disappeared into the pear tree grove, heh heh, but that gave you a thread of hope. The criminals didn’t understand the principle that excess is as bad as deficiency—they committed a major crime at the foot of Mount Li, then immediately attempted to assassinate a court minister in the capital. Boy, think carefully—who exactly hates you enough to want you dead?”

Yun Ye took the armor plate and examined it for quite a while. It was indeed crafted by the Yun Family’s technique, but this type of armor leaf was only possessed by members of the Yun Family, with four additional sets in the navy. Daily reports of damaged armor plates were documented in accessible records—he could check them when he returned home.

“Your Majesty, given how matters stand, this subject has nothing to say. I can only request that Your Majesty clear this subject’s name. This subject will return home and await the court’s investigation results.”

“Dream on! Do you know what I think? I find this whole affair very strange. I’ve considered everyone in Chang’an capable of doing this, yet I haven’t discovered a single suspicious person. Boy, this is the first time in many years this has happened. The strike was so vicious, so decisive—not even a maid survived in the Zhang household. I heard that every blade strike, every blow was perfectly placed, with many victims killed by a single strike. If these weren’t veteran killers, I wouldn’t believe it no matter what. So, since this matter was triggered by you, only you can resolve it. Six days—you have only six days. After six days, Zhang Liang will rush back to Chang’an on fast horses. This time, if you don’t have an explanation, I’ll designate a battle zone in Lantian County, and you two can bring your personal troops to fight it out. I’ll be the referee. If you win, the murderer is definitely someone else. If Zhang Liang wins, you’re the murderer. After this matter is concluded, no one is permitted to mention it again, and the murder case will be closed.”

Yun Ye’s mouth gaped wide enough to fit a fist inside. This was the solution thought up by His Majesty the wise and mighty Emperor? This was his ultimate resolution? Without asking who was right or wrong, just seeing whose fists were bigger?

“Your Majesty, this isn’t appropriate, is it? Zhang Liang is a madman right now—he’ll definitely fight to the death. He’s a duke and by regulation can have five hundred personal guards. This subject is a marquis and only has three hundred personal guards. In a fight, I’ll be at a disadvantage. However, Your Majesty, if you permit this subject to use the Lingnan naval forces’ equipment, this subject will accept this fight. Missing two hundred men is missing two hundred men. Anyway, Zhang Liang and I are already like fire and water. To prevent him from launching a surprise attack on my household, I’ll take him out—once and for all.”

The moment he finished speaking, he received a slap to the back of his neck. Zhangsun stood behind him with a look of disappointment, saying through clenched teeth, “Blood feuds between nobles, where whoever wins is in the right—that’s a rule of the grasslands. Since when has Guanzhong adopted this rule? His Majesty was merely joking—why take it seriously?”

“Go properly investigate the case and put some thought into it. With such a group of scourges in Chang’an City, no one can sleep peacefully until they’re eliminated. The Zhang Family matter wasn’t your doing. If only the Japanese people had died at Cen Wenben’s house without involving Cen Wenben himself, this palace might have thought you did a good deed. But now they’re after Cen Wenben’s life, so it couldn’t possibly be you. The imperial family never speaks in such definitive terms—this is only because it’s you. If it were anyone else, this palace wouldn’t even ask a single question. This is a special favor. Now get lost and investigate the case. An old acquaintance of yours will help you.”

Chased out of the great hall by Zhangsun, he could still hear her advising the Emperor to use grassland rules sparingly in the future. Yun Ye realized that Li Er had truly intended to resolve matters this way. Having worshipped martial prowess his entire life, having such thoughts wasn’t surprising.

Thinking back to when Yuchi forced Li Yuan to abdicate, asking with each step, “When will Your Majesty yield the throne? When will Your Majesty yield the throne? When will Your Majesty yield the throne?” Covered in blood, radiating killing intent, full of untamed arrogance—being coerced by such a peerless warrior, not to mention Li Yuan, even a stronger emperor would have collapsed. Where was this violent energy in Li Er’s heart coming from?

He Tianshang stood at the palace gate with a beaming smile, Duan Hong following behind him with a gloating expression. Seeing Yun Ye emerge, He Tianshang stepped forward to pay respects. Duan Hong loudly proclaimed the Emperor’s command—He Tianshang actually had an imperial arrow again.

“Marquis Yun, work hard! This slave heard that the fast horse reporting to Zhang Liang has already passed Luoyang. You truly only have six days. Otherwise, when this slave goes to Lantian County to watch the battle and sees Marquis Yun at a disadvantage with no way to rescue you, it will pain my heart.”

“Sooner or later, I’ll get you to the Academy, and then we’ll see how I deal with you.” Yun Ye flicked his sleeves, ignoring Duan Hong, and directly asked He Tianshang, “I wonder if Brother He has found any suspicious persons yet?”

He Tianshang cupped his hands and said, “Reporting to Your Lordship, we have. The Yun Family is currently the most suspicious household—they have motive, capability, methods, and planning. Of those meeting these criteria, only your Yun Family qualifies.”

“Old He, don’t joke around. I’m already burnt out and have no mood for banter.”

“I’m not joking. Zhang Judao was clutching an armor plate in his hand, one that only the Yun Family possesses, or else someone with extremely deep connections to the Yun Family would have. I investigated all owners of this type of armor—none have recently replaced any armor leaves, and I’ve inspected their armor sets. Not one has any deficiencies. The Yun Family’s account books prove they’re telling the truth.”

“Zhang Judao was a fierce general who killed countless enemies on battlefields, but the night before last, he barely had time to resist before suffering twenty-six blade wounds and falling in a pool of blood. Not one wound was fatal—it was massive blood loss. The enemy tortured him before finally killing him with a single strike. Such a master—there aren’t many in the capital. I, He Tianshang, consider my martial skills not too shabby, but to kill a fierce general so easily, I admit I couldn’t do it. However, your Yun Family has at least three people who could. If I don’t suspect you, who should I suspect?”

“There’s also him!” Yun Ye pointed at Duan Hong’s nose.

“That won’t do. This servant was at Wanmin Palace that night protecting His Majesty, accompanied by three other imperial guards. So you see, Marquis Yun, you can’t pin this on me. Once this slave takes action to kill someone, even if I kill the wrong person, well, that’s just how it is. Don’t you agree?”

Duan Hong’s smug expression made one want to punch him hard in the face, but Yun Ye laughed instead, laughing quite happily. He picked up a stone and quickly worked out a math problem on the ground: A boat drifts downstream at seventy li per day, drifting for six days. A fast boat with favorable wind and water, also using sails, departs six days late—when can it catch up?

After calculating, Yun Ye’s heart filled with bitterness. Standing at the palace gate, he gazed eastward toward the distance in dejected silence. By the time his order to search the Goguryeo envoy ships arrived, Gae Suwen would probably already be aboard, wouldn’t he?

“Has Marquis Yun already determined who the murderer is? According to my investigation, these killers number one hundred eighty or more. I refuse to believe they can hide themselves so seamlessly.”

“Old He, there’s one more person capable of easily killing Zhang Judao with lightning-fast strikes. I already know who’s framing me, but our timing is too late—there’s no way to prove he was ever in Chang’an. Ha ha, I’ve finally tasted what it means to nurture a tiger that brings disaster. Right now, that fellow must be extremely pleased with himself.”

“Marquis Yun, you already know?” He Tianshang and Duan Hong were quite curious about the arithmetic problem Yun Ye had just worked on. They lowered their heads and stared at it for a long time but couldn’t figure out what Yun Ye had drawn on the ground.

Yun Ye was in an extremely foul mood. He took He Tianshang to He Shao’s residence, spoke privately for a while, then took his leave and headed straight home. When leaving Wanmin Palace, Zhangsun had instructed the Yun Family to maintain full vigilance to avoid being caught off guard by enemies.

Seeing that Yun Ye was very unhappy, He Tianshang didn’t press for answers. He rode his horse behind Yun Ye, galloping together toward the Yun Family estate. He couldn’t understand why Yun Ye didn’t go to the Zhang household to examine the bodies or to Cen Wenben’s house to investigate the case’s doubtful points, but simply wanted to return home. Could this setback have completely destroyed his confidence? As for the strange notion that casually working out a math problem could solve a case, He Tianshang didn’t believe it. But now, the initiative was in Yun Ye’s hands—he couldn’t and shouldn’t ask or do more.

Returning home, the reception hall was filled with people. Hou Junji, who had just returned to Chang’an to report on his duties, was also there, sitting below Qin Qiong’s position. The two were speaking in low voices. Li Tai was as restless as a monkey, scurrying about everywhere.

Seeing Yun Ye return, Li Chengqian came forward asking, “What was Father Emperor’s response?”

“He gave me six days to investigate the case. I must clarify the reason before Zhang Liang returns, otherwise I’ll have no choice but to have a blood feud with Zhang Liang. Whoever wins is in the right.”

Hou Junji laughed darkly, “I still have five fierce soldiers at home—they’re yours. If each of our families contributes a few capable fighters, plus that young fellow from your Yun Family who could ride a horse through the Luoyang gates I was guarding, entering from the east gate and exiting from the west gate, I don’t believe Zhang Liang has any hope of survival. Back in the day, Liu Wenjing was played to death by the Dou Family exactly this way. What’s wrong with us playing the same game again?”