The Eagle Guards lined up on both sides of the road and bowed in unison. Zhu Qiyue dismounted, first helping Qihuan to her feet and saying: “The journey must have been hard.” Then he looked toward Su Jin’s side and asked: “What exactly happened?”

The post station superintendent beside them hurriedly recounted the matter of the frightened horses. At the end, he said: “Because Lord Su’s younger sister pleaded for Assistant Director Qiu, everything still awaits the Twelfth Prince’s decision.”

Zhu Qiyue’s gaze fell on Su Wan as he asked: “You are Imperial Censor Su’s younger sister?”

Su Wan was already extremely frightened. Hearing that the person before her was a prince, tears trembled in her eyes, about to fall. She was too scared to speak.

Su Jin bowed and said: “In reply to the Twelfth Prince, this is indeed my younger sister.” She added: “My younger sister is trapped by obligations of gratitude and disregards the law. She truly doesn’t understand propriety. I will take her away immediately.”

Who would have known that upon hearing these words, Zhu Qiyue thought deeply for a moment, then waved his large hand and said: “No need. I shall make the decision in this case and spare Assistant Director Qiu’s life. Afterwards, hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for lenient treatment.” Then he said to Su Wan: “Miss Su, please rise.”

Hearing this, Su Wan could hardly believe it. Her knees seemed nailed to the ground. She hesitantly raised her head and saw that the person before her wore fitted clothes, tall and upright, with eyebrows flying toward his temples. His swallow-tail eye corners naturally carried three parts righteousness and looked quite handsome.

Su Wan stared blankly for a moment. It was only when Su Jin prompted from the side: “If he tells you to rise, then rise,” that she stood up obediently.

After the initial shock subsided, tears suddenly rolled down in the blink of an eye. Su Wan hurriedly raised her hand to wipe away the tears. She glanced at Zhu Qiyue then quickly lowered her eyes, her face flushed as she said in a thin voice: “Many thanks to Your Highness.”

Zhu Qiyue said: “You are a woman, yet you possess such tremendous righteousness—this is truly rare. Your elder brother is an imperial censor who emphasizes rules and propriety in all matters, which is inevitably rigid. In my presence, there are not so many rules. Let this matter end here. Go back with your brother.”

Su Wan responded “yes” again. After Su Jin bid farewell to Zhu Qiyue and the Shu siblings, she left with her.

With this matter concluded, Zhu Qiyue exchanged a few more words with several officials from the Court of Imperial Stud waiting at the post station. Outside, the Eagle Guards had already brought the horses over. Seeing this, Qihuan couldn’t help but ask: “Will Your Highness not return to the residence together with Ahuan?”

Zhu Qiyue shook his head: “No, today’s monthly selection in the palace seems to have had some complications. Seventh Brother ordered me to return to the palace. I just took a detour halfway to check on you. Now that everything is fine, I’m relieved.” He looked toward Qiling. “Ruyu, you accompany your elder sister back to the Qi residence first. The whole family should have a good reunion.”

Having finished speaking and without further delay, he stepped on the stirrup, mounted his horse, and rode away with a crack of his whip.

On his way back to the palace, Zhu Qiyue was still thinking—the day before, when Zhu Zhaowei mentioned the monthly selection, he had said it was merely a formality and the candidates had already been decided internally. How could complications have arisen today? When he returned to the palace and saw “Su Jin” written clearly under the ballot for Vice Minister of Justice, he understood why Zhu Zhaowei had urgently summoned him back to the palace. He asked: “Su Shiyu’s promotion to Vice Minister of Justice—was it Liu Yun who recommended her?”

At this moment, there were no outsiders in the hall. Zhu Zhaowei had long since put away his usual affable expression. Rubbing his brow, he said: “If it were Liu Yun’s recommendation, I wouldn’t be so angry.” He took a heavy breath. “It was Zhang Shishan who proposed the candidate. During the vote, Liu Yun, as Su Shiyu’s superior official, was not permitted to express an opinion. But those old fossils in the Grand Secretariat—they all voted for Su Shiyu!”

Zhu Qiyue said in astonishment: “How could this be? The Court of Judicial Review nominated Su Jin, the Ministry of Personnel nominated Ren Xuan, and the Censorate expressed no opinion. Even if the Grand Secretariat all voted for Su Jin, there’s still your vote, Seventh Brother?”

“That’s why I say Zeng Youliang is utterly useless!” Zhu Zhaowei could no longer restrain himself. He crumpled the letter of confession that Zeng Youliang had just submitted and viciously threw it on the ground. “Now wars are breaking out everywhere. Military provisions, grain supplies, and horses all require my attention. Zhu Yushen, Zhu Yiheng, and Zhu Nanxian—not one of them is compliant. I only asked Zeng Youliang to keep watch over one Su Shiyu, and he couldn’t even manage that. Right under his nose, something still went wrong!”

As he spoke, he walked back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back. Only after calming his mind did he continue: “Do you know what Su Shiyu has been doing lately?”

Zhu Qiyue said: “I heard she was running around for Thirteenth. As soon as she finished her duties, she would visit senior officials in various ministries and courts, asking them to jointly petition on Thirteenth’s behalf, requesting that he preside over court affairs.” He paused here, suddenly stunned. “Is that not the case?”

“It is.” Zhu Zhaowei said. “But that’s only a smokescreen.”

He laughed coldly: “I’ve finally figured it out. Su Shiyu actually set her sights on the position of Vice Minister of Justice long ago. She also knew that those old fossils in the Grand Secretariat, concerned about preserving their own lives, would never dare to speak out for Zhu Nanxian. Every time the Eastern Palace was mentioned in court deliberations, I saw the guilty look on their faces—and Su Shiyu saw it too.

“Su Shiyu exploited their desire to be promiscuous yet erect a memorial arch. She visited them one by one, asking them to petition for Zhu Nanxian. Just when she had them feeling overwhelmingly guilty, she suddenly took a step back and said, ‘If you don’t petition, that’s fine. In the third month’s selection, vote for me, Su Jin, as Vice Minister of Justice. I will petition in the name of the Ministry of Justice on behalf of all you Grand Secretaries. That way you’ll have lived up to the Great Sui’s legitimate line.’ Those old fossils naturally thought this was wonderful, that it killed two birds with one stone, so today they all voted for him!”

Zhu Qiyue said: “So Su Shiyu visited so many government offices only to create confusion, making people think she was stirring up officials to petition for the Eastern Palace. In reality, the only ones she truly wanted to visit were these few Grand Secretaries from the Secretariat—it was all to get them to vote for her as Vice Minister of Justice?”

Zhu Zhaowei glanced at Zhu Qiyue and sat down on a chair to the side. After a long while, he said in a deep voice: “We can’t really blame Zeng Youliang. This Su Shiyu has gotten far too close to Zhu Nanxian—repeatedly protecting him with her life, they can be called life-and-death companions. Even I thought her willingness to petition for the Eastern Palace this time was entirely reasonable.” He continued: “Moreover, she actually holds evidence that Ren Xuan once arranged ghostwriting services for Zhu Fourteen and Zhu Seventeen. A censor from the Censorate named Zhai Di presented it to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The position of Vice Minister of Justice should naturally go to someone who upholds the law. I could have originally eliminated him on the grounds that Su Jin hadn’t served as censor for three years and lacked sufficient qualifications. But with what happened to Ren Xuan, the position of Left Vice Minister of Justice can only go to Su Shiyu.”

Having said this, he looked through the window screen with a gloomy expression toward the direction of the Eastern Palace: “I don’t know what outstanding qualities this Zhu Nanxian possesses besides being upright. People like Shen Qingyue and Su Shiyu are actually willing to serve him.” After thinking for a moment, he suddenly sighed and said slowly: “It’s actually good that Su Shiyu is going to the Ministry of Justice. Without Liu Yun’s protection in the future, it will be easier for me to make a move. Someone like this—if unwilling to follow me—can only be killed.”

Outside, the sky had already grown dark. Zhu Qiyue thought of how, a few days ago, Commander Fu from the Eastern Palace had sent someone to report that Zhu Nanxian wanted to see him. His words also mentioned that he missed Father Emperor and had difficulty sleeping. He had originally wanted to ask Zhu Zhaowei’s permission to let Zhu Nanxian visit Minghua Palace, but seeing that Zhu Zhaowei’s anger had not yet subsided, it was inconvenient to bring it up now.

Zhu Qiyue had always felt guilty toward Zhu Nanxian. He didn’t seek forgiveness—even being able to exchange a few words as in the past would be good. After thinking it over, an idea formed in his mind. He said to Zhu Zhaowei: “Tomorrow is Qingming Festival. Will Seventh Brother go to the Imperial Mausoleum early in the morning?”

Zhu Zhaowei was still contemplating Su Jin’s matter. Hearing him ask this, he only made a faint sound of acknowledgment: “Although our ancestors’ graves are all in Fengyang, and Father Emperor has no intention of moving them to the Yingtian Imperial Mausoleum—afraid of disturbing the feng shui, which would be inauspicious—since it is Qingming, proper ritual must still be observed.”

Zhu Qiyue then cupped his fists and bowed to Zhu Zhaowei, apologizing: “Seventh Brother, tomorrow I will not accompany you to the Imperial Mausoleum. Huanhuan just arrived in the capital today after a long and tiring journey. Tomorrow happens to be the Qingming rest day. I want to stay at the residence to keep her company.”

Zhu Zhaowei replied: “As you wish.”

On the spring night, the moon was bright and stars were sparse. After leaving Zhu Zhaowei’s pavilion, Zhu Qiyue headed directly to the Eastern Palace. Entering the inner hall, he saw Zhu Nanxian sitting alone under the corridor eaves, his eyes somber, lost in thought about who knows what.

Zhu Qiyue called out: “Thirteenth.” Seeing no response, he walked a few steps closer and said: “You wanted to see me?”

Only then did Zhu Nanxian prop himself up on his knees to stand. He walked directly toward an Eagle Guard in the courtyard and said: “Give me your sword.”

That Eagle Guard looked hesitantly toward Zhu Qiyue. Zhu Qiyue nodded: “Give it to him.”

With sword in hand, Zhu Nanxian drew it from its sheath and threw the scabbard on the ground. He raised his eyes to look at Zhu Qiyue: “Twelfth Brother, you and I—let’s have a bout.”

Zhu Qiyue was still hesitating when he heard Zhu Nanxian say: “What, don’t you dare?”

He then reached to rest his hand on “Green Cliff” at his waist: “Fine, let’s have a bout!”

The Eagle Guard’s sword was cast from black iron. Though also strong and sharp, it couldn’t compare to “Green Cliff” at Zhu Qiyue’s side, which had been tempered twice in blood and fire. Zhu Nanxian was accustomed to using a blade, but his swordsmanship, like Zhu Qiyue’s, came from General Cao and was renowned for its speed.

In an instant, the two figures in the courtyard wielded their swords like shadows. Clear light and white light intertwined, emitting ringing clashes of steel.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement while experts examine the technique. Though the two seemed evenly matched, if one looked carefully, one could see that because Zhu Nanxian was injured, Zhu Qiyue held back his force in every move and strike.

Unfortunately, during a horizontal sweep, the matchless blade of “Green Cliff” ultimately severed the Eagle Guard sword in two. Zhu Nanxian retreated several steps. Fortunately, Zhu Qiyue withdrew in time and didn’t injure him.

Zhu Qiyue looked at the broken sword on the ground and said: “This sword is no good. When your injury improves further, I’ll help you find a good one, and we’ll compete again.”

Zhu Nanxian threw the other half of the broken sword on the ground and sat back down under the corridor eaves. After a moment, he said: “Unless we find Fourth Brother’s lost ‘Hero of the World,’ no sword, however good, can compare to ‘Green Cliff.'”

He fell silent for a moment, then laughed with cold clarity: “What a pity. Back when Father Emperor ordered people to temper our blades and cast our swords—’Green Cliff,’ ‘Towering Peak,’ ‘Hero of the World’—now only ‘Green Cliff’ remains.”

Zhu Qiyue said: “Your ‘Towering Peak’ is still here. I had someone keep it. When… when everything gets better in the future, I will definitely return it to you.”

However, hearing him say this, Zhu Nanxian lowered his eyes as if pondering for a long time, then smiled somewhat sadly: “I don’t care about ‘Towering Peak.'” He said this, paused, then continued: “Right now, only two people occupy my heart. If I could know that those two are well, whoever likes ‘Towering Peak’ can take it.”

Having said this, Zhu Nanxian raised his eyes to look at Zhu Qiyue, speaking with what seemed like sincerity: “Twelfth Brother, do you have a way to let me see Father Emperor once, to see… Su Shiyu once?”