The entire magnificent Spirit Pagoda had basically burned completely clean. What remained was merely some broken walls and ruins. The common people surrounding it were still angry – quite a lively scene. Even when Crown Prince Yongwen’s carriage arrived, no one glanced at him. Crown Prince Yongwen shouted angrily: “Where is Lin’an? Didn’t they say she rushed here? Why is there still no sign of her?”

No one answered Crown Prince Yongwen. The common people had no idea that the person before them was the imperial Crown Prince. They were still consumed with rage over what had just occurred. At this moment, a guard stumbled forward to the Crown Prince, weeping bitterly: “Crown Prince! Crown Prince!”

Crown Prince Yongwen quickly recognized this person as a very capable guard from Lin’an’s household. He quickly dismounted and grabbed the guard’s sleeve: “Where is my imperial sister? Where exactly did she go?”

Fear showed on the guard’s face. He didn’t even dare look at Crown Prince Yongwen, pointing with his hand toward the distance, saying tremulously: “Princess… she was… by those people…”

Crown Prince Yongwen froze. His gaze immediately looked in the direction the guard pointed. There, besides a pool of clothing, was indistinct bloody flesh – it was already impossible to distinguish what person it had been. Crown Prince Yongwen subconsciously released the guard and walked several steps in that direction. Then he suddenly stopped, his eyes widening, because he saw clearly the scene before him! Those gorgeous garments had already been torn to shreds, the beautiful skin had already become a pool of bloody flesh, the lovely features had completely turned to bloody mud. He couldn’t even distinguish what the mass lying there was. A trace of disbelief crossed his heart. He turned around and shouted angrily: “Where is Lin’an? Where exactly is she?!”

The guard’s finger pointed at that pool of pulp, saying through gritted teeth: “Crown Prince, Princess Lin’an was torn to shreds alive by those furious common people. They continuously trampled on her body, stomping her entire person into pulp.”

A flash of terror crossed Crown Prince Yongwen’s face. He looked back at that pool of bloody mud and said, losing his voice: “This… how is this possible?”

All the guards from Princess Lin’an’s household had already disappeared. Some had been beaten to death by those furious common people, some had fled, and this guard was the only witness. When the incident occurred, he had removed the cloak from his body and hidden himself within the crowd.

Crown Prince Yongwen said harshly: “What exactly happened? Why has it become like this?”

That guard explained the process with a trembling voice. When Crown Prince Yongwen heard that Lin’an had set that great fire to pursue Li Weiyang, he couldn’t help but stomp his feet, saying with heartache: “Lin’an, that fool! How could she do such a thing?”

No one dared answer him. They also didn’t know why Princess Lin’an had been so crazed as to dare set fire to burn the Spirit Pagoda. The Crown Prince’s gaze wandered between that pool of bloody mud and the whispering common people. This great fire had attracted thousands of common people. Now to find the murderers who killed Lin’an, they would have to arrest these thousands of people! This was impossible. The law cannot punish the masses – this was a principle everyone understood.

Crown Prince Yongwen walked step by step toward that pool of bloody mud. Finally he stopped and picked up a hairpin from the ground that had already been trampled out of shape. This was Princess Lin’an’s favorite phoenix-head hairpin, originally Empress Pei’s treasure, which Princess Lin’an had begged for. He had always seen her wearing it, but now this hairpin was already covered in bloody flesh, with faint white objects – who knew what they were. Precisely because it was so disgusting, it hadn’t been picked up by those ordinary common people. Crown Prince Yongwen gripped the golden hairpin tightly, his features revealing a trace of deep pain. His gaze finally turned toward the Spirit Pagoda’s direction. He said coldly: “Search! You must find Guo Jia’s corpse! I will dismember her into ten thousand pieces to avenge my imperial sister!”

Hearing the Crown Prince say this, guards from the Crown Prince’s household immediately rushed into the Spirit Pagoda. They searched everywhere for a while, spending a full half hour squeezing through the crowd to return before the Crown Prince, bowing: “Crown Prince! This fire was perhaps too fierce – the people inside have been reduced to ashes, bones and all.”

Crown Prince Yongwen froze for a moment, saying quietly: “How is this possible? Even if this fire burned too fiercely, there should still be bones. Even if burned to ash, there would be traces. How could there be nothing at all?”

The guards looked at each other. Finally someone summoned courage to say: “Crown Prince, perhaps the crowd was too congested. We had no way to search very carefully. For now, we can only first disperse the crowd, then we can carefully search the Spirit Pagoda again.”

Princess Lin’an was the Crown Prince’s own younger sister. Since Princess Anguo’s death, his only blood relative remaining was this one person. No matter how disappointing Lin’an was, seeing Crown Prince Yongwen witness her end up in such a state, naturally he was heartbroken. He wished he could immediately find Guo Jia’s corpse, dismember her bones and scatter her ashes. So he unhesitatingly ordered: “This great fire came suspiciously. Princess Lin’an died because of it. Go spread the order to seal the city gates. Until this matter is investigated clearly, impose a city-wide curfew.”

The Crown Prince issued commands here, and the guards hurried to carry them out. At this time, the Capital Magistrate also brought people to help disperse the crowd. It took a full hour and a half to disperse the crowd. Crown Prince Yongwen looked at everything before him with an extremely cold expression, not knowing what to do. At this moment, his usually sharp mind had been shocked by the fact of Princess Lin’an’s miserable death. For a long time, until the Capital Magistrate reminded him, he only then remembered and ordered people: “Go collect Princess Lin’an’s remains.”

The guards were extremely fearful. Until now, no one dared look at that mass of pulp. When they walked before Princess Lin’an’s remains, they truly didn’t know how to proceed. Finally they could only fetch shovels and swords, bit by bit scooping that pulp into a small jar. This terrifying scene made even guards who were accustomed to killing people like cutting melons turn their faces away. Halfway through, one of the guards suddenly vomited. Princess Lin’an had been torn to shreds alive by these common people and trampled on madly – her original beautiful appearance was completely indistinguishable. This made countless people who had once seen Princess Lin’an’s true appearance secretly terrified. They might never forget this miserable state for the rest of their lives.

After collecting for half the day, they had only scooped up half the bloody mud. After the guards’ careful search, they truly hadn’t discovered the slightest trace of remains in the Spirit Pagoda. Crown Prince Yongwen could no longer bear to watch and ordered: “I’ll leave this to you. I must immediately enter the palace to report to Mother Empress.” With that, he turned to mount his horse.

However, when the Crown Prince’s cavalry was heading toward the palace direction, Crown Prince Yongwen suddenly reined in his horse. Somehow, he felt today’s events were really too strange. If Princess Lin’an had pursued Li Weiyang into the Spirit Pagoda, then why were there no remains of Li Weiyang left in the Spirit Pagoda? Even if she had been burned up, it was impossible for not even a trace to remain. Crown Prince Yongwen glanced at the Spirit Pagoda’s ruins, a layer of dark clouds surging in his heart. Just then, he saw an extremely ornate carriage driving this way. On the carriage was precisely the Guo family crest. He reined in the horse’s bridle and loudly ordered the guards: “Go ask – what person is sitting in that carriage ahead?”

The guard went as ordered. Before long, he returned and reported: “Reporting to the Crown Prince, sitting in the carriage are people from the Guo family.”

“Nonsense! Would I not know they’re from the Guo family?” The Crown Prince shouted angrily. He was clearly enraged to the extreme, actually forgetting his dignity.

Just then, the curtain of the opposite carriage suddenly lifted. A pair of pale white hands emerged – in this silent night, they appeared particularly shocking. Then Crown Prince Yongwen saw that gentle and beautiful face. At other times, Crown Prince Yongwen could still appreciate this face, but at this moment he incredibly widened his eyes. His hand forcefully gripped the horse’s reins. He didn’t even realize his body was slightly trembling. He said, losing his voice: “Guo Jia?!”

Li Weiyang smiled slightly and called out: “So it’s Crown Prince. I saw the direction you came from – it seems many people have gathered. I wonder what happened?”

Crown Prince Yongwen’s hands continuously trembled. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Why? Why hadn’t Guo Jia died? Shouldn’t she have been burned to ashes in the Spirit Pagoda? Yet no matter how he confirmed it, this gentle and beautiful Miss Guo was alive and real – not some ghost. In a flash of lightning, he thought of one possibility – that Li Weiyang had deliberately arranged someone to lure Lin’an to the Spirit Pagoda! Her purpose was to lead Princess Lin’an to destruction! Thinking of this, Crown Prince Yongwen became even more enraged. In his heart, he wished he could drag that beauty speaking and smiling from the carriage and chop her into pulp on the spot. But the last trace of reason reminded him – he must eliminate this person, but absolutely not now! Because he saw Prince Xu Yuan Lie riding his horse with a smiling face, his gaze seemingly quite meaningful.

His heart shuddered. In the end, he forcefully suppressed his towering rage, looked at Li Weiyang with extremely gloomy eyes, snorted coldly, raised his whip and galloped rapidly in another direction.

Li Weiyang smiled as she watched the other party’s cavalry depart, saying softly: “Crown Prince seems to be in a bad mood.”

Yuan Lie merely smiled, his eyes deep. That smile contained a trace of coldness: “Yes, having just lost a younger sister, of course his mood is bad. Don’t mind him. I need to send you back early, otherwise your brother will blame me again.” As he spoke, he ordered the driver to continue forward.

When Guo Jia’s carriage drove to the Guo household gates, Guo Cheng was anxiously waiting. Seeing the carriage arrive, he immediately came forward. Zhao Yue lifted the carriage curtain, smiled at him, and said mildly: “Third Young Master, Miss has returned safely. You needn’t worry.”

Only then did Guo Cheng breathe a sigh of relief: “I just heard someone report that turmoil occurred in the Spirit Pagoda’s direction. I don’t know what happened. Fourth Brother has already personally taken people to investigate. There will be news back soon. You didn’t encounter any danger along the way, did you?”

Though he had followed Li Weiyang’s instructions, his heart was very uneasy. So he had secretly followed behind the carriage for a while. But somehow, a funeral procession that suddenly rushed out disrupted his pace, and he had actually lost track of Li Weiyang. He had never failed like this before. But this procession appeared too suspiciously, causing him to become doubtful. He seized one of them to interrogate forcefully. The news he finally obtained shocked him – someone had actually given these people silver to deliberately block the road here. Needless to say, Li Weiyang had long anticipated he would follow and deliberately arranged these people to block him. When he tried to pursue again, the carriage was already nowhere to be seen. Guo Cheng had no choice but to return to the Guo household, but didn’t dare go inside. If Madam Guo learned he hadn’t properly protected Guo Jia, she would certainly break his legs on the spot. So he only dared wait outside. Now seeing Guo Jia return safely, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, his gaze fell on Yuan Lie beside her, whose face was full of smiles. He couldn’t help but freeze: “How did you come here?”

Yuan Lie’s eyes sparkled with crystalline light. He smiled: “I escorted Miss Guo back. Why must Young Master Guo make such a fuss?”

“Hmph, of all people, it’s you. So you’re watching my younger sister at all times. Don’t tell me this was a chance encounter.” Guo Cheng sneered and said mildly. Where could there be such coincidence?! In fact, since the last time Yuan Lie helped Guo Dun clear his name at Duke Qi’s household, the Guo family’s attitude toward him had greatly improved. At least the secret passages were no longer blocked. When they saw him, at most they would snort coldly and no longer prevented him from seeing Li Weiyang. So Prince Xu Yuan Lie could now openly and legitimately visit Duke Qi’s household these past few days.

To obtain one’s beloved, one must be prepared to climb mountains of swords and descend into seas of oil, overcoming all difficulties and obstacles. Anyway, being glared at by the other party wouldn’t reduce his flesh by even a bit. Yuan Lie smiled and actively dismounted: “Wasn’t Young Master Guo just curious why there was turmoil at the Spirit Pagoda?”

Guo Cheng’s heart couldn’t help but become alert. He raised his eyebrows and looked at him: “Could this matter be related to Prince Xu?”

Yuan Lie smiled. “In fact, the turmoil among the crowd was because the Spirit Pagoda suddenly caught fire. Moreover, in less than two hours, it had already burned completely to ashes. When the common people heard the news and rushed over, they discovered that the fire had been set by Princess Lin’an. For a moment, popular sentiment was fiercely inflamed, and they actually beat Princess Lin’an to death alive at the entrance of the Spirit Pagoda. Could anything be more sensational than this?”

Guo Cheng froze, then looked toward Li Weiyang for confirmation. Li Weiyang had just descended from the carriage. Hearing this, she paused: “Third Brother should return early. Fourth Brother will probably watch the excitement for a while before coming back.” With so many people blocked at the Spirit Pagoda entrance, how could Guo Dun so easily turn his horse around and return? He would probably be blocked for a while too. This was Li Weiyang’s meaning.

Guo Cheng widened his eyes, looking at the two of them suspiciously: “You were the ones who made the move?”

Yuan Lie pursed his lips and sneered: “Young Master Guo, what kind of talk is this? Princess Lin’an set the fire herself and angered the watching common people. How could we have made the move? Could I have ordered her to set that fire?” These words were correct. No matter what, Yuan Lie had no way to compel Princess Lin’an to set that fire. But Guo Cheng still felt this matter was related to these two people. His gaze was shocked and uncertain, becoming increasingly hard to believe.

Li Weiyang smiled slightly: “I said I would vent this anger for Fourth Brother. Now it’s already done. What does Third Brother still doubt?”

Hearing this, Guo Cheng’s heart shook: “So it really was you who did it.”

Li Weiyang’s deeply restrained and composed eyes suddenly brightened with intense light, containing a drifting smile: “Yes, Third Brother guessed correctly.” Even if Li Weiyang didn’t tell Guo Cheng, connecting to his own actions today, he would certainly think of something. Rather than that, better to speak frankly. Before Madam Guo, it would also be convenient to have him help cover up. After all, for the Guo family’s young lady to return in the middle of the night with no one able to explain her whereabouts was also a very strange thing.

Guo Cheng couldn’t help but look at Li Weiyang. His gaze had already softened: “You two are really bold and reckless. How did you do it?” In fact, he didn’t care about Princess Lin’an’s death – only felt it was very satisfying. But if this matter implicated too many people, he would have to think about how to clean up after them.

Yuan Lie smiled slightly, moving two steps closer to him: “Young Master Guo needn’t worry. This matter was done cleanly and neatly. Absolutely no one will trace it to the Guo household.”

A thought suddenly flashed through Guo Cheng’s mind. He looked at Yuan Lie: “Tonight you sent me away precisely to set up an ambush to lure and kill Princess Lin’an? But Princess Lin’an isn’t a fool. How could she so easily fall for it?”

Li Weiyang smiled: “Yes, precisely because Princess Lin’an isn’t easy to fool, that’s why I was in the carriage. If it were someone else, she probably wouldn’t easily believe it, and this trap couldn’t have been set.”

So bold and reckless a deed, yet she dared to act. Hearing this, Guo Cheng was greatly shocked: “You used yourself as bait? You entered the Spirit Pagoda?” The only explanation for why Princess Lin’an would set fire to burn the Spirit Pagoda was that Li Weiyang had entered it to hide. Guo Cheng immediately thought of the key point: “Since she set the fire, how did you get out?”

Yuan Lie smiled: “Don’t I dig secret passages all the time? Wanting to dig a secret passage out from the Spirit Pagoda’s north side isn’t difficult.”

Guo Cheng looked at Yuan Lie even more incredulously: “You… you have such audacity – you actually dared to dig that secret passage to the Spirit Pagoda!”

Yuan Lie smiled even more proudly. Under the night sky, his eyes were as brilliant as the stars in heaven, yet his tone was very cheerful: “If it can’t be put to use, what good is this secret passage to me?”

Guo Cheng still wouldn’t give up and continued questioning: “Is this secret passage safe? Won’t it be leaked?”

Yuan Lie smiled, but his tone was very resolute: “There were fourteen people who dug the secret passage in total. They don’t know each other. I only had each of them responsible for a small section. Fourteen places intersecting together to reach the exit. Moreover, for safety’s sake, I’ve already sent these fourteen people separately to different places with people watching them. There absolutely won’t be any mistakes.” In fact, those people had no idea what they were digging or where it led. Even if all fourteen of them were gathered together, they might not necessarily get any evidence. After all, wealthy households digging underground passages in their homes to hide gold were plentiful. Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows – what was so strange about that?

Guo Cheng was completely dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected Yuan Lie to be so bold and reckless. What kind of place was the Spirit Pagoda, yet he dared to act? This scheme was really too risky.

Li Weiyang, seeing his gaze seemingly contained infinite surprise, said in a light tone: “Even if Princess Lin’an hadn’t set this fire today, I would have found a way to make the Spirit Pagoda catch fire.”

Guo Cheng awakened: “Could it be you also arranged people? No, could you have also arranged people at Princess Lin’an’s side?” He quickly thought of the most important point.

Li Weiyang smiled and nodded: “Among Princess Lin’an’s household guards were originally people Yuan Lie arranged. At the critical moment, they would naturally play a role. Even if Princess Lin’an hadn’t given that order to set fire, I would have found a way to make her act.”

Guo Cheng shook his head and sighed: “I understand now. So you dug a big pit for her to jump into, and she jumped in gleefully. Alas, an imperial princess of a nation, yet she died so indecently – it’s also a pity.” He hadn’t seen that scene. At the time, Princess Lin’an was torn apart alive, even her intestines rolled out. Even those who deeply detested her didn’t dare look. Guo Cheng’s eyes were complex as he glanced at Yuan Lie, unclear whether it was admiration or amazement: “Those common people – did you incite them?”

Yuan Lie couldn’t help but sneer: “What talk of inciting or not inciting? Haven’t Princess Lin’an done enough bad deeds over these years? Among the common people, those who hate her are already very numerous. When the time came, just finding a few people to cry out among the common people would naturally get a universal response. At that point, who would still care about her status? Whether princess or empress, even if all the gods and buddhas filled the sky, they couldn’t save her.” Everyone knew that once the common people became angry, they were utterly reckless. Princess Lin’an over these years had indeed done many evil deeds, and her reputation was poor. This time, she had even done the deed of burning the Spirit Pagoda. You must know, this Spirit Pagoda in the common people’s hearts was incomparably sacred. In that scene, even if the Emperor had been present, there would have been no way to suppress the flood-like anger in people’s hearts.

Guo Cheng’s heart couldn’t help but feel some emotion. He looked at the two people before him and couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. Finally, he only looked at Yuan Lie: “It’s getting late. You should hurry back. I’ll send Jia’er to her courtyard.”

Yuan Lie looked at Li Weiyang and smiled slightly: “I’ll come see you again tomorrow.” With that, he mounted his horse and rapidly rode off with a group of guards.

Guo Cheng, watching the other party’s departing back, sighed with emotion: “This person, at such a young age, has such courage and insight. He’s truly a heaven-sent genius. Given time, he will certainly achieve great things. I see the one who came up with the plan was you, and the one who implemented it was him. The plan itself was already bold, and the implementer was even more ruthless. You two truly are a heaven-made pair.”

Li Weiyang said leisurely: “Third Brother, even if I didn’t act, the Guo family would sooner or later have moved against Princess Lin’an. It’s just that your methods aren’t suitable for dealing with an imperial princess, because no matter what you do, you’ll leave a handle. Rather than let you do it, better I act myself – clean and decisive, leaving no future troubles.”

Guo Cheng couldn’t help but nod. He understood Li Weiyang’s meaning. If Princess Lin’an died at the Guo family’s hands, no matter what methods they used to cover it up, outsiders would suspect. Because Princess Lin’an and the Guo family had a long-standing grudge, especially the recent incident where Princess Lin’an framed Guo Dun – it was already known to all. If Princess Lin’an died mysteriously, this basin of dirty water would certainly be poured on the Guo family. They couldn’t remain uninvolved. Now Li Weiyang’s plan was very different. Princess Lin’an herself set fire to burn the Spirit Pagoda – this itself was a grave crime that even Empress Pei saying a few words couldn’t get the Emperor to forgive. Even if the Emperor didn’t care, the imperial clan absolutely wouldn’t forgive someone disrespectful to Buddha, even if she was an imperial princess. Moreover, Princess Lin’an had angered the common people by setting the fire and was torn apart alive by them. Even if Empress Pei was furious, could she go find those people one by one and kill them?

This was absolutely impossible. There were thousands of people present at the time. Who knew which ones tore Princess Lin’an apart? And who knew where those people went? They were merely a swarm of unruly civilians. No matter how one looked at it, Princess Lin’an died spectacularly, and moreover, it was a death that left Empress Pei completely speechless. Truly extremely brilliant.

Li Weiyang glanced at Guo Cheng: “At this time, don’t think about Lin’an anymore. Better think about how to explain to Mother later where exactly we went.”

Guo Cheng raised his eyes, staring unblinkingly at Li Weiyang, using an almost dreamlike voice: “Yes, how should we explain? Right now I feel like I’m dreaming.”

A trace of a faint smile bloomed on Li Weiyang’s pale white face, making her features like a painting, carrying a kind of extreme beauty yet presenting a kind of indifference: “You might as well just say I deliberately shook you off to have a secret tryst with Prince Xu Yuan Lie. That way, Mother won’t be able to ask more deeply.”

Guo Cheng wanted to smile but couldn’t. Probably because the shocks he’d received this day were too many – he had absolutely no way to come to terms with it.

Li Weiyang no longer paid attention. She knew the other party needed some time to digest this news. She said to Zhao Yue beside her: “Let’s go back. The bloodstains on your body should also be cleaned up.”

Zhao Yue smiled. This was why she hadn’t appeared before Crown Prince Yongwen just now. After that recent killing, Zhao Yue’s body was covered in others’ bloodstains. If Crown Prince Yongwen had seen it, he would certainly have made a big fuss. At this moment, she wore Li Weiyang’s cloak draped over her, quickly following behind her, and soon disappeared from view.

Guo Cheng still stood dazedly in place. After a long while, a trace of mockery floated to his lips: “This girl, even keeping me in the dark – she’s truly quite formidable.” Beside him, light laughter suddenly rang out. A gust of wind came, blowing up that young gentleman’s robes as he walked out from the shadows. Guo Cheng’s gaze fell on him: “Fifth Brother, what do you think of today’s events?”

Guo Dao smiled slightly: “The Guo family’s style is too upright and honest – it’s not suitable for dealing with such cunning people as Empress Pei and Princess Lin’an. Jia’er did it for us – what’s wrong with that? Why must Third Brother always worry?”

The palace gates had already been locked. For Crown Prince Yongwen to enter the palace, he still had to go through layers of notification. Finally he arrived at Empress Pei’s palace entrance, striding rapidly forward. At this time, a palace maid at the entrance blocked him: “Your Highness, Her Majesty is resting. Please wait a moment…” Before she finished speaking, the palace maid who spoke was kicked to the ground by the Crown Prince. He strode rapidly inside. Behind him, a line of palace maids and eunuchs followed trembling. At the entrance, they automatically stopped.

Empress Pei at this moment had already sat in the great hall. She looked coldly at her son and sneered, saying in an eerie voice: “Made something of yourself? Grown bolder? So late, suddenly entering the palace. You couldn’t even notify first? Do you still care about your Crown Prince’s reputation?”

Crown Prince Yongwen knew Empress Pei was right. This was the rear palace, not the Crown Prince’s residence. No matter when, he needed to go through layers of notification to enter the palace. Yet today, because of momentary rage, he had injured a general at the palace gate before charging into the palace. He hadn’t expected the news to reach Empress Pei’s ears so quickly. He couldn’t help but freeze, only to see Empress Pei forcefully throw the teacup in her hand onto the table. The tea lid slid in a long arc and shattered on the ground in an instant.

Empress Pei’s overwhelming authority immediately intimidated the Crown Prince. For a moment, he did not speak. In the entire great hall, it was so quiet that only the sound of breathing rose and fell. After a long while, Empress Pei slowly rose and said coldly, “Do you know your mistake?”

The Crown Prince lowered his head: “Mother Empress, do you know Lin’an is dead? She died before the Spirit Pagoda, torn apart alive by those common people. Mother Empress…”

Before he finished speaking, a memorial from Empress Pei’s hand struck his face. The Crown Prince froze, then slowly lowered his head, silently picking up that memorial. He glanced at it and was shocked.

Empress Pei said coldly: “Do you know what this memorial says? Duke Qi impeached your capable confidant, Minister of Personnel Tian Tongxiu. Saying he embezzled five thousand taels of gold – item by item, line by line, the memorial writes it clearly. What do you have to say?”

Crown Prince Yongwen completely couldn’t care about this. He threw the memorial away angrily: “Mother Empress, I’m telling you Lin’an is dead. Can’t you hear me?” His voice already carried a trace of sorrow.

Empress Pei remained unmoved. A pair of eyes cold as ice and frost: “The Ministry of Personnel these past years – who knows how many problems have emerged. Under Tian Tongxiu’s hand, all those who advanced were his disciples. Three years ago, this Tian Tongxiu received an imperial order to repair the river embankment. The expenditure was enormous – all the silver was handled solely by him. Originally something that only needed twenty thousand taels of silver to accomplish, he spent a full five hundred thousand taels. Afterward, he even killed the supervisor who wanted to expose him. Such audacity – you actually dared to employ him?!”

The Crown Prince didn’t want to hear Empress Pei mention anything about Tian Tongxiu. He kowtowed with his head to the ground, tears flowing: “Mother Empress, Lin’an is dead. Your daughter is dead. Don’t you care at all?”

Empress Pei narrowed her slender phoenix eyes, saying coldly: “Your confidant Tian Tongxiu abused power and embezzled – he truly accepted bribes and embezzled, disrupting government and bringing disaster to the nation. You elevated him to this position. In just five years, he’s already like this. If this continues long-term, what will happen? If this pest isn’t eliminated, everyone will think that silver fell into your Crown Prince’s pocket. Even if you truly received money, you must do it cleanly and decisively. Either don’t do it, or if you do, you must deny it to the death and permanently eliminate future troubles!”

The Crown Prince looked at Empress Pei in disbelief. He seemed to suddenly become furious. He abruptly stood up and said harshly: “Mother Empress! Why are you so indifferent to Lin’an’s death? She was harmed to death by that Guo Jia, lured alive into a trap. Do you know how miserable she was? Even her intestines were trampled out by those people! She was still wearing that hairpin you gave her on her head. Mother Empress, please look at it.” With that, he threw the hairpin at Empress Pei’s feet.

Empress Pei’s expression was uncertain. She glanced at him indifferently: “There’s nothing worth looking at. Do you know that Tian Tongxiu’s food, clothing and daily use were all first-rate? Duke Qi said in the memorial that to make one robe required thirty-two female workers, using a full half year to create it. The gold thread on it was all refined from real gold – who knows how much time and effort it took to refine. To eat one dish also required dozens of precious medicinal ingredients. If such a person continues to stay by your Crown Prince’s side, it will only ruin your reputation. Have you thought carefully what to do?”

“Enough!” The Crown Prince’s face sank.

But Empress Pei seemed not to hear, not to see his anger, not to hear his heart’s voice. Only with two parts contempt, she said coldly: “The urgent matter at hand isn’t to kill Tian Tongxiu, but for you to immediately submit a memorial, confessing to your Father Emperor, asking him to forgive you for wrongly recommending talent. As for this memorial…” Empress Pei’s gaze fell on that memorial on the ground, her eyes becoming increasingly stern, “This is merely Duke Qi giving you a show of force. You should also think about how to return the favor properly.”

The Crown Prince already couldn’t help but be covered in tears. His voice carried infinite trembling. He had originally thought that today bringing news of Lin’an’s death, even if Empress Pei wasn’t furiously enraged, she would show some emotion. But what did he see? Empress Pei’s eyes contained not a trace of feeling. Her face had not a trace of sorrow. Hearing the news of Lin’an’s death, she was as if completely unaware, only concerned with court politics, only concerned with Duke Qi’s household’s attack.

He couldn’t believe it: “Why? Lin’an is your daughter, your own flesh and blood! She said before that you ignored her, that you didn’t care about her. I thought she was just immature. I thought Mother Empress was merely emotionally restrained. But now I finally understand – you have no feelings at all! You don’t care about Lin’an, you don’t care about me, you don’t even care about Anguo. All you care about is your power and position, all you care about is your status!”

Having said this, Crown Prince Yongwen saw Empress Pei’s gaze turn bitterly cold. In this instant, on her beautiful face cracked a trace of a smile: “Continue! You continue speaking!”

The entire great hall’s atmosphere instantly plunged into an icy abyss. The palace maids beside Empress Pei all lowered their heads, extremely frightened.

The Crown Prince didn’t say a word. That appearance was like being furious to the extreme, unable to say any word.

Empress Pei sneered: “Why not speak? Become mute? I raised you all, cultivated you carefully all these years. Is this how you repay me? Lin’an, disregarding my orders, acted on her own – she was forcing me, forcing me to avenge her! And you – you also dare to clamor before me!” Speaking to the point of anger, Empress Pei suddenly gave Crown Prince Yongwen a hard slap. Crown Prince Yongwen’s half face was knocked askew. Cold sweat instantly flowed down from his forehead.

Empress Pei said harshly: “If you’re as confused as Lin’an, as unable to suppress your anger, then very soon you’ll have to go down and accompany her. If my children are so useless, what’s the point of keeping you?”

The Crown Prince froze. He only felt his breathing grow rapid, as if pressure like Mount Tai were pressing down on him. Subconsciously, he knelt down. Inside the great hall, the other palace maids and eunuchs exchanged glances and also knelt in unison, trembling all over. They were too afraid of Empress Pei—so much so that they did not even dare raise their heads.

Crown Prince Yongwen had long been pressed down by Empress Pei’s imposing manner, unable to lift his head. He raised his head, his expression grave, and slowly said: “Mother Empress, calm your anger. I was wrong.”

Empress Pei’s eyes were like an autumn river, cold and clear, completely devoid of any discernible emotion, yet faintly revealing an icy chill. She sneered, “You are not wrong. Lin’an was not wrong either. You think only of yourselves, but not of me, not of the current court situation, not of the effort the Pei family expended to cultivate you as Crown Prince, and not of how many people behind you worked themselves to the bone. That Li Weiyang is merely a stone, yet you pieces of porcelain—one after another, like moths flying into a flame—rush toward that stone. Naturally, you shatter into pieces. I told you this long ago, but no one listened. Lin’an ended up like this, and now you come to accuse me?!”

The Crown Prince deeply lowered his head, infinite sorrow surging on his features: “I would never dare accuse Mother Empress.” His few short words echoed in the great hall for a long time.

Empress Pei looked at him coldly, without the slightest warmth in her eyes. She said indifferently, “Li Weiyang is adept at treacherous scheming—she is fundamentally not someone who can be brought into the open. Lin’an overestimated herself, flaunting her skills before an expert. Moreover, she tried to use her opponent’s greatest strength to deal with her—naturally, there could be no good outcome.”

Crown Prince Yongwen froze but didn’t quite understand. He looked at Empress Pei: “Mother Empress, would you have me watch helplessly as my imperial sister died miserably? You don’t know – that scene, I’ll never forget it my whole life. I’m not being impulsive. I just truly have no way to endure it. Imperial sister died too miserably.” Crown Prince Yongwen, deeply taught by Empress Pei for many years, was absolutely not an impulsive person. He had never before lost his composure like this…

Empress Pei’s gaze was so coldly ominous it could almost drip water: “Wanting to act but not understanding the opponent’s abilities – this is why Lin’an was defeated. Though Li Weiyang appears peaceful on the surface, inside she’s cold and ruthless. Observing how she conducts herself, she truly has no scruples. Always with strange schemes and decisive judgments, exceeding expectations, and moreover meticulous thinking, decisive and ruthless, skilled at winning victories in danger. Lin’an engaged with her several times and suffered many losses. Yet still so overestimating herself, insisting on crashing into someone else’s blade. I’m not angry about her death. It’s just that before we’ve found out the opponent’s weakness, we still must wait.”

Crown Prince Yongwen bit his teeth tightly, looking at Empress Pei: “Wait? Mother Empress, how long must we wait?”

Empress Pei smiled faintly, her tone indifferent: “Originally, though the Guo family’s power was vast, with my years of management, there was still a seventy percent chance of victory. But now a Guo Jia has emerged. She inexplicably pulled Prince Xu Yuan Lie to the Guo family’s side. This Yuan Lie – above, he can please your Father Emperor; below, he’s skilled at scheming, never constrained by formalities, only aiming to achieve his goals. His methods are unpredictable – neither petty person nor gentleman. Truly difficult to deal with. Such a person should have been very vigilant about all along. Now by the Emperor’s side are Consort Guo Hui, Consort Chen Gui. In the palace are nails the Guo family arranged. Who knows how many people are secretly by your side? Moreover, the Guo family people always put on an appearance of assisting the state and society, making others respect them and not guard against them. On the surface appearing very honest, actually harboring evil intentions. Now they’ve made clear their opposition to you, wanting to overthrow you. Can’t you be vigilant? Rashly moving against that Guo Jia – what’s the consequence? Lin’an became like this – don’t you as imperial brother bear responsibility? Why didn’t you advise her before things happened? What you learned before was merely governing the people and bringing peace, military tactics and formations. There’s still much to learn. So I still say – the time hasn’t arrived. You mustn’t act rashly.”

Crown Prince Yongwen looked at his mother and finally couldn’t help it: “I don’t understand. When exactly will be the best opportunity?”

Empress Pei looked at him and smiled slightly: “The best opportunity? First, find the enemy’s weakness. Second, divide and dissolve the enemy’s overall strength one by one. Do you understand?”

“Weakness? Divide? This means…” Crown Prince Yongwen’s eyes flashed with a trace of light. He suddenly understood something: “I understand. Mother Empress, I will certainly find such an opportunity. You can rest assured.”

Empress Pei smiled faintly but was noncommittal. Finding Li Weiyang’s weakness and dividing the enemy’s strength – this was easy to say but extremely difficult to do. Li Weiyang’s thoughts were cunning. To completely eliminate her, the only method was psychological warfare – to thoroughly crush her psychologically. And to deal with the Guo family, Yuan Lie, and Yuan Ying’s camp, the breakthrough point was still on that woman.

“Li Weiyang, you truly are an interesting person.” The final word trailed off leisurely. A gust of wind swept through, causing the candlelight in the great hall to flicker several times. In the shifting shadows, Empress Pei’s face was devastatingly beautiful—cold as ice and frost.