From that day on, Zhu Yan never mentioned anything related to Shen Du again, as if she had never known him. She went about her daily routine between the Ministry of Justice and the Zhu family residence, occasionally watching plays and drinking with Lu Chuichui. The people at the Ministry deliberately avoided discussing Shen Du, and the Zhu family naturally wouldn’t bring him up either. Everyone tacitly agreed to remove this person from their lives.
On Chinese New Year’s Day, Zhu Yan brought Chen Wen from the thatched cottage to celebrate together. Her eldest brother Zhu Molin and second brother Zhu Mowen also returned home, allowing the family to enjoy a rare reunion. Zhu Yan engaged in poetry competitions with them, appearing genuinely happy. Everyone was pleased to see her in good spirits. Both her elder brothers promised to arrange a good marriage for Zhu Yan, assuring her that they wouldn’t let her previous marriage disadvantage her.
Zhu Yan thanked them and brought up her fourth sister, Zhu Manshu, who had reached the age of betrothal. They agreed that her engagement must be settled this year, though Zhu Manshu herself didn’t seem to be in a hurry, leaving Madam Ru both amused and exasperated. The Zhu family had always been open-minded, and with Zhu Caiwei about to give birth, everyone’s attention was focused on the impending arrival of the new family member.
Although they were supposed to stay up for the New Year, Zhu Yan claimed she was tired and retired to her bedroom early. Passing by the study, she noticed the light was on and softened her steps, not wanting to disturb Zhu Kuo and Chen Wen’s conversation inside.
“Ah, we shouldn’t discuss such dispiriting matters today, but once the New Year passes, who knows what days lie ahead,” came Zhu Kuo’s voice. Zhu Yan found it strange to hear worry in Zhu Kuo’s tone.
Chen Wen replied, “It’s nothing more than a change of dynasty. It doesn’t concern us much. We’ll just continue our duties as usual.”
A change of dynasty? Was a coup imminent?
Zhu Yan moved closer to listen.
Zhu Kuo continued, “That’s precisely what worries me. The Crown Prince is still detained in the Court of Judicial Review, his fate unknown. Shen Ge… Shen Du now follows Lai Luozhi’s every command. What exactly are His Majesty’s intentions? He neither executes the Crown Prince nor appoints a new heir.”
Chen Wen remarked, “Without a clear successor, the empire cannot be at peace.”
“Exactly,” Zhu Kuo sighed. “Isn’t His Majesty inviting chaos to the realm?”
After a pause, he lowered his voice, “I think Princess Chaoyang is quite capable, reminiscent of His Majesty in his younger days. Appointing her as heir would be better than the Crown Prince.”
Chen Wen disagreed, “Brother Zhu, you’re mistaken. Think about it – if the Crown Prince were truly incompetent, how could he have survived so long in the Court of Judicial Review?”
This puzzled Zhu Kuo as well. “Why hasn’t Lai Luozhi killed the Crown Prince yet?”
Chen Wen didn’t answer. Zhu Yan quietly left, returning to her room. She stared blankly at the canopy, a lump forming in her throat.
She took out the bronze whistle from her pouch, warming it in her palm as tears silently fell from the corners of her eyes. She missed Shen Du and wondered if his whip wounds had healed. Zhu Kuo had said he now followed Lai Luozhi’s every command, suggesting his life must be difficult.
The once-powerful Head Minister of the Grand Secretariat, now demoted to a petty official not even worthy of the ninth rank, serving at Lai Luozhi’s beck and call. She knew people called Shen Du spineless, but she didn’t believe it. Shen Du must have his reasons.
She was determined to help him.
Meanwhile, in the prison of the Court of Judicial Review, Lai Luozhi was ordering Shen Du to force-feed Crown Prince Li Zhong with swill. Behind his mask, Shen Du’s emotions were unreadable as he obediently pried open Li Zhong’s mouth and poured in the slop, soaking the prince’s clothes.
“Hehe, good,” Lai Luozhi sneered, looking at Shen Du with disdain. “Well done. His Majesty only said to keep him alive. Mind you don’t go too far and kill him, or this Young Inspector won’t let you off easily.”
Shen Du bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”
Pleased with Shen Du’s obedience, Lai Luozhi snorted and pointed to the table with leftover food. “That’s your New Year’s feast, as a reward from this Young Inspector. Eat it all.”
Shen Du nodded and approached the table. Amidst the mocking laughter of onlookers, he picked up the porcelain plate and began shoveling the cold leftovers into his mouth, chewing silently.
The laughter grew louder, but Shen Du paid no attention.
Li Zhong lifted his eyelids, staring at Shen Du for a moment before turning away.
After the New Year, it snowed several times. Zhu Yan secretly worked to help Shen Du. She compiled the results of her previous autopsies and consulted with Chen Wen. They both concluded that the murders were likely connected to Lai Luozhi.
Those people had been falsely accused of being harmed by Shen Shijie’s disciples, but the autopsy results showed that they were all missing certain organs.
“Organs may decay to ash, but they leave traces. My master has methods to verify this,” Chen Wen explained.
His findings matched hers – most of the missing organs were heart chambers. How could this be? Even in the initial Buddha Swallowing Sin case, the missing part was a heart chamber. There had to be a connection.
“What does Lai Luozhi want with so many human hearts? Resurrection is impossible.”
Chen Wen considered another possibility: “What if… what we believe is false, but Lai Luozhi believes it’s true?”
“That’s impossible. If he truly believed it, why create so many Lai Luofu doubles?” Identical human skin masks, hypnotic implantation of Lai Luofu’s memories, training in martial arts to serve as secret assassins and harvest hearts for him.
“No, he believes it. He must believe, but perhaps not in the resurrection. It’s a different faith, one hidden from others.”
Zhu Yan thought of another possibility but dared not contemplate it. She wrote the evidence on silk and wove it into her hair to evade palace inspections, then presented it to Zhou Zhao, but it sank like a stone.
Zhou Zhao no longer handled affairs of state, completely controlled by Lai Luozhi. He only summoned her for companionship because Lai Luozhi deemed her harmless.
With both the court and the outside world under Lai Luozhi’s control, even the regent Princess Chaoyang might be nothing more than a puppet. No wonder Lai Luozhi was so arrogant.
Yet the Empress seemed as steady as a rock, leaving Zhu Yan perplexed.
Zhu Yan believed that if Lai Luozhi truly wanted to seize power, he would first use the Emperor to command the nobles, find a puppet ruler, and then find an excuse to ascend the throne himself.
She had to do something. She couldn’t let Shen Du fight alone.
On this day, Zhu Yan felt particularly restless. Without waiting for her shift to end, she made an excuse to leave and went directly to see Xu Xiangren, the Chief of Local Constables.
Xu Xiangren was surprised to see Zhu Yan at this hour. He glanced outside at the sky, and Zhu Yan explained with a slight smile, “I left work early on a pretext.”
“Haha,” Xu Xiangren was in the middle of shaving. “I never thought I’d see the day when Chief Zhu would leave work early.”
Ignoring his teasing, Zhu Yan frowned as she watched him use a sharp knife to shave. “Elder Brother Xu, why are you shaving off your beard?”
“To go see you, of course,” Xu Xiangren replied without hesitation.
To see her?
Shortly after, Xu Xiangren finished shaving cleanly. Zhu Yan realized for the first time how handsome Xu Xiangren was. Apart from his slightly dark complexion, his features were truly striking.
Xu Xiangren put away his razor and leaned close to whisper a few words to her. It took Zhu Yan a while to process what he said. She stared at him with wide eyes, unable to utter a word.