When the Grand Prefect Chi woke up, the world had changed.
The Investigating Censor Ling from the Court of Judicial Review more than lived up to his reputation as the Eastern Capital’s foremost workaholic. He had prepared every single dossier through the night, laid them out in perfect order on the desk, and had even thoughtfully annotated each with a number so that nothing would be overlooked. Most remarkably, no matter which dossier the Grand Prefect Chi picked up, Censor Ling was capable of launching into a real-time running commentary.
“The Wang family of the city’s northern district used their rice trading business as a front to abduct large numbers of children across the Tang realm through the Wang family’s merchant caravans, then sold them to various distinguished families. These children were treated on a par with… with livestock, and were therefore called ‘white livestock.’ The Wang family’s hidden ledger appended to the dossier demonstrates that this criminal enterprise has been running for six years. The number of white livestock who passed through their hands is beyond counting. In yesterday’s raid on the Wang family’s secret warehouse alone, the remains of eighty-three white livestock were recovered, along with fifty-six survivors. The eldest was ten years old. The youngest was only four…” Ling Zhiyan drew a deep breath. “The crimes of the Wang family are a heaven-defying evil beyond all measure!”
The Grand Prefect Chi was drenched in cold sweat. “Is — is this truly the doing of the Wang family?”
Hua Yitang: “Eight Wang family elders and Wang Jingfu have all confessed. Their statements are in the back.”
The Grand Prefect Chi hastily flipped to them and read them through, wiped his sweat rapidly, and shot a glance toward Senior Scribe Xia and Jiang Wende.
Senior Scribe Xia, like the Grand Prefect, was completely dumbfounded. Jiang Wende’s brow furrowed deeply, his face iron-gray. “This is a monstrous and heinous act!”
Ling Zhiyan: “During last night’s rescue of the white livestock, we were ambushed by masked assassins. The fighting was extremely brutal. Fortunately, the martial experts of Jing Men, the Five Ridges Alliance, and others lent their aid, enabling us to escape. A total of one hundred and twenty-eight assassins were eliminated.”
The Grand Prefect Chi slammed the desk as he leaped to his feet. “What?!”
Jiang Wende’s gaze snapped upward, a flash of sharp fury crossing his eyes.
Senior Scribe Xia: “Under the Grand Prefect’s rule, someone has dared to privately raise and harbor assassins — this is the crime of outright rebellion!”
“The Wang family has truly been insufferably brazen!” The Grand Prefect Chi was livid with rage. “For such great crimes, the entire clan should be put to the sword!”
“The assassins were not raised by the Wang family — they were raised by the Su family of Suzhou.” Hua Yitang dropped this bombshell. “This is the personal admission of Su Feichang, patriarch of the Su family.”
The Grand Prefect Chi and Senior Scribe Xia looked as though they had been struck by lightning.
Ling Zhiyan: “Bring in Su Feichang!”
Wu Da escorted Su Feichang in, stumbling and lurching. Su Feichang’s silver hair flew loose in all directions, his complexion ashen as dirt, his wrinkles carved into his face as deep as ravines. He collapsed to his knees, head bowed, his entire body faintly trembling.
The Grand Prefect Chi read through Su Feichang’s confession in a single pass, his expression even worse than Su Feichang’s. “The Ma family selling counterfeit hundred-flower tea was instigated by the Su family?”
Ling Zhiyan: “Yes.”
“The Wu family selling Qingzhou embroidery — that too was the Su family behind it?”
“The ledger recovered from the Su family’s guest compound is irrefutable evidence.”
“And even the white livestock… were also…”
“The largest supplier and buyer alike — both the Suzhou Su family.”
The Grand Prefect Chi collapsed into his chair, as limp as a moldy, rotten noodle.
“The reason the Wu, Wang, and Ma families were able to flourish in Yidu was entirely due to the backing of the Suzhou Su family. To stay close to the Su family’s great influence, they naturally had to do the Su family’s bidding,” Hua Yitang said. “Trafficking in Longshen fruit, trafficking in people, trafficking in counterfeit tea — every single item was enormously profitable, and every single item was a crime punishable by beheading. The Su family not only dragged three distinguished families into the mire to be their accomplices but also raised large numbers of assassins as a safeguard — so that if things ever went wrong, they could strike back from the brink and buy themselves a way out. Am I not correct, Patriarch Su?”
Su Feichang slowly raised his head. His clouded gaze was entirely without expression. “Everything you said is correct.”
Senior Scribe Xia struck his own chest in anguish. “Patriarch Su, how could you be so foolish! The Suzhou Su family is one of the Five Clans and Seven Lineages — a great family with vast wealth and a great heritage. Why risk everything and drive yourself into a dead end?!”
Su Feichang gave a cold, repeated laugh. “Five Clans and Seven Lineages? Can the Suzhou Su family still call itself that? No officials at court, no foothold in commerce, the family fallen, the clan members in decline — surviving only by trading on the blood of the Five Clans and Seven Lineages to form marriages with lower-ranking distinguished families. What makes us any different from a stud horse?”
Silence fell over the room.
Su Feichang’s pupils burned red. He seemed to be looking at Hua Yitang, and yet also seemed to be looking through Hua Yitang at a formless future. “Hua the Fourth, Ling the Sixth — you and I all come from the Five Clans and Seven Lineages. Surely you understand this feeling. Without the protection of our families, we are nothing but rootless trees and waterless streams — we simply cannot survive. Ask yourselves honestly: if the day came when your family’s survival and the law of the land ran in opposite directions — what would you choose?”
Hua Yitang was struck still.
“Should that day ever come, Ling would enforce the law impartially and without personal exception!” Ling Zhiyan declared with firm conviction.
Hua Yitang seemed to wake from a trance and looked over. Ling Zhiyan stood with perfect posture, his gaze as steady and unwavering as the stars. “Those who kill must pay with their lives. Those who commit crimes must be punished. This is the law of the land — the very foundation of the realm! How can the interests of a single clan be weighed against the cornerstone of the nation?! A crime is a crime. No reason or sophistry can conceal the fact of the crime!”
Su Feichang’s mouth opened and closed several times. “You — are you an idiot?!”
Hua Yitang blinked, then suddenly smiled. “Compared to someone as driven by greed as you are, an idiot is far more endearing.”
Ling Zhiyan turned to look sideways at Hua Yitang: He was a grown man — where did this “endearing” come from?
Hua Yitang pretended not to see. “There is one matter Hua still does not understand and would like to ask Patriarch Su: based on the coroner’s examination, the Su family’s assassins were tempered using Longshen fruit poison, leaving them with scattered consciousness, like marionettes — ruthlessly vicious and deeply terrifying. Where did Patriarch Su obtain the formula for using poison to temper death warriors?”
The Grand Prefect Chi cried out in shock, “What — what?! Poison?! Marionettes?!”
Su Feichang quickly looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Hua has encountered these assassins three times — once at Yunshui River in the Eastern Capital, once in Cheng County in Qingzhou, and once at the Su family residence in Yidu. Each time, they were more brutal than the last, which means someone has been continuously feeding and tempering them with Longshen fruit. A suspect in the Cheng County case once gave testimony that a mysterious figure called ‘the Third Master’ was the one controlling and maintaining these assassins,” Hua Yitang said, looking down at Su Feichang. “Patriarch Su — are you the Third Master?”
Su Feichang sat motionless for a long moment, then bowed his head to the ground with a resounding knock and said clearly, “Yes. I am the Third Master. Everything was done by me. It has nothing to do with the Su family! Nothing to do with any member of the Su family!”
Hua Yitang: “Su Feichang, do you take me for a fool? The Su family today does not have the power or financial resources to raise assassins on such a scale. Who are you really working for?”
Su Feichang: “Everything was done by me alone. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
Ling Zhiyan: “This case carries enormous implications and will be reported to the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate. When the three offices convene to deliberate, you won’t be able to conceal anything. You would do better to confess now and spare yourself some suffering.”
“What I have said is the truth.”
Hua Yitang and Ling Zhiyan exchanged a glance — both found the situation rather thorny.
Su Feichang had set his mind like iron and refused to give up the person behind the scenes no matter what.
The Grand Prefect Chi and Senior Scribe Xia were completely lost, and looked blankly toward Jiang Wende.
Jiang Wende sighed. “Patriarch Su, if it was your doing, then it was your doing. But if it was not, you mustn’t carelessly admit to things.”
Su Feichang raised his head and stared fixedly at Jiang Wende. “It was done by me alone. It has nothing to do with the Su family!”
Jiang Wende’s brow furrowed deeply. He let out a long sigh, his expression full of sorrow. “The Suzhou Su family — a thousand-year-old distinguished family — destroyed in an instant. It is truly heartbreaking.”
Su Feichang’s pupils contracted sharply. Then he suddenly began to laugh, and his laughter grew louder and louder, until tears streamed from his eyes and he rocked back and forth. “So that’s it! Ha ha ha ha — so that’s it… ha ha ha ha ha —” He twisted around to glare at Hua Yitang. “Hua family’s Fourth Son — what I am today is what you will be tomorrow. Sooner or later, you will end up just like me. Ha ha ha ha — I’ll be waiting for you in hell… waiting for you ha ha ha ha ha ha —”
The laughter stopped abruptly. Su Feichang tilted his head back, mouth open, and went still.
The expressions of everyone present shifted. Ling Zhiyan hurried forward to check on him, and instantly went pale. “Quick — send for Doctor Fang at once!”
The hall fell into dead silence. Hua Yitang stared blankly as the look of death slowly crept across Su Feichang’s face, a layer of cold dread spreading across his back.
Fang Ke arrived quickly, swiftly took his pulse and inserted acupuncture needles, worked for a quarter of an hour, and then regretfully announced: “Su Feichang is dead.”
Ling Zhiyan was stunned. “What was the cause of death?! Did someone poison him?”
Fang Ke shook his head. “This man had suffered from diabetes mellitus for many years, yet showed no restraint — a diet rich in fat, unrelenting alcohol and indulgence — his blood vessels had long since become as fragile as rotting wood. Combined with a series of severe shocks, the agitation caused his blood to rush and rupture the vessels. He died from a cerebral hemorrhage. By any reckoning, it was a natural death.”
Everyone: “…”
The Grand Prefect Chi was devastated. “What — what are we to do now?!”
Jiang Wende shook his head. “Su Feichang brought this upon himself. His fate was his own. Please, Grand Prefect, compile and organize all the dossiers in the Su family case. Jiang will set out for the Eastern Capital at once to report this matter to the three offices and seek His Majesty’s ruling.”
The Grand Prefect Chi and Senior Scribe Xia agreed repeatedly. The three men hurried off to the rear offices.
Hua Yitang and Ling Zhiyan stood quietly in the hall, watching the yamen officers carry away Su Feichang’s body. Fang Ke followed them out, muttering, “To die so quickly and painlessly — he really got off easy,” and other such remarks.
Ling Zhiyan: “What did Su Feichang mean by his final words?”
Hua Yitang gave a cold laugh. “Melodramatic nonsense. Why give it any thought?”
Ling Zhiyan seemed about to say something, then in the end said nothing at all.
Lin Sui’an, who had been perched on the rooftop listening to the entire proceedings, let out a quiet sigh.
To ensure Su Feichang’s safety, they had all spared no effort over these past few days — there was not a half-moment of carelessness. Every item of food and drink that passed Su Feichang’s lips had been inspected by Fang Ke. Ling Zhiyan had personally searched Su Feichang’s person from head to toe — even his fingernails had been trimmed. To prevent an assassin from suddenly appearing, Lin Sui’an had provided covert protection throughout every interrogation, not even daring to step away for a moment.
And yet, against all expectation, Su Feichang died of a cerebral hemorrhage. One could only say that human schemes are no match for the workings of heaven.
Though they could still continue investigating based on the leads Su Feichang had left behind, Lin Sui’an had a feeling that the hope of reaching the truth was very slim.
At present, all the available evidence pointed to the Wu, Ma, and Wang families. The only piece of evidence that could directly implicate Su Feichang was a single account ledger retrieved from the Su family’s guest compound, which recorded Su Feichang’s personal transactions with the three distinguished families — all written in Su Feichang’s own hand, with no trace of any second person’s involvement.
By common reasoning, it was impossible for the Su family to be completely ignorant of Su Feichang’s many despicable crimes — yet he had taken all the guilt upon himself, committed to a kind of self-sacrificial spirit. Now that he was dead, there was no witness left to testify against anyone — and it was very possible Su Feichang had long since destroyed all further leads.
There was one more thing that troubled Lin Sui’an: though the Suzhou Su family had declined, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. The figure behind the scenes — the one Su Feichang feared so deeply and was so determined to protect — must command no small power.
In all the Tang realm, apart from the Five Clans and Seven Lineages, who else was there?
— The imperial family… perhaps?
Good lord — was this another scheme of usurping power and seizing the throne?!
Please, no! That would be so dreadfully cliché!
The more Lin Sui’an thought about it, the more exhausted she felt. She couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. “Could it be that the Su family will escape justice after all?”
At that very moment, a soft laugh drifted in from just behind her ear. Lin Sui’an startled and leaped to her feet, eyes sharp in all directions and ears alert — the vast stretch of rooftops across the government compound lay completely exposed to view, open and empty. No one was there.
The sky was a clear blue, not a cloud in sight. Lin Sui’an sniffed and caught only the scent of clouds and wind.
A breeze drifted in through the window.
The Seventh Master set down the account ledger in his hands and picked up the veiled hat from the side of the desk, placing it on his head.
“It’s not as though you’ve never seen my face. What is there to cover up?” A single sentence shifted through three different voices — first aged and hoarse, then a woman’s voice, and finally settling into a clear, liquid tone like the sound of morning dew, pleasant enough to ease the body and mind of any listener.
A person materialized on the window-side couch — someone who had not been there before — clad in rough cotton short garments, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, slumped in a posture suggesting partial paralysis. Across the face was fastened a silver mask. One corner near the eyebrow was chipped, patched with water buffalo hide. Below one eye socket was a scratch — shaped like a tear, unpatched, likely left so due to poverty.
The Seventh Master: “Yun never allows others to see his true face, so I have no choice but to reciprocate with courtesy.”
Yun Zhong Yue shrugged. “That’s fair. We don’t know each other that well. Keeping our distance is as it should be.”
The Seventh Master poured a cup of tea and set it on the edge of the couch. “How is Su Feichang?”
“Dead.”
The Seventh Master was silent for a moment. “Who killed him?”
Yun Zhong Yue snorted. “Laughed himself to death. That doctor with the surname Fang actually called it natural causes. If that’s not bizarre, what is?”
The Seventh Master was quiet for another moment. “What remarkable luck.”
“The Su family’s luck is even better. The Ma, Wang, and Wu families are all finished, yet the Su family has barely been scratched. Those officials are utterly useless — especially that Hua the Fourth. Particularly useless.”
The Seventh Master slowly walked back to the desk, lifted his robe, sat, and continued reading the account ledger.
Yun Zhong Yue tilted his head, studying him. “You don’t seem the least bit surprised. You had already anticipated this, hadn’t you?”
The Seventh Master: “I had expected the Third Master to send someone to kill Su Feichang. Hua the Fourth, following that thread, might have traced his way back here.”
“With Lin Sui’an, that formidable figure, keeping watch on the rooftop, what assassin with any sense of self-preservation would dare go up there to die? I barely escaped detection myself. It was absolutely terrifying — nearly cost me another mask,” Yun Zhong Yue complained.
The Seventh Master let out a soft laugh.
Yun Zhong Yue watched him for a moment. “I’ve always wanted to ask — do you know Lin Sui’an?”
“I simply found myself thinking: if I could die as cleanly and decisively as Su Feichang, it might not be such a bad fate.”
“Forget it,” Yun Zhong Yue said, waving his hand repeatedly. “The old saying goes: misfortune lingers for a thousand years. Someone with as many layers of cunning as you is destined to live to a ripe old age.”
The Seventh Master paused, gave a dry cough. “I — thank you for the kind words.”
Yun Zhong Yue shifted uncomfortably and scratched his head. “What about the Su family, then?”
The Seventh Master slowly rolled up the account ledger in his hands, opened the wooden case on the desk, and placed it inside. The case held dozens of similar ledgers, all stacked neatly. He closed the lid, picked up his tea cup, and took a slow sip.
The wind nudged the window panels back and forth with a creak, lifting the corner of the veiled hat.
“The weather is turning cold. It is time the Su family found a new patriarch.”
Short Extra Scene
Yun Zhong Yue: Good grief, this person is actually better off with the veil on. When he smiles, it’s even more unsettling than that Hua the Fourth.