The three of them fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, Wu Jizhi asked: “Does Lord Shen mean that Consort Qi was never actually pregnant, and the little prince in her belly is… fake?”

Su Jin said: “No, if it were a false pregnancy, then this so-called ‘little prince’ would not exist, and the one who could not atone even with ten thousand deaths would be Consort Qi herself. How could there be talk of the ‘little prince’ being unable to atone for his crimes?” She paused and looked at Shen Xi. “Do you remember the ‘Ningjiao Case’ in the Eastern Palace at the beginning of the year?”

At that time, Zhu Zhaowei had lured snakes into the Eastern Palace, intending to poison Zhu Nanxian by exploiting the interaction between ningjiao and the snake-repelling powder.

The one who had secretly hidden the “ningjiao” in the Eastern Palace was none other than Consort Qi.

Su Jin continued: “The Thirteenth Prince is a legitimate prince, the rightful heir of the Great Sui. Poisoning him is tantamount to treason, punishable by the execution of nine generations of one’s family. If Consort Qi did not have an extraordinary relationship with Zhu Zhaowei, or even a bond of shared life and death, why would she commit such a heinous crime for his sake?”

And looking at the current situation, this bond of shared life and death was most likely the “little prince” in her belly.

Wu Jizhi swallowed hard: “This… this is simply too incredible. If this matter is true, then the Seventh Prince and Consort Qi have violated all moral order and are utterly unforgivable!”

“But this is also our lifeline.” Shen Xi looked at Su Jin.

Currently, Zhu Zhaowei held evidence of capital crimes against both of them. If they could strike first and find proof of Consort Qi’s adultery with Zhu Zhaowei, then even if they were to die, Zhu Zhaowei would have to be buried alongside them.

At this moment, a minor official standing guard outside the court hall whispered: “Lord Su, Lord Zhai from the Imperial Censorate has sent someone with a secret letter.”

Su Jin’s brow furrowed. Zhai Di was a cautious person; unless something major had occurred, he would not send a letter to the Ministry of Justice in the dead of night.

Her expression changed slightly as she ordered Wu Jizhi to fetch the secret letter. As expected, the news was dire.

Su Jin silently burned the secret letter over a lamp flame and said to Shen Xi: “Zhu Zhaowei seems to have already detected that you tampered with those three thousand war horses. Though he has not yet obtained solid evidence, he is already preparing to move against us.”

The secret letter stated that after Shen Xi entered the palace today, Zhu Zhaowei had already stationed hidden guards at various locations outside the palace, apparently planning to ambush and assassinate either Shen Xi or Su Jin when they left the palace.

Shen Xi asked: “Has the news of the Thirteenth Prince seizing the horses already reached the palace?”

Su Jin shook her head: “Not yet. His Highness must have coordinated with General Mao to suppress news of the Nanchang army’s ambush on the Fengyang army for several days. But Zhu Zhaowei is exceptionally astute. At such a critical juncture, having received no news from the Fengyang army for seven consecutive days, he has naturally sensed something amiss and wants to strike first.”

Wu Jizhi said: “What can we do? Just moments ago, we were thinking of waiting another two or three days. If we could hold out until the Thirteenth Prince returns, you two lords might still be saved. But now, it seems you cannot even leave the palace grounds.”

Within the palace, they at least had the protection of the Golden Guards, but once they left the palace, Zhu Zhaowei’s men would certainly show them no mercy.

It might be one thing if Su Jin did not leave the palace, but Shen Xi held a position at the Court of Imperial Stud, and would eventually have to return to the Equestrian Bureau. With just one word from Zhu Zhaowei, he could be forced out of the palace.

Su Jin and Shen Xi exchanged a glance: “You are right. The ‘little prince’ in Consort Qi’s belly is indeed our last lifeline. But whose child this ‘little prince’ actually is remains only our speculation. The urgent matter at hand is to find evidence, so we can use it as leverage to bargain for our lives with Zhu Zhaowei.”

Shen Xi took the case file of the Imperial Noble Consort’s sudden death into his hands and examined it carefully once more. After a moment, he retrieved a black cloak from a pear wood stand nearby, fastened it around his neck, and said just one word: “Let’s go.”

Su Jin nodded and also took her cloak.

Wu Jizhi asked in bewilderment: “Are the two lords going to the rear palace to interrogate Consort Qi?”

“Interrogating Consort Qi would only alert our prey.” Shen Xi said, “There is a place where we might be able to find evidence.”

Su Jin knew that the place Shen Xi referred to was the old site of Yanhe Palace.

The old site of Yanhe Palace had been the former residence of Zhu Zhaowei’s birth mother, the late Consort Cen. After Consort Cen committed suicide, the place fell into disrepair until several years ago, when Beauty Li moved in with her maidservant.

That maidservant was now Consort Qi.

Consort Qi had originally lived with Beauty Li in the former bedchamber of the late Consort Cen, but after Beauty Li’s death last year, all the rumors in the rear palace about hauntings were related to Consort Cen’s wronged spirit. Consort Qi was terrified and moved from the old palace to the new one.

But the old palace of Yanhe Palace did not fall silent because of this.

The case file of the Imperial Noble Consort’s sudden death stated that during the past half year of her madness, the Imperial Noble Consort had run to the old palace of Yanhe Palace several times to speak incoherently—sometimes saying that the late Consort Cen would demand blood debt be repaid in blood, sometimes saying that Consort Qi was utterly evil and would die a terrible death, and even cursing that Consort Qi carried an illegitimate child in her belly.

These matters had seemed strange and bizarre at the time, but now that the relationship between Zhu Zhaowei and Consort Qi had been revealed, when connected together, they began to make sense.

Su Jin gave Wu Jizhi final instructions: “If neither of us has returned by the hour of mao tomorrow, it means we have most likely encountered danger. You must first go to the Imperial Censorate to find Lord Liu and request leave on my behalf, saying I have suddenly fallen ill and cannot attend the court assembly. This way, Zhu Zhaowei will not become suspicious.”

It was nearing the hour of zi, and the night wind was somewhat cold.

Using the investigation of the Imperial Noble Consort’s case as her reason, Su Jin had the palace guards check her official seal, then together with Shen Xi, they avoided the patrolling guards’ attention and made their way to the old palace of the former Yanhe Palace site.

After Consort Qi moved to the new palace, the old palace was converted by Zhu Zhaowei into a memorial hall for Consort Cen.

On the altar table still sat Consort Cen’s memorial tablet, and even the melons and fruits offered before it were fresh.

No lamps were lit inside the old palace; only a pale crescent moon at the edge of the sky cast down inches of dim light.

Su Jin and Shen Xi looked around. Just as they were about to go to Consort Qi’s former bedchamber to search for evidence, after taking only a few steps, they heard a series of crisp “crack crack” sounds from beneath their feet.

This sound was particularly eerie in the silent night.

Su Jin and Shen Xi simultaneously looked down at the ground, only then discovering that from beneath the eaves of the old palace all the way to the edge of a small pool in the courtyard, there were scattered clusters of dark, chaotic objects everywhere.

Shen Xi crouched down and picked up a cluster of the dark material with his fingertips. Holding it up to the moonlight, he saw that it was actually several pieces of incompletely burned paper money stuck together.

So the old palace was covered with paper money meant for the dead.

But the Ghost Festival of the seventh month had not yet arrived.

Su Jin fell silent for a moment, then said: “Do you think this paper money might be…”

However, before she could finish speaking, they suddenly heard the faint sound of a copper lock being moved in the courtyard.

Shen Xi’s brow furrowed. He made an immediate decision and grabbed her wrist, and the two of them hid together behind a high wall.

The old site of Yanhe Palace was not large, and the front courtyard was especially open on all four sides. If the night were not so deep and the moonlight so dim, it would actually be visible at a glance.

Before long, the copper lock was opened. From the small door on the eastern side came a clear “creak,” and beyond the door, two slender, graceful figures approached carrying a lantern—it was Consort Qi and her maidservant.

It turned out that the new palace of Yanhe Palace was connected to the old site by a corridor on the eastern side, and at the end of the corridor was the small door that Consort Qi had just pushed open.

As the night wind swept in, scattering the charred paper money across the sky, Consort Qi, with her protruding belly, carried a basket alone and watched for a while. She walked to the edge of the small pond and, with the support of her maidservant, slowly knelt down supporting her waist. She took several new pieces of paper money from the bamboo basket, lit them with the lantern flame, and let the flames burn almost to her fingertips before releasing them, sighing mournfully: “I will spare you, so please spare me as well.”

Su Jin was stunned, as if understanding something, and looked toward Shen Xi.

Shen Xi nodded slightly. After a moment, he raised his finger to his lips and glanced slightly outward, indicating they should continue listening.

“I did not wish to harm you. You were already pitiable when you went mad, but you and Imperial Physician She discovered the secret of this child… I actually tried to dissuade him. I wanted to accumulate some merit for the child. Since conceiving him, so much killing karma has already been created… But he refused. He said if you did not die, once you exposed us, the ones who would die would be me, this child, and him…”

By this point, Consort Qi’s voice had become low and sobbing.

The palace maid beside her advised: “Your Ladyship, please take care of your health. When the Seventh Prince arrives later, if he sees Your Ladyship in this state, he will scold you again.”