Liu Chaoming propped his elbow on the desk and rubbed the space between his brows.
Seeing him like this, Yan Xiu couldn’t help but ask, “My lord, Minister Shen would receive news of the young prince sooner or later. It’s only a few days earlier—how could it affect the situation?”
“The problem is that the Fourth Prince returns to the capital tomorrow,” Liu Chaoming said.
He didn’t explain clearly the root of his concern. After thinking deeply for a moment, he asked, “What does the Office of Transmission say?”
Yan Xiu said, “The news of the young prince was transmitted back to the capital by Minister Shen’s trusted confidant. The Office of Transmission knows this person and didn’t dare intercept it. First, they don’t know the specific content of the message and fear alerting the enemy. Second, without your instructions, my lord, they don’t dare act rashly.”
At this point, he suddenly understood. “My lord intends to use Zhou Gaoyan?”
Zhou Gaoyan had nearly ten years of friendship with Su Shiyu and deeply enjoyed her trust.
In the first year of Jin’an’s reign, after he was promoted to Left Vice Minister of the Office of Transmission, last year he was further elevated to Director of the Office of Transmission, overseeing political communications and controlling information from all directions.
Although Liu Chaoming knew Zhou Gaoyan was Zhu Yiheng’s man, he had never used him all these years. He wanted to save this chess piece for the most critical moment—to use it only once, with no taking back the move.
Yan Xiu said, “Once we use Zhou Gaoyan, there will be no turning back. This subordinate knows that Lord Liu and Lord Su have an extremely good private friendship. When Old Master Liu came to the capital, besides Marquis Wenyuan, he only met with Lord Su. This subordinate truly does not wish to see you two lords fight to mutual destruction. Is there really no room for compromise?”
Liu Chaoming silently spread out a sheet of paper on the desk. As he lifted his brush, the three pieces of broken jade hidden in his sleeve pouch made an almost inaudible crisp sound. “Private friendship is merely private friendship.” Decades of weathering storms together—how could there be room for the words “private friendship”? “Each serving their own master, traveling opposing paths—there was never any room to begin with.”
He finished writing the letter and handed it to Yan Xiu. “Take this message to Zhou Gaoyan.”
As soon as Su Jin arrived at Liuzhao Pavilion, Shen Xi said to Wu Jizhi, “You may withdraw first.”
He closed the door from both sides. Leaning against the door bolt, he took a deep breath before turning around. “We’ve found Lin’er.”
Su Jin was stunned. “Truly?” She couldn’t help but step forward twice. “Where is the young prince?”
“Right in Huguang,” Shen Xi said.
His emotions hadn’t completely settled yet. He seemed to want to explain the situation but didn’t know where to begin among the thousand threads and myriad strands. He started to speak several times but held back. After thinking, he first took a secret letter from the desk and gave it to Su Jin before saying, “They wanted to go south. Passing through the Jingzhou area, they encountered bandits and turned back to Huguang. Because they had no identification or household registration, they only dared hide among the disaster victims. If not for the fact that the person I dispatched is my trusted confidant who recognized the two of them, who knows how much more suffering little Lin’er would have endured wandering outside at such a young age.”
Zhu Lin’s disappearance had always been an unresolvable knot in the hearts of Zhu Nanxian and Shen Qingyue, especially for Shen Xi. He attributed Shen Jing’s death to himself and over these years had sent countless people to search for Lin’er.
The letter’s content was roughly the same as what Shen Xi said, except for one final line: “The young prince is afflicted with malaria. People are attending to his treatment. He is temporarily unable to set out and return to the capital.”
Su Jin said, “You had Wu Jizhi convey that you would help think of a solution for the imperial commissioners to be dispatched to Wuchang Prefecture. Are you planning to go yourself?”
Shen Xi sat down by the desk and shook his head somewhat anxiously. “I haven’t decided yet.”
The worried mist between his brows was deep. Against that handsome face, it was like frost and snow.
Su Jin knew what he was concerned about and said, “Just now at the Imperial Censorate, Liu Yun and I were discussing the imperial commissioners to be dispatched to Wuchang Prefecture. We both agreed you’re the most suitable candidate.”
Shen Xi was unmatched in intelligence and cleverness, skilled at adapting, and had spent many years in the Ministry of Finance. He had extensive experience with disaster relief resettlement and Ministry of Works budgets. Moreover, he held the position of Second Grand Secretary and the rank of principal first grade. No major official in the court did not respect him. With such a person going to Wuchang to coordinate arrangements, the dike construction matters would certainly get on the right track in a short time.
What’s more, Zhu Lin was now also in Wuchang Prefecture.
This matter concerned the imperial bloodline, concerned Shen Jing. Aside from himself, Shen Xi trusted no one.
“The dike construction cannot be delayed. Even if you and Liu Yun hadn’t mentioned it, I planned to go to Wuchang myself,” Shen Xi said.
He paused and looked at Su Jin. “But now it’s different. You’ve finished reading the letter. You should know that back then, Shuxiang and Lin’er were rescued because they were released by an Imperial Guard. Why this Imperial Guard would save them, whose orders he was following—I don’t need to explain, you understand.
“But that’s not the most important thing. What’s important is that if Zhu Yushen could plant this mole in the Imperial Guards beforehand, it means he already knew about Zhu Zhaowei’s plan to kill Zhu Minda. His holding back and waiting for the snipe and clam to fight shows he had ambitions for the heir apparent position early on. His scheming runs so deep—did he have someone save Lin’er merely for the sake of Shen Jun, because Lin’er is Third Sister Shen’s blood relative? Impossible. Shuxiang and Lin’er are merely a helpless woman and small child, but Lin’er is a weakness for Shisan and me. Zhu Yushen knew this precisely, which is why he wanted to preserve Lin’er—to use him in the future to control me, to control Shisan.”
Su Jin said, “After receiving news of Lin’er, did you investigate the source of the information?”
“I did,” Shen Xi said. “It truly was an accidental discovery. But an accidental discovery also has two explanations. First, it’s an accident. Second, Zhu Yushen has always had people following Lin’er and Shuxiang, but only let me discover this ‘accident’ at an appropriate moment.”
“But Zhu Yushen has already lost his mind,” Su Jin said. “You suspect his mental illness is fake?”
“I’ve sent people to investigate this matter. It’s true that Zhu Yushen was struck by an arrow two years ago. It’s also true that last year he was injured in battle, fell from a cliff and lost consciousness. When Shen Jun found him, he truly had only a breath left. For over a year now, Shen Jun has been caring for him day and night without removing her clothes, watching over him constantly. Even though Shen Jun’s feelings for Zhu Yushen run deep, but—” Shen Xi took a breath. “She’s my third sister. She would never deceive me. She personally wrote me a letter. Zhu Yushen truly and genuinely has lost his mind.”
Su Jin roughly understood why Shen Jun would write such a letter to Shen Xi—
Zhu Nanxian had already ascended the throne for two years. When he returned from campaign, his first priority would be to reduce the princes’ territories. Since ancient times, princes who had their territories reduced never had good endings, let alone Zhu Yushen, who already had conflicts with Zhu Nanxian and wielded military power.
Shen Jun had planted deep roots of affection for Zhu Yushen at an age when she didn’t yet understand such feelings. Having loved him for over twenty years, her feelings only increased, never decreased. She was unwilling to see Zhu Yushen meet an end where his life couldn’t be preserved.
Such a letter, ostensibly written to Shen Xi, was actually written to Emperor Jin’an who would soon return from campaign, hoping he could show consideration for the Shen family’s sake, for the sake that Fourth Brother had already lost his mind, and leave him some room to survive.
Su Jin said, “Not only you—these past two years, His Majesty and I have also sent people to Beiping to probe. All said Zhu Yushen has lost his mind. A month ago, I received another letter from Gu Yunjian here.”
At that time, Zhu Yushen was still resting with Shen Jun in Jinan.
Gu Yunjian was the surveillance censor of Jinan Prefecture. The letter said: The Fourth Prince suffers from mental illness, does not speak or talk, and is only attended to closely by the Fourth Princess Consort and one general. His behavior imitates the princess consort’s. All other people and matters he neither recognizes nor remembers.
Shen Xi supported his forehead. “That’s why I used reporting on his mission as an excuse to summon Zhu Yushen back to the capital, planning to test him myself. If he’s truly lost his mind, I’ll spare his life to return to Beiping. If it’s fake—”
He suddenly pressed his lips together tightly, unwilling to continue.
After a moment, he said, “But now with Lin’er’s matter arising, I shouldn’t spare him.”
If Zhu Lin’s whereabouts were discovered by accident, that would be one thing. But what if they weren’t?
If not, it would mean Zhu Yushen’s people are still following Lin’er even now, meaning only if Shen Xi personally leaves the capital for Wuchang Prefecture can he bring Zhu Lin safely back.
Lin’er was Shen Jing’s son. Shen Xi didn’t dare gamble. He had to go to Wuchang.
But the case of Annan merchants’ smuggling still hadn’t been resolved. Where the millions of taels of silver that flowed from Annan into the Great Sui ultimately went also had no leads. Between them and Liu Yun, the surface was calm, but privately they had already fought as fiercely as fire and water over this case. Who knew what would be uncovered when those millions of taels of silver were finally traced.
Shen Qingyue and Su Shiyu had a life-and-death friendship. He was unwilling, even more unwilling at a time like this, to leave her alone in the capital.
The matter with Zhu Lin also couldn’t be delayed.
So the answer was clear—
If Shen Xi wanted to leave with peace of mind, he must strike fatally, and he must kill the most critical chess player.
In other words, between Zhu Yushen and Liu Chaoming, he had to eliminate at least one of them.
The sun had already set in the west. The reddish glow of sunset shone through the thin window into the room. Shen Xi and Su Jin sat in wordless silence.
Just then, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside.
Shen Xi’s brow furrowed. He had already given instructions—today he and Su Jin were deliberating matters in Liuzhao Pavilion. Unless His Majesty had an urgent decree, even if the sky fell, no one was to disturb them.
But Zhu Nanxian hadn’t yet left the northwest—what urgent decree could there be?
Seeing no response from inside, the person outside knocked three more times, then spoke, “Minister Shen, Minister Su, this subordinate is Qin Sang.”
Qin Sang was Zhu Nanxian’s personal bodyguard. Two years ago when Zhu Nanxian set out on campaign, unexpectedly he hadn’t taken him along.
Hearing it was Qin Sang who had come, Su Jin somehow recalled the scene on the eve of Zhu Nanxian’s campaign when she had glimpsed from afar on the terrace him removing Cuiwei from his waist and handing it to Qin Sang.
She walked to the door and opened it. “Commander Qin.”
Qin Sang performed a bow. “This subordinate knows Minister Shen and Minister Su have important matters to discuss and shouldn’t disturb you. But—” He paused, suddenly took from his breast a scroll of bright yellow secret decree and handed it to Su Jin. “Two years ago, on the eve of His Majesty’s departure from the capital, he instructed that when the northern border conflict settled and the Fourth Prince returned to the capital to report, this subordinate should deliver this secret decree to you two lords.”
Su Jin received the secret decree in her hands but didn’t immediately unfurl it. Instead, she turned to glance at Shen Xi.
Shen Xi knew Su Jin had probably already guessed the content of the secret decree and also knew what she was hesitating about.
For Su Shiyu, Liu Yun was ultimately different.
He was silent for a moment, then stepped forward, took the secret decree from Su Jin’s hands, unrolled it directly and quickly finished reading it, then rolled it back up. “Understood. This official accepts this decree.”
Qin Sang said, “Yes. Since Minister Shen has accepted the decree, what constitutes ‘treasonous conduct’ and when to act shall be entirely at Minister Shen’s discretion.”
Having said this, he was about to turn and leave when he suddenly saw Su Jin take back the secret decree from Shen Xi’s hands.
“Execute without mercy” was in Zhu Nanxian’s own handwriting, inscribed with Liu Chaoming’s name.
She silently finished reading. Her gaze settled on the three words “execute without mercy” for a moment, then she raised her head. Her eyes were calm like a waveless sea, yet falling rain pattered down. “Minister Shen will be leaving the capital in a few days. This decree—this official will accept it.”