At the Star-Gazing Observatory construction site, there was first an extremely faint “crack,” like the sinking of a foundation or the breaking of a beam.

Initially, no one paid attention until the cracks rapidly spread, resembling a breaking dam. Amid the earthquake-like shaking, the palace platform crumbled to dust, with thick clouds of dust enveloping the wooden debris.

At Hegui Pavilion, the eave bells swung from the tremors, producing rapid, chaotic tinkling sounds.

On the top floor terrace, Wenren Lin stood facing the wind in his dark red robes, having found a position with an excellent view to observe the collapse of this giant structure’s skeleton.

Zhang Cang widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Your Highness merely deliberately leaked some information, and they panicked like trapped birds, jumping like desperate dogs, causing such a commotion!”

Wenren Lin unconsciously caressed the white jade pendant at his waist, his cold lips lifting ever so slightly.

Vermin in the gutters indeed never disappointed; when they turned on each other, the effect was even more spectacular than he had anticipated. However, this excellent show was just beginning.

Wenren Lin was in high spirits, this satisfaction making him temporarily forget the severe cold pain in his internal organs. The dying ashes of the collapse reflected in his eyes, dissolving into splendid, brilliant colors.

“Go escort the Crown Prince back safely, and tell her to wait calmly in the Eastern Palace.”

…

…

Wenren Lin, with a gentle smile, instructed Zhang Cang behind him.

The little Prince’s carefully arranged birthday banquet had been ruined, and she would inevitably be worried and disappointed. He ought to put aside his dignity to comfort her.

At Qifeng Pavilion.

The guests sat in shock, speechless. Several officials from the Ministry of Works were pale with terror, constantly wiping sweat with their sleeves.

Ninyang Marquis Wei Yan didn’t look at the devastating scene of the Star-Gazing Observatory, but instinctively gripped Rong Fuyue’s hand, softly comforting his frightened wife.

Empress Wei rose and calmly rebuked the imperial guards: “What are you standing around for? Seal the palace gates immediately and investigate the cause.”

Censor He seized this opportunity, stepping forward solemnly with a memorial in both hands, kneeling to present it: “Minister He Yi impeaches the Divine Light Sect and the Ministry of Works for colluding, using inferior materials as superior ones, purchasing aged and rotten nanmu wood, causing today’s disaster! I request Your Majesty’s thorough investigation!”

Cen Meng then stepped forward, prostrating himself: “I request Your Majesty’s thorough investigation!”

These words shocked everyone in the hall.

Some questioned, some were astonished, like cold water poured into an oil wok, arguing incessantly.

Zhao Yān stood amid the tumult, still maintaining her posture of rising to speak, vaguely feeling something was amiss.

Although the nanmu wood indeed had problems, wasn’t the collapse right during the Empress’s birthday banquet, in front of the Emperor and all officials and their wives, a bit too coincidental?

Censor He knocked his head on the ground, and Deputy Minister Shen of the Ministry of Personnel also knelt to request a thorough investigation. The Emperor’s expression was solemn as the hall descended into chaos.

The Emperor was still the Emperor; despite the great disorder, his face remained unchanged. He merely set down his cup, rose, and said: “Where is Divine Light Priest? Imperial guards, go see what happened.”

In the confusion, Zhao Yān suddenly thought of something and tensed.

With the Star-Gazing Observatory’s collapse, almost all the imperial guards were concentrated at Qifeng Pavilion and the Observatory site. The Northern Garden was in chaos, and the Divine Light Sect, preoccupied with its own troubles, would have loosened security at its headquarters, Tongtian Platform…

This was an excellent opportunity to sneak into the Tongtian Platform to search for human and material evidence!

Liu Baiwei clearly thought of this too, exchanging glances with her across the space, slightly nodding in acknowledgment.

The birthday banquet obviously could not continue. Empress Wei rose to apologize and withdraw. As she lifted her head and looked over the crowd, she couldn’t help but slightly furrow her eyebrows.

The Crown Prince’s seat was empty; Zhao Yān had already disappeared.

……

At that moment, Zhao Yān was leading people up the long stone steps to the Tongtian Platform.

When the Star-Gazing Observatory incident occurred, the Taoist priests of Tongtian Platform had disappeared somewhere. When they encountered a few confused novices, Liu Baiwei stopped them with a shout.

On the main platform, there were two small pavilions on the left and right, used for discussing the Tao and refining elixirs.

“You go to the left, I’ll go to the right,” Zhao Yān gestured to Liu Baiwei, not forgetting to add seriously, “Safety is most important, protect yourself!”

Liu Baiwei smiled carelessly.

The two divided their forces, passing through the front courtyard toward the left and right pavilions.

The right pavilion’s door was half-open, with occasional sounds of things falling and breaking coming from inside. Li Fu and another palace servant each picked up a stick for self-defense, nimbly guarding in front of Zhao Yān, then kicked open the pavilion door.

Inside was a complete mess.

Tables were overturned, porcelain vases shattered, and two unconscious Taoist priests lay behind the door. Gu Xing, who had arrived early, taking advantage of the chaos, was grappling with another young Taoist priest, fighting over a thick register.

The young priest was short but sturdy, his eyes fierce, his skills extraordinary. Fighting Gu Xing barehanded, they seemed evenly matched. Seeing Zhao Yān and the others burst in, the priest knew he was outnumbered and hurriedly threw the thick book into an alchemical furnace, attempting to burn and destroy the evidence.

The flames immediately shot up over a foot high. Seeing this, Gu Xing quickly extended his arm, trying to retrieve the burning book from the furnace, but was repeatedly blocked by the priest.

“Li Fu!” Zhao Yān called out sharply.

Li Fu immediately rushed forward to rake the book out of the furnace, turning in circles and stomping out the flames with his foot. Sparks and paper ash scattered instantly.

Gu Xing took advantage of the priest’s anxiety and disordered movements, spotted a weakness, and swept his leg, kicking the priest more than ten feet away, overturning the furnace.

The priest burned his leg and, seeing no escape, immediately bit into a poison pill hidden under his tongue and fell dead.

Li Fu made a sound of disgust and stepped aside, picking up the book rescued from the furnace. He patted off the ash, sniffed it to ensure it wasn’t poisoned, then presented it to Zhao Yān with both hands.

The temperature in the furnace was extremely high, and although they had rescued it in time, only about half the book, slightly larger than a palm, remained.

“Following Your Highness’s orders, I’ve been watching Tongtian Platform closely. When the Star-Gazing Observatory suddenly collapsed and Tongtian Platform fell into chaos, I seized the opportunity to sneak in. I happened to encounter this man rummaging through cabinets and drawers looking for this register. I guessed the register must be crucial evidence for him to risk coming to search, so I engaged him in combat,” Gu Xing explained the situation in a few words, then saluted with clasped hands. “This subordinate was incompetent, and still let him destroy half the evidence.”

Only now did Zhao Yān have the strength to exhale the turbid air in her chest. She waved her hand and said, “It’s not your fault. That man’s behavior wasn’t that of a Taoist priest but a death guard. It means someone else wanted to take advantage of the chaos to destroy the secrets in this register.”

Fortunately, they had rescued at least half of it.

Just as she was thinking this, unsteady, hurried footsteps approached from outside the pavilion.

An urgent hoarse voice came: “Quick, go hide the master’s account book!”

Hearing this, Gu Xing immediately moved to protect his master. Zhao Yān tucked the register into her bosom and looked up to see Divine Light Priest with his hat askew and clothes disheveled, panting heavily as he stood beyond the threshold.

The old Taoist looked at Zhao Yān and the others, then at the dead priest on the ground and the overturned furnace. His eyes widened in terror, and he turned to flee.

Zhao Yān pursued him out of the pavilion, but the Divine Light Priest took a shortcut down the spiral walkway.

Zhao Yān calmly ordered Gu Xing: “Stop him! If he falls into the imperial guards’ hands, I won’t have a chance to question him…”

Before she finished speaking, the frantically fleeing Divine Light Priest suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Breathing heavily like an ox, he looked at the spiral stone steps, as if seeing something terrifying, and was forced to retreat, trembling step by step.

At the bottom of the walkway, first came into view a brilliant phoenix crown, then a majestic, magnificent phoenix robe. The shadow of the walkway gradually receded from Empress Wei, the sunlight illuminating her authoritative and coldly beautiful features.

The pair of lotus jade pendants at her waist made tinkling sounds. Behind her, several trusted palace servants followed, blocking the walkway completely.

Zhao Yān’s heart suddenly tightened, and she asked tensely: “Why is Mother here?”

Her gaze swept between Liu Ying and Li Fu, seeing Li Fu lower his head guiltily. She knew this matter was most likely his doing, passing a message to the Kunning Palace.

Zhao Yān had no right to blame Li Fu for anything; after all, he had been trained in Kunning Palace.

The gazes of mother and daughter collided across the space. Zhao Yān lowered her eyelids like a child who had done something wrong.

Mother knew everything…

She hadn’t obeyed orders to stop investigating the truth and had used Zhao Yǎn’s identity, ruining her mother’s birthday banquet.

Divine Light Priest straightened his hat and exclaimed with apparent anguish: “Your Majesty arrives just in time! The Crown Prince led people to break into this poor priest’s alchemy chamber, destroying the furnace and killing disciples. This is a grave sin, offending the divine spirits!”

Hearing this, Empress Wei frowned and looked at Zhao Yān, who was standing with lowered eyes and pursed lips.

Zhao Yān silently bore those two heavy gazes, almost able to imagine the disappointed expression her mother would have.

In her ears echoed that sentence from many years ago: “When will you ever give this palace some peace of mind?”

She secretly clenched her palm, took a deep breath, and raised her eyes, awaiting the rebuke.

Divine Light Priest maintained a meditative pose, eyes on his nose, nose on his heart, mumbling mystically: “The Crown Prince harming this poor priest doesn’t matter, but we cannot ruin His Majesty’s great enterprise of cultivating the Dao! Please allow this poor priest to report to His Majesty, burn incense, and perform rituals to appease heaven’s anger…”

Before he could finish speaking, a foot struck him squarely in the chest, kicking the old Taoist down with an “Aiya” as he fell backward.

Zhao Yān was shocked, staring in astonishment as Empress Wei lowered her hand from lifting her skirt and steadied her foot.

Empress Wei’s magnificent phoenix robe fluttered in the wind, like a female general on the battlefield with her cape flapping. She looked down at the Divine Light Sect priest on the ground, clutching his chest and struggling, as if examining an ant.

“Bewitching charlatan, how dare you manipulate words before this palace, framing my child!”

These powerful words echoed resoundingly in everyone’s ears.

Only then did Zhao Yān remember that she had only remembered her mother’s majestic appearance in the phoenix robe, but had forgotten that the Wei family had once followed the Founder Emperor to establish the empire and was a noble family enfeoffed for military merit.

A daughter raised in the Wei family naturally had an indomitable spirit in her bones.

Zhao Yān’s throat moved slightly.

She didn’t have time to think deeply. She signaled Gu Xing to detain Divine Light Priest, then quickly stepped forward to interrogate him: “Are you that ‘Immortal Master’?”

Divine Light Priest had just gotten up but decided to close his eyes and sit in meditation, putting on an air of transcendent calm.

“You think by saying nothing, all will be well? The Star-Gazing Observatory has collapsed, and the court is in uproar, accusing you. To appease public anger, Father Emperor will eventually investigate you. The Divine Light Sect harbors filth, and you risk returning to Tongtian Platform for this register, right?” Zhao Yān took out the half-burned register from her bosom. Seeing the old priest’s face visibly stiffen, she continued knowingly, “The person searching in your alchemy chamber earlier wasn’t one of your Taoist disciples… meaning someone else wants to destroy the secrets in this register during the chaos. Even if I let you go, on the way to pleading your case, or in the Ministry of Justice prison, Venerable, how confident are you that you won’t be silenced?”

“This poor priest doesn’t understand… what Your Highness is saying.”

“Then I’ll speak more clearly: right now, only I can keep you alive.”

The old priest’s beard trembled, his dry eyelids fluttering rapidly.

All the composure and detachment of an otherworldly person disintegrated in the face of life and death, leaving only instinctive trembling and panic.

“The poison that killed the Confucian scholars at Mingde Academy and was sent to the Eastern Palace in the letter—that poison that dissolves in ink, using cobra glands as a catalyst—did you make it?” Seeing the old priest waver, Zhao Yān raised her voice. “Because their political discussions would threaten the Divine Light Sect’s interests, you poisoned the imperial descendant! This is a crime punishable by the execution of nine kinship groups!”

“No, no…” The old priest’s defenses collapsed, and he abruptly opened his eyes. “Though this poor priest was wary of Your Highness, how would I dare openly plot against Your Highness? The poison was made on another’s orders; it truly had nothing to do with this poor priest!”

Zhao Yān was stunned and stepped forward to press: “Who instructed you? Who is behind you? Speak!”

“This poor priest has delivered medicine to so many families, how could I remember…”

A very faint sound of something cutting through the air—”swoosh.”

“Changfeng!” Empress Wei, sharp-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed Zhao Yān’s hand and pulled her aside.

Almost simultaneously, a feathered arrow grazed Zhao Yān’s temple and plunged entirely into the Divine Light Priest’s throat, emerging from the back of his neck.

He maintained his posture of speaking with his mouth open, eyes wide, falling backward stiffly, and dying instantly.

“Protect His Highness!” Gu Xing shouted sternly.

Zhao Yān fell sitting to the ground, her pupils slightly contracting.

The sun shone brightly, yet she felt a sharp chill rising from the depths of her heart.

Imperial guards swarmed up, saluting Empress Wei and Zhao Yān: “By imperial command, we’ve come to summon Divine Light Priest for questioning…”

The imperial guard commander’s words were not yet finished when he saw the Divine Light Priest’s corpse on the ground and froze in shock.

Divine Light Priest was dead. But the blood-stained dark iron arrow on the ground belonged to the imperial guards’ archery arsenal.

“Who killed him?”

Zhao Yān slowly rose, her gold and purple robes flowing in the wind. She looked around at the newly arrived imperial guards and asked, “Which of you shot the arrow that killed him?”

The imperial guards stammered, looking at one another, with no one answering.

“This palace and the Crown Prince arrived a step too late. Divine Light Priest was silenced by a traitor among the imperial guards. This matter is of great importance; follow this palace quickly to report to His Majesty!” Empress Wei’s few words controlled the situation. She then turned to look at the silent Zhao Yān and lowered her voice: “The Crown Prince has been frightened and need not appear before His Majesty today. Rest well.”

After saying this, she gave Zhao Yān a deep look and led the imperial guards and palace servants away.

Zhao Yān stood there for a while longer before her cold limbs gradually warmed up.

“What happened?” Liu Baiwei, just returning from searching the left pavilion, was shocked to see the imperial guards carrying away the Divine Light Priest’s corpse. “What happened? Is Your Highness alright?”

“The witness was silenced.” Zhao Yān shook her head lightly, but at least they still had this register.

She covered the half-remaining clue in her bosom, lowering her eyes in thought.

As if having made a decision, she raised her eyes resolutely and said: “Return to the Eastern Palace.”

……

At Hegui Pavilion.

Zhang Cang hurried upstairs, not yet having caught his breath, and reported to Wenren Lin, who was sitting in a chair reading: “Your Highness, somehow the Crown Prince investigated Tongtian Platform and snatched half a register from those people.”

Wenren Lin looked up, and Zhang Cang swallowed hard before forcing himself to continue: “This subordinate was a step too late. The Crown Prince, carrying that half register, is already on the way back to the Eastern Palace.”

With the Prince holding such a hot potato, he had undoubtedly become a target for all arrows, a moving live target!

No sooner had the words fallen than Wenren Lin had already put down his book and risen, passing by Zhang Cang to go downstairs.

His face was frost-white, his eyes brilliantly colored, and his robes moved without wind.

Zhang Cang was forced a step back by the murderous aura emanating from him. Only after the figure disappeared downstairs did he come to his senses and slap his forehead!

The Prince’s poison was due to flare up in these days, and he hadn’t yet taken his medicine!

The Eastern Palace carriage exited Qing’an Gate of the Northern Garden and followed the lane adjacent to the palace wall, circling back to the Eastern Palace.

Gu Xing and a group of Eastern Palace guards kept their hands on their swords, protecting both sides.

The assassination happened in an instant.

Assassins lying in ambush on the walls of the lane shot arrows like rain, directly targeting the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace carriage!

Gu Xing drew his sword, clinking and clanking as he cut down arrows, fighting while retreating, shouting: “Protect His Highness!”

An assassin leaped down from the wall, killing his way toward the carriage, seemingly wanting to snatch something.

But he only managed to run a few yards before being shot down by another dark-tailed feathered arrow.

From the other end of the lane, Prince Su came riding on horseback in his dark red robes, drawing his bow like a moon on horseback, aiming at the assassins behind the wall.

Three arrows fired at once, followed by another three with a backhand draw, none missing!

The remaining two assassins were captured by Gu Xing, who efficiently dislocated their jaws to prevent suicide.

Before his horse had even stopped, Wenren Lin had already bent his bow, dismounted with a flip, steadied himself, and strode toward the Eastern Palace carriage.

He walked so swiftly, reaching out to lift the arrow-riddled curtain, his knuckles trembling imperceptibly for an instant.

The curtain lifted, light poured in, illuminating the fully armored figure inside wearing rattan armor and a helmet…

Li Fu.

Li Fu sat stunned in the rattan armor, his arm still stuck with several laughable feathered arrows, staring blankly at the man before him who seemed like either a demon or a deity.

Wenren Lin quietly lowered his hand, the surging emotions in his eyes slightly freezing, then gradually subsiding.

He suppressed the suffocating backlash in his chest and, after a while, asked hoarsely: “Where is Your Highness?”