After Prince Gong of Xijiang bathed and changed clothes, he casually picked up a book and reclined on the couch to pass the time. When mealtime arrived, Princess of Xijiang still hadn’t appeared.
“Why hasn’t the princess come yet?”
“The princess is sleeping and said not to let the maids disturb her.”
Prince Gong of Xijiang frowned: “What time is it already? Go ask the princess to come.”
“Yes.”
Before long, a maid rushed in panic-stricken, her face pale as a ghost: “Your, Your Highness, the princess she…”
“What happened to the princess?”
The maid was scared out of her wits, speaking incoherently: “The, the princess…”
Her teeth chattered, unable to speak.
Prince Gong of Xijiang glared at the maid and simply got up to head straight for Princess Xijiang’s quarters.
The maid’s earlier panic had already drawn many maids blocking Princess of Xijiang’s doorway. Seeing Prince Gong of Xijiang approach, they all burst into tears.
Prince Gong of Xijiang’s heart skipped a beat as he coldly shouted: “Move aside!”
The doorway quickly cleared. Prince Gong of Xijiang walked in and immediately saw the sky-blue elegant gauze curtains pulled back, with Princess of Xijiang lying silently on the bed, her eyes wide open, her hands hanging limply beside the bed.
“Sister!” Prince Gong of Xijiang’s eyes filled with rage as he rushed over, completely losing his usual graceful demeanor.
Prince Gong of Xijiang ran to Princess of Xijiang’s bedside and grasped her dangling hand: “Sister, what’s wrong with you?”
That jade-like hand was already ice cold, without the slightest warmth.
Prince Gong of Xijiang raised his hand to check Princess of Xijiang’s breathing, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, crying out: “How could this happen? How could this happen?”
The Xijiang people who came upon hearing the news saw the scene inside and all knelt on the ground weeping.
This commotion soon alarmed the Great Liang officials at the Honglu Guest House.
“What happened?” A minor official stood at the courtyard gate, asking.
One of the Xijiang people kneeling and weeping got up, rushed over, and pinned the official to the ground, crying and shouting: “Beat all you Great Liang people to death! You killed our princess—”
Princess of Xijiang was talented and brilliant, intelligent and beautiful – in the hearts of the Xijiang people, she was like a goddess. Her death was a massive blow to these Xijiang people.
Seeing their companion’s actions, the others all rushed over and joined the fight.
Prince Gong of Xijiang came to his senses and strode out: “Stop!”
Those people paused their actions.
“Don’t cause trouble. What use is beating a minor official to death?”
Hearing Prince Gong of Xijiang’s words, those people all silently stood up. The Great Liang official who had been beaten at the bottom was already beaten into a pig’s head.
Prince Gong of Xijiang’s foot stopped in front of the official for a moment, then he quickly walked forward.
Foreign tribute delegations were always housed at the Honglu Guest House, which was behind the Court of State Ceremonial. Prince Gong of Xijiang quickly found the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.
Seeing Prince Gong of Xijiang’s murderous appearance, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial smiled: “Is Your Highness here to ask about the case’s progress?”
These Xijiang people were petty-minded – was it necessary to make such a fuss over a dead guard?
“My sister has been murdered!”
“What?” The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial thought he had misheard and couldn’t help touching his ear.
Prince Gong of Xijiang suppressed his fury and said word by word: “My sister, our Xijiang princess, was murdered in your Honglu Guest House!”
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial’s scalp tingled as he hurriedly followed Prince Gong of Xijiang to Princess of Xijiang’s quarters.
Seeing Princess of Xijiang’s tragic death, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial’s heart began pounding frantically.
What was this about? Why would the Princess of Xijiang be killed when she was perfectly fine?
With Princess of Xijiang dying like this in their Great Liang, the two countries might go to war.
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial’s head was spinning as he hurriedly notified Minister of Justice Kou Xingze and others.
Upon hearing this, Kou Xingze’s heart skipped a beat. He and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review went together to the palace to have an audience with the Emperor, only to be told by Chief Eunuch Wei Wuxie that their Emperor had entered seclusion again.
Having an emperor who went into seclusion at every turn left the ministers quite helpless. After the discussion, they reported this matter to Prince Rui and Prince Mu.
Upon hearing this, both Prince Rui and Prince Mu were shocked.
Having a foreign princess die in the Honglu Guest House was truly troublesome.
“Father Emperor entrusted the banquet affairs to us two brothers. Now that such an unexpected incident has occurred, how does Fifth Brother think this matter should be handled?”
“This brother’s mind is in chaos right now, and I have no immediate ideas. What does Sixth Brother think?” Prince Rui kicked the ball back.
Prince Mu secretly sneered.
He knew Fifth Brother was useless – completely unreliable when things happened. But this was also good, letting these important ministers see how such an indecisive prince was unsuitable for that position!
“I believe the murderer who killed the Princess of Xijiang must be caught. Only this way can we appease the Xijiang people’s anger; otherwise, the two countries will go to war.” Prince Mu pondered before speaking.
“This murderer—” The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review hesitated. “Prince Gong of Xijiang is convinced it’s connected to Marquis Guanjun.”
“What do you gentlemen think?”
The Left Censor-in-Chief spoke: “Princess of Xijiang sent someone to spy on the Li residence at night. Marquis Guanjun was very angry about this. Now that Princess of Xijiang is dead, it’s perfectly normal for Prince Gong of Xijiang to suspect it’s related to Marquis Guanjun.”
“Then let’s invite Marquis Guanjun to come for questioning. This time, it’s Princess of Xijiang who died, not just any random person. If we can’t give Prince Gong of Xijiang a satisfactory answer, we really will go to war.” Prince Mu said coldly.
“What if the murderer is Marquis Guanjun?” Kou Xingze suddenly asked.
The others were amazed to hear this.
Marquis Guanjun was Kou Xingze’s granddaughter’s husband-to-be. Others could ask this question, but it was strange for him to ask it.
Kou Xingze seemed not to notice everyone’s surprise and continued asking: “Would the two princes hand over Marquis Guanjun to give the Xijiang people an explanation?”
“What does Sixth Brother think?” Prince Rui looked indecisive.
Prince Mu frowned: “What does Minister Kou mean by this?”
Kou Xingze smiled: “This old minister is just thinking – if the murderer really is Marquis Guanjun, and we hand him over, perhaps this war would come even faster.”
Everyone fell silent.
Currently, there are very few usable generals in the court. After Xing Wuyang was executed, the new anti-Japanese general was reluctantly selected for the position. Whether he could establish a foothold in the south was still uncertain. Were they to push out Marquis Guanjun to appease the Xijiang people, then wait for the Tartars to applaud with glee?
Prince Mu glanced at Kou Xingze: “Minister Kou need not speak for Marquis Guanjun like this. If Marquis Guanjun is the murderer, we could find a scapegoat to hand over, but should Marquis Guanjun receive no punishment at all? Can he act lawlessly just because he can fight wars? Wouldn’t this count as achievements threatening the throne?”
Hearing Prince Mu’s words, all the ministers fell silent.
“Regardless, let’s first call Marquis Guanjun for questioning. Prince Gong of Xijiang has firmly identified Marquis Guanjun – we need to at least maintain appearances.” Prince Mu finally made the decision.
At this time, Shao Mingyuan was not at the Marquis’ residence but had gone with Qiao Zhao to the outskirts of the capital to see Yang Houcheng off.