Jing Zhaoyin.
Sunlight fell like golden dust, brilliantly pouring over the entire palace complex. The Jing Zhaoyin was rarely so lively — officials had gathered in full force, every one of them holding their breath and bracing themselves as if facing a formidable enemy.
Ming Huazhang led Ming Huashang inside. Jing Zhaoyiin noticed and frowned. “Deputy Jing Zhaoyiin Ming, this is a place for deliberation. Anyone unrelated to the matter may not enter.”
Ming Huashang followed behind Ming Huazhang, her eyes quickly sweeping over the expressions of those around her, and she discreetly tugged at his sleeve.
In ordinary times, she relied on her identity as the Deputy Jing Zhaoyiin’s younger sister to move about the Jing Zhaoyin freely. Others tolerated it because she never caused trouble and genuinely contributed useful observations. But if she were to walk openly into the deliberation hall — bringing the matter into the light of day — that would be overstepping far too much.
She wanted to say that perhaps they should forget it. Ming Huazhang was new to officialdom; there was no need for him to make himself a target on her behalf. After the meeting, he could relay what was discussed to her — it would amount to the same thing.
Ming Huazhang gave her hand a reassuring squeeze beneath his sleeve, then raised his hand and bowed to the Jing Zhaoyiin. His bearing was straight as a pine, neither servile nor arrogant, performing the most proper and correct courtesies — yet the words he spoke showed not the slightest deference: “Jing Zhaoyiin, this official has been meaning to report: my younger sister is not an uninvolved party. She is a helper I have brought here.”
The moment he said it, the entire hall was shocked. Officials murmured amongst themselves, and Jing Zhaoyiin’s expression darkened further. He snapped furiously: “Preposterous! This is the dignified Jing Zhaoyin — since when do we require an outsider to instruct us in how to break a case? What’s more, she is merely a woman. Letting her enter the hall to deliberate is an affront to official authority and an invitation to ridicule!”
Ming Huashang’s eyes widened, clear and doe-like. Those nearby who saw her felt a pang of sympathy and intervened: “Jing Zhaoyiin, please calm your anger. A young girl’s curiosity about how the authorities handle a case is understandable — don’t frighten her. Deputy Jing Zhaoyiin Ming, even if you dote on your sister, you shouldn’t bring her into the deliberation chamber…”
Ming Huazhang raised his voice, its clarity and resonance cutting through the clamor of sycophants, agitators, and peacemakers alike: “I have brought her here today not in the capacity of an elder brother, but as the Deputy Jing Zhaoyiin. I did not explain this clearly before, and yesterday the Jing Zhaoyiin may have misunderstood and had her removed from the Huichun Hall crime scene. Now I will make it plain before everyone: her talent for solving cases far surpasses my own. The bomber is still at large. To solve this case as quickly as possible, we must embrace unconventional talent. She is precisely the kind of talent the Jing Zhaoyin should cultivate. I have brought her here to seek her assistance in cracking the case — not out of any supposed indulgence toward a younger sister.”
The hall erupted in even greater astonishment. With a woman on the throne, no one dared openly say a woman was incapable — but a sheltered young lady from a respectable household? Embroidering was one thing; solving cases was quite another.
Ming Huashang looked up at Ming Huazhang, her gaze disbelieving yet deeply moved.
When Jing Zhaoyiin had driven her from Huichun Hall the day before, she had slunk away feeling quite wretched. Not wanting to burden Ming Huazhang, she had said nothing when she saw him afterward, keeping up her usual cheerful banter. He had not asked, and she had assumed the matter was simply closed. It had never occurred to her that while Ming Huazhang had offered no comfort then, a day later — standing before all his colleagues — he would fight for her so decisively.
She was not merely someone’s younger sister. When she stood at the scene of a murder, she was Ming Huashang.
Some things he never said aloud. He simply quietly made them happen. Whether she noticed or felt grateful was something he did not seem to concern himself with.
Jing Zhaoyiin was openly contradicted to his face and was furious. He jabbed a finger at Ming Huazhang and opened his mouth to speak — then suddenly clutched his chest and broke into a violent fit of coughing.
The surrounding yamen runners rushed forward to support him. One of them caught sight of a red stain on Jing Zhaoyiin’s handkerchief and blanched in alarm: “Jing Zhaoyiin…”
Just then, from outside came the announcement: “The Crown Prince arrives.” Jing Zhaoyiin’s face went cold as he put away the handkerchief and said hoarsely: “I am fine. Go and receive the Crown Prince.”
The Crown Prince had arrived, so Ming Huazhang could say no more. He calmly withdrew his hand. He glanced down at Ming Huashang and said in a gentle voice: “It is all right. I will handle things here at the Jing Zhaoyin. Do not worry about what others might say of you.”
Ming Huashang looked into his gentle, accepting eyes and smiled, reaching out to take his hand of her own accord. “All right.”
The two of them walked to the entrance, kneeling with the rest: “We pay our respects to the Crown Prince.”
The Crown Prince wore robes of crimson red, attended in the rear by the staff of the Eastern Palace, and at the very back, the Imperial Guards. Xie Jichuan, in a pale green robe, followed at the Crown Prince’s flank — as icy as ever, like a drawn blade. He was unsurprised to see Ming Huazhang, but when his gaze fell on Ming Huashang standing beside him, he genuinely raised a brow in puzzlement.
The Crown Prince was deeply vexed at the moment — he had no patience for ceremony. He waved a hand carelessly: “Rise. No need for formalities.”
The assembled officials expressed their gratitude and stood in turn. The Crown Prince walked into the deliberation hall with a heavy expression, Jing Zhaoyiin following close behind. The rest exchanged courteous greetings, offering genial pleasantries: “After you.”
Ming Huazhang stood in the position second only to the Jing Zhaoyiin, while Xie Jichuan stood within the Crown Prince’s retinue. One was host, the other guest. As Xie Jichuan passed by following the Crown Prince, their gazes crossed for a fleeting instant before each looked away, as though nothing had happened.
While the officials exchanged pleasantries, no one paid attention to Ming Huashang. Jiang Ling drew near and nudged her: “What are you doing here?”
Ming Huashang gave him an exasperated look. “If you can be here, why can’t I?”
Ren Yao came up from behind and hissed in a lowered voice: “Enough — we’re in public. Don’t let anyone notice.”
Ming Huashang gave a silent shrug. Just then, Ming Huazhang looked back from the crowd, searching for where she was. Ming Huashang immediately took two quick steps toward him: “Second Elder Brother, I am right here.”
Ming Huazhang glanced back at Ren Yao and Jiang Ling and showed no sign of particular familiarity with them. He said coolly: “Let us go.”
The Crown Prince took his seat in the main position first, the rest seating themselves in descending order of official rank. The Crown Prince could not even be bothered with opening pleasantries and went straight to the point: “Do you have any leads on the culprit?”
The Jing Zhaoyin officials were silent. If they knew who the perpetrator was, why would they still be sitting here?
Jing Zhaoyiin eagerly briefed the Crown Prince and the Imperial Guards on the general situation of the case, reporting their conjectures and progress without reservation.
However, Jing Zhaoyiin had hardly visited the crime scenes himself. All of this information had been uncovered by Ming Huazhang — and now, in a few brief words, it had all become Jing Zhaoyiin’s accomplishment.
Those who had gone to the scenes quietly glanced at Ming Huazhang. No one spoke. Ming Huazhang’s expression was serene, like a jade carving — cool and composed, untouched by desire or resentment. Ming Huashang, afraid she could not control her own expression, discreetly lowered her head and let her mind drift.
After the second explosion, Ming Huashang had known that the matter would inevitably alarm the palace. The Empress would certainly dispatch the Xuan Xiaowei to investigate in secret. Rather than wait passively, she had decided to take the initiative and formally requested to take charge of the matter herself.
To make it easier to pass along false information later, she had specifically stated she needed additional support — she had not expected the palace to be so generous as to transfer the entire team to her directly.
The Empress had even arranged for the Eastern Palace, the Left Imperial Guards, and the Jing Zhaoyin to be brought together so that Xie Jichuan, Jiang Ling, and Ren Yao could participate in the investigation naturally, without requiring any superfluous actions on their part.
It was clear the Empress truly thought highly of Ming Huazhang. She likely believed it was he who had sent the note up, which was why she granted every request. To be so singularly favored by the throne — no wonder someone wanted him dead.
Finding some comfort in the grim situation, Ming Huashang thought: at least it proved that the person who had exposed the identities of the Twin Jades was not the Empress. She felt reassured that the Empress trusted Ming Huazhang so deeply — as long as nothing went wrong, his rise would be smooth and certain. And yet she could not help but worry.
Throughout history, emperors and ministers had always been locked in struggle. If imperial authority was too strong, the emperor would be crushed by its weight; if too weak, the emperor would be held hostage by those beneath them. The Empress’s situation was more complicated still — the civil and military officials filling the court were both the ministers she had to rely upon and the remnants of the previous dynasty.
And so she had devised a singular method to control the entire court: the Xuan Xiaowei.
The Empress did not need a band of spies hidden among the common people with no political footprint — that would be useless. To say she was cultivating informants was not quite right; it was more accurate to say she was using the Xuan Xiaowei to select individuals who could be of use to her, and then placing them in key positions within the court through examinations and recommendations, thereby indirectly controlling the vast machinery of state.
As far as Ming Huashang knew, the Jing Zhaoyin, the Eastern Palace, the Imperial Censorate, and the Imperial Guards all harbored the Empress’s hidden eyes — and in the places she had not encountered, who could say how many more were concealed. Using these people to report — or rather, to surveil — the Empress could know the minds of her ministers at any moment and keep power firmly in her own hands.
While the Empress lived, these hidden agents would naturally be emboldened. One did not even need to think hard to know the Empress would far prefer to promote her own people — so in practice, the ministers who belonged to the Xuan Xiaowei rose faster and were treated better. But what would happen when her reign ended?
When the next emperor ascended, how would he deal with this vast network of intelligence agents? Would he kill them to vent his wrath, settle scores after the harvest, or take them for his own use?
Ming Huashang sighed deeply, once again feeling the helplessness of being carried along by the current of fate. At the juncture that had changed everything, she had wanted to escape the inexplicable death foretold in her dream, and the only thing she could grasp was the lifeline Han Jie had extended. But having grasped it, she realized this lifeline might not save her life at all — it might drag her down into a deeper abyss.
If the new emperor chose the first two options, Ming Huashang might as well wash up and prepare herself for the coffin. If he continued to make use of the Xuan Xiaowei, it would mean the politics of harsh enforcement continued to operate in the shadows. Was living in such an environment a fortune or a curse?
But then Ming Huashang recalled the death crisis foreshadowed in her dream — it was coming this very year — and she felt it was rather premature to be worrying about whether the new emperor would purge them after ascending. If she could survive to the end of the year, she should be grateful enough to the heavens.
Drifting in her thoughts, Ming Huashang inadvertently met a probing gaze. Xie Jichuan sat across from her, studying her with an unreadable expression. Sensing her eyes on him, he smiled, his eyes growing all the more fox-like, and mouthed at her: “What is Second Little Sister thinking?”
Ming Huashang quickly composed her expression and gave him an innocent, puzzled smile in return. Ming Huazhang noticed the silent exchange between them and quietly watched Xie Jichuan for a moment, then pressed Ming Huashang’s hand in warning.
Reminded, Ming Huashang quickly pulled her attention back and forced herself to listen patiently as the Jing Zhaoyiin and Crown Prince spoke. From what she could tell, this Crown Prince had no real talent for governance — even after all this discussion, he still hadn’t grasped the crux of the matter and needed Jing Zhaoyiin to explain repeatedly.
When it came to the most recent case at Huichun Hall, Jing Zhaoyiin had no ready accomplishment to claim and said: “As for the Huichun Hall matter, this official has dispatched subordinates to investigate. There is no conclusion yet — I do not dare mislead Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince was somewhat dissatisfied with their progress and frowned: “The case has been open for so long — why have you made no headway at all? What do you plan to do going forward?”
When it came time for someone to shoulder the blame, the very ones who had been so eager to flatter moments ago had all vanished. Ming Huazhang stepped forward to take up the question: “Your Highness reprimands us justly — we officials have been ineffective and feel deep remorse. In this official’s private view, whatever the culprit’s reasons for killing Qian Yi and Chu Ji, the explosives are the key to his method. Therefore, this official plans to investigate the purchase of saltpeter and gunpowder and trace anyone who recently acquired large quantities of flammable materials. However, the Lantern Festival was recently, and wealthy households had stockpiled large amounts of fireworks. Their gunpowder’s origins are unclear, and they have been unwilling to cooperate with the authorities’ investigation, which has greatly impeded progress. This official respectfully requests a decree from Your Highness: please allow me a deployment of additional personnel and, when necessary, the authority to enter and search properties.”
The Crown Prince frowned upon hearing this. The wealthy families of Chang’an were a tangle of complex connections. He had only just consolidated his position in the Eastern Palace and was seeking stability; if Ming Huazhang went around searching official residences bearing the Crown Prince’s decree, would he not be making enemies everywhere?
The Crown Prince shook his head: “This is inadvisable. Is there no other approach?”
Ming Huazhang tightened his lips in clear dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince’s indecision. He was preparing to argue his case further when Xie Jichuan, reading Ming Huazhang’s intent from across the room, spoke first: “Your Highness, this official believes we might investigate by starting with the Widow Liu.”
The Crown Prince looked at Xie Jichuan: “What does Aide Xie mean by this?”
Xie Jichuan said: “The deaths of Qian Yi and Chu Ji are too coincidental. One was a tavern keeper, the other a clinic physician — one in the north of the city, one in the south, with no overlapping paths in life whatsoever, except through the Widow Liu. At present, I have two conjectures. First: the Widow Liu wished to kill Innkeeper Feng and run off with her lover, but how would a fisherman’s daughter know anything about pharmacology? It was Chu Ji who guided her. She and Qian Yi colluded to murder Innkeeper Feng and faced no punishment for it. Someone, wishing to avenge Innkeeper Feng, then killed the adulterous Qian Yi and his accomplice Chu Ji. Second: the Widow Liu resented Qian Yi for gaining ownership of Jinxiu Tower yet failing to cherish her — choosing instead to keep a mistress outside. So love turned to hatred, and she killed Qian Yi. Later, when the authorities began investigating, she feared exposure and killed Chu Ji.”
Xie Jichuan’s tone was cool and detached, yet his words struck at the heart of the matter with perfect clarity. For all the time Jing Zhaoyiin had spent explaining before, the Crown Prince had still not sorted out the relationships between the people involved — but after Xie Jichuan’s account, the Crown Prince understood in an instant.
Xie Jichuan was a Junior Companion of the Eastern Palace’s Staff Bureau, and the Crown Prince naturally trusted his own man more. He asked: “In Aide Xie’s view, how should we proceed?”
Xie Jichuan said unhurriedly: “If it is the first scenario, then we should investigate Innkeeper Feng’s relatives, friends, and loyal servants — Deputy Jing Zhaoyiin Ming has already found an eyewitness; we need only have that person make an identification. If it is the second scenario, it is even simpler: the Widow Liu is the instigator — investigate her movements.”
“That will not do.” Ming Huazhang spoke immediately. “The eyewitness is an elderly woman of some years, unstable in her own resolve. If she knows she is identifying the culprit, she may see a resemblance even where there is none. On the sole word of one witness, what if the identification is wrong? We are here to find the true culprit, not to manufacture a wrongful conviction. If an innocent person is condemned, we cannot escape responsibility.”
Xie Jichuan said: “We need not tell her what the identification is for.”
“The authorities call on her to ask questions, and then shortly after have her identify someone — how could she not guess what is happening?” Ming Huazhang said. “This approach begins by assuming the suspect is the culprit and then searches for flaws in them. The officers will be biased from the start, and misjudgment is almost inevitable. It is better to trace back to the source. Regardless of the culprit’s motive, the most telling vulnerability is that he was capable of producing such powerful explosives. And since he would have needed to refine the formula through repeated trials, there must be traces left in his dwelling. Tracing the origin of the saltpeter may appear complex, but it is the most reliable path.”
Xie Jichuan and Ming Huazhang’s gazes locked — in that instant, it was as though blades had crossed, and neither yielded. Xie Jichuan pressed his lips together, suppressing a fury in his eyes. How could Ming Huazhang not understand? Yes, if this approach succeeded, it was indeed more accurate — but if it didn’t? Who would bear the cost of the enemies made along the way?
When there was a faster and simpler method right before them, why did he insist on bringing trouble upon himself?
Jiang Ling watched Ming Huazhang and Xie Jichuan argue in silence, thinking to himself that being too clever had its drawbacks. Each of them was certain his own view was correct, and neither was willing to abandon his position. Take himself — he had no such trouble.
Jiang Ling made no effort to conceal a yawn. He was mid-yawn when he suddenly heard a woman’s small, cautious voice: “Um… actually, I think there might be another line of inquiry.”
Jiang Ling choked on his yawn. His jaw very nearly dislocated. He braced himself against the table and sat upright, staring at Ming Huashang in astonishment.
Ming Huashang, bearing the weight of many eyes upon her, would have been lying if she said she felt no nerves. She forced herself to stay calm: “I believe we might start with Chu Ji. We think Chu Ji’s death is connected to the Widow Liu — but actually we have no clear evidence of that. It is all merely our speculation, is it not?”
Ming Huazhang looked at her, his dark eyes clear and deep, waiting for her to continue. Xie Jichuan raised a brow and asked, puzzled: “Why him?”
While Ming Huazhang’s reasoning he could follow, Ming Huashang’s thoughts so often led Xie Jichuan somewhere he hadn’t anticipated.
“Because when I looked at the Jinxiu Tower and Huichun Hall explosion scenes, I felt a deep, bone-level hatred,” Ming Huashang said. As she spoke of the case, her own mind settled and cleared, and she spoke with fluent conviction: “The culprit had many opportunities to kill Qian Yi, but he deliberately waited for Qian Yi to climb to the top floor and finish delivering a birthday toast to his son — practically the proudest moment of Qian Yi’s life — and then had him blown to pieces in front of a crowd. This was no ordinary killing motivated by love or money. It looked far more like judgment — like the culprit was putting Qian Yi on public trial in order to vent a hatred that had eaten into his very bones. What he wanted was not merely Qian Yi’s death; he wanted to condemn him before the world.”
The assembled officials in the hall exchanged glances, their scrutiny of Ming Huashang entirely unconcealed. Clearly, no one had taken seriously what Ming Huazhang had said earlier. The times might have changed — women could now hold office — but surely that meant writing poems and composing documents, as Shangguan Wan’er had done. Could a woman solve criminal cases? Work this demanding, exhausting, requiring both mental and physical exertion — that had always been men’s domain alone.
That Ming Huazhang had brought his younger sister into the deliberation hall was already absurd enough. Was this young woman really going to tell them how to do their jobs?
Ren Yao, watching from across the crowd as Ming Huashang spoke with composure before the Crown Prince, the Jing Zhaoyiin, the Eastern Palace staff, and a hall full of ranking officials, felt a surge of pride. She turned back to find Jiang Ling bouncing his leg distractedly and jabbed him in irritation.
Jiang Ling was knocked out of his stupor, clutching his arm and staring at her in bewilderment. Ren Yao shot him a fierce glare and mouthed a threat: “Pay attention.”
Ming Huashang was undeterred by the examination of those around her. The more she spoke, the clearer her thoughts became: “It was the same with Chu Ji. A physician celebrated from a young age, successful and renowned — yet found dead in his own dispensary, his prized medicines scattered across the floor like weeds, trampled underfoot. When I looked upon the wreckage of Huichun Hall, my very first feeling was malice — thunderous, towering malice. If the culprit’s aim had only been profit or self-protection, how could the act carry such emotional intensity? So I believe we should investigate Chu Ji’s enemies, then cross-reference them with Qian Yi’s connections. Anyone who appears in both sets is the key suspect.”
Jing Zhaoyiin frowned and snapped: “Absurd! Solving a case requires evidence — not spinning tales from thin air. Women are women. They always have romance on the mind and can tie everything back to feelings. What ‘malice’? What ‘judgment’? This is an official court, not a storytelling stall. I will not have you stirring up confusion here!”
Ming Huashang had known someone would refuse to accept her reasoning and had been prepared. The Jing Zhaoyiin’s words did not wound her — but the Ming Huazhang at her side went cold in an instant.
Ren Yao heard the Jing Zhaoyiin insult Ming Huashang so openly and flushed scarlet with rage. She slammed her palm on the table and shot to her feet: “You dare—”
Fortunately, Jiang Ling was quick enough that Ren Yao was stopped before she could shout anything improper in front of the Crown Prince. Ren Yao struggled furiously; Jiang Ling held her back with force and flashed his most charming, indolent smile: “We were just arguing over where to eat after work. A trivial matter — nothing at all. Please continue, lords.”
Ming Huazhang did not so much as glance backward. His bearing remained upright and cold as frost; his voice carried a stern rectitude that effortlessly cut through the muffled sounds of Ren Yao’s protests: “Jing Zhaoyiin — the very purpose of gathering this many people today was to pool ideas and invite open exchange. You have not even heard her analysis — whether it has merit — before berating her for being a woman. What exactly do you mean by that? Are you suggesting women have no place in officialdom and no right to speak on affairs of governance?”
The officials in the hall thought of the woman on the throne — the one who had come close to cutting down half of the Tang dynasty — and felt a chill shoot down their spines.
Xie Jichuan shot Ming Huazhang an exasperated glare and said: “Enough. His Highness the Crown Prince is present. Right and wrong are for His Highness to determine — what gives you the right to hold forth? His Majesty is currently ill; the Crown Prince has come forward of his own initiative to relieve His Majesty of burdens. That is the very picture of filial devotion. If the investigation is delayed and the case is held up — would that not be driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and His Majesty? Who among you could bear that responsibility?”
The Crown Prince started at that. Yes — Prince Wei was just waiting for an excuse to fault him. His mother had appointed him to handle this matter in front of Prince Xiang, Prince Wei, and Prince Liang — which was itself an acknowledgment of his status as Crown Prince. If he bungled it…
The Crown Prince dared not think of the consequences. As long as the case was solved, what did it matter whether it was a man or a woman doing the work? The Crown Prince waved his hand: “We seek talent without prejudice. Whatever thoughts you have, speak freely — there is no need to hold back.”
With the Crown Prince speaking thus, it meant he had approved Ming Huashang’s participation in the case. Going forward, not even the Jing Zhaoyiin could censure her again — to do so would be to snub the Crown Prince’s face. Ren Yao, hearing this, was at least somewhat mollified. Sensing the force of her struggle ease, Jiang Ling slowly released her. He was just about to fish for some credit when Ren Yao’s fingers closed around his hand and bent it sharply backward.
Jiang Ling’s eyes went wide in an instant. Tears nearly flew from them. It was only by biting down on his lip in time that he avoided embarrassing himself before everyone present.
The commotion at the back of the hall drew no attention. The Crown Prince, having listened to the analyses from Ming Huazhang, Xie Jichuan, and Ming Huashang, felt his already-heavy head grow even more painful.
Three lines of reasoning, pointing in three entirely different directions of investigation. In theory they could pursue all three simultaneously, which would be the most prudent approach — but in reality, even with the Imperial Guards added to their numbers, manpower was still scarce. To break the case in time, they needed to concentrate their forces on one thing.
The Crown Prince weighed his options for a long while and ultimately deferred to his own man. Xie Jichuan had been with the Eastern Palace’s Staff Bureau for nearly half a year, and the Crown Prince had witnessed Xie Jichuan’s cleverness and resourcefulness firsthand; he had grown to place ever-greater faith in the great families. The Crown Prince believed that the heir produced by a century-old distinguished clan — named the most likely of the Jian commandery Xie family to revive the brilliance of their ancestors — would certainly judge rightly.
The Crown Prince said: “This prince finds Aide Xie’s reasoning quite persuasive. Henceforth, Junior Companion Xie Jichuan of the Eastern Palace shall have full authority to decide. His word shall be as if this prince were present in person.”