Having grown up in the deep palace since childhood, he was thoroughly familiar with these tactics. The so-called “pursuit of a fugitive” was merely an excuse.

Sure enough, not even a shadow of the fugitive was found, but the Imperial Guards instead discovered a book in his study called “Precious Records of the Primal Origin.”

This book wasn’t particularly remarkable; even its author was obscure. Its contents were merely illustrated introductions to various treasures from before the current era and from the Haoli Empire. Although it contained much far-fetched and exaggerated language, there was one picture drawn very clearly:

The Dragon-Piercing Diagram.

In this “Precious Records of the Primal Origin,” the Dragon-Piercing Diagram was illustrated in its entirety, without any omission, even depicting the dagger in the dragon-piercer’s hand with meticulous detail.

In other words, even before the King of Wei was stabbed, the Crown Prince likely already knew that his father’s tattoo was a protective magical device, and perhaps knew its vulnerabilities and blind spots even better than the King of Wei himself.

This matter immediately caused another uproar in the court. The assassin Xu An had been recommended to the King of Wei by the Crown Prince; Xu An’s son had died unnaturally soon after imprisonment; the Crown Prince was intimately familiar with the weaknesses of the secret treasure, the Dragon-Piercing Diagram…

So, what more needs to be said?

Xiao Yan spoke passionately in the royal court, publicly accusing the Crown Prince of being the regicide, denouncing him as a “royal traitor,” and vowing to bring him to justice to comfort the spirit of the King of Wei in heaven. The Crown Prince’s faction argued strenuously, but their words seemed pale in the face of the facts.

On the same day, Xiao Yan, holding the King of Wei’s jade seal, claimed that to fulfill his father’s way, he would accordingly strip Third Prince Xiao Wu of his regency powers. Xiao Wu naturally refused, but his age and experience were insufficient to convince the masses. Several of his generals switched sides, and Xiao Yan smoothly took power.

Xiao Yan moved quickly. The day after taking power, large numbers of cavalry were mobilized near the capital.

As the Crown Prince read this news, his face grew increasingly pale, until finally he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, overcome by anger and anxiety.

Fortunately, he was physically strong, and after being treated by the army physicians for less than half a day, he recovered. But going to the capital was now out of the question.

In his second brother’s hands was what he wanted most:

The Jade Seal.

This was the symbol of the legitimate rulers of Great Wei throughout the generations and the proof of the Mandate of Heaven. Only when the ruler possessed the Jade Seal would the nation’s power flow forth endlessly.

Such a precious treasure—the King of Wei never let a second person touch it. The Jade Seal was usually locked in a secret compartment in his study. When he expeditioned against the Yao Kingdom, since Third Prince Xiao Wu was guarding the capital, the King of Wei carried the Jade Seal with him, never expecting that after his death it would benefit his second son.

So for the Wei Crown Prince returning from Chiqian Forest to the capital, he originally faced two issues: one was ascending the throne, and the other was retrieving the Jade Seal from Xiao Yan. As long as he returned to the capital, he could naturally ascend to the throne of supreme power, but to retrieve the Jade Seal would likely require effort—Xiao Yan wouldn’t relinquish it so easily.

But in the Crown Prince’s original imagination, as long as he returned to the capital, these issues could be resolved through certain means.

Who would have expected these current events?

With the charge of regicide over his head, his succession to the throne was no longer legitimate in the royal court’s eyes. If he returned to the capital now, wouldn’t he be walking into a trap?

Xiao Yan’s public image had always been that of a harmonious and modest person, completely different from the Crown Prince’s arrogance. During these months with the Crown Prince far from the capital, Xiao Yan had maneuvered several times, accumulating high popularity in the royal court with many supporters.

Ignoring the desperate remonstrances of several advisors, the Crown Prince suddenly changed direction and headed toward Jiang City, the auxiliary capital of the Wei Kingdom.

Jiang City was located two hundred and sixty li northeast of the Wei capital, closer to An Xia.

He stationed himself here, waiting for his army returning from the west. Five days later, the vanguard of over twenty thousand troops arrived. He immediately declared himself with military backing, proclaimed Xiao Yan a usurper, and demanded he surrender both the capital and the Jade Seal, or else face military attack!

The Crown Prince had rebelled!

When the news spread, there was a great uproar both within and outside Wei Kingdom.

Meanwhile, in Yao Capital, many changes had also occurred over these months.

First, Miao Fengxian continued investigating his brother’s murder case, arresting many more accomplices from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, all of whom were beheaded as a warning to others.

Among them were many officials originally from factions supporting Miao Fengxian, yet they were also purged. The common people applauded, saying the Crown Prince showed deep brotherly affection and unyielding integrity.

This regained much popularity for Miao Fengxian and rebuilt his positive image.

Originally, Princess Hanyue’s disappearance at the grand wedding had damaged Miao Fengxian’s face, but his subsequent skilled military leadership in repelling Wei Kingdom’s attack had begun to spread among the Yao people, enough to wash away his previous stain.

As for Princess Hanyue, after returning to Yao Capital, Miao Fengxian indeed honored his promise to Mo Tizhun, recognizing her as the Crown Princess and providing her with the appropriate rank and treatment.

Mo Tizhun finally returned to Jin satisfied.

The third matter was that Miao Fengxian assumed the position of State Preceptor after his grand wedding, simultaneously holding a grand ceremony to announce it to the world.

It is said that a country cannot go a day without a ruler, but in some sense, the importance of the State Preceptor is no less than that of the sovereign. With An Ruzhen killed by Yun Ya, Yao Kingdom needed to select a new State Preceptor to manage the country’s fortunes.

These matters were completed one by one, and several months had passed since Feng Miaojun’s return to Yao.

Feng Miaojun was stunned when she received news of the Wei Crown Prince’s uprising, reading it twice before asking: “Is this news definitely correct?”

Opposite her was a pale-faced scholar who stroked his neat mustache upon hearing her words: “The news itself is certainly correct and will spread to the common people within seven days at most. But whether there are any mysteries or omissions within, I dare not guarantee.”

Feng Miaojun nodded: “I naturally trust the intelligence Uncle Lu has collected.”

The scholar before her was none other than Lu Chuanying. He had operated in Jin’s capital, Caixin City, for many years. After Feng Miaojun left Jin, he handed over his business to others and followed her to Yao Kingdom, seeking a settlement with the Feng business. According to Lu Chuanying himself, he had lived in ease for over twenty years and didn’t want to continue wasting away like that.

Feng Miaojun was just in need of such talent and naturally welcomed his arrival with open arms.

Lu Chuanying’s judgment of the situation was precise and his analysis thorough—a point that people like Peng Bai could not match.

“What madness has possessed the Wei Crown Prince to suddenly attack the Wei capital with his army when everything was fine?” Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed. “Although Xu An was introduced to the King of Wei by him, and they regularly corresponded, this doesn’t directly prove the King of Wei was killed by the Crown Prince. He only needed to return to the capital as usual to preside over the investigation. At most, he would face criticism but would eventually still ascend the throne. Now that he dares not return and has raised an army instead, isn’t this showing his guilty conscience, clearly admitting his guilt?”

Lu Chuanying also said: “This matter is suspicious. The Wei Crown Prince is flamboyant by nature but not rash. How could he destroy his walls like this?” After a pause, “However, the intelligence we’ve gathered may not be comprehensive, and there might be many inside stories unknown to us.”

“Inside stories?” Her first thought was of Yun Ya. This man was an ancestor of manipulation and scheming. Behind the series of major changes she had experienced, overtly or covertly, was his shadow. How could this time be an exception? Originally, he was close to Xiao Yan; with such dramatic changes in the Wei Kingdom, how could he resist interfering?

Thinking of Yun Ya’s name, she began to feel a subtle headache. Now, though they were separated by thousands of li, she still could not relax. The vast Yao Capital could not give her any sense of security.