News of Yi Guoru’s death would spread soon—how dare she remain there?!
Closing the door tightly, Yin Gezhi berated in a low voice, “Change your clothes, quickly!”
“You were outside the whole time?” Feng Yue asked, her gaze vacant.
Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together, shouting impatiently, “Just get out of these clothes first!”
He had been outside, above their heads, and heard everything they said.
His mind was in chaos. In his twenty-some years, this was the first time Yin Gezhi experienced the feeling of being too ashamed to face someone after doing something wrong. From childhood, he had never given the Emperor cause for worry, never caused any trouble. Yet now that he had, it could never be remedied.
Guan Canghai… was truly wronged. Who would pay for the blood of the entire Guan family? How much injustice had the person before him suffered?
However, the more flustered he felt inside, the calmer he appeared on the surface, acting as if nothing had happened, gruffly ordering her to change clothes.
Feng Yue gave a bitter laugh. She muttered, “It’s a pity you didn’t hear…”
Yin Gezhi lowered his gaze, impatiently took out clothes himself, undid the sash on her body, and began helping her change.
“Your Highness?” Feng Yue, coming to her senses, looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean what’s wrong?” His tone was harsh as Yin Gezhi said sternly, “Hurry and change. Are you waiting for someone to come arrest you?”
“Yes, I need to change, and I don’t mind Your Highness helping me change, but why are your hands shaking?”
“…I’m a bit nervous.” Taking a light breath, Yin Gezhi said, “With Yi Guoru dead, Wu Kingdom will certainly be in an uproar. Anyone would be nervous.”
Is that so? Feng Yue blinked, reaching out to grasp his slender fingertips. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Earlier, you asked if I knew why you were so close to the General’s mansion. I didn’t know then, but now I do.”
Burned by the warmth of her palm, Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together and turned away. “You know now?”
“Yes.” Taking off her outer robe herself and then pulling at her waistband, Feng Yue chuckled softly, “Your Highness is clever. You must have planned for the day Yi Guoru would need to be killed, so you grew close to the General’s mansion. Once General Yi died, wouldn’t that make you less suspicious?”
Who would suspect Yin Gezhi? He had always treated General Yi as a close friend despite their age difference and deeply loved Yi Zhangzhu. Even if the people of Wu Kingdom suspected Ye Yuqin, they would never suspect Yin Gezhi.
The skirt fell to the ground, revealing slender legs. Feng Yue moved closer to him, looked up into his eyes, and pressed against him as she continued to undo her upper garment. “Your Highness is so skilled, so far-sighted, beyond ordinary people’s capabilities. Yet, with everything prepared so thoroughly, why risk coming to fetch this servant yourself?”
Looking down at her, the look in Yin Gezhi’s eyes was deep and unfathomable. “If something happened to you, I would be the first to be implicated.”
That’s true. After all, her face was quite recognizable. Although she hadn’t shown it to the jailers, if she had been caught on the spot and examined under lamplight, Yin Gezhi would certainly have been questioned.
Giggling a few times, Feng Yue pulled off her upper garment, her snow-white collarbones set against the red strings of her dudou making her appear almost bewitching. “Then I thank Your Highness.”
His throat moved slightly as Yin Gezhi reached out to hold her waist, pulling her closer to himself.
Feng Yue gave a soft cry, her eyes seductive as she said, “This servant has just achieved revenge. Your Highness is being so intimate—aren’t you afraid I might, in a moment of passion, take you down with me?”
“Would you be willing to?” Yin Gezhi asked expressionlessly.
Her heart skipped a beat, and Feng Yue frowned. “What’s there to be unwilling about?”
Indeed. Those sweet words from her mouth were all to deceive him; naturally, she wouldn’t truly care for him.
The hand pressing her waist slowly clenched into a fist. He closed his eyes and said calmly, “I wasn’t saying you’d be unwilling to part with me, but rather—with your revenge incomplete, would you be willing to die?”
This was awkward. Had she misunderstood? Feng Yue grinned, immediately looking down at the ground. “Your Highness, the sooner we dispose of these clothes, the better.”
Releasing her, he pulled off his cloak and draped it over her. Yin Gezhi bent down to gather the clothes, doused them with wine, and threw them into the fire basin to burn.
“Prince Yin! Prince Yin!” After about the time it takes to burn three incense sticks, Grand Tutor Meng rushed over, bursting in to say, “Prince Yin, General Yi has died in the prison—poisoned!”
Having already composed themselves, Yin Gezhi and Feng Yue had been waiting in the outer room for some time. Hearing this, Feng Yue drew in a sharp breath while Yin Gezhi slammed his hand on the nearby table. “What?!”
His tone was filled with as much shock as possible, brimming with disbelief and anger. He stepped forward to grab Grand Tutor Meng and shouted, “How did you guard him?!”
Stunned by this outburst, Grand Tutor Meng looked at him in confusion, thinking wasn’t he supposed to be the one demanding answers? After all, allowing anyone into the death row was permitted by Prince Yin. Now being shouted at like this, why did it feel like it was his fault?
“Your Highness…”
“Quick, go check the prison! General Yi’s martial arts were superior—how could he be poisoned without putting up a fight?!”
“Your Highness…”
“Why are you still dawdling? Notify the palace immediately!”
“…Yes.” Hearing the anxiety in the prince’s voice, Grand Tutor Meng turned and left. Everyone knew Yin Gezhi was closest to General Yi; seeing his rage now, it was better to stay clear.
With the death row at its center, a tremendous storm swept through the entire Bu Yin City. The palace gates, which normally remained locked at night, opened for the first time, with a stream of officials entering and palace servants flowing out.
Ye Yuqin, so rushed he hadn’t properly arranged his clothes, hurried to the Court of Judicial Review to find Grand Tutor Meng kneeling at the entrance. Seeing him, Meng bowed: “Your Highness…”
“Why are you still calling me Your Highness?!” Ye Yuqin raged. “They say this Court of Judicial Review is the safest place in all of Bu Yin City. Can you tell me how General Yi came to harm under your watch?!”
Cold sweat dripping from his forehead, Grand Tutor Meng quickly said, “This official never neglected his duties, but it was Prince Yin who allowed people from the Yi household to bring food and drink! An hour ago, a maid from the Yi family came with a token to deliver food. As soon as she left, something happened to General Yi!”
“Oh?” Ye Yuqin asked as he walked, “Where is this maid?”
“…”
Stopping in his tracks, the Crown Prince laughed coldly and turned to look at him. “You didn’t catch her?”
“This official deserves death!”
Violently sweeping his sleeve, Ye Yuqin entered the prison to find Yin Gezhi shouting with bloodshot eyes: “Are you all dead?! I told you to thoroughly check any food before giving it to the General. Are you deaf or mute?!”
The prison guards, feeling extremely wronged, knelt on the ground: “The pastries that maid brought were tasted by us first before being sent in. There was nothing wrong with them!”
“Then how did the General die?!” Yin Gezhi roared. “How did he die? Tell me!”
The thunderous shouting calmed Ye Yuqin down. Seeing his extreme anger, he went to console him: “Your Highness, please calm down.”
Turning to look at him with red eyes, Yin Gezhi reached out and grabbed Ye Yuqin’s collar, very rudely pulling him aside to ask through gritted teeth: “Your Highness wouldn’t have wanted General Yi dead, right?”
His whole body tensing, Ye Yuqin shook his head: “We would never make such a rash decision. General Yi has served the state with merit; even Father Emperor said he couldn’t be touched. We certainly didn’t want to see him meet such an end.”
“Then who could it be?” Yin Gezhi covered his eyes, full of pain, grief, and regret: “Why didn’t I come to watch over him…”
This display would move anyone who saw it. Ye Yuqin sighed, not even minding the rudeness of having his collar grabbed—grief could be understood.
“Your Highness, the token We gave you—you only gave it to Zhangzhu?”
“Yes.” Wiping his face, Yin Gezhi said, “Only those with tokens could enter. The guards just said only people from the Yi household with tokens came to visit, and the last maid also had that token.”
Frowning slightly, Ye Yuqin turned and went out to order: “Please invite Miss Yi to come.”
Yi Zhangzhu was in the middle of sleep when she was inexplicably brought to the Grand Tutor’s mansion. Ye Yuqin didn’t have the heart to tell her about General Yi’s death. He only asked: “Where is the token?”
Somewhat confused, Yi Zhangzhu reached into her pouch and took out the token to hand to him: “This one?”
Pausing slightly, Ye Yuqin took it and examined it, then nodded: “Have you given it to anyone else?”
“No, only Dianchai and I used the token to bring Father food. Otherwise, it never leaves my person.”
How could this be? Ye Yuqin gestured for someone to help Yi Zhangzhu go rest, then took the token to ask the guards: “Are you certain the person who came had this?”
“Yes!” The guards nodded repeatedly: “How would we dare let anyone in without Your Highness’s token?”
This was strange. Ye Yuqin frowned and turned to look at Yin Gezhi in confusion: “Your Highness. This…”
Yin Gezhi’s expression was pained, his voice hoarse as he said: “Your Highness must find the culprit to give General Yi’s spirit in heaven an explanation.”
Taking a deep breath, Ye Yuqin held his head in frustration: “This matter, let Grand Tutor Meng investigate thoroughly first. We must return to the palace to report.”
“Your Highness, take care.” Yin Gezhi forced himself to rise and bow.
Feng Yue hadn’t gone out, and the windowsill was empty—she very comfortably sat on it, swinging her feet as she smiled and looked at the sky outside.
How laughable. Such a simple trap had killed a general who had been loyal to the Wei Kingdom for over a decade, and now only she knew the truth, only she had taken revenge.
Raising her hand, she rather wanted some nü’er hong wine, the kind that had been buried for ten years.
An empty palm was filled with a wine jar. Feng Yue was startled and quickly turned her head.
Yin Gezhi had returned, his expression somewhat strange, holding two wine jars, one of which he handed to her.
“Drink. For now, nothing will happen to either of us.”
Prince Yin was being so accommodating? Feng Yue grinned, took the wine jar, and clinked it with his, then tilted her head back to pour it down her throat.
The fine huadiao wine burned, bringing tears to her eyes. She coughed twice, autumn ripples in her eyes: “Your Highness seems to have something on your mind.”
Standing by the window looking at her, Yin Gezhi pressed his lips together: “No.”
“Really nothing? Haven’t you thought that with the major task completed, this servant’s threat to you no longer exists—wouldn’t killing me be most appropriate?”