Zhou Ziqin quickly asked Wang Yun: “Then about Brother Zhang’s matter…”

Wang Yun turned his gaze to Huang Zixia. Seeing the meaning in his eyes, she hesitated before finally giving a slight nod.

Wang Yun turned to Zhang Xingying and said: “Everyone saw your skills today, truly impressive. We’ll discuss and deliberate over the next couple of days. Just wait for our response.”

Zhou Ziqin excitedly raised his hand to high-five Zhang Xingying.

While they were still celebrating, Princess Tongchang erupted in anger, her voice carrying from afar. Pointing at the black horse, she shouted: “Everyone else is fine, yet somehow it’s just the Prince Consort who nearly lost his life? What a coincidence!”

Everyone knew how extremely spoiled Princess Tongchang was. The princes pretended not to notice, while the polo players could at least console Wei Baoheng. But the minor officials in charge of the horses and polo field suffered terribly, forced to bear her scolding with bowed heads.

The Emperor patted Princess Tongchang’s shoulder, saying: “Lingxi, calm yourself.”

Princess Tongchang whirled around, grabbing his sleeve and calling out: “Father…”

Her voice trembled slightly, carrying an uncontrollable fear.

The Emperor asked in surprise: “What’s wrong?”

“Father, a few days ago… at Jianfu Temple, among so many people, somehow it was just my eunuch who happened to be struck by lightning in the crowd. Now it’s the Prince Consort’s turn… Father, do you think all these things happening around me one after another are just accidents?” As Princess Tongchang spoke, her face quickly turned pale. “My eunuch who served me for over ten years was burned alive! And now my Prince Consort suddenly has this accident – if he hadn’t reacted so quickly, the consequences would have been unthinkable!”

Noble Consort Guo sighed, taking her hand and saying: “Lingxi, don’t overthink it. Everything was just unexpected…”

“Father, what do you mean unexpected? The eunuch died, the Prince Consort is injured, what if… what if I’m next?” Her face was ashen, the golden ornaments in her hair trembling chaotically, tracing arcs of anxious fear.

Seeing his daughter so frightened, the Emperor was moved and comforted her: “How could that be? With father here, who would dare harm my daughter?”

Noble Consort Guo glanced at Princess Tongchang and embraced her shoulders, saying: “There now, ease your mind. Nothing serious has happened.”

But Princess Tongchang shrugged off Noble Consort Guo and looked pleadingly at the Emperor, saying: “Daughter has one request for Father!”

The Emperor looked down at her tenderly: “Speak.”

“I’ve heard that Yang Chonggu, that little eunuch from Prince Kui’s residence, is excellent at solving cases. I see the Court of Justice keeps saying it’s divine punishment, they absolutely won’t find the truth. Please, Father, promise your daughter to let Yang Chonggu investigate both the Prince Consort’s and Wei Ximin’s incidents.”

Huang Zixia hadn’t expected Princess Tongchang to suddenly make such a request and was momentarily stunned.

The Emperor was surprised as well, glancing at Huang Zixia before falling into silent contemplation.

In her desperation, Princess Tongchang hugged the Emperor’s arm, shaking it like a little girl begging: “Father! Daughter… daughter is really worried. If something terrible happens, Father will never see daughter again…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” the Emperor cut her off.

Princess Tongchang looked up at him, her eyes gradually filling with tears that threatened to spill over.

Seeing her like this, the Emperor could only sigh helplessly and turn to ask Li Shubai: “Fourth Brother, since the Princess insists, why not let this little eunuch be temporarily assigned to the Court of Justice to help Cui Chunzhan investigate the Jianfu Temple incident?”

Li Shubai replied impassively: “Please forgive your brother’s ignorance, but wasn’t the chaos at Jianfu Temple caused by lightning-igniting candles, leading to a tragic stampede? The death of the Princess’s eunuch must have been because he happened to be pushed near the candles and was unfortunately caught in the fire.”

“If it were just this one incident, we could call it coincidence, but what about the Prince Consort? Why is it always people close to me who get hurt?” Princess Tongchang demanded.

Seeing her speak so rudely, Noble Consort Guo couldn’t help but pull at Princess Tongchang. The Emperor also reproached: “Lingxi, is that how you speak to your Fourth Uncle?”

Princess Tongchang reluctantly lowered her head and said: “Fourth Uncle, your niece keeps experiencing misfortunes. Can you not spare even one little eunuch? Let him help me for a few days. After all, he solved that huge Four Directions case so easily. What harm could it do to let him investigate what’s happening around me?”

Noble Consort Guo frowned beside her: “Lingxi, I heard Prince Kui is departing for Shu soon. Yang Gong is his close attendant – it seems inappropriate for you to ask him to stay and help you.”

“Fourth Uncle has so many servants, what difference does one less make?” Princess Tongchang’s gaze turned to Huang Zixia. “Yang Gong, you tell me, will you refuse or accept?”

Huang Zixia pondered for a moment before saying: “In this humble servant’s opinion, the Jianfu Temple stampede was indeed caused by lightning striking and igniting the candles. The source was heavenly thunder – even if this servant wanted to find the culprit, it would be impossible to question the heavens.”

Princess Tongchang pointed angrily at Wei Baoheng and asked: “Then what about the Prince Consort’s incident?”

“The Prince Consort chose his horse and had even switched horses before. In this servant’s view, it was likely another accident.”

“Accident, accident, I don’t believe there could be so many accidents!” Princess Tongchang raged, her beautiful but thin face full of aggressive sharpness. She glared at Huang Zixia and shouted, “If that’s the case, then I want the stable master who nearly killed the Prince Consort to be executed by a thousand cuts! And everyone in charge of horses at the Capital Defense Command must be held responsible!”

“Lingxi, your temper has been growing lately. Control yourself,” Noble Consort Guo said, holding her back.

Princess Tongchang shook off her hand, fixating on the Emperor, her face turning from white to green, making people worry she might faint from anger.

The Emperor helplessly patted her hand, his eyes full of affection.

Seeing this, Li Shubai said: “Your Majesty, actually this brother had planned to go to Shu soon, but some minor matters remain unsettled, which will likely cause a few days’ delay. Since Princess Tongchang has taken a liking to Yang Chonggu, let her borrow him to the Court of Justice for a few days to work on this case. If it puts the Princess’s mind at ease, that would be best. If there are no results in the end, it would simply be due to Yang Chonggu’s limited abilities, and surely the Princess would understand.”

“It’s wonderful that Fourth Brother can be so understanding,” the Emperor said, looking helplessly at Princess Tongchang.

Princess Tongchang bowed to Li Shubai and said stiffly: “Thank you, Fourth Uncle.”

Noble Consort Guo also breathed a sigh of relief, exchanging a helpless look with the Emperor. But Huang Zixia, standing to the side watching, couldn’t help but notice what seemed like hidden worry in her expression.

Princess Tongchang looked at Huang Zixia and asked: “Where does Yang Gong plan to begin the investigation?”

Huang Zixia pondered briefly before saying: “Let’s start with the horse.”

The Prince Consort was helped away by the Princess’s attendants, while Princess Tongchang followed Noble Consort Guo’s carriage, slowly heading toward the Princess’s residence.

Princess Tongchang lay curled up on the couch inside the carriage, staring motionlessly at the swaying curtains. Though the brocade curtains were thick, the fierce sunlight outside still filtered through, its rays wavering with the curtains’ movement, casting shifting light upon the two women, creating an atmosphere of unease between them.

Noble Consort Guo frowned at her for a long while before finally speaking: “You shouldn’t have asked Yang Chonggu to investigate for you.”

Princess Tongchang’s gaze remained fixed on the sunlight coming through the curtains. After a long pause, she said: “I’m certain Dougou is behind this.”

“Even if it is her, could Yang Chonggu possibly subdue a vengeful spirit?” Noble Consort Guo lowered her voice, speaking through gritted teeth, “If I wasn’t afraid of her when she was alive, why should I fear her now that she’s dead?”

“Even if Dougou is dead, who knows if her friends and relatives might know about this? Besides, Mother, don’t forget we have someone close to us who still cares deeply for Dougou.” Princess Tongchang bit her lower lip, speaking slowly, “Among those around us, can Mother truly tell who harbors ill intentions?”

Noble Consort Guo sighed softly, frowning as she looked at her daughter: “That person in Taiji Palace still dreams of returning to Daming Palace, refusing to give up. Mother is at a crucial moment now, and we absolutely cannot make any mistakes. By letting Yang Chonggu investigate closely, aren’t you letting the wolf into the house?”

Princess Tongchang was momentarily speechless, and after a while muttered resentfully: “That Dougou was trouble when alive, and remains a curse even in death!”

“However, Yang Chonggu’s involvement might not be entirely bad.” Noble Consort Guo lightly waved her silk fan, a cold smile appearing on her face. “He is, after all, Prince Kui’s close attendant. If we can use him as a bridge to gain Prince Kui’s support, your mother’s transition from Noble Consort to Empress would be within reach—after all, in court now, only Prince Kui can stand against that person.”

“But what if Father discovers what we’re doing?”

“What are you afraid of? Your father dotes on you so much, what could he possibly do to you?” Noble Consort Guo moved closer to her daughter, putting an arm around her. “Lingxi, Mother only has you now. If you don’t stand with Mother, what will become of her?”

Princess Tongchang opened her mouth silently, her voice caught in her throat. After a long while, she lowered her head and managed to say: “No matter what, I’ll stand with Mother through everything.”

Huang Zixia crouched while Li Shubai stood beside her as they examined the fallen black horse’s hooves.

The poor magnificent black horse lay on the ground wheezing pitifully, its right foreleg broken.

Huang Zixia carefully studied the horse’s right front hoof, saying: “The horseshoe came loose.”

The iron horseshoe was semicircular, showing signs of rust on top and slight wear on the bottom where it contacted the ground. Though relatively new overall, it was mysteriously missing two nails.

The missing nails had been on both sides, coincidentally both being the last nails. Without these two nails, the horseshoe was like an unsecured wooden clog—when the foot lifted, the heel would come loose, naturally causing a trip during rapid galloping.

Huang Zixia held the hoof steady, examining the nail indentations in the middle of the horseshoe, and frowned: “There are marks.”

Li Shubai crouched down to look. In the nail indentations, there was an extremely fine, pale mark, thin as a needle, hidden among the rust.

Li Shubai frowned slightly and said: “Clearly, someone recently pried out the horseshoe nails. The tool used, or the nails being removed, left this mark as they scraped across the rusted horseshoe.”

“The first question now is whether the saboteur targeted someone specific or acted indiscriminately.” Huang Zixia adjusted the pin in her hair, removing the central jade hairpin to draw two lines in the ground: “If it targeted someone specific, then was it aimed at the Prince Consort, or was he just an unlucky scapegoat for someone else? If it was indiscriminate, merely intended to injure anyone on the field, then what was the purpose, and who would benefit?”

Li Shubai nodded, falling into silent contemplation.

Huang Zixia drew two more lines on the ground, saying: “The second question is, once horseshoe nails are pried loose, problems would arise quickly. Yet this horse only had trouble after being ridden for quite some time. There are two possibilities: either the perpetrator used some method to delay the problem, or they acted during the break when the Prince Consort dismounted and Princess Tongchang was scolding him.”

Li Shubai raised his hand, pointing to the first line: “If it was done before the polo match, we need to solve how the culprit ensured the Prince Consort would choose the tampered horse.”

His finger moved to the second line: “If it was done during the rest break, we need to consider who approached the horse at that time.”

Huang Zixia recalled the scene, frowning slightly: “After Princess Tongchang called the Prince Consort, everyone gradually dismounted to rest. If anyone had lingered near someone else’s horse then, it would surely have drawn attention.”

“No one acted unusually,” Li Shubai said definitively. With his keen eye, he wouldn’t have missed anything in a single glance.

“And I remember the stable hands were going to tend to the horses, but all the horses were being bullied by Purging Evil and huddled in one corner, so they didn’t go in,” Huang Zixia noted.

“Therefore, the first possibility seems more likely,” Li Shubai said.

Huang Zixia said decisively: “In that case, the key to this case is determining how the culprit managed to make the Prince Consort choose exactly the tampered horse among more than ten horses.”

“And this happened even after Zhou Ziqin’s interference, taking away Wei Baoheng’s first choice.”

She pondered: “Could there be another possibility—perhaps the culprit’s initial plan was simply to eliminate the best horse? Your Highness arrived late, so you wouldn’t know that before the match, the Prince Consort had originally chosen Zhang Xingying’s chestnut horse, but Zhou Ziqin took it for Zhang Xingying, forcing him to choose this one instead. Looking at it this way, it was a series of coincidences that led him to ride this horse.”

“The Prince Consort is now a Chancellor, and a guest—by all rights, he should have had first choice of horses. Yet the culprit didn’t tamper with the best chestnut horse, suggesting the Prince Consort wasn’t the target. Could they have calculated that Zhang Xingying would have no horse and that Zhou Ziqin would borrow one from the Capital Defense Command?”

Huang Zixia thought for a moment, then shook her head: “The Prince Consort chose this horse casually, and this black horse wasn’t particularly outstanding among the others—no one would have considered it second-best.”

Their reasoning had reached a dead end with no way forward.

Huang Zixia had the stable hands remove the horseshoe, and taking it with her, she left the polo field with Li Shubai.