The Princess’s mansion had descended into chaos. Upon discovering that his most beloved daughter had died in the busy streets, the Emperor flew into a terrible rage. The court physicians on duty that day were the first to suffer misfortune – for failing to save the Princess, three were taken away for caning, and by the time she arrived, two had already been beaten to death.

After hearing this, Huang Zixia couldn’t help but stand with Zhou Ziqin in the Princess’s mansion, sighing softly.

“But when we found her, the Princess was already dead. Even the most skilled hands couldn’t have brought her back to life…” Zhou Ziqin’s face was filled with terror, his voice beginning to tremble, “Chonggu, what can we do? If this continues, with His Majesty transferring his anger to others, I fear many people will suffer!”

Huang Zixia watched as the court physicians were carried away, frowning as she said quietly, “Worry about ourselves first. His Majesty personally ordered us to handle this case, but now the case remains unsolved and the Princess has been killed – do you think His Majesty will spare us?”

Zhou Ziqin’s face grew even paler, cold sweat streaming down his forehead: “Chonggu, we must go find Prince Kui for help…”

“Where is he now? Where would you find him?” Huang Zixia asked helplessly.

Zhou Ziqin’s face instantly became utterly desolate: “Then, then what can we do?”

“We must atone for our crimes through merit.” Just as Huang Zixia finished speaking, someone strode out from inside, roaring in fury: “Who among the Princess’s household accompanied Tongchang outside? Everyone – all of you will accompany her in death! Let them continue serving Tongchang in the underworld!”

This was a father who had lost all reason in his fury – the current Emperor Li Mian.

The group of eunuchs and maids waiting nervously outside the Princess’s mansion, suddenly hearing this thunderbolt from the blue, immediately burst into wails of grief. Chuizhu and others collapsed to the ground, faces ashen.

Zhou Ziqin, hearing this, became greatly alarmed and cried out regardless of consequences: “Your Majesty, the Princess’s attendants are innocent! Please reconsider!”

The Emperor’s gaze fell upon him, his reason almost completely consumed by rage, momentarily unable to recognize who he was: “Whoever speaks another word will be dragged away as well!”

“Your Majesty, your servant has something to say, please consider!” Huang Zixia quickly knelt and bowed, saying, “Your Majesty, if the Princess’s spirit is aware, she surely would not wish to see you in such rage, doing things you might regret later. Please take care of your imperial health, lest the Princess be unsettled in the netherworld.”

“Yang Chonggu!” The Emperor glared at her, shouting, “I ordered you to investigate these suspicious cases in the Princess’s mansion, yet you’ve made no progress whatsoever, wasting time until Tongchang… Tongchang… A princess of our great Tang Dynasty, killed like this in the streets… by assassins!”

Speaking to this point, his throat constricted, nearly unable to catch his breath.

Noble Consort Guo came out from the inner chamber, throwing herself forward crying, helping to massage his chest to ease his breathing, her voice hoarse and choked: “Your Majesty… Your Majesty, my only daughter… gone just like this! That murderer… that murderer must be cut into a thousand pieces, their bones ground to dust!”

Huang Zixia said: “Your servant will surely capture the true culprit and bring them to justice. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to spare the lives of the Princess’s household staff, so that I may question them one by one, hoping to solve the case quickly and capture the true murderer!”

The Emperor violently struck a pillar with his fist, his gaze sliding over the eunuchs and palace maids before him as he said hatefully: “As the Princess’s attendants, you failed to protect your mistress – you all deserve death!”

Huang Zixia lowered her eyes and said: “The Princess was kind-hearted and showed deep grace to those around her. If she were aware, she surely would not wish to see Your Majesty carrying out such a great slaughter for her sake today.”

The entire household staff of the Princess’s mansion hurriedly knelt on the ground, each kowtowing repeatedly while begging for mercy.

The Emperor felt blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy. Leaning against the pillar, his gaze turned toward the hall’s interior, but he could only see the layers of gauze curtains hanging before Princess Tongchang.

Behind them lay his first child. When he was still Prince Yu, uncertain of his future and unable to see tomorrow, when everyone around him doubted him, only this daughter had nestled softly in his arms, treating him as her only support. When her arms wrapped around his neck, her eyes always gazed at him with sparkling brightness – even when Noble Consort Guo tried to hold her, she wouldn’t let go.

She didn’t speak until she was four or five years old, and her first words were “must live.” Before he could clearly understand what that meant, the procession for his enthronement had already arrived at the gate. He believed this daughter was a treasure bestowed by heaven, and he loved her more than any jewel. She, in turn, firmly believed that her father was her strongest shield.

But now, someone had stolen his most precious treasure, leaving him alone to gaze infinitely sorrowfully at his daughter’s cold corpse.

The Emperor slowly shook off Noble Consort Guo’s hand, looking at her with hatred in his eyes.

Noble Consort Guo froze for a moment, then suddenly realized he must be transferring the anger over their daughter’s death onto her, believing that if she hadn’t summoned their daughter to the palace in her attempt to bring down Empress Wang, their daughter wouldn’t have died in the chaos on the street.

Both angry and grief-stricken, she turned her back, covering her face to suppress her sobs.

“What Noble Consort Pan from Southern Qi, what Pan Yu’er! How could a ghost from hundreds of years ago take away my most beloved princess!” The Emperor stood before the hall, his shouting voice seemingly hoarse yet still carrying a bone-chilling murderous intent, “Investigate! Find out for me! Who is playing these supernatural tricks, who is spreading these demonic rumors, who… killed my Linghui!”

Everyone knelt before him in complete silence.

The Emperor’s voice echoed in the deathly quiet hall, its reverberations only making the grief more apparent.

He suddenly turned, his eyes glaring toward where Princess Tongchang’s body lay, his chest heaving violently. Grief and hatred burned like visible flames around him, nearly driving him to tear down the Princess’s mansion and kill everyone present to accompany his daughter in death.

Gazing toward where his daughter lay, after who knows how long, the burning rage slowly turned cold, sorrow penetrating from his crown like mercury, invading his entire body. The flames were ultimately consumed by coldness, and he suddenly understood – that soft bundle he once held in his arms was gone; that voice that had giggled and called him Father Emperor was gone; those hands that had grabbed his arms to wheedle and pleaded were gone; those eyes that had always looked up to him were also gone.

His daughter – willful, proud, and stubborn – whom he had cherished for twenty years, was gone.

“Yang Chonggu, even if you have to turn the entire capital upside down…” The Emperor slowly raised his hand to block the tears streaming from his eyes, though he couldn’t hide the choking in his voice or the trembling of his body. He spoke extremely slowly as if fearing that if he relaxed his breath even slightly, he would break down in heart-wrenching sobs.

“Before the Princess’s funeral procession, you must give me an answer. I want… to watch the murderer’s bones ground to dust before the Princess’s spirit tablet!”

Huang Zixia remained silent, only kneeling to kowtow to him, saying solemnly: “Yes.”

“Nearly lost our lives…”

With the Princess’s body lying in the main hall, once they left, Zhou Ziqin wiped his sweat, muttering to himself: “Where is Prince Kui? I’m so scared when he’s not here…”

Huang Zixia noticed the Princess’s consort Wei Baoheng standing silently outside the hall and gestured for Zhou Ziqin to be quiet before walking to bow before the consort.

Wei Baoheng weakly raised his hand to indicate she needn’t be so formal. His eyes were full of tears which, despite his best efforts to suppress them, continued to roll down uncontrollably.

“It’s all… it’s all my fault.” He mumbled, his voice unsteady, “Prince Kui and you had both warned me… told me to watch over the Princess… but when she wanted to go out, I couldn’t stop her…”

Huang Zixia grew somber, not knowing what to say to him, only able to say: “Please take care in your grief, Your Highness.”

He nodded once, his voice choked, unable to speak further.

Seeing his state, Huang Zixia could only offer a few more words of comfort before leading Zhou Ziqin out of the Princess’s mansion.

Upon leaving the Sixteen Princes’ Residence where the Princess’s mansion was located, both Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin froze.

Li Shubai’s carriage was waiting for them. And standing beside the carriage was Zhang Xingying.

Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin looked at each other in surprise. She recovered first, nodding to Zhang Xingying before hurrying to bow beside the carriage: “Your Highness.”

Li Shubai was reading official documents in the carriage, not even lifting his eyelids: “What’s the time limit?”

“Before the funeral procession.”

“Well, His Majesty has shown you some leniency then.” He finally glanced at her, closing the documents in his hand, saying, “Lu Dicui was in prison when the Princess died, so clearly had no possibility of committing the crime.”

“And these three murders are likely the work of a single killer acting in sequence, with the methods referencing that painting,” Huang Zixia pondered aloud. “Therefore, the possibility of Dicui being the murderer in the first two cases is not high.”

“That Zhang Xingying—” Li Shubai’s gaze turned toward the window, “has been squatting outside the Court of Judicial Review looking like what? Either tell him to go home and wait for news, or simply transfer him from the Capital Defense Bureau to work with you on the case, he can at least run errands for you.”

Huang Zixia looked at him with some surprise: “Your Highness means… you’ve forgiven Zhang Xingying?”

Li Shubai slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, saying: “Nonsense, who isn’t annoyed seeing you sneaking around meeting him in private like this?”

“Thank you, Your Highness…” Huang Zixia lowered her head, acknowledging her fault, then quickly said: “Then I’ll take Zhang Xingying to the Court of Judicial Review first, to see if Dicui might have any new testimony.”

He gave a slight nod, gesturing for her to get in the carriage, then said through the window to Zhou Ziqin: “Ziqin, you and Zhang Xingying go to the Court first, we’ll be there shortly.”

The carriage headed south, toward Prince E’s mansion. Huang Zixia knew where he was taking her and asked quietly: “Does Your Highness also think this matches the third scribble in that painting?”

“Dying beneath the phoenix… isn’t the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin the swooping phoenix that took her life?” He glanced sideways at her, then opened the scroll again, his gaze slowly moving across the three scribbles upon it.

The one who died by lightning and fire was Wei Ximin in the Jianfu Temple.

The one who died in an iron cage was Sun Laizi, trapped in prison.

The one who died from a phoenix swooping to pierce their heart was Princess Tongchang, stabbed by the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin.

Li Shubai looked up at her and asked: “What do you think?”

Huang Zixia nodded, saying: “One or two instances might be a coincidence. But with coincidences to this degree, we can hardly avoid visiting Prince E.”