The first to suspect Chen Er was Yuan Cheng. After learning of Chen Er’s relationship with Jin Si, he felt Chen Er’s devotion to helping an adopted daughter had impure motives, which led him to investigate Chen Er’s identity.
Chen Er’s father was a minor leader of a shipping gang in Da Zhou, while his mother was a woman from Da Qiu. Chen Er frequently visited his maternal grandfather’s family and had lived in Da Qiu for five years. When he returned to Da Zhou, his martial arts skills had advanced dramatically, allowing him to easily join the Leopard Gang and become the hall master of the Hua Leopard Hall.
Having investigated this far, Yuan Cheng was essentially certain that Chen Er had been trained as a spy during those five years in Da Qiu. As a former Prime Minister of Nande, he had deployed spies to various kingdoms by the thousands, so naturally he was familiar with such matters.
Chen Er’s death was somewhat unjust. His identity as a spy hadn’t actually been exposed—it was precisely because his sudden death was so suspicious that Xu Jiu asked Yuan Cheng to get involved, which led to this thread becoming clear.
The boat stopped on the opposite shore. Eunuch Liu led Mo Zi and Huayi up first, while the Emperor kept Yuan Cheng back for a moment longer.
The Emperor said, “I’ve granted rewards, and generous ones at that. This has caused some to complain openly and secretly, but since I promised you, I can’t concern myself with the rest.”
Yuan Cheng bowed his head in a light salute. “Your Majesty’s word is as good as gold. This subject is deeply grateful.”
“You certainly calculated correctly. Da Qiu indeed caused trouble tonight, intending to use it as a smokescreen while actually entering the palace to steal the map. Little did they know you would turn it to our advantage. You were right—this girl Mo Zi truly has the ability to respond to sudden changes. I originally thought you were exaggerating. Calling her out was really because there was no other choice, but unexpectedly she proved capable in both literary and martial matters, and remarkably clever!” The Emperor laughed heartily. “In the future, I’ll have to send her out more often to support my authority.”
Yuan Cheng smiled but didn’t elaborate further, only saying, “Your Majesty, from the looks of things, we cannot allow Da Qiu to destroy Yuling. Yuling has many rivers and marshes, forming a natural barrier against Da Qiu. If it becomes Da Qiu territory, Da Zhou’s southeastern waters would be under Da Qiu’s wolf claws, in grave danger.”
The Emperor pondered. “How could I not know this? However, the Crown Prince of Yuling is in Da Qiu’s hands. Da Qiu rules in his name—if Da Zhou interferes, it would appear we have ulterior motives.”
“Although the Crown Prince of Yuling is in Da Qiu, the Second Prince of Yuling is in Da Zhou. Has Your Majesty heard of this?” Yuan Cheng’s dark eyes flashed with starlight.
“Street rumors, not credible.” After saying this, the Emperor suddenly fixed his gaze on Yuan Cheng. “Unless Minister Yuan has concrete evidence?”
Yuan Cheng immediately knelt. “Please forgive this subject for not reporting in time. The Second Prince of Yuling, Chu Yu, is my sworn brother. Due to being framed by the Empress and Crown Prince, his mother died tragically, and he suffered humiliation for many years as a hostage in Da Qiu. After returning to his country, extremely disappointed in his father and elder brother, he angrily left home. Now engaging in commerce and trade, he’s spent several years as a carefree man. When I became sworn brothers with him, I only knew he was a merchant—I had no idea of his former identity.”
“Oh? If this is true, he’s certainly a pitiful person. Clearly a prince, yet forced to become a merchant. What a pity.” The Emperor shook his head regretfully. “Minister Yuan, please rise. Sworn brotherhood is a matter of destiny. Moreover, even if you became sworn brothers with Chu Yu, what crime is there in that? I recall a memorial from Jiang Tao—he said Da Zhou and Yuling share the same lineage. He was absolutely right.”
Yuan Cheng stood. “Chu Yu originally had no interest in the throne, but Yuling was invaded, his father died, his brother was captured, and the people suffered terribly. When Yuling’s general came to ask him to return and take charge, he still refused. Unexpectedly, that old general led his soldiers to assassinate Da Qiu’s envoy, and they all died heroically. Even on his deathbed, the old general begged him to return to the country, and those soldiers were skinned and dismembered by Da Qiu—too horrible to describe. Chu Yu was grief-stricken. He told me he wants to return the old general’s ashes to Yuling, to let the dead rest in peace.”
“Da Qiu is brave but also cruel. I’ve already heard many accounts of massacring cities and cannibalism—it’s outrageous.” The Emperor’s expression was grave.
“Your Majesty, this subject believes that if Da Qiu can hold the Crown Prince of Yuling hostage to swallow his country’s territory, Da Zhou can also help the Prince of Yuling uphold justice and reclaim everything. Furthermore, this subject believes that such action by Da Zhou would win the hearts of Yuling’s people. We could then renew our former alliance and pledge a hundred years of stability.”
The Emperor furrowed his brow deeply and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “I understand your beloved minister’s meaning, but—this is a momentous matter. Allow me to think it over further.”
Yuan Cheng bowed his head in compliance.
Only then did the two go ashore.
The Emperor instructed Mo Zi to visit the Shipping Bureau in a few days, then took Eunuch Liu and boarded an unremarkable carriage that disappeared into the night.
Huayi personally drove a carriage over. At this point, no one was going to bring up questions of impropriety between men and women. Mo Zi certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to try finding her way out of such a large palace on her own, so without a word—and even jumping in ahead of Yuan Cheng—she climbed into the carriage.
“Explain.” As soon as Yuan Cheng sat across from her, Mo Zi spoke. “I don’t mind you using me, but I would very much mind you not telling me about it.”
“Today’s banquet—I asked His Majesty to invite you.” Yuan Cheng began explaining.
“Because you wanted to give me a chance to perform, so His Majesty would grant me an identity that others couldn’t easily manipulate.” Mo Zi covered her mouth and laughed. “Do you have a third eye on your forehead? You’re better than a fortune teller.”
“That’s only one of the reasons. Congratulations, by the way—Shipping Bureau Inspector, upper fifth rank. Though it’s nominal, it’s still recorded in the Ministry of Personnel’s official registry, and you’ll receive the salary of upper fifth rank. Moreover, His Majesty has authorized you to move freely and speak directly. Even a nominal position carries substance. He seems to have expectations of you—otherwise he wouldn’t have told you to report to the Shipping Bureau so soon.” Yuan Cheng’s information network was remarkable. Though the Emperor hadn’t specified the rewards, and those two edicts hadn’t even left yet, he already knew.
“He wants me to investigate the reason that ship sank. But it’s been so long—any evidence would have been destroyed by now.” Mo Zi thought it unlikely, though fortunately the Emperor had only asked her to try.
Yuan Cheng didn’t comment on this and continued explaining. “The other reason—Wu Yanqie.”
Mo Zi had never told him about those people and events from before. Hearing him mention Wu Yanqie, her expression changed slightly. “You—” What should she ask?
“Da Qiu has Nande’s spies. I mentioned that before, didn’t I?” Seeing Mo Zi nod, he continued, “These people now work for me. The first day Wu Yanqie left Da Qiu’s capital in disguise, the news came through.”
“So you also know about what happened between Wu Yanqie and me.” This man’s former position had been too high—she probably couldn’t hide it from him.
“I haven’t inquired further about past matters, but I did hear about Wu Yanqie mobilizing troops to surround the capital, forcing all the tribes to agree to let him marry the Song family’s eldest daughter as Empress.” The carriage jolted. His sleeves slipped back, revealing hands with fingers tightly interlaced, yet his expression remained extremely calm, as if relaxed. “Mo Zi, His Majesty just now omitted one reason for Wu Yanqie coming to the capital. He’s also here looking for you.”
Mo Zi’s smile faded. “Even so, would I actually leave with him? I never wanted to be any Empress. He deceived me for years—even his initial feelings for me were fake. Some things, once lost, can’t be regained through compensation. When they’re gone, they’re gone—especially trust.”
“If Da Qiu pulled any tricks tonight, and if His Majesty could make use of you, I hoped Wu Yanqie would be distracted because of you.” Yuan Cheng didn’t conceal his complete reasoning. “When his shadow guards returned to the guest residence with the stolen map, he should have been there, but he wasn’t. That’s all thanks to you.”
“What difference did it make that he wasn’t there?” Mo Zi didn’t understand.
“Because he wasn’t there, we had the opportunity to switch the naval fortress defense map.” This was why he’d had his people tell her to delay as long as possible.
“But why not use a fake map from the start?” Mo Zi was puzzled.
“Because of Da Qiu’s inside agent. Whether it’s him personally or another accomplice, there was a masked person waiting at the guest residence. After Wu Yanqie’s shadow guards showed him the map, he confirmed it was the genuine article. If Wu Yanqie had been present then, it would have been very difficult to tamper with it.” Yuan Cheng looked at Mo Zi. “This plan was modified with you at its center. When I heard that Da Qiu proposed the bell-shooting competition and that a masked person appeared at the guest residence, I canceled the original arrangement. Originally, we were going to provide a fake map. If the masked person had exposed it, with Wu Yanqie’s intelligence, he would certainly have realized Da Zhou knew of his intentions and might have launched an attack earlier. And Da Zhou, at this time, still needs time to prepare.”
“Yuan Cheng, are you truly loyal to Da Zhou?” The way he worked could be called sparing no effort.
“It has nothing to do with loyalty. Comparing the options, I chose one that isn’t the worst. Da Qiu has strong soldiers and fierce horses, along with the ambition and capability to swallow the world, but their methods are brutally inhumane and cannot win hearts. Nande is riddled with holes like rotten wood, unable to even take care of itself. Only Da Zhou can match Da Qiu. Whether there will be unification or division of the world into four parts depends on Da Zhou’s final stance. If you want to help your second brother Jin Yin, Da Zhou’s covert support is absolutely essential—otherwise, restoring the kingdom is just empty talk.” Yuan Cheng had absolutely no awareness of being a loyal minister.
“Has he finally decided?” Jin Yin was going to shoulder that burden after all.
“He wants to at least make one trip to Yuling to see for himself. If the common people under Da Qiu’s rule are living reasonably well, he’ll let it go and continue being a miser. But if not—” The carriage jolted, forcing him to pause.
“If not, he’ll want to become Emperor of Yuling himself?” Though Mo Zi knew this was unavoidable, she still felt melancholy. “What a pity—he truly loved freedom and ease.”
“No need to be pessimistic yet. Who knows what the future holds? For now, we’ll take things one step at a time. His free-spirited nature—even if he becomes emperor, it probably won’t change that much.” Acquired influence outweighs inherited bloodline.
“When one sits on the dragon throne, one’s body is no longer one’s own.” Mo Zi wasn’t optimistic.
“When you see him later, ask him yourself whether he’ll turn into the kind of disagreeable old codger he dislikes.” Yuan Cheng lifted the curtain, letting in quite a bit of snow.
“Where are we going?” The sound of firecrackers hadn’t stopped for a moment.
“To eat a proper New Year’s Eve dinner. That meal just now was called networking. It doesn’t count.” He handed her a book. “There’s still some distance—pass the time with this for now.”
Mo Zi looked out the window at the unfamiliar street scenes. “I thought we were going to Jin Yin’s house.”
Yuan Cheng said no. “We’re going to your house.”
Mo Zi immediately realized. “Hongyu Cove?”
“You’d better stay away from that place for now.” Yuan Cheng began reading his own book.
“Why?” Mo Zi asked.
“Wu Yanqie has people waiting there to capture you.” Yuan Cheng looked up, his smile gentle. “However, I’ve found him a bit of trouble.”
Seeing his gentle expression, Mo Zi immediately grew suspicious. “What kind of trouble?”
“I accidentally burned down half of the place where he’s staying.” He returned to his book.
One dared to enter the palace to steal, the other dared to set fire to someone’s lodgings, doing it all openly—truly remarkable indeed.