The capital, which had until recently been bustling and vibrant, was suddenly taut with unease. Troops had entered the city. The gates remained open, but inspections were stringent — the faintest unusual behavior and a person would be seized immediately.

Those who had lived in the capital long enough had developed their own instincts for survival. One look at the situation and many people quickened their pace and returned home, bolted their doors, and did not look out again.

But not everyone responded this way.

Not a single one of the great noble houses was at ease. It was only after several waves of messengers they had sent out — both openly and covertly — were intercepted and detained that most of them quietly settled down. And those with guilty consciences, despite sitting perfectly still on this cold day, were drenched in sweat.

Fu Gang looked at the list in his hand and broke out in a cold sweat as well. If all these people were arrested, a great many positions at court would be emptied. He was also quietly relieved to find no one connected to the Fu family among the names.

“Move.” Gu Yanxi issued the cold command from horseback. Lin Ying tossed his head and snorted — a herald for the bloodshed that was about to unfold.

Fu Gang drew a slow breath, raised his hand, and drove forward, directing his men toward the Liu household not far ahead. The Imperial Guard surged through the gate like wolves, secured their target, and hauled the person outside. Anyone who cried injustice had a cloth shoved in their mouth on the spot. Then they moved on to the next household.

Gu Yanxi gave no further indication of anything. The Seven Lodges operatives — faces covered in black cloth — followed their Chief in silence. Simply standing there, still and unmoving, was enough to strike awe into the arrested officials and those who dared sneak a look from their homes.

That suffocating, predatory, glacial atmosphere made them begin to tremble without knowing why.

The Seven Lodges — they had not shown themselves in quite some time.

When every person on the list had been accounted for and secured, Gu Yanxi personally dragged every Celestial Master in the city out one by one and threw them beyond the city gates. By then, the sky was drawing close to dark.

Chen Qing stepped forward and asked quietly, “My lord — shall we have them escorted to the prison first—”

“Open the punishment hall.” Gu Yanxi raised his eyes to the sky, thinking of the person who was not in the capital just now. “Summon all Princes, Princesses, and Imperial Consorts of the third rank and above to attend the hearing.”

Chen Qing was visibly shaken. “My lord—”

“If we do not strike hard enough, they will not learn what pain is.”

But all the hatred — all of it will fall on you alone. Why must you push yourself to the edge of the precipice? Chen Qing had followed the Shizi through wind and fire. He had taken seven blades for him in those earlier years and had not shed a single tear. Now his eyes grew red.

Those people — they were Princes, and future sovereigns would come from among them. Among the Consorts would be future Empress Dowagers. Why act with such finality? Even letting the Emperor come forward to handle it would be preferable!

“Go and give the order.”

“My lord!”

“Chen Qing. Do not make me say it again.”

Chen Qing scrubbed at his eyes roughly, then turned and left.

Gu Yanxi lowered his gaze. It seemed that being surnamed Gu made one naturally inclined toward coldness of heart. Chen Qing did not understand — but since he dared to act, had he not already weighed the consequences? Even if there were a case of an egg striking a stone, he was the stone.

He would not leave himself any loose ends. In the future, his matters with Hua Zhi might not remain hidden forever — he would not give anyone the chance to harm her.

Every Seven Lodges Chief throughout history had been someone capable of protecting even their own family. None had been so powerless as to fail even at that.

“My lord.” Chen Qing, who had just departed, suddenly returned. “The eldest young lady has sent someone with something for you.”

Gu Yanxi immediately turned. He looked at the maid standing before him — her face drained of color in these circumstances, and yet she stood perfectly straight. He recognized her. She was usually seen beside Fu Dong, always close behind her. Hua Zhi simply had that quality — the ability to make the people around her bold.

“Bring it here.”

Liu Juan hastily strained to lift the large bundle as high as she could, not daring to raise her head.

He had already guessed more or less what it was. Gu Yanxi gathered the bundle inside his cloak. “Did she send any words with you?”

“She… she did not.” Liu Juan’s legs were so unsteady she was nearly kneeling — she was holding herself upright through sheer will alone, not wanting to embarrass her young miss. She managed a halting curtsy and said, “This servant takes her leave.”

“Have someone escort her out of the city.”

“Yes.”

Liu Juan had only just gone when someone approached without a sound and knelt to one side in attendance. This was one of the people Gu Yanxi had assigned to shadow Hua Zhi — without his protection along the way, Liu Xiang would never have gotten into the city.

“How are things on that end? Is she well?”

“Yes. No irregularities.”

Gu Yanxi traced the edge of the box through the fabric of the bundle. “What has she learned?”

“The eldest young lady appears to have sensed that something was wrong at the moment you sent someone to fetch Shao Yao. After that, she dispatched someone back into the city. It was after that return that this subordinate saw her instruct Fu Dong to prepare a meal, and then had a maid bring this to you.”

With her nature — so careful of those around her — to send Liu Juan in alone was simply because she already knew that his people were nearby. She also knew that once Liu Juan entered the city, someone would bring her straight to him without fail.

That was precisely what had happened. Liu Juan had entered with no obstruction.

She had already deployed the Seven Lodges Chief’s identity and was conducting arrests openly — Hua Zhi must know this, Gu Yanxi thought. The matter was no small thing and would certainly not pass quietly. The Hua family had no involvement in it. As long as the Zhu family did not cause trouble, she had no connection to it whatsoever — and she seemed even to be quietly anticipating that it might grow even larger.

When the Hua family was in its darkest days, weren’t you all quite pleased with yourselves? Now it is my turn to be pleased.

The Seven Lodges had always kept its affairs shrouded in secrecy. Very few people knew that its offices occupied a corner of the imperial palace itself.

And now, the Seven Lodges was opening its punishment hall for a public hearing. Even those who had initially intended to find some way to avoid attending had changed their minds. They did not believe the Seven Lodges Chief would truly dare to do anything to them — but an opportunity to see the Seven Lodges with their own eyes might never come again.

And so when Gu Yanxi arrived, every person who ought to have come had come. Not one was missing.

“Chief.”

Gu Yanxi took his seat at the head of the hall. His gaze swept the room. “Begin.”

One by one, people who had once been at the height of their influence were brought forward, disheveled and wretched. As the numbers grew, the color drained from the faces of everyone in attendance. What was the Seven Lodges Chief intending to do? If all these people were convicted, how would the court function the next day?

Just as the gathered observers assumed the interrogation was about to commence, Chen Qing stepped forward, opened a dossier, and read aloud: “Chen Anjun, Tong Yang… conspired with Celestial Masters to offer golden elixirs to the Emperor. Sentenced to fifty lashes and immediate decapitation. Execution to be carried out three days hence.”

The first sentence: seven persons.

“Yu Fengchu, Shan Zhen… complicit in these crimes. Sentenced to fifty lashes and immediate decapitation. Execution to be carried out three days hence.”

The second sentence: eleven persons.

“Xie Shipeng, Feng Zheng… involvement in the affairs of the inner palace. Sentenced to fifty lashes and immediate decapitation. Execution to be carried out three days hence.”

The third sentence: fourteen persons.

Chen Qing set down the final dossier and withdrew.

The hall fell into stunned silence. Immediate decapitation — just like that? No evidence presented? No accounting of what each person had specifically done? The charges were so cursory — how could this be justified? Was this not an abuse of the Seven Lodges’ authority? Did the Emperor know of this?

Before anyone could react, the operatives responsible for the punishment hall filed out in silence. Each held a long whip in hand — the Seven Lodges’ whips, fitted with barbed hooks.

Author’s Note: I’ve come to admit it, dear readers — I update slowly. You are welcome to let the chapters accumulate before reading. The more you urge me, the more anxious I become, and the worse the writing gets, and the longer revisions take — it becomes a vicious cycle. The fact that you keep following means at least you acknowledge that I’m writing something worth your eyes. But do you know — just looking up a single form of address or a small detail can take a full hour? To write well and write fast at the same time — I’m sorry, I truly cannot do both.