“Commander Cheng, Commander Cheng—”

Dou San’s urgent cries interrupted Cheng Maoming’s thoughts. He turned his head and continued walking out. Just as he reached the courtyard gate, he saw Dou Qisheng, the Late Empress’s younger brother, arriving with household servants.

This was the Crown Prince’s actual maternal uncle.

Dou Qisheng had originally been Deputy Commander of the Black Tortoise Battalion. Not long ago he was transferred to the Right Military Command, and though his official rank had been elevated, his real power had been greatly weakened. The cause was Dou Qisheng’s assistance in the Crown Prince’s scheme to abduct Lin Chan. In Emperor Tai’an’s view, this was absolutely intolerable.

“I heard from family members that Grand Commander Cheng was looking for my third elder brother. I wonder what has happened?”

Just then Dou San was also brought out. Upon seeing Dou Qisheng, he immediately began shouting: “Sixth Brother, save me quickly!”

Dou Qisheng frowned as he looked at Cheng Maoming.

He didn’t care much about this cousin, but regardless of emotional closeness, they were all clan members when facing outsiders—one loss harmed all, one glory benefited all. Hearing that the Jinlin Guard had come looking, he naturally couldn’t sit still.

The last time the Jinlin Guard went to the Black Tortoise Battalion, it had caused him no small amount of trouble.

“Grand Commander Cheng, what has my third brother done to trouble you to come personally?”

Cheng Maoming’s face remained impassive, but inside he was irritated by the other’s unconsciously revealed sense of superiority.

All these years, because the Crown Prince’s position was secure, even though the Late Empress had died early, the Dou family had remained confident in their dealings with people and matters, including toward him, the Jinlin Guard Commander who worked specifically for the Emperor.

Everyone knew that the Crown Prince would eventually succeed to the throne, and the Dou family would become even more illustrious then.

Cheng Maoming thought of the Crown Prince, who had treated him with such indifference.

In that instant, he made his decision: trap or no trap, his abilities were limited—he would simply report the facts he uncovered to the Emperor.

Having made this decision, Cheng Maoming gave Dou Qisheng a slight smile: “This isn’t quite convenient to disclose. I hope Commander Dou can understand.”

“Grand Commander Cheng, surely there’s no need to be so inflexible?” Cheng Maoming’s decisive refusal made Dou Qisheng’s expression somewhat ugly.

“It’s truly inconvenient. I still need to rush back and report to His Majesty. Please excuse me.” Cheng Maoming cupped his hands.

Dou Qisheng could only step aside. Listening to Dou San’s loud cries, his face darkened. After everyone had gone far away, he kicked a wall brick and said furiously: “Bastard! Using His Majesty to pressure me!”

He strode inside and grabbed a trembling maid to question her: “What exactly happened?”

“The master was drinking with friends… and took, took Five-Color Powder…” the maid stammered.

Hearing the three words “Five-Color Powder,” Dou Qisheng’s expression changed slightly.

This confused fool!

But he quickly felt something was off: though consuming Five-Color Powder violated regulations, it wasn’t serious enough for the Jinlin Guard Commander to personally come make arrests. The capital was prosperous and wealthy—people secretly using Five-Color Powder weren’t rare. If they arrested everyone with such fanfare, they’d never finish.

“Was there something else?”

Faced with Dou Qisheng’s interrogation, the maid’s face turned terrifyingly pale: “Also, also… the Jinlin Guard also discovered two jars of Five-Color Powder…”

“How big were the jars?” Dou Qisheng asked through gritted teeth.

“This big—” The maid spread her hands.

Dou Qisheng’s vision went black and he nearly fainted.

Selling it versus secretly consuming it were two completely different matters.

This ruinous thing!

His face turned iron-blue as he quickly walked out, not forgetting to order the servants he’d brought: “Take everyone here back to the Dou Mansion!”

Cheng Maoming brought Dou San back to the Jinlin Guard for further interrogation. After just one lash of the whip, Dou San confessed where his supply came from.

It was a seemingly ordinary small village with only about twenty-some households. In reality, everyone in the entire village participated in the production process of Five-Color Powder.

What made Cheng Maoming’s heart jump was that these people had been selling Five-Color Powder for five or six years.

That trap targeting the Crown Prince and the Dou family, logically speaking, wouldn’t have such far-reaching origins.

His mind stirring, Cheng Maoming couldn’t help but ask Dou San a question: “How did you get started on this path to wealth?”

Dou San had long lost his high spirits from the outer residence. Hanging his head dejectedly, he spoke of his sad past: “You may see me wearing silk and brocade now, but before I started this business, I was so poor I could barely afford meat…”

Cheng Maoming patiently listened to Dou San cry poverty until they reached the crucial point: “Once while drinking with a friend, I got drunk and mentioned my financial difficulties. My friend pointed me toward this path. It really was a road to wealth—from then on I could finally eat meat to my heart’s content—”

Dou San’s expression grew animated with excitement, but catching Cheng Maoming’s gloomy stare, he suddenly realized: he was being interrogated, not the occasion to boast.

Dou San closed his mouth. Cheng Maoming asked casually: “What’s this friend’s name? Where is he now?”

“His name is Jia Jing. He said he was ranked fifth in his family, and told me to call him Jia Wu. A year ago he left the capital and I haven’t seen him since.”

“How did you meet this friend?”

“He was a traveling merchant who went back and forth between the capital and other places. Once he sold me a piece of fur at a discount, and gradually we became familiar…”

Cheng Maoming listened silently, chilled to the bone.

The speaker was completely unaware, but in Cheng Maoming’s view, what kind of friend was this? He was purely someone who appeared at just the right moment to guide Dou San onto that path.

He didn’t even need to do anything—he only needed to let Dou San know such a place existed for manufacturing and selling Five-Color Powder.

Then after that, Dou San, having become a middleman, unknowingly sold Five-Color Powder through Hu Qi to the inner attendant Wang Fu, ultimately delivering it into the Crown Prince’s mouth.

A disappeared “friend,” with just a gentle push over two years ago, had shoved the Crown Prince and the Dou family into an abyss two years later.

The more Cheng Maoming thought about it, the more terrified he became.

Continuing the investigation, that small village actually had nothing worth deep digging. Like many places that produced certain specialties, or where through coincidence all villagers engaged in a particular trade, this village made its living manufacturing and selling Five-Color Powder.

As for how they started down this path, one of the villagers had originally been a medicine apprentice who prepared Five-Color Powder for the previous dynasty’s imperial court many years ago. After Emperor Tai’an ascended the throne and prohibited the consumption of Five-Color Powder, this person returned to the village. After enduring hardship for too long, he couldn’t help but resume his old trade.

While Cheng Maoming was investigating, Dou Qisheng entered the palace to request an audience.

Emperor Tai’an assumed Dou Qisheng had come to speak well of the Crown Prince. Though somewhat annoyed, he still received him.

The moment Dou Qisheng saw Emperor Tai’an, he dropped to his knees with a thud: “This subject is guilty!”

Emperor Tai’an instinctively sat up straighter: “What’s this about?”

“One of this subject’s clan brothers secretly committed illegal acts behind the family’s back. It’s all this subject’s fault for not detecting it in time. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness—”

Emperor Tai’an raised an eyebrow and asked slowly: “What illegal acts did he commit?”

“He… he secretly consumed Five-Color Powder…”

In Dou Qisheng’s thinking, since Dou San had already fallen into the Jinlin Guard’s hands, proactively admitting guilt was better than being accused by that man surnamed Cheng.

Though consuming and even selling Five-Color Powder violated taboos, he was unaware of it—at most Dou San would suffer a bit.

Dou Qisheng thought optimistically, unaware that the three words “Five-Color Powder” were like a long needle viciously stabbing into Emperor Tai’an’s heart.

“Five-Color Powder—” Emperor Tai’an pronounced each word, his gaze toward Dou Qisheng dark and unfamiliar.