If it was just a case review, wouldn’t sending the case files to the Court of Judicial Review be enough? Why bring the prisoners along too?

Prince Ling was about to ask when Chief Officer Cao of the Investigation Bureau came hurrying over.

He seemed to have urgent news—while still some distance away, he bowed toward Prince Ling.

Prince Ling gave a slight nod and walked with him to a place where no one else was around, then asked slowly, “What is it?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, this morning the Third Young Master personally issued an order summoning Lord Pei for questioning.”

“Pei Ming?”

Pei Ming, the Minister of Works, was the father of General Pei Lan.

“Yes.”

“On what grounds was he summoned?”

“On suspicion that Lord Pei once secretly sent men to assassinate him.”

At Cao Yuan’s mention of this, Prince Ling remembered.

It must have been from the year before last.

At the time, it had happened to be the Old Madam of the Pei household’s birthday celebration. Cheng Chang and Prince Cong had gone to offer their congratulations and were attacked at the Pei Mansion’s waterside pavilion.

“Though it was Prince Yun who sent men to assassinate the Third Young Master, in truth Your Highness was the one using another’s blade to do the killing. Now that the Third Young Master has put the pieces together and realized Lord Pei is your man, summoning him for questioning is likely meant to shake the mountain to frighten the tiger.”

Prince Ling said flatly, “The matter is long past, the case was closed long ago. No matter how thoroughly Mingying investigates, at most it adds one more charge against Fourth Brother. What is Pei Ming afraid of?”

“Your Highness knows how the Third Young Master operates—he never does things by conventional logic. Before he issued the order today, he had originally been in Wende Hall reporting to the emperor alongside several ministers. Partway through his report, he suddenly asked Lord Pei whether he had known about or been involved in the assassination attempt at the Pei Mansion’s waterside pavilion.”

“He asked this right in front of His Majesty, with such veiled insinuation and pointed jabs—how could Lord Pei bear it? He immediately dropped to his knees, protesting his innocence. But the Third Young Master simply said, ‘Oh, since you’re so innocent, there should be no harm in my looking into it,’ and drew up the summons order right then and there.”

Prince Ling frowned. “What is he trying to accomplish?”

“This subordinate doesn’t know. Lord Pei himself was thoroughly confused by the Third Young Master’s display. After answering questions at the Censorate, Lord Pei went straight to the prince’s residence’s side estate to wait for you, Your Highness. Are you going to the estate now?”

Having finished seeing Chai Ping, and with no other pressing matters, Prince Ling turned his steps toward the palace gate and nodded. “To the estate.”

At the palace gate, he didn’t get into the carriage right away. Instead, he walked a stretch with Cao Yuan, and once no one else was around, asked, “The other day I had you send men to watch Qin Jiu. Has that been done?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, I’ve already sent men,” Cao Yuan said. “But Qin Jiu has been injured recently and hasn’t made any moves. This subordinate was afraid of startling her, so we haven’t acted rashly.”

Prince Ling nodded. “Then wait until she returns to Jinling.”

He gave a few more minor instructions, and seeing the hour growing late, got into the carriage.

The carriage passed through the bustling streets and sped off. A moment later, a figure in brown clothing with a wide hat pulled low emerged from a back alley.

He watched the direction the carriage had gone, paused for a moment at the street corner, then walked to the first pharmacy on the left and took out a prescription slip from inside his robe. “Shopkeeper, fill this prescription.”

The pharmacy’s shopkeeper took the prescription and saw it listed things like notoginseng and pyrite—herbs for stopping bleeding and dispersing bruising—and couldn’t help glancing up at the customer.

The man’s hat was pulled down very low, his upper body wrapped in a loose overcoat, his face impossible to make out.

But the shopkeeper noticed he used his left hand for everything—taking the medicine, handling the prescription—suggesting an injury to his right arm.

The shopkeeper then took out a palm-sized small bottle from the cabinet and said, “Sir, if you have a wound on your hand, you might try our shop’s newly made safflower ointment. It’s specifically for external injuries and should heal you up in a few days.”

The man in brown glanced at the small bottle and said, “Much obliged.” He set down a piece of loose silver, took the herb packet and the bottle, and left quickly.

He headed west, his steps appearing steady but actually moving very fast. When he reached an abandoned house, he looked around, and seeing no one nearby, pushed the door open and went in.

In the main room, a figure lay on a bamboo couch, dressed in black, a strip of white silk covering his eyes. Hearing movement from outside, he pushed himself up. “Yun Luo, you’re back?”

Yun Luo made a sound of acknowledgment and handed the medicine bottle to the man in black. “Apply it yourself.” Then he spread a large piece of coarse cloth on the table and began packing up their belongings. “We need to leave quickly.”

The man in black was startled. “Why? Aren’t we waiting for A’Jiu?”

“We can’t wait any longer,” Yun Luo said. “Prince Ling has sent people to watch her. It might be that her theft of the blood letter exposed something.”

His eyesight was excellent, and he could also read lips. Earlier, when Prince Ling had spoken with Cao Yuan, he’d been standing at a distance and had made out those key sentences.

The man in black knew Yun Luo had this extraordinary ability—if not for it, he wouldn’t have sensed something was wrong in time when Zhaoyuan betrayed them back then, and wouldn’t have escaped that chaos with his life.

“Then will A’Jiu be in danger?”

“No. Prince Ling’s plan is to trace the vine to find the melon—he wants to have people follow her to find you and me. He won’t easily touch her. Besides, she has that girl A’Ting protecting her.”

The man in black nodded. “If Prince Ling has sent people to follow A’Jiu, he’s probably guessed that you and I are the ones who stole the northern frontier defense map.”

“Guessing our identities, not quite—but it will make things much harder for us going forward,” Yun Luo said.

He glanced at the man in black, who was undoing his robe to apply medicine to a hideous wound on his chest.

The wound was fresh, from when he’d broken into the Ministry of War’s storehouse to steal the defense map. Over ten days had passed, but there was still some redness and swelling that hadn’t gone down.

“I’ve left A’Jiu a coded letter. Once she’s back in Jinling, she’ll find a way to shake off the shadow guards and come find us.”

Having said this, Yun Luo picked up a stone and carved two lines of text at the base of a pillar in the corner of the main room. Then he and the man in black left the abandoned house together and quickly disappeared into the dark alleys.

———*—

Before long it was March, the breeze mild and pleasant, spring bright and clear.

That afternoon, Fang Furan took a carriage to Hechun Hall. Led by Physician Xue, she went to the connected courtyard and bowed from a distance toward the person in the pavilion. “Your Highness.”

Prince Ling was practicing calligraphy in the pavilion. Seeing her, he smiled faintly. “You’ve come.”

Fang Furan walked into the pavilion and saw he was copying out the Lotus Sutra.

On the paper, written with forceful strokes, was a line: “If for an entire kalpa one constantly harbors ill will, showing anger and cursing the Buddha, one incurs immeasurable grave sin.”

Fang Furan paused slightly and asked, “Why is Your Highness copying this passage?”

Prince Ling said gently, “When I first met you, this was the sutra passage that had fallen to the ground. Today, having some free time, I thought I’d copy it out.”

As he spoke, he set down his brush and said, “Physician Xue tells me your health has been good lately.”

Fang Furan nodded slightly, seeming to remember something, and said softly, “A’Ting came back to stay at the mansion for a few days recently. She wasn’t as distant with me as before.”

Prince Ling said, “That’s good.”

He looked at her and continued, “Furan, there’s a matter I’d like to ask your help with.”

He picked up a sachet from the stone table and handed it to Fang Furan. “Please give this to Qin Jiu on my behalf, and tell her it’s from A’Ting.”

Fang Furan was puzzled for a moment, took the sachet and sniffed it. “Is this patchouli?”

Prince Ling nodded, then after a moment said, “I won’t hide it from you—besides the patchouli, there’s a rare medicine in there. Its effect is usually not noticeable, but combined with sandalwood incense, it will quickly leave a person weak and drained. I used patchouli because its scent is strong and refreshing, which can mask the smell of the other medicine.”

Fang Furan asked, “Why… do you want to give this to A’Jiu?”

Prince Ling clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the edge of the pavilion. “Someone must be behind Qin Jiu’s theft of the blood letter left by Steward Li of the Ministry of War before his death. I’ve had people secretly following her for some time, but she seems to have grown wary, and hasn’t yet revealed that person’s whereabouts. I have no choice but to resort to this measure.”

Seeing Fang Furan hesitate, he continued, “Don’t worry—I only intend to use this sachet to draw out whoever is behind Qin Jiu. I would never harm her.”

Fang Furan asked, “Is finding out who stole the defense map that important to Your Highness?”

“Very important,” Prince Ling nodded. “This matter concerns success or failure. It can’t afford even the slightest mistake.”

Fang Furan thought for a moment and said, “Very well. But A’Jiu, though she seems careless, is actually quite observant. If I tell her this is from A’Ting, she might not use it. Let me think of a way.”

Prince Ling said, “Good. Thank you.”