Wu Yan gazed at the painted pleasure boat on the lake. Consort Xiang and Consort Yue, the two sisters, were boating on the lake, chatting and laughing—a picture of harmony. He coldly withdrew his gaze and looked at Duan Ge’erfeng. This man had led the Duan Ge family to stand firmly on his side since his days as a persecuted prince, and was the only one among all the nobles who supported his taking Mo Zi as empress. If there was anyone in this world he could completely trust, it was probably only this white-haired old man.
He sighed and said, “Eyes filled with the spring scenery of the entire palace, yet the heart covered by mountain ice and snow. Grand Chancellor, if you were to leave, I fear I would never find another person truly loyal to me. I only hope you will live long and reach a hundred years.”
Duan Ge’erfeng chuckled and said, “I thank the King for his blessing, but no one lives a hundred years—all fates must end. However, though this old man already has one foot in the coffin, if I don’t select a Duan Ge descendant to continue serving the King loyally, I will not depart. My sons are all mediocre, but my grandson is worthy of great responsibility. A’shou has both courage and strategy, and handles matters steadily. When he returns to the capital, please observe him closely, Your Majesty.”
“Duan Geshou’s birth mother is Han and he’s not from the main wife—if the Grand Chancellor wants to pass the clan leader position to him, the road ahead will surely be full of obstacles.” Wu Yan was somewhat surprised by Duan Ge’erfeng’s decision.
“Therefore, this old man may need to borrow the King’s decree at that time. The clan leader position should go to the capable. Both being of Duan Ge family blood, what distinction is there between legitimate and common-born?” Duan Ge’erfeng was an outstanding clan leader of his generation, with far-reaching vision and broad mind.
Wu Yan nodded in agreement. “Who would have thought that timid, frail boy from back then would succeed you? Had I known this, I should have shown him more favor.”
“If not for the King’s discerning eye, how could he lead troops and command generals… and how could he have established such illustrious prestige?” Duan Ge’erfeng stroked his snow-white long beard. “Your Majesty, counting the days, Miss Song should have already arrived in the capital. Why can’t the people we sent find her?” In his memory, that beautiful woman possessed extraordinary intelligence and cleverness—the perfect candidate for empress.
“Three days remain until Qingming Festival… she must be here, yet none of the traps I set have been triggered. I don’t know when or in what manner she entered. I thought she would be anxious to inquire about Dou Lu’s whereabouts, but it seems the anxious one is me. Grand Chancellor, I’ll only say this before you—this time I have no confidence at all.” The beauties on the lake seemed like a painting, but he couldn’t take them to heart.
“Miss Song may avoid the Song residence, the flower market, and those old places she once loved, but she certainly cannot avoid tomorrow’s peony banquet at Chu Liu’s. Your Majesty has hidden news of Chu Yu so tightly… aside from making inquiries at Chu Liu’s side, there are no other avenues. Even if Miss Song can guess it’s a trap, I’m afraid she’ll have no choice but to jump in. However, as the King said, she’s exceptionally clever—we must watch closely, person by person, lest we miss something.” Duan Ge’erfeng genuinely appreciated Mo Zi.
Wu Yan’s eyes gleamed with burning ambition. “When we two are married, that will be the time to advance on Nande. Once Nande is mine… I and Great Zhou will divide the world equally. Then taking it to achieve unification, the great enterprise will be complete.”
“My King’s aspirations will surely be fulfilled.” Duan Ge’erfeng withdrew to make arrangements.
Yuan Cheng’s carriage stopped on Rabbit Ear Mountain, from where Mo Zi could see her former home.
“I never thought I could look like this.” She gazed at those layers of eaves. “I suddenly realized how small the courtyard I used to live in was. Back then, Dou Lu and I would play hide-and-seek there. To keep me from finding her, she actually hid in a large flowerpot… covered her head with soil and stuck a flower in it. She ended up eating a mouthful of dirt… I laughed so much…”
Yuan Cheng listened with a smile, tightly holding her hand.
“We left four years ago. These houses and courtyards still look so clean, not even weeds, yet there’s not a single person. As I expected, this is another of Wu Yan’s traps—” Mo Zi suddenly paused, couldn’t help but take two steps forward, pointing directly. “Yaohuang.”
Yuan Cheng saw a row of brilliantly blooming flowers beneath a window. “Not necessarily yaohuang.”
“No, no, Yuan Cheng, it’s not that row of blooming ones, but that one by the wall corner with only leaves.” Mo Zi stared fixedly without blinking. “Dou Lu loves peonies, so I’ve come to know quite a bit too.”
“Did Wu Yan arrange the yaohuang?” Yuan Cheng thought so.
“Whoever arranged it, it’s a message Dou Lu sent me.” Mo Zi turned and walked away. “Do you know, Dou Lu and I played a game from the east to west of the city. Back then, Dou Lu couldn’t leave the house, and I often told her about things outside. To help her know where was where, I treated that courtyard as a miniature capital. The position of the yaohuang is at the Hawk God Temple in the far west—a place only Wu Yan can go. Legend has it the shadow guards all come from that temple, and it’s the most mysterious and unknown place. I should have thought of it earlier. Yuan Cheng, Jin Yin and Dou Lu are very likely imprisoned there.”
“You’re going to charge over there right now?” Seeing her aggressive manner, Yuan Cheng grabbed her. “Who just said it was the most mysterious and unknown place? Moreover, how do you know this isn’t within Wu Yan’s expectations?”
“Then what should we do? If there were no clues, that would be one thing, but knowing where they are, should we continue circling around with Wu Yan? The yaohuang has no flowers—this means Jin Yin may be in danger. We can’t wait any longer.” She and Dou Lu shared an unspoken understanding.
“I’ll go.” Yuan Cheng’s gentle expression held determination. “But I need to prepare. If the peony banquet is a trap Wu Yan set for you, tomorrow night will be our best opportunity for a diversion. You must go to Chu Liu’s place, as Wu Yan wishes.”
Mo Zi’s gaze sharpened. “Yuan Cheng!”
Yuan Cheng smiled. “Two clever people, two places requiring clever handling—I think you and I should be up to the task.”
Mo Zi was amused by his confidence. “Fine, I agree to splitting up, but before dawn, someone must bring me news, otherwise I’ll come looking for you.”
“Agreed.” Yuan Cheng spread his palm. “Let’s seal it with a handshake.”
Smack! Their palms met.
On the night of the peony banquet, Mo Zi and the others infiltrated the Yuling Crown Prince’s residence.
“Who would have thought the Yuling Crown Prince had such wide connections among Daqiu people—so many came.” Yang Qiao was very perceptive. “I thought he was a hostage. Even if the Daqiu King granted him wealth and honor, his residence should be desolate.”
“You’re right. Just because he invites, others come? I see most of the guests look quite dismissive.” Wei Jia agreed with Yang Qiao.
“I also find it strange. Unless the Yuling Crown Prince is skilled at networking and winning hearts, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” Zhong An was also suspicious.
Mo Zi remained silent, wondering if Yuan Cheng’s operation was proceeding smoothly.
“What’s wrong?” Xiao Wei noticed she was preoccupied.
“I’m just thinking our disguises should conceal our identities.” She and Yang Qiao were dressed as wealthy young ladies and had deliberately applied heavy makeup. Fortunately, at such an occasion, almost every woman was dressed to the nines, so they didn’t stand out.
“Remember, don’t attract others’ attention.” After Xiao Wei’s reminder, he took Wei Jia and Zhong An to scout the layout.
Mo Zi and Yang Qiao sat among the female guests’ seats, quietly listening to their conversations.
“I heard the Crown Prince Chu has distinguished guests tonight,” said a noblewoman at their table.
“I heard that too. Apparently this peony banquet was held for them, but I don’t know who they are,” another noblewoman quickly added.
Since half the guests were female relatives of Yuling wealthy merchants, the conversation was primarily in the Han language.
Yang Qiao naturally understood and glanced at Mo Zi, gathering her courage to probe. “Could it be the King?”
Her appearance was gentle and refined, and when she mentioned the Daqiu King, her small face flushed with a rosy glow, making people think she admired the King—quite natural and reasonable.
“No. Why would the King come? Not only won’t the King come, even the three great families of Ke, Na, and Duan Gemar won’t come. We were all compelled by royal decree to attend. It must be someone from Yuling’s side.” The noblewoman curled her lip dismissively.
Compelled by decree to attend? Mo Zi sneered coldly. As expected, it was Wu Yan’s scheme, but she didn’t know what this talk of “distinguished guests” was meant to accomplish.
“We’ll know soon enough,” she said in Daqiu language.
Immediately, the two Daqiu noblewomen’s attitudes changed, assuming she and Yang Qiao were daughters of some prominent family. Just as they were about to inquire further, they heard the announcement of Crown Prince Chu’s arrival.
The female guests’ section was separated from the male guests’ section by only a walkway. Chu Liu walked down the middle, laughing and joking as he took slow steps, his arms around two Yuling palace beauties in palace dress, flirting and chatting as if no one else existed. Behind Chu Liu, four palace maids carried a curtained sitting couch. One person reclined against the armrest inside, hidden behind the curtain so their face couldn’t be seen.
Chu Liu took his seat, and the curtained couch was placed on his right side. He glanced at it with a contemptuous expression, grabbed a wine pot, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“I invited you all here tonight—viewing peonies is false, witnessing me, Chu Liu, punish a Yuling traitor is true.”
Upon hearing this, everyone began discussing amongst themselves.
Mo Zi narrowed her eyes and noticed the person behind the curtain sit up straight.
“Before serving the dishes, let me first give you all an appetizer. Recently there have been many rumors in the capital saying that Yuling has a Second Prince—my younger brother Chu Yu—wandering in exile. As everyone knows, my brother died of illness long ago. You must all be wondering how a dead person came back to life.” Chu Liu pulled over a beauty and suddenly kissed her, disregarding the guests’ expressions, and said, “I’ll tell you the truth—this is the shameful secret of the Yuling imperial family. My brother didn’t die, but swindled silver from my father and ran off to the common world to open a bank and do business. You’ve probably heard the name. Jin Yin. Jin for gold, yin for silver—vulgar as hell. His Jin Yin Bank—quite a few of you have probably deposited money there.”
The discussion grew immediately louder.
“I thank the Daqiu King for capturing this scoundrel for me, allowing me to personally deal with him.” With a wave from Chu Liu, guards brought forward a blade.
Yang Qiao leaned close to Mo Zi’s ear. “What is he doing?”
“Everyone bear witness for me—from now on, I am Yuling’s only legitimate heir to the throne. Whether Chu Yu or Jin Yin, he will no longer exist in this world.” Chu Liu stood up and used the blade to lift the curtain.
Yang Qiao covered her mouth to stifle her cry of shock.
Mo Zi bit her lip. The person behind the curtain wore clothes gleaming with gold light, precious gems sparkled in their dark hair, and the hand that now reached outside the curtain to grasp the sword hilt was covered with colorful pearl and crystal rings.
Jin Yin?!
“Do you all know…” Chu Liu turned to survey his surroundings. “Do you know why I used a curtain to hide him? It’s really because he doesn’t look like a man. Every time I see him, I feel disgusted. His mother was lowborn, and he is lowborn—just a bastard. He doesn’t deserve another glance from me.”
He thrust the blade inward with both hands. Immediately came the sound of the blade cutting through flesh. He stabbed more than ten times in succession, until fresh blood splattered wildly, dyeing the curtain crimson.