Outside the tomb walls, the accompanying ritual officials, having heard the commotion, finally arrived, only to find the Crown Prince’s hat missing, his robes torn, his body covered in mud and water. Their faces turned pale green with fright as they all knelt to plead guilty.
The Crown Prince said, “Rise. It’s not your fault. The northern mountain collapsed, and the stream’s waterfall suddenly flooded, nearly striking the mausoleum. Fortunately, I and the guards cut down trees and blocked the paths to divert the flow.”
The officials were aghast and shaken, but as the fear faded, gratitude and admiration filled their eyes, for the Crown Prince’s decisive courage in protecting the imperial tomb.
The Crown Prince modestly said, “It was not my merit, but the First Ancestor’s spirit manifest, he protected the imperial dragon vein of our Great Ming, ensuring the nation’s fortune endures.”
Su Yan quietly gave Zhu Helin an approving nod: He hadn’t blamed any official for failing to protect him, nor mentioned that he himself had gone hunting, nor spoken of the explosions to avoid alarming the culprits. He only cited a landslide causing a mudflow and emphasized his effort to protect the mausoleum, finally attributing the credit to ancestral blessing.
Every word skillfully balanced risk and advantage. Compared to how he used to openly contradict the Emperor back in the capital, this was a remarkable improvement.
Among the senior officials present, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, the Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and others, they conferred briefly and decided to escort the Crown Prince back to the palace first. They would then request troops from the Nanjing Ministry of War to clear the damaged forests on the northern mountain, and have a geomancy master replan the stream’s course, to block or redirect it as necessary, ensuring no future accidents.
Such a grave incident, nearly endangering the imperial tomb, had to be reported to the court in the capital immediately. Lu Shangshu intended to draft the memorial himself and said to the Crown Prince, “Tomorrow this old servant will come pay respects again to inquire in detail, so that I may report truthfully to His Majesty.”
The Crown Prince agreed, then returned to the rest hall to wash and change. Before departing, he suddenly turned toward the crowd and asked, “Where is the steward eunuch of the Xiaoling Shrine?”
From the crowd, a middle-aged, plump eunuch quickly stepped out and bowed deeply. “Your servant’s humble name is Yao Quan. What are your orders, Young Master?”
Standing on the carriage step, the Crown Prince looked down at him from above. “Those few inner attendants who served as our guides, did they return safely?”
Eunuch Yao replied, “They have not been seen. Perhaps they were swept away by the flood, most likely perished. Alas, such was their fate.”
The Crown Prince’s face remained unreadable. “Since they lost their lives in service, their families must be compensated. Provide their names, native places, and family details to… Left Shilang of Rites, Lord Su. He will oversee the matter.”
Eunuch Yao bowed. “I will see to it tomorrow.”
Only then did the Crown Prince board his carriage and set out for Nanjing’s imperial city.
As the officials dispersed and left through the Meridian Gate, a palace attendant came bearing the Crown Prince’s command, summoning Su Yan to the palace.
The moment Su Yan stepped inside the hall, he heard the Crown Prince scolding the palace stewards and guards: “A living person, just like that, she slipped away right under your noses. Not only can you not find her, you can’t even tell me how she left the palace, or where she went?”
The palace stewards and the head of the guards, scolded into shame, hung their heads and admitted fault, promising to search again immediately, they swore they would dig the person out no matter what.
Su Yan spoke up: “Young Master, calm yourself. It’s been a long day, and you barely ate anything. Why not have the cooks prepare some supper?”
At the sight of him, most of Zhu Helin’s anger dissolved. He waved the others away, then pulled Su Yan to sit cross-legged with him on the luohan couch.
Cheng Sheng and Fu Bao weren’t around, and the eunuchs serving nearby weren’t particularly perceptive. Without an order from the Crown Prince, they did not withdraw. Zhu Helin turned his head and glared at them. “What are you all standing there for like lumps of wood? Didn’t you hear what Su Shilang said? Go call the cooks to make supper! Make more dishes this time, don’t bring me tofu and greens again. The tomb rites are over!”
The eunuchs, flustered, finally took the hint and withdrew, closing the hall doors behind them.
Su Yan smiled and patted the back of Zhu Helin’s hand. “Alright, enough. How long are you planning to stew in this temper? Let it go already.”
Zhu Helin grumbled, “We almost lost our lives at Zhong Mountain today, and yet we can’t tell anyone. We have to investigate in secret, it’s suffocating!”
Su Yan, by contrast, was calm. “What’s there to suffocate over? He has his clever schemes; I have my ladder over the wall. How does the saying go again… Let’s see who has the last laugh.”
Zhu Helin’s lips were still pressed tight, so Su Yan narrowed his eyes at him with an unfriendly look. “If we’re talking about who should feel suffocated, shouldn’t it be me? I’d barely returned to the capital when I was inexplicably punished and sent down to Nanjing. And I hear it’s because someone posed me as a nude model for some Hanlin Academy artist who paints erotic pictures?”
Zhu Helin didn’t quite understand “nude model,” but the words “Hanlin erotic paintings” registered instantly. His face flushed crimson, even his ears turning red.
He stammered awkwardly, “I, I didn’t mean… How could I have known Royal Father would catch me off guard… I just…” He gripped Su Yan’s hand tightly, his tone full of grievance. “You were gone in Shaanxi for half a year, and then back in the capital for barely two months before leaving again. I just… missed you too much.”
Su Yan kept a stern face. “So that gives you the right to sketch lewd pictures of me? Did you ever think what would happen if those drawings fell into the Empress Dowager’s hands, or if someone with an agenda spread them beyond the palace, causing a scandal throughout the court and the capital?
“I, Su Qinghe, have a thick skin. If I can keep my post, I’ll keep working; if not, I’ll pack my bags and go home to live off my family’s title. But you? What about your reputation as Crown Prince? After all your painstaking work, you’d just let it all go up in smoke without a thought?”
“Do you really think that now the Wei family’s half-destroyed and the Wei clan women are locked in the cold palace, the crisis is over, that as Crown Prince you can rest easy?”
The barrage of sharp questions brought sweat to Zhu Helin’s nose, and his face turned a painful shade of red.
He gripped Su Yan’s hand tighter, almost pleading. “Qinghe, stop talking!”
His grip was so strong it hurt, but Su Yan didn’t pull away. Instead, he sighed, his eyes filled with quiet disappointment, and said, slowly and distinctly, “Your… Highness.”
That look wasn’t sharp, it even carried a trace of melancholy. Yet to Zhu Helin, it pierced like an arrow to the heart. The formal address nearly brought tears to his eyes.
A fire was burning in his chest, a lump of frustration lodged in his throat. His instinct was to explode, because for as long as he could remember, that had been his way of solving everything.
But he knew times were different now. He had to rein in his temper, to shoulder the weight of being the Crown Prince.
He had to grow up.
Zhu Helin lowered his head and muttered, “…It was my fault.”
Su Yan was indeed angry about the spring-painting incident, but his bond with Zhu Helin ran deep. He knew the other’s temperament and hadn’t truly planned to hold it against him. Yet since the topic had come up, how could he waste such a fine opportunity for a lesson?
So, no matter how much the man across from him looked like a dejected puppy, he couldn’t just soften and pet him right away.
“Before you do anything, think ahead about the consequences. If you can bear them, go ahead. If you can’t, but still insist on doing it, then at least plan your escape route in advance, so when the ship capsizes, you’re not left grasping at nothing. Someone as smart as you should understand that.” Su Yan spoke evenly.
Zhu Helin nodded. Then, realizing how tightly he was still holding on, he released Su Yan’s hand and gently rubbed the red marks his grip had left.
Using that same hand, Su Yan dipped his index finger into his teacup and drew a long line on the table, then three circles of different sizes along the line.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zhu Helin asked with his eyes.
Su Yan pointed at the long line. “This is the path you must take.” Then he pointed to the three circles. “And these are the three problems you must resolve before reaching the end of that path.
“The smallest circle represents the Empress Dowager’s prejudice and the half-dead but still wriggling Wei clan.”
“The middle one stands for the attitude of the court officials and the hearts of the people across the realm.”
“The largest circle… is the hidden hand behind it all, the one stirring up every storm from the shadows.”
Zhu Helin didn’t object to the first two. But at the third, he frowned. “Wasn’t the Void Sect already eradicated? That Mr. He fled in panic and is now wanted across the empire.”
Su Yan said, “That’s true in the capital, and in large prefectures like Nanjing, where the court’s decrees are properly enforced. But what about the vast countryside? There are over a thousand counties in the empire, how many do you know have been infiltrated by the Void Sect? Don’t forget, they excel at deceiving commoners, forming secret societies, and quietly recruiting followers.”
Zhu Helin furrowed his brows. “If that’s the case, the court must issue an edict, ordering garrisons in every prefecture and county to conduct house-to-house searches and exterminate the remnants. Only then could the Void Sect be wiped out completely.”
Su Yan shook his head. “Too harsh a purge will spark rebellion and shake the foundations of the state. What I mean is, if you want to solve that largest circle, it comes down to two things: first, you must have just cause; second, you must capture the leader before all else.
“In the capital, we were able to uproot the sect precisely because we used the Baizhifang explosion as our point of entry, that was having ‘just cause.’ Then we targeted the two marquis households, encircled them, and hunted down Mr. He and the Seven Killings’ leader, that was ‘capturing the leader first.’ Unfortunately, one of them escaped.”
Zhu Helin nodded thoughtfully. “If we can capture Mr. He again, and deal with him, that would deliver a fatal blow to the Void Sect?”
Su Yan replied, “The Void Sect’s power is almost entirely concentrated in the hands of its leader, so eliminating Mister He is indeed imperative. But I’ve been mulling something over. I can’t shake the feeling… there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mister He… is he really the Player?”
Zhu Helin froze. “Who else could it be?”
Su Yan countered, “Are you certain it’s him? Just because he’s fond of trickery, likes to play chess, and was even caught holding black and white stones when arrested?”
Zhu Helin fell silent in thought.
Su Yan continued, “Have you ever considered, if Mister He were the ‘Player,’ the one giving the orders, then why wasn’t the leader of the Seven Kill Camp taken on the same prison cart with him? The ambush was clearly premeditated. The camp leader could have easily escaped alive. Why was he instead cornered at the secret passage and ultimately killed by the encirclement of the Imperial Guards and Yu Wang’s men?”
Zhu Helin thought for a moment, then hesitantly said, “Because… the camp leader didn’t take orders from Mister He? So when Mister He escaped, he didn’t care about him at all?”
Su Yan nodded approvingly. “Exactly. If Mister He truly were the ‘Player,’ how could he so easily discard such a capable pawn? That means Mister He might not be the true master behind the scenes, and that this organization isn’t a monolith either.”
The more Zhu Helin thought about it, the more he felt that the hidden force behind all this was vast and unfathomable, like one of those ancient demon trees from folktales, with roots spreading endlessly underground into every corner of the world.
“…Could the white deer incident on Mount Zhong also be connected to the ‘Player’?” he murmured.
“It’s possible,” said Su Yan. “We may have escaped with our lives today, but the other side excels at layered schemes. There’s no doubt they still have a backup plan. We must find the breakthrough quickly, unravel their plot, and turn the tables.”
Zhu Helin said, “After the explosion, several of the guides we sent to set up the traps disappeared, either buried by the landslide or fled. The only remaining lead is that palace maid, Taoling. I ordered her arrest the moment I returned to the palace, but she’s vanished too. That’s why I lost my temper with the stewards and guards. I’m not an unreasonable man.”
Su Yan gave him a look of understanding and comfort, and couldn’t resist reaching out to ruffle the big dog’s hair. “Since you’ve returned safely, that maid probably realized her crime had been exposed and ran off to find whoever ordered her.”
Zhu Helin sighed. “A pity, the last clue’s gone cold.”
“Who said that’s the only clue?” Su Yan smiled. “Earlier at the mausoleum, when you asked Eunuch Yao of the Directorate for the names of those palace servants who served as guides, wasn’t that a clue?
“I also noticed, when the officials were dispersing at Meridian Gate, a few of your palace guards quietly followed after them. Did you send them to shadow Eunuch Yao? You’re far more capable than you think, Little Lord.”
Hearing his praise, and seeing that confident smile on Su Yan’s face, Zhu Helin couldn’t help grinning. “Those guides were all eunuchs from the Palace Directorate. Taoling, too, was transferred from there to the palace three months ago. Either there’s a mole inside the Directorate, or the whole place is a den of ghosts. With Eunuch Yao as chief steward, how could I not have him tailed?”
Su Yan praised him a few more times, and when the “dog’s tail” started wagging, he laughed. “Then I’ll contribute a clue of my own. Tomorrow, let’s go back to Mount Zhong’s northern peak in disguise, not by the Xiaoling path, but climbing from the opposite side, to examine the explosion site.”
Zhu Helin’s eyes flickered with realization. “The landslide was triggered by the later, louder explosions. But before that, there were two muffled ones that shook the ground hardest, what were those blowing up?”
Seeing he had grasped the key point, Su Yan was just about to answer when a eunuch outside called, “The night meal is ready, does Your Little Lordship wish to dine now?”
Right on cue, both their stomachs rumbled. They exchanged a smile. Zhu Helin stood up, pulling Su Yan toward the dining table. “Let’s eat first, we can talk after.”
Su Yan said, “After eating, I’ll have to leave the palace. The gates here may not be as strict as the capital’s, but there’s still curfew.”
“If it’s late, stay the night here. It’s no big deal, I say so.”
“That won’t do. What if someone starts gossiping?”
“What’s there to gossip about? We’re not even in the same hall.”
“Still not proper. What if Little Master suddenly feels inspired to sketch again and wants to use me as a model?”
“…”
Zhu Helin fumed. “I won’t paint again! Never again, alright!?”
Su Yan chuckled. “It wouldn’t be improper if, in the future, you painted your concubines. The joys of the boudoir, after all. Just make sure to keep them hidden well, wouldn’t want them ending up in some museum centuries later, where people point and say, ‘My goodness, who’d have thought Emperor Song Taizong hired an artist to paint indecent pictures of himself and Consort Zhou? And this Mingwu, this grand Great Ming Emperor, was even more impressive, he painted his own!’ Tell me, wouldn’t that be humiliating?”
Zhu Helin blushed with rage and lunged at him, mercilessly tickling his sides. Su Yan squirmed and laughed until tears came.
“Someday,” Zhu Helin growled, “I’ll paint however I d*mn please, and you won’t stop me!”
“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare. After all, Your Highness will one day be a great enlightened ruler. Your triumphs and failings will be judged by future generations, including your noble hobby of painting erotic art, hahahaha!”
“Future generations…” Zhu Helin huffed and spat in frustration. “Let them wag their tongues all they want. I won’t be around to hear it anyway.”
Su Yan straightened his expression. “You may not need face, but I do. How many have you drawn? Burn them all. If even a single one leaks out, I’ll snap every last one of your brushes!”
Deflated, Zhu Helin muttered, “Got it… Didn’t you just say you’ve got thick skin and don’t care about being criticized?”
Su Yan gave him a sidelong glance. “You actually believe that? Back when I (the original host) ranked first in the provincial exam, someone asked me afterward how I felt. I blushed and said, ‘I’m unworthy, my studies are lacking, I’ve shamed my teachers and parents. I’ll just try again in three years.’ They all believed me and tried to comfort me. Then when the results came out… their faces looked just like yours right now.”
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