At the Northern Surveillance Bureau’s pigeon loft, a homing pigeon fluttered down onto the platform. A guard retrieved the wax-sealed message tied to its leg and quickly delivered it to his superior.
Shen Qi was lounging sideways on the magistrate’s chair in the courtroom, his long legs propped up on the desk. Absentmindedly twirling a copper awl used as a torture device, he said, “All the evidence is clear, yet you still deny your guilt? Do you want to sample all eighteen tortures of the imperial prison?”
The accused, clad in prisoner garb with a bloodied mouth, rasped, “The Emperor has already decreed the abolition of torture in the imperial prison. Dare you defy His Majesty’s order?”
“As you said, only the cruelest tortures were abolished,” Shen Qi retorted icily. “But finger presses, leg clamps, and flogging remain. I can invent eighteen variations for each. Care to test me?”
The accused glared at him with equal parts hatred and terror.
At that moment, the messenger approached Shen Qi, presenting the wax-sealed message and whispering in his ear. Shen Qi immediately tossed the copper awl onto the desk and left the courtroom. In the secluded back hall, he broke open the wax seal, extracted the small slip of paper, and read it carefully.
“On the eleventh day of the seventh month, in the year of the Gui Si, bandits gathered hundreds of men to raid the Yanan prison by night. Lord Su, spotting their signal arrow, promptly alerted the garrison and personally took to the battlefield to rescue local officials. He persuaded the bandit leaders to surrender and stalled for time until reinforcements arrived. The bandits fled in disarray. Yanan is safe, and Lord Su remains unharmed.”
Shen Qi exhaled deeply upon seeing the words “remains unharmed,” wiping the cold sweat from his palms onto his clothes.
Though Gao Shuo’s report was brief, Shen Qi could vividly imagine the perilous situation Su Yan had faced.
A frail scholar, still recovering from illness, untrained in swordsmanship—yet he insisted on risking his life, standing alone against hundreds of mounted bandits. Where did he find such courage?!
After his initial worry, Shen Qi grew frustrated with Su Yan for not valuing his own safety. But at the same time, he wasn’t surprised. Su Yan, despite his outward cleverness and smooth demeanor, was soft-hearted yet steadfast, a man with strong convictions. Even if Shen Qi had been there, he doubted he could have persuaded him otherwise. He would have had no choice but to follow his wife into the fire and brimstone.
“…I give up,” Shen Qi sighed with a helpless smile. He pulled a small embroidered sachet from his robes and carefully placed a new slip of paper inside.
There were already several notes in the sachet, delivered by five messenger pigeons in one night when Gao Shuo first entered Yanan. Each one was written in tiny, precise script:
June 19, Year of Gui Si: Left the southern gate and traveled to Five Mile Post Station. Assassin Wu Ming intercepted the carriage, pleaded guilty with self-imposed punishment. Lord Su permitted him to remain as an attendant.
June 20: Wu Ming claims his real name is Jinghong Zhui. Displays intimate behavior with Lord Su. That night, they shared a carriage to sleep.
July 2: Jinghong Zhui neglected his duties as a bodyguard. Lord Su was abducted by bandits. The bandit chief was moved by him and agreed to surrender.
July 6: Arrived in Yanan, coinciding with an execution ground riot. We intervened in time; Lord Su is unharmed. At the inn, Jinghong Zhui volunteered to stand guard for Lord Su at night.
July 7: Lord Su suffered heatstroke and fever. Jinghong Zhui did not summon a physician in time and kept the door locked for an hour before emerging. When questioned, he was arrogant and falsely claimed he was following orders. A servant later reported that Lord Su’s clothing was disheveled at the time.”
At the note about “sharing a carriage to sleep,” Shen Qi was already seething with fury. He regretted not using more force when he had first pursued Wu Ming—if only he had landed three proper strikes and killed the man outright, none of this ridiculous nonsense would have happened!
Then he read “clothing was disheveled,” and nearly coughed up blood. His rage boiled over, and he wished he could immediately hack that shameless bandit into a thousand pieces.
But, infuriatingly, he was stuck in the capital, powerless to act. By the time he was released from prison and received the intelligence report, it was already too late.
All he could do was console himself: Su Yan had once saved Wu Ming’s life—surely the man wouldn’t dare cross the line. Besides, Su Yan was not someone who could be easily manipulated. If Wu Ming had truly tried anything improper, all Su Yan had to do was give the order, and the twenty Embroidered Uniform Guard guarding him wouldn’t just stand idly by.
Repeatedly persuading himself this way, Shen Qi felt slightly better, though his longing to see Su Yan in Shaanxi only grew stronger.
However, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the emperor’s personal guard, and head of the Northern Surveillance Bureau, Shen Qi could not leave his post without permission. Only under the guise of official duties requiring travel could he secure approval to leave the capital.
Silently, he began reviewing the cases he was currently handling, calculating which might offer clues or leads that could serve as a legitimate reason for a trip outside the capital.
As he was contemplating, a trusted subordinate knocked on the door and reported, “A decree from the palace: His Majesty summons you.”
Shen Qi tucked the silk pouch back into his robes and replied calmly, “Understood.”
—
When Shen Qi entered the southern study, he found not the emperor, but only Yu Wang seated alone in a curved-back chair, sipping tea as if he’d been waiting for some time.
The moment Shen Qi saw Yu Wang, a violent surge of murderous intent threatened to overwhelm him. He quickly lowered his gaze, his fingertips digging into his palms as he forced himself to maintain a calm demeanor.
Yu Wang glanced at him and sneered, “I remember you. In the Eastern Garden, you deliberately startled the horses and threw a ball of paper at me, indirectly asking me to rescue Qinghe— What’s your relationship with him?”
Shen Qi’s palms stung from his clenched fists, but his tone remained steady as he replied, “Your Highness, I respect Lord Su’s righteousness and couldn’t bear to see him harmed by Feng the traitor. Later, Lord Su was tasked with reorganizing the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so we had some official and personal interactions.”
“Such a deep personal connection, it seems,” Yu Wang said with pointed sarcasm. “Qinghe was out of his house early that morning, and I had to search high and low before finally finding him at your doorstep. What exactly does that mean?”
—He was referring to the day before their departure from the capital, when Su Yan was dragged onto a carriage and had not returned by nightfall. Now, Yu Wang had the audacity to mention it! What was he trying to do? Flaunt it? Test him?
The more murderous intent surged within Shen Qi, the more indifferent his expression became. “Lord Su’s residence was burglarized the night before, and after filing a fruitless report, he came to ask if I had any connections in the garrison.”
He kept his tone light and matter-of-fact. Yu Wang sipped his tea leisurely, making it unclear whether he believed Shen Qi or not.
Yu Wang remained silent, and Shen Qi refrained from speaking further. The atmosphere in the study grew cold and tense.
“Ah, I nearly forgot,” Yu Wang suddenly remarked. “Qinghe specifically told me not to chat with you.”
Shen Qi: “?”
“He said you’d get jealous.”
Shen Qi: “!”
Yu Wang looked at him with a faint smirk. “What do you think? Is Qinghe jealous of you, of me, or perhaps of someone else entirely?”
Shen Qi: “…”
Just then, Emperor Jinglong entered the study. Yu Wang rose to bow, while Shen Qi knelt and saluted, saying, “This humble servant answers Your Majesty’s summons.”
The emperor waved his hand, signaling them to dispense with formalities. Taking his seat behind the desk, he casually asked, “What were you two discussing before I arrived?”
Shen Qi was still pondering how to answer when Yu Wang chuckled and said, “We were talking about ‘jealousy.'”
The emperor paused, then scolded lightly, “Enough of your romantic nonsense; don’t corrupt my Embroidered Uniform Guard. I called you here to discuss the establishment of the Heavenly Works Academy. Must the Lingguang Temple be demolished?”
Yu Wang had recently proposed tearing down Lingguang Temple to make space for the academy. The emperor had initially agreed, but unexpected complications arose.
The abbot of Lingguang Temple, Ji Yao, a robust and imposing thirty-year-old, was a renowned master of the mystical arts. He frequently performed “gold-making” demonstrations in the palace. Upon hearing about the demolition plans, Ji Yao immediately sought an audience with the Empress Dowager. Whatever he said worked, as she decreed that Lingguang Temple could not be torn down, citing feng shui reasons. She urged the emperor to reconsider and find another site.
Yu Wang, undeterred, stormed into the Cining Palace and openly berated Ji Yao: “Since when does Buddhism have feng shui? How does a monk practice Taoist arts? And what kind of gold is pasted onto the statues in your temple?”
Ji Yao shamelessly replied, “This humble monk practices both Buddhism and Taoism, reciting sutras and performing rituals. As for the gold on the statues, it represents the benevolent hearts of countless charitable devotees.”
Right in front of the Empress Dowager, Yu Wang slapped Ji Yao so hard he nearly spun in circles.
The Empress Dowager, already upset over various grievances—including Su Yan’s role in her nephew’s injuries and her brother-in-law’s reprimands by the emperor—was furious. She had hoped to use recent petitions against Su Yan to settle scores but was thwarted when the emperor quickly reassigned him outside the capital. Left with no outlet for her anger, she turned against the new academy proposal, pressuring Yu Wang to abandon the project.
Surprisingly, the two sons, who were usually filial, showed unusual unity regarding Su Yan’s matters. One outwardly criticized Su Yan but privately awarded him an imperial sword. The other ignored his mother’s objections and focused entirely on the academy, even neglecting his usual palace visits.
Today, Yu Wang visited Cining Palace. He had barely exchanged two or three sentences before resorting to violence. The Empress Dowager was so furious that her liver trembled with rage. Pointing at him, she scolded, “Even Old Laizi wore colorful clothes to entertain his parents, yet look at you! Not only do you refuse to bring joy to your mother, but you can’t even tolerate those who do! With such defiance and lack of filial piety, why are you still in the capital? Just the sight of you is vexing! You might as well get out and go guard the frontier!”
Yu Wang lowered his head and endured the reprimand, but upon hearing her final words, he was overjoyed. “Royal Mother speaks wisely! Why not issue an imperial decree and allow your son to leave the capital and take up his post in his fief?”
The Empress Dowager was so enraged that she nearly shattered her silver teeth. Snatching up a white porcelain rouge box, she hurled it at him. “Get out! If you dare tear down Lingguang Temple, I’ll tear apart your rebellious bones!”
Yu Wang easily dodged the flying box and swiftly apologized before making his escape.
When word of this reached the Emperor, it led to today’s summons in the Imperial Study.
Now, as the Emperor questioned whether the demolition of Lingguang Temple was truly necessary, it was clear he was also under pressure from the Empress Dowager. The Emperor knew that the site had been chosen by Yu Wang and hoped for a compromise that would respect the Empress Dowager’s sentiments without causing unnecessary trouble. The construction of the Heavenly Works Academy was inevitable, but another suitable location could be found—it did not have to come at the cost of demolishing a temple.
Yet, Yu Wang remained unmoved and replied, “I searched the entire capital, and that is the most suitable location. Besides, Su Yan has also approved it. If we must change the site, why not send me to Shaanxi to explain it to him personally?”
The emperor was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, “It’s just a temple. If it must be torn down, so be it. I’ll handle Royal Mother myself.”
Yu Wang added, “And that Ji Yao, a complete fraud lining his pockets. Every word out of his mouth is just smoke and mirrors. I look at him and feel like hitting him. Royal Mother treats him like some plaything, and he’s really taking it seriously, showing up at the palace day after day. If he stirs up some scandal with the palace maids… it’s better to deal with him sooner rather than later.”
The emperor also vaguely suspected that the empress dowager saw Ji Yao as more than just a source of amusement and diversion, but propriety stopped him from voicing such thoughts. Yu Wang’s blunt mention of the palace maids touched on concerns the emperor couldn’t express.
He cast a warning glance at Yu Wang, then turned to Shen Qi and instructed, “You heard Yu Wang’s words clearly? This matter is yours to handle. It must be above reproach, discreet, and thorough. Do it well, and I’ll promote you. If you fail, you can spend another month in the imperial prison.”
Though the emperor’s words seemed contradictory, Shen Qi, with his sharp mind and calculating nature, immediately grasped their meaning—
The emperor and Yu Wang intended to deal with the “fraudulent monk” Ji Yao but couldn’t act directly. “Above reproach” meant finding an irrefutable charge to strip Ji Yao of his aura of holiness and ruin his reputation. “Discreet” meant this charge must have no ties to the palace. And “thorough” was the hardest part: dismantling the temple to establish a school for Yu Wang while ensuring the empress dowager had no complaints, or at least not enough to sour her mood.
Such a challenging and peculiar task was why the emperor uncharacteristically dangled rewards before seeing results. He had chosen Shen Qi because of his reputation for swift, precise, and ruthless execution—like holding onto Feng Que’s incriminating evidence for ten years and exposing him without hesitation at the most critical moment.
Shen Qi understood the emperor was treating him as a blade in the shadows, meant to eliminate obstacles that could not be confronted openly. But he did not feel aggrieved, humiliated, or unwilling to accept this role.
Perhaps this was the path most suited to him as he climbed toward the peak of power—his own path.
If this task could help Su Yan realize his ambition of establishing a new school, adding a shining achievement to his record… Shen Qi lowered his head, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He cupped his hands and said, “Your subject obeys.”
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