Chapter 39: Anger Part 1

The night wind was somewhat chilly. After leaving the mansion, Xun Yiran eagerly boarded his own carriage. If not for the events that day happening too suddenly, he wouldn’t have gone to see the Right Chancellor at night when every household had closed their doors.

Once imperial princes reached a certain age, they would leave the palace and establish their own residences. His mansion was the closest to the Forbidden Palace, separated from the depths of the palace by just a single wall, making it very convenient to enter the palace.

After leaving the Shao Mansion, a few turns would bring him back to the Second Prince’s Mansion, but he took the long way around, instructing the coachman to detour to the Ning’an Commandery Princess Mansion. Upon arrival, however, he found the main gates tightly shut and not a single light lit—it was the scene of an uninhabited residence.

Xun Yiran sent someone to knock on the door and waited in the carriage. When the servant returned, he learned that the County Princess Mansion was overgrown with weeds, the buildings had collapsed years ago, and the damage was too severe for habitation. Wei Lingci was staying next door at the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion.

At this late hour, it wouldn’t be appropriate to rashly knock on the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion gates. Xun Yiran endured it and had the carriage turn back to the Second Prince’s Mansion.

He did not sleep, and similarly, someone in the Forbidden Palace could not fall asleep.

The Emperor resided in Splendid Clarity Palace, reviewing memorials by lamplight with bright candles burning high on either side. The white hairs at his temples seemed to have increased a bit more.

He had ascended the throne as a child and ruled for forty years. In terms of governance, he had labored tirelessly every day. Though he had no great achievements, he also had no major faults. His greatest regret was his lack of prosperous heirs and the difficulty in selecting a crown prince.

He had married Shao Yun merely to stabilize the court, but now it had led to the outer relatives holding excessive power. He wanted to eradicate the Shao Family, but too many entanglements were involved. Now, with only his sole legitimate son Xun Yiran left under his knee, who could succeed his position—yet he understood better than anyone that Xun Yiran was not the material for a wise ruler.

Xun Yishu’s death was more closely tied to Xun Yiran than to Xun Yi. After all, Xun Yi had no motive to kill a prince on the verge of ascending to power. Moreover, the greatest beneficiary of the incident was Xun Yiran, making it impossible not to suspect him.

But now that only he remained, the Emperor could no longer bear to eliminate him. This was the heart of a father, after all.

Yuan Qingming strode into the Emperor’s bedchamber and bowed deeply. “Your Majesty.”

The Emperor raised his head and glanced at the palace servants on either side, signaling them to withdraw. Once the palace doors closed, he asked, “How did it go?”

“The Second Imperial Prince did indeed visit the Right Chancellor’s mansion tonight and stayed for over an hour. On his way back, he waited outside the Ning’an Commandery Princess Mansion for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before returning to his residence.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor set down his imperial brush and walked to a nearby table and chairs, inviting Yuan Qingming to sit. He smiled and said, “Over an hour—that’s enough time to say a lot of things.” He paused, leaning back fully in the chair, then asked again, “Today, when you clashed with the assassin, what did you think of their skills? Did they come from a courtly aristocratic family or the jianghu?”

Yuan Qingming’s martial prowess was renowned not only in the court but also in the jianghu, which was why the Emperor asked him this.

Recalling the moves he had exchanged with the assassin, Yuan Qingming pondered for a long time before carefully replying, “That person’s skills were profound and unfathomable. With the Imperial Guards assisting me, I managed to wound them. In a one-on-one fight, it wouldn’t have been easy for me to win. Their sword techniques changed unpredictably, and I couldn’t discern their origin, but their deep inner strength suggests they came from the jianghu.”

He held back half a sentence: If it had been someone from the court, they likely would have sought office long ago instead of remaining so obscure and hidden.

The Emperor’s brows furrowed tightly. Such a hidden expert was no good omen. Once jianghu folk intervened in court affairs, it would surely stir up a storm of blood. Looking at the equally tense Yuan Qingming, he said with a faint smile, “If the Second Imperial Prince has such an expert behind him, you should worry about yielding your position as Commander of the Imperial Guards.”

Seeing the Emperor teasing him intentionally, Yuan Qingming paid it no mind and simply said, “The assassin was a woman.”

In an era where men were esteemed above women, Great Qi had allowed women to enter officialdom in recent years past, but that trend had faded, and no women sought positions in court anymore.

“A woman…” The Emperor murmured, his gaze unusually calm, his features neither warm nor fiery. “If it’s a woman, investigate the Second Prince’s Mansion. His residence is full of concubines and servants—remember to investigate discreetly. That’s precisely why I’m assigning this to you and not letting the Ministry of Punishments get involved.”

Yuan Qingming listened for a long while and felt surprised by the Emperor’s repeated use of “Second Imperial Prince” for Xun Yiran. In the past, even in private, he had called him “Ran’er” or similar affectionate nicknames. Lately, the Emperor’s temperament had become quite erratic.

The Emperor’s intentions grew ever harder to fathom, but as a minister, Yuan Qingming knew that obeying the sovereign’s orders was the proper path. After accepting the command, an eunuch outside announced that the Minister of Punishments sought an audience.