The sale of Jade Face Asura wasn’t open to everyone. Kang Li sold the hallucinogenic herb to curry favor with various organizations, and the Yellow Path Palace was naturally one of his targets. So she had used the Yellow Path Palace’s name to buy it from Kang Li, and naturally, the palace members learned of it.
After killing Yelu Narqi, not only were the authorities after her, but so were the Yellow Path Palace members.
That night at the Great Wind Inn, Cui Wangshu and Ji Yunwei had encountered Jiang Chenbi because Alna had returned to retrieve the needle hidden in the clay figurine. With Jiang Chenbi’s gu worm inside her, Jiang Chenbi naturally tracked her movements.
If not for running into Cui Wangshu, Alna would have been taken back to the Yellow Path Palace for punishment that night.
Later, learning that Cui Wangshu was investigating, Jiang Chenbi stopped the palace members from interfering, only tasking them with finding the head Alna had hidden.
Meanwhile, Kang Li and the Ancha Shi had colluded, and their planting of Jade Face Asura had been discovered by chance. Though Cui Wangshu had suspected the Ancha Shi from the start, she hadn’t known about the Jade Face Asura then.
She had thought the Ancha Shi merely gambled and might be corrupt, so Cui Wangshu had feigned overtures to lower his guard, originally aiming only to expose his graft.
It was only after seeing Kang Li’s personal guard in the western courtyard that Cui Wangshu realized someone had authorized the Jade Face Asura planting there.
And in Tongzhou, the only one with the authority to authorize it without detection was the Ancha Shi.
Ji Yunwei frowned. “Then how did you kill Yelu Narqi?”
Alna’s lips curved upward in a contemptuous smile as she curled into an extremely contorted position. She was already extremely thin, and curled up, she could almost fit into a box.
Ji Yunwei’s eyes widened in shock. “That night, you really hid inside that clay figurine!?”
Alna sneered. “So what if I did?”
There was someone in the delegation controlled by gu poison, so Yelu Narqi stayed in the upper left room of the Great Wind Inn. Alna had hidden in the clay figurine a day earlier.
That night, Yelu Narqi had been writing a letter when she heard what seemed like breathing from the figurine. Upon inspection, she noticed something odd in the figurine’s eyes. As she touched it, a needle coated in Jade Face Asura pollen pricked her finger, hidden behind the ink.
The pollen induced hallucinations far stronger than the flower’s scent. The clay figurine suddenly toppled and rolled on the floor. Yelu Narqi saw the fierce ghost crawling out from it…
The case was now clear. Alna had used Jade Face Asura to fabricate a ghost murder story to eliminate a rival for the eldest prince. And this Jade Face Asura happened to be the one Kang Li planted and sold, exposing his wild ambitions prematurely.
Ji Yunwei stared at Alna and narrowed her eyes. “Has the Yellow Path Palace ever bought Jade Face Asura from Kang Li before?”
Whether selling or buying forbidden items violated Great Zhao’s laws.
Alna glanced covertly at Cui Wangshu, but Cui Wangshu’s expression remained natural, offering her no glance.
Alna’s face grew grave. After much deliberation, she finally said, “No. Kang Li didn’t sell to individuals, so I borrowed the Yellow Path Palace’s name.”
At least… she hoped her family could live on.
Ji Yunwei hadn’t missed Alna’s little gesture, but she knew that since Jiang Chenbi had handed her over, any evidence of prior purchases had likely been cleaned up.
Without evidence, she couldn’t touch the Yellow Path Palace.
Ji Yunwei’s complex gaze fell on Cui Wangshu. Did the Minister know about this?
Alna’s crimes were proven, and she confessed without denial. She was sentenced to execution after the autumn assizes and imprisoned awaiting death. The Kang Kingdom man she had controlled with gu poison was already dead, so no charges could be brought against him.
Yelu Narqi’s body would be returned with the delegation, and the case details reported to the Kang Kingdom. Since their internal strife had affected Great Zhao, the diplomatic relations and benefit divisions would be renegotiated next year.
After everyone left, on the way back to her room, Ji Yunwei hesitated and asked, “Lord Minister, do you really think the Yellow Path Palace never bought Jade Face Asura from Kang Li?”
Cui Wangshu paused and turned to look at Ji Yunwei, her brows and eyes cool. “Would Vice Minister Ji believe what I say?”
Ji Yunwei stared at Cui Wangshu’s face. She had always seen Cui Wangshu as a role model. Even after learning she wasn’t as pure and desireless as rumored—that she had her own emotions—Ji Yunwei still trusted her.
“I believe you.”
Cui Wangshu curved her lips. “Then what if I said the Yellow Path Palace might have bought it before? Would Vice Minister Ji believe that too?”
Ji Yunwei was stunned, hardly believing Cui Wangshu would say such a thing. She had thought Cui Wangshu would cover for Jiang Chenbi.
Cui Wangshu explained, “Vice Minister Ji, whether I say they did or didn’t buy it, it’s just my guess. Whether to pursue this investigation is up to you, not me.”
Ji Yunwei furrowed her brows. “But that Miss Qian and you…”
Before she could finish, Cui Wangshu interrupted. “My affairs with her are between us. Your loyalty is to Great Zhao’s laws, which has nothing to do with her and me.”
Ji Yunwei stared at Cui Wangshu’s cool face and couldn’t help asking, “What if I really investigate?”
Cui Wangshu’s lips curved in a meaningful smile. “I trust you, and I trust her.”
With that, Ji Yunwei understood the Minister’s intent.
Ji Yunwei raised her gaze, her eyes firm. “Lord Minister, I will investigate this matter.”
A hint of amusement appeared in Cui Wangshu’s eyes. “That’s my Great Zhao’s good young talent.”
She trusted Ji Yunwei because she was loyal to Great Zhao’s laws and upheld justice. Such a person serving as an official was a blessing for the people and the court.
She trusted Jiang Chenbi simply because she was Jiang Chenbi—that was all.
Whether this was pursued or not wouldn’t change the current outcome, but out of personal bias, Cui Wangshu hoped Ji Yunwei would hold fast to her sense of justice.
As for Jiang Chenbi’s side, Cui Wangshu had always trusted her methods.
A genuine smile appeared on Ji Yunwei’s face. “Lord Minister, you should head back and rest. Tomorrow we return to the capital to report.”
Cui Wangshu nodded and turned to leave.
Ji Yunwei stood in place, watching Cui Wangshu’s figure depart under the moonlight.
The bamboo shadows in the courtyard fell across the corridor. Cui Wangshu passed through them, her lightly swaying robes making the shadows rustle.
…
Outside Luozhou City, on Qingcang Mountain, a lavish palace sprawled, with jade bases and golden roofs dominating a thousand li.
This was originally the Chahe Temporary Palace of Da Yong, stretching across both yin and yang sides of Qingcang Mountain.
Before Da Yong’s fall, the palace had just been completed when it was occupied by the White Lotus Cult’s demonic cultivators and heretics. Officials entered the mountain multiple times but failed to eradicate them. After Da Yong perished, Great Zhao’s Emperor sent troops several times, but the terrain was easy to defend and hard to attack, resulting in heavy casualties without damaging the cult’s foundation.
Yet this mysterious religious organization, which worshipped a faith, vanished without a trace here a few years ago, replaced by the even larger-scale Yellow Path Palace.
Unlike the White Lotus Cult’s religious nature, the Yellow Path Palace was a merchant guild, spread across various places, with Tongzhou and Luozhou as its central hubs.
Rumors said the Yellow Path Palace harbored a secret organization of demonic cultivators, assassins, and heretics—its predecessor being the vanished White Lotus Cult.
Over the years, court officials petitioned to eradicate it, but with Great Zhao’s military divided into three factions, there was no power for a decisive strike.
On the surface, the Yellow Path Palace was a neutral merchant guild uninvolved in court struggles, distributing porridge, holding vegetarian feasts, and aiding disaster victims.
It always cleaned up its traces thoroughly, and its blades never hung over the common people. They cared not for secret organizations—whoever delivered real free grain and clothing won their support.
Calls for eradication were few. Without justification or assurance, the court hesitated to act.
The bright moon hung high over Qingcang Mountain. The “Miss Qian” Ji Yunwei mentioned lounged lazily on a thick branch of a great tree, idly toying with a Leaf Snake in her hand.
Below the tree stretched a field of shallow pools, planted with the Jade Face Asura from those courtyards in western Tongzhou.
Unlike those in the city, the Yellow Path Palace’s Jade Face Asura was more vibrant in color. Even the snakes swimming in the pools weren’t ordinary venomous ones but Leaf Snakes from the Southern Frontier.
Ying Lan watched Jiang Chenbi from nearby, glanced at the moon, and spoke. “Palace Lord, it’s chilly at night. Head back early.”
Jiang Chenbi opened her eyes and lightly clenched her palm. The Leaf Snake, as if startled, slipped from her hand and fled.
Jumping down from the tree, Jiang Chenbi asked, “When will they return to the capital?”
