Start From Prince Ling

“If I hadn’t happened to give my robe to someone else, I might have gotten killed!”

Zhou Tongxing was furious. He felt angry that someone was after his life and wanted the authorities to investigate this matter properly, even though they hadn’t found a dead body.

But when Zhao Zhi asked if he had offended anyone lately or if anything out of the ordinary had happened…he couldn’t think of anything.

He felt that his life had been very normal, so he simply couldn’t understand why something like that would happen to him.

Song Caitang quietly observed everyone’s reactions, then waited until everyone was calm before making her first remark since arriving, “Either way, someone has been drowned and we still need to find him.”

She said these words slowly and casually, but she was also implying something else.

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi caught her meaning immediately.

There were two possibilities right now. One was that the killer was after the beggar in the first place and this had nothing to do with Zhou Tongxing. Zhou Tongxing was now involved only because he had given this beggar his robe. The other possibility was that Zhou Tongxing was indeed the target but the beggar had unwittingly taken the fall instead.

Either possibility came with a new set of problems.

Why were they unable to find the body in the river? If the target was just a beggar, then there no need to go through so much trouble to kill him.

And if the target was Zhou Tongxing, then the murderer would have done some homework before carrying out his mission. Zhou Tongxing was a court official, so how could the killer have only recognized the clothes but not his target’s face? After all, a beggar would look and carry himself very differently from Zhou Tongxing.

Then there was also another possibility that maybe the killer realized halfway that he got the wrong guy and stopped. He was all covered up, so he could just let the man go and leave. Perhaps the beggar didn’t die and swam to the shore. If that was the case, then they wouldn’t find a body in the river, but they would be able to find traces of him on land.

And if they could find him, they would be able to get answers to some of these questions.

But if they couldn’t find him…then it posed a different problem.

When she suggested finding the beggar, Zhou Tongxing immediately agreed wholeheartedly, “That’s right, we have to find him! He’s just a beggar and he really didn’t deserve to be treated like this. I had given him my robe because I pitied him, but I ended up bringing him harm instead. I should apologize to him for that.”

This strange story in the midst of a thunderstorm turned out to be a comedy rather than a real murder case…

There was nothing more to see, so the crowd dispersed in no time. Zhao Zhi got the runners to stop searching as well, since they still couldn’t find anything after such a long time. After they bid Zhou Tongxing farewell, he continued investigating secretly.

But despite using all his resources, he couldn’t find any information on this beggar. Perhaps the movement of such people was hard to track, or perhaps he had to give it more time.

However, he got some results on something else.

Zhao Zhi was not just investigating what happened in Bianliang 18 years ago, but he also sent some soldiers along the border to infiltrate Liao and find out more about what happened 18 years ago. And now, he had finally gotten some results.

In a classified letter to Zhao Zhi, it was written that 18 years ago, the second prince of Liao had come to Da’an.

Zhao Zhi was puzzled for a moment when he first read this. He had checked through all the things that happened within the palace during that time and there was no record of this Liao prince’s visit. But the letter went on to explain that this prince had used a false name and came with a group of diplomats.

The situation along the border of Da’an was usually tense, since attacks between Da’an, Liao and Western Xia could break out anytime, but there were a few periods of peace between the neighboring countries as well. 18 years ago was one such period.

When the current emperor ascended the throne, he obeyed the dying wishes of the previous emperor and fought some hard wars despite their tight budget, earning several years of peace and respite.

18 years ago, the two countries even had some friendly interaction between diplomats.

But nobody knew that this second prince had been part of the team from Liao.

Regardless of why this prince decided to do this and what he hoped to get out of it, he was extremely brave for doing something like that. No member of the royal family of an enemy country would take the trouble to secretly appear in Da’an for nothing.

“The second prince of Liao, Ye Luzong, is now 39 years old and famous for being a man who looks friendly but is secretly vicious. He is extremely scheming and everyone thinks he is most likely to usurp the throne in the future.”

Zhao Zhi’s expression was solemn as he tapped his knuckles against the table.

Qi Yan swallowed his saliva and put his fan away as he said a little nervously, “In that case…if the baby born on Beiqing Mountain that night was his child, that would be a very serious problem.”

He dared not think too deeply about that.

But that would make a lot of sense.

The person betraying Da’an had to have some connection to that child, or rather, connection to the child’s mother!

Who was that woman? Where was that child now?

Qi Yan was driving himself nuts with these questions.

Wen Yuansi frowned slightly. “What sort of itinerary would the group of diplomats back then have had? And what sort of women could they possibly have come into contact with?”

Opportunities had to be present before anything else could happen.

Zhao Zhi paused to think. “Even though both countries sent diplomatic teams to each other’s country back then, the two sides were still not on the best terms. The group back then had restrictions on their movement and were watched round the clock. Most of the time, they could only go to places and meet people whom the emperor had approved.”

“Most of the time, such places and people wouldn’t include women,” Qi Yan piped up. “Other than women of extremely high status, like the empress.”

His eyes suddenly widened as a horrifying thought struck him. This thought made his heart race as his fingers trembled and he broke into a cold sweat.

“Could it be—” The empress?!

Song Caitang reminded him, “The empress cannot have children.”

Qi Yan was even more confused now. “But Prince Ling has been using the idea that he’s the empress’ biological son to make trouble everywhere!”

Was the empress infertile or not?!

“There’s one more problem. The timing.” Song Caitang’s gaze was clear, elegant and full of wisdom. “Even if the second prince of Liao came to Da’an 18 years ago, that baby was born on Beiqing Mountain not long after that. There’s quite a bit of time between a woman getting pregnant and giving birth.”

Even if the group had stayed in Da’an for more than a month, that wasn’t enough time for a woman to get pregnant and give birth.

Qi Yan instantly deflated. “You’re right…”

Wen Yuansi said, “It’s disrespectful to the throne, but I still think this an important point to note. We need to confirm this matter.”

Everyone else felt the same way.

They might not get to the truth of the matter, but at least they could get some answers.

Zhao Zhi sat up. “In that case, let’s give it a shot.”

Qi Yan stared at him. “How?”

Zhao Zhi just laughed and didn’t say anything.

“We’ve got a Prince Ling in the palace, don’t we?” Song Caitang answered on his behalf. “We’ll make use of him.”

“When it comes to the palace, we have to be as careful and as detailed as we can,” Wen Yuansi leaned forward and looked at Zhao Zhi. “I’m afraid none of us are of high enough status to help, so we can only help to put a plan together and you’d have to do the rest.”

Zhao Zhi nodded. “Sure.”

They huddled together and started whispering their ideas.

…

Right now, the team did not have any evidence to prove that the empress was doing anything wicked, but a lot of things were somehow tied to her, so they couldn’t ignore that.

They did not immediately assume the empress was the enemy. Their intention this time was just to test the waters.

And agitating Prince Ling was a very easy thing to do.

This young man had poor foresight and a narrow worldview, plus he always thought of himself as the most intelligent person in the world. He kept trying to make trouble for the crown prince and did succeed in causing a stir, but he was the only one who was very proud of himself. Everyone else already saw through his plans.

Zhao Zhi wasn’t worried or guilty about making life difficult for him. In fact, he had wanted to do this for a long time now.

After all, Prince Ling was one who overreacted easily over nothing. If Zhao Zhi dangled a tiny piece of meat in front of him, the prince would take the bait without Zhao Zhi even trying.

Zhao Zhi told the crown prince about this ahead of time, and told him not to go easy on Prince Ling. The crown prince agreed. So when Prince Ling started making trouble for him, the crown prince did not just brush it off. He started to show his true prowess and drove Prince Ling into a corner.

The crown prince was someone who could defeat Prince Ling even if he didn’t pay much attention. Now that the crown prince was paying attention, it didn’t take long for Prince Ling to suffer setback after setback.

Prince Ling was in disbelief. He tried all sorts of means and ways, yet he kept failing. He felt that there was more to this matter. The crown prince was being super aggressive and unfriendly, so there must be deeper meaning to his actions!

He was now in a state of paranoia. He needed to find a chance to present himself to the emperor and find out what the emperor thought of all this.

He just needed one or two responses to understand the situation, and he would be able to plan his next move.

And it so happened that a family banquet was coming up.

A family banquet within the palace naturally only had guests with the surname Zhao. This was a banquet that had been planned a long time ago and nobody outside the family was around. The atmosphere was fairly relaxed and Prince Ling could say what he wanted without many repercussions…

Prince Ling made a whole bunch of plans and the day of the banquet arrived. He obediently went through all the formalities of the day and one round of drinks before beginning his performance.

“I sent a merchant team to Liao specially to get their hands on this fur. It’s the lightest and warmest fur they have, and the color is lovely to look at as well. I believe it will match the elegance of Her Majesty,” said Prince Ling as he gazed admiringly at Empress Chen. “I hope that our mother will not feel cold during this winter.”

As he presented his gift, he threw the crown prince an antagonistic glance.

The crown prince glanced at the fur, then raised an eyebrow. “You said you got it from Liao?”

He placed emphasis on the word “Liao”.

Nobody in the palace was simple minded. One phrase could mean a hundred different things. But everyone knew what the crown prince was implying.

Empress Chen remained seated in her high chair and smiled faintly, but she did not accept the fur.

Prince Ling immediately started to panic a little. He had just pulled the curtain back and hadn’t actually started the show yet, but the crown prince was already pouncing on him!

Was this premeditated? Was he doing this on purpose?

The feeling he got during the time before the banquet was back. Prince Ling began to feel a little annoyed and agitated as he narrowed his eyes at the crown prince. “What do you mean by that?”

The crown prince looked back at him calmly. “Whatever you think I mean.”

“I’m not in your position, so I don’t have to think deeper than others at all times or stand out all the time, so much so you have to be like this even during a family banquet and make things difficult between family. The only thing I care about here is: a pure son’s heart.”

Prince Ling was glib tongued and reacted swiftly. Not only was he able to retort immediately, but he was also able to put himself on higher moral ground, “I care for our mother’s health and prepared a present with sincerity. What’s wrong with that? Just because this present comes from Liao, my sincerity become a crime instead?”

He spoke sincerely and rationally, so things should have smoothed over.

But Zhao Zhi wasn’t going to let that happen and interjected, “Of course being sincere is not a crime. But being in cahoots with an enemy country is.”

Prince Ling immediately flew into a rage. “I’m not in cahoots with an enemy country!”

Zhao Zhi flicked off the dust on his sleeve in a leisurely manner. “I just uncovered the base of a spy from the enemy. And it so happens to be a shop belonging to the merchants you bought this fur from.”

Prince Ling was too stunned to speak.

So…had he walked into yet another trap set up by the crown prince and Zhao Zhi?!