Your Majesty

It is not yet Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

The window of the Imperial Study was half open, and the morning breeze blew in, lifting a corner of the paper on the desk. Two eunuchs waited under the eaves, not daring to make a sound even when shifting their feet.

"Chirp—"

The door opened from the inside.

Vice Minister Zhang bowed and withdrew.

He was still wearing his official robes, which he wore for his journey. After stepping back over the threshold, he bowed again before following the eunuch who was leading the way.

Minister Feng Ruan stood by the door, watched Zhang Shoujie walk away, then retreated into the room and closed the door.

The door hinges clicked softly.

Only the emperor and his minister remained in the study.

Li Youchan sat behind his desk, with the confession that had just been presented before him.

"Zhang Shoujie is Yang Qinghe's man, can his words be trusted?"

"This servant believes we can trust them for now."

The eunuch, who had watched the emperor grow up, replied respectfully, "Zhang Shoujie was not the only one involved in the Northern Three Camps incident. Several of his colleagues had never been to the Prime Minister's residence before. This old servant has already had them questioned separately."

"And the result?"

"Still on the way."

"Since there's no result, what makes you think I should believe him?"

Li Youchan leaned back in his chair, his gaze sharp.

Feng Ruan answered with his actions; he tapped his finger on the edge of the table.

"Yes."

Soon, there were sounds outside the door.

"Reporting to Lord Feng, I have brought the secret report intercepted by the West Corridor a few days ago."

Feng Ruan turned around and opened the door.

A young eunuch knelt outside the door, holding a small envelope in his hands. Feng Ruan took the letter and then closed the door again.

The envelope was unsigned, and the seal was made with only a drop of black wax.

Feng Ruan examined the fine marks on the black wax before placing the letter in front of Li Youchan: "Your Majesty, please take a look at this first."

"Where did this come from?" Li Youchan did not open it immediately.

Feng Ruan replied, "Your Majesty, this letter came from an inside agent, someone I planted in the Prime Minister's residence years ago."

Li Youchan raised an eyebrow before reaching out.

The letter was small, and it contained information about the Dengwen Drum and a minor official named Suhe.

After reading it once, Li Youchan read it again from the beginning, his gaze finally settling on the four words "[Emperor Yan is not dead]", his eyes narrowing into slits.

After a long while, he pointed to the letter and asked.

"What does 'Seeking Immortals Mountain' mean?"

"I'm not sure. The inside man only saw this much and didn't dare to investigate further."

"Where is the wooden box mentioned in the letter?"

"Can't get it."

"..."

Li Youchan turned the letter over; the back was blank. "I'd like to hear your judgment."

"At first, I didn't believe it either, but now that there's this letter from the border, things have become complicated."

The inner minister placed the secret letter next to Zhang Shoujie's confession.

The two pieces of paper, one new and one old, one from the Northern Third Camp and the other from the Prime Minister's residence, originally had no connection whatsoever.

Now, however, they all point to that person's name.

"So, you mean Yan Zu is really alive?"

Li Youchan pressed down on the letter with his hand and said, slowly and deliberately, "Do you know what this means? Do you know how much of an earthquake this will cause if it gets out?"

"This old servant knows."

At this point, Feng Ruan added a "but," "But regardless of whether this matter is true or not, His Majesty needs to make use of it... There aren't many places left to leverage."

Since things have come to this point...

Li Youchan immediately understood and asked:

"How long until Suhe is executed?"

"The day after tomorrow."

Feng Ruan cupped his hands and said, "This old servant thinks that no matter what the Yang faction wants to do, it's always good for us to add some obstacles."

He paused, then continued, "Furthermore, there is an interesting connection between these two matters. Among the people who returned from the Northern Three Camps, there was one named Wu Huaiyi. According to reliable sources, this person had a close relationship with Su He within the Xun Jin Division."

"Is this Wu Huaiyi also a member of Yang's faction?"

"It shouldn't be."

"Is that so?"

Li Youchan picked up Zhang Shoujie's confession, turned to the last page, and glanced at the list of survivors.

"Investigate him first; you go yourself."

"This old servant will go right away."

"After you've investigated, tell me whether Su He deserves to die."

Li Youchan closed the confession and pushed it aside.

Feng Ruan put away the envelope and took two steps back: "This old servant understands."

...

That evening.

Wu Huaiyi entered through the back door of the Xunjin Division, first handed over the official document, and then completed the cancellation of his duties.

The duty room remains the same as always.

The window frames were covered in dust, and old, unfiled scrolls were piled up in the corner. Some people were copying books while lying on the table, while others chatted idly at the door while their superiors were away, holding teacups.

When Wu Huaiyi came in, the group of people were taken aback for a moment.

"Old Wu, you really came back from the Third Battalion of the North?!"

"I heard that all three camps over there are gone..."

The person who was speaking was pulled by a colleague and quickly shut up.

Wu Huaiyi smiled.

"I'm lucky. The King of Hell found me troublesome and refused to take me."

He put the sales report on the table and habitually walked back to his original spot.

As he passed Suhe's table, he stopped in his tracks.

The paper and pens on the table were all gone, both drawers were sealed, and a red seal from the Ministry of Justice was pressed on the corner of the table.

Logically speaking, a suspension should not be marked with a red tag.

"What's going on here?" Wu Huaiyi reached out and touched the seal.

His closest colleague replied:

"That kid Suhe is in jail."

"He's in jail!?"

When Wu Huaiyi asked this question, the memory of Su He asking about the Dengwen Drum when he borrowed money came to mind.

This kid actually went and knocked on it!?

Wu Huaiyi hurriedly asked, "What crime?"

"Randomly striking the petition drum."

"When did this happen?"

"It's been some time."

The man lowered his voice: "The execution will take place in ten days, with less than two days left."

The clerk who had spoken sighed.

"Lord Wu, you've just escaped death from this hellish place. Don't ask about these things anymore; anyone who gets involved will suffer the consequences."

"I was just asking."

Wu Huaiyi withdrew his hand.

He stamped the official seal on the document, took his receipt, and didn't linger any longer.

It was already dark when I got home.

His wife and two children were waiting for him in the courtyard.

The youngest son rushed over first, hugging his leg and calling him "Dad." Wu Huaiyi smiled, lifted the child up and turned him around, but his smile wasn't very strong.

The woman sensed something was wrong and pulled the child away.

"Where are you hurt?"

"No injuries."

"Your pants are covered in blood, and you still say you're not injured?"

"It's from riding a horse, it's fine."

Wu Huaiyi took out a small packet of jujubes from his pocket and gave it to the two children.

"These were brought back from the border; take them and distribute them. No one is allowed to take them."

The two children ran into the house carrying paper bags.

The woman brought hot water, asked Wu Huaiyi to sit down, and removed the strips of cloth that had been glued to his legs.

When the cloth strip was halfway removed, Wu Huaiyi gasped in pain.

"Gently, gently."

"You know it hurts, yet you're still rushing?"

"If the Vice Minister wants to hurry, how dare I let him be slow? Luckily, it's a top-grade black horse; if it were an ordinary black horse, he would have suffered even more."

The woman ignored him, threw the blood-stained cloth into the basin, and scrubbed it vigorously.

Wu Huaiyi suddenly said, "I have a colleague in the Xun Jin Division named Su He, you know him, right? He's in death row."

The woman stopped what she was doing:

"What crime did that young man commit?"

"They didn't go into details, but it's probably more than just randomly banging on the petition drum; it's likely related to investigating that person."

"Are you crazy?"

The woman's voice rose a few decibels.

Wu Huaiyi frowned and retorted, "He's not crazy, I'm starting to believe it..."

The woman threw the freshly wrung-out cloth into the basin: "You, surnamed Wu, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to help him?"

Wu Huaiyi remained silent.

The woman stood up and questioned:

"How do you plan to save him? Will you also go and beat the drum to appeal to the emperor? Or will you run to the Ministry of Justice and say that you saw the deity enshrined in the National Temple in the ghostly fog?"

Wu Huaiyi remained silent. He turned to look at the children playing inside the house, suppressing the impulse that had risen in his heart.

After a while, he chuckled.

"That's true, then forget it."

The children were all asleep late at night.

A horse-drawn carriage without lights was parked outside the Wu family's gate.

There were three knocks on the door, and a slightly shrill voice came from outside: "The Imperial Household Department is asking questions."

Wu Huaiyi sat up abruptly, startled awake from his sleep. He first asked his wife to take the child into the inner room, then put on his coat and went to open the door.

Two eunuchs in plain clothes stood outside the door.

The man in the middle was quite old and was holding a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict.

Upon seeing the seal on the imperial edict, Wu Huaiyi's legs went weak, and he knelt down on the spot.

"This humble official pays his respects..."

"Let's go inside and talk."

Feng Ruan walked past him.

Wu Huaiyi quickly closed the door and invited the person into the main room.

Without exchanging pleasantries, Feng Ruan sat down at the table, placed the edict aside, and went straight to the question:

"When did you arrive at the camp on the day the fog rolled in at the Third Battalion in the North?"

Wu Huaiyi gave the time, and Feng Ruan then asked again.

"Where do the troops in the cursed realm kneel?"

"Deep in the fog."

"How far away is the man in gray you saw?"

"Several tens of feet."

"Why did you ask in the fog whether that person's clothes were originally gray?"

Feng Ruan stood up at this moment, looking down at him with a condescending gaze.

Wu Huaiyi could only lower his head and say, "It must be that I was blinded by the illusion of the evil realm."

Feng Ruan looked at him for a while and said, "You think this person is Yan Zu?"

"!!!"

Wu Huaiyi's heart leaped into his throat, and he hurriedly replied, "This humble official dares not even think about it."

Feng Ruan snorted: "This is the last time I'll ask you why you asked about that person wearing gray clothes."

The main room fell silent, but the sound of a child turning over came from the inner room.

Wu Huaiyi wiped his forehead.

"I've seen a portrait."

Who drew it?

"Suhe".

"Who is this painting?"

"Emperor Yan..."

"Is that all?"

"Please, Your Honor, be clear: this is truly all we have."

Feng Ruan instructed the accompanying eunuchs to write down the questions.

After finishing writing, he read it over and wrote "Unidentified" at the end before getting up to put the book away.

The questioning is over.

As Feng Ruan reached the door, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

"I implore the Minister of the Interior to stay."

Feng Ruan stopped and looked back.

Wu Huaiyi was bowing his head, his hands clenched into fists, as if making a momentous decision. He said:

"I have something else to say, all of it is true. Could you please include it in my confession?"

Feng Ruan raised an eyebrow: "Tell me about it."

The accompanying eunuchs laid out the paper again.

Wu Huaiyi recounted his experience with Su He at the Xun Jin Si, and at the end, he added emphatically:

"Su He may have guessed the wrong person, but those clues weren't fabricated by him. At least they seem plausible to me. Your Excellency, could you send someone to the prison to see Su He? Just in case it's true?"

"Are you asking us to do something?"

"This humble official dares not, this humble official dares not."

Wu Huaiyi knelt on the ground, his head pressed against the mud.

"Take him to stay in the inner palace for a few days, and don't let the Yang faction have any contact with him."

After Feng Ruan finished speaking, he put away his statement and left the Wu family's house.

The carriage drove back into the night.

The coachman asked, "Back to the palace?"

Feng Ruan's voice came from inside the carriage.

"To the Ministry of Justice prison."