The dusty old cases of the Directorate of Ceremonial, a vicious assassin, and the Crown Prince of Prince Jing’s Mansion—clues intertwined, but instead of making the puzzle of truth clearer, they only made it more obscure.

Was there something wrong with the Crown Prince? What was the reason behind the horrific massacre of the Wu family? Why was the murderer so cruel to the matriarch of the Wu family? Who was the assassin? After a night of investigation, no answers were found; instead, more questions arose.

The archives of the inner prison were silent, the oil lamp’s flame stood straight, as if the air had ceased to flow. It wasn’t until the wick crackled, sending out a small spark, that Xifeng quietly advised, “My Lord, perhaps we should leave this case alone for now. Let’s wait until Lord Jinzhu returns.”

Chen Ji, sitting opposite the table, hummed in agreement and said with a smile, “Indeed, this is not a case we can handle. Let’s just assume it was the work of ghosts and not pursue it further.” No sooner had he spoken than the oil lamp on the table flickered, and a cold wind surged up from the depths of the inner prison.

Chen Ji felt the icy current welling up from the deeper levels of the inner prison, just as before. As long as he stayed in the inner prison long enough, the icy current would naturally find him. Xifeng felt the cold wind and immediately rose vigilantly, drawing his saber. He looked coldly towards where the wind came from. “My Lord, did you feel that chilling gust just now?”

Chen Ji chuckled, “I thought you truly didn’t believe in ghosts in this world.”

Xifeng was momentarily embarrassed. “Everyone says they exist. Although I’ve never seen one, I always wonder. If even immortals exist in this world, what if ghosts truly do too?”

This time, it was Chen Ji who paused. “Immortals really exist? Have you seen one?”

Xifeng whispered, “The Deputy Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory of our Great Ning Dynasty, Xu Shu, is a reincarnated immortal!”

“Oh…” Chen Ji was surprised; he had heard that name before. Earlier, during the Double Ninth Festival, when the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas paraded past the entrance of Taiping Medical Hall, his master had mentioned this Xu Shu. It was said that he was the only son of Grand Secretary Xu Gong. After his unexpected death, Grand Secretary Xu spent a fortune to have the abbot of Yuanjue Temple sculpt a new body for him using a Seven-Treasure Lotus Lamp, bringing him back to life for another existence.

How did he become a reincarnated immortal in Xifeng’s telling? Chen Ji asked, puzzled, “I thought he was Grand Secretary Xu’s son. How did he become an immortal?”

Xifeng thought for a moment before replying, “I don’t know how he became an immortal, but Lord Wuxiu personally told Lord Jinzhu. Many people in the Directorate of Ceremonial heard it, and Lord Wuxiu wouldn’t speak carelessly.”

“Wuxiu?”

“He’s our Directorate of Ceremonial’s Grand Eunuch, who now attends to His Majesty. He’s a powerful figure, holding half the sky in the inner court. Come, My Lord, it’s getting late. I’ll see you back.”

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and said, “Xifeng, could you please step aside for a bit? I want to take advantage of the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone here in the inner prison to write a letter to a friend.”

“Of course, My Lord,” Xifeng replied, “I’ll wait for you outside.”

Chen Ji picked up a brush from the table and, carefully considering his tone, wrote a letter on a sheet of paper. Once the ink was dry, he folded the letter and tucked it into his sleeve.

After leaving the inner prison, Xifeng helped Chen Ji into a carriage. He wasn’t sure how long the carriage swayed before it dropped him off by the roadside in the East Market. As the carriage slowly departed, Chen Ji gently removed the black cloth from his eyes. His slender figure turned to watch the carriage recede.

Chen Ji walked back for a long while, ensuring he wasn’t being followed, before finding a small beggar lying by the roadside. He squatted beside the beggar and softly called out. The little beggar opened his eyes. Seeing the masked Chen Ji, he immediately shrank back into a corner in fear, “Don’t grab me.”

Chen Ji extended his hand, opening his palm to reveal twenty copper coins. The little beggar immediately reached out to snatch them, but Chen Ji closed his palm and withdrew his hand. He pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the little beggar. “Deliver this letter to Taiping Medical Hall tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, I will give you ten copper coins. Remember, Taiping Medical Hall.”

The little beggar nodded repeatedly, “Yes, sir, I’ll deliver it first thing in the morning.” A few stray snowflakes began to fall again, fluttering gently into Chen Ji’s hair. The little beggar suddenly said, “Sir, could you give me one copper coin first? I want to buy a pancake to eat, otherwise I won’t last.” Under the dim night, Chen Ji dropped two copper coins, then turned and walked west, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

In the early morning, Anxi Street was already bustling with activity. Liang Mao’er, wearing a padded jacket, walked drowsily to the medical hall entrance. He saw the palace servants carrying buckets of salt and scattering handfuls of it onto the snow-covered bluestone path. He wondered why, yesterday, the palace had only cleared the snow from its own entrance, but today they were willing to scatter salt costing thirty coins a catty all over the entire street. Moreover, the servants were carrying baskets, distributing handfuls of bright red Yanmen dates to all the neighbors, making it especially festive.

Someone inside the medical hall asked curiously, “What’s all this for?”

Liang Mao’er looked back and saw Chen Ji and Liu Quxing, also dressed, coming to the entrance. Just then, Xibing passed by the entrance of Taiping Medical Hall, carrying a basket. She grinned and came closer. “Chen Ji, hold up your robe. I’ll give you more dates.”

Chen Ji smiled and held up his robe. Miss Xibing actually poured half a basket’s worth of dates into his makeshift pouch. Liu Quxing immediately felt a pang of envy. “Miss Xibing, why are you so good to Chen Ji? Pour some for me too.”

Xibing rolled her eyes at him. “These are for all of you. If you want some, get them from Chen Ji. I’m leaving, I still have many households to deliver to!”

Chen Ji watched Miss Xibing’s retreating figure and asked, puzzled, “Is there a big celebration in the Prince’s Mansion?”

Liu Quxing thought for a moment. “Perhaps the Prince is returning? The neighbors on Anxi Street say that when the Prince is usually here, the mansion is very generous, but when he’s away, it becomes a bit stingy.”

As they spoke, the servants brought out bamboo brooms and swept the long street perfectly clean, as if no snow had fallen. The sound of someone climbing over a wall came from the backyard, and the Princess Consort called out, “Who took the ladder? Please help me move it back.”

Liu Quxing hurried to meet her. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Chen Ji looked back and saw the Princess Consort climbing down the ladder. Standing beneath the courtyard wall, she untied a small pouch from her waist, took out a piece of broken silver, and handed it to Liu Quxing. “Buy six steamers of meat buns and four steamers of vegetable buns. Yesterday, I saw Brother Mao’er eat four steamers by himself and still not be full, so buy more today.”

Liang Mao’er chuckled artlessly, “The Princess Consort truly has the heart of a Bodhisattva.”

No sooner had he spoken than a dirty little beggar, his clothes ragged, holding a letter, tried to rush into the medical hall. Liang Mao’er, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “What are you doing?”

The little beggar said in a panic, “Someone asked me to deliver a letter here. I’ll get a reward if I deliver it.”

Chen Ji took the letter, unfolded it, and began to read: “My dear Crown Prince, I have respectfully received your letter… A letter for the Crown Prince?”

“For me?” The Crown Prince took the letter with surprise. After only two glances, his expression darkened.

Chen Ji carefully observed the Crown Prince’s expression and asked curiously, “Crown Prince, who wrote this letter? You seem unhappy.”

The Crown Prince sighed. “It’s from Zhang Ping, Wang Quan, Wang Wu, and Li Bo, the ones we drank with before. They… they have something to attend to and must leave Luocheng. We won’t be able to drink together anymore.”

Chen Ji suddenly felt that the Crown Prince seemed unaware that these four people had already died. Chen Ji had written the letter. His intention was to see how the Crown Prince would react upon receiving a letter from people who were already dead. If the Crown Prince knew these four were dead, no matter how convincing his act, there would surely be a hint of doubt in his eyes. But the Crown Prince’s first reaction was not doubt, only sadness.

As they spoke, even Bai Li came over. Upon seeing the letter, he looked scornful. “These people left because they were ashamed to face us, brother. Why are you sad?”

The Crown Prince softly said, “We were friends for a while after all!”

Chen Ji suddenly felt that the Crown Prince should be fine. Firstly, the night before last, when Jinzhu led the Relief Guard to surround Red Clothes Lane, Jing Dynasty’s military intelligence department had clearly received the news in advance; even the madam of Jinfang and Miss Yan’er had fled. Yet the Crown Prince foolishly walked right into the trap. This was inherently abnormal. Secondly, the Crown Prince was at Donglin Academy. If he truly had ambition and drive, he should have patiently cultivated relationships with scholars, rather than spending every day at the taverns down the mountain socializing with martial artists.

Wait a minute… Chen Ji suddenly felt he might have been thinking in the wrong direction all along: The Crown Prince’s visit to Jinfang in Red Clothes Lane might not have been his own choice. Instead, those four martial artists might have deliberately lured him there, knowing Jinzhu was about to surround the place. If the Crown Prince were arrested and taken to the inner prison, who in the Prince’s Mansion would benefit? Naturally, Consort Jing and Consort Yun. Prince Jing clearly still had the ability to father children. If his only son were gone, he would naturally try to have another child to continue the family line. In that case, the one to inherit Prince Jing’s title would be a child of Consort Jing or Consort Yun. And within Prince Jing’s Mansion, who would have received prior warning that Jinfang was about to be surrounded? Consort Yun! A chill immediately rose in Chen Ji’s heart.

Consort Yun. If the entire incident was orchestrated by Consort Yun to seize power, if she had planned sending the Crown Prince to the inner prison, and then sent someone to kill the four martial artists to silence them, then many things would make sense. He had previously heard of the ruthlessness of ancient succession struggles, but he had only considered them as artistic embellishments in novels, never truly experiencing them firsthand. Now, he was truly experiencing the cruelty of succession struggles within a royal household.

No, no. Chen Ji turned his head and chuckled at his own wild thoughts… He remembered that Bai Li had also been at Jinfang the night before last. Bai Li was Consort Yun’s biological daughter. Even if she wanted to seize power, she wouldn’t involve her own daughter. Moreover… What if the entire Prince’s Mansion were implicated after the Crown Prince was arrested and taken to the inner prison? Chen Ji abandoned this hypothesis.

Bai Li approached him, and seeing him lost in thought, asked curiously, “What are you thinking about? You seem to be in a bad mood!”

Chen Ji smiled, “Nothing, I’m in a very good mood, exceptionally good.”

As they spoke, Liang Mao’er came jogging back to the medical hall, carrying tall steamers, from which white steam billowed. “Chen Ji, Princess Consort, time to eat some buns!”

Chen Ji smiled and replied, “Coming.” He looked at the Crown Prince, then at Bai Li. As long as the Crown Prince wasn’t a deeply scheming or malicious person, that would be good.