Outside Hanmei Lou, Shen Ye clutched a handkerchief, smiling as he looked upstairs.

The common people around pointed and whispered. Some said that the Zhuangyuan writing poetry for a courtesan was a beautiful story, while others said that the Zhuangyuan consorting with a brothel woman was a self-degradation.

But Shen Ye did not take any of it to heart.

The Yulin Jun galloped up, dispersing the crowd, and surrounded Shen Ye. Li Xuan said in a deep voice, “Brother Shen, please come with us to Guozijian. The Qionglin Yan cannot be disrupted.”

Shen Ye reassured him, “Don’t panic, don’t panic, I will go with you now.”

He pulled on the reins and rejoined the honor guard.

As he left, he looked back upstairs. Liu Hangshou, he didn’t know when, had walked out of the room again and was standing by the railing, silently watching him.

In the honor guard, Chen Ji looked at Shen Ye, then at Liu Su upstairs, and calmly said, “Brother Shen and Liu Hangshou must be old acquaintances, right?”

Shen Ye turned his head and grinned, “I explained it to you earlier, back in Jinling, I helped Liu Hangshou’s rival write a poem to win the competition, and she was angry with me for many years. Now that I have a chance, I should make it up to her.”

Chen Ji softly asked, “Is it that simple?”

Shen Ye, intrigued, retorted, “Otherwise? What exactly do you want to ask, my dear brother?”

Chen Ji met his gaze for a moment, then smiled broadly, “Nothing, I just think the two of you are a good match.”

Shen Ye burst out laughing, “I think so too.”

Li Xuan rode up to Chen Ji’s side, “You go back. I will explain today’s matter to the court myself.”

Chen Ji shook his head, “The matter is too big for you to explain. I’ll go with you. I imagine His Majesty should be summoning me to the palace as well.”

Li Xuan turned to look at Lin Yanchu in the honor guard, “What about him?”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, “Let him be.”

Qi Zhenzhuo dismounted and came before Lin Yanchu, pulling him off his horse. “Get down. You have a new path now. You don’t need to stay with us. Take off your armor!”

Lin Yanchu hesitated for a long time under everyone’s gaze, then looked at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji calmly said, “Go for your future.”

Lin Yanchu gritted his teeth, finally removed his Yulin Jun armor, and, dressed in a grey undergarment, clasped his hands towards Chen Ji. “Your Excellency, take care!”

With that, he turned and strode away, blending into the crowd.

Qi Zhenzhuo led Lin Yanchu’s warhorse to Chen Ji. “Master, don’t mind that ungrateful scoundrel. Heaven will deal with him.”

Chen Ji took a deep breath and mounted his horse. “Let’s go.”

The honor guard resumed its journey, slowly passing through Zhengyang Men. Just as they reached Chengtian Men, six Jiefan Wei galloped towards them, menacingly shouting, “Wu Xiangjun, His Majesty summons you to the palace for questioning!”

Wu Xiangjun.

Chen Ji almost didn’t realize that they were addressing his noble title.

The six Jiefan Wei rushed into the honor guard, surrounding Chen Ji. Qi Zhenzhuo and the others drew their swords against the Jiefan Wei, trying to disperse them. “What are you doing? What crime has he committed?”

The Jiefan Wei coldly stared at Qi Zhenzhuo, “The Zhuangyuan’s parade is a matter of court dignity, intended to display imperial benevolence. What crime is it for Chen Ji to disrupt the Zhuangyuan’s parade honor guard?”

Qi Zhenzhuo hesitated, “He was doing it for… You aren’t taking personal revenge for Wu Xiu Gong, are you?”

The Jiefan Wei sneered, “It seems Official Qi also wants to visit my Zhaoyu.”

Qi Zhenzhuo angrily retorted, “Afraid of you? I’ve been there before!”

Chen Ji raised his hand to stop the argument. “It’s fine. I’ll go with these officials from Jiefan Wei.”

Qi Zhenzhuo urgently said, “Master!”

Chen Ji looked at him and smiled, “You’re much braver than before. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. At most, they’ll strip me of the noble title I just received.”

The Jiefan Wei pulled him off his horse, even putting iron shackles on his hands, and escorted him towards Wumen.

At this moment, dozens of court officials stood in the courtyard outside Renshou Gong. Grand Secretary Chen, Grand Secretary Hu, Zhang Zhuo, Wang Daosheng, and others stood in the front row, while the ranks of other ministry officials extended all the way to the Xiaoti Stele.

Chen Wenren was being interrogated inside Renshou Gong, and it was utterly silent.

No one knew what would be interrogated or what would come of it.

Outside the hall, Wang Daosheng bowed his head, turned his face slightly, and quietly asked Zhang Zhuo, “How is Chen Ji in Zhaoyu? Can this Chen Wenren truly help him out of trouble?”

Zhang Zhuo felt guilty and said nothing.

Wang Daosheng turned and carefully scrutinized Zhang Zhuo, then raised his voice after a moment, “Where is Chen Ji? Speak!”

Zhang Zhuo replied in a low voice, “Quiet, quiet. Chen Ji is fine.”

Wang Daosheng frowned, “You lied to me?”

Zhang Zhuo sighed, “It’s not Chen Ji’s fault. It was my idea. If you want to blame someone, blame me, not him.”

Wang Daosheng’s eyes showed anger, “What on earth is going on?”

Zhang Zhuo whispered, “It’s true that Chen Ji was in trouble, but tricking you into returning early was also to give you a charge of self-defilement, so His Majesty could deal with you. During the expedition, you were given the position of Zongbing, promised the Left Vice Minister of War, and exceptionally granted the title of Tezheng Guanglu Daifu, a Zhongyong gold plaque, and the authority to execute first and report later if anything happened. You’ve taken all the good things. This time, you also captured the Jing Dynasty’s Shumi Shi, a unprecedented great victory. How is His Majesty supposed to reward you? Make you a Taishi?”

Taishi, the head of the Three Dukes, the emperor’s teacher.

This position, in terms of etiquette, was even higher than the emperor. Those who held this position during their lifetime were suspected of having too much power that overshadowed the sovereign and blurring the lines between ruler and subject, so it was often conferred posthumously.

Even Grand Secretary Chen, as the Crown Prince’s teacher, repeatedly declined the position of Crown Prince Taishi, fearing that if the Crown Prince ascended the throne and posthumously conferred him Taishi, it would displease the new emperor. So Grand Secretary Chen was only vaguely referred to as “Crown Prince’s Teacher,” not “Crown Prince Taishi.”

Wang Daosheng heard the unspoken meaning in Zhang Zhuo’s words: “Do you want to die?”

He was silent for a moment, “But you shouldn’t have lied to me. I rode three horses to death just to make it back to the capital today. How could you trifle with Chen Ji’s safety?”

Zhang Zhuo pouted, “If I didn’t use that excuse, would you have come back? Is it that I don’t know you, or you don’t know yourself? Earlier, when I told you to disgrace yourself, did you listen?”

Wang Daosheng sighed softly, “This is not the right way!”

Zhang Zhuo turned and glared at Wang Daosheng, “What, are you angry that I, Zhang Zhuo, ruined your merits? Angry that I delayed your promotion? I didn’t expect you, Wang Daosheng, to be such a greedy person for功and power!”

Wang Daosheng angrily retorted, “When was I ever a greedy person for功and power?”

Zhang Zhuo triumphed, “Then that settles it.”

Wang Daosheng remained silent.

Zhang Zhuo continued to nag, “With a charge, His Majesty can justifiably strip you of your military power. But as long as you don’t lose your position as Left Vice Minister of War this time, you will be of great use in the imperial court. Otherwise, you can only be sent to the disease-ridden southern regions to continue being your Zongbing, never to return to the capital, and never to confront the Jing Dynasty again. You choose.”

Wang Daosheng finally changed the subject, “What does that brat Chen Wenren know? Why has the interrogation taken so long?”

Zhang Zhuo shook his head, “Just wait.”

As they spoke, Wu Xiu walked out of Renshou Gong and said in a deep voice to the Jiefan Wei, “His Majesty’s oral decree: bring Chen Lizhi and Chen Wende into the palace!”

The Jiefan Wei rushed away, and everyone secretly cast their gazes towards Grand Secretary Chen, knowing that today was a great catastrophe for the Chen family. If Chen Lizhi were brought in for interrogation by Meng Ji, no one knew what might be revealed.

If the assassination during the Xiangshan spring hunt a while ago were revealed, not to mention the second branch, the entire Chen family would suffer.

Grand Secretary Hu also turned to look at Grand Secretary Chen beside him, but found the latter with his head bowed and eyes closed, and chuckled, “I suppose he has a backup plan? The older ginger is spicier indeed.”

Grand Secretary Chen did not reply.

The Jiefan Wei returned half an hour later. He reported in a low voice to Wu Xiu, “Chen Lizhi hanged himself in his room. Chen Wende is missing. According to the Chen family servants, Chen Lizhi had his official subordinates escort Chen Wende away early this morning, but no one knows where they went.”

Wu Xiu subconsciously looked at Grand Secretary Chen, but Grand Secretary Chen’s expression remained unchanged.

He quietly ordered, “Send carrier pigeons to all official routes, and dispatch men to the Caobang. We must capture Chen Wende… Where is Chen Ji?”

No sooner had he spoken than a Jiefan Wei escorted Chen Ji to the front of Renshou Gong. Instantly, all the court officials’ gazes fell on the shackles on Chen Ji’s wrists.

This figure who had been missing for more than ten days, once he appeared, stirred up great waves. How did he become a prisoner again?

Wu Xiu glanced at Chen Ji and loudly announced, “Summon all Grand Secretaries and Ministry Heads into the hall.”

Grand Secretary Chen stepped inside, as if today’s matters did not involve the Chen family.

Chen Ji followed the crowd into Renshou Gong, but saw that all the gauze curtains in the hall were drawn back today, revealing Emperor Ning on the imperial throne.

Emperor Ning was seated cross-legged on the throne, but strangely, he was holding a small black cat in his arms.

Wuyun.

The court officials looked at each other, wondering why Emperor Ning was holding a cat.

Everyone knew that Emperor Ning loved cats, but this was the first time he had received court officials while holding a cat.

The next moment, Wuyun nudged Emperor Ning’s palm with its head, causing Emperor Ning to chuckle twice.

It meowed, “Don’t worry, I heard the emperor say that putting shackles on you was just to scare you, lest you become too bold and turn the sky upside down in a few days.”