Chapter Forty: A Night of Unease

Today, Zhao Yu entered the palace not only to pay his respects to his mother, the Empress, but also to have Feng Quan discreetly investigate who had visited the Emperor the previous day. The timing of the Emperor’s appearance at Li Shishi’s place was simply too coincidental—clearly, someone had orchestrated it. The young eunuch who attended the Emperor had already been secretly bribed by Feng Quan, which was precisely why Zhao Yu wanted to keep Feng Quan in the palace.

While Zhao Yu conversed with his mother, Feng Quan quickly uncovered who had entered or exited the Emperor’s study during the specified time. Empress Zheng was in high spirits; her son was finally about to marry, and there was much to prepare. She instructed her son to find time to visit his future father-in-law, and then promptly sent him on his way.

“Your Highness, during the time you mentioned yesterday, the Crown Prince came first, followed by Prince Yun. Both Liang Shicheng and Li Yan also went in and out of His Majesty’s quarters. That is all this old servant could find for now. Please forgive me,” Feng Quan reported in a hushed voice as he escorted Zhao Yu through a side corridor.

Zhao Yu knew that for Feng Quan to uncover so much in such a short time was already impressive. Nodding, he said, “That’s enough. If you run short of money, fetch some from my residence. By the way, your nephew—do you plan for him to study or train in martial arts? If he has his own ideas, let him come and tell me himself.”

“Thank you for your grace, Your Highness. I’ll ask him and let you know. By the way, I also heard that a censor has impeached Liu Wenguang, but I don’t know the details.”

Zhao Yu nodded, signaling Feng Quan not to see him off any further, lest they attract unwanted attention, and then walked out of the palace on his own.

One thing was certain now—Liu Wenguang’s eagerness to marry off his daughter was far from straightforward.

To be honest, Zhao Yu didn’t regard this marriage alliance as anything special. What he truly wanted was Liu Wenguang’s position in Hedong. In essence, it was a matter of mutual convenience.

What truly perplexed Zhao Yu was: who had tipped off the Emperor the previous day?

Of the four people, Li Yan could be ruled out, and Zhao Kai seemed unlikely as well; they bore him no grudge, and betraying him would bring them no benefit. That left the Crown Prince and Liang Shicheng as possible suspects.

Lin Chong had already begun investigating the guards at the residence, but Zhao Yu did not want to alert the mole just yet; sometimes, keeping a spy close could yield unexpected gains at a critical moment.

He had not yet reached the palace gates when he saw Zhao Huan and Zhao Kai approaching together.

At the sight of Zhao Yu, Zhao Huan merely nodded coolly, but Zhao Kai looked at him in surprise. “Eighth Brother, you’re here so early? Did you see that rare stone Zhu Mian presented?”

Zhao Yu was momentarily taken aback, then shook his head. “I came to pay my respects to Mother and haven’t heard anything about a strange stone.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kai looked as though something had just dawned on him, but before he could speak, Zhao Huan began urging him on.

“Hurry up! Don’t keep Father waiting.”

With that, he shot Zhao Yu a challenging glance, but Zhao Yu showed none of the disappointment he had expected.

“Farewell, Your Highness, Crown Prince, and Third Brother!” Zhao Yu bowed with a faint smile, then turned to leave. There was nothing to be jealous about—they were the Crown Prince and the Emperor’s favorite son, both far above him in status. Still, his curiosity about the marvelous stone had only grown.

It wasn’t long before word spread from the palace: the Emperor had received a “stone within a stone.”

The stone was said to be perfectly smooth, milky white, and, most wondrous of all, within it lay another stone, faintly visible, like a divine dragon coiling through mist.

Emperor Huizong was overjoyed, and on the spot conferred upon Zhu Mian the titles of Southeast Defense Commissioner and Grand Master of Ceremonies.

In his excitement, the Emperor decreed that on the full moon night three days hence, he would invite all the ministers to admire the stone together.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Yu could only sneer inwardly. Three days from now? Who knows if your treasure will last that long?

That night, a sudden fire broke out at Li Yan’s villa on the western edge of the city. No one knew how it started. Before the neighbors could shout for help, the flames spread rapidly.

Bianliang’s buildings were mostly wooden. Once the fire at Li Yan’s estate was fanned by the night wind, it quickly leapt to adjacent houses.

There was a fire brigade in the city, but by the time they arrived, the blaze was far beyond control.

Li Yan happened to be on duty at the palace that night, and with the palace gates closed, no one could get word to him. None of his household servants managed to escape and raise the alarm. By the time the estate was reduced to ashes, Li Yan was still in the dark.

At the same time, a group of men in black infiltrated Zhu Mian’s mansion in the capital, abducting Zhu Mian and his son right in front of their family. But before the city prefecture officers could arrive, Zhu Mian was released and returned home unharmed.

Upon his return, he dismissed the officials and summoned his trusted aides for a secret meeting that very night.

It was an extraordinary night. In the latter half, chaos erupted in the palace—rumor had it that assassins had broken in. No one was hurt, but the legendary stone that Zhu Mian had presented earlier in the day had vanished without a trace.

This set off a hornet’s nest. The Emperor received the news in bed and nearly fainted with rage.

This was the most heavily guarded part of the palace! Yet villains could come and go as they pleased—this time, they stole a treasure, but what if they had come to assassinate him? Would he have survived?

Furious, the Emperor immediately had the commander on duty imprisoned and ordered the city prefecture to solve the case within three days—or face the consequences.

Liu Xiantang, the assistant prefect, was terrified. Cai Jing had already retired from public affairs, and if the treasure wasn’t recovered, the blame would surely fall on him.

He dispatched all his men in search of clues, while he himself rushed to beg Cai Jing for advice, though it was clear that this was not the end of his troubles.

Meanwhile, Li Yan learned that his villa had burned to the ground. He hurried to the scene, searched the ruins with his men, and then, overwhelmed by the devastation, collapsed and fainted. When he came to, he wept and raged at the city prefecture.

His villa had over a hundred guards, but only a few bodies were found. Any fool could see this was no ordinary fire.

With no one else to blame, Li Yan took out his anger on Liu Xiantang.

All these events of the previous night seemed to have nothing to do with Zhao Yu. He went about his morning routine, ate breakfast, and paid his respects to his mother as usual.

Despite the turmoil in the palace, Empress Zheng remained unruffled; in her eyes, nothing was more important than her son’s wedding.

To this mother, who was not his birth mother yet cared for him as if she were, Zhao Yu felt only deep gratitude.

He promised to visit his future father-in-law that day. As he was leaving the palace, Zhao Kai intercepted him.

“Greetings, Third Brother.”

Every time Zhao Yu addressed him as “Third Brother,” he felt a strange sensation and couldn’t help glancing at Zhao Kai’s head.

Of course, Zhao Kai had no idea what Zhao Yu was thinking. He furtively dragged Zhao Yu into a secluded side hall, looked around, and then said solemnly, “Eighth Brother, do you know that something was stolen from the palace last night?”

“How would I know? From the look in your eyes, you don’t think I did it, do you? By the way, what was stolen?”

Zhao Kai fixed him with a piercing stare before speaking slowly, “Of course, I know it wasn’t you. The problem is, you have far too many dealings with people from the martial world. Someone has suggested to Father that you take charge of this case—it couldn’t be more fitting.”

At this, Zhao Yu was truly taken aback…