Chapter Forty-One: A Simple Task

After hearing Zhao Kai’s words, Zhao Yu suddenly felt as if he’d shot himself in the foot. He was sorely tempted to ask which bastard had given his imperial father this idea.

But what surprised him most was that when he followed Zhao Kai to see the emperor, his father refused to grant him an audience. Instead, a palace attendant delivered a message: he was to solve the case as soon as possible, with all the resources of Bianliang at his disposal.

Zhao Kai patted Zhao Yu on the shoulder, a hint of sympathy in his voice. “His Majesty knows this task puts you in a difficult position, but imperial orders must be obeyed. If you need anything from your elder brother, just say the word—I’ll do all I can.”

“Heh. Thank you, brother, I’ll hold you to that...”

At this moment, Zhao Yu’s mind was a muddle; he couldn’t even recall how he’d gotten back to his residence.

He’d eventually track down whoever had given the emperor that harebrained suggestion, but for now, he had to get through the immediate crisis.

In the study, the four of them gathered again. After Zhao Yu finished speaking, Yang Xu couldn’t help glancing at Lu Zhishen.

Lu Zhishen had been involved in last night’s events from start to finish. He’d led the men who cleaned out Li Yan’s years of savings and then set fire to Li Yan’s second residence.

It was also Lu Zhishen who had led the way to Zhu Mian’s house, and afterward, had helped Zhang Shun and his companions escape by boat.

According to the plan with Zhang Shun, they were to kidnap Zhu Mian’s only son and force Zhu Mian to return the strange stone. Since Zhu Mian had just one heir, it was certain he would cave.

If things had gone according to plan, it would have been simple: just find Zhang Shun’s group, and if necessary, use force to get the stone, since Zhao Yu’s interests were paramount.

To Zhao Yu and Yang Xu’s surprise, Lu Zhishen shook his head. “It wasn’t Zhang Shun’s group. They’re skilled, but they don’t have the ability to sneak into the imperial palace.”

“They’re still with Old Jiang?”

“As long as Zhu Mian refuses to trade the item for his son, they won’t leave.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yu and Yang Xu understood that Zhu Mian was not behind the incident. Could it have been Deng Yuanjue and his men?

“What about the other people in Li Yan’s mansion?”

“Those who were knocked out were dumped at the mass graves outside the city. A few who weren’t drugged were dealt with directly.”

Lu Zhishen was no stranger to violence, but he didn’t kill indiscriminately, especially not those who’d lost the ability to fight back.

“Your Highness, gentlemen, this entire affair is clearly aimed at you. If you solve the case and catch the culprits, it will only prove to His Majesty that you have close dealings with outlaws, making you even more unwelcome at court. If you fail, you’ll be branded incompetent, unable to share your sovereign’s burdens. Either way, your chances of rising again are slim.”

After hearing these words from Yang Xu, both Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong were in complete agreement. Whether or not the emperor recognized Zhao Yu was irrelevant to them; what mattered was his safety.

At that moment, Zhao Yu, who’d remained silent throughout, suddenly smiled. “Brothers, have you considered that perhaps the stone never left the palace at all? The supposed assassin and thief might have been a diversion, and the stone could still be hidden somewhere inside.”

At his words, the others’ eyes lit up. Zhao Yu’s theory was bold but made perfect sense. After all, it was the inner sanctum of the palace—not a place where thieves could come and go at will.

Moreover, the stone had just arrived, and the emperor was very fond of it, so it would have been carefully guarded. There was no way a thief could have found it so quickly. There had to be an insider.

“Father has given us full authority to handle this. There’s no time to lose. Yang Xu and Lin Chong, come with me into the palace. Elder brother, go to the ball court and stay low for the next few days...”

Emperor Huizong had been out of sorts these past two days, and now that he thought about it, it all seemed to trace back to that troublesome Eighth Prince.

Yesterday, Liang Shicheng had somehow gotten wind of a rumor that the Eighth Prince had secretly met with Li Shishi. Though the prince hadn’t been caught, the incident had stirred up an assassin scare.

Zhao Ji wasn’t a fool. The so-called assassin was clearly a cover for someone else. Even though his son hadn’t been caught, his suspicions toward that boy deepened—his own woman, and the boy dared covet her? Was he even human?

The rare stone Zhu Mian had presented had cheered him up a little, but he’d barely had time to enjoy it before it was lost.

Originally, Zhao Ji hadn’t suspected the Eighth Prince, but Liang Shicheng’s words made a certain sense. If the boy was mixed up with those from the underworld, shouldn’t he be able to crack the case easily?

Just as Yang Xu predicted, whether or not Zhao Yu found the stone, he had already fallen to rock bottom in his father’s eyes.

Zhao Ji even considered: if Zhao Yu failed to solve the case, he would strip his son of his princely title and exile him from the capital, just to spare himself the irritation.

At this point, Zhao Ji no longer cared even for Empress Zheng’s feelings.

After muttering sutras for a while in the Supreme Purity Palace and swallowing a pill, he was preparing for some bedroom sport when he suddenly heard a commotion outside.

Already in a foul mood, he wondered who dared disturb his meditation now—were they looking to be disciplined?

He was about to call for someone when the palace doors burst open and Liang Shicheng came tumbling in, half rolling, half crawling.

“Your Majesty! Disaster! The Prince of Yi has rebelled! He’s led troops into the palace!...”

Zhao Ji had just taken his medicine and was feeling a certain physical response. Liang Shicheng’s words nearly sent him into a state of functional paralysis.

He roared, “What did you say?”

“Your Majesty, the Prince of Yi has rebelled! He’s surrounded the palaces with troops and forbidden anyone to move about. Your old servant risked his life to come and warn you...”

But before Liang Shicheng could finish, Zhao Ji snapped back to his senses. How could a mere boy command the palace guards? Wait—hadn’t he just given him permission to mobilize any resource necessary to solve the case? But this little brat was far too bold! He said to solve the case, not to make a mess in the palace!

He hurriedly threw on his robe and rushed outside.

“It’s dangerous, Your Majesty! You mustn’t go out!” Liang Shicheng, as if his own father had died, clung to Zhao Ji’s leg, wailing.

“Get off!” Zhao Ji kicked the sniveling Liang Shicheng aside and strode out.

Outside, he found the eunuchs flustered, but not a soldier in sight.

Puzzled, he saw a eunuch rush over.

“Your Majesty, the Prince of Yi has found the missing stone from last night in Liu Cheng the eunuch’s quarters. He’s waiting outside the imperial study for your command.”

“What? Say that again!”

Zhao Ji thought he’d misheard, but after the eunuch repeated himself, he snapped out of his daze and hurried toward the study.

Liang Shicheng had overheard as well. Blinking rapidly, he beckoned a eunuch over and whispered instructions in his ear...

Things went far more smoothly than Zhao Yu and Yang Xu had expected. Once they showed the palace guards the emperor’s written order, the officers rounded up all the eunuchs who’d been near the hall where the stone was kept. Lin Chong led a team to search the rooms one by one, and soon they found the stone, wrapped in layer upon layer, beneath the bed of a eunuch named Liu Cheng.

Clearly, if Zhao Yu hadn’t acted quickly, or if he’d been misled into searching among the underworld figures outside the palace, the stone might well have been smuggled out for good.

Fortune seemed to have smiled on Zhao Yu, but he felt no joy. Instead, he sensed the shadows of hidden daggers growing ever closer...