The Heavenly Emperor wanted to ask whether she had really instructed that servant girl but in the end, he didn’t do so. After all, would she really admit to something like that? Probably not. And this wasn’t the most puzzling anything. As much as he didn’t want to believe that she was the one behind this, it was very likely she had indeed told that servant to kill his son if that was what Qiang Yan and Li Yin had found on when they investigated. What he didn’t understand was how his son’s fate had changed even though the Fate’s Scribe had written it down. How could this be? This was what they had to clarify first.

"Fate’s Scribe."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Did it ever happen before that a fate changed from the way you wrote it?"

Shun Tao nodded. "Yes, but those cases are rare. If it happens, then because of the interference of a god since those normally aren’t included in the fates we prepare. This was why I thought it might be one of the idle gods."

"But it turned out it wasn’t."

"Yes, I found out with the help of the servant girl Hong Bao. None of the idle gods was monitoring His Highness so there is no way they could have changed his fate."

The Heavenly Emperor nodded. This made sense. If that girl monitored them for him, then she should have noticed if they left and they would have needed to leave to interfere with Jing He’s fate. Otherwise … "Is there any evidence that suggests Yin Lin Lin went to the mortal world to change his fate or sent somebody to do so in her stead?"

Shun Tao looked at the God of War and the God of Justice. In regards to that investigation, he couldn’t say much.

Li Yin shook his head. "Apart from the time she instructed that servant girl, it seems she didn’t do that. It is likely that the culprit behind this is somebody else. We’d need to investigate further to find out who could be the person behind this."

"Mn. So there are two people who were out for my son." Rong Su nodded and furrowed his brows. This wasn’t good at all! Even if he punished Yin Lin Lin now and had people monitor her for the rest of the trial, as long as they didn’t know who the person was that started this originally it was futile. "Fate’s Scribe …"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Do you think it would be possible that the one behind this contacted that servant girl and thus created the opportunity for all this to happen?"

"That …" How was he supposed to know?!

He looked at the God of Justice for help but Li Yin didn’t even think of doing anything. If not because this guy messed up, would his darling son have gotten into a situation where he needed to step in? Guarding that cursed dagger shouldn’t have been that difficult. There was a palace full of other guards to hold off any thief, after all! Hmph, he’d like to see how that Fate’s Scribe dealt with this.

Qiang Yan sighed and stepped in. "Your Majesty, I don’t think that is possible. Yin Lin Lin’s servants and guards all said that it was her who sent out someone to contact the servant girl. If anything, then the perpetrator would have needed to get into contact with Yin Lin Lin, not the girl."

Qiang Yan had only added the last sentence in the spur of the moment but as soon as the words were out, everyone froze.

Yin Lin Lin’s lips quivered. This couldn’t be! She hadn’t done anything like that! She wouldn’t let them heap that onto her head too! "Damn it, Qiang Yan! How can you dare to slander me like this? Have you forgotten who my father is?!"

Qiang Yan smiled wryly. If he had forgotten, would he be standing here talking this civilized with her? No, I´he would have sent his Heavenly Guards sometime last night to arrest her and dragged her in front of his brother-in-law in chains. He was sure that she had tried to hurt his nephew, after all. Well, he didn’t think she had anything to do with his changed fate though. "Look, it’s —"

"Don’t even try this! I won’t let you accuse me of all these things! I didn’t do anything!"

Li Yin snorted. "I don’t think you were the one behind the changed fate or that you even know who that person is but you definitely did try to have that servant girl kill His Highness. Do you still want to deny that?"

"Li Yin, you —"

"Her Majesty, the Heavenly Empress, and the dragon king!" One of the Heavenly Guards came running in and interrupted Yin Lin Lin, not caring at all about the glare she sent his way. He hurriedly retreated to the side and let the two people behind him storm in. Well, only one of them was storming in.

"What happened to my beloved?!" Qiu Ling rushed past the four people standing in the hall and only held in front of the stairs leading up to Rong Su’s throne. He even stared up at him. "Father-in-law! I heard Jing He was hurt! Just what happened?!"

At the entrance, the Heavenly Empress sighed and slowly followed. She grabbed Qiu Ling by the shoulders and pulled him back. "Longjun, don’t be like this. I’m sure nothing happened to Jing He." After all, if something had happened, her husband would have informed her right away. She wouldn’t have needed to wait until Huang Lan told her.

Qiu Ling still stared at the Heavenly Emperor. As much as he wanted to believe her, he just couldn’t calm down until he knew that Jing He was alright. Ah, no, he shouldn’t just wait for what his father-in-law said. He should go and see for himself whether his beloved was alright or not!

He turned around and wanted to rush out but Bai Fen grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Not so fast. Listen to what my husband has to say first."