Kuang whirled towards Yunqi’s servant, who hastily lowered his head.

“What did you say?” Kuang said in disbelief.

“My prince, it seems that young master Shu was poisoned,” the servant said in a small voice.

“How is his condition?!” Kuang demanded. “Where did it happen? Did they get the culprit?”

“He’s alive and stable, but it was a close call,” the servant said, lowering his head further. “The young master had gone for his first outing in the capital, and was poisoned at a restaurant. We…we didn’t manage to apprehend the culprit. He committed suicide on the spot.”

Kuang waved over his steward.

“Tell my wife to send one of her family healers to the Fifth Prince’s residence immediately,” Kuang ordered. “And have the guard captain accompany me with a few of his sharpest men.”

The steward accepted the orders without question, hurrying off to carry them out.

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Yunqi’s servant bowed his head deeply.

“No need for that. More importantly, how’s your master holding up?”

“His Highness was...rather shocked, he had taken extreme care to arrange the security for the trip, it was unbelievable that something like this could end up happening despite the levels of caution we took,” the servant replied. Kuang nodded. Yunqi was always reserved in expressing his emotions, if his shock was noticeably visible to observers, then he must have been extremely distressed.

Kuang’s face darkened, rage curdling in his stomach. An attack on Shu Zhengyu was an attack on the Shu family, and an attack on the Shu family was an attack on Yunqi. Whichever bastard had dared to do this, Kuang intended to rip their guts out.

There was a sharp jab of worry in his heart. Yunqi’s wife had died of illness so quickly and suddenly that it was almost obviously poison, and now, when his mother and maternal relatives were under such intense scrutiny, there was another poisoning attempt on Shu Zhengyu. Kuang didn’t know what thoughts were flying through Yunqi’s mind right now, but he could already guess his younger brother’s panic.

Even pushing aside the trauma of reliving that nightmarish scenario again, if Shu Zhengyu recovered without any complications, the Shu family wouldn’t sit still. After sending back Shu Zhengyan, Yunqi had spent immense effort trying to keep his headstrong and martial-minded maternal relatives from doing something that would result in a serious political blunder. Now that this had happened, Kuang had no doubt that the Shu family would boil over.

As if I would let that happen. Kuang got onto his carriage, nodding for his guard captain.

“Have some men on standby who can act quickly and discreetly,” Kuang ordered him. The guard captain bowed and hastened off.

They arrived at Yunqi’s residence in record time. It helped that the two princes lived rather close to each other, especially compared to Xianchun who lived on the other end of the city. Kuang got off without waiting for a servant to open the carriage door for him, briskly walking into Yunqi’s residence.

It spoke to Yunqi’s careful management of his staff that despite the shocking incident, the residence was operating with the same steadiness as usual. Any other household would have been thrown into chaos, or at least there would be whispers flying about, but Yunqi’s residence was prepared for any kind of scenario, even one where the palace ordered the Fifth Prince to drink poison. Kuang was also prepared for such a thing, having seen tragedies play out within the Imperial family all too many times to not consider the possibility, but certainly not to the morbid extent that Yunqi was.

“Your Highness!” Yunqi’s steward rushed over and greeted Kuang.

“Where is my brother?” Kuang asked.

“He’s in the young master’s quarters right now, watching over the healers,” the steward said in a small voice. “The prince has been in there ever since the young master returned.”

Kuang drew in a sharp breath. Yunqi had stepped away for a short time when the healers had examined his wife, only to return to a corpse. Kuang quickened his footsteps.

There was no need for the steward to guide him, the two brothers knew each others’ residences all too well. Kuang reached Shu Zhengyu’s carefully arranged quarters, his concerned gaze latching onto Yunqi as soon as he entered.

“Brother!” Yunqi rose to his feet, face taut with worry and distress.

Kuang closed the distance, glancing at the healers that bowed and stepped out of the room. Shu Zhengyu was laying on the bed, breathing steadily and looking to be in a stable condition. If not for the pallor of the boy’s face, one would have thought him merely asleep.

“What on earth happened?” Kuang demanded as.

“Zhengyu was poisoned at a restaurant,” Yunqi said tightly. "I had arranged for the security ahead of time, but that might have ended up tipping them off instead." Kuang placed a comforting hand on Yunqi’s shoulder, glancing at Zhengyu with sympathy. The younger Shu boy was much milder in temperament compared to his older brother. While not particularly talented, he was steadfast and kindhearted, with a natural ability to garner the kindness of those around him.

Swallowing his rage at whichever bastard was responsible, Kuang spoke softly.

“How is he?”

“There's no mortal danger, thanks to sister-in-law. If she hadn't reminded me to ensure there was a healer in the escort party, Zhengyu probably would've died. Thankfully, he’ll recover in due time, the healers said there won’t be any long-term damage. He just needs a few days of rest,” Yunqi said. He let out a weary sigh. “The one time he goes out in the capital and this happens.”

“It’s not your fault. Other than you and Shuyi, no one else would have even thought of keeping a healer within arm's reach at all times,” Kuang hastily assured him, knowing all too well where his brother’s thoughts were turning to.

Yunqi shook his head despondently. “Zhengyu is so well-behaved, and he agreed to only follow the set route I arranged for him, but this still managed to happen right under my nose! Should I have just refused him? How in the heavens did I let this happen?!”

“You’ve already done everything you could, and it’s not like you could keep a teenage boy cooped up inside this serene residence of yours, especially not one who grew up in a military camp! Well-behaved or not, boys of this age need some excitement and freedom, if you hadn’t given it to him under a controlled environment, he would have sought it out himself and been in much more danger,” Kuang comforted him.

Seeing that Yunqi didn’t seem convinced, Kuang pressed on. “You’ve taken excellent care of him, the fault does not lie with you, but with the vile scum who would attempt to kill a boy. I’ll do everything I can to help find the culprit.”

“The server who poisoned him committed suicide on the spot, we didn’t get a word out of him!” Yunqi said in frustration.

“We’ll figure something out, I’ll have my men find out what they can.”

“At least Zhengyu is still alive, but how on earth will I explain this to his parents? I’ve already sent back Zhengyan, and now Zhengyu has been forced to take a journey to the gates of death.”

Seeing that Yunqi’s hands were shaking, Kuang sighed and sat down next to him.

“It’s not your fault, they can’t push this onto your head. Don't worry, I’ll make sure they don’t do anything foolish,” Kuang said. “Right now, our priorities are Zhengyu’s recovery and rooting out the mastermind who ordered the poisoning. The Bureau wouldn’t help us on this, and the Ministry of Justice is unlikely either. Wenyuan might be willing to extend a hand, but this is an attack directed at us, personally. I want to dig out the person responsible and end them with my own hands, but right now, that might actually be the worst thing I could do for your family.”

“Indeed,” Yunqi said wearily. “But speaking of Wenyuan, the guard captain did mention that there was an incident before the poisoning. That former servant of his, Qu Boyong, burst into the restaurant only a few minutes before the assassination. He was being pursued by several professional killers who were bold enough to follow him into a crowded area. They didn’t want to startle Zhengyu or get him involved in the politics of the court, so the guards let Qu Boyong leave through the servants’ exit without indicating they'd recognized him.”

Kuang frowned. “Do you think he was involved?”

“I don’t know, it's unlikely that someone whose abilities were acknowledged by Wenyuan would make such an obvious attempt, but one can never be sure. Wenyuan’s already cut ties with the man though, so I doubt he would know much.”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” Kuang suggested. “He surely bears some enmity towards Qu Boyong as well, and Wenyuan also seems to have a soft spot for you. I have no doubt that he would extend goodwill, and it would give us a chance to repay him and better our relationship in the process.”

Yunqi nodded. “Then I’ll give it a try.”

“Let my men handle the rest,” Kuang said, his presence solid and certain at Yunqi’s side. “We’ll find the culprit no matter what.”

“Alright.” Some of the tension drained out from Yunqi’s shoulders.

“And let me handle the Shu clan, even if they’re angry, they’ll have to give me face,” Kuang emphasized.

Yunqi hesitated before nodding. “That…would be for the best. Especially now that the Ministry of War is up for grabs, we can’t be taking any chances.” The last time someone from the Shu family had taken a chance, they had nearly brought the clan to its destruction. The time before that, the great General Shu had ended up stripped of his post and his titles before being forcibly transported to the Southwest provinces.

It wasn’t just the Shu clan at stake either, Yunqi’s fate hung in the balance, and Kuang’s unwillingness to give up on his younger brother meant it could even affect his chances for the throne. Sensing Yunqi’s growing unease, Kuang gave him a reassuring smile.

“Just leave it to me.”

”Thank you, brother. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble with all this when I can’t even be of use,” Yunqi sighed, looking incredibly frustrated.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re the wisest and most capable of my advisors, aren’t you? Just having you on my side is worth more than anything else,” Kuang comforted him. “Come on now, Yunqi. Push these thoughts away, they’ll only cloud your mind with needless concerns. It’ll all work out.”

“Yes, I hope so,” Yunqi replied. “I really hope so.”

---

Kayla glanced between Chen Caichun, Sun Ruhui, and Hu Qing. They were all in a small townhouse in a quiet neighborhood. Hu Qing had asked Kayla for money to procure a safehouse a few days ago, and she’d approved the funds without asking for any details. To her surprise, he had actually gotten it set up rather quickly, having even mapped out the most discreet routes to get here from each part of the city.

The safe house was tidy and clean, but decorated in what Kayla could only call a quirky style, no doubt Hu Qing’s handiwork. She couldn’t help but focus on the various details of the place in an effort to calm her own racing thoughts. Kayla had just recounted the events surrounding Chujiao’s new living arrangements and was anxiously awaiting their responses.

“Please be assured that I will make sure Miss Jing has a pleasant stay and not to let her suspect anything,” Sun Ruhui was saying. Kayla forced herself to pay attention to the present, quashing down the rage and panic emanating from Wenyuan.

“Wonderful,” she choked out.

Once Chujiao figured out what Kayla’s true intentions were, the young woman’s love for Wenyuan would turn into hatred. It hadn’t been the first time Kayla had acted in a way that made Wenyuan uncomfortable, but it was the first time she had done something that crossed his bottom line. She was also belatedly starting to panic to the point where it was growing obvious, both at having effectively manipulated a more-or-less-still-innocent young woman into a hostage situation and at having angered her most trustworthy ally in this world.

“Minister, I believe that this is the best decision we can make at this point in time,” Sun Ruhui added gently, having sensed Kayla’s barely-contained unease. “It wasn’t as though you could let her go or allow her to stay in the Zhao household, your only other option would have been to silence her permanently. In comparison, I would think that this is the better choice.”

“I agree, Minister. I have new information that suggests Qu Boyong is much more dangerous than we previously supposed,” Caichun said. “My brother was recently released from the Imperial Investigation Bureau after being cleared of suspicion, but during his stay, he gained access to some rather startling news.”

At Kayla’s encouraging nod, Caichun cleared her throat and launched into a detailed report of what Chen Jian had overheard, his tailing of Qu Boyong, and the role Investigator Li Que had in arranging all this.

It seems I have a stauncher ally in Li Que than I may have expected, Kayla thought to herself in amazement. I doubt the palace asked him to set this up for me. That the rest of the Bureau didn’t like her much wasn’t something Kayla needed to worry about at the moment. They were tied together by political entanglements that weren’t about to come undone anytime soon, personal enmity would not be enough to invoke any foolish actions.

“So we do know where Qu Boyong lives, that certainly makes my life easier,” Hu Qing chimed in. “My lord, if you’d allow it?”

“Be subtle, he’s quite good himself. It wouldn’t do to beat the grass and startle the snakes,” Kayla said, tacitly approving the request to put Qu Boyong under surveillance.

“Of course,” Hu Qing bowed his head slightly.

“Once the Imperial Investigation Bureau steps in, have them withdraw,” Kayla added.

“If I may, Minister, that might not be the best decision,” Sun Ruhui interjected. At Kayla’s curious look, he continued. “If Qu Boyong’s true identity is Xiang Daozong, then he is your cousin.”

Kayla nodded encouragingly even though he was stating the obvious.

“That means he is also a nephew of the Emperor, and that if his rank were to be restored, then he could become a serious threat to your current position, my lord,” Sun Ruhui explained. The change in how Sun Ruhui addressed her was enough to signal that this was not for the sake neutral faction or the court, but for Kayla’s own survival. Something seemed to click in Kayla’s mind as it suddenly occurred to her exactly how much of a threat Qu Boyong was.

Kayla drew in a sharp breath. “I see.”

“I apologize for my rudeness,” Sun Ruhui bowed his head slightly.

“Not at all, I know full well that the palace already sees me as disposable. If they further see me as replaceable, then my life will become like a candle in the wind,” Kayla said drily. “So we should watch the watchmen and make sure the palace doesn’t secretly start building him up as a backup, is that right?”

“My lord is astute,” Sun Ruhui said.

“I believe it is not enough to just keep an eye out for him,” Caichun pointed out. “It is better to disqualify him before he can be considered as a candidate. We have to destroy his career at the starting line.”

“Chamberlain Chen has a point,” Sun Ruhui said. “He’s already committed a taboo by meddling in the Imperial Investigator’s Bureau, which answers directly to the Emperor. We can certainly make use of that to pin him down with a sentence. Even if his identity comes to light and he is granted a pardon, it would disqualify him for participating in court politics.”

“I don’t claim to understand politics too well, but the Minister is the heir to a criminal while Qu Boyong is the son to a war hero who was framed by said criminal, if the palace really wanted to rehabilitate Qu Boyong’s reputation at the cost of the Minister’s, it wouldn’t be impossible,” Hu Qing cut in.

“Of course, there’s also that,” Kayla said grimly. “Any ideas?”

Caichun replied without hesitation. “Align him with one of the princes. He can’t become the head of the neutral faction if he’s not neutral.”

“And how do you propose we make that happen?” Kayla asked.

“There’s no need to let Qu Boyong know exactly who has his cousin hostage, is there?” Caichun said conspiratorially. “Why not let him think Miss Jing was taken by one of the princes? He can’t come to you for help, so either he’ll have to try to get into the good graces of that prince, or seek help from the opposing faction. Once he’s made enough overtures, we can make sure it becomes publicly known that your former servant has entered the service of one of the factions. All you would have to do is act magnanimous and forgiving, and not only will public opinion side with you, but it would also become impossible to make Qu Boyong the head of the neutral faction.”

Kayla looked at her with amazement. I would not want this girl as an enemy.

“A good idea, Chamberlain Chen. But this relies on many moving parts, most of which we will not have the ability to monitor or control. It could just as well backfire if Qu Boyong decides to go in the opposite direction of what we’ve intended,” Sun Ruhui replied. “Not to mention that all three princes are extremely sharp-witted, none of them are oil-saving lamps. I doubt they would take kindly to being part of our plans. And we certainly wouldn’t be doing the Minister a favor by potentially exposing damaging information to the Seventh Prince.”

Kayla hadn’t completely disclosed what she knew about the Grand Duke’s involvement in the Xiang clan’s destruction, but they had likely guessed his role already. Regardless of what their personal senses of justice might demand, neither Caichun nor Sun Ruhui seemed inclined toward pushing Kayla into ruin.

“We could just nail down some of the moving parts, couldn’t we?” Hu Qing pointed out. “Whether it’s the Seventh Prince or the Third Prince, we have enough information to guarantee a small favor of this scale, especially if we keep Qu Boyong's identity a secret.”

Kayla frowned in confusion. We have Shu Zhengyan’s little mess to hold over the Third Prince’s faction, but we don’t have anything on Xianchun, do we? There’s Hu Qing’s bloodline, of course, but I’ve promised both Sun Ruhui and Hu Qing himself to leave that alone.

“And what did we have on the Seventh Prince again?” Kayla asked.

Hu Qing smiled. “You know that I’m bound by customer confidentiality for previous jobs and employers.”

At their nods, he continued with a smile that grew more delighted with every second.

“I’m not bound by customer confidentiality for the Seventh Prince.”

Kayla stared at him blankly. “What are you talking about?” Hu Qing had been working for Minister Liang, and Minister Liang answered to Xianchun.

“Can’t say much more without breaking customer confidentiality,” Hu Qing replied with a shrug.

Oh. Ohhhhhh, I see. That’s really not better, Xianchun’s still relatively hinged right now, that guy’s just always this dangerous.

“How interesting,” Kayla said with a calmness she did not feel. “So it was Liu Boyue.”

“I’m surprised you know that name, but I neither confirm nor deny anything,” Hu Qing said.

“I’ve had the…” Kayla bit back the word misfortune. “Pleasure of meeting him before, when he infiltrated the Zhao household. He was too handsome to be a normal servant, so I chased him out, but I didn’t let on that I knew who he was.”

“Very perceptive, my lord. And speaking of that, I did find some rats in your household when I was looking for Miss Jing. I mean, there are plenty of spies already, but these guys are new. You know, it’s probably a good thing the servants all avoid you, it spares me a lot of work,” Hu Qing replied. “Anyways, that’s beside the point. I’m not sure who sent them, but I can do something about it if you want.”

Kayla felt a twinge of anxiety. Whether it’s the palace intensifying their efforts or Xianchun or whoever else, it doesn’t bode well for me.

“It can become a threat to you, Minister. If the Grand Duke’s downfall is not on your terms, then there’s no guarantee of your safety, or even the stability of the neutral faction,” Caichun chimed in. “More likely than not, it's either the palace or the Seventh Prince."

"That's most likely," Hu Qing interjected.

"If that's the case, perhaps you could hand them back in the guise of doing him a favor," Caichun continued unpetrubed.

Kayla leaned forward, a conspiratorial glint in her eyes.

“Interesting, and how do you propose I carry that out?”

---

An Haoyang held back a sigh of relief as the winding line shuffled forward. They were finally getting processed for release, having been cleared in the internal investigation. The investigation tended to eliminate those with little to no suspicion first, the annoying investigator Chen Jian having been cleared in the first round. After that, those who were most suspicious were singled out, with the investigators who fell somewhere in between being slowly processed in the background.

The investigation in the provinces had ended a while ago, with scrutiny on Investigators in the capital being much more intense. Still, the process hardly left the Bureau short-staffed. Internal inspections were in fact a constantly ongoing process, unseen and unheard of until someone was abruptly arrested for some crime or another. As such, a good chunk of the Bureau's forces had already been vetted within a three-month window when the full-out internal investigation was launched and was thereby cleared for duty.

He wasn’t too sure exactly where he fell along the scale. It should’ve been somewhere in the middle, but the timing of his release, as one of the last batches to be cleared, suggested that either An Haoyang hadn’t cleared his own tracks as well as he would have liked to think he did, or that he was simply so unimportant in the Bureau that they didn’t mind keeping him in limbo for this long.

“Next in line,” the Internal Inspector processing releases said in a bored voice. An Haoyang stepped forward, presenting his plaque.

“Seventh-rank Investigator An Haoyang,” he reported.

The Internal Inspector ran his eyes down the list and nodded after spotting the name.

“Fill out the form and sign your name at the bottom,” the Internal Inspector pushed forward a scroll. An Haoyang picked up the brush and began to fill it in, making sure not to rush or proceed too slowly. The Internal Inspector reached into his robes, glancing at his plaque. He frowned before shooting to his feet.

An Haoyang looked at him, startled and bewildered as the Internal Inspector made a hand signal to his colleagues, who immediately sprinted off.

“You can stop now,” the Internal Inspector ordered. “Go back into the waiting room.”

“What?!” An Haoyang squawked.

Murmurs went up along the line, investigators and staff members glancing at each other nervously.

Raising his voice, the Internal Inspector sternly swept his gaze across the room.

“There’s been a new development, the release of all Investigators in this batch will be postponed until further notice. Please proceed back into the waiting room in an orderly fashion,” he announced.

There was a wave of groans and protests.

“I don’t make the decisions,” the Internal Inspector said, his voice weary and annoyed. “Everyone go back!”

An Haoyang groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. “Sir, could you at least tell me what’s going on? I was one step away from getting to go home and sleep in my own bed,” he complained in a petulant tone, hoping that it would make his question less suspicious.

The Internal Inspector looked just as frustrated as An Haoyang felt. “Apparently we missed something, so now we have to take a closer look,” he grumbled. “They think there’s an inside man for a suspect.”

There was a sudden flash of fear in his stomach, even though An Haoyang knew he had covered his tracks well enough. “What? For a suspect?” He said in disbelief, hiding his own unease.

“Yes, some noble’s servant or something. Anyways, it’s to do with court politics, so they’re making us all work overtime for this,” the Internal Inspector complained.

“Hang in there,” An Haoyang said sympathetically, resisting his instincts to sprint away.

“Thank you,” the Internal Inspector sighed. “You as well, get going.”

An Haoyang obeyed, an icy pit growing in his stomach. A noble’s servant? A suspect? Thoughts swarmed through his mind, and he could barely keep his facade of confused disgruntlement up to blend in with the reactions of the Investigators around him.

It can't be the young lord. Surely they wouldn’t know to look for the young master of a clan long thought to have been exterminated. Surely they wouldn’t know to look for An Haoyang.

---

Cultural Notes

赐死/Granting death: A common punishment for nobility or royalty back in Ancient China. It doesn't look good to have a prince dragged out and executed in the square, so instead, the Emperor would order them to commit suicide, usually by "gifting" them either a length of white cloth (to hang themselves with) or poison wine, though some other variations have appeared throughout history.

鬼门关/Ghostly gates/Gates of death: An Ancient Chinese phrase used to mean a near-death experience.

打草惊蛇/Beat the grass and startle the snakes: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to tip someone off that you're onto them before you're ready to make a move.

风中残烛/A flickering candle in the wind: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to be in a very precarious position.

不是省油的灯/[Are] not oil-saving lamps: A Chinese saying that means someone is not easy to fool or easy to deal with, aka needing a lot of effort/oil.

Internal Inspections in Ancient China: Emperors loved this, almost every dynasty had at least some mechanism for surveillance and investigation of the court. Usually, the institution or group in charge would constantly have internal inspections as well.