“Your Majesty, this minister is innocent! My loyalty towards you knows no bounds!!” the Prime Minister kowtowed in fear.

The air in the morning court was tense as Tian Chen brought up the matter of Qi Ming finding out the truth about the Empress and even her whereabouts.

His spies were directly executed when they reported their failure, so everyone in the court expected nothing less would happen once Tian Chen found the traitor amongst them.

There were only a few people there that were involved in the planning and the first one to be suspected was the Prime Minister, reasonably so.

But even though he was the prime suspect, he didn’t have any motive to since Huang Xieli was his niece. It would give him no benefit in betraying Tian Chen or killing the Empress.

“Prime Minister, do you perhaps confuse greed with loyalty?” Tian Chen calmly asked.

Li Feng entered with boxes of gold and jade. He handed a scroll of paper to Tian Chen who read it to the rest of the court.

“The Empress in exchange for 10 thousand golds, 1 thousand jades, and half of Qi Ming’s coal mine. Even We would sell the Empress for this amount of richness,” Tian Chen crumpled the paper and threw it to the Prime Minister.

The rest of the officials’ faces changed. Anyone would throw anyone away for that price. From the number of boxes, it seemed like Qi Ming paid a deposit of 40% and the 60% would be given later.

Even if it was only 40%, it was still a very generous amount.

The Prime Minister paled in fright. He never made such deals with Qi Ming. He never saw these boxes or the paper.

But the stamp on it indeed belonged to him.

“Your Majesty, this minister has no knowledge of these! I am framed! Why would I make a deal with Qi Ming knowing the absolute victory you will gain? Rather, if I really was blinded with greed, there is no need to sell out the Empress for it for I know all about your war plan,

“Is it not strange? How did Qi Ming know that the Empress was still alive in the first place? That real traitor is the one behind all this and is now framing me to escape justice. Your Majesty, please reconsider!” the Prime Minister desperately defended himself.

General Zhou spoke up, “Your Majesty, this subject also thinks that there is some foul play here. Anyone could steal the Prime Minister’s stamp and make this contract paper. It is even easier to store these boxes in his residence. This subject implores Your Majesty to calm your anger and tread this matter carefully.”

Tian Chen tapped on his armrest in thought.

Truthfully, he wanted to catch the traitor only for the sake of it. He wasn’t doing it out of anger, so he was very cool-headed right now.

In fact, it was thanks to this traitor that he could get rid of Huang Xieli without damaging his reputation. Now that the Empress’s seat was empty, he was preparing to crown Xue Lan the first male empress of Qian Jin.

“The evidence is present and irrefutable. Until the Prime Minister is proven to be innocent, he shall be stripped off of his title and authority and held custody along with the rest of his family,” Tian Chen declared.

With his signal, the imperial guards pulled the Prime Minister up from the ground and escorted him out. He promoted the Minister of Finance as the temporary Prime Minister and dismissed the court.

“Your Majesty,” General Zhou approached Tian Chen after everyone left, “I have some suggestions on how to unearth the traitor if you are willing to listen.”

Tian Chen considered for a moment and invited him to his study.

***

The Empress’s funeral was held 5 days after the war. Her private tomb was made in haste to honour her death and would be fully constructed after her burial.

White clothes were worn in mourning and the Empress was paraded to the temple from the imperial mortuary. People bowed at her coffin in respect as it passed through the street.

Xue Lan and Tian Chen followed behind the coffin by carriage, sitting across from each other. One had his gaze down in silence while the other couldn’t keep his eyes off the other.

When Xue Lan raised his eyes, Tian Chen looked away in reflex but couldn’t help returning back a few seconds later.

“Your Majesty, I still think it is best for me to ride my own carriage,” Xue Lan said in a small voice.

“No need to be distressed. It is to prevent any possibility of sabotage in case there are those who have negative feelings towards any blood of Qi Ming,” Tian Chen explained.

“…I understand.”

Tian Chen reached out and brushed Xue Lan’s cheek with his finger, “I do not wish for any misfortune to befell on you.”

Xue Lan softly leaned to his touch, pulling on his heartstring.

They arrived at the temple and did the procession solemnly. Once everything was done, the Empress’s coffin was sealed shut and brought away by the carriers to where her tomb was built.

“Honorable Prince Xue, We have some matters to discuss with the officials. You may return back to the palace first,” Tian Chen prompted.

Xue Lan gave a small nod and bowed before retreating with Mo Shen. Just as they left the temple, they were greeted by a middle-aged man with a robust build. Although he was about to enter his fiftieth year, he looked like he was still in his thirties.

“Honorable Prince Xue,” Zhou Ye saluted.

“General Zhou,” Xue Lan saluted back.

“You know me?”

“How could I not? General Zhou is the frontline defender of Qian Jin Empire. His Majesty trusts his back to you on every battlefield. Your legends are endless.”

“I am flattered,” Zhou Ye gestured to the carriage. “His Majesty entrusted me to escort you and the other ministers back.”

Xue Lan and Mo Shen glanced at each other for a split second before Xue Lan replied, “Then, I will trouble you, General Zhou.”

“No trouble at all.”

Soon after Xue Lan entered his assigned carriage, the convoy moved with Zhou Ye leading in front.

Mo Shen plucked out a slip of paper from the gap in the roof and opened it. His eyebrow raised in intrigue and handed it to Xue Lan.

Xue Lan read it.

‘I know it’s you. Head to the pavilion by the pond at 8 or suffer the consequences.’

He looked at Mo Shen and the other gestured at the window, signalling that the soldiers outside were listening to them.

Xue Lan returned the paper to Mo Shen and the other placed it back to where he found it.

They kept silent for the rest of the journey. The soldiers outside had some doubts and worried that Xue Lan didn’t find the paper.

When the day turned to night, Xue Lan unhurriedly walked toward the location stated in the paper. Mo Shen waited at the start of the bridge while he continued to the pavilion.

He looked at his reflection on the still water. Not one minute later, he felt the sharp tip of a blade resting on his waist.

“General Zhou, what is the meaning of this?” Xue Lan asked without turning around.

“Honorable Prince Xue, I believe you fully understand on what is happening right now,” Zhou Ye replied.

Xue Lan looked back, “Is this His Majesty’s order?”

“No, he’s too blinded to see the simple truth in front of him,” Zhou Ye raised his blade to Xue Lan’s back. “Tell me, how did you know that the Empress was still alive?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Xue Lan slowly turned to face Zhou Ye, undeterred by the blade. He leaned to the railing in a relaxed manner, “At what point, and in what context are you talking about? Rather, I thought you were talking about another–”

“Don’t attempt to fool me. I have dealt with countless foxes and snakes and could recognize one from miles away,” Zhou Ye stepped closer and pressed his sword to Xue Lan’s neck. “I know it was Guang Pei’s little messenger who delivered the Empress to Qi Ming. I kept track of dangerous individuals after all. Especially my enemies. Is he not obedient to you as well?”

Instead of avoiding the blade, Xue Lan fearlessly leaned forward, “And? That does not really prove anything now, does it? For all we know, between me and you, you’re the one who’s tricking the Emperor right now.”

Zhou Ye lowered his blade, slashing Xue Lan’s arm. He gripped Xue Lan’s neck and choked him to a post, “Heh. You just admitted that you spied on us.”

“Did I? Because you’re the one who admitted to accusing me behind the Emperor’s back.”