Character Index

Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer, Minister of Censor, and Kayla's godfather.

Commander Jian Zhu: Former commander of the Imperial Guard, friends with Wei Guang.

Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince.

Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince.

Emperor Gaozu: The grandfather of the current Emperor. Brother-in-law of the Grand Duke.

Tao Qian: One of Kayla's retainers.

Zhao Chao: One of Kayla's retainers.

Tan Hui: Archduke Qi's loyal retainer.

Wu Zhihuan: One of the conspirators, pushed forward as a scapegoat.

Lin Yaoguang: The Grand Duke's money launderer.

Investigator Jin: Ace interrogator of the Bureau, appeared during his interrogation of Wu Zhihuan's subordinates.

Sima Qi: The Bureau-assigned poison tester for Kuang.

Li You: Retainer of Kayla.

Shu Ling: A young woman who works as Kayla's retainer.

Archduke Qi: The Emperor's half-brother, one of the conspirators.

Tabuyir: A Senior Investigator.

Chen Jian: Li Que's protege, a young Imperial Investigator. Chen Caichun's older brother.

Liu Boyue: Xianchun's right-hand man, his existence was hidden from the public, including the Bureau. Kayla, however, knows of him from the novel and from Hu Qing's previous clashes with him.

Alizhi: Grandson of Commander Tumidu of the Uyghur tribe, Kayla's ally. Sent as a messenger by General Yan to negotiate benefits for the soldiers sent North as reinforcements for their allied Khaganate.

General Yan: Commander of the reinforcements sent to Chuluo Khagan.

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Kayla wavered outside of the Emperor’s quarters for a moment, trying to sort through her next steps. She caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of her eye.

Wei Guang hurried towards her, a grizzled old man in the ceremonial armor of a commander behind him. She recognized the old man–Jian Zhu, the former Commander of the Imperial Guard, now semi-retired but still holding an honorary title.

He’s got more say about what happens in the palace than I do, Kayla noted. Unlike her, whose power relied solely on the Emperor’s words and a few sympathetic officers, Wei Guang’s command was much more cemented. It was clear why he had appeared–to prevent any opportunistic grabs of power, whether it was from Kayla or the Empress Dowager.

“Godfather,” Kayla greeted him. “Commander Jian.”

“Wenyuan, I’ve heard the news,” Wei Guang said, slightly out of breath. “What on earth happened?”

“The Third Prince was poisoned,” Kayla said helplessly.

“I know as much! But how?” Wei Guang demanded.

“He took his tea with only a single poison test,” Kayla replied. “We’re still trying to figure out what happened…The Fifth Prince is inside right now, and the Seventh Prince is being kept under guard at his household.”

Wei Guang let out a huff, glancing around. Commander Jian waved his hand, and the Imperial Guards milling around backed away. The commander nodded at Wei Guang and then stepped away as well.

“You need to take action. The more you wait, the less opportunity you have,” Wei Guang said urgently. “The Third Prince’s Head of Security will die for this, but as the head of the Bureau, the Emperor could also kill you for this. You can’t leave things up to his whims!”

“I know,” Kayla said. For some reason, she didn’t feel afraid. There was only a strange expanse of emptiness that pressed at the inner lining of her rib cage.

Wei Guang drew a deep breath. “Implicate the Seventh Prince.”

“What? But we have nothing to suggest that he’s guilty!” Kayla hissed.

“This isn’t the time to worry about that. Before, your marriage to the princess would’ve been a consideration. But now, with only the Fifth Prince left as a viable candidate, the princess could be made to remarry him. It would hardly be an isolated incident. Emperor Gaozu wed the consort of his older brother after killing him to take the throne. The previous Emperor took a widow as his consort too,” Wei Guang said somberly. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’re protected in any sort of way.”

Kayla hesitated. Everything Wei Guang was saying made sense.

This was something the Emperor couldn’t possibly forgive her for. The only way to avoid his anger was to create circumstances in which he couldn’t dispose of her just yet–and implicating Xianchun was the best way to do that. With how public the conflict between Xianchun and Kuang had become, no one would doubt it if Xianchun were found guilty. His faction would suffer for it as well. Without the Seventh Prince’s faction, Yunqi would be left to face off with the major clans alone while scrabbling to rally Kuang’s supporters and his own maternal clan. The Emperor would need Kayla to act as a shield for Yunqi, and if Kayla continued finding opportunities to extend her life, she would likely find a path to survival. As for how she would wiggle her way back into the Emperor and Yunqi’s good graces, that was up to her own wiles.

No, that’s not the real problem here.

“I know what you say to be true. It may certainly be the case that my death date is upon me. But…”

She trailed off uncertainly, any excuse seeming flimsy.

Wei Guang grabbed her shoulders, a desperate glint in his eyes.

“Wenyuan, I’ve hesitated many times regarding what to do about you, I’ll admit it. You neither live up to your mother’s image, nor do you follow closely enough in your grandfather’s footsteps. But it’s undeniable that you’re a catalyst of change in a dynasty that’s muddling its way downhill, and we can’t afford to lose you. Right now, you’re in an unrivaled position. One prince is dead, one is within a palace that you have control over, and one you have under house arrest. You’re the one who currently has the capital! If you don’t act now, the circumstances will only grow more disadvantages. If you miss this opportunity, you’ll come to regret it!”

He’s right.

It was exactly as Wei Guang said–Kayla had that one moment of vulnerability to seize upon, to grasp power firmly in her own hands, to take control of her own destiny. It had been a long, tortuous road, always squirming under the absolute power of those whose whims could decide her fate, and she had an opportunity to change that.

Her mind flashed to Kuang’s last moments, that hopeful glance towards the doorway for a glimpse of his son.

Kayla lowered her eyes. A myriad of paths stretched out before her, each paved with its own hardships.

She thought of the Grand Duke. She thought of Lin Jie, of Zhang Wuxian, of the Wu clan. She thought of Wenyuan.

“I can’t do that, godfather. I can’t implicate the Seventh Prince when I know he’s innocent. I’ll see what I can make of this situation, but if I fail, please take care of my family,” Kayla said. Her voice wavered, but she felt more clear-headed than she had in a very long time.

“Wenyuan! Don’t be foolish!”

“You know, godfather, all this time I’ve been thinking–I have to grab power, I have to maintain the Emperor’s favor, I have to control the Imperial Guard. If I want to save this country, I have to do everything within my power to make sure Xianchun doesn’t become the Emperor. But now? Kuang’s dead! With the way things have gone, Xianchun can’t escape suspicion, so he definitely can’t become the Emperor anymore. That only leaves Yunqi. After everything I’ve done to get here, we’ve gotten what we wanted in the worst way possible,” Kayla said. “And it wasn’t my doing. It wasn’t the result of anything that we had done thus far, but rather the result of those who we’ve been trying to stop all along.”

Wei Guang frowned, taken aback.

“I can’t pretend any longer that all of this was worth something. I can’t keep pretending that I’m doing the right thing, and that it’ll lead to the right results,” Kayla said quietly. “The least I can do at this point is to stop making things worse.”

Wei Guang gave a frustrated sigh.

“Wenyuan, you have to think about things in the long run. You’re in a position to contest the Shu clan–if they were to gain hegemony with the Fifth Prince’s rise, what do you think will happen to the country?! One day you will regret too late that you did not make a small sacrifice for the greater good!”

Kayla shook her head. “I don’t know. Perhaps that will be the case, but where has that way of thinking gotten me so far? Only one thing is clear right now–I can’t accuse Xianchun, or I’ll only be allowing the real culprits an opportunity to cover their tracks. Such a thing will only cause more grief for us and for this country in the long run.”

“You need not find the Seventh Prince guilty, only to temporarily incapacitate him,” Wei Guang tried again. Seeing the unmoved expression on Kayla’s face, he threw his hands up in anger. “You’re making a mistake, Wenyuan! Think of your mother–she didn’t make so many sacrifices to let you die at her brother’s hands!”

Kayla smiled bitterly.

“No…no, she did not.”

It wasn’t her son that the Imperial Princess had chosen for this thorny path, but Kayla. The Imperial Princess hadn’t just sacrificed herself, she had sacrificed both Wenyuan and Kayla as well.

An Investigator approached, hesitating at the sight of the dispersed Imperial Guards. Kayla gestured for the man to come over.

“What is it?” Kayla demanded.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“There’s a disturbance at the Seventh Prince’s household, Director. The Seventh Prince is trying to come to the palace, and it’s difficult for us to restrain him without causing him harm,” the Investigator said worriedly.

Kayla nodded. “I’ll have to go now, I’ll leave the matters at the palace to you,” she said to Wei Guang.

“Wenyuan, you–!” Wei Guang cut himself off, biting back what might’ve been a curse or a plea.

For the first time, Kayla felt genuine affection towards the aging man before her.

“Goodbye, godfather,” she said. With the Investigator in tow, she descended the steps and walked away.

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Wei Guang watched Wenyuan leave in frustration.

His old friend walked closer, glancing at Wei Guang’s face.

“Should I have him dragged back?” The old commander asked.

Wei Guang let out a harsh sigh.

“Of course not, we need to project the image that he’s in control right now–if the chain of command breaks down, the whole thing will fall apart. We’re in a crisis here, if anything goes wrong and the Seventh Prince is allowed to slip out from the capital, we could face civil war!”

“Then what about the Duke?”

Wei Guang gave a frustrated groan. “Of all the times to discover a moral compass, he chooses the worst one possible!”

Commander Jian gave a thoughtful hum.

“You have access to the Emperor and the heir-apparent,” he pointed out. “If you were to push the blame at the Duke’s feet, you would be seen as valuing justice over personal ties, and could thus avoid the fallout afterwards.”

Wei Guang sighed yet again, a note of exhaustion creeping in.

“I can’t do that,” he said quietly.

“You’re more attached to this so-called godson than I thought,” Commander Jian remarked.

Wei Guang shook his head.

“The weight of the hopes attached to him is more than I can take responsibility for,” Wei Guang said.

He drew in a deep breath. “I’ll have to think of some way to save him.”

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Kayla waved for Tao Qian to approach the window of the carriage from his position on horseback. The young guard obeyed.

“Tao Qian, I need you to go immediately to the Bureau. Remember what you told me about the information networks in the black market? We’re posting.”

“My lord?” Tao Qian asked in amazed disbelief.

“Take this plaque,” Kayla said, passing him her personal plaque. “Work with the Bureau to get a message out to every single information broker in the country–if anyone can come forward with anything about–”

She paused, thinking through everything that had happened. Tan Hui. Wu Zhihuan. Lin Yaoguang.

“First, take Lin Yaoguang into custody,” she said, changing tracks. “Who was our ace interrogator again? Investigator Jin? Tell him to leave Sima Qi alone and interrogate Lin Yaoguang. It’s fine no matter what Lin Yaoguang says, just make sure he starts talking.”

“Yes sir,” Tao Qian said. “I’ll send Li You and Shu Ling to handle it.”

“Good. As for the brokers,” Kayla said. She pondered for a long moment.

Dengzhou. Youzhou. Lin Jie had started investigating both….both…

“Put out a message, asking for any information on suspicious activity, transactions, or anything of the sort, relating to Archduke Qi and his household, and…” Kayla hesitated a moment longer. If she was wrong, this would really be the end of her, with truly no last chances. “And the Shu clan.”

Tao Qian gave her a look of dismay.

“If anyone has anything that is of use to our investigation, I will reward them with one thousand gold, an honorary rank of Village Sheriff, and a pardon for any and all past crimes that extends to all members of their immediate family, including adopted persons,” Kayla said. “Do you reckon that’s enough?”

“More than enough, my lord,” Tao Qian said. “But are you sure–”

“Yes. Go on,” Kayla said firmly.

“As you wish,” Tao Qian replied. He left, exchanging a meaningful look with Zhao Chao on his way out. Zhao Chao gave an imperceptible nod of assurance in return.

Inside the carriage, Kayla picked up the communication device, mulling over the different bits and pieces of information that she had accrued.

I can’t afford to miss anything.

Archduke Qi was a very ill man. But what if that weren’t the case? Tan Hui was dead, and she could get no new information out of him. Lin Yaoguang would be hard to crack, and the crimes he espoused were more likely to be those of the Grand Duke’s than those related to the deaths of the First and Second Princes.

But who had killed the Third Prince? There were a great deal of suspects, but at the same time, only a few of them were really under consideration.

For some reason, a strange tug at the back of her mind continued to include Archduke Qi among them.

Kayla knew how to feign illness as a ploy. She had poisoned herself before multiple times, and knew exactly how desperate one had to be to do such a thing. But Archduke Qi’s situation was just that desperate, if not even more so.

She hesitated a moment longer before calling Tabuyir. She didn’t wait for his greeting before speaking.

“Tabuyir, I want Archduke Qi removed from his current rooms. Arrange new rooms for him under the careful supervision of the healers. I want his food and drink carefully watched by the healers and served to him by our Investigators. Take very good care of him in every way and shape, but make sure that everything he eats and drinks is watched from its inception onward, and that he ingests nothing else,” Kayla said.

“I understand,” Tabuyir replied. “Anything else?”

“The Third Prince has passed away,” Kayla replied. “Keep Dengzhou under control for me, and keep the news to yourself until there’s an official announcement.”

“As you wish, Director.”

Kayla gave a hum of acknowledgement and hung up as the carriage pulled to a stop.

The door opened not to Zhao Chao but to a frazzled-looking Chen Jian.

“Your Excellency, the Seventh Prince is over there,” Chen Jian said in a tight voice by way of greeting. Angry shouting floated over from a distance away.

Kayla glanced over sharply at the gate and strode over, Chen Jian quick on her heels.

“Your Highness,” Kayla greeted him. Xianchun had a wild look in his eyes, his robes and hair disheveled from scuffling with the Investigators around him.

“What’s going on?! Why are you doing this?!” Xianchun demanded.

“I’m very sorry, my prince. The Third Prince was poisoned,” Kayla replied.

Xianchun frowned in confusion. “What? Third Brother?”

He glanced around at the grim faces surrounding him, his tone growing somber.

“What happened to Third Brother?”

“I’m sorry for your loss, my prince,” Kayla replied in a gentle tone. “The Third Prince has passed away.”

“Third Brother died? That can’t be possible!” Xianchun cried. “No, this can’t be true–”

Genuine grief flickered across Xianchun’s face, followed by horror as he realized his situation.

“Wait, you think that I–”

“We are here to protect your safety, Your Highness,” Kayla said, cutting him off.

“No,” Xianchun said, his tone hollow with horror. “I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t do such a thing!”

His eyes grew desperate. Xianchun rushed forward, grabbing onto Kayla’s robes before anyone could stop him.

“Wenyuan, you know that I didn’t do this! We’ve talked about this before, I told you that I didn’t want to see such an outcome!”

“Calm down, my prince,” Kayla said. She waved for the Investigators to back away.

“Wenyuan, I need to speak with Father,” Xianchun said. “He thinks I did it, doesn’t he?!”

“You’d be better off staying away,” Kayla warned him. “He’s not in the mood to hear anyone defend themselves.”

“I didn’t do it!” Xianchun snarled. His eyes glimmered with tears. “I wouldn’t do something like this, I never wanted him dead!”

Kayla sucked in a deep breath. Xianchun had been prepared to kill Kuang if it came to that. But Xianchun hadn’t been behind this.

Problem is, his actions are just making him look worse.

Kayla put a hand on the prince’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said sincerely. “But you need to go back into your household and stay there. You’re the one who looks the most suspicious, and your father isn’t thinking clearly at the moment.”

“If I just stay still, I’ll be blamed for it! I didn’t do it, I didn’t do a thing!” Xianchun snarled.

“That’s enough!” Kayla snapped at him. “Do you think you could cast off suspicion by repeating those words? I’ll lay it out for you–if you try to go to the palace right now, you’ll be executed. If you want to prove your innocence, stay home. I’ll investigate properly, and even if there ends up being anything that points towards you, I’ll still listen to your side of the story. But the more you meddle, the worse you look. Don’t be stubborn and go home.”

“How the hell am I supposed to trust you? No one will believe my innocence!” Xianchun said in a shaking voice.

“Then go home and ask Liu Boyue what you should do right now, and see if he doesn’t say the same thing,” Kayla said.

Xianchun stared at her in disbelief. “How do you know that name?” He asked, shock written over his face.

“Did you really think his existence was hidden from the Imperial Investigation Bureau? He’s not as skilled as that. But when have I ever revealed his existence to anyone? When have I ever used him against you?” Kayla replied. “You don’t have to trust me, but you do have to admit that I’ve never actively sought to harm you.”

Xianchun frowned, mulling it over.

“That’s why I say this now–go back home and ask him. And while you’re at it, ask if anyone in your faction was involved, and cut ties while you’re ahead. Don’t kill them though, or the suspicion will still fall on you,” Kayla said firmly.

Xianchun gave her a wary look before slowly nodding. “I know we’re not on good terms, but I really didn’t do this,” he said quietly.

“Don’t worry, I know. You don’t act like this when you want someone dead,” Kayla said. “Again, my condolences.”

She raised her voice, turning towards Chen Jian . “Investigator Chen, kindly have someone escort the Seventh Prince back, he’s rather distraught.”

Giving her an uncertain nod, Xianchun left with a few Investigators flanking him, and disappeared back into the corridors of his household.

Kayla watched until the man was gone before nodding to Chen Jian.

“Keep him under careful watch,” she ordered. “Make sure he doesn’t come to harm.”

Chen Jian nodded.

Kayla got back into the carriage, nodding to Zhao Chao. “To the Bureau.”

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Alizhi rode up to the gates of the capital, waving his men to a stop.

There was a crowd of people milling about the gate, some already leaving with looks of concern and disappointment.

“Why aren’t they going in?” Alizhi murmured.

“Go and figure out what’s going on,” he ordered one of his men. The man dismounted from his horse and hurried off. The group moved into the shade, observing the scene about them with hawk-like gazes.

Alizhi watched as his subordinate hurried back.

“Sir, they say that the gates are closed, no one can gain entry,” the man said. “The guards previously came out to scatter the crowd earlier, but those who remain are waiting their luck.”

“The Northern Gates are closed? What about the other ones?” Alizhi demanded.

“From what I’ve heard, a few people have come here from the other gates,” the man replied. “They’re all closed.”

“Go and verify it,” Alizhi ordered. Three of his men peeled off on horseback, each heading towards a different gate.

“Sir, what should we do? Shall we wait?” His subordinate asked.

“Yes,” Alizhi said. “Let’s wait and watch.”

He drew in a deep breath, an ominous feeling in his chest.

“The sky of the capital city is going to change,” Alizhi said grimly. “Notify Grandfather and General Yan immediately.”

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Cultural Notes

死期将至/The date of your death is upon you: An Ancient Chinese saying.

后悔莫及/Too late to even regret: An Ancient Chinese saying.

大义灭亲/Destroying one's [kin/personal ties] for the greater [good/justice]: An Ancient Chinese saying.

Information brokers: Mentioned back in Book 2 Chapter 81, about the network of job postings that one can place and receive anonymously.

亭长/Village Sheriff: By the Tang Dynasty, this was primary an honorary title, but while it came with no real power, it essentially made you a low-ranking member of the officialdom

这京城要变天了/The sky is going to change in the capital: A Chinese saying that essentially means that shit is going down in the capital, usually related to power struggles, etc.