In the heavenly prison, Xue Liulan sat on his bed, listening to Hanlu's report. Even here, with his shadow guards, he had a clear grasp of the outside world. Xue Feiyan's imprisonment, the case landing in Li Yan's hands—it was all proceeding as he'd expected.
"What of Murong Yan?" Xue Liulan asked. Even if Murong Jin agreed to give up half her command, her father would be a difficult obstacle.
"No word yet," Hanlu said. "My lord, what if he refuses? Will everything we've done be for nothing?"
"He won't refuse." Xue Liulan stood with a smile. "He has no better option. He knows that if the Emperor were to die now, the resulting chaos in Jindu is more than he can control."
"But Your Highness, with you and the Seventh Prince both imprisoned, and the Fourth and Sixth Princes out of the capital, the Princess Consort is still at your side." Hanlu didn't understand. Xue Liulan could easily have Murong Jin's troops seize the Deng estate, trap his brother, and storm the palace.
Xue Liulan just smiled. "Guo Shangzhong is the variable. No one knows how much of Deng Qinyao's power he's secretly absorbed. His loyalty will decide whether I win or lose. Murong Yan won't take that risk. Not until I am safely out of this prison."
You must have a leader to rally the troops. Hanlu nodded, impressed. He had not been with Xue Liulan long; he was originally one of Gongzi Suyi's men. He had doubted this new master's ability, but the more he saw, the more he realized this prince was a dragon in shallow water, just waiting for the moment to strike.
"Keep a close watch on Die Man. And tell the Princess Consort… it's time to make her next move." He stretched. "I am truly getting tired of this place."
After telling Hanlu he could go, Murong Jin sat in the study, planning her next move. She had to reach a consensus with Li Yan, and through him, make a deal with Xue Feiyan. But to approach Li Yan directly would be too conspicuous. It was better to send a message.
"Sister Jin." Yi slipped into the room. "What are you thinking about so intently?"
"Nothing." She looked up. "What did you find?"
"Ling Yan? It seems she's the apple of Xue Feiyan's eye now," Yi said with a grin. "Even more important than Lady Deng."
"Oh?" This piqued her curiosity. She knew he cared for Ling Yan, but Deng Qinyu was the greater political asset.
"Ling Yan has been his best assassin for eight years. But she fell in the water during that trip to Yan Town and has had a cough ever since. He's been searching everywhere for rare medical texts and famous doctors to cure her."
Murong Jin rubbed her nose. "Interesting." An assassin who had lost her ability to move unseen was essentially useless. For him to go to such lengths…
She thought for a moment. "Yi, I need you to do something for me."
"Where to?" he asked, but the wicked, knowing look in her eyes made a chill run down his spine.
"Do you remember the snow peak, three hundred miles from Wuchuan?"
Yi's smile froze, then melted into a look of pure misery. "Sister Jin, you wouldn't. You couldn't be that cruel."
She just nodded, her face implacable.
"Do I have to? Can't you send someone else?"
"No. You're the only one who can make it there. Anyone else would die on the way." She looked at him, calm. "It's a military order. Will you go, or not?"
"I'll go," he grumbled. "You said the magic words. How can I refuse?" He shot her a resentful look. "To trade me for that Ling Yan girl. Are you sure I'm worth it?"
"Of course. 'One must give to receive.' Besides, the Saint of the Hidden Valley adores you. And you still owe her for the last two years of Ice Lotus flowers."
Adores me? That harridan? Yi thought, fuming. And whose fault is it I owe her? If it wasn't for saving your life, I never would have promised her that damned flower.
"The flowers, I know you already picked them. Just deliver them, and send back the cure for Ling Yan by pigeon. You can… stay there for a while."
If he could let go of his duties, it might even be a good match. And with a cure for Ling Yan as a show of good faith, she would surely agree to be a messenger. And Xue Feiyan would surely agree to a deal.
But two days later, her entire plan was thrown into chaos.
"What did you say?" she asked, shooting to her feet, her teacup nearly shattering in her hand.
"It's the same as before, Your Highness," He Chengjian said. "More officials are dead. The same method as all the others."
How can this be? Xue Liulan's murders had been a ploy to force Xue Feiyan out. Why would he continue? Or… was the killer someone else?
"Any leads on the murderer?" she asked, forcing herself to be calm.
"Minister Li Yan is still investigating. But the four new victims seem to have no connection to each other. The cases have all been merged."
She dismissed him and called for Little Dingzi.
"Go to the Imperial Academy. Find out how the Emperor is." The palace was on high alert. No royalty was allowed in. It was a form of house arrest, to keep her from using her military power to storm the prison.
Over the next few days, it only got worse. At least one new official died every day. The ministry was clueless.
Murong Jin knew this wasn't random. The killer was working against a deadline. And strangely, most of the new victims were men loyal to Guo Shangzhong, or those who had secretly leaned toward Xue Liulan. Was this Xue Feiyan's doing? To make a move at a time like this… wasn't he afraid of being exposed?
She looked at the list of the dead. Li Yuanfu. Chi Yan. Lin Zhun. She read the names, and her blood ran cold. She froze.
They weren't random. In her memory, every single one of them had been a participant in one, single event. An event so old, most had forgotten. But not those who were there.
She grabbed the list and ran from the residence, heading straight for Yumen Jiao.
"What's wrong?" Xing asked, shocked. She had never seen Murong Jin look like this—frantic, terrified. "What happened, Jin?"
"Where is Liu? Xing, where is he?"
"I… I haven't seen him in days. I thought you had sent him on a mission. What is it?"
Murong Jin spread the list on the table. "Look at these names."
Xing read them. "These are the officials who were just assassinated."
"Yes. But they all share another identity."
"What?"
"The massacre of the Xu family. Every single one of them had a hand in it."
"The Xu family? You mean… Liu's… You think he's the killer?"
"The last round of killings took out those allied with Xue Feiyan," Murong Jin said, her voice tight. "This new round looks like an attack on Xue Liulan and Guo Shangzhong. But if you look closer… they're all just the next names on his blood debt. He's been in Jindu all this time, and he's been planning his revenge."
Xing sank into a chair. "But why now? Why would he choose to act now?"