Han Zhen’s breathing faltered, and for a moment he found himself speechless.
Ming Zhang was right. Every move Yan Yihuan made last night had indeed been reported by him to the emperor, and the emperor’s decision to leave the palace had been sudden, without informing Ming Zhang.
Still, Ming Zhang’s recent behavior seemed strange in every way. Han Zhen could find no flaw, yet his instincts told him something was off.
But how could one question a person based on instinct alone? Looking at the half-eaten bun that had already gone cold, Han Zhen had completely lost his appetite.
“Is there anything else you want to ask? Take advantage of this quiet moment and ask it all,” Ming Zhang said, turning around and sitting down, facing the calm canal. “Who knows when there will be another opportunity like this?”
Han Zhen took a deep breath and sat down beside him, “Why did you report it to the Court of Judicial Review back then?”
“A murder occurred, and it involved someone connected to a court official. Should it not be reported to the Court of Judicial Review?”
Back then, this case had been discovered by the Youluo Jian and involved Yan Yihuan, so it could have been investigated in secret by them. Yet Ming Zhang had immediately reported it to the Court of Judicial Review, bringing the matter into the open.
Once the case reached the Court of Judicial Review, it had to be handled according to procedure, so his actions were naturally restricted. Fairly speaking, Ming Zhang’s conduct was reasonable, but it was not his usual way of considering the bigger picture. It seemed somewhat deliberate.
“But you knew it couldn’t have been me.”
“And why would I know that?” Ming Zhang countered. “Besides, didn’t the emperor issue an edict the very next day to have you released? You were only detained for one night after being implicated in the case. Commander Han, do you intend to pursue this endlessly?”
“One matter alone may not be unusual, but yet several matters have coincided so conveniently, and each one is connected to Lord Ming.” There was a rare waver in Han Zhen’s tone, carrying urgency and a concern he was trying to deliberately conceal, “Could it be that someone is intentionally framing you? That’s why…”
“Commander Han.” Ming Zhang cut him off, his tone growing colder, “I have the emperor’s protection and the Youluo Jian at my side. No one can threaten me easily.”
The sun had climbed high overhead, its scorching rays beating down mercilessly. Even standing beneath the shade of willow branches offered no relief, especially with the canal’s rippling surface reflecting a dazzling glare that made it hard for Han Zhen to see Ming Zhang’s expression clearly.
“Ming—”
“That’s enough, Han Zhen. Do not follow me again.”
With those cold words, Ming Zhang rose and walked away. Under Han Zhen’s gaze, he entered the sedan chair that had been waiting in the distance and left without looking back.
As Ming Zhang turned away, the calm in Han Zhen’s gaze faded. His dark gaze grew heated, yet beneath it flickered an unmistakable trace of scrutiny and doubt.
“Lord Han.”
Seeing that Ming Zhang’s sedan chair had already disappeared from sight, an imperial guard appeared beside Han Zhen. “Should we continue following?”
“Continue,” Han Zhen said without the slightest hesitation, “Watch out for the hidden guards. Don’t get discovered.”
Ming Zhang shouldn’t have betrayed the emperor. Han Zhen had always known of Ming Zhang’s unrequited feelings, and the emperor’s indifference, as well as his own silent, unspoken stirrings.
For a long time, the three of them had maintained a delicate and inexplicable balance. But that balance had been broken by Yan Yihuan’s sudden appearance.
Yet Han Zhen understood Ming Zhang. He believed that he understood him better than the emperor did, because Ming Zhang would always show only his best side before the emperor.
Han Zhen clearly remembered that back when they were still studying, there had been a young princess of a prefecture who was very fond of the emperor. She clung to him almost every day and had even openly said that she hated Ming Zhang and wanted the emperor to drive him away.
At the time, Han Zhen had even felt pity for Ming Zhang, quietly keeping an eye on him. He had intended to find an opportunity to comfort him but did not expect to witness him secretly scare the young prefectural princess nearly to the point of madness, after which she never dared to come again.
Everyone else laughed off the incident as a mere accident, but only Han Zhen knew that Ming Zhang was the culprit. Strangely enough, Han Zhen, who was usually so righteous, had covered it up for him. However, from that moment on, his gaze could no longer move away.
Ming Zhang’s sedan chair went straight back to his residence, but shortly after, a small side door in a corner of the Ming residence opened quietly. A very ordinary felt sedan chair was carried out and quickly vanished around a street corner.
This small sedan chair seemed to wander aimlessly, circling through most of the capital before finally slipping into the back street of the Residence of King Qin. The street there was wide but sparsely populated. Those who had been following hesitated at the corner and did not continue, turning back instead.
Ming Zhang had indeed come to see Li Xuanjing. He also knew that Li Xuanjing didn’t actually want to see him at the moment,
“Your Highness, can you explain what happened last night.”
“Ming Zhang, you dare to come right after last night’s incident. Aren’t you afraid of being discovered?” Li Xuanjing hadn’t expected him to be so bold, and was caught completely off guard. “You’d better leave quickly.”
“Since I’m already here, Your Highness, why rush?” Ming Zhang’s gaze was piercing, “Last night, Your Highness claimed that someone from the Residence of King Qin had come to the capital, which led me to withdraw half of my hidden guards to distract the others. Yet in truth, it was an assassination attempt!”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, I once said I didn’t mind how you handled things as long as the life[mfn]The life here refers to Li Xuanming’s life.[/mfn] is preserved. But what did Your Highness do?” Ming Zhang spoke, word by word, “Your Highness intended to strike to kill.”
Li Xuanjing’s surprise from before vanished, his breathing instantly grew heavy, and his expression darkened, “Ming Zhang, I have already given you enough face. Must I report everything to you as well?”
“Hah.” Ming Zhang chuckled, “But Your Highness’s intelligence network is incomplete without me. Last night, when Your Highness’s assassin struck, you didn’t expect Yan Yihuan to be in the carriage too, did you? If that arrow had been slightly off, your beloved would have been dead.”
“You…” Li Xuanjing’s face instantly turned ashen. Indeed, he had thought that discovering Li Xuanming leaving the palace the previous night was a golden opportunity. But he truly did not know why Li Xuanming had left, nor that Yan Yihuan was also in the carriage.
“Ming Zhang, why are you even criticizing me? You didn’t tell me that Han Zhen had been released from the Court of Judicial Review, or else such a large number of imperial guards wouldn’t have arrived so quickly last night.” Li Xuanjing deliberately softened his expression as he spoke.
“Given our positions, it is natural to hold back some information. But last night’s events precisely show that we should put aside past grievances and work together.”
“If Your Highness keeps your word, I shall speak without reservation,” Ming Zhang replied, knowing when to stop. “Although this matter was an unintended mishap, thankfully it didn’t lead to a disaster.”
Ming Zhang did not linger. Soon, his sedan chair emerged from the small gate and quickly disappeared into the bustling main street.
No matter how turbulent the world outside the palace, inside it remained unusually calm thanks to Li Xuanming claiming illness. Yan Yihuan, however, felt drained, truly utterly exhausted
He began to regret it. At first it was because the emperor, who could have easily avoided the arrow in the carriage, had been injured while protecting him, so Yan Yihuan was grateful from the bottom of his heart. Then, wanting to win the emperor’s favor and lay groundwork for the unknown future, he had taken on the responsibility of serving him entirely on his own.
More importantly, he(YYH) hadn’t been able to resist and took the initiative at first, but unexpectedly, the emperor had developed a taste for it and complained that even the slightest movement made his(LXM) arm unbearably painful, insisting that Yan Yihuan do everything himself, the emperor not even touching him(YYH) once.
It was extremely exhausting. Extremely miserable!
Yan Yihuan thought bitterly to himself that he didn’t understand how he had once been so eager to rise in status. Now, he realized it was better to lie low, living easy and carefree. If it weren’t for his heavy responsibilities, he would have given up long ago.
“Yan Yihuan.”
“Here!” Yan Yihuan, who had been daydreaming by the bedside, jumped and took two hurried steps back, “I’m not coming over!”
