Li Jianheng kicked his legs in panic, knocking the severed head aside. He no longer cared about decorum—at this moment, he wished he could shrink into the dragon throne itself. His ears rang as he stared at the blood soaking his robes. It felt as though someone were gripping his throat; for a long while, he could not force out a single word.
Shen Zechuan dropped to one knee and said solemnly, “Your Majesty, do not be afraid. The assassin has already been put down. Your servant arrived too late to protect you—this crime deserves death.”
Li Jianheng’s limbs felt numb. With great effort, he clenched the armrest of the throne, his gaze shifting from the corpse to Shen Zechuan’s face. He was on the verge of choking up. Grabbing Shen Zechuan’s sleeve, he said, “Not too late… not too late! You… Lanzhou did well! I—I was almost…”
“Summon the imperial physicians!” the Empress Dowager strode forward. Ignoring the blood-soaked corpse, she took Li Jianheng’s hand and called gently, “Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”
Still trapped in terror, Li Jianheng swallowed hard. He abruptly pulled his hand free from the Empress Dowager’s grasp and clutched Shen Zechuan’s sleeve instead, pleading, “Stay. You—have the Brocade Guard stay and protect me!”
“The Brocade Guard exists to protect Your Majesty,” Shen Zechuan replied without changing expression. “For Your Majesty, they will brave fire and blade alike. I will immediately escort Your Majesty back to the Hall of Clear Principle.”
Everyone at the banquet was still shaken. Xue Xiuzhuo stepped forward several paces and said sharply, “Arrest and detain everyone from the Imperial Kitchens, the Court of Imperial Banquets, the dessert bureau, and the imperial wine cellar. An assassin hid among those attending the Son of Heaven—neither the inner court arrangements nor the close-guard defenses can escape responsibility!”
“Who was in charge of patrols tonight?” the Empress Dowager asked.
The hall fell silent. Xiao Chiye stepped forward and saluted. “In reply to Your Majesty, it was this subject.”
The Empress Dowager did not press him. Instead, she looked to Li Jianheng. The assembled ministers all turned their eyes toward him.
To serve in the Imperial Kitchens, one’s background had to be spotless and one’s origins perfectly clear. When the man entered the palace, which of the Twenty-Four Offices he had served in, which eunuchs he had been close to in the past—everything had to be investigated, and not merely investigated but recorded along with everyone he had ever contacted. Xiao Chiye was responsible for close-guard security. These matters should have been thoroughly examined before the Hundred Officials Banquet. The assassin had passed through layers of his defenses; Xiao Chiye could not escape involvement.
Sweat poured down Li Jianheng’s face. His lips pale, he said, “First, seize all the inner-court staff. I…”
Before he could finish, he collapsed unconscious.
This night was destined to be sleepless. Li Jianheng lay inside, still unconscious, surrounded by gathered imperial physicians. The Empress Dowager once again listened behind the curtain. Hai Liangyi waited nearby—this was at her explicit instruction.
Han Cheng led the Brocade Guard, blades still drawn, standing beneath the eaves. Outside, the ministers knelt. Yuan Spring night was bitterly cold; many elderly officials were already trembling, sustained only by sheer will.
The entire palace was deathly silent, the atmosphere bleak and desolate.
Xiao Chiye was not inside. He was coordinating with the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate to arrest inner-court staff, while the Imperial Guards were also placed under detention. The Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guards who had been responsible for personnel checks that night had his token stripped and was thrown into prison along with the eunuchs.
Inside the hall, there were no braziers, only lamps.
Xiao Chiye sat below the Minister of Justice, Kong Qiu. To his left sat Cen Yu, Left Censor-in-Chief, and to his right Fu Linye, Right Censor-in-Chief.
Under normal circumstances, Xiao Chiye had the authority to sit as an equal with the Minister of Justice during a joint hearing. But now he had to avoid suspicion, yielding the seat of prominence and allowing the two senior censors to exercise their supervisory authority.
This year had been plagued with trouble—one crisis before another. Never before had the Three Judicial Offices convened in such rapid succession, and every case involved the emperor’s life.
Kong Qiu drank a cup of tea gone cold and said nothing while waiting for the summons. In truth, ever since they had taken their seats, no one had exchanged pleasantries. Everyone knew this was no time for idle talk; all faces were grave.
Xiao Chiye sat in silence, turning his thumb ring as he pondered.
This assassination had been planned. Like the case of Xiao Fuzi before, the moment it happened, it became shrouded in shadows, slipping free of the surface illusion of the instant itself. Countless unseen threads pulled at it, concealing deeper motives.
The eunuchs of the Imperial Kitchens tasted food for the Son of Heaven. Every one of them had been investigated back to three generations. Turning such a person into an assassin was difficult—and yet also simple.
First, it required someone who could come into contact with the eunuchs, or an inner-court eunuch secretly serving outside forces. Only these two kinds of people could threaten or entice the assassin.
As Xiao Chiye reached this thought, he suddenly remembered something. He stopped turning the ring. At that moment, the summoned suspect was brought in—the Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guards.
Kong Qiu did not waste words. He went straight to the point. “You are an Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guards. Tonight, you were responsible for inspecting the armed guards before the throne and the tasting eunuchs assigned by the Imperial Kitchens. How much do you know about this eunuch?”
The assistant commander was named Meng Rui, a military household Xiao Chiye had promoted in the sixth year of Xiande. Previously a junior officer within the Imperial Guards, he was known for his caution. With eyes straight ahead, he answered steadily, “The assassin eunuch was named Guisheng, twenty-six years old, from Chuncheng. His father was a civilian household on Baishui Street in Chuncheng and died of illness in the sixth year of Xiande. He was the only son. He entered the palace in the Yongyi era and has served for twelve years. In the first year of Xiande he entered the Imperial Kitchens; from the fourth year onward he tasted food for the late emperor. He had no particular vices and few close associations.”
Kong Qiu considered this, then asked, “Who assigned him to taste the food tonight?”
Meng Rui replied, “The female official Fuling of the Imperial Kitchens.”
Kong Qiu first looked to the Censorate officials, then to Xiao Chiye, nodded, and said, “The weapon used was a set of imperial golden chopsticks. A body search by the guards could not have prevented it. Very well—Assistant Commander Meng, wait aside. Summon Fuling of the Imperial Kitchens.”
Meng Rui stepped aside. From beginning to end, he did not exchange a single glance with Xiao Chiye.
In truth, Xiao Chiye was not as anxious as others might have expected. He knew this assassination would not strip him of his military authority. At most, he would be punished or have his stipend reduced—nothing of consequence. At the time of the attack, he had been too far away to rush in first, and the seating arrangement followed established protocol; no one could fault him for that. Moreover, Shen Zechuan’s speed in drawing his blade had been astonishing—almost faster than the blink of an eye. The sword was sheathed and the head had fallen. It was entirely unlike the speed he had shown that rainy night before. Even if Xiao Chiye had been standing right beside him, he might not have been faster.
But what concerned Xiao Chiye most were the repercussions after the assassination. He had to prepare in advance, to choke off the possibility of this matter burning its way to him.
He recalled Shen Zechuan’s final look.
By Brocade Guard custom, promotions came once every eight years. First they were divided into twelve offices according to household registration, then promoted based on performance. Exceptions were exceedingly rare. Shen Zechuan’s background was unusual. Though he had been absolved of guilt, he still could not be counted as fully holding military status. If he wanted to command the Brocade Guard, he had to find a way to rise in rank.
For months, Xiao Chiye had suppressed the Brocade Guard—first to secure the Imperial Guards’ absolute authority, second to guard against Shen Zechuan’s ascent. The situation in Qu City was chaotic yet sharply defined. Everyone knew one another by now, joining for profit and fighting over profit. Only Shen Zechuan remained an unfathomable variable. Xiao Chiye had tested him repeatedly, yet still could not discern what he truly wanted.
Without understanding his aim, there could be no peace in cooperation.
Xiao Chiye had hoped Shen Zechuan would stay quietly below. But this assassination was Shen Zechuan’s answer.
Impossible.
He was a blade unto himself, determined to carve his own path. He would not meekly submit to being used; he wanted to tear and bite, not obey.
What could a single night of shared pleasure change?
It had been a roar of release in a pitch-dark night, breath tangled in desire between two people. From the collision of bodies had come a sense of shared suffering—but that feeling was still not enough to obstruct either man’s choices.
Xiao Chiye would not relinquish the power he had seized. It was the blade he lived by. He could not return to Li Bei; he had to grip this blade tightly. Shen Zechuan, too, would not tolerate remaining beneath others, letting them decide the course of his fate. He had to rise—he must rise.
Xiao Chiye suddenly clenched his fist.
If this assassination had been planned with Shen Zechuan’s involvement, then who were his accomplices?
Li Jianheng had yet to awaken. Shen Zechuan was relieved of duty for a short rest. As he washed his hands in the signing office, he heard the door behind him open and someone enter.
“According to your plan, Han Cheng should have been the one to step forward and save the emperor tonight,” Xue Xiuzhuo said, rolling up his sleeves slightly as he washed his hands in the basin of cold water, smiling. “All of us brothers were played around by Lord Shen.”
“The situation was urgent,” Shen Zechuan said without turning. “If Han Cheng had the ability, letting him save the emperor would have been fine. But he was slow—what else could be done?”
“This won’t take down Xiao Er. At most, he’ll be impeached for lax oversight. But you—this time you revealed your true face to him. Even if you rise, your days ahead won’t be easy.”
“You and I crossed this disaster in the same boat,” Shen Zechuan turned back with a smile. “If my days are hard, do you think yours will be comfortable?”
“I’ve heard of mad dogs,” Xue Xiuzhuo said, drying his hands and looking at Shen Zechuan. “When they go savage, they bite even their own. Using people as stepping stones so cleanly—sharing a boat with you is truly frightening.”
“How so?” Shen Zechuan replied. “Those who gained power tonight were all my brothers. The one laid before Xiao Er as a stepping stone—wasn’t it me? From now on, I’ll be the thorn in his flesh. By sentiment or by reason, he ought to hate me to the bone.”
“The emperor and Xiao Er share deep ties. The life-saving grace at the Nanlin hunting grounds is hardest to forget. Even if you stepped forward this time, you might not displace Xiao Er.”
“Everything is difficult at the beginning,” Shen Zechuan said with a faint smile. “If the emperor truly cherished that life-saving debt, he would not keep Xiao Er trapped in Qu City. This thing people call gratitude—it’s only ever so much.”
Xue Xiuzhuo finished wiping his hands and laughed softly. “Though there were slight deviations tonight, it succeeded in the end. Commander Shen, you’ll have to look after us more in the future.”
Commander of the Brocade Guard was a fifth-rank post. Xue Xiuzhuo was telling Shen Zechuan how much reward he could expect when merit was tallied.
Shen Zechuan was not especially surprised. He said, “The Imperial Kitchens will be interrogated. Minister of Justice Kong Qiu is a famously incorruptible judge. Be careful you don’t fall into his hands.”
“Since we dared to act, we’re not afraid of investigation,” Xue Xiuzhuo said, adjusting his cuffs with polite composure. “In the new year, let us continue working together and soon see our wishes fulfilled.”
“Much obliged for your care, Lord Vice Minister,” Shen Zechuan said warmly, fixing his gaze on him. “I will certainly bring my long-held wish to completion.”