“Because,” Murong Qiufeng said calmly, “Consort An is too calm, and the An family… is too quiet.”
Hou Qianxing frowned in confusion. “You mean they’re suspicious because they’re calm? The An family just went through a crisis—they’re focusing on stabilizing things internally. Isn’t it only natural for them to keep a low profile for now? And as for Consort An, she said herself that she doesn’t blame An Xier. After such a traumatic ordeal, it’s only human for her to lose the will to act further. What’s so strange about that?”
Murong Qiufeng’s lips curved into a faint smile. “What’s strange is exactly that. Consort An is clever—too clever for her own good.”
“Oh? Explain.”
“I told you before, I once suspected the An family. But after Consort An reappeared, I dismissed them from suspicion. In fact, her return cleared the An family’s name entirely. They went from being suspects to victims, and public attention shifted away. Conveniently, that’s when a list of enemy spies surfaced—several officials were implicated, including the Dugu family, who took center stage. It all seemed so perfectly timed, so… coincidental. Too coincidental to be normal.”
“At first, we were led to believe that An Xier impersonated Consort An under duress, that she was used. But if Consort An had been locked away in a hidden chamber, there’s no way An Xier did it alone. Consort An said she didn’t blame An Xier because part of it was to get the antidote and save her life. So tell me—if the conspirators were searching for something, why scour the estate and ‘miss’ the hidden chamber entirely? Why abandon a pawn they knew still had value? Instead, they kidnapped the other two young heirs of the An family. Lord Hou, if you were the mastermind behind this kind of meticulous scheme, would you make such an obvious slip? Would you leave the real Consort An alive—a person with firsthand knowledge of your plot?”
Hou Qianxing’s eyes widened in realization, and then his expression darkened. If Murong Qiufeng’s deduction was correct, then Consort An might be involved—possibly even complicit. If the An family cooperated or already knew about it… this wasn’t just treason. It was a full-blown conspiracy.
“So you believe the enemies are hiding inside the An estate?”
Murong Qiufeng nodded. “They might not even be hiding. I suspect that the missing young master and young lady of the An family were never really abducted. When Xiao You entered the estate with those assassins, she found insignias of the Dugu family on their clothing—but the markings were freshly made. Yesterday, I visited the public morgue again and found something odd.”
“What was it?”
“Those people—none of them had real martial training. At most, they’d learned a few flashy moves, enough to fool untrained eyes. Maybe they could overpower unarmed civilians, but they weren’t assassins. That was something Qian Baihuan pointed out.”
“That can’t be,” Hou Qianxing said in shock. “They fought like wild beasts! Several of my own men were injured!”
Murong Qiufeng nodded. “I understand your concern. But their strength didn’t come from skill—it came from control. Their minds were taken over. Think of them as puppets—soulless bodies driven by someone else’s will. A man who no longer fears death can push his body beyond its limits. That’s why they appeared stronger than they were. I suspect those people were actually the An estate’s original guards, secretly swapped out.”
Hou Qianxing didn’t need further explanation. He let out a long sigh. “If all this is true… let’s just hope Grand Preceptor An wasn’t so foolish as to get involved knowingly.”
“Then how did you discover this so quickly?” he asked. “It’s only been three days, and you’ve been nursing the prince all this time. Don’t tell me…”
Murong Qiufeng gave a soft chuckle. “If the world is a chessboard, then he—he’s no pawn. He’s the one across the board, playing the game. The one who sees everything most clearly.”
Indeed, Shangguan Ye had subtly pointed him in this direction. The entire trap was nearly within Shangguan Ye’s grasp from the beginning. It was only because of complications at the Prime Minister’s residence that he didn’t act immediately. He’d hoped for a clean resolution, so the whole situation had become muddled.
Thinking of that, Murong Qiufeng felt his heart warm.
Hou Qianxing nodded, visibly relieved. “So this really was His Highness’s plan. No wonder you’re so confident. That gives me more peace of mind.” What he didn’t know was that Shangguan Ye had only given Murong Qiufeng a nudge—everything since had been Qiufeng’s own doing.
Just as he turned to ask when they should move in, he glanced at Murong Qiufeng’s side profile bathed in warm light. His eyes shimmered with quiet joy, his lips held a soft smile, and the gentle glow of the afternoon sun painted him with a tranquil grace. He looked… different—more vibrant, more alive. Radiant, even. It was hard to look away.
Thankfully, a knock on the door snapped him out of his trance. Embarrassed, he coughed and turned to open it.
Outside stood a dark-skinned guard. “Sir, everything is ready.”
Hou Qianxing gave Murong Qiufeng one last look, then nodded and prepared to head out.
Just as he was leaving, Qiufeng called after him, “Lord Hou, be cautious. The imperial guards inside may no longer be allies. Don’t force a confrontation unless absolutely necessary. They won’t escape, regardless.”
Hou Qianxing nodded and thanked him before leaving with his team under the pretense of conducting an official investigation.
“Master, should I lend a hand?” A figure flashed into view—Zanyang—smiling brightly, though his eyes gleamed with excitement and anticipation.
Having heard Shangguan Ye’s introduction of the four assassins, Murong Qiufeng knew that Zanyang had a bloodthirsty streak. He shook his head. “No need. Shun and Qian Baihuan should be nearly done.”
He’d already sent the two into the estate in advance, to turn the enemy’s tricks against them—to fight fire with fire. By the time their opponents realized their own people had become enemies, it would be too late. Hou Qianxing was only sent in to distract them further, and also to keep Shun and Qian Baihuan’s identities a secret. After all, they were killers, with many lives on their hands. If people found out who they were, they’d be hunted forever.
Since opening up to each other, Shangguan Ye had laid all his secrets bare—including exactly how many people he had in Heaven’s Kill Pavilion, and exactly how many he had slain. It was as if he feared Qiufeng might think he was hiding something.
Naturally, Murong Qiufeng had responded in kind. The two of them—truly—trusted each other without reservation.
Or so it seemed.
Because in truth… whether there were still secrets between them, that was another matter. For example, the little detail that Shangguan Ye had designed an entire plot to trick Murong Qiufeng into marriage—well, that he still hadn’t confessed.
