Chapter 29: Return The Jade

Zhao Yan clearly noticed that recently, the frequency of Wen Renlin appearing in front of her had sharply decreased.

The daily martial arts classes were replaced by another newly appointed prince’s tutor, whose lectures on military strategy were obscure and difficult to understand, and whose chess skills were chaotic.

Wen Renlin would occasionally appear once or twice, only to mysteriously disappear for six or seven days. The few times they did meet, he seemed calm and distant, leaving immediately after class without lingering his gaze on Zhao Yan.

In theory, if Wen Renlin stopped paying attention to her, Zhao Yan should be happy. But for some reason, she felt uneasy, sensing that something was not quite right.

Upon careful consideration, it seemed that it was the day Wen Renlin deliberately mentioned the “soft jade” incident in the Chongwen Hall. Under fear and anxiety, she couldn’t help but retort, and Wen Renlin’s eyes noticeably cooled down.

Zhao Yan went over the words she said that day repeatedly, but couldn’t pinpoint which one offended him. Clearly, after the incident at the hairpin banquet where she was directly involved in a scuffle, Wen Renlin didn’t seem to mind at all!

During those days, although Wen Renlin loved to intimidate her, he did so with a smile. Zhao Yan was nervous, but she could also sense that Wen Renlin didn’t harbor any obvious murderous intent.

But now, Wen Renlin was elusive and unpredictable. Who knew what was going on?

Should she take the initiative to probe, or should she wait and see? Zhao Yan had been agonizing over it for several days.

It wasn’t until the end of next month that a sensational case shocked the court, temporarily diverting Zhao Yan’s attention.

Inside the Cheng’en Hall, the sunlight was bright by the window, and the shadows of flowers swayed. Zhao Yan and Liu Ji sat on the Arhat table, examining a spread-out map of the outskirts of the capital.

After the winter banquet at the end of the year, the rebels from Shu brought carts of plundered gold, silver, and jewels as well as lavish rewards to appease their troops, leaving behind devastated land and numerous refugees seeking shelter outside the capital.

“At first, it was during the beginning of the year when children from the refugee camps began to disappear one after another, gradually extending to the children of poor families in the outskirts of the city,” Liu Ji said, pointing from the outskirts of the capital on the map to the West City Gate, then continued, “At that time, the court had just declared an amnesty to stabilize the people’s hearts and paint a picture of peace. The magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture suppressed the matter and arbitrarily executed two scapegoats before hastily closing the case.”

But the turmoil did not stop there; the hidden hands behind the scenes even extended their claws to the homes of officials and nobles.

Zhao Yan nodded, informing Liu Ji of the information she had gathered from Pei Sa that morning: “The young sons and daughters of officials in the capital began to disappear one after another, including the beloved son of General He and the younger sister cherished by Assistant Minister Cen of the Ministry of War.”

For a while, everyone in the capital was in panic, and a memorial was submitted one after another, forcing the Emperor to come out of seclusion and preside over the court.

Liu Ji nodded, and according to Zhao Yan’s instructions, marked the residences of General He and Assistant Minister Cen on the map with a circle drawn in red, then connected each of the red dots.

“The locations of the incidents seem to revolve around the outskirts of the capital. I will have Gu Xing investigate who owns this land.”

Watching Liu Ji’s movements, Zhao Yan suddenly asked, “Liu Ji, how do you know so much? Not to mention state affairs and court affairs, but even the residences of officials are generally clear to you.”

She smiled, “If I don’t know these details…”

Liu Ji’s pen paused slightly, then casually moved away, resting her chin on her hand. “Otherwise, why would your brother go to such lengths to keep me by your side?”

Looking at Liu Ji’s bold and confident features, Zhao Yan also lifted her hand to support her chin. “I always feel that Liu Ji is not like an ordinary woman.”

At these words, Liu Ji raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Your Highness suspects me?”

“If I doubted you, then on the day you exposed my true identity, I would have let my mother dispose of you.”

Zhao Yan leaned closer, looking into her amber eyes. “Besides, sister Liu Ji’s discussions are truly remarkable, with a broad vision that is different from that of ordinary women.”

Zhao Yan’s praise was sincere, causing Liu Ji to feel a bit awkward for a moment. She raised her hand to rub her nose, saying, “Me? I’m just pretending. Your Highness is the one truly different from ordinary girls. If an ordinary fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl were tasked with such responsibility in times of crisis, she might have been scared to tears before even sitting on the precarious throne of the Eastern Palace.”

She glanced away for a moment, then looked back squarely, “Your Highness still doubts me? Since the hairpin banquet, Your Highness has often appeared absent-minded, obviously having something on your mind.”

Liu Ji wore a knowing expression and snorted, “Your Highness keeps your worries from me, clearly showing a lack of trust in me.”

Zhao Yan had always thought she had kept this secret extremely well, even avoiding this topic deliberately, fearing that she might say something wrong and upset her.

So Zhao Yan pretended to be nonchalant, dealing with affairs inside and outside the Eastern Palace, but unexpectedly, her usually laid-back companion, Liu Ji, saw through her facade with just a few words.

That’s how it is with worries; when no one cares, you feel like you can endure them. But once someone opens a crack, you can’t wait to let it all out.

Resting her chin on her hand, Zhao Yan blinked and said, “Recently, I did encounter a perplexing problem.”

Liu Ji raised her palm upward, gesturing for her to go on.

“It’s about a story that Zhou Ji mentioned not long ago in the Chongwen Hall.”

Feeling guilty, Zhao Yan cleared her throat, pondered for a moment, and then whispered, “It’s about a prominent family in Hedong. The youngest son of the family did something against propriety, but accidentally got caught by an old enemy on the spot. In his panic, he made things worse by doing something even more terrible with that old enemy, who now holds it as leverage over the young master… What do you think, how should this situation be resolved?”

Liu Ji was puzzled. Zhou Ji was known for discussing political matters and literature; why would he talk about the internal struggles of a prestigious family to the prince?

She smiled, “This is simple. Find a way to get rid of the old enemy.”

Zhao Yan frowned slightly, “But what if that old enemy is someone untouchable, with high status and power?”

“In that case, find a way to uncover his weaknesses and use them to balance each other out.”

“But he’s decisive and ruthless, leaving no room for error. It seems he has no weaknesses.”

After pondering for a while, she asked Zhao Yan, “Why would this high-status old enemy, who is difficult to deal with, stoop to threatening a superficial young master? What’s his goal?”

“Perhaps he wants to control the young master and take over the family’s property?” she speculated.

Liu Ji countered with folded arms, “Then why not just take advantage of this opportunity to kill the young master and take his place?”

“You see, when we use leverage to threaten someone, it’s because that person poses a threat to us, or because we can use that leverage to gain even greater benefits. But the old enemy in Zhou Ji’s story apparently doesn’t need these dirty tricks to achieve his goals. In fact, it would be even easier for him to just kill the young master directly.”

Liu Ji shrugged, unable to understand. “So why would he keep dangling the young master like this? It doesn’t make sense.”

Zhao Yan felt like this question struck at the core of her being, resonating in her mind with a clear echo.

Indeed, with Wen Renlin’s overwhelming power and influence, he wouldn’t need the assistance of the Eastern Palace to achieve his goals.

What benefit did he gain from pressuring her?

A flash of insight passed through her mind, but before she could grasp it, it dissipated like a mirage.

In the coming rainy season, the entire capital was shrouded in a hazy, fresh drizzle, like a wet ink painting. After nearly half a month of rain, today finally cleared up. The fallen petals of spring had turned into fragrant mud, nourishing the lush greenery on the walls.

Summer had arrived.

In eighty days, it would be the anniversary of Zhao Yan’s grandfather’s death. Today, after finishing her lessons, she specially went to the Taiji Hall to pay her respects, tactfully suggesting that she wanted to preside over the Confucian ceremony at Mingde Academy as she did last year, to comfort the next batch of promising talents.

Several lives had been lost, all related to Mingde Academy. Enmity was still looming, and Chou Zui had yet to reveal himself. Regardless, she had to go there herself.

The Emperor remained silent for a long time before casually saying, “The situation in the capital is unstable. The Crown Prince doesn’t need to make unnecessary moves. Just stay in the Eastern Palace and study the classics patiently.”

He actually refused directly.

Although Zhao Yan felt unwilling, she deeply understood the importance of not being hasty. She obediently responded, “As the child of the Emperor, I shall comply with your decree,” before gathering her sleeves and bowing out of the main hall.

After the onset of summer, the sunlight had become somewhat dazzling.

Liu Ying came to inquire, “Your Highness, the sun is high. Would you like to ride a sedan chair back to the Eastern Palace or take a carriage?”

Zhao Yan glanced at the azure sky and shook her head gently, “I want to take a walk for a while.”

After so much rain, Zhao Yan felt like water could seep out from between her bones. It was just right to bask in the sun and dispel the dampness. Liu Ying took a paper umbrella from a palace attendant and opened it slightly to shield her. The two of them, one in front and one behind, strolled along the long palace road.

Zhao Yan was pondering how she could smoothly leave the palace for a trip when she heard a faint “meow” coming from the side of the palace wall.

Zhao Yan stopped and looked up, using her hand to shade her eyes, and saw a pure white cat arching its back and yawning. Then, with a swish of its tail like watergrass, it turned and jumped off the palace wall, disappearing from view.

The palace cats would not survive the harsh winter without someone caring for them. Moreover, this cat looked well-groomed, unlike a stray.

Curious, Zhao Yan subconsciously climbed the steps and passed through the hanging flower gate.

The tree shadows swayed above her head as she walked through the dappled sunlight in the courtyard. There, under the corridor, sat a familiar and tall figure. His crimson official robe juxtaposed with the lush greenery of the courtyard, creating a striking contrast.

Wen Renlin sat with his legs crossed, leaning against the rockery in the corridor. There was a silk pouch on his knee, and he was playing with a cat, leisurely feeding it pieces of meat. Underneath his dark official boots, gathered seven or eight cats of various colors, all circling around in response to his movements, shaking their heads and bodies.

Wen Renlin seemed to have found great pleasure in this activity. Only when the cats meowed eagerly did he generously toss the meat to them. The frost-white, slender fingers drew a dazzling arc in the sunlight…

Seeing the ruthless Prince Su playing with cats, this scene seemed eerie no matter how she thought about it. But watching it happen, there was a sense of pleasing harmony.

Shouldn’t he be busy investigating the disappearance of the boys and girls? Why would he have the leisure to feed cats here?

Surprised, Zhao Yan couldn’t help but look a few more times, feeling inexplicably that Wen Renlin’s actions with the cats were somewhat familiar.

Not only familiar, but she even felt a sense of empathy.

Just as she was peeking through the leaves, she saw Wen Renlin casually flicking away the meat scraps from his fingertips and saying indifferently, “When did Your Highness develop a habit of peeping on others?”

Being discovered, Zhao Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

There was no escaping left or right, so she boldly walked out from behind the tree shadows and nodded to Wen Renlin, saying, “Just now, I saw a beautiful cat with on the wall. Out of curiosity, I followed it here, unexpectedly finding Prince Su here.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the yellow-green-eyed white cat emerged from the bushes nearby, affectionately jumping onto Wen Renlin’s knee, leaving a few dusty paw prints on his meticulously maintained official robe.

Wen Renlin remained unchanged, allowing the cat to leap onto his broad chest and onto his shoulder.

“These little creatures have unknown origins. When there’s something to eat, they act cute and allow themselves to be played with. When there’s nothing to gain, they leave. Unlike dogs, they don’t wag their tails to please others.”

Wen Renlin scratched the chin of the white cat on his shoulder absentmindedly, but his gaze pierced through half the courtyard and landed on Zhao Yan, smiling ambiguously, “Don’t you find it interesting, Your Highness?”

Zhao Yan didn’t quite understand the deeper meaning behind his words and responded vaguely after a moment, “It is indeed interesting. Then, I won’t disturb Prince Su’s leisure any longer.”

She gathered her sleeves and turned to leave.

Wen Renlin chuckled, lifted the cat from his shoulder, and casually brushed off the paw prints and cat hair from his body, calling out, “Zhang Cang.”

Zhang Cang appeared from somewhere, clasping his fists and saying, “I’m here.”

“Go talk to Eunuch Zhang in the Taiji Hall that from now on, if the Crown Prince wants to meet with me in the palace, he shall be refused.”

“Yes.”

Zhang Cang understood that it was a crucial moment, and it was impossible to let the young Crown Prince interfere and disrupt the situation. But after hesitating for a while, he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Will the Prince not go to the Chongwen Hall? It’s been almost half a month since he last saw the Crown Prince. Don’t you want to…”

Feeling the chill in Prince Su’s gaze, Zhang Cang wisely swallowed the rest of his words.

“Previously, I indeed overestimated.”

Wen Renlin poured out all the meat from the silk pouch without much expression and said, “Now it seems, it’s just so.”

…

Gu Xing returned to the Eastern Palace to report.

Zhao Yan saw that he didn’t send a message with a carrier pigeon this time but came back in person to report, so she knew he must have made a significant discovery on this trip.

Sure enough, as soon as Gu Xing entered the study, he clasped his fists and said, “I have found that the young Prince of Yong frequently enters and exits the city gates, always accompanied by guards escorting a large number of wooden crates. At first, I thought they were transferring gold and silver assets, until yesterday when I took the opportunity to get closer and saw that there were air holes drilled into the crates.”

“Are you saying that the crates are transporting live creatures?”

Zhao Yan rested her chin on her hand in thought, and then, recalling the frequent disappearances of boys and girls in recent months, a terrifying conjecture surfaced in her mind, making her hair stand on end.

“Not only that.”

Gu Xing paused, lowering his voice, “I also saw Prince Su entering and leaving the Yong Palace. It seems they have secret contacts.”

Zhao Yan quickly straightened up, “Do you know what they are doing in private?”

Gu Xing shook his head, “Prince Su is very vigilant, and his subordinate vice marshall is also an extraordinary master. My abilities are insufficient, and I have been discovered by them. It may be difficult for me to get close again.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan felt slightly dismayed.

Were the wooden crates transported by Zhao Yuanyu containing the missing children?

With Wen Renlin’s abilities, since he had approached the Yong Palace, he could not have failed to find any clues…

No matter what Wen Renlin wanted to do, Zhao Yuanyu was Zhao Yan’s enemy, and she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. She must find a way to leave the palace. Not only did she have to leave the palace, but she also had to legitimately contact the core of this case.

But her proposal today had been rejected by her father, the Emperor. The only way she could achieve this desire was…

Zhao Yan remembered Wen Renlin’s leisurely scene of playing with the cats and remembered his faint smile when he made her nervous several times before.

“Why is he dangling the Crown Prince like this? What is he planning?”

Zhao Yan suddenly felt that she had a clear answer to the question Liu Ji had asked her earlier.

She sat quietly in the study until dusk, thinking deeply.

As her thoughts became clearer, her eyes gradually became more determined. Finally, she let out a long sigh and stepped out of the room into the golden-red glow of the setting sun.

Outside the door, only the Liu Ying remained dutifully guarding.

“Liu Ying, have Li Fu send a message to the Marquis Su’s Mansion. Just say that I have a difficult problem that I can’t solve, and ask His Highness Prince Su to come to the Eastern Palace to help me understand.”

Reflecting the beauty of the sunset in her eyes, Zhao Yan’s lips curled slightly as she said softly, “Also, get me a set of rouge and powder, as well as dresses for a young girl.”

After a moment of thought, she added in the astonished gaze of the Liu Ying, “Make sure they fit me well.”

Might as well take a chance; see if he’s interested in her.

…

The windows of the Eastern Palace bedroom were tightly closed, and all the attendants had been dismissed.

Zhao Yan looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar reflection in the mirror, raised her hand to tidy her hair, and said, “That’s enough, there’s no need for too many hair ornaments.”

After all, she would have to take them off later anyway, to save trouble.

Liu Ying held a jade comb, hesitated to speak.

Zhao Yan looked at her reflection in the mirror and reassured her, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

She was no longer the timid little princess who trembled at every little thing; she had to fight for her own leverage.

Liu Ying bit her lip, put down the comb, and said, “This servant is used to serving His Highness the Crown Prince and is not familiar with current women’s makeup. This servant will go ask Liu Ji for help.”

Liu Ji was quite loyal and wouldn’t ask too many questions about Zhao Yan’s intentions. She picked up the cosmetics on the dressing table and began to apply them. Zhao Yan didn’t know how the final result would turn out, but when the makeup was finished, even Liu Ji herself was stunned for a long time.

She sat behind the desk in the bedroom, carefully designing every fold of her dress, from sunset until the first lights of evening, when finally, the respectful voice of Liu Ying was heard outside the door.

The next moment, the door was pushed open, and the familiar yet steady footsteps entered.

Wen Renlin wore a dark casual attire, broad shoulders and long legs. He walked around the screen with hands behind his back and saw the graceful girl sitting amidst the dazzling lights.

She was draped in shimmering silk between her elbows, her pomegranate skirt spreading like flower petals below her knees, her black hair flowing elegantly. Her delicate hand lightly supported her chin, revealing a glimpse of her fair and smooth forearm, as if straight out of a painting, ethereal and pure…

It was a look he had never seen before.

Wen Renlin raised an eyebrow slightly, then walked over to her and stood beside her as if nothing had changed.

He lowered his eyes and glanced at the article spread out on the desk, then picked up the vermilion pen from the pen holder and leaned over to read.

Zhao Yan looked up, the lamplight gathering in her eyes, clear and bright, shimmering with a radiant glow. She didn’t answer, but gently moved the familiar brocade box to Wen Renlin’s side, making a soft click as she opened it, revealing the lustrous and warm jade inside.

Zhao Yan blinked her eyelashes lightly and said calmly, “I’ve come to return the jade… to the Grand Tutor.”

Wen Renlin’s pen paused abruptly, leaving a bright red mark on the paper.

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