Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The wind through the bamboo grove rustled.

The stars were clear this night, and the watery moonlight spilled over Mu Jian Shu's shoulders, enveloping him from behind, casting slivers of light upon the windowsill.

His hand pressed against the window frame, fingers curling with prominent knuckles, concealing strength, as if restraining something.

The limited reach of the candlelight by the window left his face half in shadow; the larger part, usually hidden by a mask, was now almost entirely obscured.

Only a pair of eyes were visible, the orange candlelight reflecting within the black, flickering and dancing.

Xue Fuguang, holding his brush, slowly exhaled.

Standing properly before him, it appeared he was unharmed.

With that thought, perhaps his odds against the Crown Prince were better than he had initially believed.

As long as Mu Jian Shu was present, even if the Crown Prince was severely injured, he could make a full escape.

An involuntary smile of pleasure surfaced in his eyes, pupils bright, as he instructed in a cheery tone, "The capital is under strict scrutiny these days. Stay by my side and do not wander off. If you dare to stray and cause trouble, I will certainly not protect you."

Mu Jian Shu took a half step forward, leaning against the window, his voice low and husky, "Alright."

After waiting a long while, seeing that Xue Fuguang had no further tasks for him, he gently closed the window and vanished into the darkness.

The assassination attempt on the Crown Prince was a major shock; the gates of the capital were sealed overnight, and the Imperial Guard began house-to-house searches starting from the area surrounding the Imperial City.

The site of the assassination attempt was not too far from the royal residence, just two streets away. In less than two hours, a servant came to Tingzhu Xuan to inform Shao Jing that the Imperial Guard would begin searching the royal residence.

During the search, everyone in the residence was required to assemble in the front hall and was not allowed to move about freely. The Imperial Guard would withdraw only after confirming there were no suspicious individuals.

Any signs of resistance or disobedience, and the Imperial Guard had the authority to execute on the spot.

Xue Fuguang led everyone from Tingzhu Xuan to the front hall, where people from all the other courtyards were already gathering.

Xue Wanxi, upon seeing him, waved him over: "Ah Ru, come here quickly."

Xue Fuguang advanced a few steps, listening as the leader of the Imperial Guard inquired: "May I ask if all the members of the household are present here, Your Highness?"

Xue Fuguang paused briefly and called out, "Qu Wu."

A figure clad in black emerged from a corner, drawing the attention of the leader of the Imperial Guard.

Xue Fuguang looked up, his voice even: "This man is my personal shadow guard. Where I am, there he is. I have him appear now to facilitate the leader's search."

The other party chuckled politely: "Thank you, Prince, for your understanding," then waved his hand, commanding, "Search!"

The sword-bearing Imperial Guards spread out to search throughout the entire residence.

Mu Jian Shu stepped behind Xue Fuguang, standing close by, nearly flanking him together with Shao Jing.

Xue Fuguang glanced sideways at him, just as the leader of the Imperial Guard began verifying the identities of everyone present.

When it came to Xue Fuguang, he stated, "From the hour of Si to the hour of Shen, I was with the Sixth and Twelfth Princes; after Shen, I went to the imperial prison. At the time of the Crown Prince's assassination, I was inside the imperial prison."

The leader of the Imperial Guard narrowed his eyes at Xue Fuguang: "The Prince went to the imperial prison... to see whom?"

Xue Fuguang: "Du Ru'an," he paused, "Does the leader suspect that Du, the left minister of the court, is involved in this matter? If so, I am willing to disclose everything that I did and discussed after seeing Minister Du."

Since Du Ru'an's imprisonment, the Emperor hadn't said a word, nor had he stripped him of his official post. In the end, it was deemed not worth offending Du Ru'an for the sake of the fool from the Gaode Shen family.

How could the leader of the Imperial Guard dare to offend a minister valued by the Emperor?

He immediately said with a smile, "Your Highness is overthinking; this humble officer was merely curious and asked an extra question. I had not realized that Your Highness and Minister Du had such a harmonious relationship."

Xue Fuguang's impatience was apparent as he bluntly stated, "Let it be so."

The Imperial Guard Commander, taking the hint, ceased to trouble Xue Fuguang further and began questioning others.

Shaojing and Mujian Shu were always by his side; naturally, they went wherever he did.

The Sixth and Twelfth Princes can serve as witnesses.

Xue Fuguang leaned back in his chair, keeping them company while time slowly passed.

Resting his chin in his hand, he started to feel a bit drowsy. It wasn’t until the searching Imperial Guards returned one after another to report, without finding anything suspicious, that he perked up.

By the end of the thorough search, it was already the end of the Hai hour.

Many in the hall yawned continuously, overwhelmed by sleepiness.

After triple-checking to ensure nothing was overlooked, the Commander of the Imperial Guards apologized to Prince Gong and his party of three and withdrew with his troops from the estate to continue searches elsewhere.

Xue Fuguang covered his mouth to hide a yawn, his eyes brimming with moisture, and squinted at Mujian Shu, saying, "Let's go, back to Tingzhu Xuan."

Prince Gong wished to have a conversation with his young son, but seeing the boy so sleep-deprived that tears were forming in his eyes, he decided not to detain him and allowed him to return to his own quarters.

Once inside Tingzhu Xuan, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Shaojing ordered water to be brought over and chattered, "The Crown Prince was actually targeted in an assassination attempt. I wonder who would dare such a thing. But with this incident, can the heir still attend the Imperial Academy tomorrow?"

Xue Fuguang, wiping his face with a cloth, responded in a muffled voice, "Hmm."

Shaojing was actually quite pleased and said with a smile, "This means the heir can take a good day off to rest."

Xue Fuguang teased, "You're the one being lazy, don't use me as an excuse."

Shaojing laughed heartily, not at all embarrassed by being called out.

Attending the Imperial Academy every day, from dawn till dusk, was indeed exhausting.

After tidying up, he instructed the servants to rest and himself lay down on the bed.

Above his head was a canopy of verdant green, matching the bamboo grove in the courtyard.

He stared at it for a long while, but sleep eluded him; it seemed his tiredness had passed, and he felt wide awake.

He didn't force himself to sleep, especially since there was no need to rise early for the Imperial Academy the next day.

He pondered the day's events in his mind.

Xiujin had secretly left the palace for Du Ru'an, and the Crown Prince, in search of him, also ventured out, which presented Mujian Shu with the opportunity to act.

The incident was an unexpected boon for the spies of the Ying Dynasty, seizing the moment for a surprise attack on the Crown Prince.

Mujian Shu proved to be a ruthlessly decisive man, so resolute in his actions. In his usual presence, he gave nothing away, adept at feigning innocence.

Yet, with more secret guards around the Crown Prince than Mujian Shu, and considering the Prince’s abrupt departure along with the time Xiujin escaped from the palace, just a few hours, how did Mujian Shu manage to organize his forces and arrange the assassination plan in such a short span?

And to escape unscathed...

Xue Fuguang's expression grew pensive.

Suddenly, he threw off the covers, slipped on his shoes, grabbed his coat, and strode out of the room!

—Mujian Shu had not escaped unscathed at all!

Today, he hid outside the window, making slow moves when the Imperial Guards came to search, clearly masking an injury!

He called out for "Qu Wu," but as expected, there was no response.

But Mujian Shu couldn’t have left so soon after he had laid down, he must still be within Tingzhu Xuan.

Xue Fuguang, carrying a lantern, searched the courtyard quietly in the dim light, scrutinizing even the beams overhead, but found no one.

He furrowed his brows, struggling to believe he could have been mistaken.

Could it be that Mujian Shu was indeed uninjured?

Or had Mujian Shu, contrary to his cautious nature, left before he went to sleep?

Xue Fuguang pushed open the door, returning to his own room.

As he set down the lantern, his nose caught a faint whiff of blood.

With no clamor of others to mingle with other scents, that slight odor grew more distinct and pronounced.

The scent of blood.

He lifted the lantern again, following the scent inward.

The smell was actually quite faint, almost imperceptible—if not for Xue Fuguang’s all too familiar acquaintance with it, it might have been overlooked.

He walked into the inner chamber, to his empty bed.

Lifting the emerald bed curtains that hung by the bed, a tall man in black clothes was curled up, concealing himself behind the lampstand. A half-visible face, pale as paper with eyes tightly shut, came into Xue Fuguang’s view.

The arm that had been clutching his chest and abdomen had fallen, and with it, the corner of a garment.

The dark fabric was soaked through, drop by drop, blood pooled on the ground, spreading into a palm-sized stain.