Chapter 459: The Eccentricity Under Dan Liang Royal City (19)

Chapter 459: Defiance Under Dan Liang’s Royal City (19)

Su Rao and Yun Ji had just strategized, not yet prepared to act, when an incident found them first.

Today was another day of skies clear, winds mild.

Su Rao had only been in Dan Liang for four days, with merely three days of peace before the fourth morning, when a group of imperial guards suddenly arrived at the Bureau of Guest Relations.

The commanding officer stated bluntly:

Late last night, intruders broke into Old Ding’s medical clinic. With vicious intent, they stole the life-extending pill that Old Ding had spent three years refining for the Empress.

There were three culprits—one escaped with the pill, while two were captured. One of them bit a concealed poison vial and died instantly, while the other was prevented from committing suicide by Old Ding’s timely intervention.

During interrogation, the surviving culprit proved cunning at first, repeatedly implicating influential Dan Liang clans as the masterminds behind the act—claiming they resented Old Ding’s favor with the Dan Liang royal family and sought to incur imperial displeasure by endangering the Empress’s health.

Later, after the Minister of Justice found a token on the body of the poisoned culprit and subjected the survivor to further questioning, the latter finally cracked under torture. Yet all he uttered was the name "Yun Lang" before seizing the moment when the Minister of Justice was distracted to bite off his own tongue and die.

"Honorable Princess Ronghua, His Majesty requests your presence in the palace. Given our nations’ alliance in matrimony, His Majesty has kept last night’s incident from outsiders. He invites you to the palace in hopes that you might help clarify matters, lest these culprits drive a wedge between Dan Liang and Yun Lang and ruin the harmony between our two nations."

The Imperial Guard Commander gestured politely, his tone courteous. Though he had brought troops to the Bureau of Guest Relations, there was no intention to arrest Su Rao. He openly relayed the events of the previous night—His Majesty was *inviting* Honorable Princess Ronghua, not detaining her. Moreover, since the incident had been kept from outsiders, no one beyond the palace knew of it yet.

Su Rao, however, did not believe a single word of the Commander’s implications.

For three days, the Dan Liang royal family had ignored her, allowing her to act freely—proof that they feared the Freedom Pavilion, uncertain of its influence within Dan Liang and thus hesitant to act rashly.

If, as the Commander claimed, Old Ding’s clinic had truly been targeted, wouldn’t this be the perfect excuse to lawfully capture her? If the leader of the Freedom Pavilion fell into their hands, throwing the Pavilion into disarray, they could then use her—the "leader of the Freedom Pavilion"—as leverage against the Pavilion. Why then would they still treat her with such courtesy, "inviting" her to the royal palace?

Recalling Rong Feng’s visit the previous night, Su Rao wondered—had Rong Feng already revealed Yun Ji’s identity to the Dan Liang royal family? Had the truth about Yun Ji unsettled them, prompting this desperate gambit?

The thought flashed coldly in her eyes as she turned to Yun Ji, still cloaked in black with his face hidden behind a mask, silently conveying her suspicion.

Between kinship and righteousness, those capable of placing duty above kin were rare. She could not judge others, but Rong Feng had always advocated harmony. His visit last night proved his heart was not hardened—even if he knew the truth, he would never choose to betray his own blood.

If he couldn’t bring himself to denounce his family, the only possibility was that Rong Feng believed he alone could reconcile the feud between his father and his younger brother. After all, they shared blood—family disputes could always be resolved.

Su Rao believed this, but Yun Ji gave her hand a covert squeeze in response. He trusted Rong Feng’s character—his heart told him Rong Feng would never act so rashly.

Before uncovering the full truth, Rong Feng would not approach the Dan Liang royal family. And even after learning the truth, he would not rush to confront them so soon.

Because the truth was cruel to Rong Feng as well—in an instant, he would go from being the royal eldest son to a bastard, one who had stolen everything that rightfully belonged to his younger brother.

Moreover, though Rong Feng was kind-hearted, he was no mindlessly obedient son. A son erased from existence at birth, branded a bastard by the Dan Liang royal family—how could there be any paternal affection between them?

If Rong Feng recklessly revealed his younger brother’s identity to the Dan Liang royal family, he would only endanger him. And that was without considering that his younger brother was also Jì Yuè’s maternal cousin. The mere revelation that the Second Prince of Dan Liang still lived would shake the court to its core.

From every angle, Rong Feng would never take such a risk.

Perhaps something truly had happened at Old Ding’s clinic—but whether it involved them remained too soon to conclude.

As Su Rao suspected, if they were truly implicated, the Dan Liang royal family would not be so "polite." Moreover, the culprit’s mention of "Yun Lang" was too obvious a mistake—had their own people been captured, they would never have slipped up so carelessly.

Thus, Yun Ji leaned toward the possibility that something had indeed occurred at Old Ding’s clinic—but the Dan Liang royal family, unable to identify the culprits, had fabricated the "confession" extracted from the culprit. They were summoning Su Rao to sound out whether they had already made their move.

This visit might be laden with danger.

"Honorable Princess Ronghua, please accompany this general to the palace at once. His Majesty has been waiting for some time."

After delivering his initial message, the Imperial Guard Commander received no immediate response from Su Rao. Thus, he repeated his request—this time, his voice edged with insistence.

Though his attitude remained outwardly polite, the subtle impatience flickering across his features made Su Rao realize that had it not been for the Dan Liang Emperor’s explicit orders, the Imperial Guard would have already taken action.

Digging at her ear with her pinky in a crude gesture, a glint of darkness flashed in her eyes as Su Rao's brows furrowed in an instant.

Since when was the leader of the Freedom Pavilion so docile that she would enter the palace just because she was 'invited'?

"Honorable Princess Ronghua..."

The Imperial Guard Commander, unfamiliar with Su Rao, failed to recognize this as the precursor to her stirring trouble. But Pei Liang, who had come to understand her, stepped forward before she could act. He intended to employ his silver tongue once more, yet this time, his skills were unnecessary—Yun Ji spoke first:

"Dan Liang and Yun Lang have maintained a close alliance for many years. It is indeed fitting to enter the palace, lest troublemakers exploit Yun Lang’s name to sow discord and disrupt the harmony between our nations."

As he spoke, he squeezed Su Rao’s slender fingers again, subtly.

They had not planned to linger much longer. Since this unexpected obstacle cropped up, they might as well make the trip—to discern the true intentions behind it. Perhaps this could even serve as an opportunity to disrupt the Dan Liang Emperor’s grand ambitions.

"Well, if A'Chen wishes to see the Dan Liang royal palace, then we shall go and see what reckless fool dares to slander this princess."

The capricious and unruly Honorable Princess Ronghua would only defer to one person—the personal guard who never left her side. Since her guard wished to enter the palace, she would oblige.

The words she had prepared to provoke were left unspoken. Yet her peach blossom eyes flicked toward the Imperial Guard Commander—a passing glance that inexplicably sent a chill down his spine, as though he had been completely exposed to her scrutiny.

His palms turned slick with sweat.

Only then did he understand why, before his departure, the Emperor had solemnly cautioned him:

"Begin and end with care."