Chapter 29 Shedding Tears

Chapter 29: Tears

The morning sun was bright and clear; even in winter, it was just less warm. But perhaps due to impurities in the air, everything suddenly grew hazy. The sunlight in the air seemed to shimmer with layers of halos.

Foggy and oppressive for no reason.

Jiang Wang's frame was already slender, and the thick tree trunk concealed him completely. Yet at this moment, he dared not relax in the slightest.

Big Orange had just broken free and run out, seemingly drawing attention away from Jiang Wang, but the two men still hadn't left.

Jiang Wang heard the sound of a blade being sheathed, but he still hadn't heard the other person speak.

The danger was not yet over.

Jiang Wang surveyed his surroundings but found nothing he could use for self-defense. Even if there was a branch as thick as an arm not far away, he would have to expose himself to retrieve it.

Faced with an unknown—and possibly non-existent—danger versus a weapon he could only get by exposing himself, Jiang Wang chose the former.

He remained behind the tree, not daring to move an inch.

His expression didn't change, but his increasingly rapid breathing betrayed his tension. The surrounding silence made his heart race.

Suddenly, a slightly higher-pitched voice spoke up: "Da Kuo, since there's no one here, let's go."

This voice sounded... like a eunuch, and somewhat familiar. Did he know this voice?

Jiang Wang was trying to recall what he had just heard. Did that 'Da Kuo' just address Eunuch Li?

So, this eunuch's surname was Li?

Suddenly, something flashed in his mind—he almost had it!

Jiang Wang stood behind the tree, thinking hard, completely oblivious to the fact that no footsteps had sounded.

If that Eunuch Li said they were leaving, how could there be no footsteps?

Li Zhicai slowly reached into his robe and pulled out a small dagger. The dagger was no larger than his palm, but the cold light that flashed as it left its sheath was no less menacing than Li Kuo's saber.

He made a silencing gesture to Li Kuo and trod with extremely light steps toward the back of the tree.

Truthfully, he didn't know if anyone was actually behind the tree.

After all, the cat's appearance was perfectly reasonable.

He recognized that cat. He had seen it when he followed his master to deliver cooked meat to Biwu Hall. He knew it was Lord Jiang's cat and had thus met Lord Jiang a few times.

Biwu Hall was very close to Cangwu Hall, so it was normal for a cat to climb over the wall to play here. Stepping on a branch was normal.

But he still had to check behind that big tree. He needed to see with his own eyes that no one was there before he could feel at ease.

Drawing the dagger was merely a precaution.

It would be best if no one was there. If someone was, he would plunge this dagger straight into the eavesdropper's heart.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Closer and closer.

He seemed to hear... a third person's breathing?

Someone was indeed there.

That meant the cat earlier was just a diversion.

Two more steps, and he would see who was hiding behind the tree.

Li Zhicai curled his lips into a murderous smile. He slowly rotated his wrist, adjusting the blade's angle for a fatal strike.

But just as he was about to thrust the dagger, a loud, angry shout came from behind him.

"Who dares to act so recklessly here!"

Li Zhicai knew this voice all too well; he could recognize it even in his sleep.

Xiao Yan—the supreme one, who held power over life and death.

He was so startled he shuddered, his body going weak. The dagger slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground with a crisp clang.

Li Zhicai dropped to his knees with a *thud*, kowtowing, his voice filled with unmistakable fear and trembling.

For a eunuch to privately bring a weapon into the rear garden of the emperor's bedchamber was a capital offense! Moreover, he had been caught red-handed by the emperor with it drawn—this was an even greater crime!

Yet at this moment, Li Zhicai wasn't thinking about how to repent or admit his fault. Instead, he was trying to shift the blame onto someone else.

"This lowly servant... this lowly servant only followed because he saw someone sneaking into Your Majesty's rear garden! The assassination attempt just happened—the assassin is dead—this lowly servant feared there might be accomplices who would harm Your Majesty again!"

"If you discovered something suspicious, why didn't you report it to Commander Fang! Instead, you acted on your own!"

"This lowly servant... this lowly servant was only... only..."

Li Zhicai stammered meekly, unable to speak.

Fang Fengshi and Xiao Yan had arrived in the rear garden almost simultaneously. Fang Fengshi followed closely, just a step or two behind Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan first noticed Li Zhicai holding the dagger, about to strike, while Fang Fengshi saw Li Kuo standing beside Li Zhicai.

So that was it. Now everything made sense.

During the earlier investigation, there had been a small detail that puzzled him. Although it didn't affect the final result of the assassin being 'killed,' it had always weighed on his mind, something he couldn't forget.

Seeing Li Kuo and Li Zhicai standing together now, Fang Fengshi instantly understood.

Li Kuo was probably the 'inside man' in the dungeon. He didn't need to do much—just find the right moment to pour some water on the charcoal that others had already replaced.

Damp charcoal couldn't ignite, and the subsequent events would unfold naturally. That would allow Li Zhicai to take advantage of the chaos, disguise himself, sneak into the dungeon, and poison the assassin.

Thinking it through this way, everything fell into place logically.

But with Li Zhicai's intellect, could he have devised such a perfect plan?

Now that the two of them are here together, it must be to discuss their next steps.

Li Zhicai is a bit crafty—greedy for wealth but fearful for his life. He is definitely not the mastermind behind this; someone must be pulling his strings.

That was almost certainly Cen Maoshi.

After all, if his superiors hadn’t turned a blind eye, Li Zhicai couldn’t have been so brazen about accepting bribes and abusing his power.

Clearly, Xiao Yan has also realized this. He and Fang Fengshi exchanged a glance, a look of understanding passing between them.

By capturing Li Zhicai and forcing him to reveal the person behind him, they can easily nab Cen Maoshi as well.

Just moments ago, Fang Fengshi was still troubled, wondering how to find a reasonable excuse to arrest Li Zhicai now that he knew he was the murderer. Unexpectedly, Li Zhicai has now delivered himself right to their doorstep.

Fang Fengshi cleared his throat and snapped, “Li Zhicai, do you know your crime!”

“This servant knows his crime!” Li Zhicai knelt on the ground and hurriedly replied, “This servant will never again trespass into His Majesty’s garden without permission!”

“Not that,” Fang Fengshi’s voice grew even lower. “It’s for poisoning the important prisoner. Do you know your crime!”

Li Zhicai visibly froze, as if shocked that others could know about it, but he began to wail and cry.

“This servant is wronged, Commander Fang! These past few days, I’ve been busy working diligently in the Hall of Diligent Governance. I never went to any prison, so how could I have poisoned an important prisoner?”

Li Zhicai knelt there, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face. Fang Fengshi inwardly sneered—if the “assassin” hadn’t been one of their own, it would almost seem as if Li Zhicai were truly being wronged.

He didn’t want to waste his breath with Li Zhicai. Instead, he walked over to him and, without even drawing his saber, merely pressed the scabbard against Li Zhicai’s neck, causing him to tremble in fear.

Fang Fengshi looked directly into Li Zhicai’s eyes and said, word by word, “Eunuch Li, how did you know that the assassin was dead?”

“You clearly spoke those words just now. Don’t try to change your story now and claim you were just talking nonsense.”

Fang Fengshi let out a laugh, with a hint of mockery. “The matter of the assassin dying in prison—I only just reported it to His Majesty, and only those present heard it.”

Fang Fengshi asked again, “Eunuch Li, how did you know?”

Li Zhicai’s face instantly turned deathly pale. Beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

He had misspoken…

As a lowly eunuch, how could he possibly have a way of knowing that the assassin was dead!

Even though his story was full of holes, he still refused to admit it, still feigning ignorance.

“This servant doesn’t know! This servant just misspoke earlier! I don’t know anything!”

Fang Fengshi paid no attention to his tearful pleas. He simply called for guards to bind Li Zhicai tightly and drag him away. Once in prison, a few methods would make him reveal everything.

Of course, along with him, Li Kuo—who had been kneeling beside him with his head deeply bowed, silent the entire time—was also taken away.

As Li Kuo was being dragged off, Fang Fengshi let out a deep sigh.

He felt pity for Li Kuo.

Li Kuo had the makings of an excellent imperial guard—tall, strong, with reflexes that were top-notch in the army, and always charging ahead when given orders.

It was just a shame that this very reckless bravery had doomed him.

Li Kuo had mistakenly trusted Li Zhicai’s deceitful words, and this single act had not only cost him his post but likely his life as well.

But this was someone else’s fate; he couldn’t interfere too much.

After a brief moment of regret, Fang Fengshi turned around, only to find that Xiao Yan was no longer by his side.

*

The crisp sound of the dagger hitting the stone bricks echoed behind him, and only then did Jiang Wang realize how close he had come to death.

If Xiao Yan hadn’t noticed Li Zhicai’s attempt to silence him in time, his heart would have been pierced by the sharp blade, and he would now be a lifeless corpse.

After truly experiencing the thin line between life and death, Jiang Wang’s mind went blank. His legs suddenly weakened, and he slid down against the tree, powerless…

Noises seemed to buzz in his ears, but they weren’t clear, as if shrouded in fog.

He looked up at the sunlight. The earlier mist had vanished, and the air had cleared considerably.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when someone seemed to touch his shoulder.

Jiang Wang’s guard instantly rose. He instinctively jumped to the side but fell to the ground due to his numb legs, and his right hand was cut by a sharp stone hidden in the grass.

The wound wasn’t large but deep enough. Instantly, blood welled up.

The pain in his palm spread rapidly through his nerves to his limbs, but it also snapped his wandering consciousness back to reality.

“Hiss.”

He sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, and then uncontrollable tears welled up in his eyes, streaming down continuously.

Jiang Wang couldn’t tell whether it was from the pain or the fright, but he felt somewhat embarrassed as a grown man to be crying.

But the next moment, he saw Xiao Yan’s face full of concern.

Oh great. He already felt embarrassed, and now the emperor had seen him—even more humiliating.

He wanted to wipe away his tear stains to maintain his dignity, but Xiao Yan grabbed his arm.

“Don’t use your right hand; it’s injured.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Wang sniffled and pouted, switching to his left hand to clumsily wipe his face.

But he was right-handed, and his left hand wasn’t as precise. Instead, he smeared his face into a mess, almost rivaling Big Orange.

Xiao Yan couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

Jiang Wang looked up at the brief, throaty sound. His deer-like eyes, still marked with unshed tears, gazed at him in confusion.

“What is Your Majesty laughing at…”

Author’s Note:

Xiao Yan successfully saves the beauty! Applause.