Gan Xiaoru faced a difficult problem. Although Qin Muyun had been imprisoned, he had taken the majority of the blame upon himself. The logic was simple—as long as Jiang Sanyi remained in power, his family would at least be protected.
No matter how Gan Xiaoru threatened or enticed him, Qin Muyun refused to implicate Jiang Sanyi. Gan Xiaoru grew anxious; he had already offended Jiang Sanyi to the point of no return. If Jiang Sanyi emerged unscathed, Gan’s days in the imperial court would be numbered.
While Gan Xiaoru ordered a more rigorous interrogation, he also sent men to secretly search for evidence against the Jiang family. However, Jiang Sanyi was a meticulous man; finding his weakness was no easy task. One day, while passing Yurang Bridge, Gan Xiaoru happened upon Daxi Qin fishing by the river.
Gan Xiaoru stepped out of his sedan chair to greet him. "Marquis Jinyu certainly has fine leisure."
Daxi Qin stood up and said, "I had long heard the waters here were beautiful and the fish fat. I came to try my luck, and indeed, it is so." Having said that, he took two plump fish from his basket, wrapped them in oil paper, and handed them over. "Two fresh fish for the Chancellor, as a small token of my regard."
Gan Xiaoru hardly cared for two fish, but he couldn't slight the Marquis's face, so he stepped forward to accept them. Suddenly, Daxi Qin spoke: "I hear the case of Qin Muyun isn't going very smoothly for the Chancellor."
Gan Xiaoru was surprised, his heart skipping a beat. "Does the Marquis know of this matter as well?"
Daxi Qin smiled. "When Qin Muyun first committed those acts, he must have anticipated the consequences. A man like him does not fear death; his only concern is his family. If the Chancellor removes that concern, the obstacle will naturally vanish."
Gan Xiaoru froze. Daxi Qin continued, "He is currently in prison, cut off from the outside world. If you were to deceive him, claiming that something had happened to the Qin family, he would find it difficult to distinguish truth from lies."
Gan Xiaoru considered this and realized it made perfect sense. He cupped his hands toward Daxi Qin without another word, took the two fresh fish, and departed.
The following day, members of the Qin family who had been taken into custody were struck by a lethal poison. Qin Muyun’s second daughter-in-law and two young grandsons died. When the news reached Qin Muyun, he initially refused to believe it. But when he saw the corpses of his grandsons, his eyes nearly burst from their sockets in rage. Gan Xiaoru said, "Lord Qin, it seems the patron behind you has no intention of protecting you. Had your cell not been so heavily guarded, you would likely have joined your grandsons by now."
Qin Muyun gritted his teeth, forcing out each word: "...I will confess."
Once Qin Muyun gave his statement, Gan Xiaoru reported to Murong Yan while simultaneously following the leads to arrest several high-ranking officials, including Zheng Zhizhou. All were Jiang Sanyi’s confidants and held vital positions.
In an instant, the towering tree that was Jiang Sanyi showed signs of toppling.
In Qifeng Palace, Jiang Bilan held her two children, listening to the rumors swirling outside. Cai Ling said, "Your Majesty, it is late. Please rest early."
Jiang Bilan shook her head. "Go quickly and find out what has happened to my father! Has the Minister of Agriculture's case implicated him?"
Cai Ling tried to comfort her. "Please put your mind at ease, Your Majesty. I was just out, and the Chancellor is still fine."
Jiang Bilan shook her head. "No, that wench is ruthless. Go out and ask again! Go!"
Cai Ling had no choice but to leave. Sitting upon her phoenix throne, Jiang Bilan suddenly realized that the people around her—Weizhu, Huiyun, Feng Ping... they were all dead, one by one. A sense of dread rose from her heart, slowly spreading to her limbs. Just then, the child in her arms began to cry.
the wet nurse hurried forward to take Princess Yide.
At eight months old, Princess Yide was chubby and incredibly adorable. Jiang Bilan touched her face, her hands slowly tightening. Seeing her expression was off, the wet nurse quickly said, "Your Majesty? Please do not worry. The Chancellor is blessed by heaven. Furthermore, Your Majesty still has the Eldest Prince and the Princess; nothing will happen."
Jiang Bilan said, "Nothing will happen? Can't you see? That wench will never let my father go. If something happens to him, and the King is already biased toward her, what can I do, even with Ze'er?"
The wet nurse said, "But Your Majesty, you are in the palace now. Anxiety will not help."
Jiang Bilan looked at Princess Yide again and said, "That wench... she presses me at every step. This Queen shall fight her to the bitter end!"
That night, Zuo Canglang suddenly discovered she was missing a hairpin. She called Wei Wei and asked, "Where is the hairpin from my vanity?"
Wei Wei looked and was also puzzled. "Is it missing? Let me count!" She brought over the jewelry box and counted them one by one. Zuo Canglang had an excellent memory; in the army, where military correspondence was as thick as hemp, she had to know exactly where every letter was and who had touched it.
Wei Wei counted for a long time, her surprise growing. "One really is missing!" She was furious. "A thief has actually appeared in our Nanqing Palace! I'll go call them all in!"
Zuo Canglang said, "Wait." Wei Wei stopped and turned to look at her. "Don't go."
Wei Wei said, "General, if these people with sticky fingers aren't taught a lesson, who knows what they'll steal next!"
Zuo Canglang repeated, "Don't go."
The next morning, Zuo Canglang was feeding her two gyrfalcons. The peach branch in Nanqing Palace had truly taken root and sprouted new leaves, having grown quite a bit by now. She reached out to brush against it. Wei Wei said, "His Majesty sent someone to loosen the soil and fertilize it yesterday. In my view, he still cares for the General the most."
Zuo Canglang acted as if she hadn't heard, letting the gyrfalcons peck at the meat in her palm. As the sun rose, Ke Qing suddenly rushed in, panicked. "General, General, something terrible has happened!"
Zuo Canglang asked, "What is it?"
Ke Qing said, "I heard that this morning, the wet nurse from Qifeng Palace took the little Princess and the Eldest Prince for a walk, and then they vanished! They haven't been found yet!"
Zuo Canglang was surprised. "The Eldest Prince and the Princess are missing too?"
Ke Qing said, "Yes, the palace is in an absolute uproar!" She leaned closer to Zuo Canglang and added in a low voice, "Some are whispering that the gyrfalcons the General keeps... ate..."
Before she could finish, Wei Wei cursed, "Bullshit! Who is spreading such vile rumors!"
Zuo Canglang remained silent, deep in thought. Before long, a commotion erupted from the nearby Zhongmo Palace. Zuo Canglang led Wei Wei and Ke Qing there, only to find a group of Imperial Guards surrounding the rockery of Zhongmo Palace. Zuo Canglang walked over and peered in, seeing a female corpse floating face-down in the water.
Imperial Guards had already gone in to retrieve the body. Moments later, Murong Yan and Jiang Bilan arrived. The moment Jiang Bilan saw the clothes, she let out a shrill cry: "It's the wet nurse... Your Majesty! It's the wet nurse..."
Murong Yan’s face was as cold as frost. Soon, the female corpse was pulled out. There was a wound at her throat; she had been killed by a sharp object piercing her neck. Murong Yan asked in a low voice, "Have the Prince and Princess been found?"
The Imperial Guards used nets to search the lake but found nothing. A short while later, someone shouted, "In the rock crevice! An infant's body has been found in the rock crevice!" Murong Yan’s hands clenched into fists as Jiang Bilan ran toward the spot, wailing.
The infant's body was pulled up; it was undoubtedly Princess Yide.
Jiang Bilan held the dripping corpse of Princess Yide, her cries heart-wrenching. Murong Yan stood motionless. After a moment, Lan Jinrong spoke again: "Your Majesty! I have found the Eldest Prince behind the rockery! Fortunately, the Prince's head was caught in the withered vines of the rockery, and his body was supported by the stone layers. He still has a breath left!"
Murong Yan hurried forward. He saw that eight-month-old Murong Ze’s breathing was extremely faint. Without needing his command, imperial physicians had already arrived to begin treatment, and palace maids took the boy to change him out of his wet clothes. Jiang Bilan wept, "Who could be so cruel as to kill the wet nurse and not even spare children still in their swaddling clothes!"
She clutched the lifeless Princess Yide tightly. "Your Majesty... why is my fate so bitter! Had I known, why would I have entered the palace, why would I have become this Queen! Why wasn't it me who drowned in the lake..."
Murong Yan finally leaned down and gently pressed her shoulder. "Take the Princess away," he said, his voice carrying an unmistakable pain. His daughter, after all, had not lived long enough to call him "Father."
Imperial Guards stepped forward to take Princess Yide, but Jiang Bilan held on desperately. "Go away! Go away! Let me hold her a little longer. I, her mother, deserve ten thousand deaths. Why did I let the wet nurse take her out just because she liked looking at the fish... I should have kept her by my side at all times, never parting for a moment..." Her hair was disheveled and her weeping was agonizing, as if she no longer cared for her appearance.
Murong Yan turned his head to look at Zuo Canglang, his gaze like cold frost.
Meeting his eyes, Zuo Canglang suddenly felt a pang of pity for all those days and nights she had offered her heart in total devotion to him. In truth, through all these years, he had never understood anyone, nor had he ever truly believed in anyone. Despite her usual stoicism, her eyes reddened slightly.
She walked slowly to stand before Jiang Bilan and said, "I always thought that a woman of your upbringing, Your Majesty, would have a kind nature regardless of the circumstances. But today I realize I was wrong. Your heart has long been hollowed out by power."
Jiang Bilan looked up, appearing like a vengeful ghost. "What did you say?! My daughter's bones are not yet cold, and you are so cold-blooded as to say such things!"
The maid beside her, Hua Yue, also spoke up: "Zuo Canglang, His Majesty is right here! In front of everyone, you dare speak to the Queen in such a manner! Do you have no regard for national law or status?"
Cai Ling suddenly said, "Zhongmo Palace is so close to Nanqing Palace, and it has always been uninhabited. Did the General truly hear nothing at all?"
Another wet nurse added, "The General always rises early. By the time of the incident, it should have been the General's morning practice. Could the General really have failed to notice someone committing murder in such a nearby palace?"
Zuo Canglang said, "Why don't you just say it directly? If I were to scale the wall of Nanqing Palace, it would take but a moment to reach Zhongmo Palace. Thus, during my morning practice, I saw the
