I slaughtered my way through the border at the start, I am the Great Ming's Night Raider!

The ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Cao Jixiang did not sleep all night.

He sat in the armchair of the Directorate of Ceremonial, with the Diamond Sutra open in front of him.

This has been his habit for many years—when he is upset, he reads scriptures. If he can concentrate on reading them, his mind will calm down; if he can't concentrate, then someone will be in trouble.

Tonight, he read it three times, but couldn't absorb a single word.

The charcoal fire in the duty room was burning too brightly, making him sweat profusely. He got up and opened the window, letting in a cold draft that made the memorials on the table rustle. Outside, the night was deep, and the palace lanterns flickered in the wind like will-o'-the-wisps.

"Godfather." Wang Zhen entered silently, carrying a cup of ginseng tea.

Cao Jixiang didn't turn around: "Have you found out?"

"The investigation is complete." Wang Zhen placed the tea on the table. "Those who petitioned the emperor yesterday were led by Liu Qiu, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and consisted of thirty-seven people. Among them were twenty-one censors, eleven supervising secretaries, and the remaining five were secretaries from the Six Ministries."

"Liu Qiu..." Cao Jixiang murmured the name, his voice chilling, "That old bastard should have died three years ago."

"It's my son's fault for not handling things properly." Wang Zhen lowered his head. "I never expected him to be so lucky and survive that prison sentence."

Cao Jixiang waved his hand: "Forget it. Killing him now would be too conspicuous." He turned and stared at Wang Zhen, "What about the other matter I asked you to investigate? What's the background of Zhu Mingyuan from Yongshou Palace?"

Wang Zhen hesitated for a moment: "My son sent people to Jiangnan to investigate, and the Zhu family in Jinling said there was no such person. But Qin Xiang insists that he is her cousin, a distant relative from Jiangnan."

"A distant relative?" Cao Jixiang sneered. "That bitch Qin Xiang, just like her adoptive father, is a dog of the Grand Princess. You can't believe a single word she says."

"What my godfather means is..."

"That Zhu Mingyuan, there's something wrong with him." Cao Jixiang walked to the wall, where a map of the Ming Dynasty hung. "I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. That face, that look in his eyes... he doesn't seem like a scholar, he's more like..."

"Like what?"

Cao Jixiang didn't answer. He stared at Xuanfu on the map, then suddenly remembered something: "Do you have a portrait of the night constables who escaped from Xuanfu?"

"Yes." Wang Zhen pulled out a stack of portraits from his robes. "The Eastern Depot posted bounties at every city gate. These portraits are based on the descriptions given by the garrison soldiers. But they're not very accurate, given the chaos at the time..."

Cao Jixiang took the portraits and looked at them one by one. When he got to the third one, his hand stopped.

The portrait depicts a young man with a cold and stern expression. Although the drawing is rough, the temperament... is similar.

"What's this called?"

"Chen Yuan, you never collect the flags at night. When Xuanfu fell, it's said you killed one of our commanders and escaped."

"Chen Yuan... Zhu Mingyuan..." Cao Jixiang repeated the two names, a cold glint in his eyes. "Take the portrait and have the guards who were on duty near Yongshou Palace yesterday identify it. Be careful not to alert them."

"Yes."

Just as Wang Zhen was about to leave, Cao Jixiang called out to him again, "Wait. How's it going with the Duke of Cheng?"

"This isn't good." Wang Zhen lowered his voice. "After Aunt Zhang blocked our way, the Duke of Cheng went straight back to his mansion and didn't come to see my godfather. I heard... I heard that the Duchess of Cheng went to the brothel last night."

Cao Jixiang's face darkened: "What was she doing at the brothel?"

"They said they wanted to listen to music, but they specifically asked Su Xiaoxiao to sing," Wang Zhen said. "When Su Xiaoxiao was halfway through her song, the Duchess of Cheng Guo overturned the table, saying that her singing was terrible, and beat Su Xiaoxiao up. Now... now Su Xiaoxiao is still recovering from her injuries at the Jiaofangsi."

"Useless!" Cao Jixiang slammed his hand on the table, sending the teacup flying. "That old lecher Zhu Yong can't even control a woman!"

"Father, please calm down. Although the Duke of Cheng is wavering, he hasn't fallen yet. As long as we still have leverage over him..."

Cao Jixiang sneered, "I have plenty of dirt on him. But having dirt on him isn't enough. I need to make him afraid, to let him know that without me, his dirty deeds could cost him his life at any time."

"I understand, son." Wang Zhen bowed. "I'll make the arrangements right away."

"Wait a minute." Cao Jixiang walked to the window and looked in the direction of Yongshou Palace. "Grand Princess... you put on a good show in front of the palace gate yesterday. You appeased the officials without breaking ties with me. This woman is not simple."

"Then let's..."

"Let her act." Cao Jixiang turned around, a strange smile on his face. "The better she acts, the harder she'll fall. When the Emperor... hehe, then we'll see if she can still keep up the act."

Wang Zhen was startled.

The godfather's words made it very clear—he was waiting for the emperor to pass away.

If the emperor dies and the crown prince is too young, the legitimacy of the Grand Princess's regency will be questioned.

By then...

"I understand, son." Wang Zhen bowed deeply. "I'll get on with it right away."

After Wang Zhen stepped down, Cao Jixiang sat back down in the grand master's chair.

He picked up the Diamond Sutra and this time he was able to concentrate on reading it.

At the same time, in a side hall of Yongshou Palace.

Chen Yuan didn't sleep either.

He is waiting for news.

Qin Xiang left the palace last night, saying she was going to arrange matters for the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), and has not returned yet.

Uncle Zhao went along too.

Chen Jin slept soundly; young people need a lot of sleep, even if the sky were to fall, they could still fall asleep.

The sound of a wooden clapper came from outside the window; it was the fourth watch of the night.

Chen Yuan got up and walked into the courtyard.

The snow had melted, leaving the ground damp and reflecting the waning moonlight.

The palace was eerily quiet; not even the chirping of insects could be heard—in winter, even the insects would freeze to death.

He recalled the winter nights at the border.

It was quiet there, but in a different way.

In the stillness of the border, there are sounds of wind, howls of wolves, and the footsteps of soldiers on night watch. But the stillness of the palace is deathly silence, like a vast tomb.

Just then, a slight noise came from the top of the wall.

Chen Yuan instantly became alert and quickly hid behind a pillar.

His hand rested on the dagger, his eyes fixed on the wall.

A dark figure scaled the wall and landed silently.

Judging from her figure, she is a woman.

"Miss Qin?" Chen Yuan asked tentatively.

The shadowy figure turned around, and it was indeed Qin Xiang.

She was dressed in black, her face covered with a black cloth, only her eyes were visible.

Seeing Chen Yuan, she breathed a sigh of relief and pulled off her mask.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I'll wait for you." Chen Yuan walked over. "How was it?"

"Something's happened." Qin Xiang's expression was grave. "Su Xiaoxiao has been injured. It was the Duchess of Cheng who did it."

Chen Yuan frowned: "How did the Duchess of Cheng know about Su Xiaoxiao?"

"Someone delivered a message," Qin Xiang said. "I investigated, and it was a maid from the Duke of Cheng's mansion who accepted money from the Eastern Depot."

"Cao Jixiang reacted very quickly."

"Not only was it fast, it was also ruthless," Qin Xiang whispered. "He even sent people to Jiangnan to investigate your background. Fortunately, Uncle Zhao was prepared and made arrangements in advance, so he managed to fool them for the time being. But... it won't be able to hide it for long."

Chen Yuan nodded.

He had expected this outcome.

From the moment he decided to stay, he knew his identity would be exposed sooner or later.

"There's one more thing."

Qin Xiang looked at him, "Cao Jixiang is investigating the night watchmen who escaped from Xuanfu. He has a portrait, although it doesn't look like him, but..."