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

Just then, a "fluttering" sound came from outside the window. Chen Yuan pushed open the window, and a carrier pigeon landed on the windowsill with a bamboo tube tied to its leg.

It was a letter from Qin Xiang.

Chen Yuan took down the bamboo tube and unfolded the letter.

The letter was brief: "The capital is in grave danger. Wang Ji has been defeated and has retreated to Juyong Pass. His Highness orders you to investigate the situation in Nanjing immediately, and to act as you see fit if necessary. Also, Empress Sun is pregnant, and the imperial physicians have confirmed it is a boy."

These few words contain a wealth of information.

Wang Ji's defeat meant that the capital was in danger.

Empress Sun is pregnant, and it's a boy... This means the Crown Prince may not be the sole heir, making the struggle for the throne even more complicated.

The Grand Princess gave him the order to "act as he sees fit"—meaning that when necessary, he could make his own decisions, or even...act first and report later.

Chen Yuan burned the letter and watched the ashes scatter in the wind.

Outside the window, dusk was settling in.

The city of Nanjing lit up again, and lanterns were hung on the painted boats on the Qinhuai River, with the faint sounds of string and wind instruments drifting through the air.

What a prosperous and flourishing era!

What a turbulent undercurrent!

The 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Chen Yuan opened his eyes in the darkness.

Outside the window, the night was still thick with darkness, and most of the lights on the Qinhuai River had been extinguished. Only the distant sound of the night watchman's clapper echoed in the silence.

He got up, went to the table, and lit the oil lamp.

The dim light illuminated three items spread out on the table: on the left was a map of the Duke of Wei's mansion, on the right was a layout of the Duke of Cheng's villa, and in the middle was a detailed map of the streets surrounding the Confucius Temple.

The three pictures were covered with charcoal marks, arrows, and question marks, like a giant spider web, and he himself was in the center of the web.

Uncle Zhao pushed open the door and came in, carrying a cup of hot tea: "Young Master, are you still awake?"

"I can't sleep." Chen Yuan took the tea, took a sip, and said, "Uncle Zhao, what do you think... if there are wolves on both sides, what should we do?"

Uncle Zhao was silent for a moment: "Then let yourself become a tiger."

"How will it change?"

"Find the third wolf," Uncle Zhao said, "or...find the wolf tamer."

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "You mean...?"

"Cao Jixiang is dead, but the schemes he laid are still in place." Uncle Zhao lowered his voice. "Don't you find it strange, young master? Cao Jixiang gave the Duke of Cheng's incriminating evidence to the Duke of Wei, and the Duke of Wei's incriminating evidence to the Duke of Cheng, and even revealed their old grudges to you... What is he trying to do?"

"Let us kill each other."

"Yes." Uncle Zhao nodded. "Then let's do the opposite—let them expose each other's secrets, and we'll reap the benefits."

Chen Yuan looked at the map on the table and suddenly laughed: "Uncle Zhao, you're right. Since both sides want me to choose, I won't choose either. I want them... to jump out on their own."

"How do I do it?"

Chen Yuan picked up a charcoal pencil and drew a circle on the map: "Confucius Temple. All the officials of Nanjing will gather there tomorrow. If I publicly present evidence of the Duke of Cheng's treason and then evidence of the Duke of Wei's treason..."

Uncle Zhao gasped, "That would plunge the world into chaos!"

"It won't cause chaos," Chen Yuan said, "because only half of both pieces of evidence are true."

"Young master means..."

"It's true that the Duke of Cheng colluded with the enemy, but the evidence was fabricated by Cao Jixiang," Chen Yuan said slowly. "The Duke of Wei colluded with the Japanese pirates... that might be true, but it could also be a frame-up by Cao Jixiang. What I need to do is not expose them, but make them prove themselves—prove the other side's guilt and prove their own innocence."

Uncle Zhao understood: "When the snipe and the clam fight..."

"The fisherman reaps the benefits." Chen Yuan put down his charcoal pencil. "But to be a fisherman, you must first know how many fish are in the water."

Just then, a soft knocking sound came from outside the window.

Three long and two short is the code of the Azure Dragon Society.

Chen Yuan opened the window, and a dark figure climbed in—it was Master Zhou.

He was soaked through, whether from sweat or rain, and there was a bloodstain on his face.

"Young Master Chen, we've found it." Master Zhou said, panting. "The matter of the Duke of Wei colluding with the Japanese... is true, but not entirely true."

"How so?"

Master Zhou pulled an account book from his robes: "This is the private account of Wang Zhi, the leader of the Japanese pirates, in Ningbo. It records business dealings with the Duke of Wei's mansion—pig iron, gunpowder, and medicinal herbs, with annual transactions exceeding 100,000 taels. But..."

He opened the ledger and pointed to a line: "But these transactions were not handled by the Duke of Wei himself, but by his son, Xu Xianzong."

Xu Xianzong.

The heir of the Duke of Wei, currently serving as the Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Nanjing Former Military Command, is in his thirties and is a notorious playboy in Nanjing.

"Duke of Wei doesn't know?" Chen Yuan asked.

"I know, but I can't do anything about it." Master Zhou smiled bitterly. "Xu Xianzong is an only son and has been spoiled since childhood. The Duke of Wei has beaten, scolded, and imprisoned him, but it's no use. Later... later he just turned a blind eye. Anyway, the money went into the Duke of Wei's mansion and didn't flow into the hands of outsiders."

Chen Yuan understood. This wasn't treason, it was smuggling, it was corruption. Although the nature of the crime was serious, it was still different from "colluding with Japanese pirates to plot treason."

"What about the Duke of Cheng's side?"

"The Duke of Cheng did indeed have dealings with the remnants of the Prince of Han's faction," said Master Zhou. "But according to our investigation, it wasn't him who approached them; it was the remnants of the Prince of Han who came to him. They have evidence that the Duke of Cheng embezzled military funds and threatened him that if he didn't cooperate, they would expose it."

"So, the Duke of Cheng was forced into it?"

"At least at first," said Master Zhou, "but later... it's hard to say. The remnants of the Han King's faction promised to make him regent after the deed was done. The temptation was too great."

Chen Yuan pondered. Both sides are guilty, but the nature of their guilt is different; both sides have leverage, but the lethality of their leverage is different.

"There's one more thing." Master Zhou hesitated for a moment, "We found out that before Cao Jixiang died, in addition to contacting the Duke of Cheng and the Duke of Wei, he also contacted... Empress Sun."

Chen Yuan was startled: "What?"

"On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Cao Jixiang went to the palace to 'pay his respects' and stayed in Kunning Palace for half an hour," said Master Zhou. "At that time, only Cao Jixiang, Empress Sun, and Li Fu were present. No one knows what they talked about. But the next day, Cao Jixiang began to arrange his affairs—distributing the evidence to the Duke of Cheng and the Duke of Wei, and 'placing' the jade pendant with Li Fu..."

"Are you saying that Empress Sun was the mastermind behind it all?"

"I'm not sure," said Master Zhou, "but the timing is too coincidental. Cao Jixiang started making arrangements for his funeral after meeting Empress Sun; Empress Sun discovered she was pregnant after Li Fu's 'suicide'... Doesn't all of this seem like... someone is playing a grand game?"

Chen Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. If that were truly the case, then Empress Sun's intentions were terrifying—to use Cao Jixiang to disrupt the court, then use her pregnancy to consolidate her power, and finally, when the young crown prince ascended the throne, she would rule from behind the curtain as Empress Dowager...

Furthermore, if the crown prince were to die "accidentally," her unborn child would become the sole heir...

"Young Master," Uncle Zhao suddenly said, "if that's really the case, then what happened in Nanjing... might just be the tip of the iceberg. For Empress Sun to seize power, she must eliminate the Grand Princess. And to eliminate the Grand Princess, she must first distract her—for example, by causing chaos in Nanjing, and by having you die there..."

Chen Yuan closed his eyes and connected all the clues in his mind.

Empress Sun wanted to seize power → she needed to eliminate the Grand Princess → she needed to distract the Grand Princess → she needed something to happen in Nanjing → she needed him to die in Nanjing → so Cao Jixiang distributed the evidence to both sides → so both sides wanted to use him → so...