Nine Nights Owl Song

The first day of the third month in the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

Luoyang, the imperial city.

Before Zhao Wenchang's seventh day memorial service had even begun, no one in the imperial court mentioned his name anymore.

The heart of an emperor is unfathomable. A living prime minister is a pillar of the state, while a dead prime minister is nothing more than an old fold that has been turned over.

Emperor Yong'an did not posthumously confer any honors or provide any compensation; he only issued an edict the day after Zhao Wenchang's death.

"Zhao Wenchang was diligent in serving the king, but died suddenly in office. The Ministry of Rites is ordered to discuss his posthumous honors."

Even the words "died in the line of duty" were not used; the four words "suddenly died in office" were light and airy, like a fallen leaf.

The court officials were all shrewd and perceptive; they had observed and remembered the emperor's attitude towards Zhao Wenchang.

During Zhao Wenchang's lifetime, his home was always bustling with visitors, but after his death, it became deserted. Not a single person petitioned for severe punishment of the murderer—because the murderer was the photography studio, which had already been besieged by the imperial court.

The murderer was caught, the case was closed, and Zhao Wenchang's death was considered a done deal. No one questioned why the photo studio wanted to assassinate Zhao Wenchang, no one suspected there was more to the story, and no one dared to.

At the grand court assembly, Emperor Yong'an sat on the dragon throne, his face solemn. His complexion was better than a few days ago; the dark circles under his eyes had faded, and his lips had regained some color.

With Zhao Wenchang dead, a weight was lifted from his heart. Even emperors are human.

"Crown Prince."

Crown Prince Xiao Jingrui stepped forward.

"Your subject is here."

"How is the Ministry of Justice progressing with Zhao Wenchang's case?"

The Crown Prince bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has closed the case. The assassins were the deputy owner of the Shadow Studio, 'Faceless,' and five of his accomplices. Three were killed on the spot, and one is still at large. The Ministry of Justice has issued a nationwide arrest warrant."

Emperor Yong'an nodded.

"The photography studio has been a menace for years, and this time they dared to assassinate a high-ranking official. It's utterly lawless. The Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Prefectural Government must work together to wipe out the remaining members of the photography studio as quickly as possible."

The Crown Prince responded loudly, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Emperor Yong'an shifted his gaze from the Crown Prince, then swept it over the Second Prince Xiao Jingyan, and then over the Sixth Prince Xiao Yan.

The second prince stood expressionless, with his hands hanging down, like a stone statue.

The sixth prince lowered his head, looking at his toes, lost in thought.

"Dismiss the court."

The morning assembly on the first day of the third month ended uneventfully.

The Eastern Palace.

Crown Prince Xiao Jingrui sat in his study, with the case files of Zhao Wenchang spread out in front of him.

He looked at it again and again, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. The chief of staff stood behind him, barely daring to breathe.

The crown prince put down the dossier and leaned back in his chair.

"Do you find Zhao Wenchang's death suspicious?" The Crown Prince's voice was not loud.

The chief of staff thought for a moment.

"Your Highness, Zhao Wenchang was the Second Prince's man. His death is a good thing for you."

"I'm not asking if it's good or bad, I'm asking if it's suspicious."

The crown prince's tone turned cold.

"The photo studio is an assassin organization; they kill for whoever pays them. Why would they want to kill Zhao Wenchang? Who did Zhao Wenchang offend? Who paid them?"

The chief of staff remained silent for a moment.

"Your Highness means..."

"Someone wants to use Zhao Wenchang's death to cripple the second son's support."

The prince stood up and walked to the window.

"There aren't many people who can do this. You can count the number of the second brother's rivals on one hand."

I'm one, the fourth one is one, the sixth one—the sixth one doesn't count, he's useless. Besides us, who else is there?

The chief of staff did not speak.

"Su Jiuge," the Crown Prince uttered the name.

"This woman is not simple. She has a secret service under her command, is close to the Thousand Machine Tower, and is married to the sixth prince. Zhao Wenchang's death may have been her doing. But what benefit would killing Zhao Wenchang bring her? She had no grudge against Zhao Wenchang."

The Crown Prince turned around and looked at his chief of staff.

"Unless she's working for Lao Liu. Is Lao Liu... really useless?"

The crown prince remained silent for a long time.

He recalled the way Xiao Yan stood up in court that day and said, "Your subject also wants to marry her"—lazy, nonchalant, as if he were talking about something unimportant.

At the time, the crown prince only thought he was an arrogant and ignorant playboy. Now, looking back, perhaps that "farce" itself was a carefully planned scheme.

If the sixth prince wasn't a good-for-nothing, if he had been pretending all along, if he had done so many things in secret—then what he wanted wasn't just a woman, but the position of crown prince.

The prince clenched his fist.

"Go check."

His voice was deep.

"Investigate the Sixth Prince, Xiao Yan. Investigate exactly what he has done all these years. Not a single detail can be overlooked."

The chief of staff clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Yes, sir."

The Second Prince's Mansion.

The Second Prince, Xiao Jingyan,

He claimed to be ill and locked himself in his study, refusing to see anyone.

The broken pieces of porcelain on the ground hadn't been cleaned up yet; they had been broken last night.

A set of official kiln blue and white porcelain tea set was broken into more than a dozen pieces and scattered on the carpet.

Zhao Wenchang is dead.

His people, his moneybags, his strategist, his backer.

Zhao Wenchang had cultivated his influence in the court for many years, and his disciples were spread throughout the Six Ministries. The Second Prince controlled half of the court through him.

With Zhao Wenchang dead, those people became like trees without roots or water without a source.

The Second Prince's power was dealt a severe blow at its root.

"Your Highness." The chief of staff's voice came from outside the door.

"Come in."

The chief of staff pushed open the door and carefully walked around the broken pieces of porcelain on the floor.

"Your Highness, news has come from the photography studio. Faceless is still alive and has settled down outside Luoyang. He asked Your Highness whether the promised one million taels of silver still stands?"

The second prince raised his eyes to look at his chief of staff. His eyes were bloodshot, like a wild beast trapped in a cage.

"One million taels? He botched the whole thing, and he still has the nerve to ask for money?"

The second prince's voice was hoarse.

"I asked him to kill Su Jiuge, but Su Jiuge didn't die; Zhao Wenchang did. His men were besieged by the court, and he himself became a stray dog. How dare he come to me asking for money?"

The chief of staff kept his head down.

"Your Highness, Wumian said that Zhao Wenchang wasn't killed by the photography studio. He said that night, they followed Su Jiuge into the Zhao residence, where Su Jiuge killed Zhao Wenchang and then deliberately led them to the guards. He said it was a frame-up, a scheme set up by Su Jiuge."

The second prince remained silent for a long time.

He looked at the broken porcelain shards on the ground, at the candlelight reflecting off the blue and white porcelain fragments, and suddenly smiled.

It wasn't laughter; it was something colder than laughter.

"I know."

The second prince raised his head.

"I know Zhao Wenchang wasn't killed by the photo studio. But I can't say it. If I say Zhao Wenchang wasn't killed by the photo studio, I'd have to explain why the people from the photo studio were at Zhao's residence. I can't explain it, I can't explain it. I can only swallow this bitter pill."

He stood up and walked to the window.

"Su Jiuge, impressive skills."

The chief of staff asked cautiously:

"Your Highness, that one million taels..."

"Give it to him."

The second prince's voice was eerily calm.

"Tell Faceless that this is his chance to atone for his sins. If he kills Su Jiuge, the million taels of silver will be his. If he fails, his head will be mine."

The chief of staff acknowledged and left.

The second prince stood alone by the window, looking at the peach tree in the courtyard.

The peach blossoms are in bloom, their pink petals swaying gently in the spring breeze.

very nice.

But what he saw was blood.

The Fourth Prince's Mansion.

The fourth prince, Xiao Run, has finally recovered from his illness.

After being rejected by Su Jiuge in court, he has been claiming illness and staying away from home for more than half a month.

Today was the first time he went out; he went to Fayuan Temple outside the city to offer incense.

He knelt before the Buddha, clasped his hands together, and closed his eyes.

No one knows what he's asking for.

The attendants waited outside the temple gate.

When the Fourth Prince came out, his complexion was better than when he went in.

He lit an incense stick, donated one hundred taels of silver as incense money, and then got into the carriage.

A person was sitting in the carriage.

He was wearing a gray cloth robe, had an ordinary face, and his age was hard to guess.

The fourth prince was not surprised to see him and sat down in the carriage.

"Zhao Wenchang is dead." The man's voice was very low.

"I know," the fourth prince said in a low voice.

"Your chance has come."

The fourth prince remained silent for a moment.

"The Crown Prince is investigating the Sixth Prince. The Second Prince is causing trouble for Su Jiuge. The court is in complete chaos. This isn't my chance, it's the Sixth Prince's chance."

The man's lips twitched slightly.

Do you think Lao Liu is a good-for-nothing?

The fourth prince looked at him.

What do you think?

"I don't know." The man shook his head.

"I investigated him for many years and found nothing wrong with him. He's truly a good-for-nothing. He just eats, drinks, and plays around, doesn't do anything productive, and has no ambition. In all these years, he hasn't done a single decent thing."

The fourth prince remained silent for a long time.

"If he really is just a good-for-nothing, why would Su Jiuge marry him? Why did the Emperor bestow this marriage upon him? Why would the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion want to form an alliance with him through marriage? Who is Su Jiuge? She is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, the head of the Dark Pavilion, and a guest elder of the Thousand Machine Tower. She's not stupid; she wouldn't marry a good-for-nothing."

The man tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.

"So you think he's faking it."

"I have no idea."

The fourth prince's voice was very soft.

"I don't know what he's pretending for, how many years he's been pretending, or what he wants. But I do know one thing—he's stronger than the Crown Prince, stronger than the Second Prince, and stronger than me."

The man's finger stopped.

"Your Highness..."

I won't argue with him.

The fourth prince looked at the sunlight outside the carriage curtain.

"I can't win. I don't even have the right to. My mother was a palace maid; she has no family support and no connections in court. What can I use to fight her? My life?"

It was extremely quiet inside the carriage.

The carriage moved slowly through the streets of Luojing City, the sound of its wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs dull and rhythmic.

The man spoke.

"Your Highness, what would you like?"

The fourth prince remained silent for a long time.

"I want to live. To live and see what this world becomes."

He leaned against the carriage and closed his eyes.

"If he can truly change the world, I'll be happy for him. If not, at least I've tried not to cause him trouble. That's the only thing I can do."

On the third day of the third lunar month, at Tingyuxuan.

Su Jiuge sat in a private room on the second floor, drinking tea.

Before him was a pot of pre-Qingming Longjing tea, which Emperor Xiao Yan had sent over, saying it was a newly presented tribute tea this year.

She doesn't know much about tea, but she thinks it smells a bit better than the last time.

Bai Yu sat opposite her, doing the accounting.

Xiao Yan pushed open the door and came in, dressed in a moon-white casual outfit, his hair was a little messy, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

He sat down opposite Su Jiuge, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

"That's my cup," Su Jiuge said.

Xiao Yan put down his cup.

"I know." He wiped the rim of the glass with his sleeve and pushed it back in front of her.

Su Jiuge looked at the cup.

Xiao Yan's lip print was still on the rim of the cup. Su Jiuge picked up the cup, finished the rest of the tea, and then turned the cup upside down on the table.

"We have news from the photo studio."

Xiao Yan's voice returned to seriousness as he took a file from his sleeve and pushed it in front of her.

"The Faceless One hasn't gone far; he's still near Luoyang. The Second Prince gave him one million taels of silver to atone for his crimes. His target is still you."

Su Jiuge opened the file. "He can't kill me."

I know. But he will hurt you.

Xiao Yan looked into her eyes. "I can't let you get hurt."

Su Jiuge's finger paused on the file for a moment.

"Do you have a solution?"

Xiao Yan nodded.

"Faceless has a weakness. He has a daughter, who is his only living relative. He sends all the money he earns as an assassin to his daughter in a small town in Jiangnan. Qianji Tower has found out the exact location of that town."

Su Jiuge looked at the place name on the file.

"You're trying to blackmail him with his daughter?"

Xiao Yan shook his head.

"It's not about blackmail. It's about letting him know we know. He'll understand that if he goes against us, his daughter won't be safe. A hitman might risk his life, but he can't risk his daughter's. That's his weakness. Once we've got that weakness, he'll be hesitant to act."

Su Jiuge remained silent for a moment.

"Aren't you afraid he'll resort to desperate measures by using this method?"

"He wouldn't dare," Xiao Yan said firmly.

"He was the deputy owner of the photography studio, a cold-blooded and ruthless man who had killed many people. But his daughter was his only weakness, and he wouldn't gamble with her life."

Su Jiuge nodded.

"You can arrange it."

She stood up.

"I should go back now. My mother is waiting for me for dinner."

Xiao Yan also stood up.

"The ninth day of the third month, six days to go."

Su Jiuge looked at him.

He knew what she was talking about—the wedding date.

"Six days from now, you will be my wife."

Xiao Yan's voice was very soft.

"You chose it yourself."

Su Jiuge stopped at the door.

"I didn't choose. I had no choice."

Her voice was calm.

"The imperial decree has been issued, and I cannot disobey it. You don't want to marry her, but you have no choice. Neither of us has a choice."

Xiao Yan remained silent for a moment.

"Su Jiuge".

Su Jiuge did not turn around.

"I want to marry him."

Su Jiuge's finger paused on the door frame for a moment, then she pushed the door open and walked out.

Xiao Yan stood alone in the private room. Bai Yu had left sometime earlier.

The March breeze outside the window brushed against the eaves of Luoyang City, peach blossoms bloomed, and willow catkins flew.

Xiao Yan stood by the window, looking in the direction of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence in the distance, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

The third day of the third lunar month, six days before his wedding. He was going to be the groom. The bride was Su Jiuge.