Chapter 64: A-Li Will Never Have a Dark Room Again

Ever since Yan Bei appeared at that critical moment, wielding the late Emperor's final decree just as Empress Dowager Shen was about to push the Fourth Prince into power, he had rarely shown his true edge over the past three years.

Yet, with his sudden display of authority in court today, the officials were all left with their own schemes and suspicions.

While the entire hall watched Yan Bei, Yan Bei’s gaze did not miss a single person.

After the court session adjourned, Dou Yun, who was originally at the very end of the line, left the fastest, followed by Du Minghuan, with Shen Yi close behind. Mu Chang and Chu Ying trailed at the rear at an unhurried pace. Everyone displayed an attitude, yet the old foxes among them revealed nothing.

Yan Bei rose from his chair.

After leaving the palace and boarding his sedan chair, a guard approached to deliver a few instructions, dismissing him before he quickly returned to his manor.

Upon entering, he instructed Gao An: "If Du Minghuan comes, bring him straight in."

Sure enough, just as he had finished changing out of his official robes in his room, Gao An arrived: "He is here."

Yan Bei’s expression turned cold: "Bring him in!"

Having dropped such a bombshell in court, Du Minghuan could hardly remember how he had made his way down from the imperial hall.

It wasn't until he reached the main street and his horse could no longer move that he regained his senses, only to find his hands and feet were still ice-cold.

When Shen Li had come knocking on his door yesterday, Du Minghuan, in a state of desperation, had sent someone to the Prince's manor to seek help. He hadn't held much hope, but in the end, Yan Bei had actually intervened—and the one sent was Gao An. This was an immense show of respect!

Therefore, throughout the night, Du Minghuan’s hopes for the Jingyang Prince's Manor had burned high, and he believed he had grasped a fair understanding of Yan Bei's intentions.

He thought that despite the Jingyang Prince's usual cold face and arrogant demeanor, he was ultimately hollow inside and could not bear to abandon the Du family.

After all, Yan Bei's power base was in the Northern Desert; he had never cultivated connections in the capital. With such immense power, how could he possibly not need supporters?

Du Minghuan had felt quite gratified all night. He didn't see the incident with the Shen family as a weakness; rather, he saw it as a way to draw out Yan Bei's stance—a good thing!

But he never expected that after just one night, Yan Bei would slap him so hard in the middle of the imperial court!

The He family case had actually been brought up by Yan Bei in court, and he had even sent people to dig up the hidden truths behind the two families!

That was his cousin!

The relationship between the two families was considered extremely close within the court. Yan Bei had clearly sensed something was wrong—he had even specifically sent someone to investigate his study last time—yet he had acted so ruthlessly, confronting the matter publicly without a second thought!

What did the He family's business have to do with him?

How could he be so relentless!

So utterly indifferent to kinship!

To think he had been careful to please him for all these years, only to find out he was a thankless wolf!

Did he think he, Yan Bei, could dominate the court all by himself?

Did he truly not need the Du family, who controlled the Imperial City Guard, to run errands for him?

Just because Du Minghuan had concealed the truth from him last time, Yan Bei had recklessly pushed him into the line of fire and even forced the Three Judicial Offices to conduct a thorough investigation! If he truly destroyed the Du family, what benefit would that bring to Yan Bei?!

Fuming with rage, Du Minghuan rode his horse in two circles around the street, but in the end, he still headed toward the Prince's manor.

Regardless, the Emperor's decree had been issued; if anyone could turn the tide, it was Yan Bei.

He must be using this case to blackmail the Du family. He must!

Following Gao An into Yangrong Hall, Du Minghuan knelt and burst into tears without a word: "Your Highness, spare my life!"

Yan Bei let out a sneer: "Who wants your life?"

"This official admits his guilt. The He family case is indeed suspicious, it's just that I haven't yet clarified—"

"You once insisted repeatedly that the Du family had nothing to do with this case, swearing that both cases had legitimate causes. Now, how has it suddenly become 'suspicious'? Du Minghuan, you are playing me!"

"This official would not dare to die ten thousand deaths!" Du Minghuan crawled forward on his knees. "He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode were both my subordinates. Since blood was shed in their families, if it is found there was a motive behind it, it would be a dereliction of my duty.

"Your Highness knows that for several generations, the Du family has failed to produce talented men. It was immense luck that I could take charge of the Imperial City Guard. If the Emperor holds me accountable, your cousin cannot bear the punishment!

"I beg Your Highness to rescind the order and hand this case over to me to handle!"

"You cannot bear the punishment?!" Yan Bei walked up to him. "Are you afraid of death?"

Du Minghuan nodded blankly.

Yan Bei pressed his palm against the man's head: "Then tell me, three years ago, what did He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode ever do for you?"

Du Minghuan trembled violently.

Yan Bei crouched down, his eyes turning bloodshot: "Do you remember? Last time I told you, I've done the math. There are forty-three members of your Du family in total. It is not too late to tell me now—what wicked things have you done? He Jianzhong is dead, and Zhang Shaode is dead. Tell me, will the next one be you? How many executioner blades are set up at the execution grounds?"

Du Minghuan slumped to the ground, his lips trembling, unable to make a sound.

Yan Bei withdrew his hand: "Get out!"

"Your Highness! Your Highness!..."

Du Minghuan tried to crawl forward again. Gao An stepped up with his men: "Marquis, show some self-respect. Our young heir is sleeping in the inner chamber. For anyone who disturbs him, His Highness will not be polite."

The guards grabbed Du Minghuan by the arms from both sides and dragged him out without a word.

They truly dragged him out.

He was thrown outside the door, where pedestrians were still passing by on the street.

From a carriage at the street corner, Shen Li lowered the curtain and squinted as she spoke to her servant: "It seems the people from Guang'an Temple have nothing to do with the Jingyang Prince's Manor. You can go investigate the shady dealings between the Du, He, and Zhang families."

As the carriage drove away from the street, Gao An, standing inside the gate, withdrew his gaze, picked up A-Li—who was struggling to climb over the threshold—and returned to Yangrong Hall.

Yan Bei was still standing under the curtain, looking grim and solemn.

"Father," A-Li said, spreading his arms toward him. "I had a nightmare."

Yan Bei picked him up, using his right hand to wipe away a tear from the corner of the boy's eye. "What did you dream about?"

"I dreamed a dark room locked me up."

Yan Bei's throat tightened. He stroked the long scar under the boy's ribs through his clothes and whispered against his small face: "Then next time, call out loudly for Father and Mother.

"In the past, you didn't have to fear because you had Father. Now that Mother is here, you have even less to fear.

"In this lifetime, Father and Mother will absolutely, absolutely never let A-Li encounter a dark room again.

"As for all those who ever locked A-Li in a dark room, Father and Mother will personally lock them away one by one, so they can never come out!"

"Mhm," A-Li nodded heavily. "When A-Li grows up, I will protect Father and Mother too."

Yan Bei carried him out of the room.

"Good. It would be even better if you had a younger brother or sister."

...

The young guard sent to watch over Xu He was named Yu Ting, roughly the same age as Xiao Huo.

When Yu Ting brought news from the Prince's manor, Yue Tang happened to be listening to Wei Zhang speak.

Every year, the Prince of Duan's manor held sacrifices in the family temple on the "death anniversaries" of Prince Duan, his son, and Yue Tang. This year was no exception. Even though Yue Rong's anniversary was still ten days away, Chu Yan, who had been living in Bieye, had already returned with her adopted son a few days ago.

Yue Tang was painting while Wei Zhang detailed these matters, never once interrupting him.

Consequently, toward the end, Wei Zhang couldn't help but lean in and ask: "Master, are you listening?"

"I am," Yue Tang said. "The anniversary is still ten days away; there is no rush.

"Yan Bei's progress is good. Go and keep an eye on the Du family immediately. He has already sent several people there. The guards will follow your lead. Once there is any sign of movement, come and tell me at once."

After Wei Zhang took his orders and left, Yue Tang set her brush aside and picked up the message from Yan Bei that Yu Ting had brought.

The lamplight danced in her usually indifferent eyes, where a faint spark flickered.

As long as Yan Bei acted, it was impossible for him not to suppress the Du family.

When the Du family was driven into a corner, they certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to sit idly by and wait to be slaughtered.

Therefore, no matter how much they struggled, they would ultimately walk down the path Yue Tang had prepared for them.

So, what kind of face did the killer waiting at the end of that road truly have?

...

If Du Minghuan's heart had been filled with rage on the way out of the palace, then on the way from the Prince's manor back to the Marquis's manor, his heart held nothing but disbelief!

He could not believe that Yan Bei had truly abandoned him like this. For the past three years, they had clearly maintained a facade of cooperation and kept a semblance of cordiality, yet in a single night, he had turned his back and refused to recognize him!

Dark clouds swirled before Du Minghuan's eyes.

He was too unlucky!

...No, perhaps it wasn't bad luck, but someone was deliberately causing trouble!

The string of misfortunes in recent days was no coincidence!

The He family members were murdered, and this person had even beaten them to the punch by killing Zhang Shaode!

He understood now!

Du Yu was right. The person who had broken into his study on the day of the birthday banquet to take the evidence might not have been Yan Bei at all!

It was someone else!

"Father!"

Du Yu, who had been busy with matters at the Clan Court, hurried back. "Why would the Prince suddenly do this?"

"I suspect he discovered something," Du Minghuan said, his teeth grinding. "In the end, the He family matter wasn't cleaned up thoroughly enough."

"The matter has become too large. With lives being lost one after another, it is truly difficult to keep it clean..."

"But you still let the killer of Zhang Shaode escape!" Du Minghuan roared. "He killed so many people and played us for fools, yet we haven't even caught a shadow of him! If Yan Bei is doing this because someone is pulling the strings from behind, then both you and I are finished!"

Du Yu stood with his head bowed, his voice lacking its usual steadiness: "But how could the killer bypass the walls of the Prince's manor to see the Prince? And why would the Prince believe him?

"Even if he believed him, why would he abandon us over such a thing?

"He is not a three-year-old child, nor is he some hotheaded youth. He is the Jingyang Prince, who was able to appear in time to steady the court when the Shen family's ambitions were exposed. He has courage and strategy. Even if he knew we killed the Princess of Yongjia, what does that have to do with him?

"Even if he upholds loyalty and righteousness, why would he be so impulsive as to disregard his own interests?

"It is just a Princess; could she be more important than the interests of his Prince's manor?

"Not to mention, he doesn't even have the evidence that we killed her. On what basis did he conclude that we killed the Princess?!"

His voice was low, but it was clear enough.

Du Minghuan felt as if he had been doused with cold water, instantly calming down: "You are right. Why would he go to such lengths? Why do you think he hasn't broken with us all these years? It is because he doesn't trust any other family in the court. Therefore, he only has us. Now that he no longer wants us, could it be that he has found another family?"

Du Yu's expression shifted: "Who else could there be? Among the three major families in court, none would lower themselves to be his errand boys. And no other family possesses the strength of our Du family."

"What about Wei Zhang?" Du Minghuan looked at him. "We have never caught him. You always said the He family members weren't killed by him, but now that so many people are dead, and it is clearly aimed at us, if it isn't Wei Zhang, then who could it be?!"

"I know Wei Zhang's suspicion is growing, but he is still not enough!" Du Yu was also becoming agitated. "Even if such a person exists, they must be someone far more influential than Wei Zhang!"

Du Minghuan fell silent.

He had to admit these words were correct. Wei Zhang had plenty of motive and sufficient capability to kill, but he lacked the most crucial point: he was merely a fugitive guard; he could not see Yan Bei.

"I keep feeling like we have overlooked something very important," Du Yu said, clenching his jaw. "The net being cast over our heads is getting wider and wider. Something must be wrong!

"Perhaps on that night, it wasn't just Wei Zhang who escaped! There was someone even more important than Wei Zhang..."

"Big Brother!"

Just as Du Yu reached that point, Du Minghuan's younger brother burst through the door: "I heard that an imperial decree was suddenly issued today to thoroughly investigate the murders of the He and Zhang families. There is already much talk outside, saying our Marquis's manor intended to suppress the matter, and everyone is guessing what the hidden truth is!

"What is going on?"

Du Minghuan's temples throbbed: "The court session just ended; how can there be rumors so quickly? Who is spreading them outside?!"

"Master!"

At that moment, the steward of the Marquis's manor also rushed in: "A messenger just arrived from the Court of Judicial Review. They said the Emperor issued a decree today for the Three Judicial Offices to investigate He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode, and just now, Empress Dowager Shen sent someone to the Court of Judicial Review to inquire about the matter!"

The faces of the three men in the room changed instantly.

They all knew the Emperor and Empress Dowager Shen were rivals; usually, when one side tried to handle something, the other would find a way to undermine them.

Yesterday, the eldest son of the Shen family had come to their door aggressively, only to be suppressed by Gao An. Fearing they could not afford to offend the Jingyang Prince's Manor, he had left full of resentment.

Today, the decree was issued by the Emperor, and it was something the Jingyang Prince had brought up publicly. How could the Shen family not harbor ill will?

Both He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode were trusted subordinates of the Du family, promoted by Du Minghuan himself; everyone in the capital knew this.

Such a massive incident had occurred within the two families. Originally, they had tried to suppress it, but now it had been brought to light. Even if people didn't know, it was clear there was something suspicious behind the Zhang and He families.

The Du family had long been arrogant in the capital, but when two of their subordinates died like this, they had remained silent, nearly managing to gloss over it. Could the Shen family not see the abnormality in that?

If Yan Bei had been biased toward them, no one would have been foolish enough to seek trouble for themselves.

But today, Yan Bei had taken the initiative to expose it, effectively cutting off his own wings. With that, what hesitation could the Shen family have?

They would not miss this opportunity to kick them while they were down!

This time, it was as if both Empress Dowager Shen and the Emperor were descending upon the Du family!