Chapter 55: Cannot Let Him Go

Before meeting Yan Bei, Yue Tang had always assumed that his current absolute control over military power and his leadership of the Bureau of Military Affairs were either powers granted to him by the Emperor upon his return to the capital or something he had fought to secure for himself.

In reality, however, the late Emperor had already promised him control over the Bureau of Military Affairs in a secret decree sent to him long ago.

To hold both the power to command troops and the power to deploy them in one's own hands was a major taboo for the imperial family in modern times.

The late Emperor had reigned for over twenty years without ever making a major error in governance; why would he suddenly issue such an order?

Was he losing his mind?

Judging by the fact that he chose to issue a secret decree, that was clearly not the case.

He was extremely cautious. He even seemed to fear that Yan Bei might refuse to return to the capital, so he proactively handed over the great authority of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

Much like the late Emperor's sudden decision to appoint Lady Shen as Empress while he was gravely ill, this move was equally incomprehensible.

And because of Yan Bei's forceful entry into the imperial court, he had successfully suppressed the rapid expansion of the Shen family's influence. This meant that even when Empress Dowager Shen held the late Emperor's final decree and the Imperial Seal at such a perfect moment as the Emperor's sudden passing, she was unable to cover the sky with one hand and overturn imperial power.

So, could the late Emperor's secret order for Yan Bei to return to the capital have been a move to anticipate this very situation?

If so, why did he perform the self-defeating act of appointing Consort Shen as Empress Dowager while he was deathly ill?

Since he had never appointed a crown prince, insisting on waiting until the Second Prince turned sixteen and returned to the capital after passing his period of misfortune, it was evident that his heart was set on the legitimate Second Prince. Therefore, he should not have created such obstacles for him.

Thus, beyond the mystery of the Prince Duan's manor, the late Emperor's own actions contained many points that required deep contemplation.

Furthermore, since Yan Bei claimed he had personally inspected the bodies of the Emperor and Prince Duan and that they matched the officially announced causes of death, it was highly probable that Prince Duan truly died of external injuries.

On that day, Prince Duan had even sent someone to urge Yue Tang to return to the capital immediately. If Prince Duan had truly committed suicide, why was he so eager to die that he wouldn't even wait for Yue Tang's return?

If it wasn't suicide, then who killed him?

At that time, only Empress Dowager Shen was in charge of the palace.

Moreover, she was only one step away from becoming the powerful Empress Dowager ruling from behind the curtain.

As Prince Duan was a person of immense weight in both the inner palace and the imperial court, it was a perfectly logical reason for the Shen family to kill him to remove an obstacle.

However, if it really was the Shen family's doing, why hadn't the Chu family—the Shen family's mortal enemies—taken advantage of it? Three years had passed, and the Emperor still had the support of Yan Bei's Jingyang Prince Manor. Why didn't the Chu family seize this leverage to suppress the Shen family?

Was it because they couldn't handle Yan Bei, who refused to take sides in the court, or was it because the Shen family held no incriminating evidence over the Chu family?

Regardless, with so many inconsistencies, this was no longer merely a tragedy confined to the household of Prince Duan.

All the suspicious points pointed toward a conspiracy behind the imperial court.

That day at the Du residence, meeting Yan Bei so suddenly, she had no time to think through so much.

The timing was also inappropriate.

Thinking about it carefully now, since this man held such immense power in the court, there was no reason not to use it on his path to vengeance.

Just as she was about to give an order, voices were heard from outside the courtyard wall.

Lan Qin walked out, stood for a moment, and then hurried back to report, "Du Yu has arrived."

Yue Tang paused, then walked out with Wei Zhang to the base of the courtyard wall.

Through the lattice window atop the wall, she could see a group of people entering the gate. Leading them was Xu He accompanied by Du Yu, followed by several servants from a Marquis's manor.

Yue Tang looked at the darkening sky and said to Lan Qin, "Go to the Prince's manor and ask Hua Lin what exactly the situation is with A-Li.

"While you're at it, ask Yan Bei if he is free to come out tomorrow."

After a moment's thought, she changed her mind: "Forget it. Just tell him that I will go to the Prince's manor to see A-Li tomorrow morning."

After dismissing Lan Qin, she immediately motioned for Wei Zhang to return to the room: "Come, let's go listen to what they are saying."

...

Du Yu had come on his father's orders.

That day, after the Marquis of Guangling returned from seeing Yan Bei at the Prince's manor, Du Yu had combed through the entire guest list of the banquet.

The result was that every household was a known friend or relative; there were no sudden, unknown strangers.

The only possibility was that something was wrong with the people the guests brought with them.

Du Yu quickly thought of Lady He.

For some reason, he always had a deep impression of that woman.

Although she had not socialized with anyone from beginning to end and had hardly spoken, her mere presence sitting there made her stand out like a crane among chickens.

But as the Marquis of Guangling gritted his teeth and explained the whole story of how Yan Bei had come to him, Du Yu pushed Lady He to the back of his mind, his heart racing with trepidation instead.

Yan Bei's sudden arrival was abnormal to begin with. For him to enter the study silently amidst so many people passing through and then retreat without leaving a trace, it would only make sense if it were done by someone from the Jingyang Prince Manor.

But he was a bit panicked: "All those pieces of evidence involve officials under the Shen family. Could he follow the trail and find something?"

"Impossible," the Marquis of Guangling said with certainty. "Setting him aside, could even you guess it?"

Du Yu could not.

He frowned deeply: "But now that the Prince knows and the items are in his hands, if the person behind this finds out, won't they hold us accountable?"

Mentioning this made the Marquis of Guangling's head throb.

He paced around with his hands on his hips before stopping under the curtain: "They have been obsessed with Xu He lately; I suspect they intend to use him for something.

"Let's bind Xu He to us first.

"Move quickly. Things have been extremely unlucky lately; don't let anything else go wrong."

And so, Du Yu arrived at the Xu residence.

Led into the main hall by Xu He, he looked around: "Why is the Madam not here?"

Xu He's face twitched: "Women are foolish; it is best they stay in the inner quarters. How could she easily come out to meet guests?"

Du Yu's gaze lingered on his face: "Your wife arrived at a very opportune moment. You were just one step away from successfully arranging a marriage with the Duan family; aren't you angry that she has interfered?"

Xu He replied with forced composure: "I married her first. My threat to sever ties with her that day was not done through proper channels. Now that she has come looking for me, I naturally feel great regret.

"But since things have come to this, it wouldn't be right to simply dismiss her and cause the Marquis's manor to lose its reputation."

Du Yu's expression soured.

When the Du family had originally come to propose a match, he hadn't been this "virtuous" and "loyal."

From this, it was clear that Xu He was undoubtedly aware of the secrets surrounding Lady He.

This made it even more impossible to let him go.

Du Yu brought out two identical documents: "Since the Top Scholar has not rejected us and has accepted my father as his foster father, here are two documents containing the birth details of both parties.

"Sign your name here and place your thumbprint, and this relationship will be finalized."

Xu He frowned: "There should be a ceremony for recognizing kin, and there must be witnesses present. How can a relationship be easily established with just two documents?"

Du Yu was dismissive, lowering his head to sip tea: "The ceremony can be held later. If you are in a hurry, it can be done within the next two days. As for witnesses, who could be more effective than an official government seal? Sign it, and I will take it to the government to have it stamped later."