That day, the Fourth Prince was working at the Ministry of Revenue. He had a premonition that his words to the Crown Prince that day would definitely provoke action from the latter. Therefore, he specifically discussed with Tang Bin, the Prefect of the Capital, and arranged for Gao Tan and Shan Lao to be swapped out. At this moment, the two of them were no longer in the Ministry of Justice prison.

"Your Highness, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice is waiting outside. He says he has important business to discuss with you," a eunuch who serves tea and cleans at the Ministry of Revenue reported to the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince was reading official documents when he heard the little eunuch say this. He smiled and said, "Good."

When the Fourth Prince came out of the Ministry of Revenue, he saw the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice standing at the door. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince, the Vice Minister immediately came up to him.

"Your Highness, I have come to report that someone has indeed come to fulfill your request," the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice said upon receiving the news.

"Thank you for your trouble. I knew it was about this. They really couldn't wait. Where are the people? Have they all been captured?" Fourth Prince asked with delight.

"They've all been caught. They didn't expect that we had prepared skilled fighters for them, so they were caught very quickly," said the Vice Minister of Justice.

"Alright, I'll go right away!" the Fourth Prince said excitedly.

After the Fourth Prince returned to the Ministry of Revenue to change out of his court robes, he gave some instructions to the people there and then left the palace with the Vice Minister of Justice, heading straight for the Ministry of Justice's prison.

As the Fourth Prince followed the Vice Minister of Justice through the entrance to the Ministry of Justice prison, a foul, rancid stench assaulted his nostrils. Occasionally, faint sounds could be heard emanating from within.

As the Fourth Prince followed the Vice Minister of Justice inside, he asked, "How did they get into the heavily guarded Ministry of Justice prison?"

The Vice Minister of Justice said, "They came in disguised as jailers delivering food. This is something I really need to investigate: why were they able to enter the Ministry of Justice prison so easily?"

Fourth Master's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "The other party probably has someone in the Ministry of Justice prison, which is why they were able to get in so easily."

The Vice Minister of Justice's expression tightened, and he quickly said, "Then this humble official must carefully review all these people."

Fourth Master shook his head and said, "No need. Let's take a look at the two big fish we caught first. If we can get them to talk, we might be able to find out the truth quickly."

The two followed the jailer into the deepest part of the prison, and came to a cell and said, "Have you caught them all? They're all desperate criminals. Don't let them hurt the prince!"

"Your Honor, their hands and feet are already chained. They won't hurt anyone," the jailer said.

When the jailer unlocked the cell, the Fourth Prince and the Vice Minister of Justice entered the dark and gloomy prison together. They saw two men in black, both locked inside out and hanging from a wooden stake.

The Fourth Prince walked up to them and examined them one by one, then asked the Vice Minister of Justice, "Who are these two people?"

The Vice Minister of Justice said, "Your Highness, these two are professional assassins. They only need money to kill for others."

Fourth Master was taken aback, not expecting the other party to even use professional assassins. He then said to them, "You only need money to do anything?"

One of them said, "That's right, but now we brothers have fallen here. Do as you please, kill us or torture us."

The Fourth Prince said, "I don't want to kill you. Just tell me who hired you to do this. If you tell me the truth, I will not only release you, but also give you a sum of money."

The Vice Minister of Justice, who was listening from the side, was somewhat surprised. He knew that the Fourth Master was always decisive and resolute in his actions and would never do anything with such Jianghu people. This time, however, he was completely unlike the impression he usually gave people.

The man was also taken aback. They had thought that falling into the hands of the cold-hearted Fourth Prince meant certain death, but they never expected it to turn out this way.

"The prince really won't kill us!" the man said.

"I always keep my word!" the Fourth Prince immediately replied.

“Xiao Wu, even if we manage to get out, our reputation in this line of work will be ruined. What will we be able to do after that?” another person suddenly said. The reputation he was referring to was actually the code of conduct for professional assassins: once you’ve taken someone’s money, you must never betray your master.

“You’re about to lose your lives, what’s the point of professional ethics!” the Vice Minister of Justice couldn’t help but say.

Both men were speechless, exchanging a glance. The one called Xiao Wu said, "Monkey, self-preservation is the most important thing. Let's take the silver and run away."

Seeing that they were already interested, Fourth Master curled his lips and said, "Very good, you can tell me now. Who sent you to assassinate these two people?"

“Alright, then we brothers will trust the Fourth Prince this once. The person who sent us to assassinate these two is a man named Shi Junyan. He gave us ten thousand taels of silver and told us to sneak into the Ministry of Justice prison and kill them,” Xiao Wu said.

“Shi Junyan? And his surname is Shi!” Fourth Master said.

"Your Highness, is this the same person you mentioned last time, the one surnamed Shi?" asked the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

“Simple, I have already brought his portrait.” The Fourth Prince took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He slowly unfolded it and showed them the portrait of the man surnamed Shi drawn by Gao Tan.

“Yes, that’s him!” said the one called “Monkey.”

The Fourth Prince nodded, then immediately put the portrait into his robes and said to the Vice Minister of Justice, "Release them all. But keep it a secret from outsiders; tell them that I have dealt with them."

As the Fourth Prince emerged from the Ministry of Justice prison, he boarded his carriage, helped Su Peisheng up, and said to him, "Go to the Prefectural Governor's residence immediately."

Fourth Master sat upright in the carriage with his eyes closed, his face remaining as calm as ever. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. If he wasn't mistaken, this "Shi Junyan" was definitely related to the Shi family, and if he investigated along the Shi family's lines, finding this person wouldn't be difficult.

If it really is someone from the Shi family, then it's almost certain that they're connected to the Crown Prince! The Fourth Prince's heart pounded. He didn't know what the outcome would be if he reported this to Emperor Kangxi like this.

Before he could even make up his mind, they had already arrived at the Prefectural Governor's residence. He didn't have time to think it over, and with Su Peisheng's help, he got off the carriage.

Fourth Master walked briskly, heading straight for Tang Bin's yamen.

"Your Highness!" Tang Bin exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the Fourth Prince, immediately standing up from behind his desk in the main hall. He had just finished judging several cases and was currently sitting behind the desk organizing documents.

"Shi Junyan. Lord Tang, do you dare to investigate the Shi family?" Fourth Master said excitedly.

"The Shi family, is it the Shi family of the Crown Princess?" Tang Bin asked.

“That’s right! It’s the home of that Inspector Shi. Go back and dig up his family history, back to the eighteenth generation. See if there’s anyone in his family named ‘Shi Junyan’,” said the Fourth Prince.