Chapter 16 "He didn't sleep either."

==Chapter Sixteen: Doubt==

Xiao Yu had a handsome face with sharp features, and his deep phoenix eyes held a faint smile as he stared at the woman in front of him.

Su Wanyue met his deep gaze, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I didn't think that way. Even Your Highness doesn't know who did what happened tonight. How could I, a mere woman, possibly know?"

Xiao Yu's smile faded slightly; he was no longer surprised by her boldness. The man glanced at her again, then got up and went to the wooden bed. Compared to the environment of the Prince's mansion, the temple's environment was undoubtedly simple. Su Wanyue took a deep breath and followed him onto the bed.

With such a big event happening tonight, no one could sleep. Su Wanyue lay with her eyes closed for half an hour, but she still couldn't fall asleep. She gently bit her lip, hoping that dawn would break soon. Just as she turned to her side, Xiao Yu suddenly spoke up, "Isn't Your Highness going to sleep?"

He didn't sleep either...

Su Wanyue's body stiffened for a moment. "I'm going to sleep now."

A gentle night breeze blew, and the entire temple fell into silence.

The next day, the sun shone brightly, the air in the courtyard was fresh, and there was no smell of blood, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Today, Xiao Yu was dressed in a purple brocade robe with cloud patterns and a jade pendant around his waist, looking like a gentle and noble young master. Su Wanyue was a woman, so she took her time to get ready. She raised her bright and beautiful eyes and said, "Your Highness, why don't you go to my mother's place first? I will follow shortly."

Xiao Yu glanced at the woman with snow-white skin and a beautiful face in the bronze mirror, "It's alright."

Last night's events were so significant that everyone at Guimin Temple knew about them. Madam Xie brought her two children to visit Consort Qin early in the morning. "My courtyard is quite a distance from Your Highness's. I didn't hear a thing last night. It was Zicheng who had sharp ears and heard the commotion. Everyone in the capital knows that Your Highness came to Guimin Temple to offer incense on His Majesty's orders. It's such a coincidence that there was an assassination attempt on the very first day. I'm afraid someone is behind it. After Your Highness returns to the palace, you must report this matter to His Majesty and ask him to take charge for you."

If no one was behind this, who would dare to be so bold and take such a risk? Among all the princes, the Crown Prince is the most ambitious, but he is also naive and lacks cunning. Could this have been done by His Highness the Crown Prince?

Consort Qin rubbed her forehead, looking unusually haggard. "I understand Madam Xie's meaning. I will return to the palace this morning. Would Madam Xie like to stay a few more nights or return to the capital together?"

Lady Xie originally wanted to stay at Guimin Temple for a few more days because the Imperial Concubine was staying there. Now that the Imperial Concubine was leaving, what was the point of her staying at Guimin Temple? Besides, if there were thieves again tonight, it would be terrifying. Lady Xie had goosebumps. "This humble woman is willing to return to the capital with the Imperial Concubine."

Su Wanyue and Xiao Yu walked in one after the other, and she said with a smile, "Greetings to Mother Consort."

"I will be returning to the palace today. Yu'er and Weiyang may come with me."

Just as they were about to send someone to Qin Sisi's room, Qin Sisi's maid rushed in in a panic, "Your Highness, the young lady has a fever."

Consort Qin's expression hardened, and she stood up. "Bring Sisi to my palanquin and return to the palace immediately."

When the Imperial Concubine returned to the palace, the abbot and others went to see her off. The Imperial Concubine's sedan chair went first, followed by the carriages of Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng, with the carriage bearing the insignia of "Duke Xie's Mansion" bringing up the rear.

The carriages parted ways on South Street. The Imperial Concubine, Xiao Yu, and Su Wanyue entered the palace. The scorching sun enveloped the palace, making it difficult to breathe.

The emperor's eunuchs were already waiting at Chengqian Palace. Upon seeing Consort Qin, the eunuchs rushed forward like lackeys, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness. Your Highness has been frightened. His Majesty said he would come to visit you tonight."

"Your Highness, Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence."

It was within Consort Qin's expectations that the Emperor would summon the two of them. Consort Qin raised her peach blossom eyes slightly and said, "You two should go quickly, don't keep His Majesty waiting."

His Majesty summoned Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. There was no morning court session today. His Majesty was dressed in a bright yellow casual robe and wore a Tongtian crown. Half an hour before Su Wanyue and Xiao Yu arrived, His Majesty had already summoned Rong Xi, the Prefect of the Capital and the Imperial Uncle.

The Emperor hesitated, frowned, and then spoke in a deep voice, "My son, what are your thoughts on what happened last night?"

Xiao Yu's expression was calm, and his voice was clear and cold. "Your subject does not know. I only know that the man in black came with great force. When your subject arrived, the man in black almost killed your subject's wife."

The Emperor's expression was inscrutable. He glanced at the gentle and docile woman beside him, whose head was slightly lowered, and said, "I understand. I have ordered the Prefect of the Capital to investigate this matter quickly. Once the person behind this is found, I will not tolerate it."

"Thank you, Father Emperor." Xiao Yu cupped his hands in thanks, guessing that the emperor still had something to say.

The Emperor remained silent for a moment, then asked gently, "By the way, why did Yu'er decide to go to Guimin Temple last night?"

It wasn't that His Majesty was suspicious, but rather that at this moment, the Crown Prince's Palace could no longer afford to make any more mistakes.

"Today is a day off, and I also wanted to go to Guimin Temple to offer incense, so I went to Guimin Temple."

In fact, even if he didn't say it, the Emperor could guess that Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng were a harmonious couple, so it was perfectly normal for him to be in such a hurry to go to Guimin Temple to see his beloved. If anyone was to blame, it was the person behind the scenes.

The Emperor closed his eyes tightly for a moment. “Once the truth comes out, I will stand up for you and the Consort. You may go back now.”

With his head bowed, Eunuch Zhou personally escorted Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue to the entrance of the Qianqing Palace. "Your Highness, Your Highness the Princess Consort, please take care."

Eunuch Zhou returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to report to the Emperor. The Emperor's face was grim, his eyes sharp as knives. "Who do you think did this?" he asked.

"This old servant does not know either, but everything must be based on evidence. I think once Lord Zhou thoroughly investigates the real culprit, we will know everything."

His Majesty: "Go and invite the Empress over."

===

The main house, the Prince Cheng's residence.

News always travels fast in the capital. When the maids learned that their princess had just survived an assassination attempt, they had already instructed the kitchen to prepare a calming soup. They all gathered around her, saying, "Your Highness, are you alright? I heard that assassins broke into Guimin Temple last night. We were terrified."

The woman's skin was as white as snow, and one could not tell anything from her complexion alone. Su Wanyue smiled slightly and reassured her, "Your Highness arrived in time, so I am fine."

"It's good that Your Highness is alright. I was worried sick all day." Chunzhi held out a calming soup to Su Wanyue with both hands. "How could an assassin have entered Guimin Temple all of a sudden? Could it have been done on purpose?"

"Lord Zhou, the Prefect of the Capital, is already investigating, and the truth should come out soon."

However, Su Wanyue felt that there was something strange about what happened last night. The most likely person to do this was His Highness the Crown Prince, but she felt that His Highness the Crown Prince couldn't be that stupid. If he were that stupid, he would have lost his position as the heir apparent long ago. But if it wasn't His Highness the Crown Prince, then who could it be?

Actually, there is another, least likely possibility: that these assassins were targeting the Imperial Concubine, or perhaps they were after her.

This was the first time Su Wanyue had encountered such a problem. She sighed softly, not even wanting to drink the calming soup anymore. "You can all go down first. I want to rest for a while."

"This servant will go and light the sandalwood incense," Qin'er said hastily, having long since figured out Su Wanyue's habits.

Su Wanyue has a habit of playing chess with herself whenever she thinks about something. After finishing a game, she can figure it out. But today, she played several games and still had no clue.

Su Wanyue suddenly smacked her head. Everyone says that people get sick from not being used to the local environment. Could it be that her brain is not working properly since she came to Beili? The woman frowned slightly.

This was the first time she had been caught up in a situation and couldn't figure things out.

Because of the assassination incident at Guimin Temple, all the powerful families in the capital were on edge, fearing that the investigation by the Prefect of the Capital would reach them. It wasn't anything else they were afraid of, but rather that they would be framed or have to take the blame for someone else.

The Prefect of the Capital interrogated the prisoner for almost half a month, but still couldn't get anything out of him. During this time, the Prefect of the Capital even invited the abbot and the head monk of Guimin Temple to the capital.

***

That afternoon, the sky turned from clear to dark, and soon after, a bright bolt of lightning struck, followed by a fierce wind and a torrential downpour.

Mu Ziyi braved the torrential rain to arrive at the Prince Cheng's residence. He tossed his paper umbrella to the guards in the study, shook his clothes as he entered, and a maidservant served him freshly brewed Biluochun tea. Mu Ziyi lifted the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down. "Although the Prefect of the Capital is upright and incorruptible, his abilities are clearly insufficient. If Your Highness wants to know who is behind this, you might as well hand him over to the Court of Judicial Review."

The current Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is Xie Cheng. Despite his noble character, as pure as a pine tree and as clear as the moon, he is very skilled at judging criminals. He can solve any unsolved case involving wrongful convictions.

Moreover, this is just an assassination case involving martial arts figures. The Prefect of the Capital has already captured the suspect alive. How could he not get any information out of him? He's not a dead body.

Xiao Yu lowered his eyelids slightly, his vermilion brush seemingly drawing something. "We can't get any information out of the person behind this."

Unable to extract any information through interrogation...

In this capital city, there are only two possibilities for cases that cannot be solved through interrogation. One is that the body he is thinking of is dead, and there is no way to verify the facts. It would require a lot of witnesses and physical evidence to overturn the case, which would take a lot of effort and time. The other possibility is that there is someone of higher status protecting the case, and someone above is suppressing it. In that case, it is certain that nothing can be found out.

The Prefect of the Capital is upright and not part of the Crown Prince's faction. If he finds something, he will not hide it unless he has the Emperor's permission. If it is the Emperor's permission, then everything can be explained.

His Majesty still insists on favoring His Highness the Crown Prince. Even after the Crown Prince committed so many mistakes, including the previous salt smuggling incident, His Majesty still insists on favoring him.

Mu Ziyi asked through gritted teeth, "Was it done by the Crown Prince?"

"The person behind this is not a threat." Xiao Yu did not state his opinion, but slightly raised his eyelashes. "How's the matter I asked you to investigate going?"

Mu Ziyi slapped his forehead. He had forgotten something else important. He really couldn't understand why this person wanted to investigate his own princess. He unfolded the note in his palm. "Here, I asked that little monk. This is the fortune slip that Princess Cheng drew yesterday."

Parting the clouds and mist, spring branches emerge.

A phoenix perches on a parasol tree.