Blood Ripples
Di Renjie's departure was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake. The ripples were not violent, but they were enough for some sensitive people to detect the undercurrents beneath the surface.
The singing and dancing inside the hall remained boisterous, but Yi Xing keenly noticed that the conversations at several seats had quieted down, and their gazes seemed to drift in and out of sight of Di Renjie's departing figure before quickly returning to their own, as if nothing had happened. This was a tacit understanding within officialdom: remaining vigilant against any possible disturbance, yet never easily revealing it.
Ming Shiyin calmly sipped his wine, even taking the time to pick up a delicate lotus-shaped pastry and place it on the small plate in front of Yi Xing.
"Try it. It's a dish made by the Imperial Kitchen. It's sweet but not cloying. You should like it." His tone was as casual as if he were chatting in his own backyard.
Yi Xing stared at the elegantly presented pastry, but didn't touch it. His entire focus was on analyzing what had just happened. "Master, Lord Di…"
“It must be an important matter that requires the Dali Temple to handle immediately,” Ming Shiyin interrupted him, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear. “Moreover, it is not convenient to announce this at the banquet.”
The inconvenience of publicizing it meant either it involved palace secrets, or… it was something so serious that it could cause panic. Yi Xing's heart sank slightly. He remembered what his master had mentioned before: there seemed to be an undercurrent targeting Yao Tian. Could this be related to that?
Time flowed slowly amidst the music, but it was somewhat unbearable for Yi Xing. He felt the warm, sweet air in the hall becoming increasingly heavy, and his chest felt tight. He quietly took a breath, his fingers clenching the porcelain bottle in his sleeve, but he didn't take it out.
About an incense stick's time later, a short figure dressed in the robes of a low-ranking official from the Dali Temple hurried into the main hall through a side door, his steps hurried yet restrained. He had a pair of large, fan-like, hairy ears and sharp eyes; he was none other than Li Yuanfang, Di Renjie's capable assistant.
Li Yuanfang didn't look around, but went straight to the area below the throne and whispered something to the chief eunuch in charge of the banquet. His face was tense, and his signature large ears trembled slightly with nervousness. The chief eunuch's expression also changed several times, and then he quickly walked to the female official standing by the throne with her hands at her sides.
This commotion was even more pronounced than when Di Renjie left his seat. Even Wu Zetian, seated high above, seemed to slightly turn her head to listen to the female official's whispered report. The Empress's fingers, clad in ornate armor, lightly tapped the armrest of her dragon throne. Her face was hidden behind the pearl tassels, making it difficult to see clearly, but the invisible pressure emanating from her caused several ministers nearby to unconsciously hold their breath.
Soon, the chief eunuch returned to Li Yuanfang's side and nodded. Li Yuanfang breathed a sigh of relief, bowed again, and quickly withdrew from the hall. Throughout the entire process, his gaze never swept over Ming Shiyin and Yi Xing, as if they were no different from the other guests.
But Yi Xing knew that things would not be that simple.
Sure enough, a moment later, a young eunuch quietly approached Ming Shiyin's seat, bowed and whispered, "Lord Ming, His Majesty has decreed that you stay a while after the banquet, as Lord Di has something to ask you."
The voice was soft, but to Yi Xing it was like a thunderclap. Di Renjie had just gone to deal with an emergency, and then turned around and asked His Majesty to detain someone, and that someone was Ming Shiyin… The implication was self-evident.
Ming Shiyin remained expressionless, even with a faint smile playing on his lips. He nodded slightly and said, "Your subject obeys."
The young eunuch withdrew. Ming Shiyin picked up his wine cup, his fingertips gently tracing the rim of the cup. His gaze fell upon the deep night outside the palace, as if he could penetrate the palace walls and see everything that was happening, something unknown to others.
"Master..." Yi Xing's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible worry. He wasn't afraid, but rather worried that this was a carefully designed trap targeting Yao Tian.
"What's the panic?" Ming Shiyin said calmly, turning his gaze back to Yi Xing with a strange, almost encouraging look in his eyes. "Yi Xing, do you know that crisis also contains opportunity? Di Renjie is a man who values evidence."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Yi Xing already understood. If this was a trap, then the key to breaking the deadlock lay in finding loopholes in the evidence, or even... turning the tables on them.
Another half hour passed, and the banquet finally ended in an atmosphere that seemed lively but was actually fraught with an eeriness. Wu Zetian departed for the palace, and the officials took their leave in order. As many people left, their gazes lingered on Ming Shiyin for a moment, seemingly casually, with a mixture of curiosity, inquiry, or schadenfreude.
Soon, the vast Yaoguang Palace became empty, with only palace servants tidying up the remaining dishes, and Ming Shiyin and Yi Xing sitting quietly in their original spots. The brilliant lights illuminated the desolate hall, making the previous commotion seem like nothing more than a dream.
Footsteps sounded. Di Renjie returned, his expression even more somber than when he left, the hem of his official robe seemingly damp with night dew. Behind him, besides Cheng Yaojin, was another person.
The man was tall and thin, dressed in a dark gray cloth robe with a white coat resembling a physician's robe casually draped over it, giving him a somewhat unkempt appearance. His face was pale, almost translucent, with sunken eyes and tightly pressed lips, exuding a melancholy and weariness born from long immersion in something. Most striking were the enormous medicine chest on his back, emitting a faint green glow, and the ethereal herbal scent emanating from him, along with… an indescribable, chilling aura of death and rebirth.
Bian Que, the chief forensic pathologist of the Canyon Major Crimes Unit.
He followed silently behind Di Renjie, like a lifeless shadow. Only when his deep-set eyes occasionally lifted would a sharp and cold light flash across them, as if they could see through all the disguises of flesh and blood and look directly at the most essential form of life.
The moment Yi Xing saw Bian Que, his breath caught in his throat almost imperceptibly. Even this man had been alarmed; it seemed what had happened was far from ordinary.
"Lord Ming, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Di Renjie stopped in front of Ming Shiyin and got straight to the point without any pleasantries. "Something has happened in the palace, and I need Lord Ming's assistance in the investigation."
His gaze immediately fell on Yi Xing, his sharp scrutiny carrying a hint of inquiry: "And who is this?"
“My apprentice, Yixing, has difficulty walking and needs someone to take care of him, so I keep him with me,” Ming Shiyin replied calmly, his tone even. “What is it, Lord Di? Please speak freely.”
Di Renjie's gaze lingered for a moment on Yi Xing's pale and quiet face, seemingly judging him to pose no threat, before turning back to Ming Shiyin and saying in a deep voice:
"The Doctor in charge of organizing the calligraphy and paintings of the Hanlin Academy, Lord Wang, was found murdered in his duty room an hour ago."
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