Moonlight
The night at Garan Temple is so quiet that you can hear the moonlight falling on the blue tiles.
He Mo hid in the dense shade of an old locust tree, breathing very softly, almost blending into the chirping of insects around him.
His night clothes absorbed all the moonlight, making even his outline indistinct.
Not far away, the door of the side hall creaked open, and a hunched figure slipped inside.
It was Eunuch Liu, the eunuch serving Consort Li.
He Mo's gaze was like that of an eagle, following closely until the figure completely disappeared behind the door. Only then did he drift silently to the window like a falling leaf.
A small hole was torn in the window paper, just enough for him to glimpse the scene inside the hall.
The hall was covered in cobwebs and dust, and several clay Buddha statues were crooked and about to fall. Only a solitary lamp on the offering table flickered, casting the shadows of the two people on the mottled wall, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.
A woman dressed in plain palace attire stood with her back to the window, her long hair loosely tied up and secured with only a jade hairpin.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, as if she were sobbing. The embroidered shoes peeking out from under her skirt were small and exquisite, embroidered with a few withering orchids. They showed their former elegance, but were now covered in dust.
He Mo's heart stirred; this figure from behind bore a striking resemblance to Consort Xi, who had long resided in the cold palace and was practically invisible.
A man in black robes stood opposite her, his figure as straight as a pine tree. He was backlit, so her face was not visible, but she could sense his imposing and composed demeanor, which suggested he was no ordinary person.
"How did things go?" The woman's voice was trembling with tears, yet as gentle as damp cotton wool, lightly soothing the heart.
With a thud, Eunuch Liu knelt down, his forehead hitting the cold gold bricks with a dull thud.
"Your Excellency, things... things have gone awry. Although the Crown Prince has been poisoned, the head physician of the Imperial Medical Academy is highly skilled and has managed to temporarily keep him alive..." His voice trembled, and his body shook. "I... I have done as you instructed and put the 'tethering agent' into the Crown Prince's ginseng tea. It is absolutely true!"
"waste!"
The woman turned around abruptly, and He Mo's gaze met hers. It was an extremely beautiful face, with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn water, but at this moment it was filled with a fierce aura.
Her tear tracks were still wet, and teardrops still clung to her eyelashes. Yet her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, churning with despair and madness, like a peony wilted by a storm, both pitiful and terrifying.
"If he survives, we will all die!" Consort Xi's voice was sharp and shrill, completely different from her gentle tone just now. "Do you know how much Minister Jin paid for this? Can you afford to pay with your head?"
Eunuch Liu was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, and blood quickly seeped from his forehead.
"My lord, spare my life! I'll flee right now, far away, and never return to the capital! Please, my lord, spare my family..."
Consort Xi sneered, tossing a heavy cloth bag from her sleeve. It landed at Eunuch Liu's feet with a dull thud. "Inside are five hundred taels of silver notes, enough for you to survive a lifetime in another place."
"Dare to say another word, and I'll ensure you and your entire family die a horrible death!"
As if granted a pardon, Eunuch Liu scrambled to pick up the cloth bag, thanked him profusely, and rushed out.
He Mo's heart tightened, and he was about to concentrate on listening to the movements of the man in black when he suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from behind him.
He reacted extremely quickly, almost instinctively turning to the side, hiding himself even deeper into the shadows beneath the window.
As Eunuch Liu rushed out the door, his steps were so hurried that he nearly bumped into a pillar. He steadied himself and, as if possessed, glanced back, his gaze landing precisely on the window where He Mo was hiding.
The shadow seemed darker than elsewhere, and a very faint outline could be vaguely seen.
"Who?!" Liu Gonggong shouted, his voice filled with panic.
The noblewoman Xi and the man in black inside the hall fell silent instantly. He Mo could even imagine that the man must already have his hand on his sword, his eyes sharp as knives.
The air seemed to freeze. He Mo held his breath, his fingertips gripping the short sword at his waist, his mind racing.
Once exposed, not only will all previous efforts be in vain, but one will also be surrounded.
Just at this critical moment, a dog barking suddenly came from the back mountain of the temple, followed by shouts from villagers, breaking the silence of the night.
Liu Gonggong was startled, his attention completely drawn to the shadow. He frowned and glanced suspiciously at the area below the window again. Seeing that the shadow remained but there was no further movement, he assumed he was seeing things, cursed "damn stray dog," and quickened his pace, disappearing into the night in a disheveled state.
He Mo only breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his footsteps completely disappear into the distance; his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
He dared not linger any longer. Before the two people inside the hall could react, he retreated into the darkness like a ghost, disappearing beyond the walls of the Garan Temple in a few leaps.
Back at the inn, He Mo lit a candle and sorted through his discoveries of the day.
The Crown Prince's poisoning was orchestrated by Consort Xi at the behest of Eunuch Liu, using the deadly poison "Qianji Yin." It seems that Consort Xi is also connected to a "Minister Jin."
The identity of the man in black was unknown, but judging from his demeanor, he was no ordinary person.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. How could Consort Xi, a discarded concubine in the deep palace, dare to plot against the Crown Prince? And who is Minister Jin?
What exactly is the relationship between him, Consort Xi, and the man in black? Is their ultimate goal simply to eliminate the Crown Prince?
Countless mysteries entangled He Mo's mind like a spider web.
The moonlight outside the window remained cold and clear. As He Mo watched the candlelight flicker, his gaze became even more resolute.
He blew out the candle, disappearing into the darkness. Tonight's discovery was just the beginning.
He Mo returned to his room at the inn, closed the door, changed out of his night clothes which were covered in dew and dust, and then sat down to ponder by the dim light of a solitary lamp.
The tea on the table had long since gone cold, but he was completely unaware, his fingertips unconsciously stroking an inconspicuous jade pendant at his waist.
That was the only memento her father, Mo Yi, had left her, and it was also the sole motivation for him to continue his investigation. How could he forget the humiliation of being forced to change his family's surname back then?
What I saw and heard at the temple tonight was like a pebble thrown into a deep, still pool, creating ripples that also made the outline of the truth increasingly blurred.
Why would Consort Xi, a forgotten woman in the deep palace, a powerful minister, and an unidentified man in black robes, conspire together to murder the crown prince? The "Tethering Influence" poison is so potent that ordinary people can't even see it. How could Consort Xi, a woman in the deep palace, so easily succeed?
There must be a deeper force behind this.
He recalled the Empress Dowager's attitude. She seemed to trust him, entrusting him with the important task of protecting the Crown Prince, but at a crucial moment, she asked him to protect Consort Xian. Her actions were strange in every way.
Did the Empress Dowager already know everything and was just using him to eliminate dissidents?
And what about Consort Li? Eunuch Liu is her confidant. Is she really completely unaware of this? Or is she also a pawn in this grand scheme, or even the mastermind behind it all?
Countless questions swirled in his mind, weaving a tight net that trapped He Mo within it.
He knew that the few words he had heard tonight were far from enough. He needed more clues, he needed to find the key that could connect all the mysteries.
Just then, a very slight noise came from outside the window, as if something had landed on the windowsill.
He Mo's eyes sharpened, and his body tensed instantly, like a cheetah poised to pounce.
He didn't get up immediately, but listened carefully to confirm that there was only one breathing sound outside, and the breathing was steady, not like an assassin.
He slowly walked to the window and suddenly flung open the curtains.
Under the moonlight, a young man dressed in a light blue outfit was squatting on the windowsill, holding something wrapped in oil paper. When he saw He Mo suddenly appear, he was not flustered. Instead, he showed his white teeth and said with a grin, "Brother He, it's me, A-Che."
A-Che was a beggar whom He Mo met in the capital. He was quick-witted and well-informed. He Mo would occasionally help him out and also obtained a lot of useful information from him.
He Mo breathed a sigh of relief, opened the window, and whispered, "What brings you here so late at night?"
A-Che jumped down from the windowsill and handed over the oil paper package in his hand: "Brother He, this is what you wanted. I went to great lengths to find out about it from an old janitor who sweeps the floors at the Imperial Hospital."
He Mo took the oil paper package, which was warm to the touch.
He opened it and found several crumpled sheets of paper with some words written crookedly in charcoal.
“The poison that His Highness the Crown Prince was poisoned with was indeed ‘Qianji Yin’,” A-Che leaned closer and said in a low voice. “But strangely, the people from the Imperial Hospital also found something else in the Crown Prince’s medicine residue, called ‘Zui Xian San’.”
When the two poisons are mixed, the toxicity is increased, but the effects are also more insidious.
"Drunken Immortal Powder?" He Mo frowned. "These two poisons, one from the Western Regions and the other from the Southern Frontier, are impossible for ordinary people to obtain at the same time."
“That’s right.” A-Che nodded. “And I also heard that yesterday afternoon, the steward of Minister Jin’s mansion secretly went to ‘Huichuntang’ in the west of the city and bought a large amount of ‘Angelica’ and ‘Ligusticum striatum’. Isn’t that strange? Why would someone buy so many tonics at this time of year?”
Jin Shangshu's residence?
A thought struck He Mo, and a bold guess formed in his mind.
"Ache, help me investigate one more thing." He Mo looked at the young man with a serious expression. "Go and find out if any merchants from the Western Regions or Southern Frontier have had any dealings with the Jin Minister's Mansion recently."
Also, pay attention to what Consort Xi's status was before she entered the palace, and where her family is now.
"Don't worry, Brother He, I've got it covered!" A-Che patted his chest and assured him. "But..." he scratched his head, looking embarrassed, "Prices have gone up recently, and I only have so much money..."
He Mo took out a small piece of silver from his pocket and handed it to A Che: "Is this enough? There will be a big reward after the job is done."
"That's enough!" A-Che's eyes lit up as he took the silver and stuffed it into his pocket. "Brother He, wait for my good news!" After saying that, he turned to leave, but then, as if remembering something, he turned back and added, "By the way, Brother He, when I came here just now, I saw a few people dressed in black loitering around the inn. Their eyes looked a bit strange, so be careful."
He Mo's heart sank, and he nodded: "I understand. Be careful yourself."
A-Che responded and quickly disappeared into the night.
He Mo closed the window and returned to the table. He looked at the note on the table and recalled A Che's words. He felt that the fog in front of him seemed to have cleared up a bit, but new doubts emerged.
The angelica and chuanxiong purchased by Minister Jin's residence appear to be tonics, but when combined with certain other herbs, they can be made into a slow-acting poison.
His sending people to investigate merchants in the Western Regions and Southern Frontier further confirmed his suspicions—Minister Jin was likely secretly colluding with external forces.
As for Consort Xi, her identity and family may be the key to understanding why she was used by Minister Jin.
The men in black that A-Che mentioned were most likely after him. Although he hadn't been exposed at the Garan Temple tonight, he had clearly attracted the attention of some people.
It seems his investigation has affected the interests of some people, and the road ahead will be even more dangerous.
He Mo picked up the teacup on the table and drank the cold tea in one gulp. The icy tea slid down his throat, making him even more alert.
He knew he couldn't back down. For his father's injustice, for Yin Li, and for all living beings, he had to persevere, even if it meant facing mountains of knives and seas of fire.
The moonlight outside the window grew stronger, shining through the window frame and onto his resolute face, outlining a cold and hard profile.
The moon is so beautiful tonight, I miss her so much.
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