Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 199 The Sandalwood Box

“Ever since the Sixth Prince returned from Medicine King Valley, the Emperor has relied on him even more, almost inseparable from him. The last time the Emperor saw the Imperial Seal was on the night the Sixth Prince left the Imperial Study together. And the Sixth Prince urgently needed the Imperial Seal; the imperial edict establishing the heir apparent was waiting for its seal. He should be the one who most wanted to find the Imperial Seal, so it shouldn't have been him who took it,” Yan Mingzhang pondered.

"Huh? Surely it's not like the Emperor himself..." Rong Wanyin lowered her voice, "...is the Emperor himself crying 'stop thief'?"

Yan Mingzhang shook his head and remained silent. It wasn't impossible, no, it should be said that it was highly likely that the Emperor had done something. Judging from the Emperor's reaction these past few days, it seemed that the Sixth Prince had some kind of leverage over him, and he both feared and hated him.

Now, Yan Mingzhang and Rong Wanyin are facing a dilemma. The most likely explanation for this imperial seal is that it has been hidden by the emperor. But where is it hidden? And how was it hidden?

and also……

Since the emperor wants to hide it, shouldn't they find it? If they can't find it, how should they explain it?

Should they investigate this case or not? Rong Wanyin and Yan Mingzhang exchanged a glance, both looking troubled. The Emperor and Yan Mingzhang had a blood feud, and the Sixth Prince was no pushover either. Could they really entrust the fate of the nation to him? This matter concerned the succession, the fate of the nation, and the fate of all its people!

Rong Wanyin walked to the table, and Yan Mingzhang finally looked up at her. His eyes were resolute, and it was clear that he already had the answer in his heart! He had known where the imperial seal was for a long time! He just couldn't decide whether he should find it or not.

Rong Wanyin glanced at the guards at the door. The door to the Imperial Study was wide open. Although they were supposed to be there to investigate the case, they didn't really trust them. She wondered whose eyes and ears the guards at the door were.

Rong Wanyin gently placed her hand on the desk, raised her finger slightly, and pointed to the sandalwood box. Yan Mingzhang glanced at Rong Wanyin, blinked, and nodded weakly.

Yan Mingzhang lowered his voice and tilted his head closer to Rong Wanyin: "This box containing the jade seal is not the same one as before; it has been replaced."

"Huh?" Rong Wanyin was somewhat surprised and let out a gasp.

“I visited the Imperial Study six months ago. That was the last time I saw that sandalwood box. But the box then wasn’t this one. Although the pattern was the same, the dragon’s claws were raised at a different height. They weren’t this high, and the claws were thinner. This box is also slightly taller than that one.” Yan Mingzhang’s fingers traced the dragon pattern on the box, gently stroking it.

Rong Wanyin was already used to Yan Mingzhang's extraordinary memory: "So you were staring at this box the whole time? Is there something wrong with this box?"

Rong Wanyin pondered for a moment: "Could it be that the person who took the imperial seal switched the box as well?"

Yan Mingzhang shook his head: "There's no need. The imperial seal is already quite large and attracts attention. Taking a box with it would only make things more troublesome..."

Yan Mingzhang carefully opened the sandalwood box, and saw that the box was lined with golden silk, and on the silk was a square blue brick.

"Why? Why put in a blue brick? Isn't that more troublesome? What's the purpose?" Rong Wanyin was very puzzled. Stealing the imperial seal was already difficult enough, why bring in a blue brick as well?

The two exchanged a glance, and Rong Wanyin understood immediately. "Never mind, I'll go get something to eat, I'm so hungry!" Rong Wanyin walked to the door, but was stopped by a guard.

"Miss Rong, I'm sorry, but the Sixth Prince has ordered that everyone leaving the Imperial Study be thoroughly searched!" A dark-faced guard said impartially. "After all, nothing in the Imperial Study can be missing!"

"If you don't check when I come in, but check when I go out, do you think I'd steal anything! If you don't trust us, then don't make us check! You said nothing in the Imperial Study can be missing, but what about the missing Imperial Seal? Does that mean you're neglecting your duties? Does that mean you're blind?" Rong Wanyin's words were eloquent and she thoroughly enjoyed her scolding. After she finished, without waiting for the guards to react, she pretended to be furious and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

Rong Wanyin turned her head and grinned at Yan Mingzhang, her tail practically wagging in smug satisfaction. Her goal had been achieved!
Yan Mingzhang smiled when he saw her smiling face. When he saw her looking at him, he lowered his head a little shyly and started fiddling with the box, pretending to be very busy.

Suddenly, Yan Mingzhang's hand paused, his expression hardened, his eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Rong Wanyin with delight.

Rong Wanyin walked over quickly.

The answer is simple. The moment the imperial seal was lost, the sixth prince ordered his men to search every bookshelf and drawer, big and small, even the thicker books. Since the item could get in but couldn't get out, it meant it was still there...

Yan Mingzhang fiddled with the box for a few moments and opened it. It turned out that the box had a mechanism in both the upper and lower compartments. All he had to do was put the blue bricks into the hidden compartment of the box beforehand and close the lid. When needed, he could press a button, and the weight of the blue bricks inside the box would cause them to fall, pushing the jade seal into the lower hidden compartment.

This technique is very simple, a common street trick, like the darkest place under the lamp.

Yan Mingzhang bent the dragon claw on the box down a little, and with a "click", the hidden compartment of the sandalwood box opened!
The two carefully took out the blue bricks and removed the wooden board on the hidden compartment. Sure enough, there was an empty space underneath, just the right size to hold the jade seal!
However, the hidden compartment was completely empty; there was no jade seal as the two had expected! The jade seal had truly disappeared!

The two looked at the box inside and out in disbelief, but the imperial seal was really not there!
Someone beat them to it! Someone saw through the scheme and secretly took the imperial seal away!

Yan Mingzhang suddenly smiled with relief: "I see."

Rong Wanyin looked at him in confusion: "Huh?"

Yan Mingzhang spread out the Xuan paper, took a brush, and began to draw circles on it. He envisioned the Emperor taking this wooden box to his study a few days earlier, replacing the original one. Since the imperial seal was still in use then, no one would notice if the Emperor took anything with him. Later, the two of them would come to the study together, deliberately letting the Sixth Prince witness that the imperial seal was still there. Before leaving, the Emperor could simply press the mechanism when the Sixth Prince wasn't looking. The next day, when the two of them came to the study together, the Sixth Prince could open the sandalwood box to prove that the imperial seal had indeed disappeared.

The rest is self-evident. The Sixth Prince was no fool. After so many days, if he had just been careful, finding the Imperial Seal wouldn't have been difficult.

"My lord, there is still something I don't understand." Rong Wanyin was puzzled. "If the Sixth Prince has really taken the Imperial Seal, why is he crying 'stop thief' while being the thief himself?"

“Because he wants us to choose sides!” Yan Mingzhang sighed.