After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

And so another month passed.

With the arrival of the dog days of summer, Beijing is as hot as a sweltering oven, and people's hearts are restless as well.

On this day, several elderly ministers with graying temples jointly submitted a memorial, and they all knelt outside the Xuanzheng Hall, refusing to get up.

Leading the group was Zhou Rong, a veteran of three reigns and Grand Tutor.

Holding the memorial, he knelt on the sun-baked, scorching white marble steps, tears streaming down his face: "A country cannot be without a ruler for even a day! Your Majesty has been missing for three months without a trace. If this continues, the people's hearts will be scattered, and the country will fall into chaos! We implore Your Highness Prince Rui to ascend the throne as soon as possible to bring peace to the land!"

Coincidentally, Xiao Jingchen arrived that day.

He hadn't attended court for a long time; his dark blue brocade robe was wrinkled, the collar unkempt, and dark circles under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept well. He had just turned the corner of the hall when he heard Zhou Rong's words.

He stopped abruptly, then rushed over in a few steps.

"What nonsense are you spouting!" His voice was hoarse, tinged with the urgency of a sob, his eyes bloodshot. "My fourth brother is alive! He just hasn't been found! What makes you think he's dead?!"

"Your Highness!" Zhou Rong knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold stone steps, pleading earnestly, "Broken Eagle Gorge is a dead end! Three months have passed, and there's been no sign of anyone, dead or alive—"

"shut up!"

Xiao Jingchen kicked out, striking the bronze crane palace lantern beside him. The gilded lamp stand crashed to the ground with a bang, spilling lamp oil all over the floor. Sparks landed on the hem of his robe, burning several small holes, but he was completely unaware.

He pointed at Zhou Rong's nose, trembling with rage, his fingertips shaking: "When my fourth brother was alive, didn't he treat you well? Didn't he give you generous salaries? Who smoothed over the troubles caused by the powerful families? Who guarded the border so you could serve as officials in the capital peacefully? And now you all curse him to death! Have you all lost your conscience?!"

His eyes were red from cursing, like a cub that had been provoked, his chest heaving violently, and his voice cracking.

The senior officials had never seen Prince Rui so angry before, and they all fell silent, looking at each other in bewilderment, none of them daring to utter another word.

Xie Qinglan has not attended court for ten days.

He was well aware of the undercurrents surging within the court; the time was ripe, and the venomous snake lurking in the shadows was about to emerge.

He claimed illness and stopped attending court. All memorials were sent to Tingxuexuan, where he managed all the affairs of the court with just a lamp and a pen.

After the court session ended that day, Xiao Jingchen did not return to the Prince's Mansion, but went straight to Tingxue Pavilion.

The courtyard gate was ajar; he raised his hand and gently pushed it open.

Xie Qinglan was sitting on a stone bench under a crabapple tree, his fingertips holding a mutton-fat jade pendant—the jade was warm and lustrous, and it was polished to a shine by being rubbed. He lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the jade pendant, lost in thought.

Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, scattering like shattered gold across his moon-white shirt, dazzling the eyes.

He had lost a lot of weight, his jawline had become sharper, and only his back remained straight, like a bamboo standing in the wind, unyielding and unbending.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. The dazed look in his eyes vanished in an instant, as quick as an illusion, before he regained his usual cool indifference: "Your Highness Prince Rui."

Xiao Jingchen sat down opposite him and, without beating around the bush, got straight to the point with red eyes: "Prime Minister Xie, I don't believe my fourth brother is gone."

He counted on his fingers for Xie Qinglan, as if trying to convince her, or perhaps convincing himself: "When he was fifteen, an arrow pierced his shoulder blade. Despite having a fever, he led a night raid on the Western Rong camp. Everyone said he wouldn't survive, but he pulled through. When he was eighteen, he was besieged in the northern border for ten days. With no food, he killed his own warhorse and distributed it to his soldiers, leading less than eight hundred men to break through the encirclement of twenty thousand enemy troops. And that year, during the campaign against the Northern Di, he was hit by a poisoned arrow and was unconscious for seven days. The imperial physicians shook their heads and said to prepare for his death. But on the eighth day, he woke up and started cursing, cursing the imperial physicians for not changing his dressings and cursing Shen Hanzhou for stealing his wine."

As he spoke, his voice choked up again. He lowered his head, clenched his fists and placed them on his knees, his knuckles turning white.

After a long while, he finally raised his head, his eyes reddening again, but his voice had become steady: "Fourth Brother is the most resilient person I've ever met. He's survived so many dangers in the past. He's so amazing, so—"

He sniffed, suppressing the tears welling up in his eyes: "Anyway, I don't believe he's really gone. He must still be alive, just held back by something and unable to come back. Or maybe he's too badly injured to walk and is recuperating in some remote mountain valley."

Xie Qinglan looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

The wind rustled the leaves, and fallen leaves landed on the stone table between the two of them. It was so quiet that they could hear each other breathing.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice soft yet carrying an undeniable certainty, as if stating a fact etched into his very bones: "Your Highness is right."

"He's not dead. He won't die."

Xiao Jingchen suddenly raised his head, his eyes lighting up like a lamp suddenly lit in the dark night.

"Minister Xie, you must be more worried about Fourth Brother than anyone else, right?"

"I once read in a folk tale that people who are bound by love will eventually reunite, no matter how far apart they are, or how many life-or-death calamities they face."

"Thank you, Prime Minister," his voice was still a little hoarse, but his tone was extremely solemn, "If you are really worried, why don't you go to Xirong to find Fourth Brother yourself."

"I can temporarily handle matters of the court." He scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed, but his eyes were exceptionally firm. "Although I am not as capable as Prime Minister Xie, I am not a good-for-nothing who only knows how to drink."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Go find Fourth Brother. He... he must miss you a lot too."

Xie Qinglan stared into his eyes in surprise, looking at them for a long time.

I was both surprised and suspicious.

But when he looked into Xiao Jingchen's phoenix eyes, which bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Xiao Jingyuan's, there was not a trace of his usual playful smile, nor any false calculation, only a clear and burning expectation.

Xie Qinglan lowered her eyes, her fingertips clenching the jade pendant tightly, the coolness of the jade seeping through her palm.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke, his voice soft yet like a hammer that had struck its final note.

"it is good."

"Three days. If there is still no news after three days, I will personally go to the Western Rong."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and there was still no news from the border.

On the third day at dusk, the setting sun dyed the city walls of the capital blood red.

Xie Qinglan rode out of the main gate of the capital alone. Without any attendants or disturbing the officials, he carried only the Guilan Sword and a bag of dry rations, and galloped westward in a cloud of dust.

On the night he left the capital, the secret room of the Prince Qi's mansion was brightly lit with candles.

Xiao Jingheng sat in the main seat, holding a wine cup in his hand. After listening to his subordinate's report, he threw his head back and laughed loudly. His laughter was full of suppressed joy and madness, which was particularly jarring in the closed stone chamber.

"Good! Good! Well done!"

"I didn't expect that idiot Xiao Jingchen would actually persuade him, which saved me a lot of trouble."

He slammed the wine glass onto the table, splashing wine all over it.

"Finally... Xiao Jingyuan is dead, and Xie Qinglan is gone too. This position is finally mine to sit on!"

Standing on either side of the secret chamber were more than a dozen trusted generals, all of whom were his secret henchmen and private army commanders whom he had secretly raised for many years.

"Pass down the order." Xiao Jingheng stood up, his face devoid of any of his usual gentle and refined demeanor, replaced only by sinister and ruthless intent. "The three thousand private soldiers kept outside the city, enter the city in batches overnight. Tomorrow morning at court, surround the main hall completely."

"Furthermore, tomorrow morning, bind all the families of those old geezers and bring them to the palace. Aren't they supposed to be the most principled? I'd like to see whether their bones are harder or their wives' and children's lives are tougher."

"And that idiot Xiao Jingchen." Xiao Jingheng sneered. "Send a few men to Prince Rui's residence immediately and tell them that I have invited him to a meeting. Take him down while I'm at it. Spare his life; after all, he has done me such a great favor. Keeping him around as a decoration is fine."

"As for Xie Qinglan..." A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, "Send two teams of assassins to pursue him along the official road heading west. He's outnumbered and outgunned; bring his body back."

"Yes, sir!" the trusted confidants replied in unison.

Xiao Jingheng walked to the wall of the secret room, looked at the map of the nine provinces hanging on the wall, his gaze falling on the location of the capital, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

He had waited for this day for far too long.

During the struggle for the throne among the ten princes, his mother was of noble birth, he was renowned for his talent, and he was one of the late emperor's favorite princes. Most of the court officials favored him. So why did that butcher Xiao Jingyuan end up on the throne? Why did he have to pretend to be mediocre and lie low for over a decade?

Xiao Jingyuan, oh Xiao Jingyuan, you've finally met your end. The ambush at Broken Eagle Gorge was my final farewell to you. You and your short-lived mother both deserve to remain in a place where the sun never shines.

And Xie Qinglan, who thought he had everything planned out, was still manipulated by me. Once I have your corpse, the three prefectures and lands promised by Pei Nanchi of Nanyue will be mine for the taking.

"Go and prepare." Xiao Jingheng said with his hands behind his back, his tone filled with unwavering confidence. "Tomorrow morning at court, I will receive the homage of all the officials in the Xuanzheng Hall."

"yes!"

The group filed out of the secret room, their footsteps fading into the distance.

Xiao Jingheng stood alone in front of the map and slowly began to laugh. His laughter grew louder and more maniacal, echoing in the empty, secret room like the cry of an owl in the middle of the night, sending chills down one's spine.