"It wasn't just that one lantern!"
The tribute scholar who had spoken earlier seemed eager to prove his theory. Without waiting for a reply, he turned quickly and strode back to where the lanterns hung in rows. He began selecting the ones with unusual patterns and symbols, separating them out, then laid them down side by side in deliberate order.
"Please, everyone, take a look. When these lanterns are pieced together, the images form the complete crest of the imperial family!"
"…What?"
The scholars standing nearby craned their necks to look. A chorus of astonishment followed.
"It really does match!"
When viewed individually, the images on the lanterns had seemed fragmented and incoherent—some were even rotated at odd angles, turned upside down or sideways.
No wonder no one had noticed earlier that these were fragments of a greater whole, pieces of the imperial emblem.
"Look again, everyone."
Zheng Qiaozhang spoke with renewed conviction.
"If we follow the order in which these lanterns were originally arranged, the answers to their riddles can be strung together into a full sentence."
He read it aloud, word by word, with clear intonation:
"Right of courtyard gate, second stone from end—press to open."
The moment he finished reciting the line, the courtyard erupted in another wave of gasps.
"This was hidden far too cleverly!"
"Who would've guessed it? Without this gentleman pointing it out, I daresay I would have remained oblivious all my life!"
The model scholars of Tian Sheng dynasty, unacquainted with the likes of escape rooms, could not help but exclaim in admiration.
"But I still do not understand," one of them said. "How did the gate actually open?"
"There was no one standing near it at all. If someone inside the inner courtyard had opened it from behind, how could they possibly have known the exact moment the stone was pressed?"
"Yes!" someone else exclaimed.
The conversation circled back to the question that Yun Chuhuan had been mulling over from the start.
He tugged at Yun Shu's cloak.
"So the gate really grew legs and opened on its own?"
"Shhh."
Yun Shu's eyes followed a particular figure who was now moving through both sides of the threshold—a person masked in a hawk-faced visage, drifting from inside to out like a shadow.
"That person might know."
"Who?"
Yun Chuhuan's gaze was still fixed curiously on the gate, assuming Yun Shu meant Zheng Qiaozhang.
He turned, only to see Zheng Qiaozhang hesitate briefly, then shake his head in apology.
"I must admit, it was only thanks to that gentleman's insight that I managed to piece together the true riddle of the lanterns. As for how the gate opened on its own… I have no answer."
With that single shake of the head, attention once again shifted back to Emperor Xuanwu.
Emperor Xuanwu remained silent.
He, too, had no idea.
That little rascal had been involved in managing Xianting's affairs for days, always shrouded in secrecy, face wrapped tightly and never speaking a word more than necessary. She had not told him a thing.
Only recently, in her attempt to use the poetry gathering to promote Xianting's name, had she approached him to mention a few details. Even then, she had described only the effect of the mechanisms, not their inner workings.
Otherwise, why would he have come in person, driven by curiosity?
Had he known, he would have seized her earlier and demanded a full explanation.
Now, as countless stares bore down upon him, Emperor Xuanwu pressed his lips together and stood with arms behind his back, aloof and proud, offering no reply.
The crowd exchanged glances. None could tell whether he was truly ignorant or simply too haughty to bother speaking.
Fortunately, in that moment, the figure wearing the hawk-faced mask reappeared, stepping back into the front courtyard from the inner hall. His voice rang out clearly, breaking the awkward silence.
"This gate's mechanism does not require a person to open it manually."
The youth's voice was bright and well-spoken, carrying a familiar tone. Yun Shu arched a brow the moment she heard it, and even Ji Yongxing and the others squinted, trying to confirm his identity.
"Are you… Princess Sheng An's cousin, Tang Muzhi?"
Among the younger tribute scholars of the Tian Sheng dynasty, few were as youthful as Tang Muzhi. His name was familiar to all the noble sons of the capital who had sat the exam in the same year, spoken of often as the gold standard—the ever-unattainable "ideal child" everyone's elders praised.
Just one sentence, and his identity was all but confirmed.
"Princess Sheng An is your cousin, and the esteemed Miss Tang is your elder sister. It stands to reason that Young Master Tang would already be familiar with the peculiarities of Xianting, no?"
Someone in the crowd could not resist a sour remark.
"To know how the gate worked from the beginning, yet allow another to seize the moment… Young Master Tang's restraint and self-discipline is truly admirable."
"Princess Sheng An's integrity and her efforts to uphold fairness in the imperial exams—every person here has borne witness to them. Even His Majesty has spoken in praise of her."
And to think, all it took was a mask and a cloak for these young nobles, who usually kept up appearances, to show their true colors.
Tang Muzhi, who had just moments ago been quietly pleased at discovering the secret, now cooled considerably.
"If this gentleman believes I had prior knowledge of everything in Xianting," he said calmly, "then are you accusing Princess Sheng An of favoritism… or calling His Majesty's word into question?"
"When did I say that?"
The would-be cynic instantly backpedaled. He had not expected such a heavy accusation to be laid at his feet.
He laughed awkwardly.
"I was merely speaking casually."
"One may eat carelessly, but not speak carelessly."
Tang Muzhi's voice remained firm.
When it concerns Yun Shu reputation, he shall not allow careless words to pass unchallenged.
"'Mind your words and actions'—if memory serves, that was the first teaching our instructors gave us upon entering the academy."
"…"
"All right, all right, let us not dwell on that," another voice interjected, uninterested in the quarrel and hoping to defuse the tension.
"Young Master Tang, you mentioned the gate requires no one to manually open it. What did you mean by that?"
"It is a mechanism."
This was Princess Sheng An's first time hosting a poetry gathering. It would be unfortunate if anything truly went awry.
Seeing that the man who had stirred up trouble had fallen silent in guilt, Tang Muzhi let the matter rest. He cast the fellow a final glance, then naturally returned to the earlier topic.
"Everyone, please follow me."
He led the group—including Emperor Xuanwu—through the arched gate and into the inner courtyard. There, he brushed aside the carefully arranged greenery beside the gate, revealing a cleverly concealed set of interlocking gears.
"Look here. This gear system connects directly to the stone in the front courtyard.
When the stone is pressed, the change may not be visible to the naked eye. But beneath it lies a mechanism that triggers the rotation of this chain here, and from there…"
He explained the mechanism in detail, a result of having circled the gate a dozen times earlier, examining it from every angle until the principle finally clicked.
Even someone as composed as Tang Muzhi could not help but express a rare note of admiration.
"Such exquisite craftsmanship. Princess Sheng An's design is nothing short of extraordinary."