At the dawn of the sixteenth of the first month of the fourth year of Kaihuang, it's destined that many people will not enjoy a sound slumber.
What should originally have been a rowdy and crowded night has been reduced into nothing because of the incident that took place in the manor of Prince Qin.
Royal guards who weren't on duty were summoned from the warmth and comfort of their beds to cluelessly put on their armour and helmets and lockdown the entire great city of Daxing along with their colleagues.
As the saunterers who had gone to watch the lanterns returned, they discovered that the air inside the city had changed compared to when they left it.
It turned solemn, severe, and anxious.
Cold air froze half the skies, and even the wind could not sway it.
Especially the manor of Prince Qin.
The street where the manor of Prince Qin was located was entirely sealed up.
All those who were lucky enough to live on the same street as Prince Qin were all people of noble ranks and members of royalty, so it hadn't affected the lives of the common people much.
The palace gates that were previously sealed shut were opened at the last moment as the Crown Prince and the others were quickly delivered into the palace for medicinal attention at the speed of light.
Without the Emperor's orders, none of the guests within the manor of Prince Qin was permitted to leave.
The Minister of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review all came in person to investigate the case.
Everyone carried pale faces, had neither the mood nor the time to be mad about being held under house arrest. It was as if they hadn't returned to their senses from the previous killing spree.
They talked and discussed, yet nobody could clearly tell how this change of events had taken place.
The usually rowdy manor of Prince Qin filled with the sounds of singing and dances had changed all of a sudden.
The guest who stood further away from the flower hall didn't even know what happened until sharp cries reached them.
As for the guests within the flower hall—
The Crown Prince, Prince Jin, Prince Qin, and other important figures had all been sent into the palace for medicinal attention. Even if they were still awake now, the Emperor would not allow them to be questioned.
The fortunate women and servants present in the scene were long scared stiff, to the point that their souls left their body, and they were rambling on their own.
Some said that they saw Feng Xiao barging in and started a massacre in front of everyone.
Some said that they were speaking at the sides, and suddenly a sword hammered on their shoulders, then after that they lost their consciousness.
There were even some who said that two servants suddenly went into a frenzy and killed everyone near them before committing suicide.
Everyone gave different statements.
The Minister of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review both had headaches.
The Zuoyue Commander, who should have been with them, was not present. The Vice Commander Zhangsun Bodhi had replaced him.
Zhangsun was used to being quiet. He let the Minister of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review question the witnesses until they went crazy, while he simply accompanied them.
He was like a wooden doll who listened to everything expressed by the people around him while not offering his own opinions.
The Court of Judicial Review mumbled to themselves, suspecting that Zhangsun Bodhi was here to slack off his work.
Had it been Cui Buqu, he would have at least said a few words.
Until one of the maidservants of the manor said that she saw a guard going into a frenzy and started killing everyone around him, the scribe who stood by the side took note of it. Two judges waved their hands, allowing them to take her away and bring another one up.
Zhangsun suddenly spoke.
"Wait."
Everyone present looked at him.
Zhangsun Bodhi asked the maidservant, "Where were you standing during that time?"
The maidservant thought that she would be taken away after she was interrogated just like the others, but she hadn't expected to be asked in this manner. It frightened her so much that she became tongue-tied.
"This servant was originally serving outside the hall, but after hearing that the flower hall lacked people, Sister Mulan moved me there. But just as I entered the door, I saw—saw that incident. During that time, I immediately fainted at the door!"
Zhangsun Bodhi asked again, "Other than you, was there anyone else going in just like you?"
The maidservant shook her head.
Zhangsun Bodhi asked the scribe for the written confession.
Including this maidservant, there were a total of fifteen fortunate people.
Two of them harmed both others and themselves, and at this present moment, they were heavily wounded in a comatose state.
One of them fell unconscious from pain and knew nothing.
Two people were so scared that their confessions conflicted their own words. They couldn't be taken for their word.
The remaining nine swore that Feng Xiao had barged in and attacked.
Only this maidservant said she saw a guard descending into a frenzy.
Aside from those who couldn't be asked and those who couldn't be taken for their words, with nine people witnessing the came scene, people would have usually trusted the words of those nine people regardless.
But those nine people were all inside the flower hall during the time of the incident. Only this last maidservant was outside who happened to go inside during the time of the incident.
Zhangsun Bodhi still remembered what Cui Buqu said before, that in the Yandang Estate and the suburb of Luoyang, a similar scent of machilus appeared.
This, coupled with obscene music, was very easy to make one fall into an illusion where they would be unable to withdraw themselves.
Especially when they were ordinary people with weak determination, having no chance of fighting back; they would be ensnared easily.
If those people in the hall were within an illusion in reality, then naturally, what they saw would not be similar to that maidservant.
Zhangsun Bodhi didn't tell the Minister of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review these explanations, because they have not experienced such a scene; it would be very difficult for them to understand what was going on in an illusion.
Rather than wasting his breath, he would rather seek out more truths.
Zhangsun Bodhi no longer kept asking the maidservant. After excusing himself from both officials, he got to his feet and walked towards the courtyard.
The Zuoyue Bureau was different from the other Imperial Courts; even though the Minister of Justice was the First Commander of the Jiejian Bureau in name, he was not strongly informed of the bureau, nor did he ask much about it.
This incident had created a ruckus far too loud. At the end, who will be the one to solve the case, and who will be rewarded with the merits of doing so, was no longer important. If they couldn't seek out the truth as quickly as possible, everyone would be punished.
The women and servants within the prince's manor were all gathered to await the verdict.
Zhangsun sought out a few servants who served Prince Qin and his concubine to ask about the whereabouts of that deer-blood soup.
Those servants and maidservants had already died in the incident that took place; one could no longer get answers from them.
As for the others, they all knew nothing and shook their heads.
Only a kitchen maid stood out.
She said, "Yesterday in the morning, a guard came to the rear kitchen with a bowl of deer blood to let me warm it up."
Zhangsun, "Are you sure it's deer blood?"
The kitchen maid's voice was loud; she often spoke with people from both the urban and rural areas, and being timid was not in her blood. She spoke fluently without stammering.
"That's right. For something that has a strong fishy scent like deer blood, it's much better to turn it into deer blood paste. That person said it needs to be consumed immediately, and it cannot wait."
Zhangsun let this kitchen maid head over to examine the corpse.
Not long later, the kitchen maid pointed at one of the corpses, and resolutely said, "It's him!"
And this person was the very same person that the maidservant said—the guard who went into a frenzy.
He died from a sword to his back, both eyes round and wide, with a blue-black bruise on his head. The way he died was horrific, making one refuse to take a second look.
If there were gu worms in that deer blood soup, then the soup should have been given to Prince Qin. How did it go into the stomachs of these two guards?
That guard had suddenly gone into a frenzy and died after a sword pierced his back. During that time, who was standing behind him? And who was it who killed him?
No one had an answer to this question.
Even for that maidservant who claimed she saw this guard, she'd already passed out when the incident happened.
All the leads seemed to have been broken.
Zhangsun Bodhi let out a long breath.
He unconsciously raised his head, looking into the direction of the Great Palace of Daxing.
Cui Buqu was heading to the Great Palace of Daxing.
It was not Empress Dugu he was looking for, but Emperor Yang Jian.
Yang Jian's face was harassed by weariness. Even at this time of the night, he hadn't slept. Regardless of who it might be, it's impossible to go to sleep.
Before this, Prince Qin had paid the palace a visit once to invite him to his own manor to enjoy the fun—but this was just an invitation of courtesy to express his filial piety as a child. Prince Qin knew that the Emperor would definitely reject his invitation.
An Emperor with a decent mind would never go to the residence of his own subject in the middle of the night.
Even if that subject was his own son.
But it was fortunate that he hadn't attended, otherwise, there would be an Emperor among the people who were wounded.
Along with Cui Buqu inside the palace, was also the Grand Physician who reported to duty.
The Grand Physician was describing the situation of the nobles who were wounded.
The Crown Prince's concubine had suffered the worse; she'd died on the spot. Her corpse was still in Prince Qin's manor, not yet delivered to the palace.
Prince Qin himself came second; the rear of his head had hit a pillar and suffered serious bleeding. Presently, he is in a coma.
The Crown Prince and Prince Jin were a little more well-off; one of them had a wounded arm and the other had broken two ribs, but they were both conscious.
But what they said was nothing different from the witnesses from inside the flower hall—that Feng Xiao suddenly barged in and started a massacre.
With the Emperor's permission, Cui Buqu walked forth to ask, and the answer he got was no different from what he had been told.
The Emperor sighed and sent the Grand Physician off.
He turned to Cui Buqu and said, "You've heard it all?"
Cui Buqu, "This humble subject has heard it. But I could bet my life on it, Feng Xiao would never do such a thing."
The Emperor originally wanted to refrain from saying more, but when faced before Cui Buqu, he couldn't resist adding, "I too don't think it was Feng Xiao. But, when the sky brightens, rumours will pour over the city like rain and wind. Even the Crown Prince and Prince Jin said it was him; if you were I, how would you take care of it? Presently, Prince Qin hasn't woken up yet, his life hangs by a thread. If something happened to him, do you think Feng Xiao could avoid suspicions?"
Cui Buqu remained silent for a while, then said, "Your Majesty, please give me some time, and let me unravel the truth."
The Emperor, "At the latest, after the Day of the Buddha's Birthday."
He could make use of the Buddha's Birthday as an excuse that blood should not be shed to buy time for the case. It's impossible to go any further; since so many people were involved, even if he was the Emperor, he could not do as he pleased.
Cui Buqu was a man of intelligence; there was no need to elaborate, as he already understood.
"There is one more thing, I beg Your Majesty to allow it."
...
When Cui Buqu left the palace, the colour of the sky had already brightened.
It had been a long time since he hurried to and fro without stopping like last night.
Even if he slept less usually, when night came, during the time to rest his eyes, he would never mistreat his own body.
But this time was different.
It wasn't just for Feng Xiao.
The incident at Prince Qin's manor hadn't ended; it was only the beginning.
Before one wave could quell, another came.
They could only wait for the enemy to strike, yet didn't know which next steps the enemy would take.
It was fine if the enemy was only Xiao Lu, but now there were even the Göktürks.
Cui Buqu squinted his eyes.
He could only feel the white light above his head, shining through the reds of the palace walls, a little bit too dazzling.
A hand reached out from his side to hold his arm.
"Commander?"
Cui Buqu turned around; Guan Shanhai's gaze held some concern to them.
"How are your wounds?" Cui Buqu asked.
His voice was light and stable, making Guan Shanhai feel a sense of security.
When he was sent to the Zuoyue Bureau by the Empress in the beginning, Guan Shanhai was displeased about it, but slowly, this feeling was lifted.
Guan Shanhai followed behind Cui Buqu, watched as he turned defeat into victory, to come out victorious with few numbers. Although he didn't know any martial arts, his strategies that overturned the clouds and rain were sufficed to impress.
As if in places of his presence, difficult problems would no longer be difficult problems.
Just like what is happening now; the case at hand was baffling like thick fog around them, and any step taken forward would very likely send them into an abyss.
Following Cui Buqu, Guan Shanhai had enough courage to take a step forward.
"It's almost fully healed. The royal guards have all assembled, awaiting your orders." He answered.
Cui Buqu flipped himself onto a horse, "Let us go!"
The manor gifted to the Seventh Prince by the Sui Emperor was fashioned according to the prince's orders.
When Cui Buqu arrived, the Seven Prince opened his gate, as if he'd expected this visitor.
The Seventh Prince stepped out from the inside, seeing Cui Buqu, he gave a very strange look, before a smile erupted.
"Who goes there? Perhaps the famed Zuoyue Commander who bears a famed reputation, Lord Cui Buqu?"