The dungeon was cold, even under the morning sun streaming through the high windows.
Chains rattled. Guards' fists struck flesh.
"Enough."
The Seventh Prince's voice cut through the air like a blade.
The men froze.
The apprentice sagged against the wall, face swollen, breathing hard.
Li Wei strode forward, his boots echoing on stone.
"You followed him everywhere," he said, voice low and dangerous.
"Do you truly don't know anything?"
The boy's lips trembled.
"I-I swear, Your Highness. I don't know why he—"
"Why he pushed the maid?" Li Wei finished for him, eyes sharp.
The apprentice blinked, confused.
"I… I tried to stop him, but—"
"So he pushed her."
The boy's face went pale.
"N-No, I didn't— I mean—"
"The only way you live," Li Wei said softly,
"is if you start talking. Now."
"I… I really don't—"
"STOP LYING!"
The roar reverberated in the stone chamber.
The apprentice cowered, tears springing to his eyes.
"I… I noticed something strange!" he blurted.
Li Wei crouched, his shadow swallowing the boy.
"Speak."
"…The physician… he went to visit… the Imperial Concubine. Your mother."
Li Wei's heart skipped.
Then—
Clack.
A faint sound in the corridor.
The echo of footsteps.
Li Wei's head snapped toward the door.
Someone was watching.
He was already moving, boots slamming against the floor.
"After him!"
The palace corridors were bright with morning light, but the shadow darted between pillars and gardens like smoke.
Li Wei's guard chased behind him, but the figure was quick—leaping over a low wall, disappearing past the lotus pond.
"Stop!" Li Wei's voice was ice.
He turned a corner—
Empty.
The trail was gone.
He ground his teeth. Someone was feeding on his secrets, and now they'd slipped through his fingers.
"Your Highness?"
Li Wei spun on instinct.
Chen Yu stood a few paces away, sunlight catching on his easy smile.
Hands behind his back. Casual. Too casual.
"…What are you doing here?"
For the first time, Li Wei's chest tightened with suspicion.