In the Seventh Prince's residence, by a shimmering pond, Xue Feiyan stood with his hands behind his back. Beside him, a figure in black stood with her head bowed, features lost to the shadows.
"Is that all?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the fish in the water.
"Yes. I followed him back to his residence and waited until he awoke. I missed nothing," the figure replied. Her voice was crisp and cold, sending a chill through the warm noon air.
Xue Feiyan turned with a soft laugh. "I have always trusted you to be thorough. You must be tired after so many sleepless nights."
The woman in black was about to speak, then paused, her head tilting as she listened to the sound of approaching footsteps.
"It is Lady Deng," she whispered. "I will take my leave." As a member of Night Blade, the prince's most secret order, she did not exist.
Xue Feiyan nodded. With a light touch of her toes, she vaulted onto the roof of the pavilion and vanished. A willow branch swayed, and a single leaf fluttered down into the prince's outstretched hand.
"What are you looking at?" Deng Qinyu asked, running to his side and taking his arm.
He smiled gently. "Nothing. Just a swallow." He placed the leaf on the railing, and a breeze whisked it away, erasing the last trace of the assassin's presence.
"A swallow is worth staring at for so long?" She made a face at him and pulled him into the pavilion. "Who were you playing chess with?"
"Myself."
"What fun is there in that? If you were bored, you should have come to see me."
Xue Feiyan's hand paused over the stone Go pieces. "Weren't you supposed to be with the Empress?"
"She finds me tiresome," Deng Qinyu pouted. "She says I'm never quiet. But she's always telling me how wonderful you are. Brother Feiyan, you should come with me to see her sometime."
"Alright," he nodded, placing a white stone on the board.
Just as it clicked into place, a voice came from the entrance. "A brilliant move. Sacrificing a piece to save the game."
Xue Feiyan looked up to see Deng Qinyao standing there, smiling at the game board.
"Lord Deng," he said, rising and gesturing to a seat. "Please, sit."
"Grandfather, when did you arrive?"
"Just now, while you were talking with His Highness," the Prime Minister said, sitting across from Xue Feiyan. "Qinyu, I need to speak with the prince alone."
"No! What could you possibly have to talk about that I can't hear?" she protested. It was rare she got to see Xue Feiyan, and she wasn't about to be sent away.
"Qinyu," her grandfather said, his voice sharp.
Xue Feiyan smiled. "Qinyu, why don't you go to my study? I received a new parrot the other day, it's quite clever. I will join you after I've finished speaking with the Prime Minister."
She shot him a look, then finally nodded. "Don't take too long."
As she left, Xue Feiyan listened. A faint rustle from the roof above—the whisper of the wind, if you weren't listening for it.
Once she was gone, he turned back to Deng Qinyao. "What can I do for you, Lord Deng?"
The old minister stroked his beard. "It is a small matter, but one that this old man cannot quite puzzle out. I came to ask for your wisdom, Your Highness."
"Oh?" Xue Feiyan's eyes flashed with understanding. "Please, speak freely."
"You have heard, I assume, about the Emperor punishing the Fifth Prince."
"I have. Fifty strokes of the staff. A heavy blow indeed. I hear he was unconscious for three days." Xue Feiyan picked up a black stone.
Deng Qinyao watched him. "And do you know the reason?"
"I would be glad to hear the details."
"It is said that ministers of the court jointly petitioned the Emperor to name the Fifth Prince as the new Crown Prince. The Emperor was enraged and had him flogged as an example." Deng Qinyao smiled. "What are your thoughts on this matter, Your Highness?"
"If my brother truly incited the ministers, then he brought this upon himself," Xue Feiyan said, his own smile never wavering. He placed a white stone on the board. "But I am curious. Why was the punishment so swift? Why did my father not even give him a chance to prove his innocence?"
Deng Qinyao smiled back. "A brilliant scheme, Your Highness. To think you would use such a method to drive a wedge between the Emperor and the Fifth Prince." He paused. "But have you considered how it looks to the Emperor when so many ministers support a prince with such a terrible reputation?"
Xue Feiyan's hand froze over the board. He had only intended to make his father suspicious of his brother. He hadn't considered this. He had made himself a target as well.
Deng Qinyao watched his reaction, satisfied. The boy was clever, but still too young.
"Then what is your opinion, Lord Deng?" Xue Feiyan asked, placing the stone back in its bowl.
"The Emperor was merely using your plan for his own ends. His goal was to use this incident to remove the Fifth Prince from the succession race for good."
"Oh?" Xue Feiyan feigned surprise. "But my father was never close with the late Empress Murong. And the Fifth Prince is her son. It seems only natural he would succeed the throne."
"What kind of man do you take the Fifth Prince for?"
Xue Feiyan smiled. "A dragon among men, perhaps. But one with a rotten core. Does my father feel the same?"
Deng Qinyao shook his head. "No matter how useless the prince is, he still has the Murong family behind him. With their support, even a fool can be made into a king."
"But if they were to act as regents, the Murong clan's power would be absolute. The throne would be theirs in all but name."
A cold glint appeared in Deng Qinyao's eyes. "Your Highness is mistaken. If the Murongs wanted to rebel, they would have done so long ago. The current clan head, Murong Yan, is bound by an oath he swore to the late Empress on her deathbed: to spend his life protecting her sons."
Xue Feiyan picked up his teacup and took a slow sip.
"That is why the Murongs agreed to this marriage after the Crown Prince fell ill."
"So my father's actions make no sense," Xue Feiyan mused.
"He, too, was bound by a promise to the late Empress." Deng Qinyao sighed. Even now, he could remember her clarity, her wisdom. It was a depth none of them could ever hope to match.
"What?" Xue Feiyan was truly shocked now. What mother would not want the best for her son?
"I remember it well. The Empress Murong, on her deathbed, asked the Emperor for two things. First, that the Fifth Prince's marriage should never be forced upon him. And second…" He paused. "If her eldest son were to die an early death, the Emperor must spare her youngest."
Xue Feiyan drew in a sharp breath. The old courtiers always spoke of the Empress Murong's wisdom. He had assumed it was simple flattery. But to have foreseen all this…
"She already knew," Deng Qinyao said with a shake of his head. "She knew the Crown Prince might not live a long life. But he was the eldest. The duty fell on him. And so, she chose to save her youngest son, Xue Liulan."
With that, the old minister rose and took his leave.
Xue Feiyan stood alone by the railing, staring into the water. After a long time, he spoke. "Ling Yan."
"I am here." The woman in black dropped from the roof, as silent as a falling leaf.
"Investigate the circumstances of the late Empress Murong's death. Find someone who was there."
"Yes." Ling Yan bowed.
As she did, Xue Feiyan saw a fresh red scratch across the back of her hand, just peeking out from her black sleeve.
"Your hand?" he asked, stepping forward and reaching for it.
She snatched her hand back, her sleeve falling to hide it. "I was careless in the garden…"
His hand was left empty. He frowned. "Go."
Even the smallest crack in his sharpest blade felt like a wound of his own.