At dawn the next day, Mu Heng arrived at Zhensong City and headed straight for the prefectural office. The moment Wei Xiu saw him, he almost thought Mu Heng had come seeking revenge. After hearing the whole story, Wei Xiu immediately arranged for men to search Dutou Mountain for the others, and also summoned a physician to examine him.
Mu Heng was anxious to return to Fengdu to report back. He repeatedly urged Wei Xiu to spare no effort in locating Zhong Yi, Wei Fu, and the rest, and to report any news to him at once. Wei Xiu readily agreed and even attentively arranged an escort to send him back.
Mu Heng rode day and night, barely holding himself together, until he finally reached Fengdu. By the time he appeared before the emperor, he was almost collapsing, needing the support of eunuchs just to stand. Even Emperor Jinyuan, who had been prepared to reprimand him, was startled by his condition.
Only after comparing accounts did Mu Heng learn that the emperor had summoned him back because a censor had submitted an impeachment, accusing him of abusing his power in Jichuan City—claiming he had allowed his subordinates to run rampant, forcibly abduct a woman, and assault innocent civilians, thus inciting public resentment.
Mu Heng had endured all the way back, but upon hearing this, his vision went dark, and he nearly coughed up blood.
The moment he heard the charges of “abducting women and beating civilians,” he already knew who had fabricated the accusation.
One day in the second month, Mu Heng and his party, accompanied by two guards, had gone incognito to enjoy an outing on Cui Bao Lake outside Jichuan City. Suddenly, they heard cries for help from the middle of the lake. Steering their boat closer, they saw a richly dressed young nobleman harassing a beautiful woman aboard a painted pleasure boat. The woman tried to jump into the lake to escape, but the scoundrel pinned her down, and she clung to the window struggling desperately.
Mu Heng was about to order someone to intervene when Wei Fu, standing at the bow, gauged the distance, casually picked up a small crossbow used by the guards for defense, and fired an arrow.
The sharp arrow cut through the wind and struck with perfect accuracy—passing cleanly between the young noble’s legs before embedding itself into the deck with a thud. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed into a limp heap on the spot.
Such a ruthless move was practically an open declaration of enmity. Seeing their master injured, the servants on the other boat began wailing and shouting, startling flocks of gulls into flight. Listening closely, Mu Heng realized that the arrogant young man was none other than Mu Sheng, heir to Prince Qingyi. In terms of kinship, he was even a distant cousin.
Mu Sheng did not recognize Mu Heng and began hurling insults, cursing them for meddling. Mu Heng had not intended to escalate the matter—he only meant to stop the wrongdoing and later report it to the Empress Dowager, letting Mu Sheng’s father discipline him. But the fool only grew more brazen, ordering his men to ram their smaller boat with his larger one.
Mu Heng exchanged a glance with Zhong Yi. Zhong Yi, along with the two guards, leapt onto the pleasure boat, swiftly subduing the guards as easily as slicing through tofu, and took control of the boatman, forcing the heir to kneel at the bow to welcome the Fourth Prince.
Only after everything was under control did Mu Heng stroll across the plank, followed by the cold-faced archer Wei Fu. Walking up to the still ranting Mu Sheng, he kicked him headfirst into the water.
Wei Fu guarded the cabin door while the woman inside composed herself before coming out to speak. She introduced herself as Madam Wu, the widow of a tea merchant. After her husband’s death, she had supported herself by running a teahouse in Jichuan City. The heir of Prince Qingyi had seen her a few times and wished to take her as a concubine, but after repeated refusals, he grew resentful. He arranged for one of his shop managers to lure her onto the boat under the pretense of business, then planned to assault her when they reached the secluded middle of the lake.
Madam Wu resisted fiercely and cried out for help, but the area was remote, and the few nearby boats dared not intervene. Only Mu Heng’s group responded.
If Mu Sheng were handed over to local officials, they would likely not dare punish him due to Prince Qingyi’s influence. So Mu Heng had his men support the disgraced heir and personally escorted him back to Prince Qingyi’s residence, where he exposed everything in front of the father. Enraged, Prince Qingyi immediately took up the family disciplinary rod and beat his son until he rolled on the ground, promising strict discipline and ordering a payment of one hundred taels of silver to Madam Wu as compensation.
Mu Heng sat there like an unwelcome guest, watching Prince Qingyi beat his son for a full three quarters of an hour, only leaving leisurely once the man’s arms were too exhausted to continue.
He had thought the matter was settled—after all, Mu Sheng was clearly in the wrong, and making a fuss would benefit no one in Prince Qingyi’s household. Yet that old man had the audacity to twist black into white and call a deer a horse, utterly disregarding the laws of the court and even dragging down the reputation of the Censorate.
Explaining the truth was not difficult—Mu Sheng’s reputation in the area spoke for itself. Mu Heng did not even have time to feel chilled by the emperor’s lack of trust, believing rumors at the slightest wind. What consumed him instead was an anger with nowhere to go.
For the sake of this false accusation alone, he had nearly died on the road. The two people closest to him had risked—or perhaps already lost—their lives, and their fate was still unknown.
Emperor Jinyuan had initially been furious and ready to reprimand him, but seeing Mu Heng’s miserable state, half his anger dissipated. After hearing his restrained explanation, only lingering doubt and a faint trace of guilt remained.
Out of a subtle sense of unease, the emperor ordered a reinvestigation in Jichuan City and dispatched additional forces to Dutou Mountain to search for Zhong Yi and the others. Mu Heng, still unwilling to give up, wanted to go personally—but the moment he stepped out of the palace gates, he collapsed with a thud, burning with fever and losing all consciousness.
He lay on the sickbed, drifting in and out of consciousness. In his half-dreaming state, the scene on that mountain path replayed again and again before his eyes. People came and went around him, and a strange voice told him that Zhong Yi had been found—gravely injured but still alive. Fortunately, having trained in martial arts since childhood, his constitution was strong; with time to recuperate, he would recover fully.
“Shuchen… what about Wei Fu?”
The Egret Guard kneeling beside his bed did not answer immediately. After glancing at Palace Attendant Sun for guidance, he replied cautiously, “Your Highness, we are still searching with all our strength.”
But in truth, the Egret Guards had already withdrawn. When they followed the hoofprints all the way to the end of the broken cliff, they had already arrived at a vague conclusion.
Scattered rocks lay in disarray. The cliff was high, the forest deep, and no one was in sight. Only a bloodstained robe swayed in midair.
Mu Heng struggled to turn his head, exhaling a breath of scorching heat. His hand fumbled toward the pillow. Palace Attendant Sun hurriedly asked softly, “Your Highness, do you need water?”
Mu Heng said nothing. From beneath the pillow, he pulled out a neatly folded slip of paper, gripping it tightly in his hand.
The most effective protective talisman in the world had saved him and Zhong Yi. Whichever deity among heaven and earth—may they also protect Wei Fu and bring him safely back.
“At least no body has been found, dead or alive.” At this moment, such an ambiguous phrase had become the most optimistic comfort.
“And then?”
“And then, in the fifth month of that year, someone delivered Young Master Wei back to the Duke’s Residence,” Kui Yue said with clicking amazement, her voice filling the room like chirping birds. “After he returned, not only were his injuries healed, but even his long-standing muteness miraculously recovered. He must have encountered some extraordinary master at the bottom of the cliff, right?”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye sat there listening for a long time, his expression barely changing, as if he had already guessed the answer and was now seeing it confirmed one by one. “Who was the one who brought him back?”
The question struck straight into Kui Yue’s blind spot. Her expression stiffened visibly. “Uh… that wasn’t found out. Even the people of the Duke’s Residence don’t seem to know clearly. It’s vaguely said to have been a friend of his parents.”
“Didn’t you say his parents disappeared when he was three? What kind of friend could still recognize him after more than ten years?” Yu Gong Zhao Ye frowned. “I never thought along this line before. Go investigate his biological parents—and also… what connection they had with Beizhu Palace of Dongyu.”
“Beizhu Palace? Isn’t that a demonic sect?” Kui Yue’s eyes rolled, and she flashed a sweet smile usually reserved for extortion. “Boss, investigating Beizhu Palace—does that really count as part of probing the Assistant Chancellor? Is this official business or private business?”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. “The Assistant Chancellor holds immense importance. Tracing back three generations is only natural. What part of this isn’t official business?”
“Ah, I see.” Kui Yue twisted a corner of her clothes between her fingers and spoke in an affectedly innocent tone. “Then when His Majesty asks later, I’ll just tell him Young Master Wei’s childhood name. When he hears someone call out ‘Guan-lang—!’ in a distant foreign land, he’ll surely feel deeply touched and nostalgic.”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye: “……”
He really shouldn’t have taken in a random street urchin as a subordinate for convenience. Greed for petty gains always led to big losses—this troublesome creature was clearly about to name her price.
“Stop beating around the bush,” he said calmly. “What do you want?”
Kui Yue replied firmly, “A raise.”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye: “…How much?”
Kui Yue held up a number. Yu Gong Zhao Ye stood up immediately. “No need. I’ll just ask Wei Fu directly. It probably won’t cost a single coin—he might even throw in a pot of tea for free.”
“Hey, hey, Your Highness, wait!” Kui Yue quickly stopped him. “If you’re sincere, the price can still be negotiated! Besides, how can you ask something like that directly to his face? Do you two still plan to get along in the future or not?”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye’s retort of “Get along for what?” was drowned out by her voice.
“Your Highness, I’ll throw in one more piece of information for free—guaranteed exclusive and top secret. With this, you’ll gain the upper hand!”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye weighed it for a moment, then sat back down. “Let’s hear it.”
“The matter of ‘Young Master Wei saving the emperor’ isn’t widely known. Even the details took me a great deal of effort to uncover. Strangely, the Duke’s residence, which should know best, keeps completely silent about it. To this day, servants aren’t allowed to mention that period of his life. They only say he fell seriously ill and was sent to a country estate to recuperate. Don’t you think that’s worth thinking about?”
Although Kui Yue was notoriously difficult to manage, Yu Gong Zhao Ye tolerated her precisely for these occasional flashes of insight.
“What’s the reason?”
If Kui Yue had a tail, it would be wagging proudly right now. “First, because the assassination case involved internal power struggles within the imperial family. One year later, the Crown Prince born of the Empress was deposed, and the following year Prince Yong—now the emperor—was established as heir. At the time, they held back because there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the Crown Prince was the mastermind.”
“Second, because this matter also involved a particularly troublesome ‘wild card’,” Kui Yue said, ignoring Yu Gong Zhao Ye’s disapproving look. “That day, Wei Fu’s elder brother Wei Xiu, serving as prefectural judge in Zhensong City, promised to search the mountains. He rescued Zhong Yi of the Egret Guards, but failed to find Wei Fu.”
“He reported to the court that he had ‘searched to the best of his ability without result.’ But later investigations revealed he never searched the section where Wei Fu fell from the cliff. Using the excuse that ‘the eastern side of Dutou Mountain is outside Zhensong City’s jurisdiction,’ he wrote to the neighboring Lanxi City to request assistance. The time lost in that delay…”
She didn’t say anything harsher, only gave Yu Gong Zhao Ye a meaningful look. “Fortunately, Wei Fu was blessed by fate and survived. But after returning, he still had to face his enemy every day—while his elder brother remained the spotless, upright good brother.”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye suddenly recalled that night—how Wei Fu had hurriedly pretended to be asleep when Wei Xiu knocked, complaining softly about trivial things, his thoughts and expressions almost naïvely transparent. There had been no sign that such a bloody rift lay between him and the man outside.
Did Wei Fu know about this?
The moment the thought arose, the answer became clear. The Duke’s residence had strictly enforced silence—someone must have exposed the truth. Either Mu Heng or Zhong Yi. The elders suppressed it to preserve Wei Xiu’s reputation. How could Wei Fu possibly remain unaware?
Yu Gong Zhao Ye suddenly felt a flicker of regret.
If only he had stayed and listened a little longer that day… if only…
If only he had taken Wei Fu away.
“I understand.”
That strange feeling twisted faintly in his chest, but his face remained calm, almost cold. “You’ve done well. I’ll leave the matter of Beizhu Palace to you as well. For now, take it easy. After we leave Fengdu, you’ll make your way to Dongyu to investigate.”
Kui Yue placed a hand over her chest and bowed gracefully. “At Your Highness’s service.”
“I have one last question,” Yu Gong Zhao Ye suddenly said. “You said this gives me the advantage. Advantage in what?”
Kui Yue answered with ringing certainty, “Winning Young Master Wei’s heart, of course!”
Yu Gong Zhao Ye: “……”
Kui Yue lowered her head obediently. “…Understood. Your Highness has no such intentions. Your Highness is simply competitive—just wants to win, that’s all.”
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