THE SIXTEENTH DAY of the first month, fourth year of the Kaihuang era—it was long before dawn, but many were destined for a sleepless night. The bustling atmosphere of the previous evening had vanished like smoke with the uproar at the Prince of Qin's residence.
The off-duty Imperial Guards were abruptly summoned from their warm beds. Bewildered, they hastily donned their armor and joined their comrades to enforce a lockdown across all of Daxing City. The sightseers who returned from enjoying the lanterns were shocked to discover that the atmosphere both within and without the capital had changed completely.
What had been festive was now grave, foreboding, and tense. The chill seemed to hang heavy in the air, stifling even the wind into silence.
Nowhere was this more apparent than at the Prince of Qin's residence. The entire street surrounding the complex had been cordoned off. Fortunately, the residents were all high-ranking nobility, so the ordinary citizenry was not significantly impacted.
The gates of the imperial palace, previously locked, had been temporarily opened for the crown prince and other victims of the night's incident. They were swiftly ushered inside for treatment. The unharmed guests at the Prince of Qin's residence remained there, unable to leave without the emperor's orders. He dispatched the Minister of Justice and the head of the Court of Judicial Review to personally investigate the case.
Everyone's faces were ashen. There ought to have been complaints about the house arrest, but no one had the energy, as if their spirits were still weighed down by the slaughter. They talked among themselves, discussing the incident in fervent whispers, but no one could explain how such a disaster had occurred.
The Prince of Qin's residence had been full of song and dance. The killings had happened out of nowhere. Those furthest from the guest hall hadn't realized anything was wrong until the screams had reached them. As for the people in the hall…
The crown prince, the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Qin, and other high-ranking guests had all been taken to the palace for treatment. Even if they were conscious, the emperor likely wouldn't allow them to be interrogated. And the surviving servants and maids were so terrified their souls had practically fled their bodies. They stammered through their answers when questioned, speaking in fragments.
Some claimed to have seen Feng Xiao burst in and start slaughtering guests indiscriminately. Others claimed they'd been conversing peacefully with someone beside them when a sword sliced into their shoulder; they couldn't say what happened after that. One maid claimed two guards had gone mad, striking out at those around them before taking their own lives.
Everyone said conflicting things, the details changing depending on the speaker. The officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review were at their wits' end, and the Zuoyue Bureau's chief, who should have been on the scene, was nowhere to be found. In his place was the deputy chief, Zhangsun Bodhi.
Zhangsun maintained his characteristic silence, leaving the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to labor over the interrogations while he assumed the role of an observer. He stood still as a wooden post, listening to everyone without offering his own opinion. The head of the Court of Judicial Review grumbled quietly to himself, suspecting Zhangsun was only there to slack off. At least Cui Buqu would've had a word or two to add.
They continued in this manner until the maid from the residence who'd claimed she'd seen the guards go mad appeared before them. The scribes jotted this down, and the two presiding officials waved their hands for her to be removed and the next witness brought in.
Finally Zhangsun spoke. "Wait."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Where were you when you saw this?" he asked the maid.
The girl had expected to be dismissed after giving her account. Startled at being pressed for more details, she began to stammer. "Th-this humble maid was serving outside the guest hall. We heard they were short on staff inside, so Mulan-jiejie sent me in to help. But I'd just walked inside when I…when I saw it! I fainted right in the doorway!"
"Besides you, was there anyone else who'd only just entered?" asked Zhangsun Bodhi.
The maid timidly shook her head, and Zhangsun instructed the scribe to record her testimony.
Including the maid, there were fifteen survivors among the residence's staff. Two had been injured in the chaos and were still unconscious. One had suffered a large gash from a sword and passed out afterward from the pain. None of these three had any idea what had happened. Another two had been so frightened their accounts were utterly incoherent. The remaining nine swore Feng Xiao had burst in and attacked. Only this single maid claimed it'd been the guards who'd gone mad and done the killing.
Excluding the three who were unable to speak, as well as the two whose statements were unreliable, it seemed reasonable to trust nine over one. However, all nine had been present in the guest hall throughout the night, while the maid had only just stepped in when the incident occurred.
Cui Buqu had mentioned smelling the same scent of aromatic cypress at both Yandang Mountain Estate and on the outskirts of Luoyang. When paired with enchanting music, some fragrances had the power to trap people in illusions. Such techniques were particularly effective on ordinary people, who had weaker wills and no power to resist. If the guests in the hall had been experiencing a mass hallucination, the things they saw and heard would naturally differ from that of the unexposed maid.
Zhangsun didn't share these thoughts with the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. After all, they were ordinary themselves—they'd never experienced such a phenomenon and would struggle to understand it. Rather than wasting words, his time would be better spent digging up the truth.
Zhangsun asked the maid no further questions. He bid farewell to the two presiding officials, then headed to the courtyard where the rest of the household was being kept.
The Zuoyue Bureau had their own way of handling cases that differed from other bodies of the court. The Minister of Justice was the chief of the Jiejian Bureau himself; he understood this and didn't press for more information. This incident had generated too much attention; it hardly mattered who solved the case now. If they didn't uncover the truth quickly, everyone would suffer the consequences.
The servants and women of the residence were all gathered in one place, awaiting instructions. Zhangsun summoned a few trusted attendants of the Prince of Qin and his wife and asked after the whereabouts of the bowl of deer blood.
The princess consort's personal maid had perished in the incident; they couldn't extract a testimony from her. Almost everyone else was completely clueless, shaking their heads in bewilderment. Finally a cook stepped forward.
"Yesterday a guard brought deer blood to the back kitchen and asked me to heat it up for him," she said.
"Are you sure it was deer blood?" asked Zhangsun.
The cook's voice was clear and bright. She'd dealt with all sorts in the market over the years and was braver than most. Her words came fluidly, without any stammer. "That's right. I said it'd stink if he drank it as it was; it'd be better to turn it into a paste. The guard said there wasn't any time for that. The prince wanted to drink it right away."
Zhangsun invited the cook to view the corpses and asked her to identify the guard. Before long, she pointed to one. "That's him!"
It was one of the two men the maid claimed had gone mad.
A sword had left a fatal slice across his back. His eyes were wide open in death, and veins protruded from his forehead. His face was so horrific it was hard to look upon for long.
But if the deer blood really had contained a gu, how had the bowl of yang-enhancing soup meant for the Prince of Qin ended up in the stomachs of two guards? This man had gone berserk, then died from a blade to the back. Who had been behind him to strike the killing blow?
This was a question no one could answer. Even the maid who'd witnessed the guards begin their killing spree had lost consciousness during the chaos.
Zhangsun had reached a dead end. He sighed, his breath a plume of white in the cold air, and looked instinctively toward the imperial palace.
Cui Buqu had gone into the palace, not to see Empress Dugu, but the emperor himself.
***
Yang Jian's face was lined with fatigue. He'd yet to sleep despite the late hour—no one would be in good spirits under such conditions.
Earlier in the evening, the Prince of Qin had entered the palace to invite his father to celebrate the Lantern Festival with him. The invitation was only symbolic, a way to demonstrate his filial piety. Any rational emperor knew better than to visit his subject's house in the middle of the night, even if that subject was his own son. The Prince of Qin had known his father would decline. And it was a good thing he had—if the emperor had been a little less cautious, he himself might have been one of the casualties tonight.
Along with Cui Buqu, the hall contained an imperial physician, who was currently reporting to the emperor on the injuries of several of the noble victims. The crown prince's consort had suffered the worst—she'd died at the scene before anyone could help her. Her body had not been brought into the palace but remained at the Prince of Qin's residence. Second worst was the Prince of Qin, who'd struck his head against a pillar and lost a large amount of blood. He'd yet to regain consciousness.
The crown prince and the Prince of Jin were somewhat better off. The former had an injured arm and the latter two broken ribs, but they were at least alert. Their accounts matched that of the majority of witnesses in the guest hall: Feng Xiao had burst in and gone on a killing spree. With the emperor's permission, Cui Buqu asked a few questions of his own, but the answers merely confirmed what he'd already been told.
The emperor sighed and dismissed the physician with a wave of his hand. He turned to Cui Buqu. "You heard everything?"
"Your subject heard," said Cui Buqu. "But I'd swear on my life that Feng Xiao couldn't have done this."
The emperor hadn't wanted to say too much, but before Cui Buqu, he couldn't help sharing his thoughts. "I also don't believe it was Feng Xiao. However, once dawn breaks, the city will be in an uproar. Everyone will have their own opinion. When even the crown prince and Prince of Jin claim he's the culprit, what am I to do? And the Prince of Qin is still unconscious—his life hangs in the balance. If the worst comes to pass, do you think Feng Xiao can clear his name?"
Cui Buqu was silent for a moment. "I beg Your Majesty to give me some time to uncover the truth."
"Until the Buddhist ceremony," said the emperor. "That's the most I can do."
The emperor could delay the trial by claiming bloodshed was inappropriate with the ceremony so near, but postponing it any further was likely impossible. Too many people were involved. Even the emperor had to bow to the will of his court.
Cui Buqu was a clever man; he didn't need this explained to him. "Then there's something else for which I must ask Your Majesty's permission."
***
By the time Cui Buqu left the palace, dawn had broken over the city.
He hadn't felt this restless in a long time. Although he was a light sleeper, he was always careful not to overexert himself when it was time to settle down at night. But things were different this time, and not only due to Feng Xiao.
The incident at the Prince of Qin's residence was not the end; it was the beginning. A second wave was sure to follow closely behind the first. All they could do was wait for their opponent's next move, without any knowledge of what it might be. It was one thing to contend with Xiao Lü. But now there were also the Göktürks to consider.
Cui Buqu squinted as he stepped out of the palace gates. The bright sunlight bounced off the red walls, dazzling his eyes so he could hardly see.
A hand at his elbow steadied him. "Lord Chief?"
Cui Buqu turned to see Guan Shanhai looking at him with concern.
"How are your injuries?" asked Cui Buqu. His voice was steady and brisk. Hearing it, Guan Shanhai was inexplicably relieved.
He'd resented that the empress had assigned him to the Zuoyue Bureau at first. But as time passed, his dissatisfaction faded. While following Cui Buqu, he'd witnessed him turn defeat into victory in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Despite knowing no martial arts, his cunning strategies were always enough to turn the tide. As long as Cui Buqu was present, no challenge seemed insurmountable.
This was true even now. They were surrounded by a dense fog of confusion; their next step forward might send them plummeting into the abyss. But when he was behind Cui Buqu, Guan Shanhai had the courage to take that step.
"Much better. The Imperial Guard has assembled and awaits your lordship's command," he replied.
Cui Buqu vaulted onto his horse. "Let's go!"
The emperor of Sui had gifted the seventh prince a residence worthy of his station. By the time Cui Buqu arrived, the main gate of the complex was wide open, as if their hosts had anticipated the arrival of a distinguished guest.
The seventh prince sauntered out. On seeing Cui Buqu, his initial look of surprise quickly transformed into a smile. "Could this be the renowned chief of the Zuoyue Bureau, Cui Buqu-langjun?"