Chapter 298: A Turtle in the Jar

After the Grand Princess left, Mu Yuanzhi asked Gu Rongjin: "What do you think of this Grand Princess?"

"Huh?" Gu Rongjin instinctively waved his hand: "Not really!"

"I'm asking seriously!" Mu Yuanzhi speechlessly smacked him: "Do you find her suspicious again?"

Gu Rongjin crossed his arms, watching the Grand Princess's back, pondering: "On the surface, for now there's nothing suspicious, but my gut tells she's problematic."

"Same here." Mu Yuanzhi nodded.

"I'll investigate her later; for now, let's first check the buildings near the companion palace that caught fire, see if anything's suspicious." Gu Rongjin said.

Mu Yuanzhi nodded slightly and followed him over.

The several buildings next door were annexes of the companion palace; they'd been burned to a crisp, a scene of ruin. Gu Rongjin questioned a few on-duty guards, but got no useful information.

Mu Yuanzhi then said: "I feel we might as well directly investigate this Grand Princess; even before coming, I thought that any prominent figure who shows up is likely the suspicious person."

"Great minds think alike."

The snow had stopped falling, but the snow on the ground hadn't melted much.

The fire broke out when the snow stopped last night—it's far too coincidental.

"Rongjin, let's first go ask Xiao Di, then we'll investigate."

"Sure, Xiao Di definitely knows something."

Before leaving, the two looked back; aside from the Grand Princess, everyone who had come were from the Ministry of Punishments, and no other suspicious person appeared.

They returned to the manor and found Pei Di to ask about the Grand Princess's situation.

Pei Di: "The Grand Princess got along well with the Former Emperor; they were born of the same mother."

Gu Rongjin and Mu Yuanzhi exchanged a glance; good feelings make it easy to instigate.

"By the way, the Grand Princess went to Qianluo to study when she was young." Pei Di said, nodding: "That makes her indeed suspicious."

Mu Yuanzhi: "Qianluo is indeed rife with head-lowering techniques and such evil arts."

"Also, the Grand Princess gets along quite well with the Nine Thousand Years; the Nine Thousand Years and the Grand Princess have a better relationship than with the Former Emperor, and their martial arts styles seem similar…?" Pei Di used the word "seems," he himself wasn't certain, because he rarely saw the Grand Princess display fist and foot techniques.

Qilin: "Again this Nine Thousand Years—is he good or bad?"

Pei Di frowned deeply, saying nothing.

Mu Yuanzhi suddenly seemed to think of something, asking Pei Di: "What about the other princes? Which factions do they belong to? Who's most likely to ascend the throne now?"

Before she hadn't cared about these, but now it's obvious someone among them wants them dead, so she must be vigilant.

Pei Di earnestly recalled and said: "The Former Emperor was the eldest grandson; according to primogeniture, after the crown prince died it should have been the third prince, Prince Qi, to inherit the throne, but the imperial eldest grandson was deeply favored, so an exception was made for him to inherit. Later Prince Qi also died, leaving among the ten princes only the fourth prince, Prince Qin, who holds heavy command and prestige. But if Prince Qin were to ascend, the Nine Thousand Years would have to step aside, right?"

Mu Yuanzhi: "Their tug-of-war might last a long time; what's the relationship between Prince Qin and the Grand Princess?"

"Prince Qin and the Grand Princess share the same mother, but they're very much at odds." Pei Di said.

Qilin: "Case closed—it's the Grand Princess who incited the young prince to go fire deviation, and she also killed people and set fires!"

Gu Rongjin: "Now the most suspicious is the Grand Princess; only if the Former Emperor lives a hundred years can she rest easy. If we kill the Former Emperor, will she come after us for revenge?"

Mu Yuanzhi: "Quite likely."

Qi Shihuai: "Since they set fire last night, they surely won't be idle tonight; I think we need to get ready."

"I've already thought of a good plan." Gu Rongjin curled his lips in a smile.

Everyone looked at him: "What good plan?"

Gu Rongjin said nothing, keeping it a secret.

That night, the manor inside and out remained heavily guarded.

Even the manor's gate had more guards than usual.

"It's time to change shifts—why aren't you leaving?" one guard asked his partner.

"I don't need to change shifts today; I'll stay on duty straight through."

"Really? There's such a thing? Alright, then I'm leaving."

"Let's go."

The man continuing to guard the gate said lightly.

At the half-hour mark of the shift change, defenses are at their loosest.

But those who had previously sneaked in seemed not to care whether there were many or few guards, because they had sufficient ability.

They're here!

In the night's darkness, a subtle movement lay hidden, yet the man instantly sensed it.

From among the tree shadows, a flashing figure lunged at him with a swift, accurate, and fierce palm strike!

Was it like this that they killed the guard that day?

The man met the strike, and he and the attacker became entangled in midair!

That person clearly hadn't expected this guard to be so tough; he let his guard down for a moment, and after being disadvantaged, he quickly corrected himself.

"Oh, you came so quickly."

A monk appeared unexpectedly; the attacker was even more surprised, wanted to retreat, but it was too late—the monk and the guard joined forces and took him down in fewer than three rounds!

"He's easier to handle than expected." The guard said, lifting his human-skin mask.

The attacker's eyes darkened—it was Gu Rongjin!

So that's how it is!

"I didn't expect anyone could last three moves against the monk's hands."

"No, it was our combined three moves." Gu Rongjin corrected.

"..." How could you speak up for an outsider?

"Let me see your true face from Mount Lu!" Gu Rongjin laughed as he tore off the attacker's veil, unsurprised: "Indeed, it's you, Grand Princess."

The Grand Princess gave a cold snort, completely lacking the daytime's dignified gentleness; her aura was ruthless, like a demon who kills without blinking.

"Amitabha, why are you, female donor, stealing in the dead of night? Are you trying to set fire again? This time the charge of burning the mountain is no small matter." The monk laughed and grabbed her, "Last time someone came here to kill, wasn't it you? Are you trying to frame the Ninth Thousand Years?"

The Grand Princess gave him a sideways glance: "Where's the evidence?"

Gu Rongjin: "Do we still need evidence? Or did you come here just to climb the mountain?"

The monk clapped his hands, as if to brush off dirt, and said: "First suppress it, then summon the Ninth Thousand Years."

Gu Rongjin: "How come I seem to have become your enforcer?"

He was a bit displeased, but still did as told.

This was the plan he had previously devised; they concluded that the mastermind behind the scenes would certainly take risks, and they would act swiftly tonight to cut through the chaos. So he and Master Yuan Yan coordinated inside and outside to catch the turtle in the jar.

I didn't expect to catch this turtle so easily; it was truly a case of getting something without effort.

"You're the one who incited your brother to go mad, aren't you?"

After an hour, the Ninth Thousand Years arrived, and Gu Rongjin began the interrogation.

"Don't just spout off, Heir Apparent," the Grand Princess, bound with five-fold ropes, remained calm in the face of danger.

"Alright, Grand Princess, tell us why you came here to steal today."