Inside Brightpeace Palace, Gavin Shea sat across from Gu Jin.
Between them on the low table lay a collection of incriminating items: the nanmu tube Lena Sanders had brought back, a ledger from the old Anfu store, the stolen documents and their registry from Riverton's Martin Shaw, the duplicate of the warrant issued from Castleton, and a thick stack of confessions.
Gavin Shea sat upright, his expression dark and stormy, eyes fixed unblinkingly on Gu Jin.
Gu Jin, pale and calm, examined each item one by one. When he had finished, he lifted his gaze to meet Gavin's.
"Liu Yun is actually Yun Xi, the Deputy Supervisor of the Inner Servants' Department—a eunuch's apprentice. In the eighth month, he conveniently returned home to pay ancestral respects, not present in the palace. I have already sent men to verify this journey.
Yun Xi used the imperial jade token and matched the secret phrase to activate Fan Ping'an. The token, perhaps, he could have stolen—but the phrase? Someone must have told him. Who was it?
The medicinal herb that robbed me of my internal strength came from Yun Xi's hand to Fan Ping'an. But who gave the herb to Yun Xi? And how many even knew of such a drug's existence?
The one who issued that false warrant was Zhou Fu, chief steward of the Yongping Marquis's estate. Zhou Fu claimed he was following Shen Yun's order. Was it truly Shen Yun's command? And Shen He knew nothing?"
Gavin's words ground out between clenched teeth. "What do you plan to do?"
Gu Jin's face was ashen. "I have already drafted a memorial," Gavin said, his eyes glinting with a desperate light. "I will submit it openly—tomorrow morning before the entire court—and present these proofs before His Majesty."
Gu Jin lowered his gaze to the items upon the table. An open memorial meant it would circulate through every bureau before reaching the emperor's hands—its contents made public across the realm.
"I will see His Majesty myself," Gu Jin said at last after a long silence. "I still believe this matter has nothing to do with His Majesty. Wait here for me."
"Very well," Gavin replied curtly.
Gu Jin rang for an attendant. The eunuch wheeled him out, transferred him to a palanquin, and carried him toward the Hall of Longevity.
Barely a quarter of an hour later, Gu Jin emerged once more and was borne away.
Within the hall, His Majesty sat in shadow, his face grim as he turned toward the attendant who had stepped out from behind the screen.
"You heard everything?" the emperor asked, eyes drifting to the bright sunlight beyond the doors.
The eunuch knelt and bowed low. "Yun Xi's crime is unforgivable…"
"Did you not hear what Brother Jin said?" His Majesty cut him off sharply. "This is not something Yun Xi alone could bear."
The eunuch froze.
"You have served at my side for decades," His Majesty said quietly. "You have worked hard."
The eunuch pressed his forehead to the floor for a long moment, his voice hoarse when he finally spoke: "To have served His Majesty all these years—this humble servant is blessed beyond measure. Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Go, then," the emperor murmured, turning away and lifting a memorial from the desk. "Take responsibility for the bowmen as well."
——
The case of the Prince Heir's attempted assassination, once mired in confusion and dead ends, suddenly unraveled like melting ice. The truth was laid bare—but Chancellor Pan felt no relief, only a chill creeping down his spine.
The attendant eunuch had stolen the imperial token, instructed Fan Ping'an—the Northrealm's deputy intelligence envoy in Riverford—to assassinate the Prince Heir, and colluded with Shen Yun, younger brother to the Yongping Marquis. Under a forged imperial edict, they mobilized bowmen to ambush the Prince Heir in North Hollow County.
The attendant eunuch was sentenced to strangulation. His apprentice, Deputy Supervisor Yun Xi, and thirty-six other palace servants were beheaded at once.
Shen Yun was likewise executed. The Yongping Marquis, Shen He, failed to restrain his household—he was caned fifty strokes, fined three years of salary, and ordered to kneel before Prince Rui's residence in penitence.
——
Gavin Shea held the eunuch's confession in one hand, a cold sneer twisting his lips.
Across from him, Gu Jin rubbed at his temples, weariness shadowing his face. "What more do you want, Gavin? What else can be done?"
Gavin gave a short, bitter laugh but said nothing.
"Will you kill Prince Rui? He's your own father. A father kills a son and suffers; a son kills his father and flees. What then? Do you mean to commit patricide?
Kill the Yongping Marquis? You could—wipe out the entire Shinn clan if you wished. But once he's dead, who remains powerful enough to balance you? Who would dare oppose you? Without the Yongping household, how can His Majesty ever feel at ease again? You'd only be setting your own neck upon the blade.
Those you could kill—those families you could destroy—are worth more alive than dead. Leave them be.
The Yongping line has but two brothers, Shen He and Shen Yun. One branch severed is punishment enough."
Gu Jin looked steadily at him as he spoke.
Gavin's eyes narrowed. "That attendant began serving His Majesty as a boy. He had no parents, no wife, no child—his very surname 'Sui' was given him by the household that took him in. He's older than His Majesty himself.
A man like that—scheming for the future? Seeking favor with the Ningbo House and the Shen family—betraying His Majesty to do it? What future could he possibly have? For whom would he plan such treachery? What a joke!"
"If you can see that, others can too," Gu Jin said softly, pressing his fingers against his brow. "For decades everyone has known His Majesty trusted that eunuch above all, regarded him as family. And yet His Majesty still sacrificed him. That is remorse enough.
It ends here, Gavin. What else do you want? What else can you do?"
Gavin's lips tightened. After a long pause, he drew a deep breath. "Shen He will come to the Prince's Manor to beg forgiveness. Let him kneel outside the gates for an entire day."
"As you wish," Gu Jin said quietly.
——
Lena Sanders stood amid the gathered crowd with Harris Ma and Jack Golden, craning their necks and rising on tiptoe to watch the spectacle before Prince Rui's mansion.
In the biting cold, the Yongping Marquis, Shen He, wore only a thin robe. A bundle of thorny twigs was strapped to his back as he knelt before the great gates, head bowed low.
Four or five glowing braziers surrounded him; a dozen gatekeepers stood nearby, heads lowered, occasionally stooping to replace the dying coals.
After observing a while, Lena stepped back, motioning for Harris and Jack to follow. "Looks like it'll be a while yet. Let's find a place to sit and have breakfast first."
"How do you know it'll take long, Boss?" Harris asked, shuffling up beside her, hands tucked in his sleeves.
"Didn't you see the braziers? If he weren't meant to kneel for hours, they wouldn't have set them out," Lena said cheerfully, offering her lesson with rare good humor.
The eunuch was dead, the Marquis's brother executed, and now the Marquis himself knelt in penance. That meant Castleton was finally safe.
She was fond of Castleton—very fond indeed.
"Boss always says you've no eye for detail," Jack Golden snorted at Harris. "Those five or six braziers aren't lice on a bald man's head—they're monkeys! And you still needed to ask?"
"I saw the braziers!" Harris retorted. "I just didn't think of that. Did you think of it first? Go on, say you did!"
Lena chuckled and pointed toward a nearby copper shop. "Those braziers by the door have fine craftsmanship. Let's eat first, then we'll have a look."
After breakfast, they bought several braziers, ordered two cartloads of charcoal to be delivered to Stirred-Rice Alley, then stopped for lunch. When they returned, the Yongping Marquis was still kneeling at the Prince's gate.
Lena left Harris and Jack—who had already placed several bets—to keep watch, while she strolled home through the alleyways.
Darren Chang had already received a dozen gleaming copper braziers and two cartloads of charcoal. When he saw Lena return, his words turned into laughter.
"Couldn't find anyone before the end of the year," he said, "but once spring comes, we'll have them fix the underfloor heating?"
"Good," Lena replied with a smile, handing him a bag of candied pine nuts and a large packet of melon seeds. "You've worked hard these months—let's have a proper New Year."
"Then tomorrow morning I'll take Harris to buy a pig, a few sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish. Laba's already passed—we've got to make haste if we want a real celebration," Darren said, hanging the bamboo basket under the eaves and tucking the sweets inside.
Lena nodded absently, dragged out a bamboo chair, and sat beneath the winter sun with a book. Before long, drowsiness crept over her, and she drifted into a light nap, the sunlight warm upon her face.