The capital of Great Zhao felt different after noon.
Shadows grew long against the red palace walls, and the summer warmth settled like a slow exhale across the inner courts. Servants walked lightly for once—morning court had ended, the ministries had dispersed, and the empire's rhythm lulled itself into a gentler tempo.
In the Garden Of Harmonious Fragrance, the Emperor sat beside a lotus pond with a fishing rod balanced across his knee. His robe sleeves were pushed up, exposing the faint scar along his forearm—the one he earned the year his younger brother died in battle. The wind swayed the lotus leaves, but none dared rise.
Behind him, as always, stood Head Eunuch Liang Shun.
Elegant, composed, unreadable.
He had served the emperors since he was children and moved with the soft authority of someone who knew the pulse of the palace better than most ministers.
Liang Shun glanced at the still water. "Your Majesty… the fish have not surfaced once."
The Emperor flicked his wrist lazily.
"If Zhen wanted fish, Liang Shun, Zhen would summon the Ministry of Works to drain the pond."
Liang Shun pressed his lips politely, hiding a smile. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Across the garden, Imperial Noble Consort Shang Yao played with the youngest princess, guiding her tiny hands across bamboo slips. Empress Hua Renshu tended to a cluster of peonies with palace attendants, sunlight catching the gold thread of her sleeve.
The atmosphere was warm. A rare breath of peace.
Liang Shun turned when soft footsteps approached. "Your Majesty, Qinghe Wangye has arrived."
The Emperor raised a brow. "Already? He said he would spend his afternoon 'calming the streets.' Heaven knows what that means."
The Empress looked up exasperatedly. "It means he's roaming the city again."
Lady Shang Yao giggled behind her fan.
"It means he is eating street buns again, Your Majesty."
The Emperor exhaled like a tired father. "Bring him in before he adopts another stray dog."
Moments later, Jianyan stepped into the garden—hands stained faintly with charcoal, hairpin slightly crooked, posture relaxed like a man who had absolutely no intention of ever behaving like a regular Qinghe Qinwang.
Liang Shun bowed. "Wangye."
"Eunuch Liang," Jianyan returned with a grin. "Still guarding His Majesty like a mother hen?"
Liang Shun gave the faintest smile. "If this servant does not guard His Majesty, Wangye certainly won't."
"Fair."
Jianyan bowed toward the Emperor. "Your Majesty, your humble servant greets you."
The Emperor eyed him. "Why is your hairpin crooked?"
Jianyan touched it. "…your humble servant was climbing a roof."
Lady Shang Yao laughed. "Another roof?"
"It was a small roof," Jianyan said. "Barely worth mentioning."
The Empress sighed deeply—the sigh of an aunt who had raised him half his life.
"Yan'er, must you climb everything in this city?"
"If your humble servant does not climb, how will your humble servant learn which noodle shop hides its spices on the rafters?"
Liang Shun choked lightly, pretending he did not hear.
The Emperor shifted his fishing rod. "At least tell Zhen you didn't fall this time."
"I didn't," Jianyan said proudly. "Your humble servant landed perfectly."
"That means you did fall."
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
The entire garden rippled with amused quiet.
Liang Shun glanced over the pond and murmured softly, "Wangye brings life wherever he steps."
The Emperor pretended not to hear but his eyes softened.
Jianyan joined them by the water. A eunuch poured him chilled osmanthus tea. He sipped slowly.
"The capital is lively today," Jianyan said. "Merchants in Jade Avenue are preparing for Mid-Autumn. I heard a storyteller describing the Ballad of Golden Duke. Very dramatic. Very inaccurate."
The Empress chuckled. "And what did you tell the storyteller?"
"That benwang knew the real ending."
"And then?"
"He panicked and rewrote the entire conclusion."
Liang Shun bowed slightly to hide his laughter.
The Emperor shook his head. "Yan'er, one day the storytellers will revolt."
"Not while your humble servant pays them in candied plums."
"Zhen should confiscate your purse," the Emperor muttered.
"Too late. Your humble servant buried it."
Liang Shun stared forward, expression frozen, as though determined to pretend he did not hear that.
The garden remained peaceful—until a sharp cry echoed through the west corridor.
A young eunuch sprinted through the archway, face pale, voice cracking.
He threw himself to the ground.
"Your Majesty—urgent—urgent!!"
Liang Shun immediately stepped in front of the Emperor, one arm out in subtle protection.
"You dare to ignore protocol in the front of your majesty?!" Liang Shun demanded.
The eunuch gasped and then he tremble to kowtow then say, "im sorry your majesty, this lowly servant deserve punishment, but.. but..mingyuan Drum—Meridian Gate—someone struck it—three times—then collapsed!!"
The garden froze.
Shang Yao's hands flew to her mouth.
The Empress inhaled sharply.
Even the lotus leaves seemed to still.
The Emperor rose to his feet, voice turning cold. "Who witnessed it?"
"Gate officers… and Ministry of Justice clerk Shen Li. They say the petitioner's scroll—Your Majesty—it bears signs of prefectural tempering."
A silence so sharp it could cut jade fell across the garden.
The Empress whispered, "Prefectural tampering…?"
Liang Shun lowered his gaze. "Your Majesty, this cannot be ignored."
Jianyan straightened, expression shifting instantly into steel.
"What prefecture?" he asked.
"Jinzhou… Wangye."
Jinzhou is very rich province because of the river basin over there.
Jianyan's jaw tightened.
The Emperor's voice turned into low thunder.
"Summon all relevant officials to the Hall of Upright Governance."
Liang Shun bowed. "At once, Your Majesty."
"and you! Follow Zhen immediately," the Emperor added sharply.
Jianyan bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then follow Zhen."
The garden erupted into movement.
Maids rushed to clear the area.
Eunuchs sprinted to the inner court.
Liang Shun moved swiftly at the Emperor's right flank, the way a blade follows the hilt.
The Empress caught Jianyan's sleeve softly.
"Yan'er," she whispered, "be careful. Mingyuan Drum cases are never simple."
Jianyan gave her a half-smile. "your humble servant was careful the moment your humble servant started climbing roofs."
"Exactly what worries me," she muttered.
Jianyan bowed and turned.
HALL OF UPRIGHT GOVERNANCE
Inside the hall, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Officials knelt in rigid silence.
Shen Li, Han Zheng, and Gao Shun were present.
Liang Shun stood behind the Emperor's throne—silent and vigilant.
The Emperor sat, posture straight, gaze sharp enough to cut parchment.
"Report," he commanded.
Shen Li trembled as he stepped forward.
"Your Majesty… Qinghe Wangye… the matter is grave beyond precedent."
Jianyan folded his hands behind his back. "Tell me"
"At the Meridian Gate," Shen Li said, "a young man named Qiu Fen struck the Mingyuan Drum three times. He carried a petition accusing Jinzhou Prefecture of altering a county ruling. The petition scroll shows multiple signs of fabrication."
The Emperor's brows narrowed. "Tampering?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Two ink tones, dates overwritten, a prefectural seal stamped at a wrong angle, and—"
His voice faltered.
"—a witness testimony bearing the signature of someone recorded as deceased months earlier."
The hall chilled.
Liang Shun murmured softly behind the throne,
"Your Majesty, such falsification—if verified—threatens the very legitimacy of prefectural justice."
Jianyan extended his hand. "Let benwang examine the scroll."
Shen Li presented it.
Jianyan unrolled it slowly. The uneven brushwork. The forced correction marks. The eerie uniformity of the stamped seal.
He spoke quietly.
"Your Majesty… this is not sloppy corruption. This is systemic."
Gao Shun wiped sweat from his brow. "The petitioner collapsed before he could explain further, Your Majesty. He is alive, but barely."
The Emperor's voice was low. "Where is he now?"
"In the Gate infirmary," Shen Li replied.
Jianyan's tone sharpened. "Benwang will see him at once."
Liang Shun stepped forward. "Your Majesty, shall this servant dispatch escort guards?"
"Yes," the Emperor said immediately. "No one interferes with Qinghe Wangye's path."
Liang Shun bowed. "This servant obeys."
The Emperor faced Jianyan.
"Yan'er," he said softly, "if this rot reaches Jinzhou Prefecture… Zhen wants truth. All of it."
Jianyan bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty will have truth."
"You join with Dali Temple for this investigation"
"Your humble servant understand"
Jianyan give respectful bow and turned, robes sweeping across the polished floor, and Liang Shun signaled two elite inner-court guards to escort him.