CUI BUQU WAS too busy enjoying the expression twisting Princess Leping's face to pay attention to anything else. It wasn't until Feng Xiao tugged at his sleeve that he lowered his head in confusion and caught sight of that wicked little fox.
He blinked for a moment, wavering between This person is sick in the head and This person is a twelve-year-old child, before settling decisively on the first. But Feng Xiao's interruption had derailed his train of thought; Princess Leping, having gathered some of her wits, took the opportunity to interject.
"Ren Yue plotted treason, deceiving even me. If you knew of this, why didn't you inform me earlier? Instead you allowed the plan to proceed, inciting havoc!" Seizing her chance, Princess Leping interrogated him. "The crown prince, the Prince of Jin, all my royal siblings are here. Had any of them been harmed, could you bear the responsibility?"
Cui Buqu privately cursed Feng Xiao for throwing him off as he wrenched his scattered thoughts back on track. "Why is Your Highness so upset?" he asked coldly. "First of all, we couldn't risk scaring off the enemy before the plot was exposed. We had to wait until the criminals revealed themselves as scheming foxes before catching the whole lot."
Speaking of foxes… He looked down again. The mandarin pith fox was still there, its eyes narrowed. It looked as if it were glowering at its prey just ahead, waiting for a chance to pounce. Feng Xiao's artistic talents were apparent. But it was even more apparent that he had far too much time on his hands. Was the great and mighty deputy chief of the Jiejian Bureau only here to attend the banquet, with no other motive?
Rumors abounded that Princess Lanling was besotted with Feng Xiao, and it was said the emperor also wished them to marry. Feng Xiao couldn't have come here for the princess, could he? A number of theories flashed through his mind as Cui Buqu drawled, "Secondly, Ren Yue was once known by another name."
He paused and observed Princess Leping's face, but as her expression was already unsightly, he detected no change. "His original surname was Yuwen, and his given name was Yi."
The attendees at today's banquet were either royals, noble dukes and ladies, or officials of the court. They were the upper echelons of the Sui capital. Upon hearing the name Yuwen, they immediately made certain associations.
The Prince of Jin was the first to voice the question. "A survivor from the previous dynasty?"
"Correct," said Cui Buqu. "His father was Prince Yuewe, also known as Yuwen Sheng, of the previous dynasty. Yuwen Yi escaped and was adopted by the Ren family, who changed his name to Ren Yue. It was given out that he was a distant nephew with whom the family had lost touch. He kept his identity hidden and bided his time for many years, making a name for himself in the jianghu as Ren Yue. It was then that he caught the princess's eye. On this occasion, Ren Yue volunteered to organize the banquet, and the princess entrusted him with full responsibility for the event. It was easy for him to make whatever arrangements he wanted, and today's murderous plot was born."
"I am not Yuwen Yi!" shouted Ren Yue. "It's all nonsense! Have you no shame, framing me for this crime! Princess, save me!"
Princess Leping's face was pale, her lips trembling. She was unable to say a word. She wanted to reprimand Cui Buqu, but she knew he wouldn't have said all this without gathering evidence to support it. If she made any retort, she'd only humiliate herself. "I knew nothing of this. I was also in the garden; I would have died along with everyone else!" She glared hatefully at Ren Yue. "I treated you well, Ren Yue. Is this how you repay me?!"
Fear flooded Ren Yue's face. "Princess, please think!" he cried. "I'm not the criminal! I have no idea where the oil in the pots came from. Princess, I've been framed. How can you believe him over me? You said you loved me—"
Princess Leping's voice rose. "Why hasn't he been taken away?!"
All sorts of expressions colored the faces of the guests. Many pretended they hadn't heard a thing. That the princess would take a lover was no great surprise. Princess Leping had been a widow for many years and was still in her prime. It was understandable that she'd found the loneliness unbearable. But this was a private matter. Had it never been dragged out in the open, everyone would have been happy to turn a blind eye and pretend the princess was a paragon of virtue, faithful to her spouse to her grave.
Cui Buqu offered the shadow of a smile before putting a brutal end to the masquerade. "Yuwen Yi does bear a striking resemblance to the late Emperor Xuan. No wonder the princess couldn't resist him."
Princess Leping's knees buckled, and her maids rushed up to support her.
With a wave of his hand, Cui Buqu had Ren Yue and his accomplices taken away. Clad in a black cloak draped over a plain white robe, he stood in the wind, the air about him harsh and bleak. After this incident, even fewer people would be willing to approach him.
Yang Rende, the man who'd produced the jade orb in an attempt to frustrate Cui Buqu, shrank into himself. He feared Cui Buqu would remember him and seek revenge.
He was right; Cui Buqu remembered him. He pointed at Yang Rende and said, "Take this man away as well."
Yang Rende jolted to his feet, crying out, "Marquis Cui, I didn't mean any disrespect earlier. You can't use public resources to avenge your private grudges!"
Cui Buqu coughed. "Yang-gongzi, you think too highly of yourself. I'm arresting you because you were the first person Ren Yue befriended when he came to the capital. You were also the one who introduced him to the princess, allowing him to enter her residence as a retainer. I do wonder, why did you recommend him to the princess? Perhaps you saw from the start that he looked like her deceased husband?"
"I didn't!" shouted Yang Rende. "It's not like that!"
Qiao Xian tapped an acupoint, and he fell silent.
"It's true I have no idea how to unravel the thread from the orb," said Cui Buqu. "But as Yang-gongzi will be spending a while in prison, you'll have plenty of time to think. Perhaps you'll finally be able to solve this long-unanswered mystery." Having finished ridiculing the man, he changed his tone: "Take him away!"
Feng Xiao smothered his laughter. This man is a force of nature the moment he starts talking.
After such a massive upheaval, no one was in the mood to continue the banquet. Even the hosts were at a loss, terrified out of their wits.
The Prince of Jin was first to leave. The rest followed his lead and said their farewells in turn. The steward seeing off the guests rushed back and forth, almost tripping over himself in his haste. Between the Zuoyue Bureau still combing the princess's residence for evidence and the chaos the garden was in, what had once been a scene of a thousand dazzling lights had devolved into a tangled mass of wavering shadows.
The extravagant splendor and prosperity had dissipated like smoke, all within the span of a single song and dance.
Cui Buqu departed surrounded by Zuoyue guards, his cloak like a smudge of harsh night sky trailing in his wake. No one noticed that the fox made of mandarin pith on the table had been deliberately scattered by his hem and was no longer discernible.
Everyone went pale as he passed; not a soul dared stop him. After tonight, his reputation in the capital would likely no longer be that of a meritorious envoy, but instead a harbinger of King Yama.
As soon as he emerged from Qingli Garden, Cui Buqu divided the Zuoyue guards into two groups. One was to remain in the garden and search for physical evidence, while the other was to take Ren Yue and his co-conspirators to the Ministry of Justice's prison.
As for Cui Buqu himself, he made for his own carriage, accompanied by Qiao Xian. Yet just as he was about to step inside, a hand grabbed his cloak. It was lightning fast, its strength immense. Not only did Qiao Xian fail to react in time, Cui Buqu almost toppled to the ground from being yanked.
He whipped his head around and met Feng Xiao's innocent gaze. "Daoist Master Cui, you scoundrel. We spent the entire night together, yet you didn't bring up our promise even once."
Cui Buqu was silent for a moment. "Three days from now, at Changle Station outside Tonghua Gate. We'll meet then."
Feng Xiao smiled. "There, was it really so hard to be direct? Couldn't you have done it earlier? Instead I must go over and over again to my own debtor to demand repayment. It's rather shameful, is it not?"
"…Why aren't you letting go?"
Qiao Xian moved toward Feng Xiao to shove him off, but Feng Xiao was prepared. He met her strikes with his free hand. Qiao Xian was forced onto the defensive, taking several steps back.
Feng Xiao shook his head at her. "You suffered terrible injuries in the Khaganate. We've only been back in the capital half a month, and you've yet to recover. If Ren Yue had known, perhaps he wouldn't have surrendered so easily."
He'd prodded her right in her sore spot. Qiao Xian's expression turned stormy. "You—!"
"Marquis Cui!"
It was a woman's voice. Exasperation bubbled up in Cui Buqu. If not for Feng Xiao's interference, he'd have been long gone by now. Still, he turned. "How may I help Your Grace?"
Duchess Yuwen had come down to the gates, supported by her maid. "Marquis Cui could have privately informed my mother of all this in advance. Had she been prepared, the scene tonight could have been avoided. Instead, this affair is sure to bring shame down on her. Surely, at least in the interest of maintaining relationships, it's better to offer people a way out? Yet Marquis Cui showed my mother no mercy. Has my lord given any thought to the future?"
"I've already reported everything to His Majesty. If Your Grace has any further inquiries, please lay them before him."
Princess Lanling emerged from the gates just in time to see Duchess Yuwen's eyes well up with tears. "Did my mother offend Marquis Cui that he must retaliate against us like this?! If she has, let me kneel and apologize to you on her behalf! Will that be enough?"
Without waiting for Cui Buqu's response, she sank to her knees and kowtowed, pressing her head to the ground.
Many guests had yet to leave, and the gates were swarming with carriages. All of them witnessed this scene. The onlookers felt a flood of sympathy for Duchess Yuwen—Cui Buqu, they felt, had crossed a line in his conduct toward Princess Leping and her daughter. The two were clearly no threat to the imperial court, but a widow and a fatherless child. What had they done to deserve such treatment?
Princess Lanling rushed forward and bent to help Duchess Yuwen to her feet. This princess was gentle by nature, but she didn't hold back as she scolded Cui Buqu. "One should show mercy whenever possible. Why do this, Marquis Cui?"
Cui Buqu made no attempt to defend himself. He bade them farewell, then stepped into his carriage, leaving the two young ladies and Feng Xiao behind.
But after sitting down and crossing his legs, a trace of doubt surfaced on his features.
Slowly, the carriage wheels began to turn.
Cui Buqu lifted a corner of the curtain. Princess Lanling was comforting her niece, whose head was bowed as she wiped at her tears. Cui Buqu let the carriage curtain fall.
"Strange," he murmured.
"What's strange?"
When one was sitting alone in a carriage talking to oneself and another voice answered, there were only two possibilities: either you'd encountered a ghost, or someone else had snuck onto your carriage.
Cui Buqu jerked around to see a face poking through the curtain on the other side of the carriage. The rest of Feng Xiao followed, sliding smoothly into the carriage too fast for Cui Buqu to stop him.
Feng Xiao flashed him a smile. "I was just thinking that, since you were so busy with that case tonight, you didn't have time to chat with me. You must be looking back on the evening with some regret, and so I've come to give you the chance to make it up to me."
Before the words were out of his mouth, Feng Xiao was closing in, pressing Cui Buqu against the wall of the carriage and pinning both his wrists. Feng Xiao's body was flush against his, their noses inches apart and their breaths mingling in the air between them. Cui Buqu could see his own face reflected in Feng Xiao's eyes.
Compared to the cool evening outside, the carriage interior was warm. Cui Buqu could feel himself sweating. But he didn't call out. It wasn't because Feng Xiao had sealed his acupoints, nor that he was entranced by the man's charm. A pair of lips was pressed against his own, mouthing the words one by one: There's someone—underneath—the carriage.