"Yun Liyue, the Crown Prince Consort. During the coercion from Xuan Nu Palace and the case of the stolen Sword Control Skill, she repeatedly received aid from a mysterious expert. Her Cultivation has already broken through to the First Grade Grandmaster Realm..."
"Yan Jiuge, one of the Crown Prince’s concubines. She was once ambushed and nearly killed, but was later saved by a mysterious expert. She was pressured by a Princess, and after that Princess met with misfortune, she subsequently advanced to a higher level..."
"Mo Qianqiu, the Crown Prince’s former chief strategist. He was ambushed by his enemies and left gravely injured on the brink of death. He later made a mysterious recovery and is suspected to have broken through to the Super Grade Celestial Human Realm..."
"Yue Yulong and Yue Yufeng, orphaned children of the former Vice Grand General of the Imperial Guard, Yue Zhan. They were captured after a failed assassination attempt on Zhao Tianxiong, but later escaped mysteriously and have taken control of the Cao Bang..."
"Song Yuyan, the former Qinhuai Building Master. She was severely injured while vying for the Thousand-year-old Glazed Fruit, but later made a mysterious recovery. She is suspected to have broken through to the Super Grade and has recently been contacting her old subordinates in secret, seemingly with the intent to rebuild the Qinhuai Building..."
...
At the end of the list, a line of small text was written in a Vermilion Brush, specially highlighted.
"All the individuals mentioned above have extremely deep ties to the Crown Prince. The mysterious expert they encountered appears to be the same person or from the same faction. This person claims to be an old retainer of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, repaying a debt of gratitude to Elder Qing Yin and the Crown Prince. Their motives are unclear, but they have aided all the old retainers of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, stating they wish to see the Crown Prince off on his final journey."
Sun Wuyang put down the list, leaned back slowly in his chair, and closed his eyes. He felt a vague sense that he was onto something.
In his mind, countless clues, images, and suspicions flashed by like a revolving lantern, constantly intertwining and converging.
Lately, a series of major cases had plagued the palace: a Prince and Princess were deposed and killed one after another, the Empress had become catatonic, the Inner Treasury and National Treasury were plundered, Consort Ji was cursed to death, the Chief Wet Nurse was assassinated... All the evidence pointed to the Northern Desert and the Southern Barbarians. He, too, had once been firmly convinced of this.
But as the investigation deepened, especially after the assassination attempt at Wenhua Hall, the sliver of doubt in his heart hadn’t dissipated. Instead, it grew heavier. He always felt something wasn’t right.
It was the intuition of an old Divine Constable who had served for centuries, and that intuition had rarely been wrong before.
What aroused his suspicion was the fate of these old retainers from the Crown Prince’s Mansion.
It was too coincidental. When Yun Liyue was being pressured by Xuan Nu Palace, the mysterious expert appeared right on time and even helped her achieve a breakthrough. When Yan Jiuge was ambushed, the mysterious expert appeared right on time and saved her life. Mo Qianqiu, the Yue Yulong siblings, Song Yuyan... every single one of them received "perfectly-timed" help at their most critical moment.
Although the reason given was that they were old retainers of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, he had specifically sent people to investigate. It seemed there was no such formidable mysterious expert among the retainers of the Crown Prince’s Mansion back then.
Besides, how could there be so many coincidences in this world?
If this mysterious expert was someone from the Northern Desert or the Southern Barbarians, it might seem more plausible.
As for why he would help old retainers of the Crown Prince’s Mansion—the mansion had fallen decades ago. What was the point in helping these people? Unless...
Sun Wuyang’s eyes shot open, a brilliant light flaring within them!
’Unless... this mysterious expert was brought in through a conspiracy with the elder Crown Prince. Their identity would be a hidden, peerless master from the Northern Desert Da Kuo and the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races, and the elder Crown Prince would be their inside man.’
’And if this hypothesis is true, then all the major cases in the palace are connected to the elder Crown Prince.’
A terrifying thought slithered into Sun Wuyang’s mind like a venomous snake.
’Is it possible that besides the Northern Desert and the Southern Barbarians, the mastermind behind all this is the elder Crown Prince, Xia Wuyang—the man everyone sees as a good-for-nothing?’
The thought was so shocking that it even startled Sun Wuyang himself. After all, this was the Crown Prince of Great Xia. How could he do such a thing?
’If he’s a spy, he’s probably the greatest spy in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.’
He shook his head, trying to cast aside the absurd idea.
’The elder Crown Prince?’
’That old waste of space with withered meridians and crippled Cultivation, who spends his days indulging in wine and women, not far from death’s door?’
’How could he have the ability to commit these earth-shattering crimes? And how could he have the power to command such a mysterious expert? Impossible.’
But another voice rose from the depths of his heart, growing louder and louder. ’A desperate man will do desperate things.’
’The elder Crown Prince was deposed for decades, enduring endless humiliation and scorn. He suffered repeated retaliation, and now he’s old and dying. Even his former concubines are utterly disappointed in him... In such a situation, who would believe that he bears no resentment toward the Royal Family, toward Emperor Xia, or toward those who harmed him?’
’If he secretly colluded with the Northern Desert or the Southern Barbarians, using foreign enemies to take revenge on the Royal Family and throw Great Xia into chaos... it would make sense. It’s not impossible.’
’After all, he is one of the people most familiar with the Imperial Palace. And if he decided to put his mind to it, he would certainly have the capability.’
’Furthermore, he has more than enough motive. After all, the mysterious help received by the old retainers of the Crown Prince’s Mansion all seems to subtly point back to him...’
Sun Wuyang’s fingers tapped unconsciously on the tabletop. The various clues weaving through his mind all pointed to Xia Wuyang and the Crown Prince’s Mansion.
TAP, TAP, TAP...
The sound echoed through the silent Celestial Eye Pavilion, like a heartbeat, or a countdown.
He suddenly stood up, walked to a bookshelf, and pulled out a thick dossier. It was the detailed record of the assassination attempt at Wenhua Hall, with not a single detail missing.
He flipped through it quickly, his gaze finally landing on the autopsy report of the assassin, Qiu Ju. Of course, her real name wasn’t Qiu Ju; she was an important spy from the Northern Desert Da Kuo Royal Court.
"Committed suicide by Poison. The Poison was Wolf Poison, unique to the Northern Desert. Disguise Technique was extremely sophisticated... Real identity: Hassen, Vice Commander of the Northern Desert’s Canglang Guard. Had been undercover in Great Xia for decades, commanding hundreds of spies."
At the time, this evidence had seemed ironclad, and Emperor Xia had been completely convinced by it.
But looking at it again now, Sun Wuyang found a point of suspicion that made him furrow his brow.
’The assassin was a veteran spy who had been undercover for decades, and a Super Grade Celestial Human to boot. Even if she was blocked by a Spirit Talisman, couldn’t she still have killed that elder Crown Prince, Xia Wuyang?’
’An old, dying, and muddle-headed elder Crown Prince just happened to find a human shield, using the Spirit Talisman on Su Ling’Er to block the killing blow from a Super Grade Celestial Human Level assassin?’
Sun Wuyang closed the dossier, the light in his eyes flickering uncertainly. He felt strongly that something was wrong with all this.
He decided to investigate quietly to see if the elder Crown Prince was an enemy spy, committing these acts for the sake of revenge.
He wouldn’t alert anyone, not even going through the official channels of the Divine Capture Sect.
Just him alone, with his pair of Celestial Eyes. He would secretly investigate Wenhua Hall, the old retainers of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, and any traces the mysterious expert might have left behind to confirm if he was from the Northern Desert or the Southern Barbarians.
’If the elder Crown Prince really is compromised, this whole affair is about to blow up.’
With so little time left, was the elder Crown Prince really going to ruin his name in his final moments?
Sun Wuyang walked to the window and pushed it open.
The afternoon breeze, carrying the moisture from the surrounding lake, washed over his face, cool and damp.
He gazed at the distant silhouette of the sprawling palace complex. His Celestial Eyes, capable of seeing through all worldly illusions, were now filled with deep apprehension. He was worried about what he might find.
But what Sun Wuyang didn’t know was that at the very moment he pushed open the window, resolved to investigate in secret, someone already knew what was happening here.

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