Li Zhi

"Got it. You must be wondering why I haven't fainted, right?"

Li Musheng seemed to have guessed what the two were thinking. He waved a hand and said,

"Stop waiting. That thing is useless against me. Even if you wait until tomorrow, you won't see the result you want."

With that, he turned back around and ignored them.

Chief Eunuch Sun Changyu and Deputy Commander Song Shanyue looked at each other. Then Li Musheng suddenly seemed to recall something.

He left the railing, turned, and stopped before Chief Eunuch Sun Changyu. Raising a brow, he asked,

"Have you seen Consort Jing before?"

At those words, Chief Eunuch Sun Changyu narrowed his eyes slightly. He lifted his head and studied Li Musheng's face for a while. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded.

"Of course I have seen Consort Jing. Her Highness was a kind and benevolent mistress, and she treated the servants in the palace quite well."

Hearing this, Li Musheng lightly clapped his hands.

"Then this is much easier."

As he spoke, he pointed to his own face and asked,

"Then you must understand that I am very likely the real Seventh Prince?"

Deputy Commander Song Shanyue gave Li Musheng a surprised look, then turned toward Sun Changyu with suspicion.

Though he held a high position in the Heavenly Brocade Guard and had entered the palace many times to pay audience to Emperor Yuanwu, he could never possibly come and go from the emperor's inner palace.

Thus, he had never met Consort Jing and did not quite understand what Li Musheng meant.

At this moment, the expression of Sun Changyu, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Palace Ceremonial, changed rapidly. He hesitated for quite some time before speaking.

"Young Master does indeed bear some resemblance to Consort Jing, but..."

Before he could finish, Li Musheng directly raised a hand to stop him.

"There are no buts. There's no need to waste several more days waiting either. Let's just settle this in one stroke. Go find someone who can make the decision."

"If my identity as the Seventh Prince can be confirmed, then all will be well. If not, then... I'll just consider this trip a wasted one."

Chief Eunuch Sun Changyu froze at those words. He clearly had not expected Li Musheng to be so straightforward, and for a moment, he did not know how to respond.

Li Musheng did not urge him. He merely watched him with composed leisure.

Although he did not care all that much about whether he was the Seventh Prince, to speak honestly, resolving the matter of his identity sooner would indeed benefit his subsequent search for the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury Key and an opportunity to transcend the martial path.

After hesitating for a while, Chief Eunuch Sun Changyu finally said,

"This matter is not something I can decide, but I can report it on your behalf. As for whether it can be carried out, that will depend on the Queen's decree."

Emperor Yuanwu had been in seclusion cultivating for over a month. The affairs of Aurora Pavilion were entirely handled by the current Queen, and Li Musheng had long heard of this, so he was not surprised.

"Then go ask for instructions. I'll wait here."

Li Musheng nodded slightly, then turned and leaned against the corridor railing again. As he admired the scenery, he continued pondering how to create the martial art known as the "Life-Death Seal."

Chief Eunuch Sun Changyu agreed. He gave Song Shanyue, standing beside him, a slight nod, then hurriedly turned and left.

Deputy Commander Song Shanyue's gaze flickered as he watched this unfold. He glanced at Li Musheng but said nothing more, immediately following after Sun Changyu.

Meanwhile, Great Li's Heavenly Prison.

The walls, cast from heavy bluestone and molten iron, were impregnable as gold and steel, while the guards inside and outside the prison were incomparably strict.

A middle-aged man passed through a dark, damp corridor reeking of mold and rot. Torches on either side of the narrow passage flickered weakly, casting mottled shadows behind him.

As he arrived, one heavy, icy iron gate after another opened. Several ragged prisoners curled up in the surrounding cells raised their hollow eyes and curiously looked at the visitor beyond the bars.

Yet the middle-aged man walked straight to a cell at the deepest part of the Heavenly Prison and stopped.

Unlike the other damp and filthy cells, this one was remarkably neat and clean.

A straw mat covered the floor. A dim oil lamp burned atop a small wooden table, before which sat a young man in prison clothes, cross-legged.

The young man had fine features and fair skin. Though he was a prisoner who had been confined for months, his loose hair was entirely free of grime. Instead, he appeared full of spirit and vigor. When his eyes opened, a hidden sharpness seemed to flash through them.

"Your Highness, that person has appeared."

The middle-aged man bowed to the young man, then respectfully handed a rolled sheet of paper through the gap in the cell door.

Li Zhi flicked a finger. His true qi stirred into a breeze that swept across the paper scroll, slowly unfurling it and revealing the portrait of a young man—Li Musheng.

"He really does look like Consort Jing."

Li Zhi spoke blandly and flicked another finger. The flame atop the lamp was drawn onto the paper scroll, reducing it to ashes in the blink of an eye.

"Where is he now?" Li Zhi turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man outside the cell.

"At Aurora Pavilion."

The middle-aged man answered, then slightly raised his head and asked,

"Your Highness, should we make a move and eliminate him?"

Li Zhi slowly shook his head.

"No need. Many people are watching Aurora Pavilion. The news that he is a true prince should spread very soon. Whether he lives or dies afterward is his own affair. It has nothing to do with us."

With that, Li Zhi no longer paid the matter any mind and instead asked,

"How are things at the Ministry of Revenue?"

"The Minister of Revenue has temporarily withstood the pressure. However, everyone is now fearing for their own safety, and there is no guarantee that no one beneath him harbors shifting thoughts. Among them, Zeng Wenhe, the Right Vice Minister of Revenue, appears inclined to defect to the Second Prince."

The middle-aged man frowned, killing intent faintly surfacing in his eyes. He continued,

"The affairs of the Ministry of Revenue still require Your Highness to take control as soon as possible. All of us subordinates also hope that Your Highness can leave prison soon."

Li Zhi waved a hand.

"When I can leave depends on Father Emperor's intentions. But it is only a matter of sooner or later, so there is no need to rush for now."

As he spoke, he took a letter he had long prepared from his robe. With a light shake, the letter flew toward the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man raised his eyes, his hand tracing an afterimage as he caught the letter.

Li Zhi sat down before the small table again and said,

"Deliver this letter to the person in charge at the address on the envelope. There is no need to do anything extra. You need only restrain the others and wait quietly for my release from prison."

The middle-aged man hurriedly bowed. After putting away the letter, seeing that Li Zhi had no further instructions, he took several steps back, bade farewell, and departed.

Not long after the middle-aged man left, a dim shadow silently emerged from beneath the faint torchlight.

"Your Highness, the Director asked me to convey his greetings."

The shadow was black as ink, its form still concealed, yet a voice emerged from it.