"Who?"
"Gu Shen."
"Gu Shen?" Xia Yuan stopped what he was doing and narrowed his eyes, his gaze full of malice. "Shouldn't he be in the Ministry of Justice's prison, having 'committed suicide out of guilt'?"
"The plan failed." The adviser lowered his voice further. "Our men hadn't had a chance to act before someone rescued him through a secret passage. He was there during the operation to abduct Zhang Gong, and even knocked out our coachman himself."
"Good... Very good, Gu Shen!"
Xia Yuan laughed in anger. His laughter was cold and murderous.
"I really did raise a fine dog! It actually turned around and bit its master!"
He had always thought Gu Shen was a useful blade—sharp and obedient. He hadn't expected that the blade would have a mind of its own, much less dare to betray him!
"Your Highness, I fear this matter isn't so simple." The adviser calmly analyzed the situation. "Gu Shen wouldn't have the nerve or ability to do this alone. He must have someone behind him."
Xia Yuan paced back and forth in the Study Room, his face so gloomy it looked as if water might drip from it.
"Who do you think it is?"
"In the capital, there are only a few who dare to challenge you, Your Highness." The adviser lowered his voice. "The First Prince has always coveted the Divine Machine Workshop's technology, so he's the prime suspect."
Xia Yuan snorted. "The eldest? His subordinates are all pedantic scholars who know nothing but quoting the classics. They couldn't pull off a clean, decisive dirty job like this."
"Then... the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace?" The adviser offered another possibility.
"The Crown Prince?" Xia Yuan's eyes flickered.
Although Crown Prince Xia An was the heir in name, he was frail and weak-willed.