No newspaper in Capital City dared report what had happened at its north gate, but everyone in the city knew the whole story.
That was because, early the next morning, a broadsheet was circulating throughout Capital City and beyond.
It was a single small sheet of paper, crudely made, with only two articles on it. By dawn, copies had been scattered everywhere.
On the front was the latest installment of the crowd-pleasing Legend of Dayu'er.
On the back was a detailed account of how the Old Five Battalions had mourned at the imperial tomb, marched to the city, and then been suppressed by cavalry.
Written entirely in the first person and rich in detail, it read as though the writer had witnessed everything from beginning to end. Readers could almost see it happening around them.
The account of Gu Chenghe's deeds was especially detailed.
At the Hall of Grace, Gu Chenghe had been the first to rush forward and bring out Emperor Taizong's spirit tablet. That alone had taken courage.
The sight of him kowtowing respectfully to Emperor Taizong's tablet while cavalry surrounded him was more moving still.
The writer's pen made the words bloom. Everyone who read the article felt the Old Five Battalions had been wronged, and that the Great Shun emperor was cold and ungrateful.
"Mr. Lu Xun—" Dai Quheng gritted his teeth as he held the broadsheet.
He knew of Lu Xun. The man had previously written the outrageous Analysis of Waiting for the Dawn, which Dai Quheng had secretly read.
He had not expected Lu Xun to have a hand in this affair too.
"Hezhi, what exactly happened?"
Grand Secretary Dong Gao sat in an armchair and questioned Dai Quheng, his expression grim.
The other man in the room, the Crown Prince, looked just as