Su Ziji sat in the center of the reception hall, with the Wild Daoist, Cen Rubai, Jian Qu, and Wen Xunpeng seated on either side.
Fruit had been set before each of them, but none had any mind for it now. The Wild Daoist gave the other three a detailed account of what he and their lord had encountered aboard the boat.
"What brazen scoundrels! To dare openly assassinate Your Highness at a literary gathering in the Capital City!" Jian Qu said angrily.
Cen Rubai's expression was grim as well. Though the incident sounded perilous, their lord had not suffered so much as a scratch. Still, there was always that dreaded chance of something going wrong. What if their lord had been injured in the attack?
Not only his own life, but his family's lives as well, rested entirely on Prince Dai.
Su Ziji was the calmest person present. He swept his gaze around and said, "There is no need to offer your admonitions yet. I understand them all."
"The most pressing matter now is that this incident will certainly reach the emperor. How should we respond?"
Jian Qu said, "My lord, Prince Qi must be behind this. Although catching the culprit red-handed seems almost too easy, who is to say it was not Your Highness's great good fortune? History is full of such cases."
"Besides, among all the princes, Prince Qi bears the deepest grudge against you. He is violent and cruel, and he has already sent assassins into your residence before. Who else would dare do such a thing? If he could do it once, he could do it twice!"
Cen Rubai shook his head. "Not necessarily. I believe the person behind the assassin clearly was not Prince Qi. Rather than one of the princes seeking to assassinate