Bloodshed spread through the drizzle and the darkness. By dawn, the rain had finally stopped, leaving Sea-Viewing City washed clean. Every blade of grass and every tree seemed unusually fresh, and the air carried the clean scent of rain. Yet that scent was not entirely pure. Anyone who savored it carefully could detect the blood beneath it.
In the palace of the Bohai Kingdom, the assembled ministers were silent as the grave. Yan Dongsheng, the King of Bohai, wore a gloomy expression. He was in a foul mood. Roused from a pleasant dream early that morning, he had first heard that Li Changxing, the minister of justice, had been assassinated, then learned that a personal guard of Xue Lingjun, the Eldest Princess of Great Yong, had been killed. The former was bad enough, but the latter left him deeply uneasy. Xue Lingjun's status was so exalted that even her personal guards mattered far more than an ordinary minister of the Bohai Kingdom. If she chose to make a great fuss over this, he would have a difficult time handling her.
"Have you all gone mute?" Yan Dongsheng demanded angrily. "Zheng Yangqi! You're responsible for security in the royal capital. Give me an explanation!"
Zheng Yangqi, commander of the imperial guards, hung his head like a plague-stricken chicken. "Your Majesty... I... I know I am guilty..."
"Idiot! I'm not asking you to confess your guilt. I want you to investigate this thoroughly and give me an answer as soon as possible!"
A chief eunuch hurried into the palace, approached Yan Dongsheng, and whispered something in his ear. Yan Dongsheng's expression changed. After a moment's thought, he said, "Court is dismissed. Discuss a course of action among yourselves. I have something to attend to. I'll return in an hour to hear your