The Treasures Left by the Two Zhangs

As Lu Changfeng's words fell, deathly silence settled over the alley.

Every gaze fixed on Gao Jian.

Under everyone's scrutiny, his face turned livid and his lips trembled, yet he could not utter a word, much less dare make a move.

Jinghong strode forward and carefully examined the body, battered beyond human semblance. Though the face was a bloody ruin, the tattered clothes and faintly recognizable features let her identify him at once.

"It's Gao Lu, the household steward of Pavilion Commander Gao's residence."

Jinghong's voice was icy. She cast a complicated glance at the swaying Lu Changfeng, then swept her gaze over the ashen-faced Gao Jian, knowing this was no longer an ordinary dispute.

"The household steward of an Inner Guard commander was entangled with the fiends of the Great Vehicle Sect and attempted to murder an important member of the residence."

Jinghong's tone was chilling, and she made her decision immediately. "This matter is grave. Take everyone, along with Gao Lu, back to the residence at once to await Her Highness's judgment!"

The instant Jinghong finished speaking, Lu Changfeng's tightly strung nerves suddenly relaxed. Though he had used Shennong Qi to protect his heart meridians and neutralize part of the virulent Blood Rainbow poison that had invaded his body, the internal injuries from taking an Upper Realm Xiantian expert's full-force blow, along with the exhaustion from his subsequent frenzied outburst, now surged back over him like a tide.

His vision went black. The last breath he had forced himself to hold scattered completely, and his body slumped forward beyond his control.

"Sir!"

Qing Dai cried out and hurried forward to catch him.

Zi Zhi came to his side and pressed a hand to his pulse. Finding his internal energy in turmoil and his organs injured, but his life in no immediate danger, she finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

She nodded gently to Jinghong.

"Take Master Lu back to the Snow Listening Tower to recuperate. I'll ask Her Highness for medicine!"

After giving her orders, Jinghong turned to Qing Dai. "Qing Dai, stay with him throughout. Report everything that happened tonight to Her Highness, exactly as it occurred and in full detail."

"Yes!"

Qing Dai nodded firmly, supporting the unconscious Lu Changfeng as she swiftly departed under the escort of Zi Zhi and the others.

Gao Jian watched helplessly as Lu Changfeng was taken away, as Gao Lu was carried off like a dead dog, and as Jinghong regarded him with the cold gaze of someone handling official business. His face was deathly pale. He knew he was in serious trouble this time.

After an unknown length of time, Lu Changfeng slowly regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes to the familiar bed canopy of the Snow Listening Tower. His organs still ached faintly, but a gentle medicinal warmth circulated through his body, repairing the damage.

"Sir, you're awake!"

Qing Dai, keeping watch beside the bed, noticed immediately. Concern she could not conceal filled her face. "You've been unconscious for a full day and night. Medical Supervisor Shen and Zi Zhi both came to see you. They said your organs had suffered a severe shock and you needed proper rest."

She handed him a cup of warm water.

Lu Changfeng sat up and took the cup. "What happened afterward?" he asked hoarsely.

Qing Dai lowered her voice, her expression solemn. "Her Highness was furious when she learned of it. Pavilion Commander Gao has been stripped of all his posts and confined to the residence. Sister Jinghong has temporarily taken charge of his forces, and Gao Lu's corpse has been hung outside the Northern Garden's gates as a public warning."

She paused, lowering her voice further. "Her Highness has ordered a full investigation into all the Gao Family's dealings in recent years, on the grounds of tracing the Blood Rainbow Hand's origins and investigating Gao Lu's years of infiltration within the residence. They say the search of Gao Lu's outside residence has already uncovered evidence of his dealings with certain officials at court, particularly close ties with people serving the Prince of Liang. This time, the Gao Family will likely suffer wounds down to the sinews and bones."

Lu Changfeng listened silently, unsurprised by the outcome.

Princess Taiping's move both punished Gao Jian for using public authority for private ends and seized upon the incident to purge her own ranks while striking at hostile factions in court.

The punishment was certainly light. Anyone with eyes knew who had ordered it, but this was as far as it would go...

He was her male favorite, after all.

Lu Changfeng had never held out hope, so there was no disappointment to speak of.

"Her Highness also gave instructions."

Qing Dai looked at him, her tone earnest. "Once you woke, she wanted to see you personally."

Lu Changfeng nodded. This was precisely why he had taken the risk-to demonstrate his value.

True security came from being needed, not being liked.

The quickest route upward was to create an indispensable niche of one's own.

After this incident, his place in Princess Taiping's mind had changed. This was the first step toward securing his footing.

Lu Changfeng moved his body a little, making sure he could move without difficulty, then glanced at the sky outside. The setting sun was red as blood. After reckoning the time, he got straight out of bed. "Where is the princess now?"

"The Golden Scale Pool Pavilion."

"Take me there."

The Golden Scale Pool Pavilion.

It was mid-third month of the lunar calendar, a late-spring evening.

The willows beside the pool hung like mist, their branches brushing the water in the breeze. Koi occasionally leaped from the pool, their scales scattering flecks of golden light that echoed the blazing sunset clouds on the horizon.

Princess Taiping was not inside the hall. Instead, she sat alone before a Rosewood Go board in an open pavilion beside the pool.

She wore a long gown of delicate gauze in a pale, watery blue-green, its hem trailing over the sable cushion like an ink wash. A black jade stone rested between her fingertips above the nineteen intersecting lines, as though she were pondering an exquisite endgame.

Jinghong approached and reported softly.

Princess Taiping kept her eyes on the board. "Have him come over."

Footsteps soon sounded.

Lu Changfeng approached and bowed. "Greetings, Princess."

Princess Taiping continued looking at the board. "Can you play?"

Lu Changfeng could, but what he said was, "No."

He had no interest in becoming her Go companion.

At that, Princess Taiping raised her head, her eyes full of amusement. "Do you harbor resentment?"

Lu Changfeng was neither servile nor overbearing. "Why would Your Highness say that?"

Princess Taiping raised her hand lightly, and a sheet of paper flew over from the low table beside her. She delicately caught it and read aloud. "Seventh month of the first year of Jiushi. Lu Changfeng, aged twelve, lodged with his master Chen Yunsheng at the Xuanhe Chess House in Datong Ward. Made a living playing Go for stakes, winning more often than losing."

"..."

The corner of Lu Changfeng's eye twitched. He had been slapped in the face.

He had not expected Princess Taiping to have investigated even such old details as the original owner's gambling games at twelve so thoroughly. He himself had nearly forgotten them. This woman's desire for control and intelligence-gathering abilities far exceeded his imagination.

Yet his face remained calm. Bowing slightly, he spoke with just the right measure of "candor." "Your Highness sees clearly. Precisely because I once made my living this way in my youth, I know well that the board is a battlefield, every step fraught with danger, draining both mind and strength. Now that I have entered your residence to serve, I wish only to devote myself to medicine and ease Your Highness's burdens. I truly have no wish to become involved in such games again, lest indulgence in amusements sap my ambition."

His words were polished. They explained why he had said he could not play while emphasizing once again his proper role as a "physician" and his loyalty in "easing Her Highness's burdens." He removed himself from the possible role of "Go companion" while subtly making his point: having him treat patients and develop alcohol was fine, but he had no interest in extra work like playing Go.

-I'm not your male favorite. Keeping me tied to this residence to treat patients is one thing, but now I have to bloody play Go to relieve your boredom too? You might as well kill me and be done with it.

At his words, a meaningful smile appeared on Princess Taiping's face.

She casually tossed the paper back onto the low table and returned her gaze to Lu Changfeng. "Very well. You suffered a fright in this incident at Pingkang Ward. Gao Jian acted with reckless arrogance and has already been punished. In the midst of danger, you not only stabilized Sweetleaf and the others' injuries but also adapted swiftly and turned the tables on a powerful enemy. Merit and fault must be distinguished. This Palace naturally will not let you suffer this grievance for nothing."

She raised her hand slightly, and Jinghong, standing beside her, presented an exquisite jade box. "This three-hundred-year-old red ginseng is yours. Its medicinal properties are mellow and potent, perfectly suited to your current peak Houtian cultivation. It will be enough to help you strengthen your foundations and knock open the gates of Xiantian."

This was no meager reward. Three-hundred-year-old red ginseng could both heal injuries and increase his power, and it was also a further investment in the value and potential he had shown.

Lu Changfeng bowed and accepted the jade box with both hands, his expression calm. "Thank you for your reward, Your Highness."

Princess Taiping seemed unsurprised by his subdued response. Her gaze returned to the board as she picked up a white stone and remarked casually, "The large-scale operation in Pingkang Ward was for one man. His name is Su Bonian."

Lu Changfeng remembered an Inner Guard mentioning that name when Jinghong had first brought him to the brothel.

"He was an old servant of Zhang Yizhi, and also a covert agent the Great Vehicle Sect planted in the court. Before the Divine Dragon Restoration, he managed a collection of... rather unusual treasures for the Two Zhangs."

Princess Taiping spoke slowly. "On the eve of the 'Restoration,' the Five Kings killed the Two Zhangs. This man escaped in the chaos, only to fall into the Prince of Liang's hands. He remained imprisoned until now-three years in all. The Prince of Liang tried every means to obtain that collection, but never managed to pry his mouth open. Instead, people from the Great Vehicle Sect slipped into his residence, rescued the man, and escaped into the clear skies beyond..."

She gave a cold laugh, her face full of scorn. "That is why the Prince of Liang's Crescent Moon Hall has been moving so frequently of late... Truly, a pack of useless fools!" It was unclear whether she was cursing Wu Sansi or Crescent Moon Hall.

She certainly had the right to curse them. The Great Vehicle Sect and Crescent Moon Hall had fought openly and covertly, battling to the death, only for the Plum Blossom Guards to pluck the fruit of their efforts and seize the man in the end.

Lu Changfeng's thoughts raced. The Inner Guards had arrested the man that night, yet Wu Sansi had made no major move. Whatever he sought was most likely something that could not bear the light of day...

Su Bonian was a trusted confidant of the Two Zhangs...

And the Two Zhangs had been Wu Zetian's male favorites...

Then this "rather unusual collection" was probably anything but ordinary.

Lu Changfeng began to understand. "Your Highness wishes me to help pry his mouth open?"

Princess Taiping's hand paused slightly as she placed her stone, and she raised her eyes to him. "You are quick-witted. But three years of brutal torture yielded nothing. The Prince of Liang exhausted every method, and This Palace has no shortage of interrogators myself."

Her tone shifted, taking on a coolness that seemed to see through the human heart. "Su Bonian was once a Grandmaster Realm expert and had, for a time, entered the realm of intent. His soul is exceptionally condensed; ordinary methods are useless against him. He carries a peculiar poison from the Great Vehicle Sect and dares not betray them. That is why he has kept his mouth sealed like a bottle for three years-and it is also his only weakness now!"

Her gaze settled on Lu Changfeng again, bearing unmistakable expectation. "This Palace wants you to see him first. As a physician, examine the poison in his body and see whether there is still a way to neutralize it... Perhaps only by unlocking these shackles first can we make him speak."

Lu Changfeng understood her meaning. "I understand."

Princess Taiping nodded slightly and turned her gaze aside. "Fu Rong."

Fu Rong, the female official in charge of punishments, stepped forward and gestured for Lu Changfeng to follow.

"Take Master Lu to the Dark Prison to see Su Bonian."

"Yes."

Lu Changfeng said nothing further. He bowed to Princess Taiping, then turned and left with Fu Rong. His figure soon disappeared at the far end of the winding corridor shrouded in dusk.

Once he was gone, only Princess Taiping and Jinghong remained in the pavilion.

Princess Taiping continued looking in the direction where Lu Changfeng had vanished, her fingertips unconsciously stroking a smooth black jade stone. Suddenly, she spoke softly:

"Jinghong, do you think he... was putting on an act?"

The question came without explanation, but Jinghong immediately understood. The princess meant Lu Changfeng's behavior just now-declining to play Go, accepting his reward calmly, being neither servile nor overbearing, and even faintly drawing a boundary between them.

Within the Princess of Zhen Guo's Residence, this was unique.

In earlier years, some seeking her favor had tried playing hard to get. All had died miserable deaths once their true colors showed, and now no one dared use that trick.

Jinghong pondered briefly before answering cautiously. "Your Highness, judging by his words and actions, there is indeed reason to suspect he is deliberately keeping his distance. But what he said was not without merit. His ambitions lie in medicine, and he does not wish to become too deeply entangled. That accords with his position and his previous actions. As for whether it was entirely feigned..."

She paused briefly. "His thoughts run deep, and I dare not judge rashly. But if he truly catered to you at every turn and overflowed with gratitude, that might seem false instead."

An ambiguous smile curved Princess Taiping's lips. She pressed the stone in her hand onto a corner of the board with a crisp clack.

"Yes. Too perfect would be suspicious instead..."

She beckoned again, and another sheet flew before her. This one bore a painting.

It depicted Lu Changfeng killing beneath the moon that night.

The artist was highly skilled. Lu Changfeng stood alone beneath the moon, his gaze like a blade. The ferocity and brutality unleashed when murderous intent erupted from beneath his refined exterior leaped from the paper!

"Interesting..."

Princess Taiping narrowed her eyes at it and softly recited, "'Snow weighs upon the green pine, yet its branches stand ever straighter; it scorns to vie with peach and plum for the spring breeze'... I never expected a single search for medical treatment to bring back such a man... Let us await his results. If he succeeds, give him a Phoenix Feather Invitation."

Jinghong was startled. She thought to herself that the princess truly valued him more and more. Only after a moment's daze did she bow. "Yes..."