Appointed Marquis and Prime Minister

After Du Chengji was thrown into prison and the truth was made clear in the emperor's edict, the commoners who had been waiting for the outcome were overjoyed and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I knew Du Chengji wasn't innocent. Otherwise, with so many Du clans in the royal capital, why was his family the one exposed? Pah! He even dared claim he was utterly innocent. If His Majesty hadn't seen the finest detail, we'd probably have been deceived and implicated by him."

"Exactly! That natural disaster was caused by him, and so many innocent people were hurt because of it. Even the heavens were furious. A thousand cuts wouldn't be enough for him, and he even embezzled so much money!"

"Now that Du Chengji has been brought to justice, you know what? I really do think the weather's been wonderful these past two days. The heavens have truly shown their power!"

In short, after Du Chengji's family had their property confiscated, the warning of natural disaster that had thrown the royal capital into panic had largely died down, and the people were full of praise for the emperor's swift handling of the matter.

The commoners turned their attention elsewhere and no longer found anything questionable about the strange phenomenon in the moat.

At court, however, quite a few ministers noticed that after imprisoning Du Chengji, the emperor had not dealt with him further, nor had he mentioned the supposed execution at a later date again. An official who thought himself clever and assumed Di Yunqian had forgotten brought it up, only to be rebuked outright by Di Yunqian.

"I have my own plans for this matter. Or do you think I've grown old and muddleheaded and forgotten?"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I meant no such thing."

The words frightened the official who had raised the matter into a cold sweat. The other officials listening in silence also understood that His Majesty did not intend to execute Du Chengji immediately.

And so no one mentioned the matter again.

After the morning court session, Di Yunqian summoned the minister of war and Zhu Juxuan for a private audience.

"Well? Has there been any progress with that thing?"

Cold sweat beaded at the minister of war's temples. "Your Majesty, forgive my lack of ability. The entire Ministry of War has investigated the substances on that fragment through the night, but we have identified only one: charcoal."

Di Yunqian frowned deeply. "It's been seven days, and you've found only one ingredient?"

"...Yes." The minister of war lowered his head, not daring to look at the emperor's expression.

Zhu Juxuan came to his rescue. "Your Majesty, since we've been able to identify some of its components, there is still hope. If we had unraveled its secrets so quickly, that would have been cause for suspicion."

Di Yunqian understood that too, but he had no choice but to be anxious, though there was nothing he could do. He merely said to the minister of war,

"Very well, you may go. The Ministry of War is to continue researching this thing. Whoever can make it, I'll grant him a higher office and a noble rank..."

"No, I'll make him a marquis and appoint him prime minister!"

This was the first time Di Yunqian had made such a promise and shown such urgency.

"Yes! I will lead the Ministry of War and do everything in my power!"

The minister of war knew in his heart that these were no empty words. If he managed to make it, he would go down as a meritorious official in the history of the Xiling Dynasty. His heart surged with excitement.

Only after he left did Zhu Juxuan speak.

"Your Majesty, I interrogated Du Chengji. He now says he had nothing to do with the assassination attempt on the Wei Family, though he admitted to it before. He also couldn't say who might have caused such a great commotion to target the Du Family."

Di Yunqian frowned. "If he wasn't the one who attacked the Wei Family at night, who was?"

On the day the Wei Family was attacked, the deputy minister of the Court of Judicial Review had found no answers. Later, when the grudge between the Wei Family and the Du Family came to light, anyone would have thought the Du Family had wanted to pull the weeds up by the roots before trouble arose.

Zhu Juxuan shook his head. "For now, the moat, the papers scattered from kites, and the matter of the Wei Family are all mysteries. I suspect the same person is pulling the strings behind them all."

"Do you think the other three kingdoms might be involved?" Di Yunqian could not help suspecting other countries.

"Not likely." Zhu Juxuan frowned in thought for a moment before rejecting the idea. "Your Majesty, if you had such a deadly weapon, would you use it in a situation like this?"

Those words immediately dispelled Di Yunqian's suspicions. Indeed, if Xiling possessed such an earth-shaking weapon, he would naturally use it silently when delivering a killing blow.

Zhu Juxuan said, "Your Majesty, since the person behind this is targeting Du Chengji, let us continue using him as bait. I propose we catch a turtle in a jar: spread word that Du Chengji is being exiled and secretly send people to watch him. The moment anyone approaches him, seize them."

This was also why Di Yunqian had not killed Du Chengji immediately.

Di Yunqian pondered for a moment, his stern eyes half closed as he deliberated for a long while. At last, he nodded.

"Then you handle this. You must be careful. At the first sign of anything, make sure you catch them!"

"Yes!"

"Imperial Sister!"

Di Qingyu was basking in the sun in the imperial garden when she suddenly heard a cry.

She glanced over and saw nine-year-old Di Chenzhe following a young girl in pale purple palace robes, with several palace maids behind them.

"Greetings, Seventh Princess, Eighth Prince."

Di Qingyu's attendants all bowed.

"Di Qingyu, I heard someone tried to assassinate you. Why aren't you recuperating instead of coming out here? You're such an eyesore."

The Seventh Princess, Di Jixin, was the empress's daughter. She was twelve and had been spoiled and willful since childhood. After Di Qingyu came out of the cold palace, she became the emperor's favorite daughter, and from then on, Di Jixin had bristled with hostility toward her whenever they met.

Di Qingyu, for her part, gave as good as she got, just as she did now.

"I can't help it. If even you can come out, why should I hide away?"

At that, Di Jixin's face immediately flushed, and she glared.

"You're detestable!"

"And are you so lovable?"

Di Qingyu raised a brow and sat calmly, lifting her cup of tea for a sip, a stark contrast to Di Jixin's furious appearance.

"You! How dare you say..."

Di Chenzhe hurriedly tugged at Di Jixin's sleeve and whispered, "Seventh Sister, didn't you say you wanted to see Young Master Zhu? His shift should have changed by now. If you don't go soon, he'll be on duty."

Di Jixin hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Di Qingyu, who plainly paid her no mind, and immediately lost any desire to linger.

"Fine, Di Qingyu, I won't lower myself to argue with you today." She reined in her temper, her fair face still carrying a little baby fat, but before leaving, she gave Di Qingyu a cold snort.

"Hmph!"

Then she proudly lifted her chin and headed toward Xuanzheng Hall.

Di Chenzhe, however, did not rush to follow. Instead, he first apologized to Di Qingyu.

"I'm sorry, Sixth Sister. I didn't know Seventh Sister treated you so badly. I couldn't help calling out loudly when I saw you just now. Next time, I'll pull Seventh Sister away."

Though still young, Di Chenzhe was now dressed in finery, and even the starved, timid air he had once carried in the cold palace had changed considerably. He had become quite dignified and even apologized on Di Jixin's behalf.

Seeing this, Di Qingyu lifted her lashes and gave him a particularly amused glance before smiling.

"It's all right. She's proud by nature, but it's only a child's temper. It hardly merits the word 'badly.' It seems you still need to read more, Eighth Brother. Don't use the wrong word again next time."

Di Chenzhe's little body stiffened, then he grinned innocently. "Yes, Sixth Sister is right. I should also learn more from you."

Di Jixin, who had almost walked away, noticed he had not followed and immediately waved and called out.

"Eighth Brother, why are you wasting your breath on her? Hurry over here!"

Who would want to talk any more than necessary to that venomous-tongued woman, Di Qingyu?

"Oh, all right, I'm coming." Di Chenzhe looked over and quickly nodded, then turned back to Di Qingyu with an apologetic look, his smile open and earnest.

"Sixth Sister, I'll go now. We can talk again when you have time."

Di Qingyu gave a faint nod without speaking and watched Di Chenzhe run to Di Jixin's side, fawning over her. The two left, chatting and laughing.

As Di Qingyu watched them from afar, Chunzhi spoke beside her.

"My lady, the Seventh Princess is always disrespectful to you, while the Eighth Prince is fairly warm toward you. Why do you treat them the opposite way?"

Di Qingyu truly felt as she had just said about Di Jixin: she was childish at heart, so Di Qingyu did not hold much against her. With Di Chenzhe, however, there was always a cold, mocking edge to her words and manner.

"Warm..." Di Qingyu sneered. "Beneath all that warmth is nothing but scheming. The moment he came over, he said Di Jixin treated me badly and apologized. Wasn't he trying to deepen the rift between her and me, make me think better of him, and let Di Jixin feel that he was defending her?"

"That boy killed three birds with one stone in a single sentence. He's far more calculating than that brainless Di Jixin, who wears everything on her face."

Hearing this, Chunzhi felt a chill in her heart.

"My lady, the Eighth Prince is only nine, yet he's already so..." Calculating.

Di Qingyu had had enough sun. She slowly rose. "Who born into the imperial family isn't calculating? Some simply hide it better than others."

Otherwise, she would not have valued Di Chenzhe in her previous life and chosen to support him as emperor. He did have some brains, but unfortunately, he was too suspicious and lacked the ability to support his ambitions.