Successfully neutralizing the threat posed by the Taishang Emperor, William Wang Jinling felt no joy. Though he wore a constant smile, it never reached his eyes.
William knew perfectly well that the Taishang Emperor's revolt was just a move orchestrated by someone behind the scenes—intended to tie him down and keep him from breaking free. The real mastermind was surely planning something much bigger.
But knowing all this changed nothing. When the Taishang Emperor made his move, William was well aware it was a trap, yet he still had to play along—he couldn’t just let the old emperor reclaim the throne.
William kept his composure, respectfully escorting the Taishang Emperor back to his palace. Only after the old emperor was safely settled inside, guarded by the Black Armor Guard, did William drop his smile and stride quickly out.
"What’s wrong with Lord Wang?" Some officials, puzzled by William’s hurried steps, watched him leave in confusion.
The Taishang Emperor has returned to his palace. Isn’t the crisis over?
"Is he just too excited?" To resolve the Taishang Emperor’s attempted restoration so peacefully was certainly something to celebrate, but... this didn’t seem like William’s usual temperament.
William had barely left when Felix Fuller and General Warren Yu hurried after him. To be precise, Felix was dragging General Yu along: “Quick, something huge has happened.”
Even if William hadn’t already tipped Felix off, Felix was clever enough to guess what was happening.
General Yu didn’t understand, but he knew better than to ask questions. He simply followed Felix, trailing William’s footsteps out of the palace.
Sure enough, before they even reached the martial gate, a frantic messenger intercepted them: "Sir, something terrible has happened. The Grand Empress Dowager has been abducted by a group of unidentified people."
"Is that so?" William steadied his breath, showing no panic at the news. He turned to another man, who bowed and reported, "Sir, there are unknown war-wagons at the city gate—civilians are dying in droves. The Imperial Guards have gone to subdue them, but it’s not enough. Please, sir, send reinforcements."
"Understood." William nodded, then told General Yu, "General Yu, you handle the situation at the city gate. I don’t want this minor incident to cause public panic."
"Understood, sir." General Yu nodded firmly.
William then turned to Felix. "Lord Fuller, take men to the temple immediately. You must rescue the Grand Empress Dowager." William put particular emphasis on the word "rescue."
Given his arrangements, unless the Grand Empress Dowager left willingly or there was a traitor inside, even the emperor himself couldn’t have taken her away.
Something was definitely off about this.
"Got it." Felix’s expression grew grim. Thinking of what William had said about Ghost Hall, he was almost certain they were behind this—but...
William had made preparations in advance. How could Ghost Hall still succeed? It was almost unbelievable.
The three hurried toward the palace gates, but before they reached the main entrance, a scout arrived on horseback and blocked their way. The scout slid off his horse, too anxious to salute, and blurted out, "S-sir... it’s terrible. The Su Estate has been wiped out. When we arrived, the eldest and second Su sons were missing. According to our investigation, Young Master Vincent Su was kidnapped by the attackers."
The messenger finished in one breath, then dropped heavily to his knees, awaiting orders.
"Damn it!" William couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
He’d known from the start that today was no good—but he hadn’t expected everything to go wrong at once.
Vincent Su—a mere merchant, and one protected by Prince Nolan. Who would dare, in broad daylight, to storm the Su Estate and slaughter the whole family?
"Prepare the horses!" William, abandoning all concern for decorum, strode out at a run.
Felix and General Yu knew the situation was dire, and ran after him...
When William reached the palace gates, the horses were ready. He mounted swiftly and told Felix and General Yu, "Take your men to both locations. Quell the unrest as fast as possible—and then... seal the city."
The three split up, heading for the temple, the city gate, and the Su Estate. But no matter how quickly they moved, they’d already lost the initiative. When Felix arrived at the temple, he found corpses everywhere, blood soaking the ground.
Felix stepped forward to investigate. Just by looking at the corpses, he could tell the killers were definitely from Ghost Hall. Of course, it was also possible someone was framing them.
"Search." Felix stood among the bodies, his gaze sweeping casually over Lady Min’s temporary wooden hut.
Felix dismissed his men and entered the hut alone. The furnishings were sparse: just a wooden bed, a table, a meditation mat, and a wooden fish. Nothing else.
On the table lay an unfinished sutra. Felix flipped through a couple pages, found nothing unusual, and knocked around inside the hut—but the secret passage was incomplete, and he found nothing.
"Sir, we’ve found the place where Lady Min disappeared." Just then, a subordinate reported that they’d located the bodies of the two dark-guards who had taken her away.
"Secure the scene. Don’t let anyone touch it—I’ll be right there." Felix glanced once more around the hut, found nothing suspicious, and left. "Lock this place up."
Anywhere the Grand Empress Dowager had stayed should be inspected again when Prince Nolan returned—after all, she was his mother.
"Yes, sir." The guards somehow found two heavy locks, secured the door, and posted two men to watch over the hut.
Felix, with his two close guards, hurried to the spot where Lady Min had vanished. The Ministry of Justice officials were already investigating. Seeing Felix, they stepped forward: "Sir."
"No need for formalities. What have you found?" Felix didn’t approach, just looked from a distance.
The two men lay on the ground in twisted positions, their eyes still wide open...
"Sir, I’ve discovered these two officers were ambushed from behind. Judging by their expressions, they were shocked before death—so the attacker must have been someone they knew, someone unexpected. The wounds and force suggest the killer was a woman, using a hairpin or similar object. Both died of poison. Also, there are only three sets of footprints here. The killer never touched the ground—no trace at all." The last sentence was spoken very quietly, but still clearly.
He had his suspicions, but dared not voice them.
There were only three sets of footprints, and the attack came from behind. It wasn’t hard to guess who the killer was.
Seeing Felix’s troubled expression, the officer added, "All three sets of footprints are only here. The Grand Empress Dowager seems to have vanished into thin air—there are no clear traces nearby."
This was a major clue—and also evidence in the Grand Empress Dowager’s favor. Her footprints and those of the two dark-guards ended here; the guards were dead, but she was missing...