With An Jin's death, the Ministry of Justice immediately sorted out the case, compiled the case file, and presented it to Li Shimin's imperial court that very evening.

The case had far-reaching implications, with turmoil in the Eastern Palace, and Prince Wei acting restless, seemingly poised to rebel. He too meddled in the affair, further complicating it with the intent to bring down Li Chengqian.

An Jin had been the murderer, but it was also true that Li Chengqian had brutally beaten a courtier, leading to the death of a concubine's son in the Eastern Palace as a result of his whipping.

Upon learning of An Jin's death, Li Dejian, who was in prison, also gave his account. Having learned of Li Chengqian's cruelty towards the courtier, Li Dejian had grown hugely disappointed in Li Chengqian and was considering whether to distance himself from the Eastern Palace.

The day before the outing to Qujiang, An Jin had arranged a meeting with Li Dejian. He thought it would be good to meet and took the opportunity to inquire about the recent situation in the Eastern Palace, so he met An Jin by a secluded riverbank in the evening.

In the twilight, after waiting a while, a carriage arrived that Li Dejian recognized as one An Jin often used. However, he did not expect that once the carriage stopped, An Jin would drag out a large bundle.

At the time, Li Dejian had already faintly smelled decay, but although the place was desolate, it was not entirely deserted. He had initially not thought that the bundle would contain a dead body. It was not until An Jin dragged the bundle onto the boat and commanded the sailors to set off that he asked what it was.

"An Xin," An Jin answered indifferently.

Li Dejian was taken aback. An Xin was also an eunuch serving close to Li Chengqian, bearing a five or six points resemblance to An Jin.

Given Li Dejian's status, he had no reason to please Li Chengqian through An Jin. If Li Chengqian wanted to secure his position, a slight hint of favor from Li Dejian would have been sufficient for Li Chengqian to seek an alliance with him—there was no need for such schemes. Yet An Jin had indeed been introduced to Li Chengqian by Li Dejian, and when he later learned that An Jin had been castrated and sent to the Eastern Palace, he was utterly confounded.

Although their statuses had been worlds apart, they had hit it off from their first meeting. Even if they weren't sworn friends, their relationship was very close.

At that moment, Li Dejian thought to himself what it would feel like to be castrated himself. It would surely be devastation, ruining oneself and wanting everyone else to go down with him.

However, when he saw Duan Yunzai a few months later, he was already calling himself An Jin. His expression was as calm as a dried-up well, no longer the carefree noble who could fling off his socks, let down his hair, and sing aloud when the mood struck him.

Li Dejian then exerted great effort to find someone somewhat resembling him to send into the palace. He felt guilty, believing that since An Jin had already suffered such a blow, he should not be subjected to the pleasure of men. At the very least, he could preserve a shred of insignificant dignity.

The name "An Xin" was initially given by Li Chengqian to An Jin, but during those times An Jin was in utter despair. Hearing this name, he felt even more insulted—as if to appease Li Chengqian, he had to stay by his side with a broken body and give in gratifyingly? Therefore, once he regained consciousness, he refused to eat and immediately threw himself off the bed, rushing to bash his head against the wall in an attempt to kill himself.

He had resolved to die, but lacking strength, the attempt did not succeed. From that point on, Li Chengqian no longer dared to mention the name "An Xin."

An Jin and Li Chengqian were at odds for over half a year until Li Dejian sent an eunuch who somewhat resembled him, which somewhat softened An Jin's attitude.

Li Chengqian named him "An Xin" and every night after the lights out, would have An Xin come to attend his bed. However, he only held him as they slept, never taking any further actions.

The consort of Li Chengqian, hearing that he embraced an eunuch to sleep and ignored her, wept every day.

The entire Eastern Palace was full of heartbroken people, with no true joy to speak of, and Li Chengqian's temper grew increasingly volatile under these circumstances.

An Xin was a sycophant and flatterer; An Jin had always looked down upon him. His death came because he discovered that An Jin knew martial arts, and thus he was silenced.

And An Jin did not mince his words when telling Li Chengqian that it was he who killed An Xin.

For Li Chengqian, An Xin was like a keepsake of a beloved, if someone he cherished said they had lost something while cleaning the house, he would certainly feel it was a pity to have lost something, but he wouldn't blame them.

Meanwhile, Xiao Xuanzhi used his connections to reach out to the Eastern Palace, not only presenting evidence of Li Tai's conspiracy but also informing the Crown Prince that there was a force of assassins outside the palace that could be utilized.

Li Chengqian, finding it inconvenient to meet with them personally, handed the matter over to An Jin.

With this power in hand, An Jin could no longer suppress the hatred within her heart, and her actions became more frenzied and unguarded.

During that time, the position of the Eastern Palace was precarious, and those who came to offer advice did so more frequently than before.

Already under immense psychological stress, Li Chengqian found it increasingly uncontrollable to contain his anxiety and fear when they spoke so sharply.

Zhang Xuanzhu was the most frequent in offering advice, but as a Courtier of Silver Grade Seniority, Li Chengqian dared not lay a hand on him, so he vented his anger on other courtiers, especially those who dared to advise him.

The death of that scholar of the Crown Prince occurred because he had repeatedly offered advice, specifically after he vaguely learned of Li Chengqian's behavior of abusing courtiers, leading him to submit a petition advising the prince. After four unsuccessful attempts at advising, he submitted a fifth.

This man was of a straightforward nature, and his words carried an implicit meaning of, "If there is no repentance, then I will present the advice to the Emperor."

That day, the scholar was on night duty and ended up arguing with Li Chengqian over his advice, leading to Li Chengqian lashing him in anger. At that moment, for some reason, he didn't reveal the incident.

After a day passed, coincidentally Li Dejian wanted to meet with An Jin because two courtiers had died in the Eastern Palace, but when An Jin refused to see him, he went to drink at the Brocade Tower with the scholar, inquiring about the affairs of the Eastern Palace...

If it weren't for Xiao Xuanzhi's intervention, Li Tai would not have been implicated in this case.

...

After organizing the whole series of events, Ran Yan felt that Li Tai's good days might be coming to an end.

Considering that Li Ke had exerted so much effort and yet failed to obtain evidence of Li Tai's conspiracy, he was clearly a very cautious man. The only thing to blame was his underestimation of Lady Dongyang, which left behind too many loose ends that couldn't be fully taken care of.

In Chang'an, the Eighth lunar month brought scorching 'Autumn Tiger' weather—it was hotter and drier than ever.

Ran Yan discussed with Xiao Song that after their child turned one, she would take them to Lanling, with Xiao Song requesting leave to escort her and their son personally.

"Lady, Physician Liu and Lady Ran have arrived," the maid announced.

Ran Yan was taken aback for a moment before she remembered that Ran Yun had married, "Please let them in." Just as Ran Yan was about to leave, the three little ones burst into tears, reaching out their chubby little hands, as if trying to grab hold of her.

Wan Lu was frantically trying to soothe them without success and quickly turned to Ran Yan for help, "Lady."

"The three little ones have been scared," Ran Yan said, coming back. Last time there had been an incident, Ran Yan and Xiao Song had returned only late at night; not long after, Ran Yan spent a whole day away, and the three children, who were at an age where they couldn't be away from their mother, cried like fountains of tears, now they even more adamantly didn't want her to leave even for a step.

Ran Yun entered the courtyard and, hearing the children's cries, knew that Ran Yan wouldn't be in the main hall; she changed her path to come over, "Seventeen Sister." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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