Chapter 773: Crown Prince Incense
The investigation into the missing Dawning Sun entered its twelfth hour. It was dark. There was no rosy evening glow, only dark, oppressive clouds that made it hard to tell if the sun had already set or not. Rain still fell, and thunder rumbled. That, coupled with the oppressive atmosphere created by the imperial guards, made the entire imperial capital seem somber and desolate. It was destined to be a sleepless night for most.
The investigation being carried out by the Five Greater Celestial Divisions continued to broaden. The scope went beyond the imperial princes and to the people closely connected to them. More than half of those people had already been arrested.
Some were in cultivation facilities. Some were in their sects. Some were at home. All were people who had no choice but to bow their heads to show respect for the emperor. Any who fought back were killed on the spot.
Blood mixed with rainwater, until the entire city seemed to reek of gore.
Xu Qing was clad in his swordsage uniform as he headed in the direction of the Heavenly Prison. Given his mood and the situation, it was no wonder he was in a hurry. After participating in the Swordsage Division’s investigation, and seeing all the clues and evidence, he could sense that there was a lot going on behind the scenes with the imperial princes.
Something doesn’t add up.
He looked through the rain at the imperial palace off in the distance. The Heavenly Prison was in the imperial palace, but it wasn’t accessed by means of the rainbow bridge. Instead, there was a side door that led to it.
These imperial princes are all extraordinary in their own ways. There’s no way that they would leave behind such obvious evidence. Unless... there’s somebody manipulating everything. The imperial preceptor perhaps? The emperor was also unusually quick to issue orders.
Xu Qing frowned. Ever since arriving in the imperial capital, he’d had the feeling that there was a missing piece to the puzzle.
I wonder if there are more than two people playing Go....
Xu Qing stopped in place just as a lightning bolt snaked through the sky, illuminating both the imperial palace and the thoughtful look on his face. He closed his eyes.
When he opened them a moment later, his expression was as placid as ever. He continued toward the side entrance to the imperial palace. With his Swordsage Division documentation, he quickly passed through the inspection. Then, three imperial guards in black armor led him into the dungeon beneath the imperial palace. The air around him felt sinister and cold. Every floor tile had warding spells or magical symbols on them. Xu Qing could tell that this was the most secure location in the imperial capital.
Even with his official documentation, he still had to go through numerous detailed inspections. Only after he was cleared over and over again was he let into the presence of Ningyan.
The imperial palace’s Heavenly Prison had nine levels. The further down you went, the more important were the people locked up, and the more mysterious they were. Everything after the sixth level was locked down tightly.
Ningyan was detained on the third level. He was bound with shackles that had sealing marks built into them that made him almost like a mortal. There was no way he could possibly escape. A complicated facial expression could be seen on his face as he sat in the middle of his cell.
Sensing Xu Qing’s arrival, he looked up. “Biggest Bro....”
Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and looked around. “It’s not bad in here,” he said. “Definitely not as dirty as I’d expected.”
Ningyan smiled wryly.
“It’s quiet, too,” Xu Qing continued. “A good place to think clearly.”
Ningyan said nothing.
“If you think clearly, you might be able to remember some things you forgot to mention before.” Xu Qing didn’t say anything after that. He just looked at Ningyan.
Ningyan had already been nervous to begin with; to have Xu Qing looking at him that way left him with the urge to avert his gaze. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn.
Ningyan’s head remained bowed. Xu Qing’s eyes were closed. Everything was quiet.
After another incense stick’s worth of time passed, Xu Qing stood. “If you have nothing you want to tell me, I’ll leave.”
He turned.
Ningyan watched him walking away, the hesitation and confusion in his heart intensifying. After Xu Qing took five steps, Ningyan gritted his teeth.
“Biggest Bro.”
Xu Qing stopped walking.
“Although it’s possible someone was just impersonating me, I think it’s more likely that... it was my older brother. Eleventh Prince.”
Xu Qing turned around and looked through the warding spell barrier at Ningyan. “Eleventh Prince’s tomb has already been checked. He’s dead.”
Ningyan’s expression became more complicated. Rubbing the floor of the cell, he spoke in a very quiet voice. “Biggest Bro... me and my older brother used to play a game together.”
Xu Qing’s gaze hardened.
“We would play hide-and-seek. Every time we played, he would find me right away. It didn’t matter where I hid, he would know where I was. I was never sure why that was. I asked him once, and he told me that I would understand after I grew up. Except, we were twins, and he was only born a few moments before I was. It was only today, after I was sent here—” Ning Yan looked up at Xu Qing “—that I understood. He and I have a special connection, and that’s why he was always able to find me. Right now, I can sense that connection.” He pointed down at the floor. “My brother’s aura is down there.”
Xu Qing’s heart suddenly started racing.
“His aura is unusual. I’m not sure how to explain it. I just know that... it’s familiar, but at the same time unfamiliar. And gruish. I tried calling out, but didn’t get any answer.”
Ningyan felt bitterness, pain, and other complex feelings. This day had been a big blow to him. That was especially true after he had come to sense his brother’s aura. He almost couldn’t think straight. After all, he very clearly remembered how his brother and mother died. Yet here in the Heavenly Prison, he could sense his brother’s aura. He had no idea how or why it was happening. However, he wasn’t a child anymore. He knew... that there was obviously some monumental secret at play.
Xu Qing looked down at the ground quietly. They were on the third level, which meant there were six more levels beneath them.
This place was the Heavenly Prison in the imperial palace, which meant that only orders from the emperor himself would result in someone being locked up here.
There’s a dead person who apparently isn’t dead after all. Yet he’s here in the Heavenly Prison, where only the emperor could send him.... And it seems like this Eleventh Prince, who really isn’t dead, is the one who stole the Dawning Sun. His motivations are unknown. It’s uncertain whether he’s really dead or not.
Xu Qing rubbed the bridge of his nose. All of a sudden, he found himself thinking about the portrait of Ningyan’s mother. From the look of it, everything was somehow connected to her death.
The emperor was keeping a big secret. So was the imperial preceptor.
Eventually, Xu Qing left the prison and went back to the Swordsage Division. He didn’t tell anyone what he had learned.
Because talking to Ningyan didn’t yield any results, the investigation couldn’t proceed any further. Sixteen hours after the investigation began, in the middle of the night, the Swordsage Division submitted its results. The other four divisions followed suit one after another.
As the emperor went through the various reports, which all analyzed the situation from different angles, thunder crashed above. The emperor seemed about ready to erupt with fury. But in the end, the fury never came. He closed his eyes for a few breaths of time. When he opened them, he somehow looked older. That said, his gaze seemed matchlessly domineering. The emperor seemed more majestic than ever, and more determined. At that point, he issued a shocking imperial edict.
Twelve sticks of ‘crown prince incense’ were erected outside the imperial palace. Each of them was 299 meters tall, and there were roughly 30 meters between each of them. They were all crimson.
Princesses Anran and Anbei were left out. But soul blood from the other twelve imperial children, including Princess Anhai, was infused into one of the sticks of incense to mark it as their own.
“The lot of you want a succession struggle, and even want so far as to secretly hatch plots that caused chaos in the capital. Better to do things openly.
“Starting today, these twelve incense sticks will be lit. They will burn based on the performance of the imperial princes and princess. Good performance will cause the incense to burn slowly. Poor performance will cause the incense to burn faster. In one year, the person with the most incense left... will be the crown prince!”
The imperial edict was quite a shock to the city. People and organizations everywhere were deeply moved. The emperor was truly being decisive when it came to the matter of the crown prince. By doing so, he put an end to all the secret subterfuge, and instead made the succession struggle a public affair.
The incense sticks were there for all to see. Whoever wanted to be the crown prince had to make sure their incense stick burned the most slowly. That was the way to achieve greatness. Doing nothing wasn’t an option, as the incense would burn no matter what went on.
Instantly, the imperial children who had been paying such close attention to the Dawning Sun investigation now had bright light shining in their eyes. The imperial edict effectively put an end to the matter of the lost Dawning Sun. No one would bring it up again.
Ningyan and Ninth Prince were set free. The imperial palace closed its doors. Court wouldn’t be held for seven days.
Back at the mansion, Ningyan, whose personality had changed after the events, locked himself in the shrine hall.
Xu Qing could tell that Ningyan needed to be alone. As he looked at the shrine hall, he thought back to everything that happened in the past day. He had come to his own conclusions about what everything meant.
One of the people playing Go came out on top of this interchange.
***
After the imperial palace was sealed tight, the capital was opened up, and everyone reeled in shock about the crown prince incense.
A strong wind blew through the Heavenspan Pavilion in the imperial palace. The emperor stood there, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked at the massive Planet Ancient Emperor.
The air behind him rippled, and the imperial preceptor materialized. Clasping hands to the emperor, he smiled.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty. You finally made a decision and severed the last fetters.”
The emperor’s eyes glittered. Not bothering to turn his head, he said, “You might be the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan, but you haven’t fully recovered yet. Considering the strategic position I occupy, if I wanted to kill you, it wouldn’t be very difficult.”
The imperial preceptor’s expression was mild as he replied, “I’m just helping you fulfill your dream, Your Majesty. Besides, you know full well that I was just pushing things along. There’s someone else operating behind the scenes. As for who it is, I think you know, Your Majesty.”
The emperor’s facial expression didn’t change.
“Your Majesty, there are already gods paying attention to this affair. You need to hurry up. After all, this deal... is without parallel in history.”
The imperial preceptor smiled and disappeared into the wind.
The Heavenspan Pavilion fell silent. Only the sound of the wind could be heard.
As the wind blew, the emperor’s gaze pierced through the clouds and into the depths of Planet Ancient Emperor....