---
The Government Hall.
The Emperor looked round at all the wide range of expressions on his officials' faces, including Grand Chancellor Shao, who looked like he had swallowed something large and slimy.
'How many decrees would I even need to overturn this situation?!' The Emperor wondered in dismay,
But then his eyes widened in glee!
---
Black Palace.
Yizheng stared at the board coldly, and dropped a final piece.
There was a short silence, but then Chenmin suddenly spurted out his tea in shock, and it splashed on the white and black chess board and pieces.
"Th- this is--!"
"One should remain vigilant, so as not to be led into a false sense of security."
Yizheng said, then finished his tea.
On the board, there was no move Chenmin could make that would save his pieces, and it was a staggering victory.
Realizing Yizheng wasn't just merely talking about Chess, he glared at him.
"What did you do?!"
"Don't worry, the Emperor wouldn't want to unsettle the court, so he won't do anything to your precious Miss Shao's family... For now." Yizheng rose to his feet.
"Our families have shared good and bad times through the years, so I won't harm you, on account of our 'past' friendship, and my respect for Ye Daren and Ye Furen. But I'd advise you to keep your distance, and your mouth shut from the Salt Smuggling Case."
And he left Chenmin alone, fuming at the soiled Chess pieces...
---
The Government Hall.
The Emperor's eyes widened in glee, and his hand dived into the sizeable pile of scrolls which contained the letters and petitions for the day. He grabbed a ridiculously pink and flowered scroll, which he had dismissed earlier.
"I have a scroll here from Black Palace." He said as he opened it.
He silently read through the greetings and introductions, and then began to read aloud, when he found what he was looking for.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Your Highness, we have discovered 'Shao Ruoxing' is actually called 'Wei Ruoxin', General Wei's daughter from Xinghua. However, we have reached a stand still, as even under torture, Wei Ruoxin does not seem to possess any information on the traitors.
"But there is hope! We have noticed she is trained in combat, which means she is the most likely suspect! Therefore, General Ming has offered his assistance, and has proposed marriage to Wei Ruoxing, which will prevent her from moving around as she pleases. In two years, he will monitor her and Shao Linjin, and will eventually find out who the real culprit is!"
~ ~ ~ ~
The Emperor stopped reading, and handed the scroll to his Eunuch, who opened it and held it up in full display, so the officials could verify the contents and the authenticity of the stamped seal.
Even to the Emperor, the letter sounded like a ridiculous means to tie up loose ends, but it gave him what he needed.
Black Palace still suspected Wei Ruoxing, likely because they weren't aware of new developments, but it justified his decision to arrest Wei Ruoxin, and gave him an excuse to dismiss the case!
And the stupidity of it all will fall on Black Palace or General Ming, if anything happened down the line, and if there was a General that threatened him more than Grand Commandant Ming, it was his son, General Ming.
YOU ARE READING
The Twin
Ficción históricaA set of twins are born to the prominent Shao family, but a sage predicts that this would lead to the downfall of the family, so Lord Shao orders the death of the youngest twin. Seventeen years later, the Shao family discovers the child is still ali...
