An Oriental Odyssey

Young Master Xianya lay with half-opened eyes, lifeless. Zhao Lanzhi noticed Princess Xinghui, who was lying on the ground, moving her fingers slightly and quickly went to check on her. Relieved to find that she was still breathing, he turned around and ordered, "The princess has only fainted! Quickly, get the imperial physician here!"

The news quickly reached Prince Jing's mansion where the wedding had begun. Prince Jing was determined not to let Princess Xinghui stay any longer and insisted on taking her back to his residence. The imperial physician arrived promptly, and without wasting time, he treated Princess Xinghui, applying acupuncture to her temples and wrists and giving her a reviving decoction. When he saw Princess Xinghui's eyelids twitch, he turned around and reported to Prince Jing and his wife, "Your Highness, the princess only suffered a head injury, and she fainted for a while. There is no major harm."

Prince Jing walked to her bedside and called her softly, "Younger sister?"

Princess Xinghui took a long breath and slowly regained consciousness, "Elder brother, where am I?"

"You're back home. You've come home."

"What happened just now?"

Prince Jing, relieved that his sister was okay, explained, "You fainted and weren't aware of what happened. Jiang Ren... he switched the celebration candles and mixed poison to create illusions. Everyone present inhaled the poison gas and was at death's door. If it weren't for Master Ye's house servant saving the day, besides you fainting, everyone else would have fallen victim to Jiang Ren!"

It took Princess Xinghui some time to digest what her brother said and recall what happened before she fainted. She suddenly sat up with a start, "Then, where is Jiang Ren?"

"Jiang Ren has been dealt with by this Constable Zhao. And this is Young Miss Yuan An from the Ministry of Revenue's Official Ye's household. We owe them for turning danger into safety."

Zhao Lanzhi and the kind-hearted Yuan An, fearing that Princess Xinghui might have another accident, followed her to Prince Jing's residence. Seeing that the princess was fine and that Prince Jing was eloquent and considerate, both of them were deeply impressed. Unexpectedly, Princess Xinghui personally got out of bed, walked slowly to Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan An, scrutinized them, and was about to bow in gratitude. But Yuan An quickly stopped her, "Princess, please don't be too polite with us."

Princess Xinghui lowered her head and said, word by word, "Thank you, Constable Zhao and Miss Ye, for saving everyone's lives. I will repay your kindness."

Zhao Lanzhi said, "Princess, you're being too formal."

The Princess Consort came forward and helped her back to rest, "Younger sister, please get some rest."

As Princess Xinghui turned around, assisted by the Princess Consort to lie back on the bed, Prince Jing thanked Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan An for their timely assistance. He also instructed the servants to take care of the aftermath. People left one after another, and no one noticed that Princess Xinghui was crying, shedding tears, nor did they hear her whispering softly, "Jiang Ren, Jiang Ren, you made me faint so that I would survive while killing everyone else, right?"

Their story was not as simple as it seemed.

Jiang Ren loved his master and was willing to do anything for her. Smuggling salt, killing people, framing Young Master Xianya, he did it all for her. In the end, he took his own life to make sure she was completely unharmed.

Of course, there might be some clues left behind.

Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan An left the Prince's residence together. Yuan An hadn't figured some things out yet, "When did you start suspecting Jiang Ren?"

"Almost from the moment I saw him at Qianduan Pavilion. He claimed to be unfortunate and destitute, but he had a priceless sword. Where did he get the money to buy the sword?"

"And what about Young Master Xianya? Were you certain it wasn't him from the beginning?"

"After investigating for a long time, sometimes intuition plays a part. When all the evidence points to one person, perhaps it's not that person after all. The real culprit might want to divert our attention to that person. The small snake candle holder in Ruyue's bathroom and the account books in the poison shop... When we were finally trapped in the small warehouse at Qianduan Pavilion, the brothel madam clearly told us that it was Young Master Xianya pulling the strings from behind. It was either to let us die with full knowledge or the final trick to frame him."

"When I saw Jiang Ren coming to help, all the doubts and clues came together, and I seemed to know why."

Yuan An looked at him, "Why didn't you capture Jiang Ren and interrogate him then?"

"There was no evidence, and I didn't know the reason behind him framing Young Master Xianya."

Yuan An blinked her eyes and smiled slightly, "Do you understand now? It turns out he hated out of love. He liked the princess and didn't want her to marry Xianya, so he took action. Was this plan to lure Jiang Ren out your idea in collaboration with Xianya?"

Zhao Lanzhi pondered briefly, "Unfortunately, I made a mistake in my strategy. I never expected Jiang Ren would ignite those poisons in the end. We all almost lost our lives and became sacrificial victims to him!"

Yuan An recalled a scene from the wedding with lingering fear, "The beautiful wedding almost turned into a massacre."

Zhao Lanzhi couldn't help feeling regretful, "Unfortunately, everyone else was saved, except for Xianya. He had been consuming opium for a long time, weakening his body, and he was killed by Jiang Ren's poison!"

Yuan An seemed to disagree, "Perhaps that's the ending a heartless person deserved. He should have followed Ruyue in death. For him, this was actually the best outcome."

The two walked to the entrance, where Mu Le's carriage was waiting for Yuan An.

Zhao Lanzhi looked at the boy and smiled, "This servant you bought is really valuable; he has saved us several times. You should reward him well when you return home!"

"That's only natural." Yuan An smiled and suddenly remembered something, "Constable Zhao, there's one thing I still don't understand. When Xianya was on trial in the courtroom, Princess Xinghui came to rescue him. Did that disrupt your plan? What would you have done if she didn't come? How would you have dealt with Xianya?"

"There was a flaw in the testimony, and even if Princess Xinghui didn't come, I would have saved Xianya at the last moment. Without such a twist, Jiang Ren wouldn't have shown up."

Yuan An furrowed her brows, "But Princess Xinghui did come, which shows her genuine concern for Xianya." Yuan An turned away, "But if that's so, if she truly cared, why did she wake up just now and immediately ask about Jiang Ren? And until we left, she didn't seem to care about Xianya's life or death."

Zhao Lanzhi found himself at a loss for words at this point, and Yuan An smiled, not pressing further, "Well, I guess I was just overthinking. Princess Xinghui is gentle and kind; how could she have any ulterior motives? In any case, Constable Zhao, this has been quite an interesting experience. Goodbye!"

Yuan An hopped into the carriage, and Mu Le cracked the whip, making a crisp sound as the carriage departed swiftly.

Zhao Lanzhi stood still for a long time, looking back at the vermilion gates of Prince Jing's residence. He wondered if, as Yuan An had suggested, the tiniest detail in this case might hold the truth. What was Princess Xinghui's true motive?