The room remained silent long after X'ian spoke.
A prince.
Of all the possibilities they had considered, none of them had expected that answer.
Wei Feng was the first to recover.
"Which prince?"
"I don't know."
"Think."
X'ian closed her eyes and searched her memory. She had only seen the visitor briefly. At the time, she had paid little attention. Members of the imperial family occasionally visited important officials.
She remembered a tall figure standing inside her father's study.
A dark robe.
A jade dragon hanging from his belt.
A calm voice.
Nothing more.
When she opened her eyes, disappointment crossed Wei Feng's face.
"That's not enough."
"It has to be."
"No, it doesn't."
Shen Guo interrupted before the argument could continue.
"How many princes currently hold political influence?"
Wei Feng leaned back.
"Three."
"Let's hear them."
"The First Prince is ambitious but careless. The Third Prince spends more time drinking than governing. The Seventh Prince..."
He stopped.
Shen Guo noticed.
"The Seventh Prince what?"
Wei Feng's expression became thoughtful.
"The Seventh Prince is different."
"Different how?"
"Quiet."
The old strategist nodded slowly.
"That alone makes him dangerous."
The capital had no shortage of royal sons. Most competed openly for influence, wealth, and favor. The Seventh Prince rarely appeared at court. He avoided unnecessary attention and seldom involved himself in political disputes.
In a city filled with loud men seeking power, silence itself became suspicious.
Wei Feng rubbed his chin.
"If I were hiding something valuable, he'd be my first choice."
Shen Guo looked toward X'ian.
"Did your father ever mention him?"
"No."
"Did he mention any prince at all?"
Again, she shook her head.
Lord Xian Ren had been careful even inside his own home. Important matters rarely entered family conversations.
Wei Feng stood.
"We can speculate all night or find actual answers."
"You have a plan?"
"I always have a plan."
"That wasn't my question."
A faint smile appeared on Wei Feng's face.
"There's a banquet tomorrow."
Shen Guo immediately frowned.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Absolutely."
X'ian watched the exchange with growing confusion.
"What banquet?"
Wei Feng turned toward her.
"The Minister of Revenue is celebrating a promotion."
"The same minister my father investigated."
"The very same."
Understanding dawned.
"He'll be there."
"He'll host it personally."
Shen Guo looked ready to object again.
Wei Feng ignored him.
"The city's most powerful officials will attend. Nobles. Generals. Ministers."
"And princes?" X'ian asked.
Wei Feng smiled.
"Exactly."
The plan was dangerous.
Which was probably why Wei Feng liked it.
The following day passed in preparation.
Disguises were arranged.
Routes planned.
Contingencies discussed.
By sunset, Tianzhou glowed beneath thousands of lanterns.
The minister's estate stood in the eastern district, surrounded by walls and guarded entrances. Music drifted beyond the gates while servants hurried through the courtyards carrying trays of food and wine.
From a nearby rooftop, X'ian studied the estate.
She felt strangely calm.
The closer she moved toward the truth, the less fear seemed to matter.
"We enter separately," Wei Feng said.
"No heroics."
Shen Guo snorted.
"Tell that to yourself."
Wei Feng grinned.
Then they descended into the crowd.
The disguise worked better than expected.
Dressed as the daughter of a merchant family, X'ian passed through the outer checkpoint without difficulty. Nobles rarely noticed servants and merchants unless absolutely necessary.
The estate itself was magnificent.
Pavilions surrounded carefully maintained gardens. Lanterns reflected across artificial ponds. Laughter filled the air.
Looking at the celebration, no one would guess innocent people had died weeks earlier.
No one would guess a noble family had been erased.
Power had a short memory.
X'ian moved quietly through the gathering.
Listening.
Observing.
Remembering everything.
It was one of the lessons her father had taught her.
People revealed more than they intended when they believed no one important was listening.
Near one pavilion, two officials spoke in hushed voices.
"...still searching?"
"Of course."
"Any success?"
A shake of the head.
"The minister is furious."
X'ian slowed her pace.
Searching for what?
The ledger?
Before she could hear more, another guest approached and changed the subject.
She continued moving.
Hours passed.
Then suddenly the atmosphere shifted.
The conversations quieted.
Musicians stopped playing.
Guests straightened.
Someone important had arrived.
A herald's voice echoed through the estate.
"His Highness, the Seventh Prince."
X'ian turned.
A young man entered the courtyard surrounded by only a handful of attendants.
The reaction surprised her.
No one appeared afraid.
No one appeared overly impressed.
Many barely looked at him.
The prince carried himself with quiet confidence rather than authority. His robes were elegant but modest compared to those worn by other members of the imperial family.
At first glance, he seemed forgettable.
Then X'ian noticed his eyes.
Calm.
Watchful.
Nothing escaped them.
The sight sent an unexpected chill through her.
Something about him felt familiar.
She couldn't explain why.
The prince greeted several officials politely before taking a seat near the edge of the gathering.
Not the center.
The edge.
A man who preferred observing rather than performing.
Wei Feng appeared beside her without warning.
"Well?"
"That's him."
The words escaped before she realized it.
Wei Feng's expression changed instantly.
"You're certain?"
"I think so."
Think.
Not know.
Yet something inside her insisted she was right.
The prince's posture.
His voice.
The way he watched people.
Fragments of memory aligned.
Wei Feng followed her gaze.
For the first time all evening, he seemed genuinely concerned.
"This just became complicated."
Before X'ian could ask why, movement near the main hall caught her attention, a servant hurried toward the Minister of Revenue, whispered something, the minister's face lost all color.
Only for a second, then he recovered, but X'ian had seen it, so had the prince, across the courtyard, their eyes met briefly, the prince rose from his seat, the minister did the same, neither spoke.
Yet both immediately left the banquet through separate exits, Wei Feng cursed under his breath.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know it's bad?"
"Because powerful men don't abandon their own banquets for good news."
Without hesitation, he followed, X'ian followed him, the noise of the celebration faded behind them, the estate grew quieter.
Dark corridors replaced brightly lit courtyards, eventually they reached a secluded wing of the compound, the minister entered a private room.
Moments later, the prince entered as well, Wei Feng motioned for silence, carefully, they approached, voices drifted through the partially open window.
"...found it?" the minister asked.
The prince's reply was too quiet to hear, the minister spoke again, this time more urgently.
"Are you certain?"
A pause, then the prince answered.
"There's no doubt."
X'ian strained to listen.
Inside, furniture scraped against the floor, the minister sounded shaken.
"What do we do now?"
The prince's next words reached them clearly.
"Nothing."
The confidence in his voice was unsettling.
"The person who possesses it will come to us."
The minister hesitated.
"And if they don't?"
A long silence followed.
Then came the answer.
"They will."
Something about the certainty in those words made X'ian uneasy.
The prince sounded less like a man making a prediction and more like a man describing a fact.
Suddenly footsteps approached.
Wei Feng immediately pulled X'ian backward into the shadows.
A servant emerged from the corridor carrying a sealed scroll.
He moved quickly.
Too quickly.
As he passed beneath a lantern, X'ian caught sight of the seal impressed into the wax.
Her breath caught.
She recognized it.
House Xian.
The servant disappeared into the darkness.
Wei Feng had seen it too.
"So they found something," he whispered.
"But what?"
Before either could move, a voice spoke behind them.
"You should be more careful."
The words froze both of them, slowly, X'ian turned, the Seventh Prince stood only a few steps away.
lone.
No guards, no attendants, his expression remained calm, almost amused, then his gaze settled on X'ian, not her disguise.
Her.
As though he had known exactly who she was from the beginning, for several heartbeats, nobody spoke, then the prince reached into his sleeve and withdrew a familiar object.
A jade pendant.
Her father's jade pendant, the one she thought had been lost forever, the color drained from her face, the prince studied her reaction and nodded slightly.
"Good."
His voice was quiet, controlled, dangerously calm.
"That confirms it."
X'ian's pulse thundered in her ears.
Confirms what?
The prince's gaze never left hers, when he finally spoke again, the world seemed to stop.
"Lady X'ian."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I've been looking for you."