[Regent's Residence · Main Bedchamber · Next Morning]
Dawn light filtered through the paper windows.
Yin Wuwang gently laid Xie Qingyan's body on the bed in the main bedchamber. He had carried him from the hidden chamber himself, refusing to let anyone else touch him. The "corpse" was dressed in formal mourning robes now—white silk, elegantly arranged, befitting a Regent's final rest.
The mourning hall is set up. Everything looks proper. Now comes the hard part.
"My lord." The shadow guard commander spoke in a low voice. "Prince Huai's people are here. Physician Lin and one of Prince Huai's confidants. They insist on examining the body."
Yin Wuwang nodded. He had expected this.
"Let them in." He said. "I'll watch from behind the screen. You know what to do—just follow the plan I gave you last night."
"Understood."
Yin Wuwang moved to the corner of the chamber, where a tall folding screen depicting mountains and clouds provided cover. From here, he could see the entire room without being seen.
He steadied his breathing. Let's see if the plan works.
The door opened.
An old man with crane-white hair walked in, followed by a middle-aged man in expensive robes—Lord Zhao, one of Prince Huai's trusted confidants. Two attendants trailed behind them.
The shadow guard commander stepped forward, his expression cold and unwelcoming. "Physician Lin. Lord Zhao."
Lord Zhao's eyes swept across the room, taking in the mourning arrangements, the body on the bed. "His Highness Prince Huai sent us to examine the Regent's remains. The law requires an autopsy before any criminal case can proceed."
The commander's jaw tightened, but he stepped aside. "...Very well. But make it quick. We have funeral preparations to attend to."
Physician Lin walked to the bedside, knelt, and extended three fingers to take Xie Qingyan's pulse.
Behind the screen, Yin Wuwang watched intently, barely breathing.
The feigned death pill should hold. It fooled everyone at the banquet. But this physician is no ordinary doctor...
Physician Lin's brow furrowed slightly. His fingers shifted position. Then shifted again.
Lord Zhao spoke up: "Physician Lin, His Highness has a concern." His voice was carefully neutral. "Given the circumstances of the Regent's death... is there any possibility that he might have taken some kind of... feigned death drug? A pill that mimics the symptoms of death?"
Behind the screen, Yin Wuwang's heart clenched.
Damn. Prince Huai is more suspicious than I thought!
Physician Lin's expression grew serious. He took the pulse first—nothing. No heartbeat at all. Then he examined Xie Qingyan's eyes, lifting the eyelids to check the pupils. He pressed a fingernail, watching the color return. He felt the temperature of the skin, checked the color of the lips.
The silence stretched.
Physician Lin's brow furrowed deeper. "The pulse is absent, yes. But..." He leaned closer, examining the fingernails again. "The coloration is unusual. In a corpse dead for several hours, the nail beds should be much paler. And the skin temperature... it's cold, but not as cold as it should be. There's a quality to these signs that..."
He paused, his frown deepening.
"Rather resembles..."
The shadow guard commander stepped forward, his expression shifting to righteous fury.
"Enough!" He bellowed, cutting off the physician mid-sentence. "How dare you! Our master has just passed away, and you come here with such insulting questions?!"
Lord Zhao stepped back, startled. "We merely—"
"'Feigned death drug'?!" The commander's voice dripped with outrage. "Are you accusing His Highness the Regent of being a liar and a fraud?! The Duke of Zhenguo stabbed him through the chest in front of hundreds of witnesses! Everyone saw the blood! Everyone saw him fall!"
"We're not accusing anyone of—"
"Physician Lin!" The commander turned to the old doctor. "You have examined the Regent. Is there a pulse?"
Physician Lin swallowed. "...No."
"Is there breath?"
"...No."
"Is there a heartbeat?"
"...No."
"Then is he dead or not?"
Physician Lin hesitated. He had noticed the anomalies—the color, the temperature, the subtle signs that didn't quite match a true corpse. But without a pulse, without breath, without heartbeat... how could he claim the man was alive? He would sound like a madman.
"The... the Regent shows no signs of life." He said carefully.
"Then he is dead." The commander said flatly. "The examination is complete."
"But the other signs—the coloration, the temperature—"
"Are you a physician or a fortune-teller?" The commander's voice was ice. "You just confirmed there is no pulse, no breath, no heartbeat. What more evidence of death do you need? Or are you suggesting our master is somehow alive without any of these?"
Physician Lin fell silent. Put that way, his suspicions sounded absurd.
"...No. I suppose not."
"Then what more is there to discuss?" The commander's voice was cold. "Our master is dead. Killed by the Duke of Zhenguo's blade. That is the truth everyone witnessed. Now, we have a funeral to arrange. I must ask you to leave."
Lord Zhao's face was pale with frustration. He wanted to press further, but the commander's righteous anger had put him on the defensive. Accusing a dead man of faking his death—without proof—would make Prince Huai look paranoid and disrespectful.
"...Very well." He said through gritted teeth. "But His Highness will have questions."
"His Highness may visit during the mourning period like everyone else." The commander said. "Now please. The Regent's household is in grief. Show some respect."
The attendants escorted Physician Lin and Lord Zhao out. At the door, Physician Lin glanced back at the body on the bed, his brow still furrowed.
He had been about to say something. Something important.
But the moment had passed.
The door closed behind them.
Behind the screen, Yin Wuwang finally exhaled.
That was close. Too close.
He stepped out from his hiding place. The shadow guard commander turned to him.
"My lord. The physician suspected something."
"I know." Yin Wuwang's eyes were dark. "He noticed the coloration and temperature weren't right. He was about to say it resembled a feigned death drug. You cut him off just in time."
"What now? When he reports to Prince Huai..."
"He won't say anything definitive." Yin Wuwang said. "He never finished his sentence. He never confirmed his suspicion. All he can tell Prince Huai is that 'the coloration was unusual'—but he already declared the Regent dead. No pulse, no breath, no heartbeat. If he changes his story now based on skin color alone, he looks like a madman."
The commander nodded slowly. "And Prince Huai won't act on mere suspicion without proof."
"Exactly." A cold smile curved Yin Wuwang's lips. "But let's give them something else to worry about. Spread a rumor."
"What rumor?"
"That Physician Lin found traces of poison. Marionette Toxin—a rare substance that weakens the victim before death. Say the Regent was poisoned before the Duke's blade ever touched him."
The commander understood. "Frame the Prime Minister."
"The Prime Minister hates the Regent. He has connections to obtain rare poisons. And now, with this 'evidence'..." Yin Wuwang's eyes glittered. "Let the two foxes tear each other apart while we prepare for the next phase."
"Understood."
The commander withdrew to spread the word.
Yin Wuwang sat down at the bedside and took Xie Qingyan's hand.
He looked down at Xie Qingyan's pale face.
Fuguang... that was too close. The physician almost figured it out.
But the plan worked. The commander forced him to focus on pulse, breath, heartbeat—things he couldn't argue with. Now we just need the rumor to spread...
Wake up soon. I can't handle these old foxes alone. It's exhausting.
Meanwhile, the news spread across the city as if it had wings.
In teahouses, in wine shops, in the hushed conversations of servants and the urgent whispers of officials—the story multiplied and mutated with every telling.
"Did you hear? The Regent was poisoned to death!"
"Poisoned? Wasn't he stabbed by the Duke of Zhenguo?"
"That was just the final blow! Physician Lin found traces of Marionette Toxin! The Regent was already dying when the Duke stabbed him!"
"Who poisoned him?"
"Who else? The Prime Minister! Everyone in court knows the Prime Minister hated the Regent most!"
"But wait—if the Prime Minister poisoned him, why did the Duke stab him?"
"Maybe they were working together! Maybe the Duke was supposed to take the blame while the Prime Minister got away clean!"
The theories grew wilder with each retelling. By midday, half the city was convinced of the Prime Minister's guilt, and the other half suspected an even deeper conspiracy.
Exactly as Yin Wuwang had intended.
Prime Minister's Residence.
Zhou Yanling smashed his teacup on the ground, his face ashen.
"Bullshit!" He roared. "I killed the Regent? Who's spreading these rumors?!"
His advisor trembled: "My lord, the news came from the Regent's residence... They say it was Prince Huai's physician who said it himself..."
"Prince Huai?" Zhou Yanling's eyes narrowed. "That bastard Li Cheng! We've cooperated for so long, and he stabs me in the back?!"
Wait... why would Prince Huai frame me? What does he gain from the Regent's death? Unless...
His expression shifted.
Unless he's using others to do his dirty work—first eliminate the Regent, then frame me, then swoop in to claim the spoils!
What a vicious heart! What a poisonous scheme!
Prince Huai's Residence.
Prince Huai sat in his study, listening to his confidant's report, a cold smile curling at his lips.
"Interesting."
The confidant bowed his head: "Your Highness, this rumor about the Prime Minister poisoning the Regent is obviously being manipulated by someone behind the scenes..."
"I know." Prince Huai said mildly. "The physician is interrupted before he can finish his examination, and suddenly this rumor appears... Duke of Zhenguo, oh Duke of Zhenguo, your methods are more sophisticated than I imagined."
He had underestimated the man. He had assumed Yin Lie was just a military brute—good with a sword, bad with schemes. But this maneuver showed real cunning. In one stroke, he had deflected suspicion from himself, created chaos among his enemies, and bought himself time.
Perhaps the Duke isn't as simple as he appears.
He tapped the armrest of his chair, thinking.
The physician noticed something wrong with the coloration and temperature... but he never finished his sentence. What was he about to say?
Still... even if it turns out the Regent isn't dead, that's not necessarily bad for me. Let them fight. I only need to reap the rewards. Whether Xie Lan lives or dies, whether the Duke is guilty or innocent—none of it matters as long as I emerge on top.
He waved his hand: "Go tell the Prime Minister that this prince wishes to see him."
"Yes."
[Regent's Residence · Main Bedchamber]
Yin Wuwang sat at the bedside.
The examination was over. The chaos outside couldn't reach in here. The main bedchamber was quiet now, with only the soft rustle of wind through the paper windows.
He held Xie Qingyan's hand, feeling it—slightly warmer than before.
The drug effect... should be wearing off soon.
He spoke softly: "Fuguang... everything outside is a mess. The Prime Minister and Prince Huai are about to tear each other apart. I dug them a pit, and they jumped right in."
Xie Qingyan, of course, didn't answer.
Yin Wuwang smiled self-mockingly.
Yin Wuwang, what are you doing? Talking to a "corpse"? The mighty Demon Sovereign, reduced to this.
He didn't release that hand.
Whatever... no one's watching anyway. Fuguang, wake up soon... I'm waiting for you.
And when you do, I'll tell you about the chaos outside. You'll probably say "well done" in that calm way of yours. And I'll pretend that's enough.
It's always enough, with you.
In the darkness.
Xie Qingyan heard everything.
He couldn't move, couldn't speak, but his consciousness was clear. The feigned death pill suspended his body but not his mind—he was trapped in darkness, aware of every sound, every touch, every word spoken around him.
He had heard the physician's examination. The growing unease. That ominous pause when he said "rather resembles..."
And then—the shadow guard commander's intervention. Righteous fury, perfectly timed. Forcing the physician to answer only "yes or no" questions he couldn't win.
Brilliant. Xie Qingyan thought.
This wasn't improvisation. The commander's response was too practiced, too precise. Yin Wuwang anticipated that a skilled physician might notice something wrong. He planned the exact sequence to force the physician into a corner—a trap laid the night before, sprung at the perfect moment.
I didn't misjudge him. This person truly has ability.
He felt his hand being held. That warmth, contrasting with his own ice-cold fingers. It had been there for... how long now? Since last night?
The examination is over. Everything outside must be chaos. Shouldn't he be out there handling things?
What he didn't know was that from the moment he "died" until now, Yin Wuwang had never once left his side.
This Demon Sovereign... what exactly is he thinking?
[End of Chapter 28]
Next Chapter Preview:
Dawn approaches. The drug's effects are fading. And in the darkness, Xie Qingyan finally opens his eyes.
What will he say to the man who has been holding his hand all night?
Chapter 29: Dawn Approaches—Fuguang Finally Awakens