Water Mirrored Moon - 水鏡月

Part III - Beloved of the Seventh Prince: 56. Tenfold

Seeing that his wife had passed that trial quite admirably, the Seventh Prince and his party made all haste, riding non-stop back to the northwest. As they rode, Murong Yan recited the contents of the military report that had been received from the ongoing investigation of the Gao family.

At the best it was corruption, at the worst, they had directed money to Xiyu's army, and it was not clear how deep the ties were in the northwest and what would need to be done to clear out the viper pit.

The Seventh Prince listened with growing fury as the list of crimes piled higher and higher.

"Enough...let's just get there," he said, wearily. "I will want to hear it properly later."

Much later, as they rested in the courier station, Murong Yang pulled out the report and read out the rest of it, but he came to an abrupt pause when the report began to go into detail about Gao Wei's human trafficking. The prince looked up, immediately disliking the pallor of his Vice-General's face. A'Yan looked like he had come to a sudden realization.

"Well, what is it? Your colour isn't good A'Yan," observed the prince with concern.

"Oh...there is one more thing...something I had forgotten," he said stiffly. "Master, I don't know if I reported this clearly before...but the girl that Gao Wei beat to a bloody pulp that time...that was Lady Wu."

The Seventh Prince's face changed swiftly.

"Is that so?" he asked, trembling.

A'Yan nodded.

That's right...A'Yan never clearly told me the relationship between himself and XiXi. Since the incident with the stag, they haven't properly talked once...and I jealously prevented any further interaction between them. Until now she has never explained her scars and I have never asked...

Zhao Ling Xian felt something acid hit the pit of his stomach.

Taking a breath, A'Yan reminded his master of the exact circumstances of the incident and as he spoke, an icy mask fell over the prince's features.

That's right...we came upon Gao Wei that time with a girl lying face down in the dirt, her back raw with blood.

The teacup that the Seventh Prince was gripping suddenly shattered in his hand. He looked at it dispassionately as blood dripped from his palm.

Gao Wei! A thousand cuts and a thousand deaths aren't enough to appease this Prince! How dare you touch my precious person!

For a moment, the expression on the Seventh Prince's face was truly fearsome. Even Murong Yan who had known him for years, felt a finger of ice crawl down his spine.

The following morning, without delay, the prince gave the order to seize the Gao family and freeze their assets.

There was no need to present the findings at court. He would act first and if someone found fault with his actions, he would make up some excuse. With that said, the amount of evidence was indisputable.