In a blink, it was February, right in the midst of the biting spring chill. Recently, the Crown Prince spent increasingly more time with the Emperor, so Xin Yi immersed himself in the Court of Judicial Review. The Court of Judicial Review had countless old files, and it was obviously impossible for Xin Yi to read them one by one, so he looked for them by year. Today, he was also standing in front of the old files, just as the archive room was being cleaned, making it inevitably a bit crowded. He tucked a file under his arm and moved aside, but accidentally bumped into a cabinet while brushing past someone, and the stack of old files piled on top swayed, about to fall.

Xin Yi steadied them with one hand, also giving the person he brushed past a steadying hand.

This person was an old attendant who cleaned the Court of Judicial Review, and also an old mute. The old man, holding a broom, made a grateful sound to Xin Yi. Xin Yi smiled, bent down to pick up the old file that had fallen to the ground, and tucked it under his arm before leaving.

During this time, he had become even more polished and reserved, like warm jade. If one looked closely at his smile, one could discern two parts of Bai Jiu's smile in his brow, only not as rich and overbearing as Bai Jiu's. He was praised by everyone in the Court of Judicial Review and the palace. A few days ago, the Crown Prince subtly mentioned his status, implying that since he was already seventeen, it would be improper for him to continue residing in the Prince of Pingding's manor.

After leaving the archive room, he went to Zuo Kai's room in the front to pay his respects, and then finally withdrew. Along the way, whenever he encountered a colleague, regardless of their rank, he would offer a smiling nod. Outside the door, Meng Chen was leaning against the door frame, waiting like a door god. Seeing him emerge, he led a horse over. Xin Yi now rode Chiye whenever he went out. With Meng Chen around, his martial arts training had not slackened.

When they were almost at the manor, Meng Chen spurred his horse closer and whispered to Xin Yi, "Ji Baiyue has replied."

Xin Yi's eyes rose slightly, and he smiled, "What did he say?"

"The matter that Young Master ordered him to investigate, he's checked around Shanyin. The Crown Prince indeed didn't go to Shanyin in the Hongxing 51st Year." Meng Chen said, tugging the bridle of his horse, which was shying away from Chiye. "There isn't the slightest trace of the Crown Prince having been there."

"The Crown Prince acts meticulously, so leaving no traces is also expected." Xin Yi showed no disappointment, only saying, "What about the Prince of Tang?"

"We found that when the Jiangtang embankment broke, the Prince of Tang sent three boats from Xuhang to transport grain for Qingping and Wuhan Mountain. They didn't stop in Jiangtang, but went directly down the Chang River." Meng Chen lowered his voice again. "The Prince of Tang said that the Jiangtang granary was damaged, so he reluctantly purchased grain from Xuhang. However, Ji Baiyue investigated, and while the Jiangtang granary was affected by water, the situation wasn't severe, but the amount of grain transported from there doesn't match."

'Doesn't match, huh.'

Xin Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Where did the three boats from Xuhang go after entering the Chang River?"

"They returned to Jiangtang after delivering the grain. Prefect Yan Jueshu of Xuhang was originally dispatched by Secretary Cao, and is close to Zhang Taiyan and others, but this person is true to his name, utterly lacking the demeanor of a scholar. It's said that he haggles over every penny, a character obsessed with money. When Prince of Tang bought grain from him, he would definitely extort a payment in Jiangtang before leaving, so the boats went to Jiangtang."

"So they still went to Jiangtang." They had already arrived at the front of the manor, and Xin Yi gently reined in his horse. Fine snow scattered on his shoulders. He let out a soft 'ah' and said, "It truly was him."

"Young Master means?"

"Teacher noticed after the New Year that there was a hidden agenda behind the palace eunuchs' explanation for the gunpowder's origin. With the Prince of Qin in the capital, if a large amount of gunpowder was acquired, it certainly wouldn't escape the eyes of the Capital Guards Bureau." Xin Yi dismounted. "But the Prince of Tang is different. He brought three hundred Jiangtang military escorts. Although they stopped outside the capital, once they were at the city gates, sending things in wouldn't be difficult at all."

Chiye exhaled, and Xin Yi patted its head. Meng Chen also dismounted, only to ask curiously, "Why would the Prince of Tang do this? The Crown Prince was harmed, and the Left Faction was implicated, which shows the power of the Prince of Pingding. As a prince of a vassal state, would he just detonate it and leave, without seeking fame or credit?"

Xin Yi led the horse inside and said, "Perhaps he originally intended to display the power of the Prince of Pingding?"

Meng Chen's tiger-like eyes widened, clearly realizing, and he blurted out, "He has such audacity?"

Xin Yi merely smiled and didn't answer. After leading Chiye to the stable, he turned back to the courtyard, took a few steps to the door, lifted the curtain, and saw Bai Jiu standing by the window. He scuttled over, lightly calling out, "Lord." Bai Jiu didn't turn around, only gestured with his hand. Xin Yi immediately leaned his head forward, and the warm milk in Bai Jiu's hand was raised to his lips.

Xin Yi drank it all in one go from Bai Jiu's hand. Bai Jiu took the opportunity to rub his hair and said, "Change your clothes, we'll have a meal."

Xin Yi rubbed against his palm, his dimples swirling deeply, calling out "Lord" repeatedly. Bai Jiu's narrow eyes swept over him, and he rubbed a few more times.

"I saw the Crown Prince in the palace again today," Xin Yi mumbled. "He asked when I would be able to leave the manor."

"He hasn't had a son recently, so his mouth is foul," Bai Jiu said with a smile. "Did you respond to him?"

"No." Xin Yi also laughed, childishly saying, "I couldn't speak anyway, so I couldn't respond even if I wanted to. I only heard that he actually went to Luyi Mountain recently to pray for a son."

"Is that so?" Bai Jiu's lowered narrow eyes were deep. He tilted his head and lightly pressed his lips against Xin Yi's forehead. "Stop rubbing."

Xin Yi's face flushed. Bai Jiu's lips traced from the bridge of his nose to its tip, saying, "Do you remember what I taught you last night?"

Xin Yi's face grew even redder. He wanted to take a step back, but unexpectedly, Bai Jiu had already encircled his lower back, blocking him. Bai Jiu laughed at him, "'You didn't remember, so you want to run.'"

Xin Yi's mind was muddled by last night's damp sweat, and he stammered, "I-I remember."

"You remember, do you?" Bai Jiu leaned in and chuckled softly by his ear. "Then tonight, I shall be under the Young Master's care." Xin Yi made a sound of affirmation, covering his nose with his fist, and scurried off to change his clothes, his face flushed crimson by the teasing laughter.

After the meal, Xin Yi idly flipped through old files and read some old cases. Bai Jiu leaned on his shoulder, sitting behind him and reading along, but the Lord's narrow eyes were lowered, looking drowsy. Xin Yi heard Bai Jiu's breathing deepen, and he slightly tilted his head to look, finding the Lord's sleeping face to be exceptionally handsome, so much so that he forgot to turn the pages of the file in his hands.

The candle flame flickered softly. Bai Jiu wrapped his arms tightly around his waist and said, "Let's go, time to rest." Xin Yi suddenly turned his head back. Bai Jiu's chest vibrated, and he simply picked the person up by the waist and carried him to the bed.

As the lamp went out, it became warm under the covers.

The next day, when Xin Yi woke up, he reached his hand out from under the covers to caress a bit, but it was brought back by Bai Jiu's interlocked fingers. Xin Yi drowsily said, "It's time to go to the stable."

Bai Jiu let out a low hum, then turned on his side and pressed against the person, not moving.

Xin Yi rubbed wildly against Bai Jiu's shoulder nook until his fringe was all messed up, which finally tickled Bai Jiu awake. Bai Jiu pressed his head and whispered, "Why are you so energetic?"

Xin Yi rested his forehead against Bai Jiu's shoulder nook for a moment, and when he was a bit more awake, he said, "My waist hurts." When he raised his voice, he realized it was already hoarse.

Bai Jiu slid one hand under the covers, absently stroking his smooth lower back, saying, "'Let me rub it.'"

Xin Yi squinted from the touching, his face growing redder. He bit Bai Jiu's shoulder, mumbling, "I'll get up, then you can sleep more."

Bai Jiu hissed lightly, and the hand on Xin Yi's head vigorously ruffled his messy hair. He suddenly leaned in, propping himself up with both hands beside Xin Yi's head, burying his face in Xin Yi's neck for a bout of intimacy.

When Xin Yi finally left, he chose a stand-up collar as usual, thoroughly covering his neck. Although Meng Chen was a rough and unrefined man, a quick glance was enough for him to understand what had happened. Even their sparring was done with lighter hands.

Because he hadn't slept much last night, he was uncharacteristically distracted when reading files at the Court of Judicial Review. Xin Yi stopped writing and rubbed his forehead, feeling a rather sweet vexation. All the files before him were ones he had read in the past few days. Xin Yi was thinking of getting up to return them to the archive room, but unexpectedly, when his hand touched the stack of read files, he felt something unusual.

'There was one extra.'

Xin Yi's finger slid down the layers of files, and he pulled out a volume from a lower position, his heart skipping a beat.

This volume had no event annotations, only the two characters "Shanyin". When he turned to look at the spine of the volume, he indeed saw the character "Seal".

'This is a sealed file; it cannot be opened without a summons.'

'Shanyin.'

'Who knew he was investigating Shanyin? The Crown Prince? Or someone else?'

Xin Yi forcibly suppressed the urge to look up, placing the sealed file on the desk. He picked up his brush as usual and wrote on a piece of paper beside him, but his mind was racing.

'It's not the Crown Prince.'

To investigate the Crown Prince, the first step would be to investigate the Prince of Qin. With the Prince of Qin dead, others might not know, but Xin Yi had to turn his investigation to Shanyin. The words that the Prince of Tang specifically came to say were definitely not fabricated. Any bait thrown must have substance. The Prince of Yan's family must have some connection with the Crown Prince. Although Xin Yi couldn't recall where he had heard the Crown Prince's voice, he was certain it wasn't about anything pleasant. This sealed Shanyin file was nothing short of an urgent necessity for him, but who was it that knew everything he was doing so clearly?

'It's not the Prince of Tang.'

Zuo Kai was an upright official, loyal and devoted to the Emperor, even daring to slight the Crown Prince, having sworn allegiance to this one ruler. Therefore, the Court of Judicial Review was the most rigorous and neutral, neither aligning with the Left Faction nor close to Bai Jiu. Zuo Kai's strictness was paramount; with him there, the Prince of Tang was the first person who couldn't tamper with things in the Court of Judicial Review.

'So who is it?'

The ink under Xin Yi's brush deepened, and his eyes were a profound darkness.

Suddenly, someone walked towards his desk. Xin Yi flipped the page of the file he had originally spread open, appearing to be deep in thought. The person stopped by his desk and whispered, "Heir." Xin Yi looked up; it was a registrar from the Court of Judicial Review. The registrar said, "The Lord is calling for the heir."

Xin Yi nodded, casually closed the file on the desk, his wide sleeve unconsciously sweeping across the surface, and left with the person. As he approached Zuo Kai's room, he could already hear voices inside. Xin Yi clearly heard phrases like, "cannot be tolerated" and "this matter is significant," and he entered without a change in expression.

All the chief officials of the Court of Judicial Review were assembled in the room. Seeing him enter, they made way, leaving an empty seat below Zuo Kai. Xin Yi entered with a serious expression, but didn't sit down. Instead, he stood beside Zuo Kai, showing respect to the seniors present, not taking advantage of his title as heir.

Zuo Kai's expression was grave. His gaze swept over Xin Yi, and he nodded slightly, which counted as praise. Xin Yi smiled humbly and stood listening.

Indeed, someone said, "Lord, the sealed file is unusual. Its loss must be reported to the authorities. If the Censorate discovers it, we won't be able to explain ourselves."

Another person said, "The person guarding the archive room last night cannot escape responsibility. A quick investigation will surely identify the culprit. If we report it, the subsequent interrogations will likely lead to another round of trouble."

"Trouble or not, we must report it. This is no ordinary time. His Majesty is strictly enforcing laws to curb rampant illicit dealings. If we get caught up in this, we could lose our heads."

Opinions varied, and they devolved into a noisy argument. In the end, there was no consensus, and all eyes turned back to Zuo Kai. Zuo Kai had been listening with a stern face. Seeing that no one else spoke, he said in a severe tone, "The sealed file is lost. The person guarding it will first be removed from duty and investigated. It hasn't been missing long, so it couldn't have left the Court of Judicial Review. Send people to search all areas immediately." With that, he stood up and said, "No one is allowed to leave first. We will go and inspect every desk."

Everyone accepted the order and followed Zuo Kai to the main hall. Xin Yi was behind Zuo Kai, and his hand in his sleeve gradually grew clammy with sweat. The file hidden in his sleeve was tightly clutched.

He was playing the role of a mute, so he couldn't speak normally to explain things. Moreover, this sealed file had appeared on his desk for no reason, posing the risk of losing his head. Without a hint, who would be so kind? 'He couldn't explain, and with the "stolen goods" in hand, if he were discovered now...'

Xin Yi licked his dry lips.

'It would be exciting.'

The desks were searched one by one. When they reached Xin Yi's desk, the registrar hesitated a bit. Zuo Kai frowned and said, "Search." The registrar then carefully flipped through the files on Xin Yi's desk, searching. No one's desk in the hall was spared, and the result, naturally, was nothing.

If nothing was found at the desks, a body search was inevitable. Zuo Kai took the lead by removing his outer robe first. The others naturally couldn't refuse to take theirs off.

But this sealed file was right in Xin Yi's sleeve. The moment he removed his robe, it wouldn't be hidden.

No one in the hall made a sound. Although loose robes and sashes were somewhat improper, no one questioned it at the moment. As it was about to be Xin Yi's turn, although he showed no change in expression, he tightly gripped the sealed file in his sleeve.

Zuo Kai suddenly turned his head to look at Xin Yi and said, "You are the Heir. To remove your clothes in open court would truly disgrace a member of the imperial family. Xiao Su, accompany the heir to my private chambers and help him change."

The earlier registrar stepped forward and responded, leading Xin Yi away. Xin Yi's heart stirred. He subtly raised his eyes towards Zuo Kai, but Zuo Kai was already looking at the others below, his expression stern but ordinary.

Upon reaching Zuo Kai's private chambers, Xiao Su lowered his gaze and stepped back a few paces, standing outside the screen, saying, "Heir, please proceed."

Xin Yi nodded and went behind the screen to undress.

When the two returned to the front hall, the lost sealed file had already been recovered. It was said that another registrar had audaciously attempted to steal it and was caught red-handed in front of everyone in the hall. Zuo Kai personally retrieved the lost sealed file, and only then was the matter concluded.

When he returned to his desk, Xin Yi loosened his grip, and the true sealed file was back on his desk.

'Did Teacher, then, permit him to investigate the old matters of Shanyin?'

Xin Yi took a mouthful of bitter tea and opened the sealed file.