The morning light illuminated the Glazed Tile, reflecting a dazzling golden glow. Xu Yin stood in the front hall of the Eastern Palace, and the roof with Glazed Tile opposite was half-illuminated as the Crown Prince strode out. The Crown Prince, the heir to the nation, was impeccably dressed, even if his schedule was disrupted, speaking in a calm manner. "Greetings, Your Highness." "No need for formalities." The Crown Prince waved his hand, scrutinizing him for a moment, then said: "Why are you here so early?" "I have an important matter to report to Your Highness." "What is it?" The Crown Prince sat down behind the desk. "I have tracked down the whereabouts of the missing fan." The Crown Prince, who had just sat down, lifted his body upon hearing these words, almost standing back up. "Where is it? Have you got it?" "If the fan were still in Prince Rong’s hands, I might have been able to retrieve it. However, it is no longer at Prince Rong’s Mansion! Your Highness, the fan is now in General Pei’s hands!" The Crown Prince finally stood up, "How did it end up in his hands?" "Because on the night of the incident with Princess Rong, Pei Zhan was lying in ambush in the ancestral hall. I had already withdrawn before Prince Rong barged in, so I was unaware. It was later that I found out the fan, which I didn’t know the exact location of, was taken by Pei Zhan in that moment when the lights went out in the hall!" The Crown Prince stood on the terrace, seemingly holding his breath, before saying after a long pause, "How do you know this? Do you have any evidence?" "I have no evidence, but Your Highness already knows that on the night of the incident, Prince Rong came furiously to the Xu family to find me. His purpose was to ask me for the fan, but I indeed did not have it, and Prince Rong’s action can also prove that the fan was indeed not in his hands at that time. "To achieve all these so quietly in such a short period, there are very few people in the entire court who can do it. "And there happens to be another incident that might serve as proof." "A few months ago, when Prince Rong’s entire household went to Baihe Temple to pray for the little princely heir, something strange happened that night - a dagger suddenly dropped in front of Prince Rong and his son, and in the blink of an eye, a mysterious person appeared and took away the dagger." "Exactly." Xu Yin lowered his eyes and nodded, "Among the tributes dedicated by Prince Yi Mansion of Dayue Country to the previous Monarch many years ago, there was a dagger named Cold Moon, which was once bestowed by the previous Monarch to a General at that time. After the previous dynasty fell, this dagger was passed to Prince Rong. "However, the dagger was later unexpectedly lost; does Your Highness know about this?" The Crown Prince walked down from the terrace, stopping in front of him and gazing at him intently: "Continue." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 Xu Yin said: "To my knowledge, the dagger should have gone missing six or seven years ago. Prince Rong secretly investigated it for a long time but found no traces. The sudden appearance of the dagger that night is certainly not a coincidence. And as soon as Prince Rong and the princely heir recognized the Cold Moon Dagger, it was quickly taken by a mysterious person, which again is not coincidental." "You mean, this mysterious person is Pei Zhan?" "On that night, Pei Zhan happened to be on the mountain." The Crown Prince turned to face the window, his eyes flickering with an unfathomable light. "Why would Pei Zhan do this?" "Pei Zhan wiped out Dayue, and His Majesty favors him greatly; now the Pei family surpasses any other, even overshadowing the Liang Family slightly. "His Majesty’s health is failing, and the entire court is paying close attention to the movements in Qianqing Palace. Pardon me for saying something so frank, but once sad news arrives from the palace, Your Highness must immediately ascend the throne. The time when a new Monarch takes the throne is the best opportunity for powerful ministers to seize control. With the current standing of the Pei family, they may not refrain from striving to further consolidate their position in the Great Zhou’s court." The Crown Prince said slowly: "Are you implying that the Pei family harbors unsavory intentions?" "Having achievements that threaten the sovereign is always a great taboo for ministers. His Majesty and Your Highness embody benevolence and righteousness and naturally would not imitate the past dynasty’s tactics of ’removing the grindstone after the donkey’s work is done,’ but it cannot be guaranteed that the Pei family doesn’t think this way. The wealth, status, and power they exchanged with their kin’s lives wouldn’t be surrendered easily. How could they not be wary of suppression or suspicion? "In a nutshell, even if Your Highness can be kind to him, he also might not be able to put his mind at ease. So how could they not take precautionary measures? "Once they catch hold of any handle, they will certainly not let go. And Prince Rong seems to have something on hand—such as this dagger and that fan—how could Pei Zhan resist getting to the bottom of it?" The Crown Prince, upon hearing this, had a face as gloomy as water. After a moment, he squinted his eyes, looking out the window slowly as he said: