With Wei Quan dead and his beautiful concubine left alone in an empty bed, how could this not be the perfect opportunity for Prince An?
After indulging in a few lewd fantasies, Prince An finally sought out the late Wei Quan's brother-in-law. The two holed up in the study, whispering names and suspicions back and forth for half a day. Unfortunately, the Wei family had offended far too many people. There were just too many possibilities, and they couldn't pin down the most likely suspect.
"In my opinion," Prince An finally said, "we should ask the people closest to Wei Quan what happened that night. They may have seen something the rest of us missed."
Soon, Wei Quan's personal servant, his bed maid, and the concubine who had shared his bed that evening—Meng Wenxian—were summoned to the study.
Citing state secrecy, Prince An had everyone else cleared from the room. One by one, he questioned each witness personally.
The servant came in first and recalled, "The young master returned from the palace and went straight to Huixian House to drink. He was there the entire afternoon. Nothing unusual happened, and he didn't argue with anyone. I didn't notice anything suspicious."
Next came the bed maid, who said, "He was drunk when he got home. The madam was busy coaxing the young master's son to sleep, so she sent him to Lady Meng. But Lady Meng refused, saying she didn't want to deal with a drunk man, and told me to serve him instead. After I gave him the hangover soup, he fell asleep. Nothing else happened."
Finally, Meng Wenxian entered, her eyes reddened, her steps delicate as she bowed before Prince An. "Wenxian greets Your Highness."
Her sweet, breathy voice curled around Prince An like silk. He stared at her, dazed. They always say white mourning clothes bring out a woman's beauty... Guess they weren't wrong.
"What happened after Lord Wei returned that night?" he asked, trying to sound stern.
Meng Wenxian hesitated before replying softly, "He was already drunk when he came home. The maids served him sobering soup, and he passed out soon after. Because of the strong smell of alcohol, I chose to rest in the curtained alcove next to his bed. When I woke the next morning, he was gone. I assumed he had gone out, so I didn't investigate."
"Did you hear any sounds during the night? Anything unusual?"
She shook her head. Wei Quan had snored like thunder—if there had been anything else, she would've noticed. But she had fallen asleep not long after, so she didn't hear anything.
Prince An looked at the pitiful little beauty in front of him and swallowed hard. He asked again, "So you're saying Wei Quan, despite having a beauty like you right beside him, did nothing the entire night? No... advances?"
Meng Wenxian blushed deeply and lowered her head in embarrassment. In truth, Wei Quan had tried—despite his drunkenness—but she had been so disgusted that she sent in the bed maid instead. Only once he passed out did she crawl into the curtained alcove to sleep.
Prince An had already reviewed the files at the Ministry of Justice earlier that day. According to the forensic report, there were clear signs on Wei Quan's clothes of... post-intimacy fluids, from a man.
The theory was that he might've forced himself on some poor girl that night and was murdered in revenge—his body found hanging from the city gates.
But if he had passed out at home, then there was no way he'd gone out looking for trouble.
Someone was lying.
The last person to see Wei Quan alive was Meng Wenxian. That made her the prime suspect.
Prince An narrowed his eyes and took a step closer. "You really expect me to believe he didn't touch you? The forensic report says otherwise. His clothes showed evidence of... activity."
Meng Wenxian recalled that after the maid had served Wei Quan, he fell asleep without bathing. He was too heavy to move, and she didn't dare deal with it. That must've been when the evidence was left.
She couldn't deny it anymore—not if the authorities had already uncovered that much.
She gave a small nod. "He did... once."
Prince An leaned in. "Only once? That's all?"
Meng Wenxian couldn't bring herself to talk about such things in front of another man. She stole a glance at Prince An, expecting judgment—but instead saw something else flickering in his eyes.
Desire.
She turned red from head to toe and lowered her head. "Just once. The young master... he wasn't very strong."
That was enough for Prince An to piece together the timeline. If Wei Quan had left physical evidence at the mansion, then he hadn't gone out afterward. Someone had dragged him from the safety of his home—likely an old enemy out for revenge.
It was a key clue, and Prince An was eager to get back to the Ministry to consult with the experts there.
Glancing down at the fragile beauty by his feet, he smirked and whispered, "Indeed... he was weak. Unlike me—I'd keep you up all night."
And with that, he swept out of the room, leaving Meng Wenxian collapsed on the floor, her heart pounding in ways she couldn't explain.
While Prince An was hot on the trail of the killer, Meng Wenyao was in the palace, having the time of her life.
The Emperor doted on her like she was made of clouds and moonlight, strolling with her hand-in-hand through the palace gardens. Word of their walk spread like wildfire among the concubines.
Soon, though, the long days caught up with Meng Wenyao. She pouted, clung to the Emperor's arm, and sighed, "I can't walk anymore…"
The Emperor picked her up and carried her to a pavilion to rest. As they admired the view, a colorful group of concubines approached, their flowing gowns fluttering like butterflies.
Finally, Meng Wenyao thought. If one of them can seduce him away from me, I'll thank her on my knees. I could use a night off to catch my breath.
The concubines closed in like a blooming flower, each trying to outshine the other, their faces filled with longing. They shoved subtly, each trying to claim the front position.
What's the point? Wenyao wondered. So you get chosen to serve him tonight—big deal. It's exhausting! Why are they all so eager?
If it weren't for the Emperor holding her hand, she'd have given up her seat right then.
The concubines curtsied and greeted the Emperor.
He barely glanced at them and offered a disinterested nod.
One concubine dared to step closer, swaying her hips as she cooed, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten all about your poor concubines?"
The Emperor blinked. "And... you are?"
Her face went red as a tomato while laughter rippled through the crowd.
Another concubine tried to smooth things over. "Qin Meiren greets Your Majesty. This is Yu Meiren."
So that's two of the Meiren rank, Meng Wenyao noted mentally. Still missing the Pin rank… I never got a good look at them during the last banquet.
The Emperor looked mildly curious. "What brings all of you here?"
The women exchanged awkward glances until Qin Meiren replied smoothly, "The weather's nice, so we decided to take a walk. We didn't expect to run into Your Majesty."
Oh, sure you didn't, Wenyao snorted internally, watching them play coy while pushing to get closer. They're so thirsty, it's kind of cute.
If this went on any longer, the Emperor might lose patience—not just her.
She needed to speed things up.
"Your Majesty," Meng Wenyao said with a deliberately sweet voice, "can we listen to a performance?"