Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Chu Ning returned to the East Palace from the West Garden and ordered someone to summon Jia Yu and Ling Haoran.

The cold December wind howled through the numerous halls of the East Palace, freezing the puddles left by the heavy rain a few days ago into thin ice.

Chu Ning stood in front of the window of the conference room, tapping the window frame lightly with his fingertips, looking through the ice flowers on the window paper to the gray sky.

The death of Marquis Pingyuan was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up countless undercurrents in the court.

"Your Highness, Lord Jia and Lord Ling have arrived." Zhao Yu came to report.

"Announce." Chu Ning retracted his gaze, turned and walked towards the main seat. His black python robe shone with a cold luster under the candlelight.

Jia Yu and Ling Haoran entered the hall one after another, bringing in a biting chill.

The two men bowed, their official boots clacking against the bluestone floor. "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Chu Ning nodded slightly and motioned for the two to sit down.

The candlelight cast shadows of varying depths on his angular face, making his eyes seem even more unfathomable.

"I believe you all already know that Marquis Pingyuan was killed in the Heavenly Prison."

Chu Ning went straight to the point, his voice low and powerful.

"The other party placed the assassin in the Heavenly Prison, which means they must have considerable power within the court. Marquis Pingyuan was about to reveal the identity of the last man in black, but unexpectedly, he was killed by the jailer at the critical moment."

"Now that the clues are gone, I wonder if the two adults have any countermeasures?"

Jia Yu frowned. As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he knew the seriousness of the matter better than anyone else.

The jailer was able to succeed in the heavily guarded prison, so the power behind him must be extraordinary.

"Your Highness."

Jia Yu said in a deep voice, his voice as rough as sandpaper.

"Since the jailer was sent in by the other party, we just need to follow this clue and we will definitely find something."

"I have already sent the Imperial Guards to investigate. I believe we will have an answer within two days."

Ling Haoran coughed lightly and added, "As long as we find out who arranged for the jailer to enter the prison, it won't be difficult to find the person behind them. The Ministry of Justice has the files of all the jailers, and I can check them immediately."

A cold wind blew past the window, making the window frames rattle.

Chu Ning's gaze moved between the two of them, finally settling on Jia Yu's face.

The dark circles under the eyes of the Jinyiwei commander showed that he had not slept for several days, but his eyes were still as sharp as an eagle.

"I think so too!"

Chu Ning said slowly, tapping the armrest lightly with his fingers.

"But the other party must have known about the jailer's suicide by now, and may have made some preparations. You must take action first to find him."

He paused, his voice becoming deeper. "One of you will be in charge of the Imperial Guards, and the other will be in charge of the Ministry of Justice. I believe in your abilities."

Jia Yu and Ling Haoran exchanged a glance, then stood up and bowed simultaneously: "We will do our utmost to live up to Your Highness's trust."

"Go ahead." Chu Ning waved his hand. "This matter is of great importance. Please be cautious."

The two men bowed and left the conference room. A biting cold wind blew in their faces. Ling Haoran couldn't help but shiver and wrapped his mink fur coat tighter.

"Lord Jia, what do you think about this matter?" Ling Haoran asked in a low voice while walking on the palace road.

Jia Yu glanced around cautiously, confirming that no one was eavesdropping before whispering, "It's definitely not the work of an ordinary official to plant personnel in the Heavenly Prison. I suspect..."

He suddenly stopped talking and shook his head: "Let's find out first."

The two men parted ways outside the palace gate and returned to their respective offices to deploy troops.

Jia Yu returned to the Jinyiwei Yamen and immediately summoned his trusted captain Lu Chen and several capable generals.

"Find out all the background information about the jailer who committed suicide!"

Jia Yu ordered in a cold voice: "When was he sent to the Heavenly Prison? Who recommended him? Who did he have close contact with? Not a single detail can be overlooked."

Lu Chen clasped his fists and accepted the order: "Don't worry, sir. I will take people to investigate right away."

At the same time, Ling Haoran returned to the Ministry of Justice and immediately ordered the person in charge to retrieve the roster and files of all the jailers in the Heavenly Prison.

Under the candlelight, he carefully flipped through the thick booklet, his fingers moving slowly over the lines of ink words.

"grown ups,"

The person in charge cautiously reminded, "These files have been reviewed at every level. If there are any problems, they probably won't be clearly stated on them."

Ling Haoran rubbed his sore eyes and said, "I know that anyone who is sent in must have a trace. Check the prison guards who were transferred in the past six months, especially those with simple backgrounds who were suddenly given important positions."

As the night deepened, the lights in the Ministry of Justice were still brightly lit.

Ling Haoran suddenly paused on a page of the file, his brow furrowed. "This jailer named Zhang Shun was transferred to the Heavenly Prison just last month. Before that, he was just an ordinary constable in Jiangzhou. How could he be directly transferred to the Heavenly Prison to serve?"

The officer came over and took a look. "Your Excellency, it says here that the previous jailer has passed away and the vacancy is urgently needed. He was recommended by...by the Minister of War, Lord Zhou."

Ling Haoran's eyes flashed, "Zhou Mingde? He has no dealings with Marquis Pingyuan, so why would he interfere in the affairs of the Heavenly Prison?"

He immediately stood up and said, "Prepare the sedan chair. I want to see Lord Jia."

Just as Ling Haoran was about to leave, a yamen runner ran in in a panic: "Sir! This is bad! The archives are on fire!"

Ling Haoran was shocked and immediately took people to the archives.

Sure enough, the west wing where the personnel files were stored was filled with smoke.

Although the fire was quickly put out, the files about Zhang Shun had turned to ashes.

"What quick hands and feet." Ling Haoran's face was gloomy. He immediately ordered his men to prepare horses and personally rushed to the Jinyiwei Yamen.

The night is as dark as ink and the wind is bitingly cold.

Just as Ling Haoran's carriage turned a corner, an arrow suddenly shot out from the darkness and accurately pierced the coachman's throat.

The driver fell silently, and the carriage suddenly lost control and crashed into the stone wall on the side of the road.

Ling Haoran reacted extremely quickly. He jumped out of the carriage before it overturned and rolled on the ground to relieve the impact.

However, before he could stand firm, four or five men in black rushed out from the darkness, and the light of their swords shone coldly in the moonlight.

"How dare you!" Ling Haoran shouted and drew the sword from his waist to meet the enemy.

As the Minister of Justice, he was not a weak scholar, and he had received instruction in swordsmanship from famous masters.

But the other side had more people and was well prepared. After a few rounds, Ling Haoran was already at a loss.

Just as a steel knife was about to pierce Ling Haoran's chest, a black shadow fell from the sky like a ghost, and the Embroidered Spring Knife drew a cold light, cutting off the assassin's arm at the shoulder.

"Master Jia!" Ling Haoran was surprised and delighted.

Jia Yu nodded slightly at him, and the embroidered spring sword in the hands of the captain beside him danced into a ball of silver light, knocking down the two assassins in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining men in black immediately retreated.

The captain was about to give chase, but was stopped by Ling Haoran: "Don't chase me, I have an important discovery. Let's go to the Jinyiwei Yamen first!"

The two quickly returned to the Jinyiwei Yamen. Jia Yu ordered his men to be on high alert and personally bandaged Ling Haoran's shoulder wound.

"I have discovered that the jailer Zhang Shun was recommended to the Heavenly Prison by the Minister of Personnel, Zhou Mingde!"

Ling Haoran said with pain, "Just when I was about to come to discuss something with you, the archives suddenly caught fire, and then I was assassinated. This is definitely not a coincidence!"

Jia Yu's eyes flashed coldly: "Zhou Mingde... He is the Sixteenth Prince's man."

Ling Haoran took a breath and said, "Could it be..."

Jia Yu shook his head. "It's too early to draw conclusions now. However, assassinating a high-ranking official in Kyoto City shows that the enemy has run out of tricks and is at their wit's end."

"This matter is of great importance. You and I will go together to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."