Xiao Jin Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. "How am I powerful?"
"My father, the Khan, says you can uncover any wicked deed under heaven and punish all wrongdoers—just like... just like..." Ashina Wulan puckered her pink lips, racking her brains until she suddenly beamed, "Like a celestial maiden descending to earth!"
Xiao Jin Yu's forehead darkened as he silently turned to Ashina Suwu, who was forcing an awkward smile. Ashina Suwu hurriedly explained, "She's praising you, praising you..."
"..."
Chu Chu's eyes sparkled as she gazed at this heaven-sent future daughter-in-law, grinning from ear to ear. "You're the one who resembles a celestial maiden descending!"
Ashina Wulan blinked and looked at Chu Chu. "Are you the Imperial Concubine Chu Chu who can make dead bones speak?"
Xiao Jin Yu shot a stern glare at Ashina Suwu, who had already begun staring at the ceiling beams. What nonsense had this man been teaching a four-year-old girl...
Chu Chu, however, nodded cheerfully. "Not just bones—hearts, livers, stomachs, anything works!"
Ashina Wulan's large eyes instantly shone like little suns. "Even without a head?"
"Of course!"
Xiao Jin Yu immediately felt an ominous premonition. Before he could speak, Ashina Wulan leaped three feet high, shook off Ashina Suwu's hand, and rushed to Chu Chu's side, clutching her sleeve and bouncing excitedly. "I want to see! I want to see!"
Chu Chu grinned even more brightly than Ashina Wulan, bending down to pick her up. "No problem! Let's go eat some fragrant osmanthus cakes first, then I'll show you headless bones talking!"
"Imperial Concubine, you're the best!"
Xiao Jin Yu sighed with mixed emotions. Ashina Suwu's lips twitched as he strained to utter, "Well... well then, I... I can rest assured..."
Chu Chu replied crisply, "Great Khan, you needn't worry!"
"At ease, at ease..."
As Chu Chu carried Ashina Wulan out, chatting and laughing, Ashina Suwu rubbed his stiffened face and sighed with lingering fear. "Thank goodness I never told my two bald-headed boys about you two..."
Xiao Jin Yu glared coldly. "Then why tell a young girl?"
Ashina Suwu grabbed a cup from the nearby tea table, gulping three mouthfuls to steady his nerves before explaining, "When she was two, she was terrified of battles, blood, and dead bodies—timid as a mouse. That's no way to survive on the grasslands... I originally told her to build her courage, but who knew it'd grow too much..."
Xiao Jin Yu's face darkened. Using his and Chu Chu's stories to embolden his daughter—what was this man thinking...
Ashina Suwu downed the remaining tea in one go, his voice still slightly unsteady. "Prince An... please keep an eye on her. Those things like disemboweling, digging out hearts, and pulling intestines—don't let her learn them..."
Xiao Jin Yu lifted his own teacup. "Can't help with that."
"This girl has been training in martial arts for over a year," Ashina Suwu said, watching Xiao Jin Yu's stern expression. "If she ever dissects your son someday, don't come blaming me."
Xiao Jin Yu's hand trembled, nearly spilling tea all over himself.
"So..." Ashina Suwu spoke with sincere earnestness, "I entrust her to your care, Prince An."
Xiao Jin Yu sighed silently. "You're welcome..."
Ashina Suwu glanced around the spacious hall, his thick brows slightly furrowed as he lowered his voice. "Is this place safe to talk?"Xiao Jin Yu was momentarily taken aback, then said softly, "Let's go to the study."
Ashina Suwu followed Xiao Jin Yu into the One Heart Garden study. After closing the doors and windows, he plopped himself directly onto Xiao Jin Yu's desk, making Xiao Jin Yu too weary to even roll his eyes.
"What matter... speak."
"Prince An," Ashina Suwu crossed his legs and curled his lips, "I heard that two years ago, you were reported to the imperial court by officials for letting me escape from the military camp?"
Xiao Jin Yu shot him a cold glance and remained silent.
"I wonder if Prince An has investigated and determined exactly who leaked this matter?"
Xiao Jin Yu's voice was even colder and harder than his expression, "One of our own people."
Ashina Suwu raised an eyebrow, "If I recall correctly, aside from you, me, the Imperial Concubine, and Du Li in the tent at that time, there were only two Imperial Guards, right?"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded slightly.
Ashina Suwu narrowed his eyes slightly, "Your imperial court's Imperial Guards only act according to the Emperor's handwritten orders, correct?"
Xiao Jin Yu's face darkened, "What is the Great Khan trying to say?"
"Prince An, what if the person who imitated Prince of Wu Commandery's handwriting can also imitate your Emperor's handwriting?"
Xiao Jin Yu froze, his body visibly stiffening.
He had indeed traced the matter to those two Imperial Guards, and had even risked his life to secretly examine that transfer order. He discovered that following that transfer order was an additional letter written in the Emperor's own hand and sealed with the imperial jade seal, the content of which required these Imperial Guards to report his movements daily.
Upon reaching this point in his investigation, Xiao Jin Yu had stopped digging further.
The imperial court was different from public courts. There were matters he shouldn't know about, and Xiao Jin Yu would never lightly invite disaster upon himself. Especially since at that time, Chu Chu's belly was already swollen like she was carrying a large watermelon. As long as trouble didn't come knocking, Xiao Jin Yu would absolutely not go looking for it.
But if it really was as Ashina Suwu guessed... then trouble had truly come knocking on its own.
To be honest, if Ashina Suwu hadn't asked so bluntly, he probably wouldn't have thought of this possibility even in his next lifetime.
Even if he did think of it, he couldn't go confront the Emperor. Even if he were to lose his head and actually go confront the Emperor, unauthorized examination of Imperial Guard transfer orders was still a capital offense.
"Prince An," Ashina Suwu jumped down from the desk and looked at Xiao Jin Yu, whose face had turned pale. This was a man with a body more fragile than a rabbit's but a mind sharper than a wolf king's. If he gave him the beginning, this man would surely figure out the ending. "You Han people have a saying that goes well - the onlooker sees most clearly... Now my daughter's life is also in your hands. I beg Prince An to be as clear-eyed and clear-eared as a deity. Arrest those who should be arrested, kill those who should be killed. As long as my daughter can grow up safe and sound, Ashina Suwu will surely repay you with his life."
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