Unveil: Jadewind

He felt something was amiss. He had been feeling that something was off all along.

From the beginning of the Funeral Ceremony, Li Yuangui had been following his brothers in paying respects while his mind remained unsettled. The scheme he was involved in had been executed far too easily—so easily that even Sang Sai himself should have noticed something was wrong.

Kang Su-mi was responsible for teaching Sang Sai to disguise himself as a eunuch, training his gestures, movements, and speech, and providing the necessary clothing and tools. Li Yuangui went to the Office of the Protectorate General to assist in rehearsing a few times. Then, early this morning, he had Sang Sai blend into the retinue of his Prince Wu's household to enter the front courtyard of the Supreme Polarity Hall, where he handed him over to the officials of the Palace Service Department.

The Palace Service Department, presumably arranged by Crown Prince Li Chengqian, didn’t ask a single extra question. They simply motioned for Sang Sai to join the ranks, preparing to serve the ceremonial wine. Just like that, the Tuyuhun youth—whose features clearly bore foreign traits and who barely spoke any Chinese—was given the chance to personally poison the Emperor of Great Tang and avenge his homeland.

If matters in the human world could be this easy, the Heavenly Khan would have died hundreds of times over, and Great Tang would have fallen countless times.

That day by the polo field, after listening to Li Chengqian’s plan, he had stared in shock for a long moment before actually laughing out loud:

“Is Your Highness joking? Or testing whether Yuangui has lost his mind?”

Even if, by some stretch, the Crown Prince truly harbored such deep hatred for his father due to marital discord that he intended to commit regicide and usurp the throne, he wouldn’t entrust such a task to an unreliable foreign remnant. The Sart merchant, the imperial younger brother, and others involved had no deep ties to the Eastern Palace, and each had some capability and status of their own. If this heinous act succeeded, Li Chengqian would find it troublesome to silence them afterward. To come up with such a plan—was he out of his mind?

“Do I have the leisure to jest with you?” Li Chengqian’s lips curled slightly, clearly swallowing the words “you’re not worth it.” “In or out? Give me a straight answer.”

“This subject does not understand Your Highness’s intentions, nor dares to involve himself in treason.” The experience of killing an emperor and rebelling—once in a lifetime was more than enough, Li Yuangui thought with a bitter smile. “Your Highness must forgive me. As a subject, upon hearing such shocking words, I dare not conceal them from His Majesty. At tomorrow’s audience, I shall report this to the sovereign.”

Li Chengqian turned his head, scanning his dozen or so guards. Most of them were fierce Turkic warriors, now galloping across the field in a polo match. Li Yuangui had heard that the Crown Prince favored using Turkic bodyguards—no doubt these men recognized only the Eastern Palace as their master, with no regard for imperial uncles, younger brothers, or even the Emperor himself.

Facing over a dozen men alone, his odds weren’t great, Li Yuangui assessed coolly. If Li Chengqian was serious about recruiting him for regicide, then after his refusal and threat to report it, the Crown Prince should have ordered his men to attack him immediately. He might have to strike first, subduing the Crown Prince to protect himself—but Li Chengqian was no frail scholar either. If he failed in one move, the consequences would be dire...

Before he could finish weighing his options, Li Chengqian turned back to him and also laughed:

“Fourteenth Uncle, do you think I’m a fool?”

“No,” Li Yuangui answered without hesitation. His elder brother’s eldest son had been known for his cleverness since childhood. Though he might have grown arrogant and tyrannical with age, he was far from stupid."Then let me repeat it once more. You go to Kang Su-mi's house, help him train that acquaintance, and follow the old merchant's arrangements. On the day of the Funeral Ceremony, you bring the person into the upper gate of the Supreme Polarity Hall and hand them over to the Vice Director of the Palace Service Department. After that, it's no longer your concern." Li Chengqian weighed each word carefully. "If you refuse and wish to report my treason to the Emperor, that's up to you—do as you please. I'll simply find someone else to assist me."

Li Yuangui studied his nephew for another moment before asking, "How does Your Highness know Kang Su-mi?"

"Through Third Uncle-in-law," Li Chengqian replied. "I've never met the old merchant in person. Only Third Uncle-in-law vouched for him—in the Imperial Study."

This implied that the entire plan to have Sang Sai serve poisoned wine to the Son of Heaven was actually devised by Kang Su-mi, presented to the Emperor through Third Son-in-law and Duke of Qiao, Chai Shao, and then entrusted to Li Chengqian to oversee.

No wonder Kang Su-mi stopped me from reporting the capture of the Tuyuhun prince to the court, Li Yuangui thought bitterly. That old merchant had been scheming all along—how to sell Sang Sai at the highest price, recoup his investment, and maximize profit... A surviving Tuyuhun royal orphan caught attempting to assassinate the Heavenly Khan in public would surely paint their people as vicious and deserving of annihilation, justifying the Tang's conquest as divine justice?

When Li Chengqian pressed him again, Li Yuangui had no more time to deliberate. He agreed and committed to the plan. Time was tight—training the utterly clueless Sang Sai to avoid major mistakes required relentless day-and-night effort. Fortunately, Sang Sai also knew this was his last chance. Resigned to death, he shed his former arrogance and practiced earnestly, managing to pass as somewhat presentable before entering the palace.

This morning, after smuggling Sang Sai into the palace and handing him over to the Palace Service Department, the two parted ways. Unable to see Sang Sai anymore, Li Yuangui grew increasingly uneasy. The more he pondered, the more he suspected hidden layers to this scheme. Mainly... what real benefit was there in having the son of Tuyuhun's former chancellor publicly caught attempting to assassinate the Heavenly Khan?

Upon closer reflection, it didn’t seem to offer any significant advantage in swaying foreign opinion. Sang Sai was a lone youth avenging his fallen kingdom. His assassination attempt would only highlight his courage, likely garnering more sympathy than condemnation.

The more he thought, the more something felt off. Li Yuangui’s unease deepened. He realized Li Chengqian had never explicitly confirmed "the Emperor knew and approved this plan"—not a single word. The entire connection was his own inference.

On the polo grounds of the Purple Void Monastery, Li Chengqian’s resentful outburst about his younger brother Li Tai’s Literary Academy—claiming he’d "been born indebted to everyone"—hadn’t seemed feigned. No, Li Yuangui was certain those were his true feelings, just as he was certain of Li Chengqian’s genuine love for Chai Yingluo... He hadn’t known about their affair before, but when Wei Shufen mentioned it, everything clicked. The scattered clues he’d overlooked now fit perfectly.

So... what if Li Chengqian truly intended patricide by proxy? Precisely because no one would suspect it, his subtle double-edged scheme would work flawlessly...

Throughout the Funeral Ceremony, he remained tangled in these chaotic thoughts. Even when the Tuyuhun envoy Mi Nu went to pay respects to the Dehua Princess, it was only after his brothers dragged him over to watch that he realized something was happening.He had been desperately searching for the grandson of the Tuyuhun Khan, Murong Nuohebo, whom he had already presumed dead—only to discover that he was none other than Yang Xinzhi, who had been inseparable from him all this time?

Before he could even recover from this thunderous shock, the wine offering began. He watched as Sang Sai, dressed in the Caged Crown and Wide-Sleeved Robe, stepped forward to pour wine for the Son of Heaven.

During their practice at Kang Su-mi’s residence, he had reminded them that before the Emperor touched any food or drink, someone would always taste it first to ensure nothing was amiss. At the time, Kang Su-mi had frowned in thought before suddenly recalling something and declaring, "Old Kang has a way," then barking orders to his servants in a foreign tongue. As for what that method was, Li Yuangui didn’t know—he had returned to the Great Peace Palace before the night curfew the previous evening, as he himself needed to prepare his ceremonial attire for the morning’s grand ceremony.

Now, he could only watch as Sang Sai held the Golden Pot, pouring wine into the cup. The sight stirred something in his heart, a vague suspicion, but there was no time to dwell on it. From his vantage point, it seemed his elder brother, the Emperor, was completely unaware of any danger as he accepted the Wine Cup from the hands of the Tuyuhun avenger and raised it to his lips...

No.