After entering the city, Qiu Hong didn't even have time to take a bath or drink some water. He directly returned to the Yin Yang Office and recorded the details of the imperial tomb corpse control case in the dossier.
Murong Yuan had previously intended to let the Yin Yang Office take care of itself, after all, he had many other matters to handle.
Moreover, he didn't understand catching ghosts and exorcising evil spirits, so even if he wanted to manage it, he wouldn't know where to start.
But since the last time he was ridiculed by Emperor Hongtai for his incompetence in supernatural matters, he felt that he should at least make a show of managing it when he had time.
Hearing that the Yin Yang Office had cracked another case, Murong Yuan immediately had someone fetch the dossier.
However, upon seeing the description in the dossier, Murong Yuan was completely dumbfounded.
Why did the black-robed figure described bear such a resemblance to his master?
And the location was the imperial tomb again.
His master had previously said that within ten days, he would definitely come to coerce Emperor Hongtai into opening the late emperor's tomb through some form of provocation.
After that, his master had left the palace and had not returned till now.
Could it be that the necromancer controlling the corpses in the case was actually his master?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and Murong Yuan's face turned pale. He hurriedly summoned an eunuch to send for the Yin Yang Office's recording officer Qiu Hong to enter the palace.
Qiu Hong did not know why the Crown Prince had suddenly summoned him, so he could only follow the eunuch to the Palace of the Crown Prince.
Upon arrival, Qiu Hong knelt and paid respects to the Crown Prince.
Murong Yuan did not even ask him to rise, immediately asking, "Was the case you handled last night near the imperial tombs?"
"Yes."
"I saw in the dossier that the one controlling the corpses was described as a black-robed figure?"
"Yes."
"Where is this person now?"
"Dead." Qiu Hong hesitated for a moment. "He tried to attack the Director, and the Director killed him in self-defense."
Murong Yuan's heart sank. "Where is the body?"
"With the coroner."
The Crown Prince had been solely focused on questioning about the black-robed figure, showing no interest in understanding the case details. Qiu Hong found it strange. "Is Your Highness the Crown Prince looking for that black-robed person?"
Murong Yuan realized his emotions had been a bit excessive and forced a smile. "I was just curious about what kind of person could control so many corpses at once. It's rather terrifying."
"The Director said this person was a necromancer."
Murong Yuan clenched his fists.
His master had used necromancy years ago to obtain the Dragon Aura for him.
Could it be that the Yin Yang Office he had personally established had harmed his master?
"Take me to see that corpse."
Murong Yuan had to immediately confirm whether that black-robed figure was his master or not. If it was, then he would have to quickly find a way out for himself.
Because without his master, he alone could not contend against the girl by Xie Xun's side.
Once the Dragon Aura returned, he would be destroyed by its backlash.
For the sake of finding the treasured artifact that could inherit the late emperor's divine abilities, his master had already sacrificed so much for him.
He had come this far, there was no turning back!
Thinking of this, Murong Yuan's expression grew more resolute.
Qiu Hong took Murong Yuan to see the corpse.
Murong Yuan remained tense throughout.
The black robe on the deceased closely resembled what his master often wore, and the mask on the face had been removed.
The face under the mask looked very old, and after being dead for a night, it appeared rather unsightly.
Murong Yuan took a few steps back, his stomach churning, feeling a bit nauseous.
Seeing this, the coroner hurriedly covered the body with a white cloth.
Murong Yuan left the yamen and immediately decided to go to the Jianzhang Palace to have an audience with the Emperor.
He had previously thought that even if Jiang Xiaoxiao was Xie Xun's person, since Xie Xun was just a waste, as long as his master was around, they couldn't cause any real trouble.
But he never expected that one day, the Yin Yang Office's investigation would lead them to his master.
Murong Yuan could not confirm whether the black-robed corpse in the yamen was truly his master or not.
But this incident rang an alarm bell for him.
The mission of the Yin Yang Office was to catch ghosts and exorcise evil spirits, walking the righteous path, while his master walked the path of heresy.
As long as he and his master did not give up their quest for the treasured artifact, the Yin Yang Office would eventually come into conflict with them.
Emperor Hongtai was not in the Jianzhang Palace, but was fishing from the Eight-Cornered Pavilion in the imperial garden.
It was too cold, so Du En had someone break a hole in the frozen lake surface.
Emperor Hongtai had been sitting there for half a day without catching a single fish.
Murong Yuan arrived just as the first fish took the bait.
"Your humble son pays respects to Your Majesty."
At the sound of Murong Yuan's voice, the fish immediately got spooked and broke free of the hook.
Emperor Hongtai was somewhat displeased and turned to look at him. "Did you have to disturb Our royal pastime at this very moment?"
Murong Yuan hurriedly knelt. "Father Emperor, forgive me. I did not intend to."
Emperor Hongtai put down his fishing rod, sat up straight, and personally used tongs to stoke the charcoal in the small brazier. "What matter has you in such a rush?"
Murong Yuan said, "The Yin Yang Office handled another case last night."
Emperor Hongtai raised his brows. "That's good."
"But the culprit was killed, by Director Jiang herself." Murong Yuan frowned. "I just saw the dossier, and apart from the case details, there's no record of the culprit's motive, which goes against proper procedure."
Emperor Hongtai made an "oh" sound. "Then what do you propose?"
"I think Jiang Xiaoxiao is unfit to serve as Director." Murong Yuan spoke sternly. "Her temperament is dull, her actions are rash, and she completely disregards the regulations. She executed the culprit without any interrogation. If this continues, the Yin Yang Office will surely fall into disarray."
"So you have a suitable candidate for Director in mind?"
"The National Master's disciples are quite capable, with strong abilities and proper conduct." Murong Yuan said, "Why not select one of them instead?"
Emperor Hongtai's expression remained inscrutable. "If I'm not mistaken, you personally gave Bai Cheng full authority over establishing the Yin Yang Office back then.
And this Director Jiang was a distinguished expert Bai Cheng personally invited to the capital. If you say Director Jiang is unfit, then it seems Bai Cheng's judgement is lacking. How could his disciples then be qualified for the Director position?"
Murong Yuan was stumped.
After a long while, he argued, "But regardless, as the Director, Jiang Xiaoxiao killing the culprit herself is a crime!"
Emperor Hongtai had Du En fetch the dossier for this case, glanced through it briefly, then closed it slowly, his gaze falling on Murong Yuan.
"Last time, the Crown Prince said there had been frequent disturbances at the imperial tombs recently and suspected an internal issue with the mechanisms.
Now the Yin Yang Office has uncovered someone using necromancy to control corpses near the imperial tombs and executed the culprit on the spot, revealing the truth.
The Yin Yang Office has spared the Crown Prince the trouble of opening the tombs to repair the mechanisms, allowing you to focus fully on preparing for your grand wedding at the end of the year. Shouldn't the Crown Prince be delighted? Why the gloomy expression instead?"
Murong Yuan was once again rendered speechless.
Indeed, compared to his father the Emperor, he was still too naive.
After the Emperor spoke those two statements, it was absolutely watertight, leaving Murong Yuan completely at a loss as to how to refute him.
He had hit a brick wall, so Murong Yuan slunk away from the Imperial Garden, his heart brimming with fury that had nowhere to vent.
On his way back to the Palace of the Crown Prince, he was suddenly hailed by a female official from the Clothing Bureau.
Murong Yuan turned around, "What is it?"
The female official said, "Crown Prince, the wedding ceremonial robe has been completed. You need to try it on personally. If the measurements are not right, the Clothing Bureau can make adjustments accordingly."
The four words "wedding ceremonial robe" reminded Murong Yuan of Ye Chan.
That woman, deemed to have the destiny of a phoenix from birth, was now his betrothed.
A brilliant idea suddenly flashed across his mind.
That's right, how did he not think of this? Since Ye Chan was born with the destiny of a phoenix, and he was the Crown Prince, then as long as Ye Chan was by his side, she would definitely fortify him. Why worry about having his Dragon Aura snatched away?
With this thought, Murong Yuan's previous displeasure vanished. He arched his brows and said, "I have something to attend to today. I'll go and try on the robe another day."
Back at the Palace of the Crown Prince, Murong Yuan immediately summoned his attendants, "Send an invitation to King Ning's Mansion, saying that I invite Princess Qinshui to appreciate the plum blossoms together."
