Chapter 32: "I'm an Assassin"
(Scene Shift - Imperial Investigation Bureau Dungeons)

Emperor Jing dismissed Geng Jing with a wave. After the investigator left, the Emperor turned his gaze back to the Crown Prince. "Do not visit him in the dungeons these next few days."

"Even though the Fifth Prince was an impostor, Xu Yi acted without knowing it. He dared to take a 'prince' hostage and assault him. That shows contempt for law, order, and the Imperial dignity itself... He needs to learn his place."

The Crown Prince bowed. "I obey, Father."

Old General Chen could contain himself no longer. "Your Majesty! Lan Xing's fate is still unknown! I beg permission to dispatch men to search for him!"

Emperor Jing blinked. Unknown? Then who were we just discussing? Then it struck him – Chen Laojiang still didn't know Xu Yi's true identity. "General," he said gently, "the Xu Yi we speak of is Lan Xing. Lan Xing is Xu Yi. They are the same person."

The Old General's mouth opened, then closed, struggling to process this.

"Xu Yi is, in fact, the fourth son of Minister of Rites, Xu Ziming," the Emperor continued. "Though it seems the boy is... less than favored in that household."

It took the General several moments to absorb this. Still confused, he asked, "Lan... Xu Yi possesses remarkable talent, sound character, excels in both civil and martial arts... Why would he not be favored?"

Emperor Jing's expression darkened slightly. "The reasons, I suspect, are complex. Investigations are underway... I shall inform you once the truth is clear."

Old General Chen nodded, privately thinking Minister Xu must be an idiot to spurn such a son. "Your Majesty, I fail to comprehend. If Xu Yi is safely returned, why imprison him?"

The Emperor snorted. "He dared to take a prince hostage and assault him! Such disregard for Imperial authority cannot go unchallenged. If not checked now, he might soon deem even Us beneath his notice!"

"But that prince was an impostor!" the General protested.

"Xu Yi did not know that when he acted," the Emperor countered firmly. "Therefore, the truth is irrelevant. What matters is the boy's lack of reverence for the Imperial House."

The General tried another angle. "The lad is sharp. Perhaps he did realize the prince was false, hence his actions?"

"Then why flee?"

Old General Chen: "......"

Emperor Jing waved a dismissive hand. "Do not seek excuses for him, General. His disrespect for the throne must be corrected. Taking a 'prince' hostage, assaulting him, forging your order to steal a warhorse, fleeing Imperial justice... If this lesson is not impressed upon him now, he may soon forget the distinction between sovereign and subject entirely."

Old General Chen sighed. Xu Yi had gone too far. A lesson might indeed be necessary. "As Your Majesty decrees."

(Scene Shift - Imperial Investigation Bureau Dungeons)

Geng Jing made his way down to the deepest cell. He needed to understand this Xu Yi, this young man who had somehow captured the Emperor's peculiar favor.

The air in the cramped, windowless cell was thick with damp and decay. Xu Yi was confined in the innermost one. He'd gathered some straw into a pile and was... asleep in the corner.

Geng Jing stared, his cheek twitching. Does this boy possess no fear of death?

He rapped sharply on the heavy iron bars.

Xu Yi startled awake. Seeing the tall, broad-shouldered man with a square jaw and intense eyes standing outside, his first thought was: Interrogation time. The man's purple scale armor marked his high rank – likely the Bureau Chief himself.

"Here for the confession?" Xu Yi rasped, pushing himself up. "I plead guilty. Save us both the time."

Geng Jing's eyes narrowed slightly. "Lan Xing. Do you comprehend the gravity of your crime?"

"Taking the Fifth Prince hostage and beating him. Crime punishable by extermination of the clan. Got it."

"Actually," Xu Yi continued, his voice flat, "I didn't act alone. Someone put me up to it."

Geng Jing's pulse quickened. An accomplice? "Who?"

"Minister of Rites, Xu Ziming."

Geng Jing's face tightened. His recent investigations into Xu Yi, ordered by the Emperor, had revealed the young man's miserable standing within the Xu family. This was clearly an attempt to drag his father down. "What is your connection to Xu Ziming? Why would he instruct you to take the Fifth Prince hostage?"

Geng Jing asked, feigning ignorance.

Xu Yi lifted his chin defiantly. "No connection. I'm an assassin. Hired muscle. Xu Ziming paid me to kill the Fifth Prince." He gestured vaguely towards the corridor. "Your men found a hundred taels of silver on me when they grabbed me. That was his payment."

Geng Jing's expression turned incredulous. The boy was spinning pure fiction. "You're an assassin?"

Xu Yi nodded with theatrical seriousness. "Ten steps, one life taken; a thousand miles, no trace left. Done with the deed, brush off my sleeves; vanish my name, deep secrets kept. That's my creed."

Geng Jing sucked in a breath, momentarily stunned. "Impressive verse. Though rather... bloodthirsty."

Xu Yi shrugged. "I'm an assassin. No bloodthirst? What kind of assassin would I be?" He sighed dramatically. "Pity. Failed this time. Didn't manage to kill that bastard Fifth Prince. Failed Minister Xu."

Geng Jing's face hardened. "You dare insult His Highness?"

Xu Yi laughed coldly. "Insult? Insult is nothing! I meant to kill him! A bastard like that deserves death. Even if Minister Xu hadn't hired me, I'd have found a way. A prince, snatching women in broad daylight, tormenting commoners? Worse than swine! With royalty like that, the Great Jing Dynasty is doomed!"

Geng Jing flushed with anger. "Outrageous! Have you no fear of death?"

Xu Yi squared his shoulders, his voice ringing in the dank cell. "All men are mortal; let me but leave a loyalist's name in history's annals!"

"The people are the water; the Imperial house is the boat... Water can bear the boat, but it can also capsize it."

"Kill me. Kill Minister Xu. A thousand more like us will rise. Can you kill them all?"

Geng Jing was simultaneously appalled and fascinated. The boy had the audacity of a cornered tiger, spouting treasonous rhetoric without hesitation. Yet, the sheer brilliance of his words was undeniable. Each phrase was a polished gem, even in defiance.

"Lan Xing! Spouting such treason on death's very threshold!" Geng Jing managed. "Let us see if your courage holds when the executioner's blade falls!"

Xu Yi met his gaze coldly. "Watch closely. If either Minister Xu or I so much as blink when the time comes, we're not men!"

"Is that all you've got?" Xu Yi pressed. "You should hear how the Xu family curses the Emperor behind closed doors when they think no one's listening! Makes what I said sound like poetry!"

Geng Jing finally understood why the Emperor wanted this boy 'taught a lesson'. Xu Yi held no reverence for the throne, no awe for Imperial authority. He pointed a warning finger at Xu Yi – Just you wait – and turned sharply to leave. He feared what other incendiary words might follow if he stayed.

As he strode down the corridor, Xu Yi's voice boomed after him, filled with mock despair: "Minister Xu! I've failed you! My skills were lacking! I couldn't kill that bastard Fifth Prince! Now I've dragged you down with me! In our next life, I'll be your ox, your horse... I'll graze for your grass!"

Geng Jing paused, his expression twisting into something between disbelief and dark amusement. The boy's determination to implicate Xu Ziming was… creative. Utterly ruthless. But the sheer depth of hatred a son held for his father… What monstrous treatment could breed such venom? The question lingered as he walked away from the echoing cell.