Chapter Twenty-Four: The Scapegoat Strikes Back

Li Xubai pushed the door open and stepped inside.

As he moved, the professional habits he had cultivated in his previous life emerged involuntarily. He began by carefully examining the floor, inch by inch, slowly moving his gaze to the table, the bed, and finally, to the man hanging high from the rafters.

The footprints on the floor were chaotic, making it impossible to distinguish one from another. It was clear that many people had entered the room before fleeing in a hurry. A wooden armchair lay overturned on the floor, with a pair of footprints visible on the seat. Li Xubai righted the chair and measured the distance between the seat and the feet of the man hanging above. It was exactly one hand’s breadth; someone standing on tiptoe could just reach the seat.

He let out a soft, weary sigh.

He took the man’s legs in his arms, lowered him, and laid him flat on the ground. He glanced at the man’s face. It was indeed Yang Changsheng, and, predictably, he did not look pleasant in death. The man who had been alive only a short while ago had now crossed the Bridge of Helplessness. Feeling a pang of melancholy, Li Xubai found a piece of clothing to cover Yang Changsheng’s grim expression. He carefully inspected the bruised ligature marks on the neck; they were consistent with death by hanging.

The man had indeed taken his own life, yet Li Xubai could not shake the feeling that something was amiss, though he could not pinpoint what it was. He cast a silent look around the room before retreating, feeling somewhat dejected. Although Yang Changsheng had tried to frame him, he had now lost his life because of it, and without even achieving his goal. All things considered, the price of this scheme was too high; it simply wasn't worth it.

"Well? Is it Yang Changsheng?" Zhao Yizhen asked urgently as Li Xubai emerged.

Li Xubai nodded. "It is him, and it is indeed a suicide by hanging." He hesitated. "The hanging is certain, but I cannot be entirely sure if it was truly self-inflicted."

Yu Zhong was puzzled. "What does the young master mean? Isn't everyone who hangs themselves committing suicide? How could it be otherwise?"

Li Xubai chose his words carefully. "He shows no signs of struggle or coercion, yet I feel something is not right."

Zhao Yizhen understood the implication. "You mean he doesn't seem like the type to take his own life?"

"Exactly," Li Xubai said, finally realizing what felt wrong. He nodded repeatedly. "Generally speaking, those who commit suicide are either driven to total despair or backed into a corner with no other choice. Yang Changsheng’s family background is likely decent; he shouldn't have been at a dead end. As for being in despair, he came to Wanfo Temple on duty, even bringing along top-grade Huangshan Maofeng tea. He doesn't look like a man who has lost all hope."

Zhao Yizhen nodded. "That makes sense."

Yu Zhong disagreed. "That’s not necessarily true. In the common parlance, there is such a thing as a 'final meal before execution.' Who’s to say he didn't bring along some 'final tea'?"

"..." Li Xubai was speechless. Put that way, the tea did carry the connotation of a final drink. If he had consumed that tea, he would have become the arsonist who tried to kill the Empress Dowager, and Yang Changsheng would have been the mastermind. Both of them would have had to die; neither would have escaped.

No, that wasn't right either.

"The reason Yang Changsheng knocked me unconscious and sent me to the abandoned Buddhist hall was to frame me as the arsonist. Since he had already prepared a scapegoat, he had no reason to drink 'final tea' and take his own life," Li Xubai reasoned. "Your Majesty, when you saved the Empress Dowager and me, was Yang Changsheng nearby?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yizhen turned to look at Yu Zhong.

Yu Zhong hurried to reply, "No. At the time, only palace servants were fighting the fire; there were no guards. Furthermore, I deliberately sealed the news. The guards still don't know what happened. This Yang..." He suddenly looked startled. "The young master is right. Even if he didn't know the Empress Dowager and the young master were safe, there was always a fifty percent chance of success. He didn't need to be in such a rush to seek death!"

Zhao Yizhen’s expression darkened. He narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Trying to cover things up only makes them more obvious. Go and investigate. Find out who else approached the ancestral hall before and after the fire, and who was close to Yang Changsheng!"

Li Xubai added, "Also, check who went to this place with him." He handed over a scented piece of stationery. On it were four elegant, suggestive characters: *Fanhua Xiaozhu* (The Pavilion of Mundane Flowers). The name alone suggested a place of ill repute.

Zhao Yizhen glanced at it and ordered Yu Zhong, "Go."

Yu Zhong accepted the command and departed swiftly. Now that the only suspect was dead, Li Xubai felt his hopes of clearing his name and returning home fading. He slumped, feeling utterly defeated.

Zhao Yizhen rarely encountered a peer who lacked the usual subservience toward imperial power and had no ulterior motives regarding his position as Emperor. They were able to talk easily, and more importantly, this peer was both courageous and resourceful. His favor toward Li Xubai grew exponentially.

"What's wrong? Worried about your younger siblings at home?" Zhao Yizhen asked with a smile.

Li Xubai sighed deeply. "Indeed. My youngest brother just turned a month old, another brother has a crippled leg, and I have only one younger sister who can barely look after herself. I truly cannot rest easy."

The late Emperor had few heirs. Zhao Yizhen was his only surviving adult son, and his half-sister was much younger, so they were never close. He could not quite empathize with this depth of sibling affection.

"And your parents?" Zhao Yizhen asked.

"They are both gone." Li Xubai had no fondness for the parents who had left him with a mountain of debt, so he gave a vague answer and changed the subject. "Your Majesty, with Yang Changsheng dead, can this case ever be solved?"

Zhao Yizhen was silent for a moment. "Er-lang, you must understand that the truth of some matters is not important."

Li Xubai blinked. "So, the result is more important than the process?"

Zhao Yizhen turned to look steadily at Li Xubai. "You are truly perceptive. Then tell me, what outcome did the arsonist originally want? And for the Empress Dowager and me, what outcome would be the best?"

Li Xubai did not need to think long. "The fire started from the outside. While it looked terrifying inside the hall, it was mostly smoke. For the perpetrator, the best outcome would naturally have been for the Empress Dowager and me to perish, with me branded as the culprit. For Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager, the best outcome is for there to be no rift, for mother and son to remain in harmony."

Zhao Yizhen shook his head. "Half right, half wrong." Seeing Li Xubai’s puzzled expression, he explained with rare patience, "The arsonist started the fire outside and did not intend to truly burn down the hall; they did not want the Empress Dowager’s life. They only wanted to destroy the trust between the Empress Dowager and me, so that our bond would no longer be unbreakable. As for you..." He laughed and shook his head. "You were merely the scapegoat they chose. It was only by chance that you saved the Empress Dowager, allowing you to shake off the suspicion."

Li Xubai could not help but laugh at himself. His luck was truly explosive! Dying and traveling through time, meeting the Emperor, saving the Empress Dowager—any one of these things would be world-shattering for anyone else. Yet he had managed to collect them all. If he collected seven world-shattering events, would he be able to summon a dragon?