Every Celestial and every registered Infernal on the surface had a tracker implanted in their bodies, but access to that information was tightly restricted. It took increasingly larger bribes to get the location data on the little bell, but due to the need for extreme security to conceal the leak and Fung's own intermittent contact, all that expense only served to keep him two or three steps behind in the chase.

At the exorbitant cost of ten thousand dan, Lord Huangjin bribed the supervisor of the telemetry division for the little bell's location and biometric data. He expected to see her en route back to Bantian or dead. For as much as he was paying, he demanded the results soon.

The court advisors had been summoned to a special session at the Hall of Longevous Tranquility. It was most irregular, but when the call came, there was naught to do but answer. As the courtiers were filing into the hall, it was not unusual for clerks to deliver last-minute dispatches and the like, so there was nothing suspicious about one of the Count's agents delivering an innocuous slip of paper as he went by.

When the courtiers had taken their places, there were nine peals of the gong to herald the entry of the Nine Ministers. For them you bowed 60 degrees and remained bowing as they took their places in the balcony overlooking the hall. The Minister of Ceremonies was announced by a junior minister and after that, it was the Minister of Ceremonies himself who announced the arrival of his fellow ministers.

And so on and so forth down to the Minister Steward. The gong sounded for them to rise once the Nine Ministers had taken their places, only to sound thrice more for the Three Excellencies. For them you bowed 90 degrees or as near to it as you were able.

The Lord High Chancellor stood before the throne with the Imperial Counselor and the Grand Commandant on the right and the left. Even the Grand Tutor, the unofficial 'fourth' Excellency was called into attendance and stood behind the throne. He was rarely seen except at the most important ceremonies. This was indeed a most unusual session.

The gong called them to rise again and after a brief silence, there was the deep, ominous ringing of the Rising Heaven Gong, used only to announce the arrival of the Emperor. This was the call to prostrate yourself on hands and knees before the divine presence of the Son of Heaven.

When the Emperor was seated upon the Phoenix Throne, he sounded a little gong to his right, its harsh, shrill ringing the cue for all to rise. As usual, it was the Lord High Chancellor who acted as the mouth of the Emperor.

Lord Huangjin sighed, though not audibly, of course. All this had been said before and only became more tiresome each time it was repeated. It was a miscalculation to have killed Lady Suzuki along with the rest of them. Lord Huangjin thought her relation to the Emperor was distant enough to be of little concern, but for the sake of the sanctity of the Imperial bloodline—whenever it was convenient, of course—, much was made of the death of any who shared blood with the Emperor.

As the Lord High Chancellor droned on, Lord Huangjin took the note he was given and checked it with his Little Companion. Now, the Little Companion was a wrist-mounted communications device that not only was used for voice and video calls but could also connect to the main network. You were of course expected to deactivate your Little Companion before you entered the Forbidden Precinct, but security tended to be lax. You were not required to check your Little Companion at the entrance, nor did they regularly perform signal sweeps.

It was the custom of the courtiers to fold their hands within the voluminous sleeves of their robes and by keeping his head bowed, Lord Huangjin appeared admirably humble in excess. While he was inputting the numerical code from the note, the Lord High Chancellor did something unexpected.

It was not the Emperor's habit to speak in public. He would make the occasional comment during the monthly councils, but never a speech to the assembly.

"I do not seek to end war. That is why the nations of the barbarians still stand. They exist for testing us and all that we have built. This is good. This is the will of Heaven.

"I do not seek to end strife among you. I permit your plots and your intrigues. They exist for testing you. This is good. This is the will of Heaven."

He paused.

Before, the Emperor expressed nothing more than pro forma expressions of displeasure over the assassination of Lord Kunihiko, but if it had been decided to regard the attack as treason against the Emperor, Lord Huangjin found himself in a dangerous position. Though his feud with Lord Kunihiko was well known, he was not the only rival of House Suzuki. There should not have been any usable evidence of his involvement and he had co-conspirators enough with as much to lose who would do everything in their power to bury the investigation. He would have to be on his guard more than ever for years to come, but he would be safe. There was nothing to fear.

He paused again.

Lord Huangjin's Little Companion beeped. He hastily silenced it, though not quickly enough to avoid drawing a glance or two. He had the little bell's location.

The location appeared on the map. Impossible. She was in Tiandao.

No. He forgot to account for the elevation. Over 35,000 kilometers. The Capital.

Lord Huangjin's heart sank to the pit of his stomach.

In she walked dressed in white funerary robes with her skin painted white like a ghost. She approached the throne among the Three Excellencies and did obeisance to the Emperor. The Emperor went so far as to get up from the throne and extend his hand to her. Such a thing was not done.

The girl let the Emperor take her hand into his own and stood up. Except on the day of their marriage, the Emperor was not seen standing hand-in-hand even with the Empress.

And like a vengeful spirit, the girl stretched out her hand and pointed to Lord Huangjin. It was as if the other courtiers knew, for they withdrew from all around him, leaving him alone and exposed. He tried to recede into the crowd, but the others kept their distance, not allowing him nearer than three meters from them. He looked to the exit, where the Imperial Guards stood at the ready. Even if he could run, he could not get far.

The Lord High Chancellor declared, "Feng Huangjin, you are hereby placed under arrest on suspicion of high treason, lèse majesté, conspiracy, murder, bribery, and other crimes. Guards, take him away!"

If he truly realized his peril when he undertook his plot against House Suzuki, he would have taken the precaution of carrying a suicide pill on his person for such an occasion as this. It would have been a better choice than the horrors that awaited him. Because there was no hope of escape, he would at least hold on to his dignity, all he had left. Tempting as it might have been to throw some final curse on the Suzuki girl or utter blasphemies that would ring in the ears of the court for years to come, the best thing he could do was quietly exit the hall with all the proper bearing of a man of his rank and breeding.

Only as the guards drew close, his resolve wavered and his courage melted within him. Fear took hold of him, terror unlike anything he had ever known, and his dignity suddenly mattered very little to him.

Lord Huangjin never knew what hit him. The stun batons carried by the Imperial Guards would disrupt nerve signals to produce immediate unconsciousness no matter how big or strong you might be, not that he was either. And in that single stroke, the ambitions of House Feng were brought crashing down.