Wang Daxia followed the greyhound as it ran towards the main hall, shouting loudly, "There's a traitor letting the Dark Spectre in! Hurry and protect Prince Yu!"
But the rear courtyard was empty, with no one responding or rushing to relay the message.
Wang Daxia's leg was still lame, leaving uneven footprints on the icy path. His feet slipped, and he fell face-first into the snow.
Fortunately, Lu Ying caught up and helped him up. Wang Daxia anxiously said, "How can such a large princely residence have no patrolling soldiers at all?"
Lu Ying replied, "Prince Yu can't afford them. The only forty-some guards are all watching the four main gates."
The greyhound Xiao Wang ran the fastest. It had already caught the scent and reached the back door of the main hall, where the doors and windows were tightly shut. Xiao Wang began scratching at the door with its paws, howling frantically.
Inside the main hall, Prince Yu and his beautiful wife and concubines were pretending to be calm while eating their vegetarian feast. The chief eunuch Li Fang brought Wei Caiwei to the rear of the hall.
They all heard the dog barking from the back door, and could vaguely make out the dog's shape through the window lattice.
The Dark Spectre had arrived! Li Fang and two guards began to tremble with fear.
Wei Caiwei felt something was wrong: dogs used for supernatural deception were usually poisoned to mute their voices, capable of only making gurgling sounds at most, not wild barking. Earlier in the snow, when Lu Ying fired her gun, the Dark Spectre hadn't made any noise. Why was it barking so vigorously now?
Could this actually be a real dog?
While pondering this, Wei Caiwei heard a cat-like purring sound from her left. She turned and saw the green Dark Spectre staring at her with two golden eyes.
Judging by its size, this was a carefully raised large wolf dog, bigger than an actual wolf!
Li Fang and the two guards also saw it. Li Fang covered his mouth in terror, afraid that making noise would draw the Dark Spectre's attention, while the two guards slowly drew their swords.
Wei Caiwei noticed the back door bolt was fastened. Dogs can't open doors, much less close them, so there must be a traitor inside the main hall who had opened the door to let the Dark Spectre in.
Wei Caiwei didn't know martial arts and certainly couldn't defeat a trained large wolf dog. She feared she might die under its fangs.
However, Wei Caiwei had come prepared. She raised her index finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture to Li Fang and the two guards. Then, she lifted a cotton robe hanging from her arm and waved it at the Dark Spectre. "Looking for me? Come on!"
With these words, Wei Caiwei threw the cotton robe forcefully forward. The large wolf dog went mad when it smelled the robe's scent, running and leaping into the air to catch the garment!
This was the cotton robe Prince Yu had taken off when he entered the room, saturated with his scent.
During training, the dog had been taught to attack straw dummies or wooden figures carrying this scent. The dog followed the smell, regardless of whether it came from clothing or a living person.
Taking advantage of the Dark Spectre tearing at the cotton robe, Wei Caiwei quickly retreated with Li Fang and the others. As they ran, she shouted, "There's a traitor! Get away from here!"
Meanwhile, at the vegetarian feast, two attendants approached with charcoal basins and said to the matron serving Princess Yu, "The charcoal in the hot pot is almost burnt to ashes. Let's add more charcoal."
The matron, seeing the hot pot was cooking slowly due to insufficient heat, ordered the attendants to add charcoal to the pot.
Just as an attendant picked up long fire tongs to place a piece of Red Gauze Charcoal into the central furnace of the pot, everyone heard Li Fang's screaming cry of "There's a traitor! Retreat quickly!"
Hearing this, Prince Yu immediately put down his chopsticks and stood up. "Let's go!"The guards first escorted Prince Yu to safety, with Princess Yu following closely behind. The nine selected attendants also rose one after another and walked at the rear.
If they missed this chance, it would be too late! Two eunuchs exchanged a glance, added the "Red Gauze Charcoal" into the hot pot, and then quickly departed.
With a thunderous explosion, the red copper hot pot was blown apart on the spot, and a plume of black smoke billowed upward—twisting and coiling like a black dragon!
Wei Caiwei rushed over, saw the massive black dragon above the dining table, and shouted, "Cover your noses and mouths! Don't breathe! The black smoke is poisonous—get out quickly!"
The guards had already pulled Prince Yu to the doorway. Upon hearing this, they hurriedly opened the door and fled, with Princess Yu following close behind. Under the protection of palace attendants and matrons, she evacuated safely.
But the nine selected attendants trailing behind were too late. Some were cut by shrapnel from the exploded hot pot or scalded by the boiling broth inside. The excruciating pain slowed their reactions, and as the black smoke enveloped them, they failed to hold their breath in time. After inhaling the toxic fumes, they grew weak and collapsed to the floor.
Wei Caiwei, wearing a damp cloth mask, was unafraid of the black smoke. She ran over, dragging the attendants one by one to the doorway, where guards then pulled them out and moved them to a safe room.
Li Jiubao must not come to harm!
But amid the black smoke, it was impossible to distinguish faces. Wei Caiwei dragged out any human shape she saw, praying that Li Jiubao, blessed with fortune, had already been among those she rescued.
As she dragged the fifth of the nine attendants, she heard a gurgling sound behind her. Without a doubt, the Dark Spectre had been driven here by an insider and was now leaping toward the doorway to pursue Prince Yu. Wei Caiwei, who had just dragged the fifth attendant near the entrance, blocked the Dark Spectre's path.
Releasing the attendant's hand, Wei Caiwei drew a short knife hidden in her boot for self-defense and turned to confront the Dark Spectre.
The green-glowing Dark Spectre leaped up, lunging for Wei Caiwei's throat.
At that moment, two gunshots rang out almost simultaneously. The Dark Spectre whimpered, crashed to the ground with a thud, and died on the spot.
It was Lu Ying and the others, who had kicked in a window and entered to open the back door. Wang Daxia and Lu Ying had fired together, eliminating the Dark Spectre.
Exhausted, Wei Caiwei pointed at the unconscious attendants on the ground and said, "Quick, save them! Inhaling too much of the black smoke can cause madness or even death."
All seven of them wore damp cloth masks and proceeded to rescue the remaining attendants.
Wang Daxia was the last to drag out the glowing Dark Spectre. Wei Caiwei grabbed a handful of snow and vigorously rubbed it against the creature's green fur, revealing gray hair underneath. "Look, everyone—it's just a dog. Someone is exploiting the Dark Spectre legend to stir trouble in Prince Yu's residence with malicious intent."
Meanwhile, Lu Ying led a search of the main hall and found the two eunuchs who had "added ingredients" to the hot pot. Both were dead, kneeling on the ground, pierced through the chest by a sharp blade as if skewering candied hawthorns.
They still clutched silver notes tightly in their hands—men die for wealth, as birds die for food.
The main hall's door swung open and shut wildly in the howling north wind, slamming against the frame. Lu Ying chased out the back door and saw five people standing in a circle on the snow-covered ground. One of them launched a firework into the night sky; a white flare burst in the snowy night, forming a white lotus.
Lu Ying said coldly, "Your mission has failed. You're sending a signal. To whom? Confess, and I'll spare your lives."
The man sneered, "The court has killed two of our White Lotus Sect Branch Leaders. We sought to take revenge by killing the emperor's son. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side."After speaking, the five of them chanted the Incense Burning Praise from the White Lotus Sect Treasure Scroll in unison: "The dharma realm is boundless, all buddhas and deities descend to the sacred ground. Homage to the Bodhisattva of Fragrant Cloud Canopy!"
Then, with a deafening roar, the five ignited the explosives strapped to their bodies, setting themselves ablaze in a self-detonation that scattered limbs everywhere, like a red lotus blooming in the snow.
Seeing the scattered limbs, Lu Ying roughly guessed whom the white lotus firework was warning. She quickly mounted her horse and rushed toward White Deer Temple.
Just after leaving Prince Yu's residence, she heard an earth-shattering explosion from the direction of Fuchengmen Street, with flames shooting into the sky.
White Deer Temple had become a sea of fire, and the Western City Military Patrol hurried to wake the sleeping residents to fight the blaze.
When Lu Ying arrived, she overheard neighbors discussing: "The alchemy furnace in the temple's laboratory exploded, and the wind fanned the flames. Poor Taoists—none managed to escape."
She was still a step too late. It wasn't that they hadn't escaped; these death warriors had chosen to die to protect Prince Jing from implication.
Lu Ying recalled how, on Qionghua Island, Prince Jing's guards had also been fiercely loyal, charging into battle like moths to a flame, disregarding reason for their lord's sake.
Prince Jing's skill in controlling people was formidable—so many were willing to give their lives for him.
The explosion at White Deer Temple startled Lu Bing, who had just fallen asleep. Despite his physical discomfort, he hurried to the temple and, spotting his daughter watching the firefighting efforts, felt slightly relieved. But as he approached and noticed blood on Lu Ying, his anxiety surged again.
Following her father's gaze, Lu Ying said, "It's not my blood, Father. Something happened at Prince Yu's residence..."
Though Lu Ying had saved Prince Yu and achieved a great merit, she felt no joy. "...The white lotus in the sky over Prince Yu's residence, the White Lotus Sect Treasure Scroll discovered through the kidnapping of Doctor Wei, the stinking Taoists blowing up in the alchemy lab—now with all witnesses dead, the incident of the Dark Spectre at Prince Yu's residence is entirely pinned on the White Lotus Sect. So many have died, yet Prince Jing remains safely enthroned as a feudal prince in Hubei's Anlu. Father, why is the world so unjust?"
Lu Bing handed his hand warmer to his daughter. "The world has always been unjust—starting from the womb."
Exhausted, Lu Ying boarded her father's carriage. "Will Prince Jing continue to evade justice like this?"
"Our Lu family must not take sides in the struggle for succession," Lu Bing replied. "However, with White Deer Temple's fire and the Dark Spectre incident at Prince Yu's residence happening one after another, do you think Prince Yu is a fool? He won't believe the White Lotus Sect tried to kill him. The two princes will continue to fight, and many more will die."
Lu Ying asked, "With such commotion, will the Emperor truly do nothing? Anyone with eyes can see Prince Jing is suspicious. Would the Emperor sit back and let Prince Jing kill Prince Yu? They're his own flesh and blood!"
Having grown up with six loving siblings, Lu Ying couldn't comprehend the ruthlessness of the imperial family.
Always cautious, Lu Bing said, "Matters of the imperial family are not for outsiders like us to comment on. Let's wait and see how the Emperor handles this."
Forbidden City, Western Garden.
The Jiajing Emperor received Lu Bing's secret report. Lu Bing only presented factual evidence, avoiding speculation, but with White Deer Temple's fire and the Dark Spectre incident at Prince Yu's residence occurring in quick succession, how could the Emperor not suspect Prince Jing, far away in Hubei?
To extend your reach so far from a thousand miles away, my son, you truly have skill.The Jiajing Emperor immediately issued an oral decree, stating that since Prince Jing had already left for his fief in Hubei, the Prince Jing Manor would remain vacant. Given the dilapidated state of Prince Yu’s current residence, which required extensive repairs, he ordered Prince Yu and his family to temporarily relocate to the Prince Jing Manor.
Additionally, the Jiajing Emperor commanded Lu Bing to select two thousand robust soldiers from the twelve imperial guards of the capital to serve as Prince Yu’s personal guard. The expenses for this guard unit would be covered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s accounts, without costing Prince Yu a single coin.
Author’s Note:
Prince Jing: What exactly did you do to make Father Emperor provide both a residence and troops?
Prince Yu: I did nothing at all—I simply enjoyed a hotpot meal with my lovely wife and charming concubines, and the very next day, I joyfully moved into a new home.
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