At this moment, Shen Qi had already entered the palace. Seeing that token, no one dared to delay—it was the Crown Prince's golden command, equivalent to his personal presence. To date, the Crown Prince had only given it to the Grand Tutor alone.
With unimpeded passage through the palace, Shen Qi immediately knelt upon seeing the Crown Prince. "The Grand Tutor is being pursued by assassins and ordered this official to report to Your Highness that Ling Wang's wife is acting suspiciously. She requests you immediately dispatch troops to surround Ling Wang's residence and arrest everyone. The Grand Tutor said if her judgment proves wrong in the end, she will accept any punishment."
The Crown Prince could no longer remain seated. "How is the Grand Tutor?"
"When this official left, the Grand Tutor was surrounded and attacked by dozens of people, with only two guards protecting her." Recalling the final scene he witnessed, Shen Qi's heart trembled. He bowed his head deeply. "I beg Your Highness to send rescue immediately."
The Crown Prince slammed the table violently. "Such audacity right under the Son of Heaven's nose! Even if we arrest the wrong person, I'll take responsibility. Order the Seven Constellation Bureau to rush to her aid immediately and ensure the Grand Tutor returns unharmed."
"Yes."
The Crown Prince quickly wrote a line and stamped it with his personal seal. "Take this to Fu Gang. Order him to immediately arrest everyone in Ling Wang's residence without letting a single person escape, including Ling Wang himself."
"Yes."
The Crown Prince's sharpness could no longer be concealed in his expression. "Lai Fu, personally report this matter to Grandmother. Do not conceal anything."
Lai Fu bowed and withdrew. The Crown Prince had truly been taught well by the Grand Tutor. Weren't all those estrangements, misunderstandings, and distances caused by neither side speaking up? If every matter were openly discussed, such situations wouldn't occur. The Crown Prince acting so transparently could only please the Empress Dowager. In the imperial family, personal feelings always came after greater righteousness. With the larger situation at stake, no exceptions could be made—the Empress Dowager understood this principle better than anyone.
The Crown Prince emerged from behind the imperial desk, staring intently at Shen Qi. "Did the Grand Tutor say anything else?"
Shen Qi prostrated on the ground, not daring to hide anything. "The Grand Tutor ordered this official to find a way to notify the Grand Tutor to enter the palace. She was worried you might become unstable. The location was near one of this official's family shops, so I sent a steward to deliver the message."
The Crown Prince clenched his fist inside his sleeve. Even when her life was threatened, she still cared about whether he could remain steady. There would never be anyone who treated him better than the Grand Tutor.
Meanwhile, Hua Zhi was in extreme danger.
With the enemy's overwhelming numbers, no matter how skilled the three of them were, they couldn't hold out indefinitely. Jia Yang and Hua Zhi were already being surrounded, while four or five opponents were blocking Yu Mu on the rooftop. Everyone was covered in bloodstains—whether from enemies or themselves was unclear.
After dealing with the enemy archers, Yu Mu had been moving across rooftops, seizing opportunities to shoot arrows. But arrows were limited, and now he only had two left.
Jia Yang's whip movements were gradually weakening, Hua Zhi's strength was nearly depleted—all three were approaching their limits.
"Call Yu Mu down."
Jia Yang whistled, and Yu Mu immediately descended from the rooftop to rejoin them, reforming their triangular defensive formation.
"Jia Yang, try using your whip to wrap around Yu Mu and swing him out. Yu Mu, wield your sword to kill enemies. Jia Yang, you must retract quickly, or Yu Mu will get injured. Is this possible?"
Jia Yang pondered briefly. "We can try."
"I'll handle the close-range enemies. Prepare. Execute."The three of them moved simultaneously, shifting from defense to offense as they struck at their enemies. Yu Mu shot forward like a cannonball. In their first coordinated attempt, the timing was off—Jia Yang retracted his whip too quickly, and before Yu Mu’s sword could fully penetrate, he was pulled back. Seizing the moment when the enemy was distracted, Hua Zhi succeeded in driving her dagger deep into the chest of the nearest foe. As she withdrew, her hand trembled—not from fear, but from exhaustion.
Yet she had no way out.
"Again."
Their second attempt went more smoothly. Yu Mu claimed a life, and Hua Zhi succeeded once more.
But as their opponents grew wary, Yu Mu still had several directions to maneuver, while Hua Zhi found it harder to strike. She only managed to take down another enemy after enduring a slash herself.
"Young Mistress!" Jia Yang, disregarding propriety, immediately pulled her within the protective range of his whip. "Stay here and deal with those who charge forward."
Even so, the three of them couldn’t hold out for long. The defensive formation broke when Yu Mu was struck squarely in the chest.
Seeing Yu Mu, pale-faced and drenched in blood, while the enemies tightened their encirclement, Hua Zhi suddenly laughed. "We survived last time. I wonder if we’ll be as lucky this time."
"You will be fine." Jia Yang exchanged a glance with Yu Mu, who steadied his sword hand in understanding. Jia Yang tightened his grip on his whip and abruptly lashed out, forcing the enemies back. Unexpectedly, he then coiled his whip around Hua Zhi and, with a deft motion, sent her flying onto the rooftop. "Go, now!"
As the enemies tried to pursue, Yu Mu threw himself into blocking them, while Jia Yang’s whip snapped back, halting the chase.
Hua Zhi didn’t want to leave. She knew that if she fled, neither of the other two would survive. But she had no choice.
They had paid with their lives to send her away—she couldn’t throw that sacrifice away by rushing back to her death. Gritting her teeth, she slid along the rooftop, gripping the eaves at the lowest point before letting go and rolling to dissipate the impact. By some mercy, her legs weren’t broken. She sprinted toward the alley’s exit.
Her chest burned as if on fire, her breath rasping like a broken bellows. The agony made her want to charge back and launch a suicidal attack—but no, that wouldn’t be enough. Not nearly enough.
She would drive them all back to their ancestors’ lands, ensuring they never crossed the border again, never threatened those around her. For every life lost among her people, she would exact a hundredfold—a thousandfold—in return.
Something wet traced the corner of her eye, scattering to the wind. She would not betray the sacrifice of those two. She would survive.
The clamor of pursuit seemed right at her heels, and ahead lay a dead end.
But a dead end wouldn’t stop her. Hua Zhi clenched her jaw, ready to scale the wall beside her. She didn’t care whether she had the strength left—she only knew she couldn’t die here.
She had endured too much, overcome too many hardships. This second life of hers would not end so meaninglessly.
Just then, a door nearby creaked ajar. A scholar in a long gown, trembling with fear, frantically waved her inside.
Hua Zhi glanced at him, then back the way she had come. She was wounded, her blood staining the ground. If she entered…With a gesture, she walked to the end of the alley, wiped her wound, then pressed the bloodstains bit by bit onto the wall to create the illusion of someone having climbed over it. Afterward, she removed her bloodied shoes and, enduring the pain, wiped away all traces of bleeding to ensure no evidence remained before finally entering the house.
Before closing the door, she glanced back once more to confirm she had left no traces, then relaxed with relief and slumped to the ground, struggling to put her shoes back on.
Inside, two middle-aged adults and two children were present, all watching her with visible fear. She could easily imagine that before the young scholar decided to open the door, they must have objected.
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