The night seemed to be torn asunder.
The clamor ebbed and flowed.
Then the night seemed to solidify, like an omnipresent barrier isolating the chaos and noise.
The Third Prince lifted his hood, asking the messenger in disbelief, "What did you say?"
The messenger was the most cold-blooded assassin the Third Prince had nurtured for years, but at this moment, his face was pale, as if he had been frightened.
"His Highness the Crown Prince," he said again, his voice trembling, "is dead."
The Crown Prince's death was something the Third Prince had fantasized about countless times, and at this very moment, he was charging through the night precisely to send the Crown Prince to his death.
But—
"Who did it?" the Third Prince asked urgently. "I haven't given the order yet!"
"It wasn't us. We haven't made a move," the messenger quickly replied. "It seems to have been... an accident."
An accident? The Third Prince was stunned once more.
"We didn't dare get too close. Over there, chaos suddenly erupted. Some were mobilizing the Capital Garrison, others were heading toward the capital. There were eunuchs and guards, and many people were arrested. Martial law was imposed—"
"We risked sneaking in and captured a eunuch to interrogate. He said the Crown Prince was crushed to death while lifting a ceremonial cauldron."
As the messenger recounted the events, everything had happened too suddenly, catching them off guard and leaving them at a loss.
Lifting a cauldron—the Third Prince exchanged a glance with his maternal uncle, Lord Zhao, who was by his side.
Uncle Zhao suddenly laughed, his laughter growing louder and louder—
"A prophecy fulfilled!" he roared with laughter. "Your Highness, do you remember what His Majesty once said? That the Crown Prince relied solely on brute strength, raising himself like a foolish strongman?"
The Third Prince said, "Of course I remember."
More than just remembering, he had cursed more than once for the Crown Prince to die like that foolish strongman.
Who would have thought it would actually—
"Is this fate?" the Third Prince said, then also burst into unrestrained laughter.
This was fate!
This was heaven's will for him to become the Crown Prince!
There was no other explanation—even Uncle Zhao could not argue against it. Still, he cautiously asked, "Are we certain it's true? Could it be that our men were exposed, and the Crown Prince is using a decoy?"
Though the Crown Prince was brutish, he was not foolish. Moreover, he had the support of the Yang and Xie families and many other followers.
The Third Prince also calmed down.
The messenger hesitated. "It shouldn't be. The chaos in the hunting grounds didn't seem staged, but... I didn't see the Crown Prince's corpse with my own eyes."
The Third Prince and Lord Zhao exchanged another glance.
What should they do? Take a gamble, hold their position and observe, or proceed with the plan and storm in—
Who would have thought that a situation with no choice would suddenly present them with one?
If they could avoid acting as the villains and smoothly ascend to the position of Crown Prince, that would be the best outcome.
But if they gambled and lost, there would be no second chance. Instead, they would face retaliation, and it would be their lives on the line.
Lord Zhao made a decisive call: "Kill!"
He looked into the pitch-black night ahead, his fair and refined face turning cold and sinister.
"The Crown Prince must die, and his son must die as well. When you cut weeds, you must pull out the roots."
The Third Prince grunted in agreement and nodded.
"Exactly. That little brat, Xiao Tu, is treasured beyond measure by Father. At such a young age, he's already being taught to read, while when I studied, Father would only laugh—" He let out a cold laugh. "Even if the Crown Prince is dead, as long as that little thing is around, Father will still never see me."
With that, he pulled his hood over his head.
"Leave no one alive in the hunting grounds—beast or man!"
...
...
The sounds of slaughter set the night ablaze, but in the end, a breach was torn through it."It's His Majesty's eunuchs," Minister Zhao galloped back from the scene of the slaughter and reported to the Third Prince standing watch from higher ground. "They're returning to the palace to deliver messages to His Majesty. They've mobilized the Capital Garrison for protection—we couldn't intercept them in time, and they slipped past us."
The Third Prince's expression remained cold. "What does it matter if they got through?"
He gazed toward the capital.
"Let's not disturb Father so late. His health can't withstand repeated shocks like this."
"How troublesome it would be to report the Crown Prince's death now, then later announce the deaths of the Crown Princess and Little Highness. Better to wait until everyone is dead, dawn has broken, His Majesty has rested well and is refreshed—then let him receive all the bad news at once and suffer a single shock. Much more efficient."
Minister Zhao laughed heartily. "Your Highness is truly filial." He turned toward the capital and instructed his subordinate, "Don't pursue them. Even if they enter the capital, they'll still meet their end."
Daring to strike outside meant arrangements had already been made within. The capital, the Imperial City—all were dead ends.
He gestured toward the hunting grounds.
Tonight would be the death of the Crown Prince and his entire family.
Tonight, the people in the hunting grounds were the prey, while the Third Prince was the true hunter.
"Kill—"
......
......
When the sounds of slaughter reached the tent, the Crown Princess remained seated motionless, not even lifting her head.
"Your Highness—" A palace maid stumbled in, hair disheveled, "They're coming to kill us! They're coming!"
The Crown Princess seemed not to hear, carefully wiping the Crown Prince's face with a damp cloth.
The Crown Prince lay on the bed, his clothes changed, clean and neat as always, but half his face was crushed—a gruesome, bloody mess that refused to be cleaned no matter how she tried.
"His face will need morticians to properly arrange it," the Crown Princess said.
The maid threw herself at the Crown Princess's feet, clutching her legs. "Miss, please wake up! You must wake up! Something terrible is happening!"
The Crown Princess looked down at her. "I am awake. Of course I know something has happened."
Her gaze returned to the Crown Prince, and she suddenly smiled. This was probably the quietest moment she'd ever had with him—no interruptions, no him sitting up and leaving immediately.
She had never expected this day would come, yet here it was.
She had never imagined the Crown Prince could die, yet now—the Crown Prince was dead.
"Miss, the Crown Prince is gone. You mustn't come to harm too." The maid stood and pulled the Crown Princess, dragging her without resistance. "We must leave! We have to go now!"
"We can't escape," the Crown Princess said sorrowfully. "The moment something happened to the Crown Prince, killers appeared. This is no coincidence—it's a plot to eliminate every last root—"
"We can get away!" the maid cried, grabbing the Crown Princess's arm and pulling her outward. "We can escape!"
Pulled along by the maid, the Crown Princess emerged from the tent. Outside, fires burned everywhere amid screams and weeping. People ran in all directions, corpses littering the ground—
Ahead, steel glinted in the firelight as dark clouds seemed to roll in from the horizon. Surrounded on all sides, there was nowhere to flee.
"Save the Crown Princess! Save the Crown Princess!" the maid shouted. "Protect His Highness! Protect His Highness!"
But everyone was frantically fleeing for their lives. No one paid them any heed.
Protect His Highness? The Crown Prince had already ascended to the heavens. There was no Highness left to protect!"Your Highness." The palace maid turned back with tears streaming down her face. "Don't be afraid. Third Young Master, Third Young Master will surely come to rescue you."
Yanfang. A smile appeared on the Crown Princess's calm face.
"Yes, don't be afraid. Yanfang is still here," she said. Amid the chaos of the dark night and blazing fires, her previously dull eyes began to shine brilliantly. "I won't—"
Before she could finish speaking, a cold gleam came whistling through the darkness and flames ahead.
The palace maid screamed and threw her arms around the Crown Princess.
......
......
Streaks of cold light pierced through the oppressive dark clouds, as if tearing the night asunder.
The dark clouds scattered, only to coalesce again the next moment.
"Protect the Third Prince!" Minister Zhao shouted sharply.
The Third Prince sat astride his horse, stained with much blood. He had joined the fray himself, killing with fierce delight. Just as he was about to breach the hunting grounds to indulge in wanton slaughter, his rear guard was suddenly split open.
"Goddamn it, who is it?" he cursed, wiping the blood from his face with his hand.
Why did it feel like there were troops both ahead and behind, with fighting breaking out everywhere?
He could hardly tell anymore who was killing whom!
Chaos reigned in the fighting ahead, while the forces behind pressed closer and closer. So close that an arrow actually pierced through the layers of soldiers and horses, shooting straight toward him. Fortunately, his uncle was constantly by his side, yanking him aside just in time to narrowly avoid it—the arrow grazing past his face.
Uncle Zhao was shaken but his mind remained exceptionally clear.
His gaze turned toward the rear, where a figure came into view.
"It's Xie Yanfang," he said.
The man rode a black horse, his hair disheveled, dressed in white—or more precisely, white undergarments, as if he had risen from sleep without even changing his clothes.
In his hand, he held a crossbow, on his back, a long blade, and at the side of his black horse hung a shield and armor.
Disheveled yet fully armed, he charged forth from the depths of the night.
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