Upon seeing the Crown Prince's corpse, Xie Yanfang was not greatly shocked.
The shock had been exhausted the moment he heard the news.
He had never held onto unrealistic hopes—such as it being an accident, a rumor, a severe injury, or that there was still a breath of life left.
"Young Master," the palace maid wept mournfully, kneeling on the ground and clutching his sleeve. "Miss, Miss—"
Xie Yanfang shifted his gaze from the Crown Prince's body to the Crown Princess beside him.
The Crown Princess's clothes were soaked in red, and she was gasping violently, like a fish thrown ashore.
She was still alive, but she would die soon.
An arrow had pierced her neck.
She should have died instantly, but she clung stubbornly to her last breath.
"A... Ah Fang—" she emitted a hoarse, indistinct, wheezing sound.
The palace maid knelt on the ground, crying. "—She was injured by a stray arrow. It's my fault, it's my fault—"
Xie Yanfang did not scold or rebuke her, nor did he pay her any attention. He knelt down and grasped the Crown Princess's hand. "Sister, I'm here."
The Crown Princess's hand gripped his tightly, her nails digging into his palm. "Yu... Yu—"
"Yu'er has me," Xie Yanfang said. "Even if you and the Crown Prince are gone, Yu'er will inherit everything."
With this promise, the Crown Princess's last breath faded, her body went limp, and she closed her eyes.
Xie Yanfang leaned over, resting his head in the Crown Princess's hand. "Sister, you did not live in vain. Even in death, you will remain forever, and the Xie family will always be the Xie family."
The palace maid wept on the ground, nearly fainting, but Xie Yanfang pulled her up abruptly.
"Where is the Little Highness?" he asked.
The palace maid held back her tears, forcing herself to calm down so she could speak clearly.
"As soon as the Crown Prince was in danger, Qi Gonggong said he must take the Little Highness away immediately," she recalled the scene, closing her eyes. It was too horrifying—even now, her mind went blank at the memory.
How... how could the Crown Prince be dead?
She gasped rapidly, tears streaming down her face.
Even more terrifying were Qi Gonggong's words: that with the Crown Prince dead, the Little Highness was in danger, and he must take him away at once.
The Crown Princess had remained remarkably calm then, asking no questions and shedding no tears. She picked up the still-sleeping Little Highness and handed him to Qi Gonggong.
"Mother—" the Little Highness had been bewildered, calling out to the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess kissed the Little Highness's face fiercely, leaving it bruised and red.
"Yu'er, Yu'er, go quickly, go quickly," the Crown Princess finally released him.
The Little Highness seemed to understand something, watching the Crown Princess with tears streaming down his face, but he did not make a fuss.
Qi Gonggong, wrapped in a large cloak, covered the Little Highness in his arms and galloped away.
And just after they left, many black-clad figures emerged in the hunting grounds, raining arrows like a storm, killing everyone in sight.
The palace maid knelt on the ground again, weeping too hard to continue.
It was truly a nightmarish scene, and this nightmare would never end.
Thankfully, the Little Highness had left in time. Thank heavens.
But after she finished speaking, the others standing in the room did not share her relief. Du Qi even gasped softly, "This is bad."
The palace maid looked up and saw that Xie Yanfang's face was even paler than before.
Xie Yanfang said, "The Imperial City is even more dangerous."
Since the Third Prince had moved against the Crown Prince, he would surely block all news. The Imperial City must be heavily guarded with ambushes. Going there now would be a death sentence.
And—
"This matter is not solely the Third Prince's doing," he said.Before the Third Prince had even arrived, the Crown Prince had already been killed. The Third Prince claimed it was done by his men, but if it truly was his people, why would he need to come in person?
To eradicate the root of the problem?
Then he only needed to guard the capital and wait for them to walk into the trap.
There were others who had joined the fray tonight!
Xie Yanfang closed his eyes. If his guess was correct, it should be Prince Zhongshan—
"Yan Lai is in the Imperial City," Du Qi struggled to say. "We can't expect him to repel the rebels, but if he can risk his life to take the Little Highness away—"
Hearing this, Xie Yanfang laughed and looked at Du Qi.
He said nothing.
Du Qi couldn't continue himself.
How was this possible? Xie Yanlai was alone, and the Third Prince's men in the Imperial City would prioritize eliminating the Crown Prince's followers—
Xie Yanlai was likely already dead.
Moreover, there was the capital's main gate. It had been difficult enough for them to fight their way out; fighting their way back in would be even harder.
Perhaps they shouldn't have come here in the first place. They should have retaken the city gates and held their ground.
It seemed heaven itself was determined to destroy the Xie family—
Sensing the stagnant atmosphere in the tent, the palace maid spoke again, "Young Master, Qi Gonggong did not take the Little Highness to the Imperial City."
He didn't? Xie Yanfang was startled and looked at the palace maid. Had Qi Gonggong also guessed the Imperial City was dangerous and taken the Little Highness into hiding?
But where in the capital could possibly protect the Little Highness now? Assassins were surely lying in wait outside the residences of the Yang Family, the Xie family, and other powerful court officials and nobles. When they had left the city, killings had already broken out within.
"It's Chu, Chu—" The palace maid grew nervous, momentarily unable to recall the name. Fortunately, another name was well-known, one she had often heard lately. "Chu Zhao's home."
Xie Yanfang was stunned. He never expected to hear this girl's name at such a moment, and a flurry of thoughts raced through his mind. "Her?"
"Her father, Chu Zhao's father," the palace maid hurriedly explained. "Qi Gonggong said only he could protect the Little Highness."
Chu Ling?
Xie Yanfang knew Chu Ling was no ordinary man, and Qi Gonggong's statement carried profound implications.
Chu Ling was the one who could protect the Little Highness?
Why?
The palace maid didn't know. The situation had been too urgent at the time. Qi Gonggong had only told this much to the Crown Princess, asking her to trust him.
What could the Crown Princess do? At this point, she had to believe him, whether she wanted to or not.
Du Qi found it hard to comprehend: "Even if Chu Ling is the only person His Majesty trusts, he's far away in the Border Commandery. What can Qi Gonggong achieve by taking the Little Highness to his home?"
The Chu family had nothing—no manpower, no prestige. Their residence wasn't even as fortified as the Xie family's.
Was it because they were so inconspicuous that it made hiding easier?
Du Qi's head throbbed with confusion.
Xie Yanfang raised a hand to stop him. "No need to speculate."
He turned his gaze toward the capital.
"Keep the Third Prince's death completely concealed! Continue announcing that the Crown Prince is dead!"
Although hiding the Third Prince's death would allow his forces to continue their frenzied attacks, it would also make Prince Zhongshan's men cautious.
From this point on, scheming, calculating, guessing, and predicting were all futile. Only blades and blood were real.
The Xie family must carve a path through this chaos.
"Charge toward the capital!"
...
...
Night in Chu Garden was as thick as ink, without a single glimmer of light.
But peering through the crevices of the rockery, one could see patches of orange-red rising in the distant night sky—flames burning, cries and shouts drifting on the night wind.
It all seemed illusory, yet it was all terrifyingly real.
Chu Zhao closed her eyes."Miss." A Le hurried over from the darkness. "We've let in another seven or eight people. They're all hiding in the garden now."
Chu Zhao nodded. "Tell the gatekeepers to remember to open the door if more people come seeking help." She paused briefly before adding, "But they must... act within their capabilities."
A Le understood perfectly what "act within their capabilities" meant. While they could allow panicked civilians seeking shelter to enter these high-walled mansions for refuge, they couldn't recklessly open the gates for those fleeing pursuers—
Doing so would endanger everyone in the Chu residence.
This was a painful but unavoidable choice. A Le clenched her fists.
"Miss, I'll personally guard the gate."
She would bear the burden of this difficult decision.
Chu Zhao took A Le's hand, helping her relax. "It probably won't get too serious."
She gazed into the night outside.
The commotion was much smaller compared to her previous life.
Yet it had still happened.
Chu Zhao felt somewhat melancholy. This also meant something had happened to the Crown Prince's side as well.
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