Fallen?
That sturdy young man who had held the city gate had fallen?
Qin Hu’s mind went blank instantly as if everything had stopped.
But those around him hadn’t stopped. The moment Zhou Fu fell, the patrol guards beside Qin Hu swarmed forward, trying to seize the chance to close the gate. Zhou Fu, who had collapsed on the ground, was dragged away by the followers of Duke Jin’an. At the same time, the bodies of the two attendants who had fallen first were pushed forward, propping the gate open as two crossbows were aimed at those charging toward them.
A barrage of arrows flew forth, taking down many of the patrol guards. The surging forward ranks immediately began to retreat again.
“Young Master.”
Qin Hu still stood rooted to the spot, stunned, until he was pulled back by his attendant, narrowly avoiding the arrows fired by the followers of Duke Jin’an.
The pull, the drag, and the stumble shook him back to his senses, and the clamor around him surged into his ears.
“Young Master, that group is charging toward us.”
“Young Master, the reinforcements have arrived.”
Shouts and voices washed over him, entering one ear and leaving the other, for his gaze remained fixed on the city gate.
At the gate, Duke Jin’an’s men did not take advantage of their retreat to swing the gate wide open. Instead, they continued using the two corpses to prop it open – one on the left, one on the right – leaving only enough space for two people to stand side by side. They took turns deploying a two-man crossbow formation to prevent their opponents from approaching.
With reinforcements rushing from within the city, however, the defense at the gate began to show slight signs of disorder.
“Let’s go.”
Duke Jin’an spoke.
He had already mounted his horse, and Zhou Fu was steadily helped onto another horse. Two cloaks were wrapped around him, carefully avoiding the long arrow embedded in his chest, securing him firmly in front of Duke Jin’an.
“Your Highness, why not wait until reinforcements arrive from outside the city before entering?” Master Gu said.
Although some reinforcements had come from within the city, compared to the vast capital teeming with city defense patrols and constables, breaking in would be like sinking into a sea of mud.
“I do not wish to wait any longer,” Duke Jin’an replied.
“Then let someone else support him,” Master Gu urged anxiously.
“I cannot draw a bow or wield a heavy sword right now, so guarding him is most fitting for me. Let’s not tie up additional manpower,” Duke Jin’an said, glancing at Eunuch Jing, who had also mounted his horse. “Go.”
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Jing acknowledged the order, drew his cavalry saber, and urged his horse forward with a leap.
The two men at the city gate stepped aside simultaneously. After Eunuch Jing leaped out, they also mounted their horses and swiftly followed Duke Jin’an, positioning themselves around him – front, back, left, and right – to escort him as they galloped straight into the city.
The melee before the gate grew even more chaotic.
Seeing the group that had been sheltering behind the gate rush out, the leader swung his long blade in a series of chilling arcs. The city guards who met his onslaught fell in droves, immediately stricken with terror and scattering in disarray.
“Young Master!” The attendant grasped Qin Hu firmly, and both of them crouched low, narrowly evading a sweeping blade that flashed past.
Horses and men surged forward, merging with the reinforcements that had come to their aid. Instantly, they coalesced into an even fiercer force, rolling like a tide as they charged deeper into the city.
“They’ve broken through!”
Shouts rang in his ears.
He had passed through.
Qin Hu stood gripping his bow, watching intently.
He caught sight of Zhou Fu on horseback.
He had made it through…
It all happened too fast, with too many others blocking his view, making it unclear.
He couldn’t see him clearly anymore…
He… How was he now…
Zhou Fu!
“Young Master?”
Before the attendant’s words had fully left his mouth, he saw Qin Hu beside him break into a run. Turning, he watched as Qin Hu mounted a horse and galloped after them into the city.
“After them! Quickly, pursue!” the attendant shouted, rallying the others as soon as he regained his composure.
…
“Over there!”
Compared to the commotion outside, the palace grounds remained eerily quiet, broken only by occasional bursts of clamor from one area or another.
Bright torches illuminated the surroundings of the palace halls as teams of imperial guards, armed with blades, spears, and crossbows, surged forward.
Wherever they went, the paths were empty.
“Where is it?”
“I clearly saw something just now.”
“This is downright eerie.”
The group exchanged bewildered glances, their frustration palpable.
How could a living person – a girl who had scarcely entered the palace a few times –evade the search of guards who had served within these walls for years?
To guard against assassins, the palace was designed without tall trees or deliberate barriers like rock formations. Where could she possibly hide?
It was truly baffling.
“Search again!” the leading imperial guard barked. “Unless she’s grown wings and flown out of the palace!”
In the depths of the palace, the night was darker than anywhere else.
A figure flashed through the darkness, then swiftly retreated.
Cheng Jiao-niang halted her steps, raised a hand, and calculated briefly. Lifting her head to the sky, she saw the stars had already begun to fade – dawn was approaching.
The heavens and earth form a grand feng shui matrix.
Mountains and rivers each have their orientation; human dwellings follow their own patterns.
The imperial palace is the ultimate culmination of feng shui principles. Within feng shui, there are eyes – the eyes are the springs of life.
With this thought flowing through her mind, the actions took only a blink of an eye to complete. Immediately, she turned and hurried in a certain direction.
Behind her, the clamor of footsteps grew louder, and the glow of torches brightened.
“…Nothing again!”
“…Keep looking! Keep searching!”
…
Outside the imperial city walls, a squadron of imperial guards galloped past, dispersing along their route. Looking into the distance, their movements appeared the same in both directions – it was clear they had the entire imperial city encircled.
Before the Xuande Gate, the Prefect of the Capital had just finished listening to a subordinate’s report. He immediately turned and hurried over to the officials gathered in the square.
“Master Qin!” he called out.
Qin An looked over from among a group of ministers.
“The imperial city has been surrounded,” the Prefect said, nodding to the other officials as he spoke.
Though the Prefect’s official rank was no lower than that of Qin An, he was the first to address him – the implication was understood by everyone present.
The Prefect, once a member of Gao Lingjun’s faction, had now become one of Qin An’s own.
No one knew exactly how Qin An had persuaded him, but the defense of the capital was divided between two entities: the City Watch and the Capital Prefecture. Both had originally been under Gao Lingjun’s control, which was why he had acted so recklessly. With one now turned to their side, the dangers of today’s events were somewhat mitigated.
Only then did these officials gather the courage to venture out late into the night and stand their ground.
“We truly owe it to Master Qin for deploying the defenses in time,” several court ministers remarked.
Qin An shook his head.
“In such matters, there is little to celebrate,” he sighed.
The Prefect hurriedly echoed the sigh. After all, his past affiliation with Gao Lingjun remained a stain, and he dared not wait for others to sing his praises.
“Yet we still allowed the villains to succeed,” he said, unable to hold back a choked sob. “We don’t know how His Highness the Crown Prince is faring…”
At these words, the expressions of those present grew complicated.
“Your Majesty.”
Qin An walked toward the other side. The Empress was seated on the ground, having long abandoned concerns over her appearance – and indeed, there was little appearance left to maintain. Her empress regalia had been singed by fire, her hair was disheveled, and the few remaining palace maids around her were injured, unable to move or attend to her.
Initially, Zhang Chun and others had advised the Empress to rest in a nearby government office, but she had resolutely refused.
“With the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince all in the hands of traitors, how can I rest?”
Hearing Qin An speak, the Empress, who was clutching the imperial seal tightly, turned to look at him.
“Your Majesty, how fares the Crown Prince now?” Qin An asked.
The Empress’s expression was filled with sorrow.
“The traitors Gao and Chen hold the Empress Dowager’s palace, so there is simply no way to know,” she replied. “According to the earliest leaked news, the Crown Prince was already bleeding from all seven orifices…”
Bleeding from all seven orifices!
That meant he was as good as finished.
The court officials who had pricked up their ears felt a wave of relief.
That was good – at least their gamble hadn’t been in vain.
If the Crown Prince weren’t dead, it would have been harder to definitively charge Gao Lingjun and Chen Shao with treason.
“Such vile traitors!” a court official cried out, pounding his chest and stamping his feet. “Such vile traitors, harming our sovereign!”
With those words, he charged toward the city gate.
“I, your old subject, will break this gate down with my body!”
A little performance was all that was needed. Several officials hurriedly reached out to stop him, offering words of consolation.
“The imperial city’s defenses are already in place, and the gate will be breached soon. Please calm yourself, sir.”
Amid the clamor, a sharp, clear voice suddenly rang out.
“What? My brother the Crown Prince has been murdered?”
It was a childish voice that abruptly pierced through the noise.
There was actually a child among the newcomers?
Everyone hurriedly looked toward the source of the voice. Qin An had already taken a step forward, heading to one side.
A carriage had arrived there at some point. Someone had stepped out and was walking over, leading a young boy by the hand.
“Duke Yanping.” Qin An bowed and called out. “Why have you come?”
Duke Yanping!
The officials present felt their hearts skip a beat as they turned to look at the newcomers.
Due to the longstanding imperial wariness toward the imperial clan, whether princes or lesser royals, they were rarely allowed to visit the capital frequently. The officials scrutinized the man carefully for a long moment before recognizing him – it was indeed Duke Yanping, who was of the same generation as the Emperor.
“…My lord.” The Prefect hurriedly interjected, addressing Qin An while also explaining to the court ministers present, “Duke Yanping and Duke Changtai arrived in the capital yesterday evening. Because it was late, they did not send word to the palace and were accommodated at the prefectural guesthouse, waiting to enter the palace for an audience after dawn today.”
With the Crown Prince’s grand wedding, members of the imperial clan from outside the capital were permitted to enter the city. By the timeline, indeed, some should have arrived by now.
But for Duke Yanping to arrive at such a moment – and with his son – seemed far too coincidental.
“The streets are in turmoil, and I truly could not rest at ease,” Duke Yanping said, stepping closer. The torches before the palace gate illuminated his features.
If Zhou Fu had been present at that moment, he might have recognized Duke Yanping – except that now, the duke was dressed in luxurious robes and wore a jade crown, appearing as a handsome, middle-aged man with fine sideburns, not the unkempt, bearded, plainly clothed driver who had gone unnoticed.
“The streets are in turmoil?” The Prefect took up the conversation, a hint of apology in his expression. “Your Highness, please rest assured. I have already ordered the entire city under martial law. No rebel factions will be causing trouble on the streets. The disturbances you heard were likely from patrols and defense deployments, which may have alarmed you.”
Their exchange flowed smoothly, and the ministers around them who understood the situation felt the clarity dawning in their minds.
Duke Yanping’s arrival in the capital had been arranged by the Qin family. The city’s defenses were already properly deployed, ensuring no further outsiders could enter. All that remained for them now was to deal with the two traitors inside the imperial palace.
The two fireworks that had lit up over the city gate earlier must have been part of their plan.
Initially, they had thought Gao Lingjun clever for winning over Chen Shao, but who could have foreseen the tables turning so swiftly?
The Crown Prince was dead. The Empress had fled the palace overnight, bearing witness to Gao Lingjun and Chen Shao’s heinous crimes of conspiring against the imperial heir.
With the Crown Prince gone and the Emperor still gravely ill, the realm could not go a day without a ruler. The matter of the imperial succession was once again brought to the forefront, but this time, there was no other choice – adoption was inevitable.
No wonder the Qin family had allowed Zhang Chun to take the lead in welcoming the Empress earlier.
In this way, the Empress would remember Zhang Chun’s kindness for rushing to her aid in the dead of night and would surely follow his lead. And since Zhang Chun himself was an advocate for adoption, most of the court officials present now were those who had previously supported his proposal.
To pacify the people, stabilize the court, and secure a place in the new ruler’s favor, rather than waiting for all members of the imperial clan to arrive and engage in prolonged selection, it was better to settle on the son of Duke Yanping, who had played a part in this night of palace turmoil.
At the very least, with the shared experience of this night, the relationship between sovereign and subjects would be quite harmonious.
The choice for adoption had thus become crystal clear.
Though the situation inside the palace remained unknown, everyone present had a clear understanding of how things would unfold from here.
This was a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Every move Gao Lingjun had painstakingly arranged would now serve as evidence of his treacherous ambitions, while the ultimate beneficiary would be the Qin family.
Well, perhaps not solely the Qin family – all of them present had played their part. No one rises early without a motive, and fortune is often sought amidst danger. Now, it seemed, they had attained what they sought.
Duke Yanping’s exchange with the Prefect lasted only a few sentences, and the thoughts flashing through everyone’s minds were equally fleeting.
Duke Yanping had already taken his son by the hand and hurried toward the Empress.
“Your Majesty,” he called out in a choked voice, performing a deep bow from a distance.
The sharp-witted Duke also knelt on the ground and began to weep loudly.
“Your Majesty has suffered greatly.”
The Empress rose to her feet, her expression somewhat complex.
So, it was like this. Since they had come, then no one else would arrive. At this moment, one member of the imperial family was enough. Those who had meticulously arranged this would not allow any unnecessary figures to appear.
However, who could say for certain in worldly affairs?
If she had come, would he be far behind?
Had they truly been kept out just like that?
The scene suddenly fell silent. All eyes turned to the Empress, awaiting a single word from her – an ordinary, ceremonial phrase, yet it seemed as if she could not bring herself to speak it.
Duke Yanping felt his body growing stiff from the prolonged bow.
“Duke, Her Majesty has just suffered…” the Prefect suddenly interjected, stepping forward.
It was good to have someone smooth things over. It was perfectly understandable if Her Majesty, having just endured such a fright, could not find her words.
Duke Yanping let out a sigh of relief and prepared to bow again.
It was at that moment that the sound of hoofbeats reached them.
Louder and closer they grew, until it seemed as though every person present could feel the ground tremble beneath them, like the approach of a vast army.
What was this…
Instinctively, everyone turned to look toward the imperial avenue. Duke Yanping also straightened up and glanced over.
Under the bright torchlight, a formation of soldiers in gleaming armor came into view.
“It’s the Garrison Army!” someone blurted out.
The Prefect and Qin An’s expressions shifted in an instant.
They had actually mobilized the Garrison Army!
How had the Garrison Army stationed outside the capital been summoned?
As the troops drew near, they gradually split into two columns, revealing the figures among them.
At the sight of the one at the forefront, the crowd was struck with another wave of shock.
“Duke Jin’an, come swiftly to the rescue!”
Before anyone could fully grasp the situation, a man’s voice rang out abruptly. Simultaneously, he strode forward and bowed deeply to the approaching figure.
It was Zhang Chun again!
Wrong, wrong – it seemed the Qin family hadn’t won Zhang Chun over after all. While both sides supported adoption, the adoption camp was not monolithic. The Qin faction and Zhang Chun’s faction were not the same; they had merely collaborated – or perhaps used each other.
With Gao Lingjun and Chen Shao no longer a threat, it was time for everyone to make their own choices again.
How utterly chaotic. What were they to do now? Which faction should they choose?
While they hesitated, the Empress took a step forward, hurrying toward them.
“Jin’an,” she choked out, calling to him. “Come quickly and rescue Her Majesty!”
With that, the number of those wavering dwindled further.
“Your Highness, Duke Jin’an, come quickly and rescue Her Majesty!” scattered voices echoed before the palace gate.
Still, a few remained visibly uncertain and displeased.
Rescue Her Majesty? Leading the Garrison Army into the capital in the dead of night –while it could be called a rescue, it could just as easily be seen as harboring ill intent. How could it compare to the gentle and sincere concern of Duke Yanping, who truly seemed to calm the hearts of the people?
Duke Jin’an still held Zhou Fu in front of him. He reached out to support Zhou Fu’s shoulder, not sparing a glance at anyone present, his gaze fixed blankly on the tall, sturdy Xuande Gate.
“The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince have been harmed by treacherous men,” he said slowly. “I have come to rescue Her Majesty.” As he spoke, he raised his hand, then slowly lowered it. “Attack the gates!”
Attack the gates?
What did that mean?
The crowd was stunned once more.
As these words fell, the large retinue behind him stirred, and something appeared to be pushed forward. Before the ministers could get a clear look, a deafening roar erupted. A flash of fire burst before their eyes, and the ground beneath them trembled violently.
Thick smoke and flames erupted from the solid Xuande Gate.
Good heavens!
Nearly all the officials present went weak at the knees.
How utterly ruthless! Not a single word of explanation?
Before the first blast had fully faded, another thunderous explosion shook the air.
“Duke Jin’an, rescue Her Majesty! Duke Jin’an, rescue Her Majesty!”
Amid the echoes of the explosions, shouts erupted from before the gate, roaring like thunder.
In this chaos of sound, Qin An, though swaying slightly, managed to remain standing. His face gradually turned pale, his gaze fixed intently on Duke Jin’an.
“Where is Shi’san?”
His lips moved faintly as he murmured the words.
Where was Shi’san? Where was his Shi’san?
