Li Yuanli’s leg was kicked hard, but he stood firm as steel and concrete, unmoving. With his injured right hand, he effortlessly seized Shen Wei’s arm.
Shen Wei struggled fiercely, trying to break free from Li Yuanli’s grip.
But even with his injured right hand, Li Yuanli’s strength was absurdly overpowering.
Furious, Shen Wei plotted how to kill him later. Meanwhile, Li Yuanli studied her face with amusement, admiring the vivid fury flashing in her expressions.
"Whoosh—"
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
An arrow shot straight toward Li Yuanli’s face, but he tilted his head slightly, dodging it with ease.
He looked up and saw Li Yuanjing galloping toward him on horseback.
Li Yuanli sighed, calling out loudly, "Second Brother, stop shooting arrows recklessly. Hurting me is one thing, but hurting her would be unfortunate."
Clad in a black-and-gold robe fluttering in the wind, Li Yuanjing gripped his dark gold longbow and declared coldly, "Release her, and I’ll grant you a proper burial."
Li Yuanli smirked. "I refuse."
Li Yuanjing’s eyes darkened, his gaze as icy as death itself.
The two brothers stood in silent confrontation as the mountain breeze swept through the valley. Suddenly, a small boat drifted miraculously down the rushing river nearby. Seizing the opportunity, Li Yuanli grabbed Shen Wei’s slender arm and leaped onto the boat in three swift strides.
The boat swayed, carried downstream by the rapid current.
Dazed, Shen Wei demanded, "Are you kidnapping me?"
Li Yuanli grinned. "How about I take you to Southern Chu?"
Shen Wei’s mind buzzed in confusion—she couldn’t fathom this man’s intentions. All she knew was that she absolutely could not leave Da Qing. After years of hard work, her dream of a peaceful retirement was within reach—she couldn’t let herself be dragged to a foreign land now.
"Outside Yanjing, under the Emperor’s very nose—if you want to die, don’t drag me down with you," Shen Wei warned coldly.
Li Yuanli chuckled softly. "Calling this suicide is a bit dramatic—"
Before he could finish, the boat rocked violently again. Li Yuanjing had somehow landed at the bow.
With the river raging around them, the boat now held Li Yuanjing at the front, Li Yuanli at the rear, and a bewildered Shen Wei trapped between them.
The boat was too small—one wrong move could send them tumbling into the frigid spring waters. Shen Wei clung desperately to the lone mast, casting a pleading look at Li Yuanjing.
Assured of Shen Wei’s temporary safety, Li Yuanjing relaxed slightly and warned Li Yuanli, "You have no escape. Surrender now."
Li Yuanli raised an eyebrow. "Second Brother, did you really think I came all the way to Yanjing just to kill you?"
Killing Li Yuanjing was too difficult.
From the very beginning, Li Yuanli’s target had never been him.
...
...
In the Qing State’s imperial harem, preparations for the Sericulture and Plowing Ceremonies had drawn away most of the palace guards and city defense troops. Spring had barely arrived, yet the palace was already brimming with vitality—flowers bloomed in the courtyard of Cining Palace, where young princesses and princes bustled about in the pavilion.
Le You was learning to brew tea with her elder sisters.
Li Chengtai and Li Chengyou, dressed in practical short robes, practiced wrestling in the garden, their small fists swinging with surprising vigor. The heat soon left them drenched in sweat.
"Let’s rest," Li Chengtai said, wiping his forehead.
Li Chengyou gulped down half a bowl of water handed to him by a palace maid. The courtyard was eerily quiet—flowers swayed in the breeze, but not a single bird’s song could be heard. Frowning, Li Chengyou glanced around. "Brother, the palace is too quiet today."
Since spring began, the palace had been alive with birdsong. But today, the towering imperial city was silent as a tomb.
Li Chengtai listened carefully and nodded. "It is strange."
Footsteps echoed from the entrance of Cining Palace as Cai Ping from Yongning Palace rushed in, her face pale. After whispering urgently to the head matron, the old woman’s expression darkened, and she hurried to the rear courtyard.
"Aunt Cai Ping, what’s wrong?" Li Chengyou asked, tilting his head.
Cai Ping answered tersely, "Assassins are coming. Your Highnesses, I’ll take you to the underground shelter."
Beneath the storage room in Cining Palace’s rear courtyard lay a deep tunnel leading to a hidden cellar—a refuge prepared last year under Shen Wei’s orders, just in case of emergencies.
Shen Wei always planned ahead.
Cining Palace housed the revered Empress Dowager and the most beloved princess and princes of Da Qing. If disaster struck, the cellar would be their sanctuary.
Li Chengtai and Li Chengyou paled but remained composed, quickly following Cai Ping to the rear courtyard. The cellar was spacious and well-equipped, stocked with water and food. Three luminous pearls embedded in the walls cast a faint glow.
The Empress Dowager, accustomed to storms, remained calm even now. Cradling Le You, she soothed her gently, "Don’t be afraid, Le You. This will pass soon."
Le You’s eyes reddened, worried for her grandmother, siblings, and her parents outside the city.
Gripping the Empress Dowager’s sleeve, she murmured, "I’m not scared."
The cellar was almost like a small bedchamber, furnished for comfort.
Faint sounds of footsteps and clashing blades echoed from above.
Li Chengyou clutched a wooden sword, standing guard at the cellar entrance like a tiny hero. "Don’t worry," he declared. "My swordsmanship is strong—I won’t let the bad guys hurt you."
Small in stature but mighty in courage.
Li Chengtai frowned, gripping a short sword as his sharp mind raced. "Father left the palace and took most of the guards… That’s not like him."
Having often assisted his father in reviewing memorials, Li Chengtai knew the Emperor’s meticulous, far-sighted governance.
His father was a ruler who never left things to chance. If the palace was under attack, he must have prepared a countermeasure.
Li Chengtai fell deep into thought.
BANG—
The cellar door burst open, flooding the dim space with blazing torchlight. A dozen assassins in gray eunuch robes stormed in, placing torches along the walls until the cellar was brightly lit.
Shadows flickered ominously against the walls.
Footsteps echoed down the narrow tunnel before a slender figure emerged—Lu Yun, her delicate face illuminated by the fiery glow. Smirking at the Empress Dowager, she said, "Your Majesty, you once drove me from the palace. Now I’ve returned."
Her eyes gleamed with triumph.
The Empress Dowager shielded Le You and retorted coldly, "How bold of the Lu family—daring to rebel!"
Lu Yun laughed. "The Lu family is too weak to rebel. Today, we’ve come only for your life."
Li Yuanli’s reckless intrusion into Qing State, disguised as an envoy while leaving deliberate clues, had all been a ruse—to feign an assassination attempt on the Emperor. Li Yuanjing had diverted his elite guards to the Plowing Ceremony, leaving the palace vulnerable.
With the harem weakened, the hidden assassins struck.
Li Yuanli’s true target had always been the Empress Dowager.
