Shen Zheng’s thoughts had never been so clear. He knew that the situation was now hanging by a thread. No matter how frantic he felt, he could not afford to make a single mistake.
The moment he left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he turned to Jun Mulan and said, “Mother, you cannot remain in the palace. Return to the Yongning Marquis Estate at once. Inform Uncle and Mo Shu to place the Three Great Garrisons and the Ministry of War on full alert. Keep your weapons at hand, take control of the capital’s nine gates, and seal off the main roads in the outskirts. If anything changes in the city, enter with me at once and purge the traitors at the emperor’s side. We must restore order!”
Jun Mulan’s expression was solemn. “Your mother understands.”
Shen Zheng immediately turned to Chen Ping. “Go to the Duke’s Estate at once and deliver my order. The Five City Military Command is to seal off every princely residence immediately. All streets, alleys, and city gates connecting to the palace are to be placed under martial law and searched. Recognize only my token. Any other imperial edict or decree is to be disregarded!”
Chen Ping nodded grimly. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Shen Zheng then turned to Ge Wei, who was accompanying Jun Mulan. “The palace is under lockdown. The court officials will inevitably grow suspicious and alarmed. Summon Guo Pingmao, Lan Jianghe, Huang Ting, Gu Weizhi, Xue Chongnian, and Liu Chenming, and send them separately to the Secretariat, the Grand Secretariat, and the Six Ministries to pacify the officials on my behalf. Anyone who spreads panic and private rumors, leaves court under false pretenses, or secretly communicates with others is to be dealt with according to the law. Show no mercy!”
Ge Wei lowered her head. “This servant obeys.”
Shen Zheng had barely rushed out through Zunyi Gate when he saw Consort Zhen, dressed in full finery, standing on the steps and walking slowly toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
He paused briefly. Jun Mulan explained in a low voice, “I received Liu Quan’s secret report, so I sent someone to inform the Consort.”
Shen Zheng nodded and said bluntly, “I have urgent business outside the city. Father has made it clear that he intends to change the heir.”
With that single sentence, he had made the situation perfectly clear.
Consort Zhen, however, calmly raised a sleeve and adjusted the hairpin in her hair. Her jewels trembled softly as she lifted her eyes toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the distance. Her voice remained as steady as ever.
“Rest assured, Your Highness. His Majesty is gravely ill. No genuine imperial decree will leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation today.”
Shen Zheng’s gaze was deep and cold. He spoke each word distinctly.
“When I return, I want Shen Chen dead.”
The man had failed to recognize the changing circumstances and had provoked him time and again. Now that he had crossed Shen Zheng’s bottom line, there was no reason to spare his life.
Consort Zhen met his eyes and merely said, “I understand.”
Shen Zheng said no more. He sped out of the palace alongside Jun Mulan and passed through Donghua Gate.
Outside the palace gates, a detachment of Eastern Palace guards had already assembled in formation. Mingzhu stood waiting as well, holding the reins of Taibai Sand.
Jun Mulan was meticulous by nature. The moment she heard that the emperor intended to move against Wen Zhuo, she had immediately ordered the Eastern Palace guards to assemble. She had also dispatched elite soldiers and fine horses from the Southern Hunting Grounds, while secretly informing Consort Zhen that a palace coup was imminent and that preparations had to be made in advance.
No one knew her son better than she did. She had never hesitated over Shen Zheng’s choice. The moment she received the news, she knew that today would mark the final break between father and son.
Shen Zheng vaulted onto Taibai Sand, pulled the reins tight, and urged the horse forward with a crack of the whip. His robes billowed wildly in the wind as he raced straight toward Qingping Mountain.
—
The last glow of sunset sank into the mountain valley. Wen Zhuo’s carriage finally reached the edge of the pass. The moment it entered, the damp, rotting scent of vegetation mixed with the chill from the mountain stream and rushed toward them.
Two mountains rose on either side, leaving only a long, narrow path between them. The cliffs were covered in gnarled trees and tangled vines that blocked out nearly all of the sky, allowing only a few scraps of broken light to filter through.
Wen Zhuo looked up, but all he could see were layers of shifting shadows. Every so often, a wild bird burst into flight, the sound of its wings particularly jarring in the empty valley.
“Watch for falling rocks. Pick up the pace.”
It had grown too dark to make out the words on the page. The carriage wheels rolled over the muddy, rock-strewn road, jolting him until his stomach churned.
Wen Zhuo leaned listlessly against the carriage wall, gripping the cushion with both hands as he struggled to keep himself steady.
Jiang Mannü and Six Monkeys had stopped fooling around as well. Without anyone saying a word, the entire party fell silent, eager only to get through the sinister pass as quickly as possible.
Suddenly—
Crack!
A branch as thick as a forearm snapped in midair and struck the mountain wall with a sharp echo. A moment later, a tangle of green branches came crashing down, rolling and bouncing until it landed directly in front of Liu Qiying’s horse.
The horse shied violently, pawing at empty air with its front hooves and backing away with a frightened whinny.
She was riding at the head of the group, and this sudden disturbance brought the entire procession to an abrupt halt.
Wen Zhuo had been squeezing his eyes shut, trying to suppress his nausea, but the instant the horses and carriage stopped, a rapid clatter of hooves came rushing down the mountain road behind them.
It was not the sound of a few riders. Dozens of iron-shod hooves pounded the earth like a furious drumbeat, drawing closer by the second.
He suddenly opened his eyes, his heart tightening.
Everyone else had heard the terrifying noise as well. They all turned toward the rear.
Jiang Mannü let out a startled exclamation. “Who’s there?”
Six Monkeys scratched his head, baffled. “Why would so many riders come here?”
Wen Zhuo had already reached out and lifted the carriage curtain. He bent down and stepped out.
He gazed toward the far end of the pass, his brows drawing together as he wondered if something had gone wrong with the supply train and they had sent someone ahead with an urgent report.
But he dismissed the thought at once.
No. Even if something had happened, there was no need to dispatch so many men.
Could it be… that something had happened in the capital?
The thought flashed through his mind, and his heart gave a violent lurch. Without realizing it, he murmured, “Shen Zheng…”
Could something have happened to Shen Zheng?
The fallen branch still lay across the road. Liu Qiying frowned and asked, “My lord, are we continuing forward?”
The hoofbeats drew closer and closer. Even the ground trembled beneath them. Wen Zhuo could almost see the dust surging toward him and the mud flying through the air.
After a moment of silence, he said quietly, “Wait.”
Jiang Ziwei had received the imperial edict. He immediately selected fifty Imperial Guards, commandeered horses, and rode out of the city, pursuing them at full speed.
After racing for an hour through flying dust and billowing sand, with the horses’ wild cries echoing through the mountains, he finally bypassed the supply train and caught up with Wen Zhuo’s party.
Looking at the Broken Cloud Pass between the two peaks, he could not help sighing.
This was indeed the perfect place to stage an ambush by bandits.
By the time the supply convoy arrived, all they would find would be a field of corpses. Once the news reached the capital, his assignment would be considered complete.
With that thought, Jiang Ziwei pulled out a black cloth mask, covered his face, and tied it tightly behind his head.
The other Imperial Guards followed suit, concealing their identities.
In truth, it was unnecessary. The emperor had already made it clear that not a single one of the forty men accompanying Wen Zhuo needed to be left alive.
But Jiang Ziwei still remembered the time they had spent together in Mianzhou. In the end, he could not bear for Wen Zhuo to realize that they had died at the emperor’s command.
It would be better to let him believe that they had truly been killed by bandits.
The horses reared, their front hooves striking the air, before surging into the pass.
The world instantly darkened around them. Branches blotted out the sky overhead, and the startled birds scattered in every direction. Hollow, echoing cries reverberated through the valley.
Using the last sliver of light filtering through the canopy, Jiang Ziwei drew a sharp arrow, nocked it, and pulled the bowstring taut.
Then he released his fingers.
Whoosh!
The arrow tore through the air. It pierced the pounding hoofbeats and the cries of the fleeing birds, reaching the group in the blink of an eye.
An attendant was struck in the ribs. He cried out in agony and fell backward, the force of the impact dragging him toward Wen Zhuo’s carriage.
Blood gushed from his chest. His limbs twitched as he stared in terror at the dim sky above. Before he could utter a single word, he fell silent forever.
The procession erupted like water splashed into boiling oil.
“Assassins!”
“Protect Lord Wen!”
“Keep moving! Don’t stop!”
Wen Zhuo froze completely.
Across two lifetimes, he had always plotted and schemed from behind the scenes. He had never experienced such a brutal clash of steel and flesh, with blood spraying before his eyes.
The warmth drained from his body in an instant. He stared at the corpse, its clothes soaked through with blood, and the sight made his stomach roil violently.
He clutched the edge of the carriage with both hands, one knee braced against the driver’s seat, his knuckles turning white.
Jiang Mannü was the first to react. She shouted, “I’ll hold them off! Get the lord out of here!”
With that, she spurred her horse forward, reached out, and hooked an arm around Wen Zhuo’s waist. With a mighty roar, she hoisted Wen Zhuo onto Liu Qiying’s horse.
Liu Qiying did not hesitate. She lashed the horse, and with a long neigh, the steed carried them both toward the hunting grounds at a full gallop.
As long as they reached the royal hunting grounds and joined up with the hundred craftsmen, there would still be a chance of survival!
“Jiang Mannü!” Wen Zhuo finally came to his senses and shouted anxiously over his shoulder.
“Go, my lord!” Jiang Mannü’s roar thundered through the mountain pass.
She seized Wen Zhuo’s carriage with her bare hands. The veins in her arms bulged as she tore the entire carriage apart. Splinters flew everywhere.
She had just snatched up a thick plank of wood and raised it before her when, the next instant, a sharp arrow slammed into it, the shaft vibrating with a buzzing hum.
“How dare you villains attack us!”
“Don’t kill me! I’m a palace eunuch!”
“Please, spare me!”
The twenty-seven eunuchs were helpless, and with the sheer cliffs on either side too slick and steep to climb, they could only flee along the narrow path. One after another, they fell beneath the rain of arrows.
In an instant, the stench of blood filled the entire pass, nauseatingly thick.
Jiang Mannü’s eyes burned red, and cold sweat beaded her temples.
She could see clearly now. There were at least fifty attackers, all masters of bow and horse. On their side, no more than ten people were capable of fighting.
In single combat, she would not fear even a hundred opponents. But the enemy was attacking from a distance with arrows, leaving her no chance to close in. All she could do was defend and retreat, straining with every ounce of strength to buy Wen Zhuo a few precious moments.
Yet the people beside her were falling one by one. How much longer could she hold out?
Grinding her teeth, Jiang Mannü swung the heavy carriage plank in a solid, impenetrable arc and drove her horse straight into the assassins.
The Imperial Guards had never seen such a ferocious woman. Every arrow they fired was knocked aside. In the blink of an eye, she had reached them. Two Imperial Guards, caught completely off guard, were hurled from their horses and crashed heavily to the ground, narrowly avoiding being trampled beneath the hooves.
“Watch out! This woman has inhuman strength!”
The Imperial Guards’ formation fell into disarray. Their pursuit was forcibly stalled, and two more men were knocked from their horses.
The carriage plank whirled through the air in Jiang Mannü’s hands with a fierce, booming force. She showed no sign of tiring. Anyone who came near was sent staggering away, their faces bruised and bloodied.
Jiang Ziwei’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He roared, “Shoot the horse’s legs!”
The Imperial Guards beside him came to their senses. They bent their bows and nocked arrows, taking direct aim at Jiang Mannü’s mount.
An arrow struck the horse. It let out a terrible shriek and reared wildly, then bolted backward with the wound still bleeding.
“Don’t run! Stop!” Jiang Mannü cried.
But both her hands were occupied fending off arrows with the plank, leaving her no way to control the horse. In an instant, the terrified animal had charged far away, nearly throwing her from the saddle.
Seeing that the situation could no longer be salvaged, Jiang Mannü gathered all her strength and hurled the plank.
The massive board came flying with the force of a thousand weights. The two Imperial Guards at the front had nowhere to dodge. It struck them squarely in the chest, and they immediately spat blood before collapsing unconscious to the ground.
The Imperial Guards asked through gritted teeth, “Commandant, shall we finish her off?”
Jiang Ziwei said grimly, “Know your priorities. Go after Wen Zhuo!”
With that, he spurred his horse forward and pursued Wen Zhuo. The remaining forty Imperial Guards did not dare delay and hurried after him.
The maddened horse ran for more than three hundred meters before collapsing from exhaustion. Jiang Mannü tumbled to the ground. She was about to turn back and fight to the death with her bare hands, but by the time she staggered back, the assassins had already vanished from sight.
Furious and frantic, she smashed the fallen Imperial Guards’ faces one by one, venting the hatred surging through her heart.
Thanks to Jiang Mannü and the ten guards who had risked their lives to hold the enemy back, Liu Qiying managed to escort Wen Zhuo out of the pass and into the deep blue sky that had spread after the setting sun.
Wen Zhuo had never ridden at such a breakneck pace. Every bone in his body felt as though it were coming apart, and pain throbbed through every inch of him.
His hands had been rubbed raw and bloody by the reins, while his legs had gone numb from the saddle. He could barely hold on.
“How much farther to the royal hunting grounds?” Six Monkeys shouted.
Liu Qiying did not look back. “Less than an hour! Don’t speak. Save your strength!”
Wen Zhuo gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure. His face was as pale as paper, and the mountains and trees before his eyes swayed constantly.
After they had covered several more miles, Six Monkeys could not help asking in bewilderment, “Who are these people? How could bandits this vicious appear so close to the capital?”
The instant he finished speaking, another sharp whistle tore through the air behind them.
The next moment, Liu Qiying let out a muffled groan. Her body stiffened violently, then went limp.
“A-Liu!”
Wen Zhuo sensed at once that something was wrong. He whipped around and saw the long arrow that had pierced through Liu Qiying’s left shoulder.
He knew the style of that arrow all too well. Arrows just like it had once driven deep into his flesh and bone, piercing his lungs and nailing him forever in a place of utter despair and unbearable pain.
His blood had flowed across the imperial avenue, while every color in the world faded from before his eyes…
These men were not assassins. They were imperial archers—Imperial Guards.
The one who wanted him dead was the Emperor himself!
In that instant, Wen Zhuo understood many things. But he had no time to mourn the scant affection he had received from that elder. There was only one thought left in his mind:
Survive.
Blood poured from Liu Qiying’s shoulder. The harder she exerted herself, the faster she bled. Before long, her hands and feet had turned cold, and her strength was rapidly draining away.
Her weight alone was slowing the horse, allowing the pursuers to close in step by step.
They could not afford to lose any more speed…
“Six Monkeys, take the lord and go. Protect him with your life! I’ll dismount… dismount and hold them off. Then I’ll join up with A-Jiang.” Liu Qiying’s voice was faint. Her lashes drooped as she prepared to release the reins and fall from the horse.
“Liu Qiying!” Wen Zhuo grabbed her by the arm. His voice was calm, almost cruel. “Listen carefully. When we stop, you’ll fall and pretend to be dead. The grass here is tall enough to reach a man’s waist. You’ll be invisible once you’re in it. Their target is me, and they won’t have time to search carefully. Waiting here is your only chance of survival!”
Liu Qiying forced her eyes open and objected with the last of her strength. “How can we stop?”
“Do as I say! I have a way to escape,” Wen Zhuo ordered sternly.
Liu Qiying could hold on no longer. Tears mingled with cold sweat and rolled down onto her bloodstained shoulder. “What way?”
Wen Zhuo’s heart tightened, but he deliberately pulled up a mocking smile. “You always claim to be full of schemes, my lord. Have you forgotten? You even said that if anything happened to me, you would flee overnight, you liar.”
With that, Wen Zhuo tightened the reins and brought the horse to a stop.
Liu Qiying could no longer hold on. She rolled from the saddle and disappeared into the waist-high weeds.
“There’s still me!” Six Monkeys cried through his tears. “I swear I’ll protect the lord!”
The moment they stopped, the pursuers closed in by several yards. Wen Zhuo could almost make out their brows and eyes beneath the black cloth covering their faces.
He hurriedly urged the horse onward again, with Six Monkeys keeping pace beside him.
But Wen Zhuo was no horseman. No matter how desperately he urged the animal on, its speed still could not match the fine steeds of the Imperial Guards. The distance between them shrank inch by inch.
Wen Zhuo knew perfectly well that the royal hunting grounds, still half an hour away, were now beyond their reach.
The Emperor was the Emperor, after all. He would rather kill the wrong person than let anyone escape.
Even though Wen Zhuo was Consort Chen’s nephew, even though today’s situation bore an uncanny resemblance to what had happened long ago, His Majesty had shown him not the slightest mercy.
And yet, faced with death, Wen Zhuo found that he harbored little bitterness. Instead, a trace of absurd consolation rose within him.
The Emperor was killing him to sever every possible weakness and ensure that Shen Zheng remained secure upon the throne.
Love between men was ultimately intolerable to the world. Only after Wen Zhuo died could Shen Zheng become a flawless, unburdened ruler and bring peace to the realm.
Only… if Shen Zheng learned of his death, how much pain would it cause him?
Shen Zheng was not of this world. He was not bound by the shackles of propriety, nor did he bow to imperial authority or ancestral law. He had said that, where he came from, one person could belong to only one other—and that men could love one another as well.
A man like that would never, as His Majesty had once abandoned Consort Chen, yield to convention and become the emperor the world expected him to be.
He could not die.
For Shen Zheng’s sake, he had to live!
If Shen Zheng learned that he was in danger, he would surely sever ties with his father completely and summon every ounce of his power to rescue him.
He could not let his Highness stake everything on a desperate gamble, only to lose it all!
At that thought, the scattered light in Wen Zhuo’s eyes gradually drew together, and his expression cleared in an instant.
As he urged his horse onward, he surveyed the surrounding terrain, desperately searching for a sliver of life amid this hopeless predicament.
Suddenly, he heard the roar of rushing water nearby. A torrent plunged from the mountaintop, merging into a tributary of the Dragon River and surging toward Liangzhou.
A thought struck Wen Zhuo. Turning sideways, he called out, “Six Monkeys, you said your swimming is excellent!”
Six Monkeys blinked, then thumped his chest. “Naturally!”
“Then let’s wager our lives on this!”
A look of grim determination flashed through Wen Zhuo’s eyes. He dug his heels into his horse’s flanks and charged straight toward the sound of the water.
Six Monkeys followed close behind.
The moment they reached the riverbank, the Imperial Guards were already upon them. Wen Zhuo’s entire body had gone limp with exhaustion, and he could no longer hold on. He tumbled straight from the saddle and crashed to the ground.
Jiang Ziwei roared, “Take them! Move!”
At that critical instant, Six Monkeys lunged forward, wrapped both arms tightly around Wen Zhuo’s waist, and plunged into the river with a splash.
The water of the late-autumn river was cold enough to freeze the marrow. The moment he entered it, Wen Zhuo felt every limb and bone in his body turn numb with cold, while filthy water rushed into his mouth and nose.
The terror of his childhood swept over him. He instinctively flailed with his arms and legs, but he could not swim at all. The harder he struggled, the farther he sank.
He had already exhausted his strength fleeing, and the fall from the horse had left him covered in scrapes. After only a few frantic movements, he had nothing left. His body slowly began to sink.
Six Monkeys, having adjusted to the icy water, hurriedly supported his back and heaved him above the surface.
“My lord! Breathe!” Six Monkeys shouted, wiping the river water from his face.
Hearing the call, Wen Zhuo abruptly opened his eyes and gulped in great mouthfuls of air.
When he looked around again, the muddy waves had already swept them several yards downstream. The force of the current was immense, leaving them no way to resist. They could only drift with the flow.
Jiang Ziwei galloped to the riverbank. Seeing the two men being carried away, he ordered, “Loose arrows! Don’t let them escape!”
Two Imperial Guards immediately nocked their arrows, aiming straight at Wen Zhuo’s head.
Hearing the bowstrings twang, Six Monkeys was terrified out of his wits. He shouted urgently, “My lord, hold your breath!”
Wen Zhuo had just drawn in a breath when Six Monkeys forcefully pressed him beneath the water.
Two sharp arrows skimmed past his ears and struck the riverbed. The current robbed them of their force, leaving only a few splashes on the surface.
Six Monkeys moved through the water like a fish. Even while dragging another man, he remained nimble and at ease.
But Wen Zhuo was no swimmer. He soon found it unbearably difficult to hold his breath, and Six Monkeys had no choice but to lift him above the surface from time to time so he could breathe.
Yet the moment their heads emerged, arrows rained down viciously from the bank. They could only submerge again, repeating the process until they were utterly battered and miserable.
Wen Zhuo already suffered from a chill illness. Immersed in the freezing water, he felt as though needles were piercing his entire body. The pain was unbearable. On top of that, the current was swift and turbulent, making it difficult to breathe, and he had already swallowed several mouthfuls of cold water.
Summoning what little strength he had left, Wen Zhuo forced out, “To…the opposite bank…”
Six Monkeys surfaced and glanced toward the bank before answering decisively, “No! The river’s too narrow. The moment we climb out, they’ll turn us into pincushions. We have to use up all their arrows first!”
But he was far from certain how much longer he could keep this up. Judging by Wen Zhuo’s condition, the man probably could not last much longer.
All they could do now was pray that the assassins would run out of arrows soon!
Wen Zhuo rose and fell with the water, coughing incessantly as his consciousness slowly faded.
His Highness…
If I die this time, will I be reborn? Will I be reborn into a time when you are there?
And then…will you still recognize me?
How hateful. I struggled all my life, yet I still could not meet a good end. Someone like me—was I destined to die young?
As his mind drifted, countless thoughts wound around his heart. His arms slowly dropped, and his eyes gradually closed.
“My lord! Lord Wen!” Six Monkeys cried again and again, but to Wen Zhuo, the voice sounded as though it came from beyond distant mountains and rivers.
The Imperial Guards galloped along the bank in pursuit, somehow keeping pace with the current.
“Lieutenant! The quiver’s empty!” one of the Imperial Guards called anxiously.
Jiang Ziwei’s brows drew tightly together. Without a word, he pulled the last arrow from his quiver, set it to the bow, and locked onto the figure rising and falling in the river like a hawk fixing its gaze on prey.
This was the final arrow. It had to hit. There could be no failure.
The wind speed, the surging waves, the horse’s jolting gait, the rhythm of his breathing—not a single factor could be misjudged.
At last, he caught a fleeting opening. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he slowly drew the bowstring…
Excellent. Wen Zhuo had already lost consciousness, and they would not dare enter the water.
This arrow was sure to strike its mark.
Jiang Ziwei held his breath, every muscle in his body taut. The bowstring bit into his fingertip, leaving behind a deep purple bruise.
Just as the arrow was about to fly, dust suddenly billowed behind them. The thunder of hooves came rushing closer, swift as a storm, and the newcomers were moving even faster than they were.
At the head of the charge was a white horse, its four hooves flying as though treading on clouds. Its mane streamed level with the horizon, while the veins beneath its skin bulged from its furious gallop, glowing a frightening crimson.
The rider wore a scarlet robe embroidered with dragons, unmistakably a noble of the imperial bloodline. A long whip hung at his waist, and his features were cold and severe. Rider and horse together resembled a frigid sword cleaving down from the ninth heaven, tearing a breathtaking fissure across the open wilderness.
“Lieutenant! Someone’s pursuing us!”
“Are they friend or foe? Can our identities be exposed?”
“Should we stop?”
…
The Imperial Guards fell into chaos, but Jiang Ziwei’s eyes were bloodshot as he shouted, “The emperor’s order cannot be disobeyed! Kill Wen Zhuo first!”
He gathered all his focus at the arrowhead. The bowstring was about to snap forward—
In that instant, the Tatar Jewel suddenly rose upright in the saddle. Her long black hair unfurled wildly in the gale, and her nomadic robes shimmered like red-gilded silk.
She raised an ebony xun to her lips and began to play.
A piercing cry tore across the wilderness, splitting the clouds and shattering stone. At the sound, the Imperial Guards’ horses abruptly halted as though controlled by an unseen force. Their front legs buckled, and one after another, they crashed to their knees.
