After hearing this, Duoduo nodded at Shitou.
Shitou bowed, then hurried out of the prince’s residence.
Recalling Yunxi’s strange behavior just now, Duoduo decided to ask her father about it.
“Papa, has something happened in the residence lately?”
Xiao Yi was taken aback. “What happened?”
Duoduo told him about the conflict between her two cousins, as well as Yunxi’s unusual behavior just moments ago.
Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow and looked toward Yunxiao.
Yunxiao hurried forward to report.
“Your Highness, Old Madam Su summoned Miss Yunxi and gave her a harsh scolding.”
“The guards vaguely heard Old Madam Su threatening Miss Yunxi.”
“She said that just because Miss Yunxi had clung to the Princess Consort’s favor, she shouldn’t think she could act without restraint.”
“She also said that she had already chosen a marriage match for Miss Yunxi.”
Xiao Yi’s brows furrowed deeply.
“A marriage match? Which family? Does the Princess Consort know?”
Xiao Yi had never paid much attention to the affairs of the inner residence.
Moreover, the court had been in turmoil lately, and Duoduo had gone through one ordeal after another. As a result, Xiao Yi knew nothing about this.
“Your Highness, Old Madam Su only went out once, and that was with the Princess Consort and the Commandery Princess,” Yunxiao replied.
Duoduo remembered what had happened that day.
“But Grandmother didn’t meet anyone that day, did she? She only exchanged a few words with Old Madam Wang.”
“Perhaps Old Madam Su was merely trying to frighten Miss Yunxi,” Yunxiao explained.
Duoduo thought about it, but still couldn’t feel at ease.
“Papa, I’m going to ask Mama!”
Duoduo hoped she could help her cousin Yunxi.
Xiao Yi nodded. He waited until Duoduo had left before continuing with his affairs.
“Other than us, who else was attacked today?”
Yunxiao immediately lowered his head.
“Your Highness, I sent people to investigate. The only other victim was the Commandery Princess.”
Xiao Yi’s brows twitched, and a vicious look appeared in his eyes.
“Fifth Brother wants to provoke a conflict between me and the Second Prince, then sit back and watch us fight?”
On the first day, Prince Ling was assassinated.
On the second day, Changle was attacked.
By ordinary reasoning, he would naturally assume that the Second Prince was retaliating.
Everyone in the capital knew how much Xiao Yi doted on Changle.
He would certainly seek revenge for her!
And if he mobilized his forces to take revenge, Fifth Brother could remain hidden in the shadows and watch him and the Second Prince fight to the death.
“What a scheme!” Xiao Yi secretly ground his back teeth.
His hand unconsciously rubbed the armrest of his wheelchair.
“Yunxiao, have our people secretly follow Prince Ling’s men.”
“Remember—not a single one is to be left alive!”
Xiao Yi’s voice was filled with murderous fury.
Yunxiao raised his head excitedly. “Yes, Your Highness. I’ll make the arrangements at once.”
After Yunxiao left, Xiao Yi looked at the envelope on the table, his eyes filled with killing intent.
At Prince Ling’s residence, Prince Ling had just returned.
The steward hurried over to him.
“Your Highness, we have news!”
Prince Ling, his face full of exhaustion, took a sip of tea.
“What news?”
The steward bowed and cupped his hands.
“Your Highness, the guards have found the place where the assassins from that day were hiding.”
Prince Ling’s gaze sharpened. “Are you certain?”
The steward quickly replied, “Yes! This old servant has arranged for men to keep watch outside.”
Prince Ling slammed his palm onto the tea table to his right.
“Go and kill them! Leave not a single one alive!”
The steward’s eyes flickered. “Your Highness, shouldn’t we keep one alive to question him about the person behind this?”
“Question them first, then kill them!” Prince Ling answered without hesitation.
“Yes!”
The steward hurriedly withdrew.
Before long, a group of men armed with weapons mounted their horses and rode out of Prince Ling’s residence.
The darkness of night provided the perfect cover.
A residence outside the city had been wrapped in a peaceful silence, but the figures of the approaching men shattered the stillness.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
A burst of barking had barely begun before it abruptly fell silent.
The gate of the residence was opened from within.
The men waiting outside rushed in all at once.
Soon, the clash of weapons rang out from inside the residence.
Someone managed to flee amid the chaos.
But he was quickly cut down by one of the men waiting outside.
Gradually, the sounds subsided until everything fell silent.
Suddenly, flames rose from within the residence.
The fire grew larger and larger. With the air so dry, the house was soon burned down to an empty shell.
The nearby residents hid inside their homes, not daring to venture out and investigate.
Only after the sound of hoofbeats gradually faded into the distance did the bolder ones sneak outside to take a look.
The burned residence stood apart from the others, so the fire had not spread to the neighboring homes.
Someone recognized it as the residence of the Fifth Imperial Consort and secretly went to report the matter.
At that moment, in Prince Ling’s residence, a guard reeking of blood was reporting to Prince Ling.
“Your Highness, not a single survivor was left.”
“Did you find out who was behind it?” Prince Ling asked, rubbing his temples.
“The residence belonged to the Fifth Imperial Consort,” the guard replied carefully.
“Fifth Brother!” Prince Ling repeated through clenched teeth. He flung the teacup in his hand across the room.
“Go! Take men immediately and…”
Lowering his voice, Prince Ling issued a quiet order.
The guard nodded and soon led another group out of the residence.
At the residence of the Fifth Prince, the lanterns beneath the corridors cast a warm glow.
The entire estate was silent, save for the occasional patrol of guards.
Suddenly, a shadow vaulted over the high wall and crouched at its base.
Then another shadow climbed over.
One after another, several people slipped over the wall and gathered beneath it.
The first person to enter made a hand signal.
The others promptly scattered and ran toward several different courtyards.
Before long, a fierce fire broke out in one of the courtyards.
The patrolling guards hurriedly struck the alarm gong.
Because of the hot weather, large vats had been filled with water along the base of the walls to prevent fires.
However, when the guards rushing to put out the flames grabbed their buckets and went to draw water, they discovered that the vats had been smashed.
There wasn’t a single drop of water in them.
With no time to think, the guards quickly ran to another spot.
The result was the same.
After checking several places and finding that every vat had been destroyed, one guard suddenly realized the truth.
Someone had done this deliberately!
An enemy had infiltrated the residence!
The guard hurriedly dropped his bucket and ran to report to the captain.
At that moment, the captain was already frantically directing the guards to find water and put out the fire.
The guard stumbled up to him.
“Captain! There’s… there’s…”
The captain was already in a panic. A fire had broken out during their patrol, of all times.
If their master blamed him, he feared the head on his shoulders might not remain there for long.
And the more anxious the guard became, the more he stammered.
He tried desperately to explain what he had discovered.
“Captain! There’s…”
“There’s nothing! Get lost!” The captain kicked the guard in the stomach.
The guard fell to the ground. The pain immediately broke through his stammer.
“Captain, there are assassins!”
The captain was startled.
“Where? Where are they?”
The guard scrambled to his feet. “There are assassins… Protect the Fifth Prince and the Fifth Imperial Consort!”
The moment the captain heard this, he had no time to think. He shouted for several men and charged toward the rear courtyard.
At that moment, the Fifth Prince was putting on his outer robe and reaching for the door.
