The moment the door swung open, the Fifth Prince saw a flash of white streak toward him.
He recoiled in fright, crashing into the Fifth Imperial Consort behind him.
“Oof!” The Fifth Imperial Consort was knocked backward and landed hard on the floor.
The Fifth Prince hurriedly slammed the door shut. With a clang, a blade struck the doorframe.
The Fifth Imperial Consort let out a shrill scream.
“Shut up!” The Fifth Prince braced himself against the door and frantically searched for something he could use as a weapon.
Outside, someone was kicking the door again and again. It was already swaying dangerously on its hinges.
“Push the table over here, now!” the Fifth Prince snapped angrily at the Fifth Imperial Consort on the floor.
The Fifth Imperial Consort scrambled to her feet, but one foot caught on her own skirt.
She stumbled and plunged headfirst onto the floor.
“Idiot!” the Fifth Prince cursed in exasperation.
Fortunately, he spotted a vase on the side table by the door.
Using his foot, he dragged the table over and grabbed the vase.
Peering through the crack in the door, the Fifth Prince saw his guards rushing over.
He cautiously opened the door. Outside, a group of men in black were locked in fierce combat with the guards of the prince’s residence.
“Whether they live or die, don’t let a single one of them escape!”
Seeing more and more guards arrive, the Fifth Prince grew bolder.
He picked up a sword beside one of the bodies and joined the guards in battle.
Whoosh!
An arrow tore through the darkness, flying across the rooftop.
The courtyard rang with the clanging of weapons, and no one noticed the arrow sailing through the air.
“Your Highness! Look out!”
The Fifth Imperial Consort, still hiding inside the room, saw that the arrow was clearly aimed at her husband. Her legs went weak with fear.
Hearing her cry, the Fifth Prince instinctively turned sideways and looked back.
At that moment, the arrow pierced the darkness and plunged straight into the Fifth Prince’s chest.
Pfft!
Clutching his chest, the Fifth Prince collapsed.
Everyone fighting in the courtyard froze for a moment.
The next second, the captain of the guards swung his arm high.
“Kill them all! Avenge the prince!”
The guards instantly surrounded the men in black, leaving them no room to escape.
On the roof, the black-clad archer lowered his bow and leaped from the eaves.
He soon vanished into the darkness.
The fighting in the courtyard continued, but the assassins had already begun looking for a way to flee.
When the Fifth Imperial Consort saw her husband fall, she rushed outside and threw herself onto him.
“Your Highness? Your Highness!”
“Send for the imperial physician! Hurry and send for the imperial physician!”
The Fifth Imperial Consort’s shrill voice tore through the darkness.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
With the crowing of the rooster, the darkness was torn apart, revealing a sliver of light.
As the light grew brighter, the sky slowly began to brighten.
Prince Ling’s residence.
A guard gently knocked on the door.
“Your Highness, it’s time to attend morning court.”
Inside, Prince Ling opened his eyes. His head felt as though it were splitting apart.
He did not know whether it was because of the pressure he had been under these past few days, but he had been sleeping poorly.
Last night, he had finally managed to fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by the guards.
After that, he tossed and turned in bed like a pancake on a griddle, unable to sleep.
It was nearly dawn before he finally drifted off again.
Then the guards began knocking on his door.
His lack of sleep, combined with the splitting headache, left Prince Ling in an extremely foul mood.
An inexplicable fury kept rising within him.
“Your Highness...” The guard outside carefully knocked on the door once more.
“Get lost!”
Prince Ling grabbed a teacup and hurled it at the door.
The guard outside was startled and quickly jumped aside.
Inside, Prince Ling rubbed his temples and sat up.
He decided that today he would speak with His Majesty about moving into the Eastern Palace.
The constant traveling back and forth was not only unsafe, but also interfered with his rest.
Prince Ling got out of bed and called, “Someone come!”
His personal attendant stationed outside hurriedly lowered his head and entered.
“My lord!”
Prince Ling spread his arms, and the attendant quickly stepped forward, picked up the clothes beside the bed, and helped him get dressed.
Once he was dressed, Prince Ling remembered what had happened the previous night and casually asked, “Have the guards we sent out last night returned?”
The attendant had been kneeling on the floor, helping Prince Ling put on his shoes.
At the question, his body stiffened slightly.
“Reporting to Your Highness, they have returned.” He hesitated before continuing, “But only one man came back...”
The moment the attendant finished speaking, a foot slammed into his body.
Prince Ling strode out of the room.
Ignoring the pain, the attendant scrambled to his feet and hurried after him.
“Where is he? Bring him to me!”
Prince Ling strode toward the study.
“Yes!” The attendant did not dare disobey and hurried off to summon the man.
Soon, the attendant brought in a guard covered in blood.
The moment he entered, the guard dropped to his knees before Prince Ling.
“This subordinate greets Your Highness!”
“Speak! Where are the others?” Prince Ling stared at him coldly.
The guard’s face was twisted with pain.
“Reporting to Your Highness, the others are all dead.”
“This subordinate escaped and made it back in the confusion!”
After speaking, the guard lifted his head, an eager, self-congratulatory look on his face.
“Your Highness, although all our men died, the Fifth Prince is dead as well!”
“We fulfilled our mission and completed the task Your Highness assigned us!”
At last, a trace of a smile appeared on Prince Ling’s face.
“He’s dead? Are you certain?”
The guard nodded excitedly. “This subordinate is certain!”
“The Fifth Prince took an arrow straight through the chest. He died on the spot!”
Upon hearing this, Prince Ling threw back his head and laughed heartily.
He rose to his feet and personally helped the guard up.
“Then you have all worked hard.”
“Little Lin, personally escort him home.”
After saying this, Prince Ling patted the guard firmly on the shoulder.
“Go back and rest well. I’ll have further use for you in the future.”
The guard’s face lit up with excitement.
“Yes! This subordinate is willing to serve Your Highness faithfully and will never betray you!”
Prince Ling nodded with a smile and strode out.
The guard’s face was filled with anticipation.
Having earned the favor of the Crown Prince, he was certain that he would soon rise through the ranks and make a fortune.
Suddenly, the guard felt a sharp pain in his neck.
He touched it in astonishment and saw that his hand was covered in blood.
The next second, the captain collapsed to the ground with a thud.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“Why...? How dare you kill me...?”
Little Lin placed his sword against the guard’s body and wiped the blood from the blade.
A mocking smile tugged at his lips.
“You could have lived. Unfortunately, you talked too much and sent yourself straight to the underworld.”
Confusion spread across the guard’s face.
He watched as Little Lin turned to leave, then summoned all his remaining strength and grabbed Little Lin by the trouser leg.
“Wh... why... why?”
Little Lin kicked the guard aside.
“Think about it yourself. Where did that arrow come from tonight?”
