“Ahhh—!”

A woman’s agonized scream rang out.

The Crown Prince jerked in shock.

He saw the tiger viciously tearing at the woman’s arm, warm blood splattering onto her face.

A young eunuch hurriedly helped the Crown Prince up: “Your Highness, we must leave quickly!”

The Crown Prince looked at her face—it seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but the night was too dark to see clearly, and he couldn’t recall who she might be.

He saw the woman enduring excruciating pain, fumbling at her chest, as if searching for something.

“Crown Prince, help me…” Xie Ping’s voice trembled, her breathing unsteady as she said, “On me, there’s—there’s beast-repelling powder, quickly take it out… quickly!”

The Crown Prince frantically groped about on Xie Ping’s body: “For—forgive the offense.”

With great difficulty, he finally found a packet of powder at her chest.

Xie Ping bit it open with her teeth and threw it toward the tiger.

The tiger howled and slowly retreated, then turned and ran away.

A chunk of flesh had been torn alive from Xie Ping’s arm, blood flowing freely. She didn’t need to pretend at all—her eyes rolled back and she fainted directly.

The Crown Prince was scared out of his wits and caught Xie Ping’s limp body.

He understood very clearly that if this woman hadn’t suddenly appeared, the next person to be killed by the tiger would have been the eunuch beside him, and ultimately, himself.

This woman who had suddenly appeared had saved his life.

Knowing the smell of blood would attract other wild beasts, he hurriedly said: “Quick, help me carry her back.”

The young eunuch was also frightened senseless. Trembling, he came over and lifted Xie Ping’s body, carrying her down the mountain with the Crown Prince back to the sleeping quarters.

“Quickly, summon the imperial physician!”

The Crown Prince sat on the ground, completely drained of strength, staring blankly at the woman lying on the bed.

He didn’t know why, but the more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. He must have seen her somewhere before.

The imperial physician arrived quickly, and accompanying him was the Crown Princess.

It was already well past midnight. The Crown Princess had just fallen asleep when she was awakened by a maid saying the Crown Prince had returned covered in blood.

Terrified, she threw on some clothes and came, only to see the Crown Prince’s face covered in blood, sitting blankly on the ground as if he had lost his soul.

“Your Highness!” The Crown Princess hurried forward. “Where is Your Highness injured? What happened?”

The Crown Prince shook his head: “It’s not me, it’s her.”

He pointed at the person lying on the bed.

The Crown Princess looked up. On the bed was a very young girl. It seemed she had seen her somewhere before.

She couldn’t help but ask: “Your Highness, who is she?”

“I don’t know.” The Crown Prince pressed his brow. “I encountered a tiger on the mountain. If she hadn’t thrown herself forward to save me, I would probably already be dead.”

The Crown Princess’s brow furrowed.

A chunk of flesh had been torn from the woman’s arm—her injuries were extremely severe. It was uncertain whether her life could even be saved.

She felt there was something strange about this whole affair.

How could there be a tiger on the imperial mountain?

How could a woman suddenly appear in the dead of night?

While the imperial physician was treating her, the Crown Princess quietly went out and had her maids and nannies investigate everything.

Before long, information was gathered.

The Crown Princess quickly turned back inside and said coldly: “Does Your Highness know why you encountered a tiger? It’s all because of this woman before you!”

The Crown Prince looked up: “What do you mean?”

“She is a maid who feeds the tiger at the imperial mausoleum.” The Crown Princess’s voice was cold. “She abandoned her post, allowing the tiger to escape in the middle of the night, nearly injuring the heir to the nation. She should be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review for judgment!”

The Crown Princess had barely finished speaking.

Xie Ping on the bed suddenly awoke. She rolled down and knelt on the ground, enduring her pain as she said: “This servant pays respects to the Crown Prince, pays respects to the Crown Princess. This servant is indeed the maid who feeds the tiger. The tiger was restless and agitated throughout the night. When this servant went to fetch water, it broke free from its cage and escaped. This servant followed it all the way to the back mountain. Fortunately, nothing irreversible occurred. This servant knows her sins are grave and is willing to atone with death!”

She rose and moved to dash her head against a large pillar in the hall.

The Crown Prince reached out and stopped her: “You saved me. Consider your merits offsetting your faults.”

The Crown Princess took a deep breath.

From the first day she married the Crown Prince, she knew that the Crown Prince, like the current Emperor, had a weakness for beautiful women.

But this lowly slave before her was covered in blood, with no beauty to speak of. She didn’t understand why the Crown Prince would act this way.

Forget it. Without this lowly slave, there would be other women. She was too lazy to concern herself with such matters.

The Crown Princess turned and left with a flick of her sleeves.

The Crown Prince helped Xie Ping up: “Your arm is injured. Lie down properly and let the imperial physician treat your wound.”

Xie Ping’s face was full of panic and unease: “No, this servant is guilty, deserving of ten thousand deaths. Please, Crown Prince…”

“You are my life-saving benefactor.” The Crown Prince pressed her onto the bed. “What is your name?”

“This servant is called Linglong.”

Xie Ping lowered her eyelids, concealing all the emotions in her eyes.

Linglong was the first friend she had made after coming to the imperial mausoleum. It was Linglong who told her she could seek the old dowager consort’s help, which led her to find a place of refuge.

Several years ago, the imperial mausoleum had captured a large tiger alive, and feeding the tiger became Linglong’s duty.

She often went to see Linglong, learned the tiger’s temperament, knew what the tiger feared, and knew exactly where Linglong kept the key to the iron cage.

This very night, Linglong had died of suffocation in her sleep, her mouth and nose covered by Xie Ping’s hands, her body thrown into the mausoleum’s protective river…

“Linglong, I’m sorry…” Xie Ping said silently in her heart. “If there had been any other choice, I would never have taken your life. I’m sorry…”

This night was exceptionally long.

Before dawn broke, Yun Chu awoke and roused the two children to change their clothes. This morning there would be the final interment ceremony, and they could return to the capital in the afternoon.

The sorrowful weeping at the imperial mausoleum had continued all night.

The imperial bloodline knelt and kowtowed again as they had yesterday. The Ministry of Rites recited the eulogy, with the Emperor and Chu Rui reciting along at the very front.

This ceremony lasted approximately over an hour before finally concluding.

Two young eunuchs helped Chu Rui stand up. Chu Rui suddenly began coughing violently, bright red blood spilling from the corners of his lips and dripping onto the white jade stone floor.

Forcing himself to maintain his strength, he said: “Imperial Uncle, Rui’er will no longer reside in the capital from now on. I bid farewell here.”

The Emperor’s eyes held a trace of depth: “Imperial Physician Li, come examine Rui’er.”

Imperial Physician Li stepped forward to take Chu Rui’s pulse. After a long while, he said: “Prince Rui’s body is severely depleted. He must rest and recuperate properly…”

The Emperor asked slowly: “Is there danger to his life?”

As far as he knew, Chu Rui had not consumed heart’s blood for at least three months and should have perished long ago, yet he had survived until now.

This once again proved that the former State Preceptor Qi was indeed useless. Because of that false claim, countless young women’s lives had been taken.

Imperial Physician Li bowed his head: “This… this humble servant cannot say for certain.”

He couldn’t identify Chu Rui’s specific ailment and truly didn’t dare speak carelessly.

The Emperor said lightly: “Now I am your closest relative. To let you leave the capital alone—I truly cannot be at ease. I will have someone arrange a residence in the capital for you to live in and recuperate peacefully.”

A bitter smile appeared on Chu Rui’s lips.

He was already halfway to the grave, yet the Emperor still wanted to arrange for people to monitor him.

He didn’t know when in this lifetime he would gain his freedom.