As soon as the words fell, several people’s expressions changed, and they all raised the long blades in their hands.

Fang Xie said, “No one is permitted to strike her.”

The shadow guards could only retreat step by step.

Qun Qing’s arm tightened around Fang Xie. She felt both of them trembling—Fang Xie from pain, she from tension—as they slowly moved outward.

In this life, she hadn’t been besieged on all sides like this for a long time. Any lapse could cost her her life.

Walking outside the cabin, the wind howled and the boat swayed and tilted.

Under the shadow guards’ noses, that fish-killing youth moved very quickly, throwing the ferry boat into the river. His hands deftly released the rope, and in the blink of an eye, the ferry boat was lowered.

“You…” A shadow guard glared at him.

The youth himself quickly jumped onto it, hugging his arms fearfully: “Lady, you can board now.”

Qun Qing jumped onto the boat while holding Fang Xie, her long blade held before them. Fang Xie said, “Let them pass.”

“Your Highness!” The slightly older shadow guard finally couldn’t help but grab the rope with his hand. “Qing Niang, wherever you want to go can be discussed. The river is wide and the waves are broad—trying to leave with just this ferry boat is like child’s play.”

Qun Qing used her own shawl to bind Fang Xie to the ferry boat. A flash of silver light appeared before her eyes as she warned, “No one is to come down, or I’ll immediately throw the child pill into the water. Without the antidote, he’ll die from the poison.”

This kind of slender young woman could easily become a soul beneath the blade in chaotic times. Yet she happened to have a pair of dark, indifferent eyes that looked upon people mercilessly, making no one dare act rashly.

“Elder Sister, as long as you don’t separate from me, we can go anywhere. I won’t make you a slave or concubine. I only wanted to take you away. I never intended to deceive you, and I never thought things would come to this.” Fang Xie no longer struggled. He lay on the ferry boat, his lips stained with blood, his jet-black eyes gazing at the sky. His fingers moved slightly, looking somewhat pitiful.

Qun Qing really couldn’t help but ask, “Wasn’t Physician Li your master? Why is your tone when mentioning him so cold?”

Fang Xie said nothing.

Qun Qing continued, “Is it because Physician Li wasn’t the master who raised you? You were only sent to the clinic after the kingdom fell, so you don’t have deep feelings for him.”

“Your Highness—which highness are you?” Qun Qing said. “Emperor Chu Huang has no other children besides Crown Prince Zhao. Among the imperial family, only Princess Imperial Changping’s young son was frail from childhood and practiced cultivation in a temple.”

“Ling Yunnuo, is that you?”

Fang Xie’s body trembled violently: “Don’t mention that name. I’m not surnamed Ling Yun.”

Ling Yunyi had betrayed the Princess Imperial and abducted the young son to serve as a puppet emperor. It was natural that he hated this surname.

“When I first heard that Princess Imperial Changping burned her own son to death, many people found it unbelievable. The Princess Imperial indeed left a contingency plan. After you escaped, you hid in Physician Li’s clinic, and then you met me.” Qun Qing slowly spoke her conclusion.

“Then what about my mother?” Her voice caught, but she finally asked.

The news of Physician Li going to find her mother had been relayed by Fang Xie from the very beginning.

“You led me step by step with information. Whenever I got close, accidents would occur. You wanted me to leave the palace.”

Fang Xie heard the trembling in her voice. He turned his face, somewhat at a loss: “Elder Sister, your mother is in Nan Chu. Come back with me. You can see her when we return.”

“My mother is not in Nan Chu.” Qun Qing looked at him quietly. “If she were in Nan Chu, Crown Prince Zhao would have already used her to threaten me.”

Large raindrops fell. The rain poured down torrentially, and whirlpools appeared one after another on the river’s surface.

“Is my mother already dead?” Qun Qing pressed the short blade against Fang Xie’s neck.

The ferry boat was connected to the cargo ship by rope, rising and falling with the waves amid the gale and rain curtain, appearing and disappearing.

The qin music was urgent and chaotic. The strings continuously splashed rainwater. Lu Huating pressed down on the strings, but they still trembled ceaselessly under his palm.

He heard footsteps. Juan Su hurried in and whispered in his ear: “Chief Administrator, the Palace Administration Bureau says Qing Niang’s palace registry is forged. The Crown Prince has sent people to capture Qing Niang.”

Lu Huating froze, his fingers resting on his sash: “Go prepare horses now.”

With that, he removed his outer robe, folded it slightly, and covered the qin with it.

The prison door of Jinglian Pavilion was pushed open. Zhu Su started in surprise. Lu Huating took the whip from his hand as he walked, his upturned eyes looking only at the half-dead Lin Yujia: “Hang him up. You wait outside.”

Outside, Zhu Su heard Lin Yujia’s screams overlapping from inside: “I’ll sign, I’ll sign…”

Juan Su said, “Didn’t you say to let us torture him for a while? Why interrogate him so suddenly?”

Zhu Su didn’t understand either. He only looked in through the dark window. He could see that Lin Yujia hadn’t changed out of his robes from the ceremony day. The burn marks had caused his flesh to stick to the clothing.

His entire face was colorless, his lips trembling, his eyes full of hatred: “My contact is Qun Qing… You shouldn’t cover for her, should you? You can’t cover for her either. I won’t be the only one to die.”

Lu Huating examined the confession, folded it neatly, and tucked it in his bosom before raising his eyes.

Lin Yujia feared his eyes. The outer corners tilted upward, yet the pupils were cold and mocking, growing even darker each time he beat someone.

“One last matter to consult Director Lin about.” Lu Huating looked at him politely. “On that day, did you and Qun Qing’s betrothal have any token?”

“You still want a token?” The slightest movement was worse than death for Lin Yujia. After groaning for quite a while, he spat, “Our Lin family is a distinguished family of officials and scholars. What official’s daughter wouldn’t want to marry in? Our token is this official’s cap and leather belt. Someone of the Chief Administrator’s lowly birth probably…”

Before he finished speaking, Lu Huating grabbed his belt, directly tore it off, and threw it into the brazier, watching the flames leap high: “You and Qun Qing were truly ill-matched. This marriage, today I dissolve it on behalf of your father’s spirit altar. Go without ties or attachments.”

With that, Lu Huating no longer watched Lin Yujia’s struggles. He left through the door, gave the whip to Juan Su, and smiled: “Interrogate him more about Qing Niang’s childhood anecdotes. If he can’t say anything, kill him.”

With that, his smile faded. His single-layer robe was almost completely soaked. He tugged at his collar: “Zhu Su, come with me.”

On the deck, the older shadow guard knelt down: “I beg the lady not to harm His Highness. When we rescued him and sent him to the capital, he truly didn’t know!”

Fang Xie’s face had turned ashen gray. His breath feeble, he looked toward him.

“He didn’t know, but you know?” Qun Qing’s hair bun was soaked, her face covered in rainwater. She pointed at him with the blade: “Then you tell me.”

The shadow guard’s face showed an expression of reluctance: “Isn’t the lady’s mother Auntie Zhu Ying who served beside Princess Imperial Changping?”

“When the kingdom fell, Princess Imperial Changping did indeed send her a secret order, telling her to go to the palace to retrieve a piece of evidence.”

“What evidence?” Qun Qing asked.

“I only know it was related to the fourth son of the Li family in the palace. Despite the danger, Auntie Zhu Ying infiltrated Changqing Palace. We were ordered by the princess to protect her. When we arrived, the Li family had already attacked. Prince Zhao arrived at Changqing Palace first, followed by Chancellor Meng, who sealed off Changqing Palace and captured all the palace maids.”

Qun Qing listened quietly.

He continued: “Prince Zhao and that man surnamed Meng seemed to also be searching for that evidence. They imprisoned those palace maids. We tried to rescue Auntie Zhu Ying, but they guarded too strictly. After more than ten days of confinement, all those palace maids were executed. But strangely, we didn’t find Auntie Zhu Ying’s corpse. Instead, we saw another…”

He glanced at Qun Qing and lowered his eyes: “The corpse was kneeling, hands bound behind the back, marked with whip wounds—it was General Shi.”

Qun Qing felt like a huge stone in her heart had fallen and shattered.

She only knew that her Father had died during the palace chaos. Because the other two garrison commanders who shared his position had all died defending the city, Emperor Chenming later had their arrow-riddled, bloody bodies collected and buried in the outskirts. Given Shi Yu’s character, he wasn’t the type to flee.

Yet now Qun Qing heard from another’s mouth a different circumstance of her Father’s death.

Judging from this shadow guard’s words, her Father had most likely found her mother on the day the city fell, stopped her, and went to complete Princess Imperial Changping’s mission in her place, then was killed by Prince Zhao or Chancellor Meng.

In the torrential rain, Qun Qing lowered her eyelids.

So cold. She thought that having lived through two lifetimes, she had become numb and could think calmly. Yet her heart still felt numb, aching wave after wave.

Fang Xie said urgently, “Elder Sister… my intelligence says your mother has been rescued by Nan Chu. Come back with me. When I seize power, I will definitely reunite you both.”

Qun Qing looked at him coldly, the rainwater before her eyes blurring her vision.

Now there were two answers—the real one, perhaps cruel; the beautiful one, perhaps fatal.

She no longer wanted to be anyone’s chess piece. Someone who had deceived her once, she would never trust again.

She said to Fang Xie, “I’m not going to Nan Chu.”

At this moment, the boat approached the Jiannan Circuit dock. Suddenly from the shore came the sound of horse hooves and voices. Dozens of people holding torches rode horses chasing the boat, vaguely shouting: “Stop, dock the boat!”

Several shadow guards said, “Great Chen’s people have caught up. We can’t delay any longer, Your Highness!”

Before the words finished, arrows shot over, thudding as they stuck in the boat canopy. They immediately tried to jump onto the ferry boat.

Qun Qing cut the connecting rope. Several people all fell into the water.

Qun Qing placed the child pill at Fang Xie’s lips and said to the shadow guards, “If you want to live, leave me now. If you want to fight with me, no one will escape.”

“Elder Sister!” Fang Xie looked at her. “What are you doing? I’m not leaving.”

Qun Qing had already stuffed the child pill into his mouth while simultaneously cutting the shawl: “If you still remember this life-saving grace, after seizing power, ennoble me as ‘Tian.'”

With that, she pushed him into the water.

Those four shadow guards naturally understood priorities. They swarmed forward, carrying him on their backs as they ferried toward the distance: “Your Highness, let’s go quickly!”

Fang Xie lay on one person’s back, looking back at her. The alarm in his eyes gradually became despair. The Mother-Child Soul Transfer Pill tormented his body. Now it no longer hurt—his strength exhausted, he fainted.

Qun Qing didn’t row the boat. She let the small boat drift on the river. She sat quietly on the ferry boat, her eyes reflecting the shadows of garrison soldiers on horseback chasing the boat on shore. She recognized their clothing—they were the Crown Prince’s garrison soldiers.

If she had been caught by Li Xuan earlier, she would probably have felt despair.

But now, watching the garrison soldiers approach, she instead felt some satisfaction.

She pondered the shadow guard’s earlier words. Sourness and unwillingness gradually rose in her chest, flames rolling up.

But if she didn’t know the details it would be fine. Now that she knew, her enemies were still in the palace. She had just crossed paths with them not long ago, seeing their wealthy and comfortable appearance—how could she be willing to die like this? What meaning would fleeing have?

Li Xuan only sent people to capture and bring her back, not to kill her on the spot, which meant she still had a chance to turn things around.

Something was suddenly placed on her head.

The fish-killing youth covered her head with clothing. He was shivering from cold yet was still gnawing on a flatbread. Noticing Qun Qing’s gaze, he slowly moved the flatbread from his own lips to Qun Qing’s lips.

Qun Qing didn’t eat: “You’re not afraid?”

“Ma said, the bold die of overeating, the timid die of starvation. Staying on the boat I might also get killed. Might as well gamble and follow you—aren’t we alive right now?” This youth said carefully, “Lady, ma also said, better to live badly than to die well.”

Qun Qing’s nose stung for an instant. She was very surprised that she could still be moved by such childish words: “Following me, you’re about to have bad luck.”

“Huh?”

Several flying hooks were thrown out, catching onto the boat, directly pulling the wooden vessel to the shore. On the shore’s dead branches and fallen leaves were all horses and people. The garrison soldiers wore bright silver armor, their faces cold.

“Eastern Palace Chief Clerk Wang Xiang, on the Crown Prince’s orders, brings Qing Niang back to the palace.” The leader cupped his hands in salute, his tone polite but cold.

But at this moment, from behind came more horse hooves and whistle sounds. That cavalry galloped over, charging straight through. The Eastern Palace garrison soldiers had no choice but to split into two columns, allowing a team of white horses to break through the encirclement.

Qun Qing sat indifferently on the boat and saw the leader wearing red official robes, his entire body soaked through by rain, making the red brocade and embroidery even more vivid and striking. His pale face and jet-black hair were distinct to the point of being bewitching. He reined in his horse and looked at Qun Qing from afar before turning to Wang Xiang:

“Prince Yan’s manor is capturing a spy. I also need to bring Qing Niang back to the palace for investigation.”