Such a heroic, spirited sword dance — how could anyone not love it?

No one knew how much thought Prince Yan had put into finding so many young women skilled in martial arts, nor how painstakingly he had rehearsed such a magnificent performance.

The Emperor beamed with delight, nodding repeatedly. “My son, you’ve shown such thoughtfulness. I truly enjoy watching this.”

Prince Yan smiled. “As long as Father is pleased, then my efforts were not wasted.”

As he spoke, he glanced—seemingly by chance—at the Crown Grandson.

A flash of coldness crossed the Crown Grandson’s eyes, and he sneered inwardly. Prince Yan had gone to such great lengths to arrange this sword dance — it seemed the real “show” was yet to come.

The drumbeats grew denser, and the sword dance grew faster and more intense.

Watching, the Emperor was utterly enthralled, unable to stop himself from recalling his younger days leading troops into battle. For a moment his heart swelled with emotion, and he could not contain himself.

Just then, a sudden disaster struck!

The young woman leading the dance in front suddenly let killing intent flash in her eyes, and she lunged forward with her long sword. The cold, glinting blade aimed straight for the Emperor’s chest!

This sudden change happened far too fast!

Everyone’s faces drained of color!

“Father, watch out!” The Crown Prince, seated closest to the Emperor, instinctively lunged forward.

Unfortunately, he had once been gravely wounded on the battlefield. Though he had recuperated carefully, the injury had damaged him to the bone, and his reflexes were nowhere near as sharp as before. He simply could not reach in time. Just two steps short, he could only watch helplessly as the blade was about to pierce the Emperor’s chest.

At that very moment, another figure stepped in front of the Emperor just in time.

It was Prince Yan, who had been seated to the Emperor’s right!

The sharp blade pierced Prince Yan’s chest, and a bloom of blood instantly blossomed across his chest.

Agony seared through Prince Yan’s chest; his handsome face went deathly pale, his eyes filled with pain. Yet he still managed to shout aloud, “Guards, seize the assassin!”

The Imperial Guards stationed in the hall had already reacted and swiftly closed in.

Yang Wei, the Commander of the Imperial Guards seated among the banquet, went pale with shock and, without thinking, drew his long blade and hurled it with all his strength — the gleaming blade flew out like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The female assassin seemed to have eyes in the back of her head; she yanked her sword free and, with a sharp clang, knocked the blade aside.

Prince Yan let out an anguished cry, blood spattering from his chest, quickly soaking through the clothing over his chest.

More than a dozen Imperial Guards struck together, surrounding the female assassin. Though her skills were extraordinary, she was alone against many, and soon began to falter, losing ground.

…

Having witnessed this with his own eyes, the Emperor’s face had already gone pale with shock.

If Prince Yan had been even slightly slower, that blade would have struck him instead!

To everyone present, it had all happened in the time of two blinks — too fast for anyone to react. In an instant, Prince Yan had thrown himself forward to block the assassin, and now the assassin already bore multiple blade wounds. Her defeat and death were only a matter of time.

The consorts had never witnessed such a bloody scene before, and they screamed in terror without pause.

Amid the screaming, Wei Xianfei was among the more composed. She called out loudly, “Guards, protect His Majesty! Seize every one of them — let no one escape!”

The lead dancer was the assassin — even if the other women weren’t accomplices, they couldn’t be allowed to go free!

Even without Wei Xianfei’s order, the guards stationed outside the hall had already heard the commotion and rushed in to protect the Emperor.

Although Ling Jingshu had mentally prepared herself in advance, she hadn’t expected the scene to descend into such chaos, and instinctively stepped back twice.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on the Emperor and the gravely wounded Prince Yan.

The guards who had rushed to defend the Emperor, brimming with killing intent, surrounded the female assassin and the other young women. No one, however, paid any attention to the Crown Prince, who had already reached the Emperor’s side.

In this tense moment, a vague thought flashed through Ling Jingshu’s mind.

Something was wrong!

This assassination attempt was clearly something Prince Yan had orchestrated himself. So why, in the end, was he the one who ended up wounded?

Unless…

This outcome had been anticipated by Prince Yan all along — it was a smokescreen he had prepared to mislead everyone.

The person he truly intended to kill was not the Emperor, but another important figure.

Ling Jingshu’s breath caught, and she suddenly turned to look at the Crown Prince.

…

The Crown Prince had already reached the Emperor’s side. Looking at Prince Yan, who lay dying in the Emperor’s arms, still bleeding profusely, a flicker of complicated, indescribable emotion crossed his eyes.

This assassination attempt was both within his expectations and beyond them.

How could Prince Yan be the one wounded?

But now was absolutely not the time to dig for answers. As Crown Prince, he had to stay calm and composed, and take control of the situation.

“Father, please calm your anger!” the Crown Prince said in a deep voice. “This assassin will not escape today. I will surely uncover whoever is behind this.”

Still shaken and unsettled, the Emperor had no patience to listen to such words. His face twisted with anger as he snapped, “We’ll discuss this later. Quickly, get someone to save Prince Yan!”

The Crown Prince’s face burned with humiliation.

Though he had wanted to save the Emperor himself, he had been a beat slower than Prince Yan. The Emperor had always been partial to begin with, and now his heart was likely entirely tilted toward Prince Yan.

Wei Yan and Imperial Physician Zhou, seated at the far end of the table, didn’t wait to be ordered — each grabbed their medicine box and rushed over to treat Prince Yan’s wounds. The Emperor remained seated on the dragon throne, with Prince Yan lying weakly in his arms, and Wei Yan and Imperial Physician Zhou crowded in close before the throne.

The Crown Prince naturally stepped back twice.

The eunuch who had originally been serving the Emperor’s wine quietly approached the Crown Prince. From his sleeve slid a silver needle gleaming with a dark sheen, which he deftly gripped in his hand.

The hall was in complete chaos, and the Crown Prince was utterly unaware of the eunuch’s approach.

…

Alone, the female assassin was no match for the many guards, and she soon collapsed, gravely wounded.

The other young women had also been driven together at swordpoint by the guards, their faces drained of color, pale as death. The more timid among them were already trembling and crying out that they were innocent.

The Crown Grandson drew the blade at his waist and called out coldly, “Keep them alive!”

The guards had all struck with restraint, careful not to hit any vital points on the female assassin. Though covered in blood and wounds from head to toe, looking dreadful, she was in no actual danger of dying.

Guard Commander Yang Wei and Deputy Commander Sun Yi stood behind the Crown Grandson, their faces heavy with grim expressions.

For an assassination attempt to occur despite the Imperial Guards’ tight encirclement — one that had nearly harmed the Emperor — was nothing short of two resounding slaps across both their faces.

After this, the two of them would certainly face severe punishment. At best they would lose their positions; if the Emperor’s wrath flared, even taking their lives would be nothing unusual.

“Who ordered you to dare assassinate my Imperial Grandfather!” The Crown Grandson’s voice was filled with cold menace. “Name the mastermind, and you may keep your body whole. Otherwise, what awaits you is death by a thousand cuts!”

The female assassin said nothing, only a look of mockery flashing in her eyes. Then black blood spilled from her mouth, and she breathed her last.

She was truly a death warrior, sworn to die for her cause!

Before the assassination, she had already hidden a fatal poison in her mouth.

The Crown Grandson’s brow furrowed tightly, and he turned his gaze to the other women.

A familiar young woman’s voice rang out sharply:

“Crown Prince, watch out!”