The words spoken to Zhuang Dianru hours earlier echoed in his ears once again: “The things Qi’an and Seventh Brother did together with the Shangtang people at Juyong Pass back then—if I expose this to the King of Qi, do you think his position as crown prince would remain as secure as it is now? With this leverage in my hands, how would he dare act rashly?”
He couldn’t blame himself for being too careless; perhaps he could only blame himself for being too naive. Chu Li smiled bitterly. His tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed, but those eyes no longer held any trace of warmth—only cold, numb emptiness, having lost all luster and emotion.
All eyes instantly focused on Qing Xia. Chu Li’s bitter smile was so piercing at that moment. Qing Xia looked around and suddenly saw Yang Feng standing behind Chu Li. In a flash of lightning, everything connected in her mind. She called out loudly: “Chu Li, I didn’t do this. You must believe me.”
“Believe you?” Chu Li laughed once, his laughter thick with self-mockery and bitterness. He repeated it in a low voice, then slowly raised his head, his voice clear and light as if nothing had happened: “An hour ago, I really did think that way.”
Qing Xia stood among the crowd, her spine straight as a rod. She paid no attention to the guards surrounding her, only looking into Chu Li’s eyes as she said word by word: “Chu Li, I can explain all of this, as long as you believe me.”
“Fine,” Chu Li nodded with a faint smile. “I’ll give you a chance. Tell me why, the moment I left the lakeside pavilion, you snuck into this imperial prison? The cell next door held my brother who was rescued by the Qi people. Your lover of many years broke through the city gates and escaped at this very moment, yet you stand here, guarding my mother’s corpse, drawing all the pursuers from the military headquarters. What exactly are you doing?”
“I thought Yang Feng was imprisoned here. I thought you were going to kill him.”
“I’ve heard too many of your sophistic excuses.” Chu Li’s voice was clear and light, his expression indifferent. His entire being radiated tremendous alienation and coldness. He glanced sideways at Qing Xia and lowered his head with a bitter laugh: “Are you saying that if Yang Feng were truly imprisoned here today, you would still betray me?”
Qing Xia was instantly struck speechless, not knowing how to continue. Looking at Chu Li’s angry eyes, she felt that everything was futile.
“Men, seize Zhuang Qingxia!”
Black Guard soldiers suddenly surged forward. Qing Xia drew her dagger and held it horizontally before her, saying in a deep voice: “Chu Li! Don’t force me!”
“Have I forced you?” Chu Li laughed coldly, the cold gleam in his eyes carrying tremendous undisguised mockery—whether mocking himself or others was unclear: “You’ve been the one forcing me all along.”
“Attack!”
The low voice suddenly rang out. More than ten Black Guard soldiers raised their war blades and charged toward Qing Xia. Her figure was agile as she avoided the blade edges and rolled on the ground, but still couldn’t escape their sharp weapons entirely. Her head wrap instantly fell away, and her full head of black hair scattered and flew about, brushing against her pale cheeks. She bent her elbow and struck hard at a soldier’s ankle. The sound of breaking bone rang out as that soldier crashed to the ground.
“Chu Li, I told you I didn’t do this!” Qing Xia shouted shrilly, her movements agile and swift. While many people in this world might surpass her greatly in swordsmanship, when it came to free combat, she could definitely be considered among the world’s elite. This prison corridor was narrow, making long blade tactics difficult to deploy. Qing Xia darted left and right, quickly breaking through the surrounding circle.
The Black Guards nervously moved forward to surround Chu Li. Xu Quan shouted sternly: “Protect His Highness!”
Grabbing a Black Guard by the hair, Qing Xia spun her body in mid-air and kicked three approaching guards in succession with both legs. Three figures screamed as they fell backward. Qing Xia’s palm struck fiercely at another guard’s neck, and he immediately rolled his eyes back and fainted.
Even now, she still hadn’t struck to kill. Looking at the increasing numbers of Black Guards gathering around her, Qing Xia frowned tightly, her mind racing.
She had believed Princess Jiayun’s words, thinking Yang Feng had been imprisoned. Later, when she tested Chu Li, it further confirmed this idea. It wasn’t actually that Jiayun’s lies were particularly clever—she had simply never truly trusted Chu Li in her heart. Yang Feng helping her escape from the cold palace was already a grave crime, and continuously hiding her in the military camp, deceiving Chu Li, made it an even greater offense. She hadn’t expected this was all someone else’s trap. Though Jiayun was arrogant, she was simple-minded and had presumably also been used. In an instant, Qing Xia outlined the complete context of the entire affair in her mind.
After this incident, the Prince of Nanhuai, who should have been exiled to Luling City, had escaped and avoided the fate of house arrest. That Qi Kingdom was willing to get involved in this muddy water naturally meant they also benefited. Her midnight prison break had drawn Chu Li here, loosening the outer defenses and creating a golden opportunity for the Qi people to escape. Concubine Dan had incited Jiayun to lure her into the trap, all to eliminate Zhuang Qingxia, this thorn in their side. As for Noble Consort Xiao, with the Thirteenth Prince already dead, she had nothing left to live for. Being able to help her youngest son escape with his life made sacrificing her own life worthwhile.
From beginning to end, this was a crude deception jointly orchestrated by several people. These people might not have been allies, but each had their own purposes and had actually reached such an agreement. How ridiculous that she had stupidly fallen deep into it, walking into the trap unable to extricate herself.
A fierce blade edge suddenly came at her face. Qing Xia dodged past it, bent her arm and spun, grabbing the opponent’s collar. Her brow furrowed tightly, her eyes overflowing with hesitation. Finally, she still only reversed her grip on the dagger and struck hard with the handle at the major acupoint on the opponent’s neck. That person immediately went limp and fainted. Qing Xia’s features were sharp, her mouth tightly pressed as she said in a deep voice: “Don’t force me anymore!”
At this moment, she suddenly felt a burning pain on her back, and her body immediately staggered two steps. Without giving her any chance to catch her breath, two long staffs struck hard at Qing Xia’s right knee. The sound of displaced bone followed, and intense pain immediately struck. Qing Xia’s form stiffened as a streak of blood was immediately torn from her left shoulder by a spear point. Qing Xia groaned softly, dragged her injured foot as she leaped out of the crowd, leaned against a corner of the wall, and looked coldly at Chu Li and the others.
Chu Li slowly walked forward, his eyes flickering with an indecipherable gleam. His voice was low and hoarse as he said deeply: “Zhuang Qingxia, don’t force me to take action against you anymore.”
“You’ve already taken action against me, so don’t pretend to be righteous.” She lifted her displaced and deformed right leg with both hands, suddenly exerted force, and actually snapped the displaced bone back into place by sheer strength. A crisp crack immediately rang out. Qing Xia groaned softly, beads of sweat the size of beans slowly flowed down from her forehead. Her pale face had become white as death ash, yet she still stood there in her blood-stained black tight-fitting clothes, her black hair disheveled, gripping her dagger, bedraggled but upright without any trace of fear.
“Take her down.” Countless Black Guards surged forward from behind Chu Li. Qing Xia drew the long blade from her waist, held it diagonally above her head, spread her feet slightly apart, and assumed a Japanese sword technique starting stance. Japan had always revered the way of the ninja—every move and stance left no retreat, all-or-nothing techniques. Though the crowd didn’t know what Japanese ninjutsu was, seeing Qing Xia’s bold and sweeping posture, they already understood her intent.
Chu Li’s expression was grave, his brow slightly furrowed, then he slowly closed his eyes.
“Attack!” A fierce shout came from the mouth of a Black Guard leader. Everyone immediately attacked Qing Xia. Fighting alone against the crowd, with old wounds on her body not yet healed, she immediately fell into disadvantage—her black hair in disarray, blood flowing freely.
Just then, a violent roar suddenly rang out. Everyone hurriedly turned around to see Yang Feng with cold features, wearing forest-cold armor radiating chilling air, his snow-bright war blade pressed against Chu Li’s neck as he said coldly: “Everyone stop!”
“Big Brother Yang!”
“Yang Feng! Are you insane!”
Several cries of alarm rose almost simultaneously. Yang Feng’s face was dark as water. Without looking at anyone else, he cautiously held Chu Li hostage and said in a deep voice: “Prepare four horses for me, sufficient dried provisions and fresh water, and place them at the prison entrance. Your Highness, I’ll trouble you to escort us for a while.”
“Yang Feng, you really are spies sent by Eastern Qi!” Xu Quan said coldly.
Yang Feng paid no attention. He only turned to look deeply at the wounded Qing Xia and said in a deep voice: “Xiao Xia, follow behind me.”
That night on the streets of Nan Chu’s capital, all the soldiers of the entire military headquarters gathered in one place. Three hundred thousand troops positioned themselves below the city, watching those two figures escort the Emperor of Nan Chu step by step to the outskirts of the capital’s walls. A formation of three hundred thousand against two people—disproportionate forces faced off on the empty plains. Yang Feng held Chu Li while supporting the stumbling Qing Xia, gradually moving away from that massive, towering city wall.
“You can’t escape.” Chu Li’s voice was low, without the slightest panic or awareness of being a hostage. Far below the capital’s gates, three hundred thousand Nan Chu troops waited there like a dark mass, like a pack of tigers ready to pounce at any moment and devour these two audacious people completely.
Yang Feng led the war horse and slowly lowered the cold blade that had been at Chu Li’s neck. His tone was resolute as he said: “Your Highness, forgive the offense.” After speaking, he immediately mounted the horse with clean, decisive movements, resolute and determined.
“Xiao Xia, we’re leaving.”
Qing Xia, covered in wounds and dripping with blood, sat atop a tall war horse. She slowly turned her head to stare at Chu Li, whose hands Yang Feng had bound. Many chaotic memories played before her eyes like fragments.
The wicked arrogance of their first meeting, his furious rage when bullied by her, the sinister strangeness when he suspected her, the hoarse shouting when he rushed into the flames, the reluctant devotion in the forest, and the gentle, jade-like soft words in the bamboo house with its single lamp. All of it hazily echoed, converging into this shadow before her eyes. The experiences of these past two months were like a great dream. Now she was finally leaving this golden, splendid prison, but she hadn’t expected it would be in such a tragic manner.