As night grew deeper, Shu Shenhui left his study and returned to Fanzi Hall to rest.

It was a peaceful night. He slept deeply, not turning over even once after lying down.

At the fifth watch, in the deepest part of the night when most people in the imperial city were still sleeping soundly, he awoke.

Zhang Bao saw a dim glow of lamplight reflected from behind the bedroom doors and windows, knowing the Regent Prince had risen. He brought two young attendants and knocked to enter.

After the New Year, the Regent Prince no longer stayed in the imperial palace. No matter how late, he would return to his princely residence to rest.

As usual, after washing, changing clothes, and having a simple breakfast, he would leave, riding to the imperial palace to begin the day’s court session.

It appeared that today was indeed just an ordinary day, as ordinary as could be.

Zhang Bao’s father had rapidly aged this year, and the Regent Prince wouldn’t let him continue serving, so Zhang Bao had completely taken over. Not only that, he now also had two adopted sons under him.

In the eyes of the two young attendants, he was stern and unsmiling, steady in his work, clearly having inherited the true teachings of their old eunuch grandfather. They held him in considerable awe. However, Zhang Bao knew what he was really like.

He didn’t know when it had started—perhaps after the Princess Consort left—but he felt that everything around him was slowly becoming different from before. He could no longer be as carefree as in the past. He didn’t know from which day he had stopped being lazy and dozing during night duty, didn’t want to talk, and couldn’t even smile anymore. He had become a silent person, increasingly resembling his father. But in his heart, he knew he actually couldn’t achieve what his father could—watching the changing clouds with detachment, observing the transformations of worldly affairs. Especially recently, he felt immensely oppressed, sometimes even secretly angry enough to almost vomit blood, yet he couldn’t show the slightest sign of it.

At this moment, he led people into Fanzi Hall, serving the Regent Prince’s washing and dressing in an orderly manner as on ordinary days. When finished, he stood aside, watching the Regent Prince sit down alone, lowering his head to eat the breakfast that had been served.

Shu Shenhui finished a bowl of rice porridge with a plate of alfalfa sprouts placed nearest to him, put down his chopsticks, looked up, and was about to rise when he saw Zhang Bao staring at him blankly, his eyelids somewhat swollen. When their eyes met, Zhang Bao seemed to suddenly return to his senses and urged him to eat more.

Shu Shenhui didn’t feel hungry and had no appetite: “I’m full. Share what’s left untouched among yourselves.”

But Zhang Bao persisted, earnestly urging again: “Knowing Your Highness must hurry to morning court, we prepared little to begin with. Your Highness has become much thinner than before. Father instructed this servant to serve Your Highness well. And the Princess Consort too! Next time she meets with Your Highness, she’ll think this servant has been lazy again and not attentive.”

After Zhang Bao finished speaking, he saw the Regent Prince glance at him, then smile and pick up his chopsticks again, actually continuing to eat.

Zhang Bao watched, should have been happy, but his heart felt sour and his eyes grew hot. Afraid of being seen, he secretly turned his head and blinked several times, when suddenly he heard The Regent Prince’s voice in his ear: “What’s wrong? Why the long face?”

Zhang Bao hurriedly turned back: “No! This servant is happy.”

Shu Shenhui looked up, his gaze falling on Zhang Bao’s face, raising an eyebrow: “If you’re happy, why are you crying?”

Zhang Bao, having his thoughts exposed, began to argue: “This servant is truly happy! These past days, good things have happened one after another. The Princess Consort has achieved more military merit, Xiguan Pass is safe, and Your Highness ate more this morning than usual…”

Zhang Bao hated his uselessness, speaking of happy things while his eyes reddened again. Seeing that steady gaze still upon him, he couldn’t hold on anymore and suddenly dropped to both knees, choking back tears: “This servant deserves death for dampening Your Highness’s spirits! This servant is somewhat sad, even more indignant and resentful on Your Highness’s behalf…”

“Why do people outside speak of Your Highness this way?”

Shu Shenhui calmly said, “Oh,” “What exactly have they said about me?”

They said he deceived the young ruler, controlled the court internally, allied with powerful families externally, nurtured merit through warfare, no different from a second High King…

Political enemies were one thing, ignorant common people couldn’t be reasoned with either. But what Zhang Bao couldn’t understand was why even the young emperor seemed to have changed from before, allowing these baseless attacks to fly like poisoned arrows toward The Regent Prince.

Hadn’t he always trusted and relied on His Highness most since childhood?

What could be the reason?

Zhang Bao slowly raised his head, meeting the Regent Prince’s calm gaze that held a faint smile, and suddenly shuddered, enlightened.

What was wrong with him to be so rash and foolish?

Urging him to eat was one thing, but to mention such terrible, inauspicious matters in front of His Highness.

He quickly wiped his eyes, then drew upon his old skills of joking around, theatrically slapping himself, then covering his face: “This servant remembers now—didn’t sleep well last night, was still talking in my sleep just now! Fortunately, this slap woke me up! Your Highness, please eat quickly, or you might be late for morning court!”

Shu Shenhui said nothing more, continued eating breakfast. When finished, he unhurriedly rinsed his mouth, accepted the face towel Zhang Bao hurriedly offered, gently wiped his lips, and finally looked at Zhang Bao, smiling: “It’s still early. I’m going. You go get some more sleep.”

Having said this, he placed the towel back on the tray, turned, and walked out.

Wang Ren waited outside the residence’s main gate with several subordinates. After Shu Shenhui mounted his horse, they followed along. The group rode under the pitch-black night sky overhead, accompanied by the crisp clip-clop of hooves on stone pavement, leaving the residence to go to the imperial palace as usual.

Not far away, in a corner deep within an alley, in the darkness covered by thick night, a pair of spying eyes stared intently at that retreating figure. After he gradually disappeared into the night, the person silently departed, taking the shortcut through Chang’an’s chessboard-like network of alleys, quickly delivering the message to the designated location.

Last night was a peaceful, ordinary night for Shu Shenhui. But for certain others, it was a sleepless night.

As the northern war situation changed repeatedly, the war within the court also became increasingly heated. Although the young emperor’s attitude remained elusive and difficult to gauge, his silence was enough.

Silence, to some extent, was the greatest acknowledgment.

Everything had been planned.

In the darkness, they held their breath, nervously waiting for that final moment to arrive.

Using his methods against him. Just as he had dealt with the High King, delivering a fatal blow when completely unprepared.

Three hundred men lay in ambush on the path he must take to enter the palace.

Since the New Year, on court days, his travel was extremely regular. Every day at midday, he would leave his residence punctually, taking less than two quarters of an hour on the road to reach the imperial palace, entering through the south gate.

At this time, no court officials had yet arrived. After entering the palace, he would first go to Wenlin Pavilion, staying there a while longer to handle affairs. When Mao hour approached and court officials gradually assembled, he would emerge to go to Xuanzheng Hall for the court session.

This schedule of his, regardless of weather, never changed—completely invariable.

These several hundred men were all hidden in the dark passages on both sides of the imperial road leading to the south gate outside the palace. When he appeared, they would all emerge, arrows flying in unison—even if he were an immortal, he couldn’t escape death by shooting.

When Shu Jian learned of anomalies at the south gate, it was already past mid-yin hour. Shu Shenhui had departed from his residence and was on his way to the imperial palace.

The one reporting the anomaly to him was the current Imperial Guard leader, Jia Xiu—the same captain who had once tested Jiang Hanyuan’s martial skills in the plum garden at the Worthy Prince’s residence. He was Shu Jian’s confidant.

The imperial road was outside the palace, under the palace guard’s jurisdiction. After dawn, a minor officer among the palace guards had quietly sent in news that his superior claimed that, with war in the north, to prevent Beidi spies from infiltrating Chang’an again, they needed to temporarily strengthen defenses.

This itself was nothing unusual, but the palace’s south gate was under his jurisdiction, and for no good reason, they wanted to transfer him elsewhere. Being a superior’s order, he had to comply at the time, changing guard shifts, but afterward, he felt something was suspicious.

It should be known that normally, places like the south gate suddenly changing guard shifts overnight were very rare and often a harbinger of certain changes. Being a veteran who had worked for many years, he secretly sent word asking if there were indeed such orders from within the palace. Jia Xiu knew nothing of this, and upon receiving the message, immediately came to report to the young emperor.

“Thanks to Your Majesty’s regard, since this humble officer was fortunate to take office, following Your Majesty’s commands, I have secretly contacted many of my former acquaintances among Chen Lun and Lan Rong’s departments as well as the various palace guard units outside the palace, telling them that if they detect anything unusual, they can use secret channels to deliver messages promptly at any time. This minor officer is one of them. Though the south gate is outside the palace, it’s the necessary path for all officials entering the palace for court. The palace guards are secretly changing their deployment overnight, and this morning being a great court session, this humble officer fears something might happen and has specially come to report.”

Shu Jian had risen early and was also preparing for today’s court session. Hearing this, his face showed anger, and without hesitation, he immediately ordered Jia Xiu to summon the officer responsible for the south gate’s guard duty last night for questioning.

Jia Xiu was hurrying to carry out the order when he suddenly heard the young emperor say again: “Wait!”

He quickly stopped and turned back, seeing the young emperor stand still for a moment, his expression uncertain, then suddenly say: “I’ll go see for myself! What exactly are these people trying to do?”

Jia Xiu quickly agreed.

Shu Jian hurriedly finished changing clothes, turned and was about to step out of his sleeping quarters when he suddenly heard a voice reach his ears: “It’s still early before mao hour, the sky is still pitch black, even the court officials haven’t entered the palace yet. Where is Your Majesty going?”

Shu Jian looked up to see a group approaching from the opposite direction. Two palace servants at the front carried lanterns to light the way, while Dowager Consort Li was supported by attendants, arriving with her retinue.