The Xie family face, flowing with Xie family blood, just like a person of the Xie clan—

Xie Yanlai’s hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists.

Xiao Yu leaned closer to Chu Zhao. This person was his uncle? The uncle his mother spoke of loved him dearly, so why in this instant did he only sense killing intent?

A warm hand embraced him.

“Look,” Chu Zhao said with a gentle laugh. “You two look very alike.”

Xie Yanlai lowered his gaze and took a step backward.

Just then, another contingent of riders came galloping rapidly from the direction of the watchtower. Among them, someone shouted loudly, “I am Qi Xuan from His Majesty’s side—open the city gate quickly!”

It was an old eunuch, dressed in an extremely bizarre manner. The imperial guards behind Xie Yanlai were all startled.

Xie Yanlai didn’t even glance at the old eunuch and said, “Open the city gate.”

……

……

“Is His Majesty all right?”

Although that young general guarding the gate—he should be a young general, right? Eunuch Qi didn’t recognize these imperial guards, nor could he see any familiar military officers—those familiar officers had probably already become corpses.

In any case, the other people at the city gate clearly followed his lead, so Eunuch Qi asked him directly.

The young general glanced over at him and said, “I don’t know.”

Don’t know? Eunuch Qi was momentarily stunned. What did that mean?

“We imperial guards who guard the city gate—we just guard the gate, preventing the rebels outside from breaking in. As for the situation inside, we’re unclear. Without summons, we won’t go forward either,” Xie Yanlai said.

Eunuch Qi understood. The young general’s meaning could also be interpreted this way: martial law had been declared inside, and outside interference was not permitted.

In that case, inside was either very dangerous or very safe.

Eunuch Qi hesitated.

Actually, he had originally disagreed with coming to the imperial city. The Third Prince’s rebellion was sudden, but the preparations behind it had certainly not been made in just a day or two. His mother, the Noble Consort, had enjoyed exclusive favor in the deep palace. No matter how careful His Majesty was, it was inevitable that—

Perhaps His Majesty was already gone.

They should leave the capital and wait for forces from all directions to come to their aid and quell the rebellion—best would be if General Chu led troops back.

But Miss Chu insisted on coming to the imperial city, and Vice General Zhong and the others all listened to her. They had already fought just now, expending their strength. To fight their way out again would certainly be more difficult.

“We’ll know once we go in and look,” Chu Zhao said from the side.

Eunuch Qi turned to look at her. When he had seen this girl at the Chu residence, from the moment she declared herself to be Chu Ling’s daughter, he had believed every word she said without doubt—going when she said to go, stopping when she said to stop. But at this very moment, he couldn’t help but express doubt: “Isn’t it too dangerous?”

Chu Zhao could understand his concerns and said softly, “Eunuch Qi, whether it’s safe or dangerous, we must take the risk and try.”

Take the risk—

Eunuch Qi looked at the child in front of Chu Zhao. After having that young general verify his identity, he had turned around again, hiding his face. Now as Eunuch Qi and Chu Zhao spoke, others couldn’t hear clearly, and all their words fell on the top of his head, but the child showed no reaction whatsoever, as if he couldn’t hear.

The Young Highness must be frightened into a stupor.

With all the upheaval of this night, even adults’ souls were shattered—how much more so for a child?

“Miss Chu,” he said. “The Young Highness cannot withstand taking risks.”

Getting to the Chu residence had already been a huge risk, and they’d almost met a bad end. If Miss Chu hadn’t fought her way out—

Chu Zhao looked at Eunuch Qi: “The risk at the Chu residence—I was able to bring you out alive. The risk in the imperial city, I can do the same.”

Under the illumination of the torches, the girl’s eyes were calm, as if there was nothing in this world she feared.

Was she fearless from youthful ignorance? Eunuch Qi didn’t know what to say. What could he say now? He had no way to say anything anyway. The Longwei Army all listened to Chu Zhao, and that girl from whatever army was even impatiently urging, “Are we going or not? What are you dawdling for?”

Eunuch Qi lowered his head: “This old servant will listen to you, Miss.”

Chu Zhao reassured him: “Rest assured, His Majesty is certainly still alive.”

In that other life, His Majesty had lived until executing the Noble Consort, demoting the Third Prince to commoner status and confining him at the imperial mausoleum, conferring the title of Crown Prince on Xiao Xun, and even after Prince Zhongshan’s illness suddenly flared and he died, the Emperor had lingered on his sickbed for another half month before passing away.

In this life, the Crown Prince hadn’t changed his fate of death, so the Emperor certainly wouldn’t change his fate of living either.

“There are quite a few imperial guards in the inner palace.”

Xie Yanlai, who had been silent after saying “open the city gate,” suddenly spoke.

Chu Zhao looked at him: “I’m not afraid. If they won’t let me enter, I’ll fight my way in.”

She had brought the Longwei Army precisely to assault the city.

She would fight the Third Prince’s forces, and she dared to fight the Emperor’s as well.

Today, this imperial palace, the Emperor’s face—she was determined to see them!

Xie Yanlai looked at the girl’s eyes burning like ghostly fire and snorted inwardly. See that? This was the girl’s true face. What was provoking the Third Prince by holding a literary gathering at Chu Garden? She would dare to venture through mountains of blades and seas of fire as well.

It had nothing to do with him. Let her do whatever she wanted.

Xie Yanlai took another step backward, clearing the way.

But Chu Zhao didn’t spur her horse into a gallop. Instead, she lowered her head and called softly to the child in her arms: “Young Highness.”

The child who seemed frightened into stupor in Eunuch Qi’s eyes immediately raised his head.

He looked up at Chu Zhao.

Chu Zhao said to him softly, “Young Highness, this is your uncle. His name is Xie Yanlai.”

The child turned his head and looked at Xie Yanlai again.

“Don’t be afraid,” Chu Zhao said, lowering her head slightly and looking at Xie Yanlai together with the child. “Your uncle will block the rebels from breaking through to us. If there are rebels ahead, he will also come fight them with us. In this imperial city, your uncle will use his life to protect you.”

The girl on horseback looked at him with eyes bright and sparkling, a faint smile at her lips, pure and lovely and gentle, but in an instant Xie Yanlai’s hair stood on end.

Chu Zhao! How vicious you are!

In the entire Xie family, there was only one person who could be called uncle by the Young Highness and recognized as such—and that was Xie Yanfang.

Others might perhaps get to see the Young Highness once, but to be acknowledged as uncle would be impossible.

For him, Xie Yanlai, it was absolutely impossible.

Now, Chu Zhao had pushed him in front of the Young Highness at this moment of crisis, this juncture between life and death!

She didn’t need to say these words at all!

This was enticement!

As Chu Zhao’s words fell, the child who had never spoken opened his mouth.

“Uncle.” His voice trembled slightly as he looked at this young general before him, staring intently at his face as if to engrave him on his heart. “Thank you.”

Xie Yanlai’s hand hanging at his side gripped his blade tightly. He withdrew his gaze and said, “Go!”

With this word “go,” Chu Zhao didn’t linger. She held the child with one arm, spurred her horse into a gallop, and shot like an arrow toward the inner city.

The riders following her transformed into a shower of arrows.

Xie Yanlai stood before the city gate, feeling the fierce wind and bloody scent slide past.

“Yanlai.” The other imperial guards now also walked to Xie Yanlai’s side.

Earlier they had followed Xie Yanlai out, at first deliberately lagging a few steps behind to let the young lovers talk, but then they couldn’t get through—Miss Chu’s people had blocked them.

These people didn’t wear military robes, but their bearing was terrifying.

Now they had finally left.

“This Miss Chu—” one imperial guard said, the alarm in his eyes still not dispersed, “to actually have so many troops—”

Xie Yanlai glanced at them. Didn’t expect that, did you?

“Still thinking about fiancée? That she came to find me because she cares about me, because she depends on me?” he said with a cold laugh.

Could this girl be viewed with ordinary eyes? Romantic love between men and women—ha!

Ahead, hoofbeats sounded urgently again as another contingent came galloping. Like those who had passed earlier, they wore no military robes.

“Miss—” one person called out loudly, his voice deep and resonating through the city gate.

Chu Zhao’s voice carried back faintly from the inner city: “Uncle Zhong, you guard the city gate well.”

Zhong Changrong was about to rein in his horse when his gaze fell on the young general standing before the city gate. He froze, then the scar on his face twitched.

“You!” he shouted, his eyes fierce. “What are you doing here!”

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow, his gaze unflinching: “Why shouldn’t I be here?” He laughed coldly. “Rather, I should be asking you.”

This boy—what attitude! Zhong Changrong cracked his whip, not letting it fall on Xie Yanlai but snapping it in the air.

I’ll deal with you later!

“Since you’re here,” he said irritably, pointing outward, “the watchtower and this place are yours. I’m going inside.”

As he spoke, he made a gesture to divide his forces. The troops instantly split into two parts—one following Zhong Changrong’s unslowing hoofbeats as they galloped through the city gate, the other standing at attention before Xie Yanlai.

All this happened in an instant. Zhong Changrong didn’t even slow down before charging through.

Xie Yanlai was furious, only managing to shout: “What do you take me for!”

But it was useless—Zhong Changrong had already passed through the city gate and was out of sight.

“Yanlai, you’re so familiar with Miss Chu’s uncle,” a nearby guard said in surprise. “You two—”

“We have no relationship at all!” Xie Yanlai glared and rebuked sharply. “I’m not familiar with him either!”

The guards made sounds of acknowledgment. If you don’t want to say, then don’t—after all, it’s your private matter.

Xie Yanlai was annoyed and about to say something when the guards changed the subject first, pointing at the troops standing at attention and asking in low voices, “What should we do?”

Xie Yanlai looked at the forces before him and swung his blade to cast out the stifling anger in his heart.

“Follow me to the watchtower!” he shouted. “Guard the city!”