When the assassination attempt occurred, Deng Yi was passing by the Grand Tutor’s Mansion.

After arriving in Zhongshan Commandery, Xiao Xun had also arranged for a Grand Tutor’s Mansion to be established, though he had never set foot in it.

As they passed by, the official in front of the carriage flatteringly suggested they stop, pointing it out to him.

Deng Yi lifted the carriage curtain and took a glance.

The mansion was even more magnificent than the one in the capital. Although the owner had never visited, the main gate stood open with the gatehouse full of people and armed guards stationed outside. People continuously entered and exited; from the way they handed over name cards, they appeared to be visitors. Everything resembled the Grand Tutor’s Mansion in the capital.

“Grand Tutor,” the official said, “the Crown Prince ordered everything to be arranged just like your mansion in the capital. You should go in and see—the furniture and decorations are almost identical.”

Deng Yi felt an urge to laugh but suppressed it, saying, “How could they be the same?”

Although he rarely returned to his Grand Tutor’s Mansion in the capital, at least his mother was there. Having a mother meant it was a home.

But now—

“The Crown Prince has continued searching for news of the Elderly Madam,” the official said in a low voice, seeing his expression. “But there’s been no information yet. We don’t know if she perished in that great fire or was taken prisoner.”

He hurriedly continued, “But rest assured, Grand Tutor, if the court uses the Elderly Madam as leverage, the Crown Prince will certainly do everything possible to rescue her.”

Deng Yi smiled slightly. “No need. It’s unnecessary.”

Unnecessary? The official inwardly clicked his tongue. This Deng Yi was such a small man, willing to disregard even his mother for power and status…

Deng Yi glanced at the official, naturally aware of what he was thinking, but saw no need to explain.

That great fire may have truly been intended to kill him, but it wouldn’t have harmed his mother.

If his mother had been captured, she wouldn’t be used as leverage against him.

Others might not know him, but didn’t Chu Zhao? He had abandoned his mother once before, so naturally he could do so a second time. Using his elderly mother to threaten him would be futile.

That girl wouldn’t do such a thing.

Deng Yi lowered his gaze, no longer interested in viewing the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, and was about to lower the curtain when, at that moment, several servants who had just been bowing and scraping before the gatehouse while presenting name cards and gift lists suddenly pulled long spears from their gift boxes and thrust them toward Deng Yi’s carriage.

From the corner of his eye, Deng Yi caught a meteor-like flash. By instinct, he jerked backward as the spear slid past the tip of his nose and, with a bang, embedded itself in the carriage wall.

The next moment, sparks flashed before his eyes, and with another bang, the entire carriage exploded.

“Grand Tutor—”

“Assassins—”

The scene in front of the magnificent Grand Tutor’s Mansion instantly descended into chaos. Civilians in the street scattered in panic, and countless soldiers rushed in from all directions.

The ground trembled.

……

……

By the time Xiao Xun arrived, the street was already under multiple layers of security control.

The carriage lay scattered on the ground; the frightened horses had been killed by soldiers, and among the carriage and horse carcasses lay the bodies of more than a dozen men.

These included Deng Yi’s guards as well as the assassins.

Xiao Xun looked with concern at the barely recognizable man sitting on the steps outside the Grand Tutor’s Mansion. “Grand Tutor, are you alright?”

Deng Yi’s face was splattered with blood and blackened by smoke. His clothes were in disarray, and one arm bent unnaturally.

Several physicians were surrounding him, cleaning and bandaging his wounds.

“I’m fine. My guards threw themselves on me to shield me from the deadly attacks,” Deng Yi said. “I only broke my arm.”

“How could assassins commit such an outrage in our heavily guarded commandery city?” Ning Kun exclaimed sternly. “What identity did the assassins claim?”

Guards stepped forward, dragging three corpses: “They carried name cards from the Zhang family of Ji City. Troops have been sent to investigate.”

Xiao Xun said, “The identity must be false.”

Ning Kun thought to himself that it wasn’t necessarily so, and couldn’t help saying softly, “Crown Prince, I recall that the Lin family and Zhang family are related by marriage…”

Xiao Xun gave him a look. “Verify first before speaking.” Then he shouted sternly to the officials around them, “Regardless of the assassins’ identity, all will be treated as traitors—confiscate property and execute their entire clans!”

The officials responded in unison.

“Grand Tutor,” Xiao Xun looked at Deng Yi again, “would you prefer to recover at the commandery office or the mansion?”

He knew Deng Yi had no interest in the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, so he asked.

Deng Yi replied, “It’s all the same. Since we’re here, I’ll return to the mansion.”

Xiao Xun nodded, and officials hurriedly ordered a sedan chair. They helped Deng Yi into it, and rows of soldiers first poured through the mansion gates. The interior was already full of troops, with only seven or eight outsiders besides the mansion’s servants.

They knelt trembling in a corner, guarded by soldiers.

Seeing Deng Yi and his entourage enter, someone couldn’t help but cry out, “Grand Tutor, we’re innocent!” Others also shouted, “Grand Tutor, we’re not accomplices!”

They knelt and kowtowed.

Deng Yi kept his gaze straight ahead as if he hadn’t heard.

Xiao Xun’s attention was drawn to them.

“They were waiting in the gatehouse to see the Grand Tutor earlier,” a guard quickly explained.

When the three men who attacked Deng Yi appeared, these people had already been sitting in the Grand Tutor’s gatehouse. After the assassination attempt, they were detained.

Xiao Xun looked away and turned to instruct Ning Kun: “Investigate these people too. Also, double the guards for the Grand Tutor’s Mansion…”

As he spoke, he felt his peripheral vision slow down, seeing those kneeling figures roll across the ground like balls…

Everything seemed to move very slowly, yet also very quickly. In an instant, those seven or eight people broke free from the guards’ supervision and swooped down like eagles.

“Your Highness, look out—”

“Your Highness—”

Xiao Xun felt his head buzzing, his vision swaying. People were everywhere, seemingly cutting him off from the world.

But with a thud, an official in front of him was stabbed through the neck.

Xiao Xun was instantly pulled back to reality. He smelled the strong scent of blood and saw the cold glint of a dripping blade.

Assassins.

These assassins were targeting him!

The earlier attempt on Deng Yi had merely been bait.

When the Grand Tutor was attacked, he would naturally come to visit.

As long as he appeared, as long as they could get close to him, they could strike.

Another thud sounded, and it seemed as if a wall stood before him. Xiao Xun saw blood spraying behind the wall.

Tie Ying, with a sword in hand, had only swung once—up, across, and diagonally down—but three assassins were cut down.

He stayed close to Xiao Xun, protecting him fiercely. His arm extended, and his long sword was like a calligraphy brush, striking another charging assassin in the heart. The assassin fell to his knees with a thud.

All this happened in an instant. Half of Ning Kun’s face still maintained the attentive expression of listening to him speak, while the other half was twisted in shock.

Xiao Xun’s mind was in turmoil, yet he also felt completely secure. No matter how mysteriously these assassins appeared, with Tie Ying by his side, he was safe.

But just as this thought flashed through his mind, one of the bodies on the ground suddenly slithered up like a snake and instantly pressed against Tie Ying.

Another soft thud, and Xiao Xun saw an iron spike piercing through the back of Tie Ying’s neck…

His vision slowed again as he watched Tie Ying slowly sink to his knees. Tie Ying seemed to want to turn back for one last look at him, but with his neck pinned by the spike, he couldn’t move, and finally disappeared…

“Don’t move.”

A cold voice sounded in his ear, and Xiao Xun felt something icy against his neck. He shuddered, returning to the present.

In the blink of an eye, the world had become hell.

Corpses lay everywhere, and he stood as if in a pool of blood.

Ning Kun lay on the ground, his fate unknown. Deng Yi had been overturned and thrown to the ground, pinned beneath the sedan chair. Some officials lay dead, others scrambled across the floor. Row upon row of guards approached—

But they seemed to hit an invisible barrier, unable to come closer.

That barrier was him.

“Release the Crown Prince—” the military officers roared.

Xiao Xun heard a light laugh. From the corner of his eye, he saw a smooth chin. As he tried to look more closely, his shoulder exploded in pain as an iron spike pierced through it. The pain came so suddenly that Xiao Xun cried out, his body doubling over.

“Step. Back.” The raised voice pronounced each word distinctly, punctuating Xiao Xun’s scream.

The approaching soldiers seemed to be pushed back by an invisible force, retreating.

At the same time, Xiao Xun was pulled backward by his captor—behind them was the main hall of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, and they quickly retreated inside.

“You cannot escape—”

“Surrender immediately—”

The officers led their soldiers forward again.

“Come any closer and I’ll kill him,” the male voice shouted, then raised his foot and banged the doors shut.

For a moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent.

Xiao Xun finally saw the person holding him hostage. This time it wasn’t a woman—the thought flashed through his mind, bringing intense shame. Why was he being held captive again?

This was a young man, somewhat taller and thinner than himself, with a grayish complexion that was disguised, though it couldn’t hide a certain familiarity.

Arching eyebrows, a high nose bridge…

“I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Xiao Xun said through the pain.

The man before him smiled. “Me? I witnessed the Crown Prince’s heroic rescue of a beauty.”

Heroic rescue of a beauty? Xiao Xun was momentarily taken aback. The next moment, a woman’s voice seemed to echo in his ears: “I would rather drown than accept his help, this is between me and—”

“A-Jiu!” Xiao Xun exclaimed.

Xie Yanlai smiled. “The Crown Prince remembers me? Indeed, my distinctive appearance is unforgettable.”

Perhaps it wasn’t him that he remembered. Xiao Xun looked at him: “Did Chu Zhao send you to kill me?”

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow: “I have another name, Xie Yanlai.”

Xie Yanlai! Xiao Xun was surprised. So he was Xie Yanlai!

Of course, he knew of Xie Yanlai. He had known before that he was Xie Yanfang’s brother, but that was the extent of it. He hadn’t paid much attention, simply categorizing him as one of the Xie family members, and with the Xie family, focusing solely on Xie Yanfang was sufficient.

But these two years had been different, especially since this Xie family member had captured the Western Liang King.

That wasn’t something one could accomplish just by having the surname Xie—it was because of who he was as a person.

To think that just as he’d begun to take notice, this person would appear before him—

Xiao Xun slightly lowered his gaze to look at the iron spike pressed against his neck.

“Did Xie Yanfang send you?” he asked, then continued, “Master Xie, you must know that if you kill me, you absolutely cannot escape.”

Xie Yanlai made a noncommittal sound without answering.

Xiao Xun turned his head slightly to look at him: “Master Xie, I believe with your current merits, you could forge your path.”

Xie Yanlai laughed, somewhat mockingly.

“A-Jiu—” Xiao Xun began.

As soon as he spoke, Xiao Xun felt a sharp pain in his neck. The next moment, his consciousness faltered. He looked down to see the iron spike piercing his throat, blood dripping onto his magnificent royal robes, drop by drop.

How strange. Had he been killed?

How could that be?

How could he possibly die like this?

This wasn’t how he was supposed to die!

Xiao Xun’s vision blurred, then became incredibly clear. He saw himself clearly, wearing imperial robes as he ascended the throne, with all officials kowtowing in the great hall, Deng Yi among them.

He berated the Xie family rebels in court.

He returned to the inner palace, where Chu Zhao threw herself into his arms with a face full of dependency.

This was his destiny!

Xie Yanfang had never even gotten close to him, let alone this insignificant Xie Yanlai!

He shouldn’t die like this.

This wasn’t his fate!

How could this happen?

He must be dreaming.

Xiao Xun slid down against Xie Yanlai’s body, falling to his knees. His consciousness gradually faded, the sounds around him growing distant, then near.

“Don’t call me A-Jiu. You people, constantly negotiating terms, calculating benefits—it’s infuriating.”

“In your minds, is there nothing in this world that doesn’t require negotiation or seek profit, something done simply because I want to do it, or because it should be done?”

Xie Yanlai frowned as he spoke, looking at Xiao Xun kneeling on the ground.

“You fight for power using the world as your chessboard. Enough is enough. The people of this world shouldn’t be so unfortunate, living miserably for your sake yet expected to die with gratitude.”

He stepped back, and Xiao Xun, without support, collapsed to the ground, motionless. Blood spread beneath him.

Xie Yanlai quietly watched for a moment, then shifted his gaze to walk around the hall.

He knew this reception hall of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion better than Deng Yi did. In those days, they had entered and exited under various identities, delivering gifts and goods, and had placed what they had prepared…

He reached out to touch a porcelain vase on the shelf; his fingers came away blackened.

He looked at the tables and chairs, all gleaming with oil.

He examined the cracks between the floor tiles, filled with fine black ash.

They hadn’t expected to encounter Deng Yi today, but they had been waiting for this day.

Xie Yanlai took a fire starter from his pocket, positioned himself before a large screen, looked around the room once more, then lit the fuse and tossed it.

Choking smoke filled the hall, accompanied by sizzling sounds.

“Release the Crown Prince—”

“What do you want?”

“Just name your demands—”

Officials outside were shouting. Soldiers had surrounded the place so tightly that not even water could seep through. The troops outside were also closing in, encircling the Grand Tutor’s Mansion, this street, half the city, and eventually the entire city—

An official standing at the bottom of the steps sniffed: “What’s that smell?”

He instinctively looked up, just as a thunderous boom shook the air. Fire erupted before his eyes, and a blast of heat struck his face. The official cried out and fell backward.

Deng Yi, who was being carried by soldiers to move away from the rescue effort for Xiao Xun, now turned to look. Flames flickered across his face as the magnificent building before him was consumed by fire, burning and crumbling—

Just like his studies in the Grand Tutor’s Mansion in the capital before.

……

……

Two farmers in an abandoned field outside the city watched the smoke and fire rising from within. The flames were far from them and didn’t look particularly terrifying, rising in wisps, but their faces were as red as if they were being scorched by the flames themselves.

One grabbed a hoe and was about to rush toward the city, but the other held him back firmly.

“What are you doing!” he shouted. “Let’s go!”

The restrained farmer said hoarsely, “What about the young master? The young master, he—”

“Don’t forget the young master’s instructions!” the farmer holding him shouted in a low voice, his eyes red. “What are we supposed to do?”

The restrained farmer’s eyes were bloodshot: “But the young master, the young master, the young master—”

“Don’t let the young master die in vain—” the other farmer hissed. “Go—”

The two men turned and ran rapidly into the distance.

“Xiao Xun is dead—”

“Xiao Xun is dead—”

……

……

The news that Xiao Xun was dead spread almost instantly. The Zhongshan Prince’s Mansion had just managed to place the Second Young Master at the front of the army, without even having time to announce the new ruler to various regions, when imperial troops poured in like tidal waves from four directions.

Whether due to the influence of the Han Commandery noble families or because people felt the cause was lost after Xiao Xun’s death, many prefectures, commanderies, noble families, and even officials switched sides. Within less than a month, the imperial forces advanced irresistibly, closing in on Zhongshan Commandery.

In the seventh month of the fourth year of Xingping, the Empress’s great army arrived at the gates of Zhongshan Commandery.