The palace walls of Wangchun Garden were deep, but they couldn’t completely block out the clamor from outside.

In the night, only scattered lanterns glowed. Occasionally palace maids and eunuchs passed by, hearing the faint sounds of crying from outside, and couldn’t help but quicken their steps.

The bedroom where Third Prince resided was dimly lit. Calling it a bedroom—it was more like a library, with bookshelves standing tall, casting dense shadows that filled the hall.

Third Prince sat on the bed in the center, books scattered around him. His already pale face appeared even more ghastly in the dim lamplight.

“Haven’t the people outside dispersed yet?” he asked.

The attending eunuch trembled as he answered, “Everyone is… begging Your Highness for mercy.”

Third Prince spat. “What mercy? They want me to go make trouble with the Crown Prince. Why don’t they go themselves? What are so many people doing, crying outside my door?”

“They’re not stupid,” a thin voice said. “The Crown Prince is so fierce—he dares to beat people, dares to kill. If they went to surround the Crown Prince’s palace gate, wouldn’t that be a dead end?”

With these words, a tall, thin figure emerged from behind the bookshelves. This was a middle-aged man in his forties, his complexion also somewhat ashen like Third Prince’s.

He held a book in his hand, as if he had just been selecting volumes.

“They know you won’t beat them, so they come here to make a fuss.”

The attending eunuch bowed. “Minister Zhao.”

This was Third Prince’s maternal uncle, the elder brother of Imperial Noble Consort Zhao, known as the New National Uncle, Minister Zhao.

Third Prince stepped on a book at the foot of the bed and stood up. “With such little courage, how can we count on them to clamor for changing the heir in the future?”

Minister Zhao sat cross-legged on the floor. “You can’t blame them for being frightened. The Crown Prince acted so suddenly and so ruthlessly—even I was startled.”

Having said this, he looked at Third Prince.

“Did you go see His Majesty? What did he say? Is he really not going to intervene?”

Third Prince’s expression grew even more gloomy. “Father Emperor said the Crown Prince arrested people with sufficient evidence. He also said that even among scholars, there’s a mixed crowd—otherwise how could they be outdone by a mere girl?”

Minister Zhao smiled slightly. “This time the Crown Prince seized his opportunity—blocked His Majesty from protecting you.”

Third Prince said coldly, “Father Emperor never intended to protect me. Ordinarily he just amuses himself playing with Mother and me. When it comes to critical moments, only the Crown Prince is his good son.”

Minister Zhao continued smiling. “Don’t worry about such things. Whether genuine or just amusement, what does it matter? Either way, you’re still his son.”

“Uncle,” Third Prince turned around, his eyes vicious. “This matter cannot be left as it is.”

“Of course not,” Minister Zhao said. “We’ve suffered such a great loss—we must vent somehow. For instance, that young lady—”

Third Prince sneered. “That young lady Chu Zhao is in league with the Crown Prince, entangled with the Xie family.”

Minister Zhao smiled. “Weren’t those rumors? The Xie family was so angered they turned Minister Liang into a prisoner.”

“So what if they’re rumors?” Third Prince said. “Truth can become rumor, and rumors can become truth.”

With that, he gave a sinister smile.

“At this Wangchun Garden literary gathering, I’ll let the Xie family and that young lady share the spotlight together.”

“Chu Ling, that dying cicada—I’ll make him cry out in pain.”

He ranted viciously, fantasizing about hundreds of ways to frame the young lady and implicate the Xie family, especially that Third Young Master Xie, imagining various schemes and scenarios—

Behind him was silence—no agreement from his uncle, no more elaborate strategizing.

Had Uncle also been frightened by the Crown Prince’s ferocity?

Third Prince whirled around fiercely and saw Minister Zhao sitting cross-legged on the floor, propping his chin with his hand, lost in thought.

“Uncle!” Third Prince shouted.

Minister Zhao raised his head and responded with a smile. “Thinking, thinking. But, A’Zhu, why don’t we think even further ahead—”

Think even further ahead? Third Prince didn’t understand.

Minister Zhao beckoned. Third Prince walked over and sat cross-legged on the floor beside his uncle, listening as his uncle whispered in his ear. The surrounding bookshelves cast shadows that completely enclosed the two of them, dancing and swaying with the flickering candlelight.

……

……

Third Prince ultimately did not speak in defense of the arrested scholars. Everything proceeded as if nothing had happened, and Wangchun Garden remained as before.

After these scholars were whipped and paraded through the streets, they were quickly sent off to hard labor.

Just outside the capital, they hauled stones to build roads. Whips cracked like raindrops, people constantly collapsed. In less than ten days, not only had the road not been built faster, but too many dead and injured had actually blocked the road.

The official in charge of road construction came running to curse at the overseers.

“These are all newcomers, and they’re scholars—where would they have suffered such hardship?”

“This official knows that as convict laborers, they must endure whether they can bear it or not, but you should take it slowly!”

“Or go easier on them—don’t let them die injured on the road! Let them die injured somewhere else!”

Hearing the official’s scolding, the originally fierce and menacing overseers bowed respectfully with apologetic smiles.

“My lord,” they responded repeatedly. “We understand.”

The official was fuming. The overseers hastily held umbrellas and fanned him, inviting him to rest by the roadside.

“My lord, perhaps we shouldn’t send this kind of labor anymore,” an overseer said. “They’re actually just causing trouble—they’ll delay our construction schedule.”

The official was somewhat helpless. “It’s not up to us to decide. Going forward, things will get even more chaotic. They’ll definitely send even more—”

His words stopped abruptly as he suddenly noticed a troop of soldiers stopped on the road not far away, dusty from travel, clearly having come from afar.

“Who are you people?” the official called out sharply.

“From Yunzhong Commandery,” the lead soldier answered.

……

……

Before Zhong Changrong could properly introduce himself, the official enthusiastically inquired, “From Yunzhong Commandery? From General Chu Ling’s command?”

Ever since approaching the capital, he had heard the General’s name so many times he’d grown numb to it, but Zhong Changrong was still shocked this time.

Mentioning Yunzhong Commandery, without asking about anyone else, the official directly asked about General Chu Ling—as if there were no other generals in Yunzhong Commandery.

Zhong Changrong looked at the city walls faintly visible ahead, feeling somewhat at a loss, not knowing what scene would greet them upon entering the capital.

He thought of years ago when the General had sent eight victory dispatches, escorting the Xi Liang Crown Prince to the capital for an audience—the whole city had turned out to see Young Master Chu—

“Yes, we’re General Chu’s men, coming to the capital to see—” Zhong Changrong collected himself and said.

The official took over the conversation again. “To see Miss Chu’s competition, right? It’s about to start—you’ve arrived just in time.”

Zhong Changrong put aside his reverie. Yes, unlike the past, now the whole city spoke of the Chu daughter.

He smiled faintly. “Yes, we’ve come on the General’s behalf to watch the young miss’s competition.”

The official laughed heartily. “As it should be, as it should be! My young daughter had the good fortune to win three matches in a row at Chu Garden. Ha ha! My father was overjoyed and insisted he has a successor. We four brothers have taken a back seat.”

His daughter played well with the Chu family’s daughter, so he and General Chu were practically good friends.

Zhong Changrong looked at this official who was acting as enthusiastic as a friend of ten years—this official hadn’t even introduced his own surname yet.

Zhong Changrong said, “These are our—”

He wanted to present their travel permits and documents—

The official didn’t even look. “Hurry on, hurry on! Go quickly to see Miss Chu.”

Zhong Changrong had anticipated encountering difficulties along the way, especially the closer they got to the capital, but he hadn’t expected that the closer they got to the capital, the smoother their passage—not because of General Chu, but because of Miss Chu.

Zhong Changrong felt both heartache and joy. The General would surely be very, very happy to know this.

“Let’s go!” he called out loudly. “We’ll go lend our voices to support the young miss!”

The soldiers shouted in unison and galloped away under the official’s smiling gaze.