“Soon, soon”—but there was no real answer.
Xiao Yu looked past the firelight, Imperial Guards, and layers of crowds to see the Crown Prince sitting among them—
It had been so long since he’d played together with Father.
This time Father had brought him along for the hunt, and he was truly overjoyed.
He had imagined so many things—riding horses with Father, drawing bows and shooting arrows together, chasing prey through the forest together, sleeping on the ground together, watching the stars in the sky together—
But in reality, there was none of that.
He could still only glimpse Father from afar, while Father didn’t even have time to look at him once.
“—Young Prince, what are you holding there?” Eunuch Zhu, catching a hint from Eunuch Qi’s eyes, understood and looked with a smile at the bamboo tube the young prince clutched. “Is it a gift for His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Xiao Yu took a step back, hugging the bamboo tube tightly to his chest, and shook his head: “No, this is my toy.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
Eunuch Zhu looked at Eunuch Qi in astonishment. Eunuch Qi made a helpless expression at him before turning to follow Xiao Yu.
Children were all like this—moody one moment to the next. Eunuch Zhu paid it no mind and hurried back to attend to the Crown Prince—during this delay, those little brats had tried to steal his position.
Xiao Yu rushed into the luxurious tent clutching his bamboo tube.
The heavy curtain fell, blocking out the noise. Inside the lavishly furnished tent, light incense burned, and only a few women were present.
The Crown Princess sat in the center with her head bowed, sewing something. But the needle and thread in her hands hadn’t moved in quite some time. The palace maids beside her remained quiet as if they saw nothing.
The tent was like a painting—beautiful and frozen.
Xiao Yu’s entrance tore through the tableau.
“Yu’er.” The Crown Princess quickly reached out, her face full of smiles under the lamplight.
Xiao Yu ran over clutching his bamboo tube, about to throw himself into his mother’s arms when a palace maid beside them hastily reminded: “Careful.”
Only then did the Crown Princess realize she still held needle and thread, nearly pricking Xiao Yu. She quickly set them down with a smile: “I’m making you a pair of socks.”
As Crown Princess, she didn’t need to do needlework, but she had always made the Crown Prince’s and her son’s intimate garments herself.
In truth, Mother had nothing to do except needlework. Even as a child, Xiao Yu could deduce this conclusion. Father had married Mother and made her Crown Princess, but he held no great passion for her. Father preferred being with riding and archery officials and the other women in the Eastern Palace—those women could drink wine, sing, dance, and make merry without restraint. Mother’s position wasn’t suitable for such activities.
Mother was like a furnishing in the Eastern Palace—she just needed to sit there properly.
But Mother was still a person, after all.
So when Imperial Grandfather wanted him to live in the palace and study, he wasn’t eager to go.
“I want to stay with Mother,” he said.
But Mother was both amused and angry: “What would you stay with me for? You’re the Imperial Grandson. You need to go study and learn. If you’re going to keep anyone company, it should be His Majesty.”
Mother gently and hopefully stroked his head.
“Yu’er, all of Mother’s glory rests on you.”
The small child vaguely understood—Mother didn’t need his companionship, only the glory he could bring.
“What’s this?” The Crown Princess looked at the bamboo tube her son held and asked curiously.
Xiao Yu quickly moved the bamboo tube behind his back: “It’s a treasure I found.”
The Crown Princess smiled and didn’t ask to see it. Her son had so many eunuchs and guards following him—what he ate, used, and played with would never be a problem.
“You ran around outside all day today—happy, weren’t you?” The Crown Princess asked with a smile, looking at her son’s flushed face, his hair and clothes covered with dust and grass.
He was in a completely different state than in the imperial palace.
Though he couldn’t be as wildly devoted to martial arts as the Crown Prince, he still needed to learn riding and archery for physical fitness.
“During this hunt, you must take down some game to bring back as a gift for Imperial Grandfather,” the Crown Princess said. “When your uncle was your age, not only did he excel in his studies, but his riding and archery were also—”
Usually Xiao Yu loved hearing her talk about Uncle, but today, just as the Crown Princess began, Xiao Yu yawned: “Mother, I’m sleepy.”
The Crown Princess quickly changed the subject and stroked her son’s face: “You’re tired from running around all day.” She looked up and called out, “Quickly attend to Yu’er’s washing up and put him to bed.”
The palace maids and Eunuch Qi all hurriedly responded in acknowledgment.
Xiao Yu stood up, not forgetting to clutch his bamboo tube, and followed the palace maid and Eunuch Qi toward the exit. But in the end, he couldn’t help turning back to ask: “Mother, will Uncle come see me tomorrow?”
The Crown Princess saw the anticipation in her son’s eyes and felt quite guilty. She quickly nodded vigorously: “Yes, definitely. He went to your Third Imperial Uncle’s literary gathering today on your father’s orders. He can come tomorrow—there was no choice. You know your uncle is talented and everyone knows it. He couldn’t not attend the literary gathering. But he’s accomplished in both civil and martial arts, so tomorrow he must come to your father’s hunt to display his skills.”
At this, she smiled and winked at her son.
“He’s even prepared a gift for Yu’er—a bow he made with his own hands. He told me to keep it secret to surprise you. I’ve secretly told you now, so when the time comes, you must act like you don’t know, all right?”
Xiao Yu’s eyes filled with delight as he nodded happily: “I will, Mother, don’t worry. I definitely won’t let Uncle see through me!”
The child turned around and skipped away joyfully.
Watching her son leave, the smile faded from the Crown Princess’s face. She called to a palace maid: “Go—have someone see Yanfang right now. Tell him he must come tomorrow no matter what. Tell him I’ve already promised Yu’er a gift on his behalf.”
The palace maid acknowledged and turned to leave.
The capital’s city gates had already closed for the night, but that meant nothing to the Crown Prince’s people.
Two Imperial Guards escorting two eunuchs quickly traveled from the distant hunting ground to the city gate.
The city gate in the night was brightly lit. Looking up, one could see patrol soldiers walking atop the walls.
Their appearance at the gate was immediately noticed by the guards on duty.
“Open the gate.”
Without waiting for the gate guards to inquire, the lead eunuch called out loudly.
“Eastern Palace attendants.”
After shouting this, the eunuch paid the gate guards no more attention and turned to speak to the eunuch beside him: “After we see Master Three, let’s stay. Tomorrow we’ll go together—”
The other eunuch nodded, then couldn’t help glancing at the city gate. According to custom, upon hearing the words “Eastern Palace attendants,” the gate would immediately open and the gate commander would respectfully greet them—
But the gate—
His gaze swept over it. The tall, heavy city gate remained tightly shut, completely motionless. What was going on? Hadn’t they heard? His gaze moved upward, about to shout again, when he saw a group of soldiers appear, holding crossbows aloft—
The moment his eyes met the crossbows, a humming sound tore through the night sky as streams of cold light flew forth.
The two Imperial Guards and two eunuchs below the city gate couldn’t react in time. They let out piercing screams as they fell from their horses. The next moment, more arrows fell like rain.
……
……
Behind the high, deep city walls in the capital, in the Xie family residence, Master Xie Three suddenly opened his eyes from sleep.
Shadows moved outside the bed curtains. Voices spoke low and urgent.
“Master, something seems wrong.”