The Embroidered Uniform Guard leader bent down to examine the wheels, saying, “Someone placed large stones on the road that jammed the wheels, and beforehand installed this nail on the carriage roof. Not much of the nail was exposed, but it was poisoned. When the carriage jolted, the Ninth Prince was sitting in the corner—being tall, when he suddenly jumped up, his head struck the nail exactly…”
A deathly silence fell over the carriage.
At this unheard-of, bizarre method of murder.
It sounded simple, but the precision regarding the Ninth Prince’s personality, height, habits, and timing of the strike was ingenious to the extreme.
The killer must have understood the Ninth Prince’s behavior extremely well, knowing he was fierce, impatient, and highly vigilant, that he would only sit in the corner of the carriage, and that after the Seventh Prince’s death his vigilance and stress response would intensify, making him vulnerable to being stabbed.
Moreover, this trap was specifically designed for the Ninth Prince, as only he was tall enough.
And that large stone was obviously suspicious—with the military convoy passing through in sequence, how could they ensure that stone would jam precisely this carriage?
This point puzzled the Tiger Guard leader greatly, until he had a flash of inspiration and checked beneath the carriage.
Only then did he discover adhesive under the carriage, along with some stone powder. That stone had been stuck early on to the undercarriage near the wheels, but not too firmly. As the carriage traveled, the constant vibration gradually shook the stone loose until it fell and jammed the wheel.
This meticulous and incredibly clever murder method made everyone present feel as if they were standing in a snowy wilderness, bone-penetrating cold seeping from all directions.
The Fourteenth Prince stared fixedly at the Ninth Prince’s corpse. Just moments ago, this man had been fierce and aggressive, making wild threats to slowly torture Murong Yi to death…
In the blink of an eye, he himself had lost his life.
Death came too quickly, like a vicious slap striking the Ninth Prince and everyone else in the face.
Even the Fifteenth Prince, who usually cared about nothing but pleasure, changed color.
The Fourteenth Prince shivered violently, then suddenly rushed down from the carriage and shouted into the snowy wilderness: “Eighteenth! Little Eighteenth! Big brother was wrong back then! Big brother begs your forgiveness! You can have whatever you want, just don’t kill me, don’t kill me—”
“Fourteenth Prince!” The Tiger Guard leader’s face turned iron-blue as he rushed out, forcibly dragging him back and pressing him into his seat. “Going out like that—do you want to die!”
The Fourteenth Prince grabbed his hand desperately. “General Fang, Great General, search! Search quickly! Old Nine said Murong Yi must be nearby, must be in the army. Find him and I’ll reward you handsomely, I’ll give you half my estate…”
“Even without Your Highness saying so, this minister was going to thoroughly investigate the entire army. Please remain calm and don’t act rashly! After all, if another prince dies, this minister will have no way to explain to the Great King when he awakens!” The Tiger Guard leader coldly got off the carriage and shouted: “Halt the convoy! The entire army camps here immediately! Starting with the Tiger Guards, search in order! If anyone suspicious is found, kill without mercy!”
The convoy stopped in the wind and snow.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards got on the carriage to carefully search for any other mechanisms.
The Fourteenth Prince began to cry, weeping without regard for others.
“Wuu wuu wuu, what sins have I committed? I didn’t do anything, I was just following behind to watch the excitement. Little Eighteenth, Little Eighteenth, look at your brother… I’m not worthy to be your enemy, please spare me…”
The Twelfth Prince glanced at him coldly and moved further away.
The Fourteenth Prince suddenly lunged over and grabbed his hand, saying: “Twelfth Brother, Twelfth Brother, there are only a few of us left. We can’t fight separately anymore. From today on, let’s form an alliance and properly discuss how to deal with Little Eighteenth…”
“Fine.” The Twelfth Prince brushed off his hand and stood up.
“Where are you going?” the Fourteenth Prince asked in panic.
“To relieve myself. Are you following?”
The Fourteenth Prince said worriedly: “How about Twelfth Brother just do it in the carriage? I don’t mind… but don’t be like…”
The Twelfth Prince snorted with contempt, ignored him completely, and got off the carriage.
The Fourteenth Prince watched his retreating figure, then leaned against the carriage window and complained to the Fifteenth Prince: “Twelfth Brother and the others all look down on me, finding me cowardly, but I’m just worried about his safety…”
The Fifteenth Prince pulled out a bottle of wine from under the carriage seat, popped open the clay seal, took a gulp, exhaled contentedly, then said: “Fourteenth Brother, don’t overthink things. Live for today when there’s wine today to drink. Here, want a sip?”
“How can you still drink at a time like this!”
“What else can I do if not drink?” The Fifteenth Prince smiled self-mockingly. “A waste like me, with this kind of body, no favor from Father King, no support from my maternal family—I couldn’t trade anything with Little Eighteenth for my life even if I wanted to. I might as well drink a few more cups while I still have warm breath, at least I’ll be a well-fed ghost.”
The Fourteenth Prince listened, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
After a while, he also stood up, saying he needed to relieve himself, and got off the carriage.
The Fifteenth Prince squinted as he watched, raised his wine pot like a toast to his retreating figure, then took another drink.
The Fourteenth Prince got off the carriage, deliberately avoiding the crowd, circling behind the convoy to find a crooked tree. But he didn’t dare relieve himself—instead, he fell to his knees behind the tree with a thud, kowtowing to the vast snowy wilderness while speaking softly: “Little Eighteenth, don’t kill big brother yet, listen to what big brother has to say. Big brother swears here to never covet the Liaodong throne, and when I return I’ll offer you half my estate. Whatever else you want, just say it, big brother will do it all, just spare big brother this worthless life…” As he spoke, he tremblingly pulled out a seal from his robes, placed it in the snow, saying: “This is my private seal. With it you can withdraw half the cash from my dozens of shops and one bank. This is my pledge of loyalty to you, please accept it first…”
Snowflakes struck his face as the wind howled. Heaven and earth were shrouded in a layer of misty white. The withered tree branches, bent under the snow’s weight, stretched long before the Fourteenth Prince like hands demanding payment.
The chaotic whistling sounds between heaven and earth seemed like cold laughter.
The Fourteenth Prince placed the seal under the tree, stood up, not daring to raise his head or turn around, just retreating backward with his head lowered.
The investigation continued. General Fang was determined to check every single person. Each camp leader was familiar with their own soldiers, and they had lists, calling out names one by one to verify.
Under such thorough investigation, no one could slip through.
The Fourteenth Prince returned to the carriage anxiously to wait, both fearing his seal would be taken and fearing it would not be taken.
After a while, the Twelfth Prince returned, still expressionless as always, not looking at anyone.
He had always been this cold and gloomy, indifferent to matters that didn’t concern him, not caring to interact with the other princes, and they didn’t care to interact with him either. But now the Fourteenth Prince could only talk to him: “Twelfth Brother, why were you gone so long?”
He was just making casual conversation, but the Twelfth Prince turned to look at him. When the Fourteenth Prince met his gaze, he felt a chill in his heart, though the Twelfth Prince immediately returned to his calm demeanor, saying flatly: “Too many people, went further away.”
The Fourteenth Prince was preoccupied with his own worries and didn’t ask further, sitting restlessly for a while before sneaking off the carriage again while the others weren’t paying attention.
As soon as he got off, the seemingly dozing Twelfth Prince opened his eyes, glancing at the drunk Fifteenth Prince.
The Fifteenth Prince was holding his wine bottle, lying face up.
The Fourteenth Prince returned to where he had placed his seal, and as his gaze fell, the hair on his back bristled.
The seal was gone!
The entire camp was being searched, and no one could leave—this seal wasn’t taken by anyone in the camp.
But it had been taken.
Murong Yi was not in the camp.
Murong Yi was nearby!
In the flying snow and bitter cold, the Fourteenth Prince’s back was instantly drenched in sweat.
He looked left and right. Though there was clearly no one there, he felt shadowy figures moving in the snow and wind.
There seemed to be writing on the ground before him.
He stepped forward and looked down.
“Kill Twelve. Spare your life.”
…
Half an hour later, the Fourteenth Prince returned to the carriage.
After getting on, he saw the Twelfth Prince still pretending to doze and Fifteen still drinking and sleeping, and he silently breathed a sigh of relief.
The Twelfth Prince suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him. Meeting those dark eyes, the Fourteenth Prince felt somewhat guilty and smiled awkwardly as he pulled out a silk pouch from his sleeve, grinning as he said: “I have some excellent snow pear crisp candy here, it clears the mind and removes restlessness. Would Twelfth Brother like a piece?”
The Twelfth Prince said flatly: “I’m not restless. You’re the one who could use it.”
This was mocking his inability to stay calm. The Fourteenth Prince wasn’t angry, just smiled and popped one in his mouth, then sat next to the Twelfth Prince. The Twelfth Prince didn’t move away, and both listened to the questioning sounds outside in silence.
Soon it grew dark, and General Fang sent word that they would camp here, asking the princes not to leave the carriage. Hot water and food would be brought later.
Someone came to hang a lantern on the carriage roof. The pale yellow light flickered dimly, the basin-sized circle of light swaying constantly with the carriage’s movement, casting whoever it illuminated in sickly yellow-green hues, ghostlike.
The three ate, drank, and washed in silence. They would obviously be spending the night in the carriage. Fortunately, the Liaodong royal carriages were specially made—sturdy and windproof, with animal hides on the walls and floor, and each person had a warming brazier to ward off the cold.
If it were the Great King’s carriage, it could even be disassembled on the spot to create a small palace that didn’t touch the ground.
The Fifteenth Prince found the lantern’s flickering annoying and drunkenly got up to blow it out.
The carriage was plunged into darkness.
The long bench seats could be moved and combined into a small bed. The Fourteenth Prince pushed his bench over next to the Twelfth Prince’s, while the Fifteenth Prince snored alone on the opposite side.
The Fourteenth Prince tossed and turned, unable to sleep, listening to the Twelfth Prince beside him sleeping motionlessly like a corpse, feeling both envious and resentful.
He lay quietly, listening to the wind and snow outside, suddenly remembering when Seventh Brother had stripped Eighteenth Brother’s pants years ago. It seemed to have been a snowy day like this too. Eighteenth was struggling, Ninth was laughing, pouring a basin of ice water down Eighteenth’s pants. Eighteenth jumped up frantically, knocked down Seventh, and injured Ninth’s foot. Everyone was startled, and the guards swarmed to pin down Eighteenth. Seventh pressed Eighteenth’s head into the ice water while Ninth pounced on him, pummeling his head with fists…
It seemed Seventh wasn’t the first to strike, but he couldn’t remember who was. Probably except for the older ones who had many affairs to attend to, the rest of the brothers were all there—playing chess, practicing martial arts, cracking sunflower seeds, sneaking food. Some didn’t even glance over, some carelessly tossed sunflower seed shells, some practicing martial arts suddenly had their whip fly onto Eighteenth, then laughingly apologized saying big brother’s hand slipped… What had he himself been doing then?
The Fourteenth Prince tried hard to remember but couldn’t recall. People are always good at forgetting their own wrongs and evils, others’ grace and virtue, while clearly remembering every favor they’ve done for others.
He was now searching his mind for memories of kindness he’d shown Little Eighteenth, to prove the possibility that Little Eighteenth might spare him, but no matter how he racked his brains, he couldn’t think of any.
Twelfth Brother’s breathing beside him became even more steady.
The Fourteenth Prince’s hand, which had been resting at his side, silently drew a dagger from behind his waist.
It was a precious blade, completely silent when unsheathed—a reward from the Great King. He was sweet-tongued, obedient, and good at handling matters, so the Great King treated him fairly well.
Fifteenth’s snoring grew louder. Usually he would find it annoying, but now he thought it was excellent—the louder the better.
This way it could cover certain sounds.
He gripped the blade tightly, eyes flickering, wrist steady.
Twelfth Brother, forgive me.
Your brother just wants to live.
Kill you, and that demon will spare my life.
A cold glint flashed in the darkness as the dagger thrust toward the vital spot at his companion’s waist.
An extremely soft hissing sound—the Fourteenth Prince was overjoyed, gritting his teeth as he pushed deeper. His fingers touched something soft, which he thought was skin. Calculating the depth of the dagger’s penetration, he was elated, but then realized something was wrong.
Skin wouldn’t be this cold.
Why was Twelfth Brother showing no struggle?
Why did the stabbing feel so empty?
Something fluffy white drifted before his eyes.
He suddenly understood.
That wasn’t Twelve’s waist—it was a pillow stuffed with cotton!
Shocked, he tried to pull out the blade, but a hand shot lightning-fast through the cotton pillow pierced by the dagger and grabbed his wrist.
Something was suddenly stuffed into his mouth, blocking his cry of alarm and call for help. From below the cotton pillow, that hand gripping his wrist twisted once, forcibly turning the dagger around, then ruthlessly stabbed it in.
A soft squelching sound—this time the dagger pierced flesh and organs.
The Fourteenth Prince convulsed violently, his body about to spring up, but was pressed down hard by the Twelfth Prince. The blood gushing from his waist was absorbed by the cotton pillow—not a drop fell in the carriage.
The struggle and killing in the darkness didn’t disturb the drunk man—the Fifteenth Prince’s snoring didn’t even skip a beat.
Those rising and falling snores were like a funeral dirge, chanting the fratricide of blood brothers in the darkness.
After a long while, the Fourteenth Prince stopped moving.
Only then did the Twelfth Prince release him, pulling the cloth from his mouth. The Fourteenth Prince’s eyes were wide open, showing the whites.
In life he had always been smiling, as if only in death did he reveal a hint of his inner ferocity.
The Twelfth Prince expressionlessly pushed him to the side, to where he himself had been sleeping, pressed tightly against the carriage wall. He positioned the Fourteenth Prince precisely where he had been lying, pulled out the dagger, and picked up the blood-soaked cotton pillow. The moment he opened the carriage door, cold wind rushed in, and the Fifteenth Prince seemed to stir. The Twelfth Prince whirled around to stare at him.
The Fifteenth Prince rolled over, his back to him, and continued sleeping.
Only then did the Twelfth Prince get off the carriage, closing the door. It was too cold—the guards had pitched tents nearby, and the shadows of those warming themselves by the fire were reflected on the tent walls. Someone poked his head out to look at him, and the Twelfth Prince waved to indicate he was relieving himself. The person’s head ducked back inside.
The Twelfth Prince walked to the side of the carriage, just a wall away from Fourteenth’s corpse.
He took out the cotton pillow and dagger hidden under his cloak, piercing the dagger through the carriage wall right into the Fourteenth Prince’s waist wound.
Then he pulled out the dagger, squeezed blood from the cotton pillow, and splashed it on the carriage wall.
He then trampled back and forth on the ground, making the footsteps appear chaotic, as if more than one person had approached.
Then he threw the cotton pillow into a nearby ditch. In such wind and snow, it would be completely covered within an hour.
After doing all this, he returned to the carriage, even nodding to the Fourteenth Prince’s guard who poked his head out to look again, calmly opening the carriage door.
The Fourteenth Prince lay stiffly. The smell of blood in the carriage wasn’t too strong—it had all been absorbed by the cotton pillow.
The Twelfth Prince lay down beside him calmly and slept.
…
Near dawn, the Tiger Guard leader, exhausted from a night of fruitless investigation, came wearily to notify the princes to rise—they needed to continue their journey.
He lifted the carriage curtain and saw three people sleeping straight and stiff in the large carriage. There was a strange smell in the air—mostly alcohol, some charcoal fumes, and faintly something else unpleasant. This mixed odor hit his nostrils, making his heart jump, almost thinking these three had also met with misfortune.
Then he saw the Fifteenth Prince rubbing his eyes and sitting up, followed by the Twelfth Prince opening his eyes.
The Tiger Guard leader breathed a sigh of relief and said: “Your Highnesses, please rise. We were delayed yesterday, so today we must start early to make up time… Fourteenth Prince, Fourteenth Prince, time to get up…”
He suddenly stopped speaking, his color changing. He took a quick step into the carriage. The Twelfth Prince turned his head, saw the Fourteenth Prince, and suddenly retreated backward, nearly colliding with him.
“Fourteenth!”
On the long bench, the Fourteenth Prince’s rigid sleeping posture showed no movement.