Seeing Prince Liang’s grave and gloomy expression, Tian Weijun took the letter and tucked it into his bosom, not daring to linger and immediately departing.

Tian Weijun emerged from the side gate, leaped onto his horse, and galloped away, paying no attention to the whistle sounds coming from behind.

The dozen or so guards from the Duke’s mansion stationed at various exits of Prince Liang’s mansion heard Xiao Ruohai’s signal whistle and swiftly converged toward the source of the sound, galloping in pursuit of the horse…

Unfortunately, Tian Weijun was focused solely on moving forward and completely failed to notice the figures with extraordinary skills pursuing him from behind.

Tian Weijun raced to a paper offerings shop in a secluded area of North Lane and dismounted.

Xiao Ruohai raised his hands and changed his gestures. Soon, guards with excellent martial skills silently surrounded the shop just as Tian Weijun was knocking on the door.

The shop was small and appeared quite old, very run-down.

Tian Weijun had no time to tie up his horse and hurriedly raised his hand to knock. Xiao Ruohai’s hawk-like eyes fixed intently on Tian Weijun. The moment the door opened, Xiao Ruohai forcefully clenched his raised hand.

Four or five guards leaped down from the roof. Iron chains wrapped around Tian Weijun’s neck just as he was about to utter his first word. Two guards pulled forcefully and captured the about-to-speak Tian Weijun alive.

The sudden turn of events carried an intense aura of danger. Inside the house, when Gao Sheng heard the commotion from the roof, his body reacted first… while retreating, he drew his sword with lightning speed.

Seeing Tian Weijun restrained, Gao Sheng pushed off with his feet and leaped out from inside the house. His sword energy was threatening, but he wasn’t trying to rescue anyone – he was heading straight for Tian Weijun.

Gao Sheng moved extremely fast, so fast that the Bai family guards could only see a blur rushing toward them. Before they could draw their swords, Gao Sheng’s blade had already pierced Tian Weijun’s chest.

But Gao Sheng didn’t expect that his sword tip had only penetrated half an inch into Tian Weijun’s body before it could go no further. He turned his head to meet Xiao Ruohai’s calm and steady gaze, instantly feeling an intense threat from Xiao Ruohai. Gao Sheng quickly pushed off and leaped away to guard the doorway.

The two engaged in close combat, completing their exchange almost in the blink of an eye, so fast that even the highly skilled Bai family guards could only see afterimages before the two finished their confrontation.

Gao Sheng looked at Xiao Ruohai, who held a long sword in one hand and a short blade in the other, his heart filled with shock. Not only could this person block his swift sword, but he wielded both a long sword and a short blade!

If Gao Sheng had hesitated even slightly in his retreat just now, Xiao Ruohai’s short blade would have pierced his throat.

An indescribable joy arose in Gao Sheng’s heart, like standing atop a mountain peak and finally meeting a worthy opponent!

However, now wasn’t a good time for a contest – he had his responsibilities and mission.

Without giving Gao Sheng a chance to catch his breath, Xiao Ruohai had already launched his attack, while the remaining Bai family guards had rushed into the paper offerings shop.

After the clash of blades inside the house, Liu Huanzhang’s pained cries could be heard. Gao Sheng’s eyes narrowed, but he couldn’t shake off Xiao Ruohai.

The guards acted according to plan, seizing Liu Huanzhang and taking him toward Wude Gate. Hearing the commotion, Gao Sheng at the door turned to enter the house, with Xiao Ruohai also pursuing inside.

The sounds of battle continued inside. Tian Weijun also recovered from his shock at Gao Sheng’s attempt to kill him, roaring and struggling but unable to break free from the Bai mansion guards.

“Who are you people?!” Tian Weijun’s blood continuously flowed from his chest.

One guard, remembering Tian Weijun’s earlier motion as if trying to retrieve something from his chest, reached into Tian Weijun’s bosom and indeed pulled out a piece of paper. After unfolding it and taking a look, his eyes widened in anger. In his fury, he struck Tian Weijun’s head directly with his blade handle, knocking him unconscious.

“Damn! How vicious! They wanted to pin a charge of colluding with enemies on our Duke’s mansion! We underestimated that bastard Prince Liang!”

The guard folded the letter and placed it against his chest: “We’ll act according to plan and take this lackey to Wude Gate first! Quickly!”

Hearing the words outside about taking Tian Weijun to Wude Gate, Gao Sheng wanted to charge out, but this Xiao Ruohai was truly difficult to deal with – slippery yet clinging like mud stuck to one’s body that couldn’t be shaken off. Thinking of Liu Huanzhang, who had already been captured alive, Gao Sheng’s expression darkened. Liu Huanzhang… could not be allowed to live!

Inside the house, swords were drawn and flesh flew…

Xiao Ruohai had to admit that Gao Sheng’s martial arts were extraordinarily high. The men he brought were all top-level expert guards from the Duke’s mansion, yet Gao Sheng could kill three guards even when fighting one against ten. Even Xiao Ruohai himself was injured.

The bloody smell inside the house was so thick it made one nauseous!

Gao Sheng feigned an attack on Xiao Ruohai, then suddenly turned… his long sword left his hand and flew straight into Liu Huanzhang’s body just as the guards were about to take him away. The sword pierced through from front to back, leaving no room for survival.

Gao Sheng couldn’t let the Duke’s mansion people use Liu Huanzhang to make a case. If Liu Huanzhang revealed his conspiracy with Prince Liang completely, Prince Liang, who was already not favored by the Emperor, would likely face death without burial.

But in doing so, Gao Sheng’s back was also exposed to Xiao Ruohai’s attack range. Not wanting to harm Gao Sheng, Xiao Ruohai deflected his long sword slightly, piercing through Gao Sheng’s shoulder armor.

Liu Huanzhang’s eyes widened as he spat out blood, looking down at the sword piercing through him, then turning back to see Gao Sheng’s murderous expression. His eyes showed disbelief as he died.

Xiao Ruohai’s long sword pierced through Gao Sheng’s shoulder blade, his short sword pressed tightly against Gao Sheng’s throat, forcing him to kneel, but he didn’t kill him. Appreciating Gao Sheng’s skills, he panted heavily and intended to recruit him for Bai Qingyan: “Your skills are excellent. Why suffer following a despicable person like Prince Liang? You could abandon darkness and turn to…”

Before Xiao Ruohai could finish speaking, Gao Sheng thrust his neck against the short sword, clearly determined to die. Xiao Ruohai, who valued talent, was shocked and pulled his short blade away slightly. Gao Sheng seized the opportunity to break free, pulling out the long sword that had pierced Liu Huanzhang, and leaped out the window… to intercept and kill Tian Weijun.

Xiao Ruohai cursed under his breath and pursued, once again entangling with the severely injured and bleeding Gao Sheng.

Inside the imperial palace, the Emperor listened to the Grand Princess’s tearful complaints, lifting his gaze from the letters in his hands to look at Bai Qingyan, who stood obediently beside the Grand Princess.

The Grand Princess wept uncontrollably, her eyes blurred with tears as she said: “The Bai family’s heroic spirits have just been buried, and Prince Liang immediately used such despicable methods, unable to wait to pin infamy on the Bai family! The Bai family’s sons sacrificed themselves for the Kingdom – they were personally enfeoffed by Your Majesty as Duke Zhenguo and Prince Zhenguo! Such framing and slanderous behavior… is it meant to smear those who are already dead, or is it meant to accuse Your Majesty of being blind… mistakenly treating traitors as loyal subjects and posthumously granting them royal titles?!”

The Emperor withdrew his gaze from Bai Qingyan and looked toward the Grand Princess…

It must be said that the Grand Princess’s last sentence hit exactly where the Emperor was most sensitive.

He had dealt with his legitimate son, Prince Xin, and posthumously enfeoffed Bai Weiting as Prince Zhenguo, earning universal praise!

If these letters had truly been delivered to Bai Weiting’s study in the Duke’s mansion, what would the world think of him?

That he had been fooled and played by the Bai family, even going so far as to deal with his legitimate son, only to discover that the so-called loyal subject was a treasonous criminal!