“Good! Let’s go!” Bai Qingyan looked coldly at Prince Liang and said to Lu Ping: “Leave two people behind to catch Prince Liang… throw Prince Liang back. Oh… if Prince Liang dares to die, it doesn’t matter – just say… he committed suicide out of guilt for insulting Princess Nandujun!”
After speaking, Bai Qingyan helped Dong Tizhen, who was completely leaning against her, into the carriage.
Prince Liang felt a chill down his spine at Bai Qingyan’s casually cold tone.
Seeing this, Prince Liang didn’t say another word and took off running.
“Chase him!” Lu Ping commanded, and two guards immediately rushed out.
Bai Qingyan turned back to look at Lu Ping. Lu Ping understood and nodded to Bai Qingyan, and only then did Bai Qingyan bend down and enter the carriage.
Prince Liang ran frantically like a madman. Hearing footsteps closing in behind him, he turned and wildly slashed with his dagger, finally forcing back the two Bai family guards who were pursuing him.
Prince Liang was covered in sweat. Since that day he was nearly killed in an assassination attempt on the main street, his vitality had been severely damaged. His current martial skills were no match for two guards at all.
Just as Prince Liang’s mind raced to find an escape route, suddenly a skilled swordsman leaped down from a high curved eave. Sword light flashed coldly, and in an instant… the two Bai family guards who had just been pursuing Prince Liang fell straight to the ground.
The swordsman had his back to Prince Liang, sheathing his long blade.
“Who are you?!”
“A subordinate of Great Yan’s Ninth Prince! Ordered… to protect Prince Liang from death once! My master once said that if Prince Liang needed it, I could act to save Prince Liang’s life. After saving Prince Liang, I must inform Prince Liang that this is only once – otherwise my master will question Prince Liang’s abilities and whether he is a suitable alliance partner.” The man still had his back to Prince Liang, speaking unhurriedly. “Prince Liang should go first. I’ll handle things here!”
The matter of cooperating with Great Yan’s Ninth Prince was known to no one else but him. Prince Liang glanced at the two fallen Bai family guards, suspected nothing, nodded, then turned and ran toward the alley exit.
After hearing Prince Liang’s footsteps completely disappear from the alley, the two “fallen” guards immediately got up, grinning as they asked the swordsman standing there: “How was that? Did we two brothers act convincingly?”
The swordsman raised his hand and patted both their heads: “Hurry up and go!”
The three quickly left the alley and rode horses to catch up with Bai Qingyan’s carriage.
After Prince Liang emerged from the alley, he ran desperately toward Prince Liang’s residence. He was breathing heavily, leaning against a wall and pressing his hand to his violently beating heart. He couldn’t help but recall Bai Qingyan’s earlier words – if the Crown Prince entered the palace… threw dirty water on him and stepped on him to marry Liu Ruofu, that would truly be more loss than gain!
So why couldn’t he use the same tactics against them? Why couldn’t it be that the Crown Prince had drugged Liu Ruofu, wanting to force himself on Prince Xian’s only daughter, while he… somehow woke up lying in the same bed as Liu Ruofu without knowing why!
He was a good son who was extremely frightened. After quietly slipping out of Liu Ruofu’s maternal grandfather’s home, he hurried to tell his Father Emperor, and ask for his decision. He was afraid that if the matter escalated… Grand Tutor Chen would find out and ruin the marriage Father Emperor had bestowed upon him, and he was also afraid Dong Tizhen would find out and think he was a heartless person!
Prince Liang made up his mind and headed straight for the imperial palace. In his disheveled state, he waited at the palace gate, and as soon as it opened, he went to see the Emperor.
“Father Emperor must uphold justice for your son! How heartbroken would Tizhen be if she knew? Your son can choose not to marry Tizhen, but he cannot let Tizhen think your son is a shameless person! Yesterday, your son went to the Dong residence to beg Minister Dong not to make things difficult for Tizhen. When leaving the Dong residence, someone suddenly told your son that Crown Prince Brother wanted to defile Princess Nandujun’s purity and marry Princess Nandujun back to his residence! Your son thought that with our Jin and Great Liang about to negotiate peace, if Crown Prince Brother seized Princess Nandujun, it would certainly give Liang grounds for criticism. So your son hurried toward the Crown Prince’s residence, but just as I turned around, everything went black, and I knew nothing! When your son woke up… I saw Princess Nandujun lying beside me. Your son was terrified! Your son didn’t know what to do, so I hurried to the palace to ask Father Emperor for guidance!”
Looking at the weeping Prince Liang, the Emperor’s heart skipped a beat. He lowered his gaze to look at Prince Liang kneeling at his feet, clutching his robe corner with fearful eyes, and gritted his teeth: “After you woke up, did you alarm anyone?”
On his way here, he had already thought clearly – if he told the Emperor he had alarmed others before coming, the Emperor would definitely suspect his motives, suspect he had deliberately alarmed others and then framed the Crown Prince, wanting to reap the fisherman’s profit!
Moreover, if he dragged Bai Qingyan into this, the Emperor would certainly ask how he escaped from Bai Qingyan’s hands. Could he tell the Emperor he was cooperating with Great Yan’s Ninth Prince?!
Prince Liang inexplicably thought of Bai Qingyan’s seemingly smiling face and felt an unexplained chill in his heart!
“No, no! Your son didn’t dare alarm anyone! I came directly to the palace! Your son truly doesn’t know how I ended up lying in Princess Nandujun’s bed! Father Emperor… please save your son! Even when your son left Princess Nandujun’s maternal grandfather’s residence… I snuck out quietly without alarming anyone!”
“Snuck out?” The Emperor frowned deeply. “Are all the people in that residence dead? How could they let you sneak out quietly?”
“Your son doesn’t know! When your son woke up, there was only Princess Nandujun beside me, then your son was so frightened, I grabbed my clothes and ran…” As Prince Liang spoke, he seemed to sense something was wrong too, looking up at the Emperor. “There were no night-watch maids in the room, and your son… didn’t encounter anyone on the way out…”
The Emperor’s mind was in chaos, and he couldn’t help but think of what the Crown Prince had mentioned yesterday about Dong Qingyue holding military power.
The Emperor knew all too well how many people Prince Liang could deploy, especially since Prince Liang began making elixirs for him – the Emperor had thoroughly investigated everyone in Prince Liang’s residence. After all, the matter of elixir-making… was of great importance, and he couldn’t let people know that he, the Emperor, had violated ancestral teachings by dabbling in elixirs.
With Prince Liang having no one available to use, how could he possibly smoothly bypass the many guards of the residence, enter the residence, and slip out without encountering anyone?
The Emperor looked down at Prince Liang, who was crying inconsolably, then raised his head and said to Gao Demao: “Go summon the Crown Prince. I have questions to ask!”
After speaking, the Emperor said to Prince Liang, “Go wash your face! What do you look like crying and wailing!”
Prince Liang’s tears kept falling as he said, “Father Emperor, please prevent this matter from spreading at all costs. Tizhen and your son are already suffering enough from not being able to be together! Your son cannot let Tizhen hear about such things!”
The Emperor raised his hand and patted Prince Liang’s head: “Go then!”
The Crown Prince was changing clothes to prepare for morning court when palace servants came to summon him.
Old Fang was quite puzzled – if the Emperor had sent someone to summon the Crown Prince because Prince Liang and Princess Nandujun’s affair had been discovered, why hadn’t the three people he sent out returned to report?