“Your Highness shouldn’t think of things so pessimistically…” Ren Shijie didn’t know how to console the Crown Prince, his words dry and powerless.

“Father Emperor is now wholeheartedly devoted to refining elixirs and seeking immortality. What sons… none of that matters to him anymore. Father Emperor… doesn’t want me as his son anymore.”

Ren Shijie’s lips moved soundlessly, but in the end, he said nothing.

Upon hearing this news, the Crown Prince of Jin’s first concern wasn’t that Prince Liang’s actions might lead to officials forcing the people to rebel, thereby throwing Jin into great chaos. Instead, he was thinking that the Emperor no longer wanted him as a son.

Such a Crown Prince, such an imperial family…

Ren Shijie felt that if the realm were to fall into the hands of such incompetent cowards from Jin’s imperial family, it would truly be the greatest joke under heaven.

“Master Ren, please go out! I know you want to comfort me…” the Crown Prince’s voice carried a hint of sadness, “but I want to be alone for a while.”

He had thought Old Fang was most loyal to him, yet at the most critical moment, Old Fang abandoned him and even betrayed him!

He had thought his father was the best to him, yet at the most critical moment, his father also abandoned him.

The Crown Prince had never felt so sorrowful…

But the Crown Prince had indeed misunderstood Old Fang. At this moment, Old Fang was being tortured in the great prison until he was barely human. No matter how others interrogated him about the Crown Prince’s whereabouts, he claimed not to know, and even if he did know, he wouldn’t say.

Ren Shijie came out of the room and closed the door for the Crown Prince, thinking that Prince Liang had begun searching for the Crown Prince and Bai Jinxiu in the capital, presumably having started to suspect that the Crown Prince hadn’t left the city.

Ren Shijie still needed to find a way to contact Bai Jinxiu to preserve the Crown Prince’s life…

The Bai family should now be most eager to preserve the Crown Prince’s life. After all, Princess Zhenguo had already aligned herself with the Crown Prince’s faction. If the Crown Prince died… and Prince Liang, who bore a grudge against the Bai family, ascended the throne, the Bai family’s future would be bleak.

Ren Shijie dared not delay and immediately sent someone to contact Bai Jinxiu.

Upon learning of the Crown Prince’s despondent mood, Bai Jinxiu hesitated for a moment, then first sent someone to notify Bai Qingyan that she had decided to attack the capital with the Yuanping army on the third day of the fifth month, nine days hence, to buy time and requested her elder sister to return with all speed.

Afterward, she summoned the only two imperial shadow guards remaining by her side, took the Emperor’s personally written edict, changed clothes, and left through the back door of the rouge shop, heading directly to the small courtyard where Ren Shijie had settled the Crown Prince.

Seeing the Crown Prince with reddened eyes, forcing himself to rally his spirits, Bai Jinxiu took out the Emperor’s edict and presented it to the Crown Prince: “Your Highness… His Majesty’s personally written edict. His Majesty is still waiting for Your Highness to bring troops to rescue him! Your Highness must not be so despondent, lest you waste His Majesty’s hidden expectations for Your Highness.”

With these words, Bai Jinxiu knelt on one knee and presented the edict before the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was stunned upon seeing the edict. He wiped his face with his hand, supported himself on the chair’s armrest to stand up, walked to Bai Jinxiu, took the edict, and hurriedly unrolled it to read.

When the Crown Prince saw it was the Emperor’s personally written edict, seeing that the edict commanded him to immediately leave the city with the edict to mobilize troops for reinforcement, before the Crown Prince could check the date, he heard Bai Jinxiu speak…

“Xie Yuchang delivered this edict long ago, but for the sake of caution, I didn’t know where Master Ren and Your Highness were hiding, so… I couldn’t deliver the edict to Your Highness in time. But Jinxiu guesses His Majesty certainly assumes Your Highness has already left the city to mobilize reinforcements, which is why he pretended to hand state affairs over to Prince Liang! What Your Highness holds is His Majesty’s personally written edict!”

The Crown Prince’s fingers gently caressed the imperial seal and calligraphy on the edict. Not realizing his tears had already flowed out, he laughed once and looked up at Bai Jinxiu: “Father Emperor hasn’t abandoned me! Father Emperor was just using an expedient strategy… pretending to hand state affairs to Prince Liang! I knew it! I knew it! Father Emperor is such a proud and arrogant person—how could he tolerate a villain like Prince Liang trampling over him!”

“But…” The Crown Prince suddenly gripped the edict tightly. “But how can I get out now? How can I take this edict to mobilize troops?”

“Your Highness, don’t panic. This morning, Prince Liang ordered the attack on the imperial palace, which means… elder sister is returning soon, otherwise Prince Liang wouldn’t be so anxious!” Bai Jinxiu explained to the Crown Prince gradually. “I suspect… Prince Liang, using the edict’s authority, ordered the Minister of Works to complete the Nine-Tiered Platform within ten days and demanded that various localities deliver a thousand virgin boys and girls to the capital within ten days. This should be His Majesty agreeing to a deadline with Prince Liang to buy time. After ten days… Prince Liang will probably ascend the throne!”

“But the time needed to return from Great Liang to the capital is too long…” The Crown Prince’s throat choked up, fear arising in his heart. “What if Princess Zhenguo can’t return within ten days?”

“I have the same concern. After all, the elder sister returning alone won’t work—she must bring troops back! But traveling with a great army… this travel time is hard to control, but elder sister will certainly spare no effort.” Bai Jinxiu nodded. “So we must also buy time for elder sister’s return!”

The Crown Prince rolled up the edict and gripped it in his hand, looking at Bai Jinxiu as if seeing his backbone: “Then what should I do? Please instruct me, Madam Qin.”

“Next, Your Highness needs to wait patiently! I will arrange the Imperial Guards at the capital’s gates as quickly as possible. Once everything is proper, I will certainly find a way to escort Your Highness out of the capital first. Then… we’ll head straight to the Yuanping camp and bring the Yuanping army back to the capital to rescue His Majesty, buying time for elder sister and General Liu to lead troops back to the capital!”

The Crown Prince nodded: “Thank you for your efforts, Madam Qin!”

“Please wait patiently for a few days, Your Highness. Jinxiu will certainly arrange Your Highness’s departure from the city as quickly as possible!” After Bai Jinxiu bowed to the Crown Prince, she was about to leave, but was called back by the Crown Prince.

“I have one more matter I must ask Madam Qin to help with!” The Crown Prince bowed deeply to Bai Jinxiu with solemn respect.

Bai Jinxiu quickly stepped aside to avoid the Crown Prince’s bow and respectfully clasped her fists toward the Crown Prince: “Your Highness need only command!”

“When Madam Qin has arranged for us to leave the city, could you… Please have Madam Qin escort the Crown Princess and little prince out of the city first, and also… also Hong Mei, and send people to settle them? We’ll head to Yuanping. Otherwise, if we leave them in the capital and Prince Liang searches and finds them, I fear they’ll be in danger!” the Crown Prince said.

Escorting the Crown Princess and little prince wouldn’t be a problem, but Hong Mei…

Bai Jinxiu still voiced her doubts to the Crown Prince: “Your Highness, escorting the Crown Princess and little prince is my duty, but… this Hong Mei, I suspect she belongs to Fan Yuhuai or Prince Liang!”

“That’s impossible!” The Crown Prince’s expression carried a faint smile. “Hong Mei’s background… I’ve investigated thoroughly. Please don’t disdain Hong Mei’s origins, Madam Qin. I… am quite fond of Hong Mei.”

Bai Jinxiu’s brow furrowed slightly, but she still agreed and respectfully withdrew.

Before Ren Shijie saw Bai Jinxiu off, he turned back to glance at the Crown Prince in the room…