“Break out of the city! Cut a bloody path and escort the Crown Prince out! Hurry!” Bai Jinxiu protected the Crown Prince while continuously retreating, shouting.

“Soldiers! Prince Liang is a traitorous minister and rebel! We swear to defend His Highness the Crown Prince and escort him out of the city! Kill!” General Wang shouted, leading his soldiers to turn and engage the enemy troops charging in from outside the city gate, attempting to cut a bloody path for the Crown Prince’s party.

The clash of metal weapons rang out, and battle cries shook the heavens.

The Crown Princess was terrified beyond measure, clutching the little prince tightly in her arms as she was swept along with the Crown Prince by the crowd, retreating backward.

The little prince, held too tightly by the Crown Princess, couldn’t breathe and burst into tears with a “wah!” The Crown Princess, pushed and jostled backward, stumbled and fell to the ground, nearly dropping the little prince from her arms.

“Crown Princess! Crown Princess!” The Crown Prince hurriedly bent down to help her up, but was unexpectedly bumped by the guards protecting him. In the chaos of war, his hand was stepped on, causing him to cry out in pain.

Prince Liang’s eyes darkened as he shouted: “Bow and arrow!”

The Imperial Guards who had been nocking arrows and aiming at the Crown Prince’s party quickly handed their bows and arrows to Prince Liang.

Prince Liang, seated on his warhorse, drew the bow and aimed at the crying infant in the Crown Princess’s arms. With cold, dark eyes, he released the arrow…

As the cold gleam approached, Bai Jinxiu, acting almost on pure instinct, used her long sword to cut down the feathered arrow flying toward the little prince, then grabbed the fallen Crown Princess and pulled her up.

“Tsk… what a pity I missed,” Prince Liang said coldly and indifferently.

Bai Jinxiu turned to look at Prince Liang with murderous intent in her eyes. After becoming a mother herself, Bai Jinxiu couldn’t bear to see anyone harm young children. Prince Liang truly disgusted her to the very bone. How could she have been so bewitched as to think such a creature truly loved her elder sister?!

Prince Liang wasn’t even worthy of carrying her elder sister’s shoes!

“Protect the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and little prince!” Bai Jinxiu shouted.

Now… the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and little prince were surrounded even more tightly. The Crown Princess could barely breathe, let alone the little prince in her arms.

However, with wolves inside the city and tigers outside, breaking out was extremely difficult.

Prince Liang sat atop his tall horse, enjoying watching Bai Jinxiu and the Crown Prince’s party fight like cornered beasts, feeling quite pleased.

The guards protecting the Crown Prince fell one after another. When heads rolled and hot blood splattered on the Crown Prince’s or Crown Princess’s faces, the Crown Prince tasted the metallic flavor of fresh blood for the first time. His face turned deathly pale, and his stomach churned. The Crown Princess screamed in terror, only caring to hold her child tightly while crying hysterically.

The Crown Prince, pushed and shoved backward in the crowd, looked up at Prince Liang, then at Bai Jinxiu, whose skills were extraordinary, her face covered in blood as she fought calmly, trying to escort him out of the city. Almost in an instant, he made his decision. He pulled out the imperial edict from his bosom and stuffed it into Bai Jinxiu’s arms.

“Your Highness?!” Bai Jinxiu turned to look at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince wiped the fresh blood from his face with his hand and spoke: “Madam Qin, I’m counting on you to bring reinforcements! Don’t worry about me… I have others protecting me. You alone should be more than capable of breaking out!”

The Crown Prince’s voice was solemn. As soon as he finished speaking, he was jostled backward by the guards protecting him. Looking up, he saw the rebel troops lying in ambush outside the city gate, forcing them back into the city. The soldiers and guards protecting him were outnumbered, pierced through the chest by several enemy spears, and lifted, blood flowing everywhere.

The Crown Prince, who had never experienced the cruelty of battle, actually vomited on the spot upon seeing this scene.

“Your Highness!” Bai Jinxiu quickly supported the Crown Prince.

The nausea made the Crown Prince feel dizzy and unsteady. Using the last bit of clarity in his mind, he spoke: “Prince Liang wants to use my life to prove he’s not a traitorous minister and rebel—he won’t kill me just yet! As long as you go and return quickly, you can save me! Madam Qin… I entrust the lives of myself, the little prince, and the Crown Princess to your hands!”

Originally, Bai Jinxiu had wanted to bring the Crown Prince along to Yuanping, as this would be more persuasive. But given the current situation, it was indeed impossible to bring the Crown Prince, the little prince, and the Crown Princess out together.

“Escort Madam Qin out of the city!” The Crown Prince pushed Bai Jinxiu and said quietly to the imperial shadow guards beside him.

Bai Jinxiu nodded, leading the shadow guards as she turned to fight her way outward.

Ren Shijie also drew the sword from his waist and said to the Crown Prince: “I shall escort Madam Qin out of the city!”

The Crown Prince was stunned, watching Ren Shijie raise his sword and fight. This was the first time he had seen Ren Shijie draw his sword, and the first time he knew that Ren Shijie knew martial arts. The Crown Prince had always thought the sword at Ren Shijie’s waist was merely decorative.

Ren Shijie, revealing his martial skills now and shouting about escorting Madam Qin out of the city, was simply to blend in and escape, so he could report back to Yan.

On the city wall, not everyone was General Wang’s man. General Wang shouted to release arrows, but with fighting occurring on the city wall, the archers had no opportunity to shoot.

Prince Liang and his party’s main target was the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and little prince. They completely failed to notice that Bai Jinxiu, who was fighting her way outward, wasn’t trying to cut a bloody path for the Crown Prince, but rather to leave first herself.

Bai Jinxiu, with the Emperor’s personally written edict tucked in her bosom, led the Bai family guards and imperial shadow guards in fierce battle to the city gate. She heard General Wang blow a whistle, and more than ten horses outside the city galloped over at the sound.

Fan Yuhuai realized that Bai Jinxiu’s small fighting force was trying to leave first and hurriedly shouted: “Stop them!”

The galloping horses crashed into and knocked down the Imperial Guards surrounding Bai Jinxiu’s party…

“Release arrows! Release arrows! Don’t let a single person escape!” Prince Liang shouted anxiously.

On the city wall, Fan Yuhuai’s archers aimed at Bai Jinxiu, who had already broken out of the city and was still fighting. General Wang’s eyes widened as he pushed Bai Jinxiu aside. The sharp arrow penetrated General Wang’s shoulder. General Wang pressed tightly against his bleeding wound, turned to continue fighting the rebels, and shouted: “Madam Qin, go quickly!”

Bai Jinxiu’s eyes remained calm as she sheathed her sword, grabbed the saddle of a galloping horse, leaped onto it, and galloped away!

The Bai family guards and imperial shadow guards, following Bai Jinxiu, also grabbed saddles one after another, leaped onto horses, and galloped madly away.

“Brothers! Stop them!” General Wang gritted his teeth and shouted to his soldiers on the city wall. “Close the city gates! Close the city gates! Quickly close the city gates!”

They absolutely could not let these rebels pursue Madam Qin. Only if Madam Qin’s party wasn’t captured could they go seek reinforcements.

General Wang’s Imperial Guards rushed forward one after another, as if unafraid of death, charging toward the city gate winch…

The city gates slowly began to move. The gap between the inside and outside of the city gates stopped and started, but ultimately grew smaller and smaller.

The Crown Prince watched as the gap between the two city gates finally closed and breathed a sigh of relief, nearly being knocked down by the soldiers protecting him.

He only prayed that Bai Jinxiu could be faster, even faster, and bring the Yuanping army as quickly as possible.

The night was deep and dark, with no stars or moon visible.

The sounds of killing in the capital gradually quieted down.

General Wang, who had protected Bai Jinxiu’s departure, finally died in battle. Not a single one of General Wang’s Imperial Guards surrendered…