Shen Xihe looked at him quietly for a moment before answering honestly: “Yes.”

Anyone treated with care by another person would be moved, as long as they weren’t enemies – even strangers would feel something.

That single word made satisfaction bloom in every feature of Xiao Huayong’s face.

The night was gentle, lantern light shimmered like rainbows, and their eyes met – his overflowing with tenderness, her expression friendly.

“The lanterns are falling! The lanterns are falling!” Just then, sharp cries rang out from outside.

Shen Xihe and Xiao Huayong looked over suddenly to see a row of tall lantern trees collapsing. The dense crowd collided as people tried to dodge, some being pushed down. Screams and cries of pain rose to the sky, while the fire sparked by falling lanterns illuminated panic-stricken faces.

Shen Xihe keenly spotted someone deliberately creating chaos. She pointed at those who were purposely pushing people down to cause casualties and grabbing the lantern frames to topple them: “Your Highness, that person!”

Xiao Huayong looked where she pointed and saw someone quickly escaping the chaos: “Youyou, don’t leave this place.”

“Your Highness, please be careful,” Shen Xihe grabbed Xiao Huayong’s sleeve as he turned to leave, cautioning him with concern.

Xiao Huayong smiled at her joyfully, his eyes filling with warmth. He nodded and quickly departed.

Shen Xihe wasn’t worried about Xiao Huayong’s abilities, but rather concerned this might be a trap set for him. His high-profile visit to the East Tower was likely known to many, and the “accident” happening near the East Tower was too suspicious to ignore.

She nodded to Mo Yuan, signaling him to follow with his men.

The situation outside was chaotic now. Shen Xihe didn’t leave immediately, looking down at the crowded streets below. The nearby streets were also becoming chaotic due to the fire sparked by the collapsed lanterns.

With her sharp eyes, Shen Xihe spotted Bu Shulin in the distance. While everyone else was retreating, she saw people purposefully pushing through the retreating crowd toward Bu Shulin. Their hands were lowered – from this distance Shen Xihe couldn’t see if they held weapons, but their posture strongly suggested it.

“Mo Yu, Young Master Bu!” Shen Xihe pointed to Bu Shulin’s location.

Mo Yu immediately headed toward Bu Shulin. The Imperial Guards were already arriving to maintain order. Mo Yu couldn’t travel by rooftop as he would be assumed to be a criminal and could be shot down by archers. He could only descend the tower and push through the crowd toward Bu Shulin.

Bu Shulin was rather dispirited today. On this Lantern Festival night when beauties wandered about, even her close friends had gone chasing after young ladies. She had wanted to accompany Shen Xihe, but Shen Xihe had an appointment with the Crown Prince, and she didn’t dare intrude.

On such a festive and lively day, she found herself alone, aimlessly wandering the streets. When she heard the sharp screams, she was initially relieved it wasn’t her misfortune, but soon the chaos spread to her area. People fled in disorder, causing collisions in the crowded streets, with people and stalls tumbling everywhere.

As a member of the Imperial Guard, she showed her badge, trying hard to calm people, but the crowd’s panic couldn’t be contained. Suddenly she felt a chill down her spine and instinctively turned – a hand holding a dagger thrust out, barely missed as she dodged, and she immediately grabbed the hand.

The attacker was trained, with tremendous strength. They twisted back and stabbed her face again.

She had to use the grip on their hand for leverage, her upper body leaning to the side as her feet slipped, her whole body floating away in a spin to face the assassin.

Before she could see the assassin’s face, she felt another chill from behind as someone else attacked. Bu Shulin’s expression turned cold as she grabbed the blades of both attackers front and back, forcefully pulling them while leaping upward herself.

The two nearly stabbed each other due to her strength, but their skills were good enough to avoid it.

Bu Shulin landed with a kick to the back of one attacker’s knee, bringing them down. Just as she prepared to strike decisively, the person behind attacked again, forcing her to drag the fallen attacker in a spin to block the blade.

The companion stopped their blade just before it entered their ally’s chest. Bu Shulin took the chance to raise and kick out, sending the person flying. The crowd was dense, and even though people were trying to clear space for the fight, some were still knocked down.

This gave the assassins an idea – one immediately raised their dagger to strike innocent civilians. Bu Shulin’s eyes turned cold, and she had to release the attacker she was holding to fly over. Before the dagger could pierce the civilian, she reached out with her long arm, her wrist blocking the assassin’s hand. She twisted her wrist forcefully, flipping the person up, who had to follow her momentum to avoid injury.

The assassin she had released attacked again, but neither could gain an advantage against Bu Shulin. Just then, a small child was pushed into the fight. As the child wailed, Bu Shulin grabbed one attacker, executed a clean scorpion tail kick at the other’s head, and pulled the child aside.

The person she held broke free and stabbed the child. Bu Shulin couldn’t let go in time and could only dodge while holding the child.

The child hampered her movements, but she couldn’t put them down, and the two attackers gave her no chance to do so. They repeatedly targeted the child, forcing Bu Shulin to dodge while protecting them. Each time she did, they would twist their wrists to stab at her instead.

Every strike missed her by a hair’s breadth. As the two coordinated more smoothly, Bu Shulin gradually lost ground. In the distance came a mother’s calls, and the child cried in response, body turning toward the sound.

Just then an assassin struck. Bu Shulin pulled the child close with one arm while blocking another assassin’s diagonal blade with her other hand. The first attacker, having missed the child, turned their blade to stab into Bu Shulin’s waist.

Bu Shulin felt the sharp pain, and the panicked child struggled in her arms as another blade came at them. Fortunately, a long sword appeared to block it, flicking up to force one assassin back while Bu Shulin seized the moment to kick away the one beside her.

Turning her head, she saw Cui Jinbai engaging the assassins. Her eyes filled with complex emotions, but there was no time to think. She put down the child and, despite her bleeding wound, leaped to pin down with her knee the assassin she had kicked who was trying to rise. She grabbed their hand, forcefully twisted it, and drew the blade across their throat. Blood sprayed as they fell silently.

“Murder!” The crowd panicked even more.

The heavy blood loss weakened Bu Shulin. As she watched more people fleeing in chaos, creating an even more uncontrollable situation, a flying dagger shot through the crushing crowd toward Young Master Cui who was still fighting the assassin.