In the deep stillness of night, Prince Gong was given a headache by Han Yang’s wailing. Impatiently waving his hand to silence him: “Stop crying!” He glanced at Wu Feng: “It’s not his fault. I sent him!” Then he stared fiercely at Han Yang: “It truly wasn’t you who told?”

Han Yang immediately pointed to heaven and swore: “If it was me who told, may my father be immediately dismembered into eight pieces and die a horrible death!”

This oath was quite vicious indeed. Prince Gong looked at him once, Wu Feng also looked at him once. He sheepishly lowered his hand, making a show of slapping his own mouth: “This mouth of mine—anyway, the meaning is this. Your Highness, rest assured, how could I do such a thing? Please be completely at ease. Right now you and I are grasshoppers on the same rope. How could I not wish for your wellbeing?”

This was indeed true. From the day they raised the banner of rebellion, from the day Han Zhengqing opened the gate to let in the Tartars, the Han family had no path of retreat left. He once again looked deeply at Han Yang.

Han Yang shuddered, as if thinking of something: “Who told you they saw Marquis Dingyuan wandering around my place? Goddamn it, they’re trying to get me killed! Marquis Dingyuan…” He looked at Prince Gong with a face full of distress: “Marquis Dingyuan wasn’t captured by my father?”

He was trying to trick information from Prince Gong, to see whether someone had actually reported information to Prince Gong, or if Prince Gong was deliberately saying this.

Prince Gong coughed several times, raising his hand to his lips: “It’s not your concern.” Hearing him mention that Han Zhengqing hadn’t caught Marquis Dingyuan, the gloom between his brows deepened another degree: “You go! Go back and sleep.”

Han Yang looked distressed: “How can I sleep? The brothers at that residence are probably scared to death…”

Prince Gong glanced at him: “Then bring them over!” Seeing Han Yang dumbstruck, he grew somewhat impatient: “Bring them over. This manor is so large—afraid it can’t accommodate your few people? Simply ridiculous! Having them outside makes me uneasy too. Call them all back.”

Han Yang’s heart surged with tremendous waves, but his face remained steady. He nodded at Prince Gong and bowed: “Excellent, excellent. As long as you’re not afraid of spending money to support them, I’d love nothing more than to drive them all over here!”

Then with eyebrows dancing, he asked: “Has my father sent any messages?”

His mother and Han Yu’s mother had both been taken away beforehand by Cui Shaoting’s people. Though Han Zhengqing didn’t care about their mothers at all and certainly didn’t know whether they’d left or were still there, there was still a layer of worry. If Han Zhengqing discovered that coincidentally both their mothers had disappeared, and Prince Gong told him about the failure in the capital, with his scheming mind, he would certainly think of him and Han Yu. He stared at Prince Gong, face animated with joy, heart dripping with cold sweat.

Prince Gong shook his head irritably: “At this time, communications are cut off. How can messages be transmitted?!”

Those Tartars were charging about everywhere in chaos. Even the territories they’d agreed wouldn’t be disturbed, they showed no restraint. With Cui Shaoting’s people and Huang Yiqing watching like tigers, how could messages get through? Waves of messengers sent out, but all sank without trace.

Even the military scouts were falling one after another. What methods could there be? He looked at Han Yang impatiently: “Stop standing here like a post. Do what you need to do! Call all those people of yours back.”

Han Yang responded affirmatively, snorted at Wu Feng, and strode away.

Prince Gong stared at his retreating back in silence for a moment before asking: “Didn’t search out anything at all?”

Wu Feng nodded: “Discovered a string of footprints. Later found they belonged to his servant—that servant was having a night meeting with the girl next door…” He spoke vaguely, then added: “Indeed didn’t search out anything.”

Prince Gong made an acknowledging sound, his gaze still gloomy: “Watch him. Watch him like a hawk.”

This matter wasn’t so simple. Someone definitely leaked information. It couldn’t be the others. Though this Han Yang was Han Zhengqing’s son, still—who could say?

Wu Feng respectfully accepted the order. Prince Gong added: “Invite Chief Aide here.”

Chief Aide came quickly, standing before Prince Gong like a tree stump, lifeless and dull.

Prince Gong unconsciously furrowed his brow, then released it, rubbing his forehead: “The capital side… Xie Siyi has failed.”

Chief Aide raised his eyes to look at Prince Gong once, then immediately lowered his head, no longer looking at him. After a long pause, he said: “The Imperial Grandson’s Consort is an exceptionally intelligent person. With her in the palace, it’s very difficult for Xie Siyi to succeed.”

Prince Gong grew even more furious: “That woman is simply a demon!”

Yes, even Han Zhengqing said this woman was a complete and utter demon! His teeth itched with hatred: “What now? I don’t know where Weiyang and Weiyin are. Quite a few old men in court are suggesting that old undying one kill them to intimidate me—they’re all my sons!” He paced back and forth anxiously in the room: “And Xie Siyi—with her fallen, I have no one useful left in the palace. What comes next? Everything was planned so well before. I even had someone write the proclamation…”

This person before him had actually contemplated matricide and patricide, and truly put it into action. Chief Aide suddenly laughed coldly. This laughter seemed particularly cold in the winter night.

He could care about his own sons, yet forgot that formerly Empress Lu and Emperor Jianzhang had doted on and indulged him just the same.

Chief Aide made an acknowledging sound but said nothing.

Prince Gong finally noticed something wrong with Chief Aide. He looked at him coldly: “You ‘hmm’? One ‘hmm’ and that’s it?! This Prince is asking you to think of something, to patch things up! Right now things… things aren’t going in the direction we originally anticipated at all.” He grew even more agitated: “Also, there’s definitely an insider. Someone definitely leaked our plan. That demon Song Chuyi—she’s clever, but she couldn’t possibly be clever to this extent. Someone must have warned her, someone tipped her off. I must catch this person. Tell me—could it be Han Yang?”

Chief Aide hadn’t really been listening to Prince Gong’s words at all. He touched his empty sleeve and sighed: “Your Highness, I’m tired. The night is already deep. I must go back to sleep.”

At such a time, he was only thinking about sleep. Prince Gong furiously smacked a book from the desk table at Chief Aide, hitting him so he stumbled back two steps. Staring at him tightly for a long while, he laughed coldly: “Get out!”

Chief Aide truly did leave. Passing through the corridor pillars, he stood at the corner looking at a plum tree in the courtyard for a long while, then silently shuffled back to his own quarters.

Wu Feng looked at Chief Aide’s retreating back somewhat bewildered, turning his head to look at Prince Gong uncomprehendingly: “Chief Aide, he’s…”