The hidden guards brought over a carrying sedan, and the palace maid helped Consort Qi onto the sedan. Following the corridor through the eastern door, they sent her back to her bedchamber.

Just as Zhu Zhaowei was about to leave, a hidden guard who had come with the sedan said: “Your Highness, there is urgent news.” He took a secret letter from his sleeve pocket and presented it: “It was sent from Suzhou Prefecture.”

Zhu Zhaowei opened the letter and looked at it. His brow suddenly furrowed tightly, and he said in great fury: “How did this happen? How could the Thirteenth Prince appear in Suzhou Prefecture?!”

The secret letter stated that one day ago, Zhu Nanxian had not only appeared in Suzhou Prefecture but had also killed the spy that Zhu Zhaowei had sent to Shu carrying the jade seal of the Seventh Prince’s residence.

The hidden guard said: “Because it was the Thirteenth Prince who personally took action, even though the spy carried Your Highness’s jade seal, the Suzhou Prefect and the Provincial Administration Commissioner had no way to stop him. Before his death, that spy did manage to secretly leave behind evidence regarding Lord Su’s background. I have already sent someone to retrieve it at full speed.”

Zhu Zhaowei’s face was gloomy as he gave no reply. After a while, he suddenly said: “Something is wrong.” Then he unfolded the secret letter in his hand and examined it carefully once more.

If Zhu Nanxian had already appeared in Suzhou Prefecture one day ago, then according to his traveling speed, he should return to the palace in the next day or two. Nanchang was thousands of miles away from the capital—with such a major action by Zhu Nanxian, why was news of his whereabouts only received tonight?

With this thought, Zhu Zhaowei asked coldly: “Still no news from the Fengyang army?”

The hidden guard’s expression changed drastically. This question from Zhu Zhaowei was like a revelation—if the Fengyang army had no news for seven or eight consecutive days, Zhu Nanxian must have used some method to block the information.

And what could temporarily trap fifty thousand Fengyang troops was probably only the Nanchang army.

“Your Highness, forgive me!” the hidden guard said. “I will immediately go discuss countermeasures with Lord Wu!”

“Wait.” Zhu Zhaowei said.

He stared intently at the four characters “Thirteenth Prince” on the secret letter, as if about to burn a hole through them.

But at the extreme of his rage, he calmed down again.

From the day the Thirteenth Prince fled, he had already anticipated various consequences. The worst one was that the Thirteenth Prince would lead the Nanchang army to completely defeat his Fengyang army.

But Zhu Nanxian was, after all, Zhu Nanxian—he always had that one thought of benevolence that made him unwilling to ruthlessly kill thousands of innocent lives. His innate deep sentimentality meant he would ultimately place his bonds with Su Shiyu and Shen Qingyue above imperial power, even above his own life.

So today’s situation was actually acceptable—it was merely that the Nanchang army and Fengyang army were both stalled on the road to the capital. If the enemy did not move, neither would he.

This way, he still had room for planning and deployment.

Having weathered countless storms in his life, Zhu Zhaowei would not fail to leave himself a backup plan.

“Where is the envoy from Annan lodging today?”

“In reply to the Seventh Prince, Minister Luo from the Ministry of Rites has arranged for the envoy to stay at Weiyang Palace.”

Zhu Zhaowei made an affirmative sound and walked toward the exit. “Invite both Minister Luo and the envoy to come, then summon Zhu Qiyue to the palace.”

“Yes.” The hidden guard responded.

Walking to the outside of the eastern door, Zhu Zhaowei looked back at this abandoned, somber old palace and said: “Lock both the front and back doors and seal them. From now on, without this prince’s permission, no one may enter or leave.”

Only after Zhu Zhaowei’s hidden guards had departed and the sound of locks being fastened came from outside did Su Jin and Shen Xi emerge from behind the high wall.

The dark night was cool and silent. The two had stood all night. They sat down in silence by the small pool. After a long while, Su Jin finally asked: “What should we do?”

Shen Xi answered with one word: “Wait.”

They had been trapped in this old palace by a strange twist of fate. If they left now, they would certainly alert the patrolling guards outside the palace. They could only wait until dawn, wait until Zhu Zhaowei went to the court assembly and was preoccupied, then openly knock on the main gate to leave.

Su Jin said: “But Zhu Zhaowei has already learned that the Thirteenth Prince will soon arrive in the capital. In his fury, he will certainly try to kill you in the next day or two. Once we leave Yanhe Palace tomorrow, his men can take you away under any pretext.”

Shen Xi laughed, leaned back to lie down, and raised his arm to pillow his head: “Who cares? Zhu Zhaowei has wanted to kill me for eight hundred years. Dragging it out until today, his actions are already quite slow. Perhaps I’ll set foot on the Yellow Springs Road with one foot, and he’ll follow right behind with the other.”

As he spoke, he turned on his side and propped his chin on his hand, looking at Su Jin. “Hey, Su Shiyu, after I die, you should set up a memorial tablet for me near his Seventh Prince’s residence and offer me good wine every day. If Zhu Zhaowei asks, tell him I’m waiting for him in the netherworld. When he arrives, I’ll have a good talk with him and make him understand exactly whose hands he fell into this time.”

Though Shen Xi spoke unclearly, Su Jin understood his meaning.

As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

When Beauty Li and Consort Qi lived together in Yanhe Palace, Beauty Li must have accidentally discovered the affair between Consort Qi and Zhu Zhaowei and was tricked by Consort Qi into going to the front palace to be silenced.

However, their plan to kill Beauty Li was somehow learned by someone hiding in the shadows, who used this incident to set up a scheme that ensnared everyone.

Su Jin also smiled: “You may want to drag Zhu Zhaowei to be buried with you, but whether he’s willing is another matter. Zhu Zhaowei is deeply calculating and experienced. Even now, he may not be unable to see through the scheme at the front palace. But he’s accustomed to leaving backup plans for everything. Back then, the Yulin Guard was hidden by him for so long—who knows what he’s hiding this time? You’d better postpone being laid to rest and get through this crisis with His Highness and me first.”

She paused, withdrew the smile from her face, and after pondering said: “No matter what, let’s wait until dawn first. His Highness will return at the earliest the day after tomorrow. If you and I can survive tomorrow, when the day after tomorrow dawns, we’ll tear off all pretense and take up arms against him.”

Shen Xi looked at Su Jin. After a moment, he nodded: “Good. Blades and swords have no eyes; life and death are in heaven’s hands.”

On a late summer day, dawn came very early. Just as the hour of mao arrived, the horizon was already dyed with layer upon layer of crimson clouds.

The court assembly was about to begin. Liu Chaoming ascended the platform amid the sounds of officials paying their respects. Before long, a censor came to report: “Lord Liu, today we are to decide on the envoy to be sent to Annan. Last night, the Seventh Prince and Minister Luo deliberated until the hour of chou. They may arrive somewhat later.”

Liu Chaoming made an affirmative sound.

The censor then took a secret letter from his breast and presented it: “Lord Liu, this is today’s itinerary for the Thirteenth Prince.”

He was nearly at Ao City. If all went smoothly, he would presumably return tomorrow.

Liu Chaoming said indifferently: “I understand.” Then he returned the secret letter to the censor beside him.

The censor took the secret letter and was about to go to a secluded place to burn it when suddenly someone nearby coughed lightly twice.

The person was Zhu Yiheng.

Zhu Yiheng’s face was pale, showing signs of serious injuries not yet healed, but his amber eyes were full of laughter. He approached as if completely familiar, directly asking: “What was Lord Liu just looking at? Is there news of my Thirteenth Brother, whom I saved at the risk of my life?”

Liu Chaoming was noncommittal: “Has the Tenth Prince’s injury healed?”

Zhu Yiheng said: “What condition my injury was in initially, Lord Liu saw for himself. One could say I walked through the gates of hell—how could it heal without a year or half a year?” He turned to look at the sky that was about to fully brighten. “But these past few days are different. The crimson clouds are like blood, illuminating the capital. In Lord Liu’s opinion, does this portend bloodshed or a change of heaven?”

Liu Chaoming said: “Whether it’s a change of heaven or bloodshed, since the Tenth Prince has just returned from the gates of hell, neither of these will be your concern.”

“That’s true.” Zhu Yiheng said. “By the way, there’s something you probably don’t know, Lord. This morning, I was strolling inside Zhengwu Gate when I ran into Wu Jizhi, the Secretary from the Ministry of Justice. He was originally going to the Imperial Censorate to find you, but before reaching the gate, he was intercepted midway by the Yulin Guard. I’ve been away from court for a long time and was extremely bored, so I went over and meddled in this business. This Wu Jizhi said that his Superior, the Vice Minister—that is, Su Shiyu—has suddenly fallen ill today and cannot attend the morning assembly.”

“Lord Liu, tell me—in these crimson clouds saturated with the aura of killing and warfare, could Su Vice Minister’s ailment be the crux of it all?” Zhu Yiheng suddenly smiled. “This time, Lord Liu, will you intervene or not?”