In the cave, Nanny Qin wiped her ever-present dagger clean, inch by careful inch — a blade given to her by Crown Prince Li himself, back when he was still just a boy.
As she polished it, she gazed at Yelu Qianqian’s silent, still face, and found herself thinking of the crown prince. When he stayed silent, he had that same stillness about him — even with his eyes open, he was calmer than most people looked while sleeping.
It wasn’t that he’d been quiet and withdrawn since childhood by nature — it was that, since childhood, no one had ever spoken to him.
He had once been the proudest treasure of the Dong Qin imperial family, the only prince who’d survived past the age of ten. But because of the Empress’s ambitions, the imperial family had never once publicly acknowledged his identity.
She had no idea where the crown prince was now. Had he heard about the war in Dong Qin? Would he blame himself, feel heartbroken, feel disappointed?
A person spending their whole life living for a single dream — and when that dream shattered, what a cruel thing that was.
Watching Yelu Qianqian, Nanny Qin found herself growing distracted.
She had no intention of fleeing. If Han Ziqing failed to find them, then Yelu Qianqian would simply be lucky to survive. But if Han Ziqing did find them, she would kill Yelu Qianqian without a moment’s hesitation.
Whatever dream the crown prince couldn’t achieve himself, she would sacrifice these old bones to see it through for him.
With that thought, Nanny Qin polished the dagger with even greater intensity. And at that very moment, Ziqing and the shadow guards were silently landing atop the cave.
One step, and her foot sank deep into the thick snow, unable to find solid ground beneath.
Given the heavy snowfall, Ziqing could gauge the cave’s size and depth roughly by the faint glow of light seeping out from within — confirming there were indeed people inside.
“Your Highness, shall we just charge straight in?” Yingzi whispered. With nearly a hundred shadow guards at their disposal, their odds were quite good.
But Ziqing shook her head, murmuring, “Even a dog will jump a wall when cornered — how much more so a person.”
“What do you mean by that…”
Yingzi didn’t understand. Having come this far, what was there left to discuss about cornering them or not?
“She’ll kill Qianqian, and all our efforts will have been for nothing,” Ziqing said seriously, studying the cave entrance as she spoke.
Only then did Yingzi understand, exclaiming in alarm, “Then what do we do?”
Ziqing thought for a moment. “Pushed this far, there’s only one option left.”
Yingzi still couldn’t figure it out. With the target trapped inside the cave, they either went in or gave up — what other option could there possibly be? By his lady’s own logic, the moment they entered the cave, Yelu Qianqian would likely lose her life anyway.
This really was a thorny situation.
“Prepare firewood. I need to build a fire — quickly,” Ziqing instructed in a low voice.
“Your Highness, you…” Yingzi still didn’t understand. “Princess Qianqian is in there too!”
A flicker of helplessness crossed Ziqing’s eyes. Jun Beiyue’s shadow guards were truly formidable in combat — why were their minds so slow? “Pushed this far, the only thing left to do is push harder. If they want to kill Qianqian, then everyone in there dies alongside her! Even if Nanny Qin is willing to die for it, I refuse to believe every single person in there is.”
Hearing this, Yingzi finally understood his lady’s intent, silently marveling at her cleverness.
He immediately ordered several men to bring firewood, quietly piling it up at the cave’s entrance.
Only then did Ziqing land, no longer moving with caution — instead, she boldly lit the fire herself. Before long, flames rose, and smoke billowed up with them.
Without needing to be told, Yingzi led several men in continuously fanning the thick white smoke straight into the cave.
No matter how deep the cave went, those inside soon sensed it. Nanny Qin shot to her feet, crying out in alarm, “This is bad!”
“Nanny, let’s charge out and fight them head-on!” someone said at once, unable to bear waiting any longer.
Nanny Qin refused immediately. “No!”
“Are we just supposed to sit here and die? At this rate, we’ll all suffocate from the smoke!” one of Nanny Qin’s personal guards protested.
“They wouldn’t dare! Yelu Qianqian is still in here!” Nanny Qin said with confidence.
For a moment, the guards had nothing more to say, all pressing their hands over their mouths and noses.
But as time passed, the smoke pouring in only grew thicker and thicker. Nanny Qin’s expression shifted again and again, until she too had no choice but to cover her own face.
What were they trying to do out there!
Ziqing stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching in silence, only occasionally ordering Yingzi to keep the smoke coming.
Finally, those inside the cave could bear it no longer. Nanny Qin stepped forward and shouted, “Han Ziqing, I know it’s you! If you want Yelu Qianqian to die in here, then keep going!”
Hearing this, Ziqing’s brow twitched slightly. She personally tossed on another armful of dry firewood and called out loudly, “Listen up, all of you inside! If you don’t want to die in there, hand over Yelu Qianqian! Otherwise, when she dies, every single one of you dies with her!”
At these words, Nanny Qin snorted coldly. “Han Ziqing, just you wait — you’ll be waiting to come collect Yelu Qianqian’s corpse!”
“Good, I’ll be waiting right here!” Ziqing deliberately raised her voice. “Someone, more firewood! Build this princess consort another fire!”
Yingzi was alarmed. With that much white smoke already, Yelu Qianqian — that pampered, delicate princess — would surely be the first to break. Should they really add more?
He shot Ziqing a doubtful look, but she just smiled and kept shouting, “Light it! Light it right now! This princess consort has come to collect corpses!”
Hearing this, Yingzi had to bite back a laugh — while inside the cave, resolve began to crumble.
By now, nearly everyone, even the unconscious Yelu Qianqian, had begun coughing. The smoke was simply too thick, choking and suffocating, breathing growing more and more difficult by the moment.
“Nanny, we can’t keep this up — let’s just fight our way out!”
“That’s right, Nanny, the brothers can’t take much more of this — let’s get out of here!”
Get out?
Han Ziqing was surely waiting outside with an inescapable net cast wide. Unless they took Yelu Qianqian hostage, could they possibly make it out at all?
And if they took Yelu Qianqian out with them, that carried its own risks.
Having hidden this far, Nanny Qin refused to allow even the slightest further misstep. Yelu Qianqian had to die — she was absolutely determined on that point.
The alliance between Da Zhou and Xijing had to be destroyed, no matter what.
Otherwise, Dong Qin was finished.
Just then, Han Ziqing’s voice rang out again. “If I don’t see Yelu Qianqian walk out of there alive, this princess consort will personally smother every last one of you to death in there! No one is getting out!”
At this, the already-wavering guards grew even more shaken. Facing death head-on in open combat, they’d have accepted willingly enough — but being slowly smothered to death like this was pure torment, and they couldn’t stomach that kind of suffering.
The atmosphere inside the cave grew tense, and at the same time, the white smoke thickened further, vision growing hazier by the moment.
Nearly half the guards turned their eyes toward Yelu Qianqian. Nanny Qin understood exactly what that meant.
She said nothing, gave no reprimand — instead, she suddenly stepped back, gripped her dagger, and lunged straight at Yelu Qianqian with brutal intent!
……