Pipa had already handed the packed bundle to Lüdi, then with nimble hands stripped off Li Dingyuan’s floral and precious gem-patterned cross-collar vest and other silk garments, changing him into ordinary gray-brown cloth clothing of a common child. She also removed all the precious ornaments he wore, leaving only the unremarkable white jade zodiac pendant at his waist.

Li Dingyuan was dumbstruck. When he reacted and wanted to scold Pipa, he had already been taken back into Lüdi’s arms and was swiftly leaving through the back courtyard. Pipa also respectfully bowed to Li Shanchang, took Li Dingyuan’s clothes, and turned to leave.

Li Shanchang closed his eyes and sighed deeply: “Dongxiao, do you think if this old man had died earlier, could it have preserved the safety of the whole family?”

“Duke…” A middle-aged man emerged from behind the screen and knelt sorrowfully on the ground.

“People are indeed greedy – who doesn’t want to live well?” Li Shanchang lamented. “When Yuan’er was born, I thought to live a few more years to see him grow up. But year after year, the more I watched him, the more reluctant I became to leave. Sigh, this old man doesn’t fear death, but if I die now, His Majesty will think I committed suicide out of guilt. Qi’er’s family might be spared, but Yuan’er… this old man truly cannot bear to part with him…”

“Duke, you still have the imperial bestowed iron certificate with cinnabar inscription – it can spare you from death twice, and spare your sons from death once…” Dongxiao reminded unwillingly.

“Iron certificate with cinnabar inscription? Who granted it to this old man? Since he could bestow it, naturally he can also take it back.” Li Shanchang held no hope whatsoever. He understood too well that old friend sitting on the dragon throne, just as the other understood him.

Just as Dongxiao was about to offer more persuasion, commotion came from the front courtyard, with faint sounds of orderly footsteps.

“To actually deploy the Imperial Guard – truly honoring this old man.” Li Shanchang smiled contemptuously and calmly adjusted his clothing. Dongxiao also stood tall behind him, shedding his previous anxious expression and returning to an emotionless face.

Li Dingyuan, carried in Lüdi’s arms, had just exited Duke Xuan’s mansion through the side gate when he saw teams of Imperial Guards marching swiftly toward them. The masses of armor and iron spears radiated murderous aura, making Li Dingyuan shiver violently as uncontrollable fear rose from his heart.

Because he discovered these Imperial Guards were heading exactly toward Duke Xuan’s mansion.

“Don’t look,” Lüdi pressed down Li Dingyuan’s small head and whispered.

“Not looking would actually arouse suspicion,” Li Dingyuan righteously retorted. He was extremely familiar with all the guards and maids around grandfather, so naturally wouldn’t be polite to them.

Lüdi was startled. With such a large formation, though passersby all lowered their heads in silent fear, they were also extremely curious and secretly peeping. After all, this concerned the Duke’s mansion – that Duke’s mansion that seemed like it would always stand firm.

Li Dingyuan nearly cried out in the next second, because he saw Pipa sneaking out from the side gate, holding a seven or eight-year-old child in her arms. Those clothes were clearly what had just been stripped from him – at first glance, it looked just like him. Pipa looked fearfully at the nearby Imperial Guards and immediately ran in the opposite direction holding the child. The Imperial Guards also spotted Pipa at this moment and quickly sent a small team in pursuit.

Even if Li Dingyuan was foolish, he now understood that something had definitely happened to grandfather, otherwise why would grandfather allow Pipa to do such a deceptive substitution?

“I want to go back!” Li Dingyuan struggled while gritting his teeth. But Lüdi held him tightly, leaving this area at a speed that wouldn’t attract attention, threading through the streets and alleys of Yingtian Prefecture.

“Thirteenth Young Master, this is the Duke’s intention,” Lüdi persuaded in a low voice while walking. “This time, the Duke faces more danger than fortune.”

Li Dingyuan’s fingers gripped the bronze box in his arms with such force that he nearly broke his nails. He hoped all this was just grandfather’s excessive worry, but the Imperial Guards hurrying through the streets and the occasional Embroidered Uniform Guards in flying fish robes with embroidered spring knives at their waists made Li Dingyuan’s small face increasingly pale. Those Embroidered Uniform Guards were devils in Yingtian Prefecture who could stop children’s nighttime crying. Though the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been abolished three years ago, in reality it was just surface theater by the emperor to appease the ministers. Behind the scenes, the guards still wore brocade clothing for night operations, secretly collecting various intelligence.

Li Dingyuan bit his teeth and used all his strength to barely manage to speak: “Don’t call me Thirteenth Young Master anymore either. Just call me… Jie’er.” Li Jie was originally the name his father had given him following the grass radical generation rule. But later grandfather spoke up, using the name Li Dingyuan for the family registry, so no one knew this name.

Lüdi nodded, inwardly praising that he was indeed the Duke’s most beloved thirteenth grandson – adjusting his mood so quickly and even pointing out potential mistakes. Lüdi turned left and right in the alleys, somehow obtained a horse cart, and placed Li Dingyuan inside. Unable to see the outside situation, young Li Dingyuan was even more panicked, but still restrained himself from making noise or fuss. Lüdi continued circling the city until dark before reaching a dilapidated residence.

According to Lüdi, this was a civilian residence his grandfather had prepared years ago. It hadn’t been maintained for years to avoid suspicion. After Li Dingyuan hastily ate something, Lüdi said he needed to go out to gather news about the Duke’s mansion. Li Dingyuan was also anxious and said he would be fine alone, telling him to go quickly. Though Lüdi was worried, he knew that randomly finding someone else to care for the thirteenth young master would risk exposure. He knew his duty was to stay by Li Dingyuan’s side, but years of loyalty to the Duke made him restless.

Finally Lüdi left, and Li Dingyuan hugged that bronze box and shivered in the pitch-black broken house.

He dared not light a lamp, because at such a time, a house empty for years suddenly showing human presence would definitely alert those all-pervasive Embroidered Uniform Guards.

He sat quietly in the darkness, thinking of grandfather, thinking of his parents, thinking of uncles, thinking of those brothers and sisters, thinking of past happy days, his heart growing cold bit by bit.

Watching the sun rise again and set again, after several such cycles, Li Dingyuan knew that Lüdi would never return.

“Don’t… don’t leave me alone…” he murmured, finally blacking out and falling unconscious.

The bronze box in his arms fell under the bed. The priceless glass lid struck the blue stone slab with a crisp sound, shattering into several pieces. The white jade ruyi inside the bronze box rolled out, emitting soft white light in the moonlight.

“Li Shanchang was convicted for the Hu faction crime. Saying that as a founding hero and imperial relative, knowing of treasonous plots without reporting them, being suspicious and wavering, harboring duplicity, this is great treason. His wife, daughters, brothers, nephews and their families – over seventy people total – were all executed. His Majesty’s personal edict listed his crimes, and the prison confessions were made into ‘Proclamation Revealing the Treacherous Faction in Three Records’ and announced to the world…”

A clear female voice echoed in the broken house. A ten-year-old girl with sheep-horn braids was tilting her head and reading word by word from the proclamation in her hands. On the bed beside her, a haggard boy was leaning against the wall under a worn quilt, his dry lips pressed into a straight line.

Li Dingyuan had become skin and bones in just a few days. His round cheeks had sunken, his chin had sharpened, completely changing his appearance. Even family members probably wouldn’t immediately recognize this as the Duke’s most beloved thirteenth grandson.

His grandfather was said to have been given white silk by the emperor to hang himself that very day. His family members were arrested from Jiujiang, Jiangxi, and publicly beheaded three days ago. He had forced himself to watch the entire process, seeing those familiar family members lose their heads one by one, blood flowing like rivers. Over seventy people? Far more than seventy! All the ministers and marquises connected to their family were also implicated. It was said the emperor used this as an excuse to purge, and altogether over thirty thousand meritorious officials and their families were killed. Yingtian Prefecture seemed shrouded in a bloody haze, the entire capital permeated with a breathless bloody smell that lingered for a long time.

“Jie’er, are you hungry again? I have steamed buns here!” The girl put down the proclamation and reached out her small hand to worriedly touch Li Dingyuan’s small belly.

“Ruyi, I’m not hungry.” Li Dingyuan forced a smile for the girl, tiny points of warmth floating in his cold eyes. While waiting for Lüdi, he had been unconscious in this house for several days. Upon waking, he met Ruyi. She was jade-white and adorable, but wore ordinary boy’s clothing, yet her behavior and speech showed refined family upbringing. Li Dingyuan was certain Ruyi must be like him – an escaped descendant of some implicated noble family. Otherwise, how could an ordinary ten-year-old girl be literate? Moreover, when asked her surname, she never answered – perhaps her surname wasn’t as common as his Li.

During his illness, thanks to Ruyi’s careful care, thinking that her family was implicated and destroyed because of his family made Li Dingyuan increasingly guilty. But this guilt quickly transformed into hatred.

Yes, his grandfather had done nothing wrong! The one in error was the person sitting on the dragon throne!

“Jie’er, you’re unhappy – is it because the bronze box broke?” Ruyi carefully brought the bronze box before Li Dingyuan, asking somewhat cautiously.

“No.” Li Dingyuan glanced at the bronze box he had brought from home but no longer felt the previous fondness for it. The glass lid of the bronze box had shattered, and the white jade ruyi inside was nowhere to be found – perhaps it had rolled somewhere, or was stolen by burglars when they weren’t there. He vaguely remembered when he was seriously ill, the bronze box had fallen to the ground, but none of this mattered anymore. “Ruyi, read the proclamation to me again.”

Ruyi nodded and secretly placed the bronze box in an inconspicuous corner, showing a pleased smile on her small face.

Li Dingyuan didn’t notice Ruyi’s small action, because that clear voice had started up again.

“Li Shanchang was convicted for the Hu faction crime. Saying that as a founding hero and imperial relative, knowing of treasonous plots without reporting them, being suspicious and wavering, harboring duplicity, this is great treason…”

Li Dingyuan clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot.

Great treason… great treason… they actually called his grandfather’s actions great treason! Then he would show them what great treason really looked like.