Tang Hua couldn’t have wished more for the Crown Prince’s request.

The Ruyi Troupe was one he’d engaged—if they satisfied the Crown Prince, he would gain face as well.

Tang Hua gave the servants a few instructions, and they hurried toward the back.

Qi Shuo, representing Prince Jing’s manor, was seated not far from the Crown Prince. Hearing the Crown Prince’s words, he raised his wine cup and took a shallow sip.

So it turned out the Crown Prince had proactively requested to watch.

Around him, cups were raised in toasts. Not many people spoke with Qi Shuo. Toward this sickly, low-profile heir of Prince Jing, the necessary pleasantries had been exchanged—that was sufficient.

Tang Hua, however, while waiting for the Ruyi Troupe to arrive, casually made conversation: “Why didn’t the young county princess come with the heir?”

Qi Shuo held his wine cup, smiling: “When girls grow up, they don’t much want to go out anymore.”

“I was hoping that if the young county princess came, Second Sister would have some company.”

Qi Shuo glanced at Tang Hua, looking thoughtful.

Was he regretting that Second Miss Tang had no companion, or regretting not seeing his younger sister?

Hearing Tang Hua mention Tang Wei, the Crown Prince grew irritated and asked with a cold expression: “Why hasn’t the Ruyi Troupe arrived yet?”

The arrogant little sister-in-law had bullied the gentle and understanding Imperial Concubine Sun—in the Crown Prince’s heart, Tang Wei was just an annoying pest.

Just as he spoke, the Ruyi Troupe arrived.

The dancing girls in the hall withdrew, clearing the space. The Ruyi Troupe members began displaying their various skills. Fire-breathing, bowl-balancing, contortion demonstrations… each performance drew rounds of applause.

On one side was a lavish banquet, on the other were acrobatics commonly seen in streets and alleys. Because the performances were exceptionally spectacular, the assembled guests all felt a sense of novelty, watching intently while holding their wine cups.

Even the Crown Prince, accustomed to refined song and dance, found some interest, saying to Tang Hua: “Not bad.”

Tang Hua, receiving the Crown Prince’s praise, was in excellent spirits: “Brother-in-law, just wait—the ribbon dancing coming up is even better.”

The Crown Prince had already spotted it.

A refined, clean-looking young man nimbly tumbled into the performance area. When he finally stood steady, two red ribbons flew from his sleeves in a dazzling display.

Amid a chorus of cheers, the red ribbons danced like dragons.

Soon the performance reached its highlight. A red ribbon suddenly flew toward one direction where a young girl stood holding a blue vase with a single lonely flower stuck in it.

The red ribbon flew straight at her, yet the young girl’s expression didn’t change.

In an instant, the flower in the vase vanished, and that red ribbon flew toward Tang Hua.

Tang Hua had clearly seen this feat before and remained unfazed.

The assembled guests felt their vision blur. The red ribbon returned to the young man’s hands, while a trembling flower now stood on the table before Tang Hua.

After a brief silence, cheers erupted.

After this, the red ribbons danced again, seeming to stir up clouds of sunset glow. Several more guests received flowers delivered by the red ribbons.

A flower also appeared on Qi Shuo’s table.

It was a wintersweet blossom.

The petals were golden yellow, the fragrance subtle and pleasant.

Qi Shuo picked up the wintersweet and breathed in its fragrance, sighing softly in his heart.

The Crown Prince saw that both Tang Hua and Qi Shuo had received flowers while he had not, and immediately grew displeased.

Naturally the wintersweet wasn’t precious, but wasn’t this kind of occasion about auspiciousness? Everyone else had one, yet he, the Crown Prince, did not—how disappointing.

Tang Hua possessed every fault of a spoiled young master, but not a trace showed in front of the Crown Prince—only thoughtfulness and cleverness remained.

Seeing the Crown Prince’s reaction, Tang Hua repeatedly made eye signals toward the ribbon-dancing youth.

Quite a few guests noticed and didn’t think Tang Hua’s behavior improper. Rather, they felt the ribbon-dancing youth didn’t know how things worked.

Among those present, the person with the highest status was the Crown Prince—how could he not know to present a flower to the Crown Prince?

The special atmosphere created special thoughts. Unconsciously, everyone had come to regard receiving a wintersweet delivered by the red ribbon as good fortune.

Finally, the young man caught on. A red ribbon flew toward the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince held his wine cup, a smile appearing on his lips.

The red ribbon approached so naturally, even amid everyone’s anticipation as it flew toward the Crown Prince, that the throwing knife concealed within the red ribbon wasn’t discovered until the cold gleam was nearly upon him.

The guard standing behind the Crown Prince like an invisible presence lunged forward.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere just now had been far too relaxing. Though the guards protecting the Crown Prince were highly skilled, they were still a step too late.

As he pulled the Crown Prince backward, the throwing knife struck the Crown Prince’s arm.

The young man’s form stilled. The flying red ribbons slowly fell before him, the light in his eyes dimming.

He hadn’t struck the Crown Prince’s vital point.

With the Crown Prince’s scream, countless voices rang out.

“An assassin!”

“Protect the Crown Prince!”

Tables overturned, cups and dishes rolled away—the scene became utterly chaotic for a time.

The guards who normally tried desperately to minimize their presence all drew their blades and rushed toward the young man.

The young man soon fell beneath a flurry of blades.

Fresh blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. He struggled to lift his head, looking toward the Crown Prince.

His vision had already blurred completely—he couldn’t make out the Crown Prince’s appearance, yet he stubbornly widened his eyes until he heard an alarmed cry: “This is bad—the hidden weapon is poisoned!”

The hidden weapon is poisoned…

The corners of the young man’s mouth curved upward. He closed his eyes.

Amid the chaos, guards wielded blades to kill, guests fled in disarray, dancing girls screamed.

Qi Shuo looked at the motionless young man on the ground and silently apologized in his heart.

He couldn’t change this.

The Crown Prince had indeed been wounded in the arm.

In fact, under such impenetrable protection, being able to injure the Crown Prince’s arm was already a miracle. Even if he designed another assassination attempt, even a small change in a single detail, might result in complete failure.

Not interfering at all would at least ensure the Crown Prince shed blood.

What he could do was make good use of this opportunity for the Crown Prince to shed blood—turning an assassination that only inflicted a superficial wound on the Crown Prince and could be considered futile into a poisoning.

But with the wound only on his arm and so many imperial physicians present, taking the Crown Prince’s life was nearly impossible.

The scene was quickly brought under control. The poisoned Crown Prince was carried to a guest room for treatment, while the assembled guests were forbidden to leave.

Not only that—the female guests dining in the back were also summoned over.

On the way there, the Wuning Marquis’s wife’s legs were shaking. She could only manage to walk with a maid’s support.

The Crown Princess was no better off, her face frighteningly pale.

The Crown Prince had actually been attacked at the marquis manor—Wuning Marquis Manor faced imminent catastrophe.

Mother and daughter shared the same thought. Each step felt like struggling on a knife’s edge.

Lin Shi quietly instructed Lin Hao: “Ah Hao, when we reach the front, you must stay close to me. Don’t wander off.”

“Yes.” Lin Hao answered obediently, her heart surging with emotion.

At this time in her previous life, she had already fled the capital. Though she’d returned three years later and met some people, heard about some events, there was far more she didn’t know.

So the Crown Prince had been assassinated? Who had assassinated the Crown Prince? What was the Crown Prince’s condition?

Lin Hao, carrying countless questions, followed the crowd to the great hall.

Several corpses lay scattered across the hall floor, triggering screams from some madams and young ladies.

They couldn’t have imagined finding such a scene here.

Lin Hao’s gaze fell on Xiao Feng.

The young man lay quietly in a pool of blood, as if asleep.

Lin Hao looked at the young man’s peaceful face and suddenly her eyes flew wide open.

She remembered!