Chapter 537 The Crown Prince's Hostage

The Imperial Palace.

Gu Qianning, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, was pushed onto the high platform.

A gleaming sword was held against her neck, less than an inch from her skin.

Not far away, an archer drew his longbow to its full extent, the arrowhead aimed directly at her heart.

If she or her second brother makes the slightest move, swords and arrows will fall without hesitation, taking her life.

Only now did she realize why her second brother forced her to marry far away in Jiangnan, and only now did she understand why her second brother had never taken Shen Wantang back to the Gu family.

It turns out he was plotting a rebellion.

She didn't know why her second brother wanted to rebel, but she had no time to investigate the reasons. One person's rebellion meant the execution of the entire family. Unless her second brother succeeded, the Gu family would be wiped out.

The Crown Prince's voice rang out in the deathly silence: "Gu Qianhan, if you dare take another step forward, your sister will die! Do you really not care about her at all?"

The icy rain had soaked Gu Qianning completely, and a bone-chilling cold permeated her entire body.

When she got married during the day, she complained that it was too hot and even asked someone to put an ice chest in the sedan chair.

Now, however, she was shivering from the cold.

Perhaps it wasn't entirely because of the cold; it could also be because of fear—not fear of being killed, but fear of the annihilation of the entire tribe.

However, this fear also gave her extraordinary rationality and courage.

She didn't look at the Crown Prince standing not far from her, the man she once loved deeply, who was now insignificant.

She looked straight at Gu Qianhan: "Second brother, eldest brother has already been killed, I'm next, what are you waiting for?"

After leaving the city during the day, the wedding procession was ambushed halfway through their journey.

The black-clad ambush attackers were all elite assassins, fighting with a desperate ferocity, and their numbers far exceeded the attackers'.

Everyone who accompanied and welcomed the bride was killed in battle; not a single person survived except for herself.

At first, she didn't understand why they left her alone. Now she realized that the people were sent by the Crown Prince, and she was a hostage used by the Crown Prince to control her second brother.

She thought her second brother would be angry and saddened to hear that her eldest brother was dead, but he was neither.

The second brother remained the same as before, indifferent and cold. His face, illuminated by the firelight, showed no emotion whatsoever.

Gu Qianning smiled. For the first time, she sincerely admired her second brother. He was so strong that he was unmoved by anything external. Emotions like panic and fear would never appear on him.

That put her mind at ease.

Although her second brother was at a disadvantage, she thought that he might be able to break through the encirclement and avenge her and her eldest brother.

Now that things have come to this point, there is no room for compromise. She is willing to help her second brother and the Gu family fight to the death!

She was alive, but held hostage by the Crown Prince. Her second brother, fearing the consequences, was immediately at a disadvantage.

With her dead, my second brother will have nothing left to worry about!

She took out a willow-leaf dagger hidden in her sleeve and then lunged at the prince.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

"Don't kill her!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously; the first was from the guard, and the second from the crown prince.

However, the arrow was faster than the prince's voice and faster than Gu Qianning's movements.

The sound of something cutting through the air pierced the rain and went straight to Gu Qianning's chest.

A sharp pain struck, and Gu Qianning staggered and fell, her blood soaking through her wedding dress and staining the rain red.

"A-Ning!"

The prince roared, his voice filled with pain, as if he had lost a loved one and could not bear it.

"kill!"

Gu Qianhan's cold voice rang out, and then she led her men forward.

Arrows rained down, each arrow carrying a torch; wherever they landed, a sea of ​​fire engulfed the land.

The flames soared into the sky once more, and the sounds of battle grew increasingly fierce. People fell one after another, and others took their place. Amidst the flashing blades, Gu Qianhan charged towards the Crown Prince.

——

As dawn broke, the rain subsided, the fires died down, and the sounds of battle gradually ceased.

Shen Wantang stood inside the gate of the Prince's Mansion, feeling as if her heart was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, making it hard for her to breathe.

The winner has been decided.

It's just unknown who won.

Time seemed to drag on endlessly at that moment. After what felt like forever, there was finally a knock on the door.

"Open the door."

With Shen Wantang's command, the heavy gates of the Prince's Mansion slowly opened.

The moment Shen Wantang saw the person who had arrived, her heart sank to the bottom.

A high-pitched eunuch's voice rang out: "By imperial decree, the Gu family has committed treason and plotted to endanger the nation. Their crimes are heinous and they shall be executed along with their entire clan! The two sons of the traitorous Gu family have fled in the chaos. Anyone who harbors them shall be punished as an accomplice and executed without mercy! Anyone who reports their whereabouts will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold!"

Shen Wantang lowered her head, concealing the emotions in her eyes.

Gu Qianhan failed.

The Gu family was once again executed along with nine generations of their clan. However, in the previous life, the charge of treason was forcibly imposed on the Gu family by the Crown Prince. In this life, Gu Qianhan was forced to actually commit treason.

The reasons have changed, but the result remains the same.

Of the Gu family, only Gu Qianhan escaped.

No, that's not right. Gu Qianning is also involved this time! She's married, so the blame shouldn't fall on her. She should be fine!

However, Gu Qianhan will probably not survive, just like in her previous life.

Shen Wantang was somewhat dazed. She could no longer hear what the eunuch was saying, and she couldn't even hear Xiao Qingxi running over excitedly and shouting.

Everything in this life is strikingly similar to the previous one; the people who died and the reasons for their deaths are almost the same!

However, everyone died earlier than expected!

What about her own?

Will she die too? Will she die sooner?

Ironically, she, a person skilled in medicine, died of a cold in her previous life.

Will she still die from a cold in this life?

She glanced down at her soaked embroidered shoes and realized she should go back and change.

After seeing the eunuch off, she ignored Xiao Qingxi's arrogant provocation and turned back to her own courtyard.

She can't fall ill right now!

She changed her shoes and her damp clothes, wrote herself a prescription, and handed it to Dujuan: "Have someone get the medicine and brew it for me to drink."

Du Juan looked at her with concern: "Princess Consort, are you... are you alright?"

Shen Wantang turned her head: "What's wrong with me? The palace won, the Ning Prince's mansion was saved, and I kept my position as the Crown Princess. What's wrong with that?"

"But, but your complexion..."

What's wrong with my complexion?

Shen Wantang turned her head and looked in the mirror.

The mirror reflected a bloodless face.

Shen Wantang subconsciously closed her eyes. What was wrong with her? Didn't she already know the Gu family's fate? Why was she reacting so strongly?

She thought she was pretending well, but her body betrayed her.

She calmed herself down for a while, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and handed the prescription back to Du Juan: "Go and get the medicine."

Du Juan took the prescription and went out.

Before the medicine could be brought back, Qin Xin hurriedly returned from outside: "Princess Consort!"

"What's wrong?"

"This servant heard...this servant heard..."

"explain!"

"This servant heard that Miss Gu died in the palace last night!"