"It's too dirty here." His low, husky voice was tinged with bitterness, and his slender fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on Shen Jintang's hand.

"Qingzhou is gone, and I have nothing left to miss in Kyoto. I want to leave. Do you want to come with me?" His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and the rest of his words turned into an almost inaudible sigh, dissipating into the damp air.

Shen Jintang looked at his slightly trembling fingertips and felt a sudden pang in her heart.

She understood that Ye Qingzhou's death was a huge blow to Gu Zhixing, and she also understood his current vulnerability, but leaving Kyoto completely was no small matter.

Gu Zhixing grew up in Kyoto. He was the Crown Prince and the beloved son of the Eldest Princess. Everyone doted on him, and he never suffered any hardship, nor did he understand the dangers outside.

If he really leaves Kyoto and sheds the aura of the crown prince, will he be able to adapt?

"Gu..."

Just as she was about to speak, the sound of rapid hoofbeats tore through the rain.

Soaked to the bone, Chongyang rushed to the carriage, water droplets flying from the hem of his raincoat. His usually composed face was now deathly pale: "Your Highness! Something's happened! The one trampled to death by the horse... was a double! The real Crown Prince has gone after the 'bandits' with his guards!"

Gu Zhixing suddenly froze.

Shen Jintang clearly saw his pupils suddenly contract, and the fragile look in his eyes, like thin ice cleaved by a sharp sword, instantly turned into a sharp, cold glint.

He flung open the car curtain, and the icy rain immediately poured in, wetting half of his cheek.

"What did you say?" His voice was terrifyingly deep.

Chongyang's raincoat was still dripping water, forming small puddles on the carriage shaft: "The true prince had anticipated the assassination attempt, and that double was wearing his clothes and walking openly..."

Shen Jintang suddenly noticed that the veins on the back of Gu Zhixing's hand, which was gripping the sword, were bulging, and his knuckles were white from excessive force.

The moment he closed his eyes, his thick eyelashes trembled slightly in the rain. When he opened them again, his eyes were a resolute, cold pool: "Chongyang, escort Lord Siyan out of the city immediately."

Rainwater slid down his chin, leaving dark stains on his clothes. "Go to the Southern Courtyard. Without my orders, she must not step out of the gate."

"Gu Zhixing!" Shen Jintang suddenly grabbed his sleeve, the fabric her fingertips touched already soaked through by the rain, icy cold. She looked up into his eyes, her voice trembling without her even realizing it: "What are you going to do?"

The way he looked back at her sent a shiver down her spine.

In the rain, his outline was both blurry and clear, his wet, tousled hair clung to his forehead, and water droplets slid down his high, straight nose like silent tears.

"Go do what I have to do."

He gently pried her fingers apart, the warmth of his palm seeping through her damp, cold sleeves, but it vanished in an instant.

Before Shen Jintang could grab anything else, the figure in black leaped into the rain and was instantly swallowed up by the dense rain curtain.

She stared blankly at her empty palm, where a trace of warmth still lingered, mixed with rainwater, gradually cooling down.

"Chongyang!" Shen Jintang suddenly turned to the guard, her voice sharp, "What other plans does the young master have that he's hiding from me?"

Chongyang looked at Gu Zhixing with a troubled expression, but the latter had already disappeared into the rain.

“He only asked you to escort me out of the city, he didn’t give any other instructions,” Shen Jintang said.

Chongyang gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Those 'bandits' are the Third Prince's men."

Shen Jintang was incredibly clever; with just one sentence, she understood the whole story.

Gu Zhixing, Ye Qingzhou, and the Third Prince Gu Yanqing grew up together, as close as brothers. With Ye Qingzhou murdered and Gu Zhixing transformed into his current state, how could Gu Yanqing remain indifferent?

So the plan was devised by two people—to have the Third Prince's men impersonate bandits, feign an assassination attempt, and force the Crown Prince to reveal himself. The real killing move, however, was probably not today's ambush, but rather to frighten the horses, create chaos, and stage a scene where the Crown Prince is trampled to death by the startled horses.

Gu Zhixing is in the open, while Gu Yanqing is in the shadows. This way, no one will associate him with Gu Zhixing, and he can escape unscathed.

But... now the plan has gone wrong. The Crown Prince did not enter the deadly trap, but the Third Prince's men have exposed their whereabouts.

The crown prince would then turn the tables and trap the turtle in a jar.

Gu Yanqing... is in grave danger.

Now that Ye Qingzhou is dead, how could Gu Zhixing watch another close friend perish?

In the rain, Shen Jintang's fingers gripped the carriage curtain tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She looked up in the direction the Crown Prince's guards were pursuing—that was a precipice on the outskirts of the city, a dead end!

"Chongyang," Shen Jintang's voice was tinged with the chill of the rain, her fingertips lightly tapping the carriage wall, "Move aside."

Chongyang stiffened slightly, raindrops dripping from the edge of his bamboo hat. He slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of struggling eyes beneath the brim: "Lord Siyan, the Crown Prince has given strict orders..."

"I said—" Shen Jintang suddenly raised her voice, her fingertips striking the window frame with a "clang," "Get out of the way!"

Chongyang, instead of retreating, pressed forward, his iron boots pounding heavily in the mud: "I'm afraid I cannot comply!"

Shen Jintang's eyes suddenly turned cold.

She abruptly lifted the car curtain, and a torrential downpour instantly rushed into her face, the icy rainwater rolling down her cheeks.

Chongyang instinctively reached out to stop her, but saw a flash of cold light appear as her wide sleeves fluttered, and her long sword was already drawn.

"What are you trying to do..." Before Chongyang could finish speaking, the sword had already grazed his wrist guard and severed the reins on the carriage shaft with a "clang." The taut rope snapped abruptly, and the startled horse reared up, splashing mud and water all over Chongyang.

"My lord!" Chongyang wiped the mud off his face, only to see Shen Jintang leap onto his horse.

Her soaked skirt billowed in the wind, the ribbon that bound her hair was nowhere to be found, and her raven-feather-like long hair clung to her pale cheeks.

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