In fact, he had suspected long ago that these people were probably sent by the Ninth Prince, but he had never dared to admit it.

Now that this person has finally spoken out and confirmed his conjecture, all of Shang Xize's lingering hope and wishful thinking have finally been extinguished.

What followed was endless hatred and anger!

He's ruined!

He's even more completely ruined than the Third Prince, with no chance of ever making a comeback!

Overwhelming hatred and anger made Shang Xize temporarily ignore the excruciating pain in his body and the humiliating position he was being held like a dead dog. All his energy and scheming were focused on how to take revenge and how to make the Ninth Prince suffer an even worse fate than him.

The masked man in black glanced down at Shang Xize, who remained unusually quiet even after his immobilization acupoints were released. A hint of disdain flashed in his cold eyes: "Stupid bug, thinking himself clever, but little does he know he's still counting money for others even on his deathbed."

Wu Zhong kept a close eye on the movements of the real assassin.

He led a group of Imperial Guards, who were furious and hoarse from shouting, around half of the Cold Palace. Finally, they saw the man carrying Shang Xize out again, and he quickly followed behind with a group of followers at a distance.

A faint smell of blood lingered in the air.

Wu Zhong rubbed his nose and thought to himself, "He's really ruthless, even more so than I imagined. It seems that the Fourth Prince has offended quite a few people behind the scenes."

I followed it for a while.

Wu Zhong wondered: "Huh, isn't this person heading in the direction of Cixi Palace?"

The prince originally planned to have him beat up Shang Xize, and then throw Shang Xize onto the Empress Dowager's bed to give her a good dressing down.

Wu Zhong suddenly had a flash of inspiration:

The man in front of us seems to have such a deep connection with the prince, beating someone up in the middle of the night to stand up for the princess, and even their follow-up plans are the same. Could he be Black Owl or Prince Anping?

If that's the case, he really can't bring this group of followers to Cixi Palace, otherwise the commotion it causes will be too great, and they won't be able to get away easily.

Thinking this, Wu Zhong brought the group of tails back to the Cold Palace.

In Cixi Palace, the Empress Dowager had just fallen asleep.

The lights inside and outside the palace were dim, and the palace maids and eunuchs on night duty were also drowsy, leaning against the door frame or the corridor pillars and dozing off.

Suddenly, a muffled thud was heard.

Just as the Empress Dowager was drifting off to sleep, she was jolted awake by a strong stench of blood that nearly made her vomit. She reflexively opened her eyes and sat up, only to see a blood-soaked, human-shaped object pressed against her bedsheets. She screamed in terror, "Ah—! Help! There's an assassin!"

This scream threw Cixi Palace into chaos, turning it into complete pandemonium.

They lit candles and rushed in.

Just as they were about to move the blood-soaked person from the Empress Dowager's bed to the ground, the blood-covered person spoke on their own: "Grandmother, it is me, Xize."

Everyone: "!!!"

Empress Dowager: "..."

It was Xize! Has the Ninth Prince already taken his revenge so quickly?!

She stared at the blood-soaked Shang Xize for a moment, then ordered in a trembling voice, "Don't make a sound yet. Carry the Fourth Prince to the side hall and quickly fetch the imperial physician!"

The masked man in black, crouching in the shadows on the rooftop, sneered quietly upon seeing this:

Your Majesty is overthinking it. The people of the Great Zhao royal family are so keen on fighting and tearing each other apart. Even if they had ten brains, they would never think that it was instigated by an external enemy.

The masked man in black had just left Cixi Palace when he encountered Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong met him head-on and said with a smile, "I guessed right. You really sent that little bastard Shang Xize to the Empress Dowager."