As blood gushed from the slit in his neck, the servant clutched his neck, his eyes wide with terror, and slowly backed away.
"Ahh!"
The maids and servants around them screamed in fright. The two most panicked ran towards the door, but the assassins stood expressionless at the door with their knives, their bodies as insurmountable as mountains.
The ghostly shriek continued to echo:
Why did you kill my son?!
"What are you doing now? How could you just let him die like that!"
"How could you just stand by and watch him die? What am I going to do without him?!"
With a roar, Prince Qing, his eyes bloodshot, slashed at the maids and servants who were fleeing in all directions from the room.
One by one, the maids and servants fell to the ground, but Prince Qing began to wail loudly, his sword strikes becoming increasingly vicious. In an instant, the room was filled with blood and gore, with pieces of flesh and blood scattered everywhere.
Amidst the increasingly strong stench of blood, Jin Jiande's corpse, lying on the bed, was also stained with blood, making it look particularly gruesome.
With nowhere to go, a maidservant leaped onto the bed during the chase.
At this moment, Prince Qing stopped crying and started laughing maniacally. He chased after her to the bedside and stabbed the maid on the bed with his knife.
The maid was riddled with bloody holes from being stabbed, and collapsed onto the bed with screams. Prince Qing went completely mad, continuing to hack at the corpse with his knife.
It is unknown how much time passed, until there was no more groaning in the room. Only then did Prince Qing release his grip as if all his strength had been drained, and the dulled blade clattered to the ground.
At this moment, Prince Qing also collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ground.
The assassins remained silent, still standing at the door.
Then, a faint, trembling sound came from inside the room;
"What a tragedy."
"Doesn't she know that I only have this one son left...?"
"He died before he could have any children. What am I supposed to do now...?"
"Is it to... to make me childless..."
Prince Qing, his hair disheveled, covered his face with his hands and began to sob, his voice trembling.
Much later, he stared blankly at the assassins outside the door, muttering lifelessly:
"Come...take me with you..."
“Send me to the palace.”
——
Jin Fengluan touched her forehead, her tired face full of worry.
After returning from the Grand Preceptor, she summoned Jin Pingwu to explain the matter of going to the barbarian tribe. After he left, she prepared to go to bed. Too many things had happened today, and she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was get a good night's sleep.
But just as he lay down and hadn't fully fallen asleep, a palace maid came to report that the Imperial Preceptor had passed away.
This truly shocked Jin Fengluan. Although the young Taoist priest said that the Imperial Preceptor was unwell, the Imperial Preceptor looked quite well when she went to visit him. How could he have suddenly passed away?
So she immediately sent eunuchs with the imperial physician to the palace. Not long ago, the physician returned and said that the Grand Preceptor had indeed passed away, and that his previous appearance was a sign of a final burst of energy before death.
Jin Fengluan finally understood, but she felt even more annoyed.
Later, the young Taoist priest Miaomu came again, crying and saying that the Grand Preceptor had specifically instructed him before his death that he should be sent to a mountain called "Ziyue" as soon as possible after his passing.
It is said that the place is an auspicious land, and burial there will ensure the stability of the empire.
Jin Fengluan did not know where Ziyue Mountain was, but seeing how earnestly the young Taoist priest spoke, and considering it was the National Preceptor's instruction before his death, she did not hesitate and was even somewhat delighted.
After all, ensuring the stability of the empire is a good thing. The passing of the Grand Preceptor seems to be a happy occasion, so she immediately agreed.
Immediately afterwards, Namyomoku led his men in a carriage, escorted by guards, and left the palace that very night.
But for some reason, not long after they left, Jin Fengluan felt a sudden surge of restlessness. She couldn't sleep even after returning to her palace, and now, sitting in her chair, her eyelids were twitching.
"What's going on..." At this moment, Jin Fengluan touched her forehead and muttered to herself.
"Could it be... that I went to see the Imperial Advisor and caught the disease from him?"
Thinking of this, Jin Fengluan was startled and hurriedly stood up and shouted:
"Someone come here! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The palace maid hurriedly left with her lantern.
Jin Fengluan frowned, feeling increasingly uneasy. She regretted going to the Imperial Preceptor today.
Before the palace maid had gone far, a young eunuch rushed in to report.
Jin Fengluan raised an eyebrow, put on an outer robe, and went out of the room. The little eunuch knelt behind the curtain and hurriedly said:
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
"The young prince... he's left the manor!"
Upon hearing this, Jin Fengluan coldly exclaimed, "Gone?! Where did that wretched creature go? Weren't there people watching over it?"
The young eunuch quickly replied:
"Your Majesty, the young prince... succumbed to his injuries... and died."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Fengluan's pupils contracted, as if struck by lightning.
"What?!"
"Dead?!"
Jin Fengluan's expression changed drastically, and she screamed.
"How could he die? He wasn't hit that hard!"
"After sending him back to the manor, didn't they call a doctor to examine him?!"
The young eunuch shook his head and said in a trembling voice, "The commotion in the Prince's mansion was too great, and since Lord Zhao's residence is not far away, the news spread."
"According to the man sent by Lord Zhao, the Prince is on his way to the palace."
Jin Fengluan's face turned completely pale in an instant. She took two steps back, her eyes filled with panic.
Immediately afterwards, she screamed in a panic:
"I didn't intend to kill him!!"
——
On the street, watching the carriage pass by and the group of soldiers behind it, Miaomu nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Thankfully, they weren't after me."
With a lingering fear, Miaomu whispered something, then lifted a corner of the curtain, gazing at the stars in the night sky, her expression gradually calming.
"Master, you're right after all."
Shaking his head, Miaomu leaned back and gradually moved away from the palace under the starry sky.
Inside the carriage, Prince Qing's once white hair was now stained with blood. He sat expressionless, his hands, reddened by blood, clasped together and rubbing them incessantly, while he muttered to himself.
After a while, the carriage gradually came to a stop.
Prince Qing slowly got out of the carriage and looked ahead. The palace gates were already full of imperial guards.
"Your Highness, please accept my condolences."
"Why bring so many people with you when you come to see His Majesty so late?" Jin Xuan, the leader of the Imperial Guards, said in a deep voice.
Prince Qing took a deep breath and slowly said:
"Your Majesty, are you waiting for me?"
Jin Xuan nodded: "Yes, Your Highness."
"If you wish to see His Majesty, please go alone."
After a long silence, Prince Qing raised his head and looked at him, saying:
"good."
"Take me to the palace."
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