Looking at the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, Song Ting didn't even dare to imagine what Huai Xu would feel if he were here and saw such a scene.
Even though they didn't grow up together and spent very little time together, Huaixu always had a close relationship with his two older brothers.
He would be heartbroken to know that his brother's remains had not been claimed. Therefore, Song Ting was unwilling to give up and searched for a very long time, but it was no use. There were too many corpses, and in the end, he was unable to pull the eldest son and Zhou Tong's brother out of the pile of dead bodies.
He thought they were already dead.
In such circumstances, it would be difficult for anyone to survive.
Song Ting's eyes reddened: "The eldest young master..."
"Don't mention him!" Zhou Tong suddenly roared. "You're not allowed to mention him! You have no right to mention his name; it's an insult to him!"
He hadn't felt much pain when he took that punch, but now it felt like a sword had cleaved his chest open, twisting his internal organs together, making Song Ting feel dizzy from the pain.
The sounds of swords and footsteps approached from afar. Song Ting closed her eyes, suppressing the turmoil of emotions surging within her, only her trembling voice betraying her inner turmoil:
"Brother Zhou, whether you believe it or not, I won't harm you, but you have to tell me, were you the ones who did what happened in Sishui Town? Does Huaixu know about this? How many of you are there, where are you hiding, and are you safe?"
Zhou Tong's eyes were bloodshot as she stared at him warily: "What, am I telling you so you can bring your men and wipe us all out?"
"Of course not, I never thought that way, I just—"
"Never thought of that?" Zhou Tong sneered twice. "Song Ting, that's the most ridiculous joke in the world. Yes, you never thought of it, but you did it. You led your men and went straight to the Prince Duan's mansion, and wiped out the entire mansion."
"Commander Song Ting of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the young emperor's lackey, has always been so decisive in his actions, hasn't he?"
Every word was an interrogation of Song Ting's past crimes. How could Zhou Tong possibly trust someone who had already betrayed him?
Song understood this point, but didn't say anything else to him. He only explained the pros and cons to him: "Brother Zhou, we'll talk about these things later. When the time comes, you can decide whether to kill or torture me. I will have no complaints."
"But trust me this time. The prayer ceremony is too important for Dayan. You've caused such a commotion, the emperor won't let it go. Little Zhou, stop for now, leave the rest to me!"
Zhou Tong glared at him fiercely: "Pah! Stop pretending! If it weren't for you, the Prince Duan's Mansion wouldn't be in this state! The Xuanjia Army wouldn't be in this state! I fell into your hands today because I'm not as skilled as you. Kill me or do whatever you want, there's no need to put on this act!"
"Trust you? I'd rather trust a dog than you! You can pick up any dog on the street, feed it for three or five years, and it'll know to protect its owner. Unlike you, Lord Song..."
He was emotionally agitated and wouldn't listen to anything Song Ting said. The footsteps grew closer, and Song Ting suddenly let go of his hand and shoved him.
"Hurry up, but if you'd like, meet me tonight at 9 PM in the grove behind the mountain."
Zhou Tong gave him a deep look, then leaped off the roof and disappeared into the alley.
Just two breaths later, several Imperial Guards arrived:
"grown ups!"
"Are you alright, sir?"
Song Ting swooped down from the roof of the tavern: "The person has escaped. Let's go and fetch the coroner first, and see what exactly happened to that old woman?"
Song Ting watched the old woman die right before her eyes. The coroner rushed to examine her body and found a poisoned needle on her body.
The needle was extremely thin and pierced the old woman's skull. It was hidden by her hair and could easily be overlooked. The coroner had to search several times under pressure from the Imperial Guards before he finally found it.
"My lord, I am of limited knowledge and ability and cannot identify what kind of poison it is."
"It's alright." Song Ting carefully put away the poisoned needles, with Wang Guanghe still on the mountain beside him.
"Sir, could it have been that man in black who did it?" Xiao Wu asked angrily. "Unfortunately, he got away!"
Zhou Tong was nearby when the old woman died, and he is almost certainly involved in the incident.
"But as long as it's man-made, it's fine. What's scary is if it's some kind of supernatural or bizarre thing," Xiao Wu whispered.
Song Ting glared at him: "You've killed so many people, what are you afraid of?"
"It's because they've killed so many people that they're afraid."
"..."
The townspeople shared the same idea as Xiao Wu.
On the day of the prayer ceremony, so many people died inexplicably in the town. Some families had only gone out to watch a local opera, and when they returned, their elderly relatives had died. Others had all their neighbors wiped out...
Such a terrifying scene was something these ordinary people could never have imagined in their entire lives. If it weren't for the Imperial Guards holding swords and guarding them, they probably would have all escaped long ago.
Who would have thought that someone would suddenly die today? And in broad daylight, right in front of those fierce-looking Imperial Guards.
This seemed to confirm the rumor of divine punishment descending upon the world once again. The people were terrified, and within a short hour, every household had closed their doors tightly, and the streets were deserted.
Some even packed their bags and argued loudly with the Imperial Guards, insisting on leaving the area, resulting in a significant conflict between the two sides.
Although they were eventually persuaded to return, their resentment towards the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the imperial court inevitably intensified, though they dared not speak out against it.
"Xiao Wu went back up the mountain and gave the poisoned needle to Chief Wang, asking him to help examine it. The rest of you come with me to appease the people."
...
The backyard of the meditation room.
Chu Huaixu was playing chess with the young emperor.
A sudden rainstorm had passed in the early morning, and the afternoon temperature was not as high as usual, but the two eunuchs still stood on either side of Chu Huaixu, fanning him with palm-leaf fans.
This was a special instruction given by Song Ting. Young Master Huaiyue was afraid of both cold and heat, so those serving him had to pay close attention to him at all times and could not be negligent in the slightest.
He was still wearing a red robe today, with a long hem that trailed on the ground, embroidered with flowing cloud patterns in gold thread.
"Has Huaiyue ever thought about entering the palace?" The young emperor suddenly asked halfway through the game.
As soon as he said those words, Chu Minghuan secretly regretted it, as if he were about to do something to Huaiyue.
Therefore, he hurriedly explained, "That's not what I meant. I just... I was afraid that Huaiyue would be wronged outside. In the palace, I can protect you and ensure that you have enough to eat and wear."
Chu Huaixu placed a piece, chuckled softly, and said nothing.
The young emperor's ears turned bright red from the laughter, and his face felt like it was on fire. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.
To cover up his embarrassment, he made a random move without thinking.
He lowered his head further and further, almost unable to look at Huaiyue anymore.
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