Chapter 73, Yongning Prince's Mansion, highlights include: childhood memories + wedding ceremony + small...
More than a dozen sharp figures darted out of the room!
The Prefect Jia, who had just sounded like a sickly chicken, suddenly grabbed the soldier who had come to report the news, his brows furrowed with malice, and asked in a cold voice, "Who let you in?"
The soldiers who delivered the news were terrified.
He seemed to already see himself dying, and he gasped, "There... there was a spy with a dagger, who, with another person, sneaked... sneaked into the city..."
Jia Ruzhen: "Why didn't you stop them?"
The soldier, hanging there, was barely breathing: "The spy... was a master, his movements were terrifying, and his short sword... was too fast..."
Such shirking of responsibility and inaction is no different from that of a useless doctor.
Jia Ruzhen threw the messenger out to report the news, and the soldier fell into a corner, vomiting blood. She drew her sword, ready to stab him!
Before dying, the soldier had a sudden inspiration and shouted, "The spy is wielding a precious sword. He is no ordinary person in the Jingzhou navy. He may be an assassin sent by the enemy emperor to assassinate the prefect!"
Jia Ruzhen frowned slightly, and the sword's edge suddenly stopped: "Continue!"
Seeing a glimmer of hope for survival, the soldiers blurted out: "That spy was over eight feet tall, exuded an evil aura, and his knife strikes were as fast as lightning."
As he spoke, he gestured wildly, imitating Ying Dang's moves: "The sergeant first grabbed the arm of the man he was with, and then Ying Dang slashed him with a knife, severing two of the sergeant's fingers!"
"We surrounded him and drew our knives to stab his wrists. He twirled the knife in his palm, changing direction unpredictably. In the blink of an eye, he had wounded three or five of our brothers, then scrambled onto the roof and fled..."
Jia Ruzhen is a master of martial arts, with rich combat experience.
Even if the soldiers only learn two or three parts of the technique.
Jia Ruzhen gestured with her Fish Intestine Sword: "Is that so?"
The soldiers were shocked, yet it was also within their expectations.
Who in Guangling City doesn't know that this prefect is a formidable figure?
"The prefect is wise! Yes, yes, yes!"
Jia Ruzhen's brow furrowed suddenly.
The moves he just demonstrated were the signature techniques he learned from his previous sparring matches with those top imperial guards.
But these people are all quite old. Could Ying Xi really send them to assassinate her?
No matter how I think about it, it's wrong.
Jia Ruzhen said coldly, "What knife? Repeat it again."
The soldier, trembling with fear, racked his brains to describe it: "The blade is silver-white, with a dove's blood at the end, and a bright red gemstone, making it incredibly stylish."
As the description unfolded, a clear image of the person gradually formed in Jia Ruzhen's mind.
"King Yong, Ying Dang..."
That's the kid who secretly learned martial arts from the imperial guards since he was a child.
When Prince Yong leaves Fangzhi Palace and his identity becomes public with Ying Xi, his secret learning will inevitably become open learning, and all the palace guards will become his martial arts teachers.
But would Ying Xi really send her own brother to assassinate someone?
impossible! ! !
Jia Ruzhen felt a surge of turbid qi, and felt as if she were about to spit out blood. She thought she was confused because of her injury and had made an absurd judgment.
He had observed Ying Xi for several years within the palace.
Ying Xi loved this younger brother very much.
Even if he pretended to be distant from Ying Dang and didn't care about him for many years, the concern for his younger brother hidden in the smallest details... was absolutely genuine.
In an instant, many memories flashed back, including the moments when she competed with Ying Xi back then, and Jia Ruzhen's expression became increasingly solemn.
Ying Xi has an incredibly strong will; he must die!
If Ying Xi doesn't die, it will definitely be me who dies!
Blood surged in his chest once more.
Jia Ruzhen forced down a mouthful of blood, her face turning deathly pale.
He forced himself to continue giving instructions, maintaining his composure: "All soldiers, listen to my command."
The disciples and advisors inside the room replied, "We will obey the prefect's orders!"
Jia Ruzhen: "Two groups of people were dispatched in the city. One group continued to search for quilts from house to house in preparation for Xie Meng's next attack on the city."
“Another group,” Jia Ruzhen said, raising her Fish Gut Sword, “will search the entire city for Ying Dang’s whereabouts. Before he kills me, I will seize the young emperor’s weakness.”
The apprentices and advisors looked at each other and offered their advice:
"Master, you mustn't!"
"The doctors just consulted and said that Master needs to recuperate well and should not fight with others."
“If Master wants to capture Prince Yong, your disciples will do the work. How can Master risk his life again?”
These people surrounded Jia Ruzhen.
Regardless of whether they have any personal relationship, their interests are now closely intertwined, and Jia Ruzhen is at the core.
If Jia Ruzhen were to suffer any mishap, Guangling County would surely fall.
By then, everyone will have lost the leader who took the fall.
If the emperor or Xie Meng were to take their anger out on someone and decide to kill them, they would be the ones who suffer!
The crowd tried to stop Jia Ruzhen again.
Jia Ruzhen took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the blood from her lips.
"The mighty Prince Yong is in Guangling! This is fantastic news! How can one catch tiger cubs without venturing into the tiger's den?"
"Let alone the living Ying Dang, even the remains of Prince Yong would be worth exchanging for a few cities!"
"It's destined that we will continue to enjoy wealth and luxury. Grab your weapons and follow me!"
The prefect's household guards led out fast horses.
Jia Ruzhen mounted his horse, followed by dozens of soldiers and several of his prized disciples.
Jia Ruzhen spurred her horse and galloped out of the mansion!
***
Before afternoon, Ying Dang knew the way like the back of his hand. Even with someone with him, he could easily scale the wall and enter the Yongning Prince's Mansion.
Upon landing, Ying Dang immediately assumed a fighting stance, vigilantly guarding against any potential attacks from his surroundings.
The plane landed in the kitchen, where all the doors and windows were tightly shut. There was no one inside.
Ying Dang wiped his fingers on the copper lock, his fingertips covered in dust, indicating that it hadn't been used for many years.
After the deaths of Prince Yongning and his wife, the Yongning Prince's Mansion became the largest haunted house in Guangling County. Who would dare to live here anymore?
Ying Dang's Adam's apple bobbed. He sheathed his dagger, picked up Ying Xi with both hands, and carried her like a rag doll. The two continued deeper into the palace.
The garden is just outside the backyard.
Ying Xi's neck was unable to turn, limiting his vision. He could still see that the once neat and elegant garden was now overgrown with weeds.
The Yongning Prince's Mansion, which she could only return to in her dreams, was now completely different from what she remembered, and Ying Xi found it hard to accept.
Prince Yong had been watching Ying Xi's reaction closely. When he saw bloodshot eyes around Ying Xi's eyes, Prince Yong's phoenix eyes lit up and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Prince Yong excitedly rubbed his head against Ying Xi's chest.
“Brother, look, this is what those people from Chang’an gave us.”
Ying Dang said, "I heard that on the day of the massacre of the Yongning Prince's Mansion, my parents gave away all their wealth, opened all the gates of the mansion, and let the servants escape for their lives."
"The assassins surrounded the Yongning Prince's Mansion."
"Emperor Yuantai killed the parents of the murderers and seized their children. Anyone who witnessed this will surely die."
“The servants can’t get out.”
"So let's start by silencing them."
Ying Dang still couldn't untie Ying Xi's acupoints, so he hugged Ying Xi tightly and lifted her up.
It's like years ago, when the older brother was a child, holding his younger brother who was still a toddler, and they would look at the flowers and water in the garden, telling him stories.
The roles are reversed, and the background becomes bleak and eerie.
The younger brother's palms were sweaty and trembling. He hugged his older brother tightly and moved to the base of a screen wall, allowing Yingxi to observe the gray-white wall surface, where scattered bloodstains outlined human figures.
He pointed and asked, "Brother, how did you do this?"
Ying Xi was naturally speechless.
Ying Dang stroked his brother's lips with satisfaction: "Good brother, when we were little you always liked to think about these things, and you would always talk to me about them. I'll give you my homework."
Ying Dang supported Ying Xi with one arm, and pointed to the bloodstains with the other.
His long, slender fingers traced the outline, his voice rich and beautiful.
“Look, it’s only six feet long and a bit wide. It must be the work of a woman, and an elderly, overweight one at that.”
"Our only servant is the wet nurse of my mother."
Why did she die pressed against the wall?
“Assassins stormed into the palace to kill people. The wet nurse treated my mother like her own daughter. She must have been instructed by my father to disguise my mother as a maid and help her fight for her life.”
"The assassin slashed wildly at the wet nurse, who shielded her mother behind her."
"Numerous stab wounds gushed out hot blood, forming this human-shaped bloodstain."
"Then the wet nurse died, and the mother also met a tragic end."
Ying Dang's voice trembled as he held Ying Xi tightly, searching for more bloodstains.
It looked just like when an older brother carried his younger brother to see a lantern festival when they were children. Ying Dang then pointed to a broken wall and ruins, with an axe lying on the ground.
Ying Dang's voice was full of interest: "Brother, guess who died here?"
Ying Xi remained speechless.
Then Prince Yong muttered to himself, "I guess it was our coachman who suddenly rushed out to deliver a fatal blow to the assassin leader, but the other party dodged and disarmed him, and then he smashed his brains out with a heavy axe."
"When you and I left, the driver had just become a father."
"As for his children, I'm afraid they're not doing well either."
Prince Yong spoke as he walked, giving Ying Xi no chance to respond.
He seemed to prefer that Ying Xi remain in this easily controlled state forever rather than see her struggle or hear her brother say anything deceiving or upsetting.
His mental state became even more dazed after witnessing the scene of his parents' murder.
He is easily agitated.
Yingxi felt her younger brother holding her tightly, gripping the clothes that connected them.
Ying Dang's deep gray pupils, held in his phoenix eyes, flickered and contracted at times, making Ying Xi think that her younger brother was seeing many ghostly shadows that she could not see.
"Brother, I saw Father."
Ying Xi's heart skipped a beat.
Ying Dang pointed to the non-existent void, which was Yongning King's Qin Terrace, but there was clearly nothing there.
The two approached the Qin Terrace.
Stepping on the accumulated fallen leaves made a soft, crunching sound.
Ying Dang grinned and said, "I saw Father playing the zither there, surrounded by assassins. The leader made Father kneel down and kowtow to thank the Emperor for his grace, saying that our branch of the royal family had been blessed by the heavens. But Father had already taken poison and mocked them, saying, 'A scholar can be killed but not humiliated.'"
"The blood spilled on the zither angered the assassin."
"The assassin stabbed his body again and again until he finally cut off his head."
Suddenly, Ying Dang acted as if he were really serious, revealing a short knife in his left hand. He staggered and slashed at the non-existent afterimages around him.
His movements caused Ying Xi's gaze to wander.
The blade of Ying Dang's short sword severed the withered vines around the Fuqin Terrace, creating a jumble of light and shadow that made Ying Xi dizzy.
"Kill! Kill! Kill..."
The tangled vines that once hung around the zither-playing platform had long since been cleanly cut away by the blade.
Ying Dang spun Ying Xi around in his arms, and Prince Yong let out a clear voice; perhaps he was laughing.
But after he finished laughing, he pulled Yingxi to the ground, then helped her up and kowtowed towards the zither platform, saying in a hoarse voice, "Let's kowtow to Father."
Ying Dang pulled Ying Xi up and made her assume a bowing posture.
Before Ying Xi was the zither-playing platform, and her whole body was out of control.
Ying Dang, excited, stood side by side with Ying Xi, his hair disheveled, facing the empty stone table and benches:
"Father! Mother!"
"I brought my brother back, finally brought him out of the capital!"
"He will no longer be emperor, no longer be that damned adopted son of the late royal family, and he will have absolutely no connection with anyone in Chang'an anymore!!!"
Did you see that???
Prince Yong trembled as he pressed Ying Xi down to bow twice.
On the third bow, Prince Yong turned Ying Xi around.
Then Prince Yong and Ying Xi bowed down to each other, their heads touching.
He cupped Yingxi's cheeks and stretched out his hands:
“From now on, I will live with my brother and build a cenotaph for you. We will always be a family of four.”
"No one will ever separate us again."
"No, that's all..."
"Ha, ha ha ha, ha ha—"
Laughter echoed through the Yongning Prince's Mansion garden.
Indeed, Ying Xi should be furious at Ying Dang for abducting her.
But his anger, mixed with bitterness, almost made Ying Xi's chest explode.
How cruel fate is!
Countless misunderstandings and misalignments remain unexplained to each other, leading to mutual resentment and increasing distrust... His brother was driven mad in both lifetimes, and his relationship with his brother in both lifetimes was so awkward.
Ying Xi opened her lips again and tried to move her throat, but no sound came out.
Ying Xi had considered the possibility of running away with Ying Dang and spending the rest of her life in seclusion in the mountains to make up for the psychologically twisted family affection her younger brother had once longed for.
Leaving Chang'an would mean that even if the Xiongnu invaded from the south in the future, he would no longer be the emperor and might not necessarily die. This could be a way to break the deadlock.
But this goes against Ying Xi's lifelong beliefs.
He will remain firmly seated on the throne, unaffected by anyone, whether it be his brother or his enemy.
No one could stop the emperor from unifying the country.
Having spent the last two days passively entangled with Prince Yong, the romance system has already recovered some of its energy.
Ying Xi tapped the sweet token in her mind.
Sweet Tong's tired voice, tinged with a hint of stickiness, said, "Your Majesty..."
"I once heard you say that you can create a dummy that is exactly the same as the original, with the same skin color and feel, but it cannot be said that it cannot move, but that does not prevent it from being used."
Sweetie suddenly became interested, and noticing this, she perked up: "If you're going to talk about this, I'm not sleepy anymore. This bag is really useful, and the upgraded version can even be heated and expandable."
Dang'er has pinpointed my acupoint, just enough to switch places with the dummy.
By warming up their bodies and stretching their limbs, they make a struggling motion, making it harder for Dang'er to notice.
Ying Xi firmly stated, "I want the upgraded version."
Sweet Tong’s voice rippled: “Oh, Your Majesty, you haven’t even dated yet, and you’re already thinking about this.”
Sweet Tong rubbed her non-existent little hands: "Your Majesty, whose upgraded version are you? Prime Minister Su? Mr. Zhu? Little wolfhound? Big wolfhound?"
"I will be myself."
Sweetie was stunned: "You're making daffodils?"
It had just gotten into the swing of things, resuming its usual routine of tricking its host into finding a romantic partner, when suddenly a gleaming blade flashed in its field of vision.
"—Your Majesty, be careful!!!"
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