Since it wasn't his own people who did it, that meant there was no evidence or connection. Even if the Yang family hated him and dug deep into the ground, they wouldn't be able to find even a shred of evidence pointing to him! This was a godsend!
"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. Your Highness is blessed by good fortune and is extremely lucky to be alive."
"Yes, Your Majesty, it is important to take care of your health."
Ministers stepped forward, offering feeble words of comfort. But each knew that the loss of his left eye completely ended Xinyi Zigu's chances of ascending the throne. How could a disabled prince inherit the throne? His political career was over.
Amidst the hushed cries of comfort, only Jiang Yuyao's stifled, intermittent sobs stood out. She knelt beside Xinyi Zigu's stretcher, her carefully applied makeup washed away by tears, the hem of her expensive brocade palace dress stained with mud and blood from the floor. She clutched Xinyi Zigu's cold hand tightly, as if it were her only hope.
All her ambitions and hopes for the rest of her life—the glory of being crowned imperial concubine, the elation of completely crushing Jiang Songyi underfoot, the fantasy of ruling the country—were shattered like fragile glass cups by the blow of the eye-slashing knife and the imperial physician's pronouncement. Her cries weren't for Xinyi Zigu's pain, but for her own utterly shattered future.
.
The torrential rain pounded against the cowhide tent roof with a dull thud, and the veins on the emperor's hands, which were gripping the gilded chair back, bulged. On the couch, the Fourth Prince, whose eyes had just been gouged out, lay wrapped in gauze and slumbering. The stench of blood mixed with soothing incense swirled through the tent.
"Report—" A captain of the Imperial Guards entered through the curtains, the rain on his straw raincoat leaving dark marks on the carpet. "Thirteen assassins' bodies were found in the southeast woods of the hunting grounds. Ten of them were killed by knife-wielding enemies, and three were shot by arrows."
The old emperor turned abruptly, his bright yellow robe sweeping the medicine bowl off the table. "Any trace of the prince?"
"Reporting to the emperor, the body of the prince's mount was found in the forest..." Qian Hu's voice gradually became lower. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the medicine on the broken porcelain pieces winding along the lines of the carpet, which looked very much like the solidified bloodstains on the necks of the assassins in the forest.
Thunder roared outside the tent, shattering the wine cup in the hands of Yongding Marquis Jiang Dinglian. He stared intently at the pink-feathered arrow presented by the Jinyiwei—it was clearly a specially crafted arrow by his youngest daughter, Jiang Songyi! Bai Linxi clutched her husband's wrist tightly, her balsam-colored nails almost digging into his flesh.
"This arrow feather is quite unique." The Third Prince Xin Yiwei played with the blood-stained arrow, his black python-patterned sleeve brushing against the arrowhead. "If I remember correctly, Princess Jiaqing used feathers like this when she hunted deer?"
The banquet fell into a state of total silence. Prince Feng suddenly pointed outside the tent and shouted, "That red pony! Isn't that the Crown Prince's favorite, the Red Flame Horse?"
The old emperor stumbled, holding onto the throne. Gu Zheyuan hurriedly handed him some ginseng soup. The gilded bowl's rim clicked against his teeth, and a bright yellow sleeve flicked past, splashing the ginseng soup onto the prince's dragon robe. "Ji Cheng! Turn Mount Li over for me!"
In the torrential downpour, the torches of the Imperial Guards formed a long line. Xin Yiwei gazed at the drizzle outside the tent, his lips curled up. He had deliberately placed the corpse of the Crown Prince's mount in a prominent place. The knife marks on the horse's neck matched the marks on the Fourth Guard's sword. The more anxious my father was now, the more ruthless he would be in the future when the reckoning came.
"Father, please calm down." He lifted his robe and knelt on the ground. The golden dragon embroidered on his head flickered in the candlelight. "My brother, the Crown Prince, is blessed by heaven. Perhaps you can take shelter from the storm for a while..."
"You just said the arrow looked familiar?" the emperor suddenly interrupted, his cloudy eyes fixed on the third son like a hawk. Lightning flashed outside the tent, illuminating Xin Yiwei's instantly stiffened mouth.
The young eunuch trembled as he brought the quiver forward. The pink-feathered arrows Jiang Songyi used for hunting deer were identical to those carried by the assassin. Yongding Marquis's son, Jiang Yihan, abruptly stood up, the oriental pearls on his jade crown trembling violently. "Your Majesty, be wise! My sister returned the bow and arrows after hunting deer this morning, and they are now in the women's tent..."
"Report—" Another Jinyiwei rushed into the tent, "We found a Southern Xinjiang witchcraft doll on the assassin's body!"
A peach wood puppet tumbled onto the imperial table, its birth date written in cinnabar stinging the emperor's eyes—it was his own and the crown prince's! The old emperor grabbed the puppet and hurled it at Xin Yiwei, leaving a bruise on his forehead from the black iron puppet's impact. "Southern Xinjiang! Great Southern Xinjiang!"
Xin Yiwei kowtowed, his back teeth nearly gnashing. This was clearly someone's trick! His peripheral vision caught sight of Yang Weimin's smug expression, and he suddenly remembered the strange composure of the Yang family father and son when the fourth brother gouged out his eyes. A cold sweat trickled down his spine; it turned out to be a hidden threat.
"Issue an order! The third prince Xin Yiwei is confined to the tent and is not allowed to leave without an imperial decree! Yongding Marquis Jiang Dinglian..." Before the old emperor finished speaking, there was a sudden noise outside the tent.
Su Sheng stumbled in, supporting the Crown Prince, his apricot-yellow python robe stained with mud. The young man slumped to his knees and said, "When I found His Highness the Crown Prince in the Wutong Forest, he was being pursued by men in black!"
The prince raised his hand weakly, and on his palm was half a tiger talisman: "When I killed the assassins, I found this on them..." He fainted before he finished speaking.
The old emperor stared at the inscribed mark of "Yang" on the tiger talisman, then slowly turned to look at General Yang, whose face was ashen. The gilded incense burner suddenly toppled over, its ash blinding everyone. When they opened their eyes again, Yang Weimin's sword was already at Jiang Yihuan's neck.
"Don't move!" He dragged Jiang Yihan back to the tent door, "Prepare the horses! Otherwise, I will make the Yongding Marquisate extinct!"
The neighing of horses could be heard in the heavy rain. Jiang Songyi rushed into the tent, holding up her skirt, with the golden knife in her hand still dripping with blood: "Brother, take the sword!" The knife flashed, and Yang Weimin's right hand holding the sword was cut off at the wrist.
Amidst the chaos, no one noticed the fainting crown prince's lips curling slightly. From his sleeve slipped a bloodied half tiger talisman, which joined the one he had just presented to the emperor to form a complete one—clearly the one he had obtained from the fourth secret guard during last year's autumn hunt.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
