Wanyan quickly glanced at the furnishings in the room, and with a calmness that seemed to come from nowhere, she blew out the candle and hid under the bed.
With a creak, the door opened, and two people approached. Wanyan Shi, hiding under the bed, watched the shadows inside grow longer and longer, the footsteps drawing ever closer. Her heart pounded in her chest; terrified, she quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hands, holding her breath and trembling under the bed.
The room was pitch black. The two masked men exchanged a glance and began stabbing wildly at the bed with their swords. Wanyan could almost feel the sound of the sharp blades cutting through the bedding. She felt a chill run down her spine and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Please, God, protect me. I don't want to die..." Wanyan prayed silently in her heart with her eyes tightly closed.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside...
"Quickly...you few go check ahead, the rest of you come with me..."
They are the Imperial Guards!
Wanyan's hope was instantly rekindled. She opened her eyes and listened carefully to the sounds outside, but still dared not make a sound or call for help.
"It's too late, hurry up and leave..." came the voice of a masked man.
The other man, however, was unwilling to give up. He glanced at the door and reached out to lift the blanket: "No, I have to see... We must not leave any survivors..." The imperial guards outside were getting closer and closer.
"There's no movement, they must be dead. We'd better get out of here quickly..." In desperation, the masked man had no choice but to grab his companion and break through the window.
Wanyan finally breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed completely, and collapsed to the ground. After an unknown amount of time, the commotion outside grew louder and louder. Several maids and nannies rushed into Wanyan's room, searching everywhere and shouting.
Wanyan struggled to slowly crawl out from under the bed. Hongxia was shocked and hurriedly helped Wanyan up, asking, "Fujin, are you alright? Thank goodness, we thought you were also..."
Wanyan was startled and stared blankly at everyone, only then realizing that everyone's expressions were extremely solemn. Suddenly remembering that her two sons were still in another room, she realized that if there were assassins, there would be more than two. In a panic, she grabbed a maid and asked, trembling, "Where are my sons? Are they alright? Quickly bring them to me..."
Hongxia raised her head as if to speak, then sadly lowered it again, crying bitterly.
Wanyan's heart sank. She shook Hongxia frantically and shouted, "Speak up! Where is my son?"
Hongxia remained silent, only crying incessantly. Wanyan shook off Hongxia and ran straight out the door, but was stopped by several maids and nannies.
An older nanny, who had served Wanyan for many years, couldn't help but kneel at the door, glancing at Wanyan with difficulty, and slowly said, "Please accept my condolences, Madam. The two young princes have... have passed away..."
Lady Wanyan stood there, stunned, seemingly still not having reacted. The old woman had no choice but to continue, "Just now, ten assassins attacked the Prince's residence. Two princes and several concubines were killed. Of the ten assassins, three were wounded and committed suicide, and the others escaped. We thought you, Madam, had also perished..." She then clasped her hands together in prayer, "But thankfully, Heaven has protected you, Madam, and you are safe and sound..."
Wanyan's mind went blank. She felt a tightness in her chest, couldn't breathe, and her vision went black as she collapsed. Maids and servants rushed to her side in a flurry of activity, and the once-calm palace was thrown into chaos once more…
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