The Imperial Palace.
An army of 100,000 surrounded the entire palace, under the command of Xie Changling. They entered in batches to search the entire palace to see if there were any more assassins.
Xiao Jin mainly led his men to Shou Kang Palace. If his guess was correct, then his mother was very likely already...
As for his two children, he doesn't trust either of them now, so he has to keep them by his side and protect them like the apple of his eye.
"Father, where are we going? Are we going to find Mother?"
"Yes, Father, shall we go find Mother?"
Xiao Junlin and Xiao Beizhan leaned on Xiao Jin's shoulders, and a soft voice rang in his ear, full of worry for their mother.
This time, Xiao Jin didn't cover their eyes, knowing they might be frightened by seeing a corpse.
But, unexpectedly, their worry for their mother overcame their fear.
He felt comforted, knowing they were sensible, and hugged them tighter. The soft, milky scent of their bodies calmed his agitation.
"No, your mother is temporarily lost, but your father will definitely find her. Now we are going to see your grandmother."
"Oh? Alright, is Grandmother alright? Today was really too dangerous. Grandmother should be safe in her own palace, right?"
Although Xiao Beizhan knew that his grandmother did not like him very much, in his heart, she was still his family and his elder, so he cared about her very much.
His words were very naive, and his thoughts were very simple. He felt that home was the safest place, and that his home was the Phoenix Palace, which should be the safest place.
If they had gone to the Imperial Study instead of the Phoenix Palace today, they would have been safe and sound, and Xiao Yinzi and the others wouldn't have died.
"Father, are they really dead? Can they come back to life? I miss Xiao Yinzi."
Xiao Jin felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. Because she was holding two children, she could only press her face against theirs to try and make them feel a little better.
He knew that a large part of the reason for today's situation lay with himself. These past few days, he had been so focused on dealing with Xie Changling that he had neglected the management of the imperial court and the inner palace.
Such a large number of assassins would absolutely not be able to enter the palace without an inside agent.
Xiao Jin was lost in thought when she felt her clothes being tugged, followed by a listless sound.
"Father, Mother and Grandmother will surely be alright."
Xiao Junlin knew that his grandmother loved him, and his concern for her was even more urgent. His little hands, which were gripping Xiao Jin's clothes, were almost clenched into fists.
"Father, will Mother and Grandmother be in danger? Will they suffer the same fate as Xiao Yinzi and Xiao Yuanzi?"
Today's events still had a huge impact on him. The knife was hanging over his head, about to strike him down. At that moment, he had never felt such fear.
Now terrified, he was like a frightened bird, and worried that his mother and grandmother would also be in such danger.
Xiao Junlin's small body began to tremble again, making Xiao Jin realize once more how terribly wrong she had been this time.
This misjudgment not only harmed Xi'er, leaving her missing, but also cast an indelible shadow on the young Junlin.
Xiao Jin felt a pang of regret once again. He gently comforted Xiao Junlin, but dared not make any promises. After all, with so many assassins hiding there, Shou Kang Palace might not be safe.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Father is here."
"Brother, don't be afraid, brother, brother!"
Xiao Beizhan also raised his chubby little hand and patted Xiao Junlin's back gently, just like Song Lingxi had done to coax them before.
Xiao Jin felt a lump in his throat, clearly thinking of Song Lingxi as well. He needed to resolve the palace matters as soon as possible and sent Xie Changling to find Xi'er.
"Don't be afraid. Your father will take you to find your grandmother, and then to find your mother. Don't be afraid, your father is here."
"Um."
Xiao Junlin wrapped his arms around Xiao Jin's neck and responded softly, burying his head in the crook of Xiao Jin's neck, making Xiao Jin feel even more guilty and soft-hearted.
After finally calming them down, Xiao Jin led them to Shou Kang Palace.
...
Shou Kang Palace.
The situation was much better than expected; at least there weren't corpses everywhere, just an empty, eerily quiet place.
There were no palace servants coming and going, no sign of human presence, not even a gatekeeper.
Xiao Jin put down the two children, holding one in each hand, and gave the soldiers a wink. Immediately, some of them went in to search.
"Father, Father, why is no one in Grandmother's palace?"
Xiao Beizhan gripped Xiao Jin's hand tightly, feeling a chill inexplicably as his small body gradually moved closer to Xiao Jin.
Xiao Junlin stood there dumbfounded. He didn't say anything, but carefully observed every place and found that there really was no living creature!
"Don't be afraid, you'll find out soon enough."
Xiao Jin had already guessed that his mother had probably been murdered long ago. He inexplicably thought of the eldest princess who had stayed at Shou Kang Palace for a while recently.
Looking back now, I realize that my mother hasn't shown her face since then.
A short while later, after they finished their search, one of them came to report.
"Your Majesty, only the Empress Dowager is in Shou Kang Palace. However, I have noticed that she is bedridden and seems not to have heard our movements."
"Furthermore, our subordinates have detected a strange odor, and we fear that something may have happened to the Empress Dowager!"
"!"
Xiao Jin's face immediately darkened. Considering the child was still there, he told the soldiers to wait there and watch over the young prince, while he went in alone.
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