At midnight, Zhao Shu, who was in a light sleep, was shaken awake by Huo Danlan. She opened her eyes abruptly and saw Huo Danlan's anxious eyes. She then turned over and got up. Her movement startled Sun Yun, who also got up, rubbing her eyes and asking, "Auntie, what are you doing here?"
Huo Danlan gestured for silence. "You two hurry up and get dressed. We can't say any more. Come with me to see the Crown Prince."
Zhao Shu and Sun Yun exchanged a glance and hurriedly put on their clothes, no longer calling for the maids to serve them. They dressed in a flurry of activity, and Huo Danlan quickly helped them tie their sashes. At this moment, Chu Chun and the others pushed open the door and came in. They had just gotten up, and their black hair was draped over their shoulders, as they hadn't had time to comb it.
After a flurry of activity, Zhao Shu, Sun Yun, and Huo Danlan, escorted by Xiao Guozi and others, carrying cool cups and lanterns, went to Junhua Tower.
Magpie was always by Huo Danlan's side; Grandma wasn't there. Zhao Shu glanced at her and saw Zhihai standing beside her. She then quietly asked Huo Danlan, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
Before Huo Danlan could answer, Sun Yun exclaimed, "Fire!"
Zhao Shu looked up and saw that the villa was surrounded by raging fires, as if it were about to burn the place down. A cold wind blew in, and the thick smoke made everyone cough.
"Elder Hai, please take a look and see how many people have come, and whether they are confident of breaking through." Zhao Shu withdrew her gaze and hurriedly gave the order.
Huo Danlan shook her head while holding her hand, "We can't get out. If we could, your aunt would have taken you away long ago. Don't worry, it won't be that easy for them to come over."
They arrived at Junhua Tower as they spoke. Li Zhuo was pacing anxiously in the outer room. When he saw Zhao Shu and the others arrive and that Zhao Shu was alright, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where is my brother, the Crown Prince?" Zhao Shu asked him. As soon as she finished speaking, she pushed the door open and went inside. Just as she pushed the door open again, she heard the Crown Prince coughing.
Everyone went into the inner room and closed the door. At this moment, they didn't care about the proper etiquette between men and women. Huo Danlan and Sun Yun also went into the inner room, bowed, and sat anxiously at the table, waiting for news from outside.
Before long, someone from the Huo family came to report: "Miss, we can't stay at Junhua Tower anymore, the enemy has cannons."
Almost as soon as the Huo family came to report, Xiao Zhuzi also arrived. He was mainly in charge of intelligence work, and whenever there was a problem, he would rush to the front to check it out. As soon as he saw Zhao Shu, he said anxiously, "Princess, dozens of groups of troops have arrived. This servant thinks that the front gate will be breached soon. The enemy also has several cannons. This servant will fight his way out and let's return to the city."
He thought that with the Empress Dowager around, those people probably wouldn't dare to actually massacre the city.
Zhao Shu sneered. They could even transport cannons; what was a massacre of a city compared to that? It just so happened that the Empress Dowager had passed away, and during the national mourning period, they could easily make their own moves.
Before she could speak, Huo Danlan said, "No rush, where's Grandma?"
"I don't know." The Huo family member reported truthfully that it was very chaotic outside, with large numbers of men in black surrounding the entire manor.
Huo Danlan didn't say much after hearing this, but just nodded and said to the man, "It's freezing cold, so just keep an eye on things for now. Go and guard the north gate, and don't let anyone sneak in through the north gate."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Huo Danlan, the man clasped his hands in greeting and left. He had followed Huo Danlan for over ten years and knew her temperament; once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it.
After the Huo family left, Zhao Shu asked, "Aunt, do you think Xiao Zhu and Xiao Guo can be of any help? They are completely at your beck and call."
"Don't worry, Aunt has made all the arrangements these past few days. Since someone dares to come, they'll have to leave their life behind. Your men can help bury the body tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shu said to Xiao Zhuzi, "Go ahead and keep watch. Don't let anyone sneak in. Large groups of people are easy to spot, but individual assassins are not so easy to detect."
"Yes." Xiao Zhu bowed and said, "This servant will not let even a fly in, please rest assured, Princess." After saying that, he turned and left.
Hearing such bloody words from Huo Danlan's mouth sent chills down the spines of Sun Yun, Sheng Xia, and the others. They had always thought of Aunt Huo as an extremely gentle person, whose smiles were like the rising sun, making them want to get close to her. Now it seemed that Aunt Huo was also a ruthless person.
Sun Yun, in particular, has been greatly impacted recently. It's one thing for Zhao Shu to act like a child, but as a member of the royal family, it's understandable. The most intense infighting occurs among the royal family, almost to the point of being irreconcilable, and their fighting can plunge the world into chaos.
The gentle Aunt Huo seemed to have become a different person. The most bloody thing she had ever experienced, having been raised in seclusion, was witnessing someone being harmed and miscarrying. She really couldn't accept it. The gentle and kind Aunt Huo made people feel comfortable.
Before coming to Guanzhou, she thought that the relationship between people was nothing more than you saying a few sarcastic remarks to me today, me fabricating a couple of things to frame you in front of the head of the family tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow she would pour oil on the road, causing a pregnant woman to slip and miscarry... The most serious thing was that a female corpse was found in the lotus pond, which happened to be someone's concubine or some young master.
Little did they know that upon leaving Guanzhou, they would not only hear the report from the assassins, but Zhao Shu, like a female demon, would also kill Hao Zi—the emperor's father-in-law! Killing Hao Zi wasn't the end of it; she would also turn Hao Zekai into a human pig…
She had already struggled deeply within herself, telling herself that Ah Jun was not wrong, that Ah Jun was fighting against evil and upholding justice, that she was not wrong, and that she was still the lovely Princess Jun.
Heaven knows how much courage it took for her to remain calm and composed in front of Zhao Shu after hearing the assassin's report, but what did she just hear?
artillery!
These things, which are only found on the battlefield, were placed in front of the manor without the emperor's permission. While His Highness the Crown Prince was still inside the manor, someone set fire to it and surrounded it.
She had a feeling that the world was about to descend into chaos.
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