"Bandits! Mountain bandits have come down from the mountain!"
The servant's shrill screams tore through the rain, startling several crows in the woods.
Shen Jintang suddenly turned her head, and raindrops spun out a silver streak from her hair.
Gu Zhixing stood there.
His plain white mourning clothes, soaked through by the rain, clung tightly to his thin frame, outlining his sharp features. He stood ramrod straight, like a drawn sword, or a frozen monument. Rain dripped incessantly down his jawline, splashing tiny droplets on the bluestone slabs.
Shen Jintang frowned. She looked at Gu Zhixing's profile, which was calm to the point of being indifferent, at his slightly lowered eyelashes, and at his figure that remained motionless amidst the chaos—and suddenly she understood something.
Take the right path? Gather evidence? Confront the Crown Prince in court?
That's ridiculous.
In the imperial court, the Crown Prince's faction was deeply entrenched; within the Golden Palace, the Emperor fiercely protected his eldest son. Even with overwhelming evidence, the final result was nothing more than a flimsy imperial edict—demoted to commoner status and imprisoned for life. Within three to five years, someone would petition for his release, "out of consideration for familial ties."
Was Ye Qingzhou's blood shed in vain?
His life was thus so easily dismissed?
No!
Shen Jintang looked at Gu Zhixing's hand hanging by his side—that hand was slowly tightening, the knuckles turning white, as if it were choking someone in the void.
She suddenly understood.
He doesn't want justice.
He wants blood for blood.
"You...you planned this all along?" Shen Jintang's voice was like silk soaked by rain, with a slight tremor.
She frowned instinctively, her eyes fixed on Gu Zhixing, watching his reaction.
Gu Zhixing did not answer immediately, but instead pulled her into the carriage that had been prepared in advance.
The rain was still falling outside, dripping onto the roof of the carriage.
He lowered his head, his fingers slowly tracing the hilt of the sword at his waist, his fingertips gently caressing the cold metal.
The black iron longsword gleamed with an eerie light in the rain, and the cloud patterns carved on its scabbard shone brightly after being washed by the rain.
Shen Jintang glanced at the sword at his waist; it was so conspicuous that everyone present would remember that Gu Zhixing was wearing a sword to Ye Qingzhou's funeral today.
This was unique at the funeral, so everyone paid more or less attention to him, which was also his most perfect alibi.
A barely perceptible sneer curled at the corner of Shen Jintang's lips.
That's brilliant.
The more blatantly he displayed his murderous intent, the less likely anyone would suspect he was actually going to strike. Besides, everyone saw him standing there, quietly supporting the coffin, his sword perfectly still at his waist. Who would have thought that those "bandits" on the distant mountain path were connected to him?
Even if someone suspects Gu Zhixing, where can they find the evidence?
Based on mere guesswork?
How can this be considered a crime!
“An eye for an eye.” Gu Zhixing suddenly spoke, his voice as soft as a falling leaf. He looked down at the undried raindrops on the coffin, his eyes unfathomable. “When he killed Qingzhou, didn’t he leave any evidence?”
Shen Jintang's nails dug deeply into her palms. Reason told her that Gu Zhixing was right, but a strange unease surged within her. The Crown Prince had cultivated his influence in the court for many years, and knew perfectly well that Gu Zhixing hated him to the core. How could he be completely unprepared?
"How many people did you arrange?" she asked urgently, her voice low but unable to hide her anxiety. "The Crown Prince can't be completely unaware..."
Before the words were finished, a series of synchronized hoofbeats suddenly came from afar, shattering the silence of the rain.
Shen Jintang abruptly lifted the carriage curtain, only to see a troop of Imperial Guard cavalry clad in gleaming armor approaching through the rain. The leading general raised his command flag high and shouted sternly, "Suppress the bandits! Protect His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Raindrops splashed on the armor, creating tiny droplets, while horses' hooves kicked up muddy sludge as they trod the muddy mountain path.
Shen Jintang subconsciously looked at Gu Zhixing, but saw that he did not make any move and was still wiping the sword in his hand.
"As expected..." Shen Jintang's heart sank to the bottom. She turned around, lifted the curtain to look at the scene outside, and said, "The Crown Prince was prepared."
She sighed and turned to Gu Zhixing, only to see a cold smile curl at the corner of his lips. That smile sent chills down her spine—it wasn't the frustration of a failed plan, but rather… an expected composure.
"Do you really think..." Gu Zhixing began slowly, his voice low, "Do you really expect those 'bandits' to succeed?"
Shen Jintang's breath hitched. She suddenly realized that she might have underestimated his scheme once again. Those conspicuous swords, that deliberate silence, those... those overly obvious "flaws."
Could all of this be just the first step in his game?
Through the rain, the sound of the imperial guards' hooves grew closer, and the splashing water on the official road formed a silvery mist.
Shen Jintang looked at the cold smile on Gu Zhixing's lips and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
"What else did you... do?"
Her voice was stuck in her throat.
Gu Zhixing tapped the hilt of his sword lightly with a steady rhythm, as if he were counting.
The sound of weapons clashing came from afar, but his expression became increasingly calm.
"Ten, nine, eight..." he counted softly, then suddenly looked up, "That's about it."
Before he could finish speaking, a chaotic shouting suddenly erupted from the direction of the mountain road.
Shen Jintang looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the "bandits" had actually torn a gap in the Imperial Guards' encirclement and retreated into the depths of the dense forest. Even more strangely, the Imperial Guards' cavalry seemed to have suddenly lost their formation, and several warhorses even went out of control and crashed into each other.
"What did you do?" Shen Jintang suddenly grabbed his wrist, not because she was worried about the situation over there, but because she was afraid that something might happen to Gu Zhixing.
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