In the middle of the road not far away, stood a tall, brown horse, and on its back rode a person dressed in black.
His hair was dried by the wind, but the congealed blood still clumped the strands together. His face had wounds and spots of blood.
The wind blew over him, carrying a strong smell of blood.
All signs indicate that he had just been through a fierce battle, and it was extremely brutal.
It's the deposed crown prince! It's the deposed crown prince! The courtiers gasped in shock. The deposed crown prince was really here!
Although there were not many guards around him, each of them exuded a bloodthirsty aura!
The courtiers' lips trembled. They had originally intended to plead guilty to the dethronement of the crown prince and accept their fate, but at this moment, they could not utter a sound.
Yun Zhuo said, "My lords, do not go any further. There is only a dead end ahead. The Emperor is not here. He has not left the palace tonight. You have been deceived."
How could this be! The court officials looked at each other in disbelief, completely disbelieving Yun Zhuo's words!
"If the Emperor has been in the palace all along, then who lured us here? Was it the Emperor himself? And what is his purpose?" Pan Yuanzhou asked.
He voiced the thoughts of the other officials.
Everyone was waiting for Yun Zhuo's answer.
Yun Zhuo said, "Put your ears to the ground and listen. Soldiers are approaching from afar. As loyal ministers and generals of the Great Zhou, if the soldiers find you with me, the deposed crown prince, you will be considered part of the deposed crown prince's faction and eliminated along with me!"
Some people still don't believe what Yun Zhuo said.
However, some military officers were already prostrate on the ground, pressing their ears to the earth to listen to the sounds coming from the ground in the distance.
When the military officer stood up, his face was deathly pale. Someone asked him, "How are you?"
The military officer replied, "Judging from the sound, there are indeed soldiers rushing this way, but... how can we be sure that those people aren't the deposed crown prince's men, and that they're coming here to slaughter us and the villagers of Taoxi Village?"
The group exchanged bewildered glances; the military officer's words did indeed make sense.
Otherwise, they couldn't imagine who could have tricked them into coming here. Could it be the current emperor?
Rather than believing that His Majesty tricked them into coming here, they would rather believe that the deposed crown prince was lying!
Even on his deathbed, he still tried to sow discord between them and the imperial court!
Pan Yuanzhou thought about his family's previous relationship with the deposed crown prince. He had once believed that the deposed crown prince would be an excellent heir apparent, but now... things had turned out like this.
He was overcome with grief and heartbroken.
"Your Highness, you must have suffered a lot during your time on the run. But we and His Majesty have always kept you in our thoughts," Pan Yuanzhou said, wiping away his tears.
"Although it is a foregone conclusion that you have committed a serious crime, as long as you are willing to turn back, admit your guilt and accept punishment, in our hearts you will still be that rare and good Crown Prince."
Even if he was a prince in the past!
It's alright. Even if he repents at the last moment, Pan Yuanzhou will still consider him a good child. After all, he watched the deposed crown prince grow up, and he's about the same age as his eldest son, Pan Heng.
Pan Yuanzhou was so desperate that he wanted to kneel down and beg him to turn back.
However, Yun Zhuo's expression remained unchanged, still icy cold, devoid of any emotion.
A chilling aura of death emanated from him, spreading outwards layer by layer, as if the entire Peach Creek Village was shrouded in this coldness.
...
A cold wind whipped open the carriage curtains, and Empress Shen knocked over the warm teacup beside her, for a guard came to report that Shen Jiefeng was dead.
The scene of Ye Qingxue and Shen Jiefeng dying together was vividly reported to Empress Shen by the guards.
Wanxin, who was listening from the side, froze. Ye Qingxue had actually killed Shen Jiefeng. It was unbelievable!
On the day of the flower viewing banquet, she was discovered by Ye Qingxue in the Cold Palace. She tried to kill Ye Qingxue twice but failed. She knew then that Ye Qingxue was not someone to be trifled with.
But she never expected that Ye Qingxue would not only be with the deposed crown prince, but also be willing to sacrifice her own life to send Shen Jiefeng to his death!
The air seemed to freeze. Under Empress Shen's icy gaze, everyone held their breath and dared not speak.
After an unknown amount of time, Wanxin finally spoke: "No wonder we haven't been able to find any trace of the deposed crown prince. It seems that he has been hiding in the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion all this time, perhaps even in Miss Ye's courtyard."
Although Ye Qingxue is dead, Wanxin doesn't want Ye Qingxue's family to have an easy time right now. After all, Ye Qingxue once discovered her secret, so why didn't she obediently accept her death?
Wanxin continued, "Who would have thought that a perfectly respectable young lady would keep the deposed crown prince by her side?"
"Miss Ye not only ruined many of our plans, but also killed your most valued nephew, Your Majesty."
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