Ashes to Crown

Chapter 147: Chapter 101: A Residence

Xie Yanfang felt no great shock at the sight of the Crown Prince’s corpse.

The shock had already hit him the moment he heard the news.

He had never entertained unrealistic hopes—that it was an accident, a rumor, a mere serious injury, or that a single breath might yet remain.

”Young Master,” a Palace Maid wailed, kneeling and clutching his sleeve. ”My lady, my lady—”

Xie Yanfang’s gaze shifted from the Crown Prince’s corpse to the Crown Princess Consort beside it.

The Crown Princess Consort’s robes were soaked in red. She was gasping violently, like a fish thrown onto the shore.

She was still alive, but she was about to die.

An arrow had pierced her neck.

She should have died instantly, but she was clinging to a final breath, refusing to let it go.

”Yan... fang...” she managed, the sound a hoarse, gurgling rasp.

The Palace Maid knelt and sobbed. ”—She was hit by a stray arrow! I was useless, I was useless—”

Xie Yanfang neither blamed nor berated the maid. Ignoring her, he knelt and took the Crown Princess Consort’s hand. ”Sister, I’m here.”

The Crown Princess Consort’s hand gripped his tightly, her nails digging into his palm. ”Yu... Yu’er—”

”I will look after Yu’er,” Xie Yanfang said. ”Even with you and the Crown Prince gone, Yu’er will inherit everything.”

With that promise secured, the Crown Princess Consort’s final breath escaped. Her body went limp, and her eyes closed.

Xie Yanfang bent down, resting his forehead against the Crown Princess Consort’s hand. ”Sister, your life was not in vain. Even in death, you will live on, and the Xie family will forever remain the Xie family.”

The Palace Maid was sobbing on the ground, nearly fainting, when Xie Yanfang hauled her to her feet.

”Where is the young prince?” he demanded.

The Palace Maid stifled her tears, forcing herself to calm down enough to speak clearly.

”The moment the Crown Prince was attacked, Eunuch Qi said we had to get the young prince away immediately.” She closed her eyes, recalling the scene. ’It was too terrifying. Thinking about it now, my mind just goes blank—’

’The Crown Prince... how could he... how could he be dead?’

She gasped, fresh tears streaming down her face.

But what was even more terrifying was what Eunuch Qi had said: with the Crown Prince dead, the young prince was in danger. He had to get him away.

The Crown Princess Consort had been perfectly calm at that moment. Without questions or tears, she had picked up the still-sleeping young prince and thrust him into Eunuch Qi’s arms.

”Mother—” the young prince had cried out, completely bewildered.

The Crown Princess Consort kissed his cheek with such force that it left a deep red mark.

”Yu’er, Yu’er, go now! Go!” The Crown Princess Consort finally brought herself to let him go.

The young prince seemed to guess what was happening. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at his mother, but he didn’t make a sound.

Eunuch Qi, wearing a large cloak, sheltered the young prince in his embrace and galloped away.

Just after they had gone, men in black emerged all over the Hunting Ground. A rain of arrows fell as they killed everyone in sight.

The Palace Maid collapsed to the ground again, sobbing too hard to continue.

It was a scene from a nightmare, one from which she would never awaken.

’Thank heavens the young prince left in time.’

But when she finished, the other men in the room felt no such relief. Du Qi even muttered, ”This is bad.”

The Palace Maid looked up to see Xie Yanfang’s face was even paler than before.

”The Imperial City is even more dangerous,” Xie Yanfang said.

”If the Third Prince was going to make a move on the Crown Prince, he’d certainly block all news. The Imperial City must be full of his soldiers lying in ambush. Heading there now would be suicide.”

”And besides—”

”The Third Prince isn’t the only one involved in this,” he said.

’The Crown Prince was killed before the Third Prince’s men even arrived. The Third Prince claims his men did it, but if that were true, why would he need to come here himself?’

’To finish the job and eliminate all threats?’

’In that case, he would only need to hold the Capital City and wait for us to walk right into his trap.’

’There’s another player on the board tonight!’

Xie Yanfang closed his eyes. ’As I suspected, it must be the King of Zhongshan...’

”Yanlai is in the Imperial City,” Du Qi said, his voice strained. ”We can’t expect him to fight off the rebels, but if he could just risk everything to get the young prince out—”

At these words, Xie Yanfang laughed and looked at Du Qi.

He said nothing.

Du Qi trailed off, unable to finish his own sentence.

’How could that be possible? Xie Yanlai is just one man. With the Third Prince’s forces in the Imperial City, the first people they’d eliminate would be the Crown Prince’s supporters—’

’Xie Yanlai is probably already dead.’

Besides, there are the gates to the Capital City. It was hard enough fighting our way out; fighting our way back in will be even harder.

’Maybe we never should have come here. We should have retaken the gate and held our position.’

’It seems heaven itself wants to destroy the Xie family...’

Sensing the suffocating atmosphere in the tent, the Palace Maid spoke again. ”Young Master, Eunuch Qi didn’t take the young prince to the Imperial City.”

’He didn’t?’ Xie Yanfang was taken aback. He looked at the Palace Maid. ’Eunuch Qi must have guessed the Imperial City was dangerous, so he took the young prince into hiding?’

’But where in the Capital City is there a safe place to protect the young prince now? The Yang Family, the Xie family, the estates of powerful ministers... there must be assassins lying in wait outside all of them. The killing had already started in the city when we left.’

”It’s Chu... Chu...” The Palace Maid was nervous and couldn’t recall the name for a moment. Thankfully, another, more famous name came to mind—one she’d heard often recently. ”Chu Zhao’s house.”

Xie Yanfang was stunned. He never expected to hear that girl’s name at a time like this. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. ”Her?”

”Her father, Chu Zhao’s father,” the Palace Maid hurriedly explained. ”Eunuch Qi said he is the only one who can protect the young prince.”

’Chu Ling?’

Xie Yanfang knew Chu Ling was no ordinary man, which made Eunuch Qi’s statement all the more significant.

’The only one who can protect the young prince... is Chu Ling?’

’Why?’

The Palace Maid didn’t know. The situation had been too desperate. Eunuch Qi had only said that much to the Crown Princess Consort, telling her to trust him.

What choice did the Crown Princess Consort have? At a time like that, she had to believe him.

Du Qi was incredulous. ”Even if Chu Ling is the only person His Majesty trusts, he’s far away in the Border County. What good would it do for Eunuch Qi to take the young prince to his home?”

”The Chu Family has nothing! They have no manpower, no prestige. Their mansion isn’t even as well-defended as the Xie Mansion.”

’Is it because they’re so inconspicuous that it makes for a better hiding spot?’

Du Qi’s head throbbed as he tried to figure it out.

Xie Yanfang raised a hand to cut him off. ”There’s no need to think about it.”

He gazed in the direction of the Capital City.

”Keep the Third Prince’s death an absolute secret! Continue to proclaim that the Crown Prince is dead!”

’Although keeping the Third Prince’s death a secret will keep his forces fighting like madmen, it will also make the King of Zhongshan’s men hesitate.’

From now on, schemes, calculations, and predictions are all illusions. The only things that are real are the sword and blood.

The Xie family must carve out a path of survival.

”We fight our way to the Capital City!”

.....

.....

The night at Chu Garden was as black as ink, without a single speck of light.

But through a gap in the rockery, one could see patches of orange-red flaring against the distant night sky—the glow of burning fires. Cries and screams drifted on the night wind.

It all seemed illusory, yet it was all horribly real.

Chu Zhao closed her eyes.

”Miss,” Ah Le said, hurrying out of the darkness. ”We’ve let in another seven or eight people. They’re all hiding in the garden.”

Chu Zhao nodded. ”Tell the men at the gate to keep listening. If anyone else cries for help, open the gate.” She paused. ”But... they must act within our means.”

Ah Le knew exactly what ”act within our means” meant. They could let in panicked citizens who simply needed a deep-walled estate to hide in. But if people were being actively pursued and screaming for their lives, they couldn’t just throw the gates open without a thought—

Doing so would endanger everyone inside the Chu Mansion.

It was an agonizing but necessary choice. Ah Le’s fists tightened.

”Miss, I’ll go guard the gate myself.”

’I’ll be the one to make that painful decision.’

Chu Zhao took Ah Le’s hand, her touch calming. ”It shouldn’t get too severe.”

She looked out into the night.

’The commotion is much smaller than in my last life.’

’But it still happened.’

Chu Zhao felt a sense of melancholy. ’This also means something has happened to the Crown Prince.’