Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Because this arrow was aimed solely at the First Prince, everyone present fell silent.

The tent was dead silent, with everyone present wearing varied expressions. The Minister of Revenue immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, a single arrow proves nothing. The First Prince shot many arrows while hunting in the forest. If someone with ill intent used it, it could be a frame-up!"

"Lord Minister's opinion is inappropriate! If that's the case, wouldn't it mean the Ministry of War is at fault?" An official behind the Third Prince stepped forward.

Another official said, "Arrows shot by the First Prince are scattered all over the hunting grounds. That's hard to say."

"Arrows are forged by the Ministry of Works. If I'm not mistaken, Lord Liu has just taken up the post of Minister of Works and is still taking over affairs. But the newly appointed Chief Attendant of the Ministry of Works has some connection with the Xie family. This batch of arrows might have passed through their hands," another person added, redirecting blame toward the Second Prince, who was previously close to the Xu faction.

Just as they were arguing and quibbling, the Emperor impatiently interrupted, "Enough!"

Only then did the others realize that the whereabouts of the two princes were still unknown. Deep in the northern mountains, ferocious beasts abounded, and the two princes had no guards with them. It was almost certain disaster would befall them.

At that moment, a figure entered the tent—Empress Xu.

"Have the imperial guards entered the mountains to search?" Empress Xu hurried in, her face somewhat pale.

"Your Majesty, by the Empress Dowager's urgent order, people have already gone into the mountains to search," an official beside her said.

When Empress Xu entered, the Emperor's gaze fell on her.

Hu Buyu, standing nearby, could clearly see that the Emperor's expression was grim. The Emperor naturally wouldn't believe such an obvious frame-up, but without direct evidence proving the First Prince's innocence, the matter of the arrow couldn't be explained away.

The arrow slander was indeed an overly direct act. Yet, with the two princes' whereabouts unknown, no one could clarify whether the arrow was related. Dragging the Second Prince into it would only implicate the Ministry of Works again; everyone knew that the Ministry of Works had already been in trouble when the spring hunt was scheduled, so this matter was most likely only related to the other two princes.

If it was related to the First Prince, that meant he had harmed his brothers. If it was related to the Third Prince, that meant he had framed the First Prince.

Whether this plot succeeded or not, it would undoubtedly spark conflict between the two factions. Who would set up such a scheme? The only faction still active in the court was the Crown Prince Faction. The Crown Prince Faction had suffered heavy losses, and the Emperor seemed inclined to elevate the Eighth Prince to divert power from the Xu Faction. Yet as it happened, it was the Eighth Prince who had met with trouble this time.

"Hu Buyu, mobilize the garrison on the outskirts of the capital and search the mountains," the Emperor looked at him. "Do not let any clue slip."

Hu Buyu acknowledged, thinking this was bad.

The spring hunt was a major event. To dare do this under the Emperor's nose was to plant seeds of suspicion in his heart. Since the Emperor's return from war, so many things had happened in the court, undoubtedly provoking the Emperor. Now that even the Crown Prince could be deposed, what about the other princes?

What could be found in these mountains was uncertain.

The spring hunt descended into chaos. All the imperial guards at the foot of the mountain entered the mountains to search for the princes. Even the Empress Dowager did not rest, waiting all the while to ask for news of the Sixth Prince. As Empress Xu left the tent, she saw the Xu family officials standing there, their faces equally anxious.

Seeing Empress Xu come out, the Xu family officials quickly said, "The Eighth Prince has met with trouble. The Grand Secretary has already sent people to investigate; something must have gone wrong somewhere."

"Did Father get involved in this?" Empress Xu asked.

"Naturally not!" The officials knew that since the Crown Prince's incident, the Emperor's intention had indeed been to support the Eighth Prince to divide the Xu faction. Grand Secretary Xu had indeed planned to support the Eighth Prince. "This matter was likely the work of someone else. The Grand Secretary did plan to act during the spring hunt, but the Eighth Prince's accident was completely unexpected."

If they wanted to reinstate the Crown Prince and support him again, the Xu family undoubtedly needed the Eighth Prince to win over the remaining Crown Prince faction. Empress Xu said nothing, merely gazed calmly at the official before her, then dismissed the official.

As she turned back, a palace maid immediately reported, "Your Highness, news has come from the other palace."

Since the Crown Prince was deposed, the Empress had ordered someone to watch the Deposed Crown Prince. When the spring hunt began today, the person in charge of surveillance noticed that one of the guards previously assigned to the Deposed Crown Prince was missing.

"We asked around; it seems that person followed the Eighth Prince's hunting party into the mountains," the maid said. "Guards by the prince's side often accompanied the Eighth Prince before, so the palace staff thought he looked familiar and assumed he was the Eighth Prince's guard..."

Empress Xu came to a stop. She stood straight, a hint of rigidity in her frame. "Where is that person now?"

"We couldn't find him; he might still be deep in the mountains."

After the maid finished speaking, she noticed the Empress's face had turned unusually pale.

...

Deep in the mountains, when urgent reports from below arrived, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already disposed of the bodies of those former dynasty assassins. With the thatched cottage incident in mind, they had obtained antidote powders from Chen Xuqiu to preserve the decaying corpses, then dragged the bodies aside and concealed them.

"Can't we report this matter fully to His Majesty?" Ye Xuanjiu hesitated. "These bodies prove that the former dynasty's poison is at work, which would show this incident is connected to the former dynasty."

Qi Hanzhou shook his head. "Then who ordered the former dynasty spies?"

Ying Fusheng stood by the hidden corpses, observing for a moment.

Listening to the urgent report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, especially the debates inside the tent, he realized one thing: in this way, almost all the princes currently in court would be dragged into the mess, throwing the situation into chaos.

Suddenly, Qi Hanzhou caught something in the corner of his eye, and the next moment, a cold light shot out from the woods!

The night attack came abruptly. Everyone's expressions changed as they rose, seeing arrows flying from the forest. Qi Hanzhou immediately blocked in front of Ying Fusheng. Ying Fusheng looked up and spotted a bird that resembled a carrier pigeon flying overhead. Accustomed to Qi Hanzhou's falcon, they had overlooked other birds. "Up high!"

Qi Hanzhou turned his bow around and without hesitation shot the bird down from above!

Meanwhile, Ying Fusheng had already reached the Eighth Prince, found the signal flare at his waist that hadn't been used, and opened it. Some different gunpowder dust scattered. If they could track him by tampering with the Eighth Prince, then those who were targeting the Eighth Prince would also mark him. "We're being tracked."

Qi Hanzhou saw the powder, immediately took out another powder from his own clothes and sprinkled it to confuse the scent. "Take off the clothes that touched it!"

The Eighth Prince was unconscious from his injuries. Ying Fusheng swiftly cut away the outer garments stained with that powder. By then, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was already clashing with the assassins attacking from a distance!

"Junior General!" Ye Xuanjiu brought the horses.

Ying Fusheng pulled the Eighth Prince, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

Had they marked the Eighth Prince to kill him? No. If someone could cause his horse to bolt, they were clearly watching him closely. Killing him would have been easy; there was no need for this extra step, which risked revealing the traitor among his men. Instead, the purpose of the mark seemed to be to track the Eighth Prince's whereabouts.

As he hesitated, a cold arrow slipped past their defenses from another direction, straight toward Ying Fusheng as he mounted his horse.

Qi Hanzhou's pupils contracted. He reached out and pulled Ying Fusheng, causing both of them to tumble down into the forest.

Seeing this sudden turn, Ye Xuanjiu's face changed drastically. It was a downward slope, and the two of them rolled all the way down.

"Go!" Qi Hanzhou shouted.

Ye Xuanjiu knew this was no time to hesitate. Without a second thought, he charged deeper into the forest with the others. The assassins behind, seeing their bird killed, had no choice but to spur their horses and follow, splitting into two groups to pursue.

However, in the northern mountains, Ye Xuanjiu was far more familiar with the terrain than the assassins. Before long, he shook them off, leading the group deeper into the remote mountains.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had come in disguise. Those following were Qi Hanzhou's personal guards. The enemy didn't know they were the Embroidered Uniform Guard; after pursuing for a while, they temporarily retreated.

The assassin looked to the side: "The Sixth Prince!?"

"He fell!"

"Find him quickly! The master's orders: he absolutely must not leave the northern mountains!"

Qi Hanzhou protected the man as they rolled all the way down the slope. Fortunately, the terrain in the northern mountains was treacherous. The two of them happened to land in a deep pit, avoiding the pursuers coming after them. Qi Hanzhou held the man, taking cover in a dark corner, covering Ying Fusheng's nose and mouth, waiting for the footsteps above to fade away before releasing his hand.

Ying Fusheng was breathing heavily. He hadn't made a sound during the fall. Protected by Qi Hanzhou, he only had some minor scrapes, but his arm was bleeding.

"Just an arrow graze, nothing serious," he quickly steadied his breathing, waited until the sounds outside subsided, then asked, "How many came?"

"Elite troops, but not many," Qi Hanzhou had taken careful note—at most seven or eight men.

He took out medicine from his robe to stop his bleeding; the wound was not deep, and it was not a major issue.

Ying Fusheng calmly determined: "Then they can't have many people ambushing in the hunting grounds."

Dealing a heavy blow to the Xu family did have an impact on the mastermind.

Once the assassins died, no one could return to report the situation, so the mastermind had no way of knowing what was happening in the mountains. But that didn't matter to the mastermind; the dead assassins would decompose into the earth, leaving no trace to be found. The matter would remain unresolved due to lack of evidence, and the blame would be shifted to the court.

It originally involved the Xu family, but now the Xu family's strength is greatly diminished.

If such a grand plot were orchestrated during the Spring Hunt, the emperor would suspect who among the court and the country was directing these spies. Once the mastermind diverts attention, the matters of the court would become a weapon. If they then frame others, it would be a hopeless situation.

The court had finally uprooted hidden agents; with the emperor's ability, he could take this opportunity to restore order at court.

But once the court falls into chaos, and other factions attack recklessly, the hard-won stability of the court would become open to exploitation. Particularly, the Spring Hunt incident could easily provoke his father's suspicion.

The Spring Hunt was just the prelude, meant to throw the entire court into turmoil again.

Ying Fusheng's thoughts wandered slightly; he didn't notice Qi Hanzhou's gaze falling on him.

It was getting late, and only the moonlight from above faintly illuminated the dark forest. Qi Hanzhou watched Ying Fusheng. Earlier, it seemed all attention was on the Eighth Prince, but in reality, the fierce attacks were likely not aimed at the Eighth Prince, but at Ying Fusheng.

Throughout the journey, many had pursued and tried to kill him. If Qi Hanzhou hadn't been following, Ying Fusheng's physical condition wouldn't have withstood those waves of assassins. Two princes trapped deep in the mountains could easily have been disguised as victims of a wild beast attack.

Ying Fusheng sat nearby, his clothing covered in grass clippings, making him look somewhat disheveled. He found a comfortable position to sit and carefully checked his condition; no major injuries, nothing that would impede him. He rationally assessed his state, only to turn around and find Qi Hanzhou staring at him.

Qi Hanzhou leaned against the edge of the pit, his black attire giving his face a sharp, cold look. He was positioned near the opening, surrounded by concealing shrubs. He didn't hold back his gaze, his eyes seeming to pierce through Ying Fusheng, probing for hidden intentions.

"You know we can't go down the mountain now."

Ying Fusheng looked at Qi Hanzhou and said calmly, "Does Ye Xuanjiu know your arrangements?"

"There are deployments within the North Mountain; they will take the Eighth Prince to a safe place," Qi Hanzhou said.

Ying Fusheng shifted to sit properly, his voice slightly breathless: "That's right. Going down now would be walking into a trap."

The mastermind employed an overt scheme. It was good that no one died, but issues like the factions and the court were enough to make the emperor suspicious of everyone equally.

If someone died, things would escalate, and the court would become even more chaotic.

Qi Hanzhou only looked at him, not responding immediately.

After a moment, he asked, "Is that all?"

"You asked earlier about the fatal wounds on the Eighth Prince because you knew the assassin's target wasn't the Eighth Prince, but you." Qi Hanzhou looked into Ying Fusheng's eyes, not letting any change escape him. "So when you saw the fatal wounds, you were surprised."

Ying Fusheng's expression didn't change. "Why would the Junior General say that?"

"It's not the first time, Sixth Prince."

Qi Hanzhou said, "Because you are very certain that the other side has a reason to kill you."

The arrow just now wasn't aimed at the Eighth Prince; it had been aimed at Ying Fusheng from start to finish.

The mastermind clearly intended to use the Xu family to conceal their tracks. Over the years, they had orchestrated a long-term scheme around the Xu family. Now that only the Deposed Crown Prince remains, the Xu family hasn't been completely uprooted. The emperor's support of the Eighth Prince was beneficial to the mastermind in every possible way. So at this time, there shouldn't have been an assassination, nor should the Eighth Prince be killed.

"Wanting to stir things up and divert suspicion from the Xu family—making the Eighth Prince a victim is the best move. But fatal wounds shouldn't have appeared." Qi Hanzhou spoke methodically, "The signal flare was for tracking because their plan was to use the Eighth Prince to divert suspicion while also taking him back."

So the appearance of fatal wounds was what prompted Ying Fusheng's hesitation.

An Eighth Prince who returns alive is more useful to the mastermind and the Xu family.

Qi Hanzhou was too sharp. Ying Fusheng half-lowered his eyes; just the slightest hint of doubt was enough for Qi Hanzhou to seize upon it.

"From beginning to end, this scheme—the mastermind only wanted to kill you," Qi Hanzhou said.

Killing a prince would throw the court into chaos.

The only target for this was the Sixth Prince.

The words had barely left his mouth when the space between them seemed filled only with the sound of their breathing. In the darkness, only the moonlight provided dim illumination. Ying Fusheng looked sideways at him; Qi Hanzhou stared without blinking. Facing such a gaze, Ying Fusheng, surprisingly, smiled.

That smile seemed to be one of relief and ease. For a moment, Qi Hanzhou didn't understand his intention.

It was as if knowing the mastermind wanted to kill him didn't matter to him at all.

"Instead of asking me this," Ying Fusheng's face was pale, but his demeanor showed no weakness, "let's talk about another matter. Junior General, who do you think in this scheme most wants the Eighth Prince dead?"

The Eighth Prince had only a few fatal wounds, but he had many other injuries.

Given the ruthlessness of the mastermind's assassins, if they truly wanted to kill the Eighth Prince, he wouldn't have lived until Ying Fusheng came to rescue him.

This explains why the Eighth Prince had many abrasions but only a few fatal wounds: because among the mastermind's people, someone had infiltrated who truly wanted the Eighth Prince dead.

Only one person came to Qi Hanzhou's mind—the Deposed Crown Prince.

"Some people, feeling they are abandoned, seek to eliminate rivals and become the mastermind's only choice," Ying Fusheng said calmly. Because they can't stand firm, and they fear losing everything.

He finished and then said, "Does the Junior General truly believe that my sending Shen Yunfei back to the camp was merely to report the situation?"

Qi Hanzhou's expression sharpened.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Since the mastermind wanted to stir things up at the Spring Hunt, he could also use the Spring Hunt to turn the tables.