When Jun Huailang returned to the Duke of Yongning’s residence, he was surprised to discover that the entire estate was undergoing a thorough cleaning on a grand scale.
The young servant stationed at the gate had several dark bruises on his face, and traces of blood remained at the corner of his mouth. The moment he saw Jun Huailang, he called out excitedly, “Young Master is back!”
Jun Huailang dismounted at the entrance and frowned.
“What happened to your face?”
For a gatekeeper to be injured this badly, something must have gone wrong inside the residence.
He handed the reins to the servant and strode into the estate.
“Young Master, don’t worry!” the servant hurried after him and explained. “A group of soldiers came to cause trouble just now, but they’ve all been taken away!”
Only then did Jun Huailang breathe a sigh of relief.
If that was the case, then the people who had arrived ahead of him must have been Xue Yan’s men.
“Who took them away?” he asked.
The servant thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“This servant doesn’t know. But their leader is in Madam’s courtyard right now. He said the place needed to be cleaned thoroughly.”
“…Cleaned?” Jun Huailang asked, puzzled.
The servant nodded.
“That leader hardly says a word. He simply said the place needed cleaning and immediately set his men to work. Seeing that, Madam assigned the rest of us our own tasks.”
By now, Jun Huailang had a fairly good idea of who had come.
Duan Shisi had always handled matters with meticulous care, but he understood absolutely nothing about social niceties. He was undoubtedly the sort of person who would do something like this.
Jun Huailang nodded.
“I understand. I’ll go see Madam now. In a moment, notify the steward of the accounts. Everyone in the residence has been frightened by what happened today. Tell him to distribute some reward money to all of you. Anyone who was injured should have their medical expenses covered by the estate.”
The gatekeeper was naturally overwhelmed with gratitude. He thanked Jun Huailang repeatedly.
Jun Huailang nodded and told him to go tether his horse before proceeding directly to his mother’s courtyard.
As he approached, he saw eunuch-like agents moving back and forth. They were unmistakably men from the Eastern Depot. There were also several Embroidered Uniform Guards among them, all of whom stopped to bow when they saw Jun Huailang.
He walked straight into the courtyard.
It was bustling with activity. The agents were carrying buckets of water and washing the ground. The stepping stones in the courtyard were wet, and faint traces of bright red blood could still be seen beneath the water, gradually being scrubbed away.
“Brother!”
Just then, Jun Huailang heard a clear, soft voice call out to him.
It was his younger sister.
Following the sound, he saw his mother and sister sitting at a stone table beside the little garden.
The moment Madam Jun saw him, she rose to her feet. Jun Linghuan jumped up from her seat and ran straight toward him.
Her pale yellow silk skirt fluttered softly behind her as she ran, like an apricot blossom falling from a branch—sweet and delicate as she tumbled into his arms.
They had not seen each other for more than a year.
Jun Huailang felt his eyes grow warm. He stepped forward to meet her and gathered Jun Linghuan into his arms.
“Brother, you’re back!” Jun Linghuan cried as she threw herself against him.
Jun Huailang raised a hand and gently stroked her soft hair.
“Your brother came back too late,” he said. “I failed to protect you and Mother. It’s my fault.”
Jun Linghuan shook her head against his chest.
“You’re not late, Brother,” she said. “Brother, I missed you so much.”
Jun Huailang’s eyes grew hot, yet he could not help smiling.
“I missed you too,” he said. “Linghuan, were you hurt just now? Were you frightened?”
She shook her head.
“No.” She answered obediently, “A big brother came to protect Mother and me. Don’t be afraid, Brother.”
Jun Huailang looked up and saw that Duan Shisi had stopped three paces in front of him.
After spending so much time with Xue Yan, Jun Huailang had gradually come to understand his subordinates to some extent.
Duan Shisi would never stand there like this simply to claim credit. He must have something to report.
Still holding Linghuan in his arms, Jun Huailang rose to his feet.
Duan Shisi clasped his saber and bowed.
“This subordinate failed to complete His Highness’s assignment. Once the aftermath has been dealt with, I will report to receive my punishment.”
Jun Huailang was confused.
“Xue… His Highness only asked you to protect everyone in the residence, didn’t he?” he asked. “You did very well. Why would you be punished?”
Duan Shisi remained silent.
Just then, Madam Jun approached them.
“Huailang,” she called with a smile.
Jun Huailang turned toward her and nodded.
“Mother.”
Madam Jun looked him up and down, examining him carefully before smiling.
“You’ve grown taller. You’re a grown man now.”
Jun Huailang smiled in response.
Madam Jun glanced at Duan Shisi before saying to her son, “This child doesn’t say much. I questioned him for quite some time just now, but all he would say was that he had failed to carry out his orders and had killed someone. I suppose his master forbade him from killing anyone inside the duke’s residence, so now he stubbornly insists on washing the main courtyard until it’s spotless.”
Jun Huailang understood.
Given Xue Yan’s temperament, he must certainly have ordered Duan Shisi not to let blood be spilled inside the duke’s residence.
That had to be the only reason Duan Shisi was so determined to wash every trace of blood from the courtyard.
Jun Huailang smiled helplessly and looked at him.
Duan Shisi had probably never even looked in a mirror. He had no idea what he looked like right now. His dark Feiyu uniform was stained with large patches of deep red—obviously dried blood, and a rather horrifying sight.
His face was also covered in broad smears of blood that had since dried. Several streaks ran across his left cheek, clearly made by someone wiping at it with a hand.
Jun Huailang could not help smiling.
“Duan Shisi,” he said.
Duan Shisi bowed to indicate that he was listening.
“You did very well this time. His Highness’s intention was to have you protect everyone in the duke’s residence. I imagine the situation was critical, and you had no choice but to kill those men.”
He knew that Duan Shisi’s greatest strength was following orders.
With that in mind, he stated plainly, “You don’t need to be punished.”
Duan Shisi had previously received some advice from Jinbao.
Jinbao had told him that things were different now. Although he was a subordinate of His Highness the Prince, the person whose words he ought to obey was now the Heir Apparent.
If the Heir Apparent was absent, then whatever the prince said went. But if the Heir Apparent gave an order, Duan Shisi had to obey him—even if his opinion conflicted with the prince’s.
Naturally, Duan Shisi had not understood.
At the time, Jinbao had looked at Duan Shisi’s cold, unyielding expression and immediately realized that his words had gone over the man’s head.
Jinbao knew he was as unyielding as a stone and understood nothing about such human subtleties.
Exasperated, Jinbao had asked him, “You’re His Highness the Prince’s subordinate, right?”
“Yes,” Duan Shisi had replied.
Jinbao continued, “And now His Highness the Prince is also the Heir Apparent’s subordinate. He has to obey the Heir Apparent’s orders. So you just need to listen to him, understand?”
This time, Duan Shisi had remembered.
Hearing Jun Huailang’s words now, he clasped his saber and replied, “Yes.”
Jun Huailang nodded.
“Good. There’s one more thing I need you to do.”
Duan Shisi waited silently for his next order.
Killing, assassination, gathering intelligence—these were the things he excelled at, abilities etched into his very bones.
But Jun Huailang merely held Jun Linghuan in his arms and smiled faintly.
“There’s no need to keep cleaning the courtyard,” he said. “Go wash your face.”
When Chancellor Xu fled the palace through a secret passage with the Fourth Prince, they were captured by Prince Guangling. Among the luggage they carried, the authorities discovered a forged imperial edict and the Emperor’s jade seal. Because they had fled in such a hurry, the forged edict was still unfinished, with only half of it written.
Their intentions were now perfectly clear.
Even before capturing Xue Yunhong, Xue Yan had already summoned all the civil and military officials to the palace and ordered them to wait there. As soon as the men were caught, he immediately announced the news to the world.
Every member of the Xu family, along with their faction, was promptly thrown into prison. Xue Yunhong, meanwhile, was imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court for plotting to usurp the throne, where he would await his punishment.
Now every official in the court knew that the Xu family and the Fourth Prince had no chance of making a comeback.
But who would hold power over the court now?
Naturally, it would be Prince Guangling.
Yet after dealing with the conspirators in front of everyone, Prince Guangling simply dismissed the assembled officials.
He said nothing about who would become the crown prince, nor did he tell them who would sit on the imperial throne at the next morning’s court session.
The officials were utterly bewildered, but none dared to ask.
They had been summoned together, only to be dismissed again by Xue Yan.
Xue Yan went to Emperor Qingping’s bedchamber.
Empress Jiang was keeping watch there.
The imperial physicians had been treating Emperor Qingping day and night with acupuncture and medicine. Two hours earlier, the emperor had finally managed to regain consciousness.
But even after waking, he could barely open his eyes. All four limbs remained paralyzed, and he could not speak.
When he regained consciousness, the Fourth Prince was already seated on his imperial throne, issuing orders.
When Xue Yan entered, the imperial physicians were desperately trying to find a way to get medicine into the emperor’s mouth.
However, Emperor Qingping already knew what had happened at court. He knew he had been poisoned and that Chang’an had been surrounded by a massive military force. Now he was clenching his mouth shut, refusing to take his medicine.
Since the emperor was conscious, the physicians naturally did not dare force his mouth open. The room was filled with imperial physicians and palace attendants, all kneeling and weeping as they begged him to show mercy and drink the medicine.
That was the scene Xue Yan encountered as he entered the hall.
Empress Jiang stood to one side, secretly wiping away her tears with a handkerchief. The entire hall was in chaos, and no one noticed that someone had arrived.
Then she raised her head and saw Xue Yan step inside.
“Prince Guangling!” she exclaimed. A moment later, an expression of incredulous delight spread across her face. “You’re here! Does that mean the situation at court… the situation at court has already…?”
Xue Yan nodded.
Empress Jiang paused. By then, Xue Yan had already passed her and entered the emperor’s bedchamber.
Inside, everyone was still trying to persuade Emperor Qingping to take his medicine. But the moment Xue Yan entered, the entire room fell silent.
Emperor Qingping struggled to turn his gaze in that direction.
There stood Xue Yan.
His son had grown so tall.
Sunlight streamed through the intricately carved golden lattice windows made of golden-thread nanmu wood, outlining his figure in a brilliant halo of light.
Emperor Qingping widened his eyes and stared at him without moving.
Xue Yan frowned and folded his arms.
“What are you looking at me for?” he asked. “If you’re thinking of begging me to spare your fourth son’s life, forget it. It’s not happening.”
Emperor Qingping simply continued staring at him.
He had never imagined that, among all his children, some would turn out to be incompetent while others would scheme relentlessly to harm him. In the end, the only one strong enough to avenge him was the child who had never been raised by his side.
Xue Yan glanced at the palace attendants and imperial physicians around them.
“What? Have you stopped giving him his medicine?”
The attendants hurriedly resumed their work.
This time, they discovered that the emperor was no longer keeping his mouth tightly shut and refusing to take the medicine.
The attendants breathed a sigh of relief. They understood that the matter worrying the emperor had been resolved by Prince Guangling.
Xue Yan casually pulled over a chair and sat down with his legs spread in a relaxed, commanding posture.
“However, you’d better be prepared,” he said. “You’ll have to remain emperor for a few more years. I’m not taking over the mess you’ve made.”
The emperor’s lips pressed together again.
He looked at Xue Yan.
Xue Yan crossed one leg over the other. In the magnificent, gold-adorned hall, he sat in the bright sunlight, noble and dignified. He unmistakably possessed the bearing of an emperor.
He curled his lips into a wicked smile.
“Because I have a wife now,” he said.
“A man, so there’s no way I can carry on the family line.”