"Giddy up!" Zhong Li galloped her horse on the outskirts of Jincheng.
She held the former Emperor's decree, and her passage into the city was unimpeded. Due to the former Emperor's accident, the Shen family's rebellion, and the disaster in Linzhou, the entire Jincheng was under martial law. Most of the Imperial Guards had been deployed outside the city to guard Shen Nong, leaving very few soldiers to man the gates. The vast majority had followed Ling Wei to Linzhou.
When Zhong Li arrived at the Prince Xian's residence, someone was already waiting at the entrance.
She recognized the person as Yin Shuang, who had previously impersonated Xing'er and later helped care for Wang Mei.
"Lord Zhong!" Upon seeing Zhong Li, Yin Shuang suppressed the anxiety on her face and stepped forward.
Zhong Li dismounted and asked directly, "According to Mo Cang's estimation, when are the Empress's hidden guards likely to make their move to seize the Prince?"
Yin Shuang had initially intended to explain the situation in detail to Zhong Li. Upon hearing her question, she paused for a moment before understanding why her master cherished the person before her so dearly.
Her intelligence and decisiveness were truly extraordinary.
"Replying to Lord Zhong, the master believes it is highly possible that the Empress's hidden guards will make their move tonight."
Zhong Li stopped, looked up at the horizon. The sunset glow was deepening, and though the snow had stopped, there was not a trace of warmth.
"Do you know all of Mo Cang's hidden contacts in Jincheng?" she asked, after a moment of thought, turning to Yin Shuang.
"Yes!" Yin Shuang replied.
Zhong Li took out the Fei Yuan Pavilion token from her embrace and handed it to Yin Shuang. "Yin Shuang, by whatever means necessary, contact all hidden informants in Jincheng. Tonight, we fight with our backs to the river. Defend Prince Xian's residence with our lives and ensure the Prince's safety!"
"Yin Shuang accepts the order!" Yin Shuang bowed, mounted Zhong Li's horse, flicked the reins, and galloped away in a cloud of dust.
Zhong Li stood at the entrance of the residence, watching the figure grow smaller and eventually disappear. She then turned and entered the mansion.
The interior was as usual. The servants were busy with their own tasks, seemingly unaware of any danger. Two elderly maids were happily discussing the quality of fabrics from a particular shop.
It was said that only when the enemy is at the gates do people understand the meaning of devastation. The Emperor of Nan Yue had met with an accident, a fact that was being concealed, and it was the common people who suffered.
"Lord Zhong, why have you come?" the butler greeted Zhong Li.
Zhong Li asked, "Where is the Prince?"
"The Prince is in the study. Is something wrong?"
"I need to see the Prince," Zhong Li replied.
"Shall I lead you there, old sir?" the butler offered.
Zhong Li shook her head and said, "It will be dark soon. Butler, you should quickly organize the affairs of the household. It may get noisy tonight, so I hope you can adapt accordingly."
The butler was taken aback.
Zhong Li said no more, knowing that Lu Wuxie's chosen people would not be mistaken.
Indeed, in the time it takes for a finger snap, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from behind her. The butler had long since vanished, and those gossiping elderly maids were nowhere to be found.
Knock, knock, knock.
Zhong Li arrived at the study door and raised her hand to knock.
"Who is it?" a muffled voice sounded from within, accompanied by faint coughs.
Zhong Li knew that Prince Xian's health had been ruined by the chat grass. She pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "Your Highness, it is I, Zhong Li."
With that, she pushed the door open and entered.
The moon shifted, trees rustled, and the cold wind made the fallen leaves on the ground rustle. The snow, which had only recently stopped, began to fall again.
Zhong Li emerged from the former Princess Consort's room, looking at the snowflakes clinging to the ice-covered ground. In a moment, as if blown by the wind, the snowflakes stirred gently.
Her gaze sharpened. The next instant, a shout of "Kill!" echoed from outside the residence.
Instantly, several grappling hooks attached themselves to the sturdy outer wall of the residence. Hidden guards, who had been waiting outside, ascended into the air like invading insects, climbing the grappling hooks towards the mansion.
Zhong Li shouted towards the rooftop, "Yin Shuang!"
Upon hearing her, Yin Shuang took out a cold flame torch and set it off.
Simultaneously, many servants of the residence, who had been silent moments before, surged into the courtyard. At the butler's command, all the servants pulled money pouches from their waists and scattered the pre-prepared mung beans and red beans onto the ground.
The hidden guards who rushed into the residence fell to the ground, scattering in all directions before they could even draw their weapons.
"All Fei Yuan Pavilion members, release the arrows!" Yin Shuang roared, as the servants of the residence hid inside the rockeries within the courtyard.
A single cold arrow was loosed, followed by thousands upon thousands of arrows blanketing the sky.
In an instant, screams, roars, and the clash of weapons filled the silent night.
The people outside the wall seemed to understand the ambush within the residence. With a piercing whistle, the hidden guards inside the residence ceased their desperate efforts. They found places to hide, while several flaming arrows flew over the wall and into the residence.
It was winter, and the residence had dry wood.
In the blink of an eye, the garden of Prince Xian's residence was engulfed in roaring flames.
"Fire! Fire!" the butler shouted, as the servants hidden in the rockeries emerged with prepared basins to extinguish the blaze.
The black-clad figures hidden in the shadows saw an opportunity and rushed out, beginning their slaughter.
Yin Shuang loosed another cold flame torch, and the Fei Yuan Pavilion members hidden in the surroundings also rushed out to engage the black-clad figures.
The gates of Prince Xian's residence were being battered. Without the jurisdiction of the Jingzhao Prefecture, they acted like the most despicable bandits—overbearing, savage, and brutal.
"Lord Zhong!" Yin Shuang leaped down from the eaves and walked to Zhong Li's side. "We are short of manpower, and there is not enough time. We can only..."
"How many people do they have?" Zhong Li asked.
Yin Shuang replied, "According to Fei Yuan Pavilion's investigation, the Empress has over two hundred hidden guards. We have killed eighty so far, leaving about one hundred and twenty. Eighty of them have stormed the residence now, and forty are waiting outside."
Zhong Li frowned, looking at the household servants and Fei Yuan Pavilion members entangled with the black-clad figures. She began to calculate.
Shen Nong's subordinates were all experts. While the members of Fei Yuan Pavilion possessed some skills, they were primarily couriers. In terms of evasion and Qinggong, they were no match for the hidden guards. However, in terms of direct combat, they were merely like ants trying to block a chariot.
"Open the gates!" Zhong Li commanded.
"What?" Yin Shuang was greatly surprised.
Zhong Li closed her eyes and said, "Go to the stable and bring out all the fine horses in the residence, then open the gates!"
Yin Shuang did not know what Zhong Li intended to do, but she knew that she must have her reasons for doing so.
Yin Shuang bowed and led two subordinates towards the backyard.
A quarter of an hour later, more than a dozen fine horses were led into the courtyard of the Prince's residence.
Zhong Li whispered something into Yin Shuang's ear, then chose the most robust horse from the rear row and mounted it.
"Open the gates, release the arrows!" she ordered.
Yin Shuang gave an order to the servants standing at the gate and, leading several archers behind her, aimed cold arrows at the horses' hindquarters.
The horses, in pain, whinnied. The gates were opened, and the hidden guards who were battering them, still bewildered, were trampled to death under the hooves of the charging horses.
"A surprise attack?" Not far from Prince Xian's residence, a black-clad figure holding a judge's brush sat on his horse, observing the scene. Seeing nearly half of his subordinates fall, he narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on a fair-faced woman dressed in a scholar's robe.
He recognized her: Zhong Li, the Junior Minister of Dali Temple.
He smiled, tightened his grip on the reins, clenched his weapon, and galloped directly towards her.