Zhou Huai turned his head away, no longer looking at His Highness the Prince of Jing.
His Highness the Prince of Jing let out a cold laugh. His gaze fell upon the young woman kneeling in the center, cradling an infant in her arms.
Seeing His Highness the Prince of Jing looking at the baby, the young woman trembled all over and hugged the infant tighter.
His Highness the Prince of Jing sneered and said, "Zhou Huai, is that infant your grandson? It looks like it hasn't been born for more than a few days, has it?"
Zhou Huai trembled all over. He looked at His Highness the Prince of Jing and said angrily, "Your Highness, sin does not extend to the innocent. If you wish to kill or torture, do so to me alone."
"Sin does not extend to the innocent? Zhou Huai, do you think saying this to me now is of any use?" His Highness the Prince of Jing said coldly.
"Bring him here."
Soon, the guards snatched the infant from the young woman's arms. The young woman tried to snatch him back but was kicked aside by a guard.
"Lin'er, my Lin'er..." the young woman cried.
Zhou Huai also grew anxious. "Xue Changjing, what kind of skill is this, threatening me with an infant?"
His Highness the Prince of Jing smiled, his smile chillingly cold. "I truly have no great skill, but now the victor is king and the vanquished is a bandit. Zhou Huai, I won't make you say too much. Just tell me who is behind you, and not only will I spare your grandson, but I will also reinstate you as Minister of Personnel. How about it?"
Zhou Huai trembled all over. The young woman, from whom the infant had been snatched, crawled towards Zhou Huai, weeping, "Father, please have pity on Lin'er. He is only three months old..."
"Silence," Zhou Huai roared.
The young woman could only weep.
His Highness the Prince of Jing looked at the crying infant in his arms and said, "Zhou Huai, your grandson is truly adorable."
Zhou Huai clenched his lower lip. "Your Highness, come at me. I do not fear being sliced into a thousand pieces. Do you not find it shameful to threaten an infant?"
"Shameful? I do not think so," His Highness the Prince of Jing said coldly.
He reached his hand towards the infant in his arms. The infant seemed to sense danger and began to wail.
"Master, you should just tell him. Lin'er is our grandson!" the woman beside him finally could not help but say.
"Silence," Zhou Huai said angrily.
Did he not care for his grandson? Did he not mind watching his grandson be killed? But if he spoke, could he save his entire family?
He was thinking too simply. It was merely a matter of dying sooner or later.
Zhou Huai turned around and suddenly knelt before the young woman, kowtowing. "Lijun, it is Father's fault."
Hearing this, the young woman trembled all over and collapsed to the ground. "Father, you..."
Zhou Huai turned back to face Xue Changjing and said word by word, "Your Highness, you need not threaten me. The moment I embarked on this path, I knew this day would come."
Xue Changjing's gaze turned icy. "It seems you do not care about your grandson?"
Zhou Huai said nothing more, merely turning his head away, no longer looking at the infant in Xue Changjing's arms.
Xue Changjing sneered. "Since that is the case, I have no need to show you any mercy."
As he spoke, he tightly gripped the infant's neck.
The young woman cried out, "No!" and then fainted.
"No, I know, I know," Zhou Huai's wife suddenly said.
Xue Changjing stopped and looked at Zhou Huai's wife. "You know?"
Madam Zhou nodded. "This concubine knows."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai sneered. "You know? How can you know?"
Madam Zhou looked at Zhou Huai, filled with hatred. "Zhou Huai, for the sake of righteousness, you disregard Lin'er, but I cannot. How could I not know? That day, I saw."
Zhou Huai froze. "You... you saw what?"
"The person's appearance, he..." But before Madam Zhou could finish, Zhou Huai suddenly grabbed her by the neck, with great force.
Seeing this, Xue Changjing roared, "Pull them apart! Pull them apart!"
By the time Zhou Huai and Madam Zhou were separated, Madam Zhou had already fainted.
A guard went to check Madam Zhou's breathing. After a moment, he approached Xue Changjing and said, "Your Highness, Madam Zhou is no more."
Zhou Huai let out a burst of laughter. Xue Changjing was furious. "Zhou Huai, you are truly heartless, to even strangle your own wife."
Zhou Huai looked at Xue Changjing coldly. "Xue Changjing, you will never get the news. You, Xue Changjing, will never be secure, for you have ghosts in your heart."
"Silence," Xue Changjing roared.
Zhou Huai not only did not silence himself but continued, "That throne is not something someone of your impure bloodline can covet."
"Silence! I told you to be silent!" Xue Changjing roared.
"Why should I be silent? This is an indisputable fact. You..."
But Zhou Huai could say no more, for Xue Changjing had pierced his chest with a sword. A mouthful of blood sprayed out. He laughed with extreme satisfaction. "Xue... Xue Changjing, the secret you have kept... will soon be pub..."
"Silence..." Xue Changjing drove the sword through Zhou Huai's chest again.
Zhou Huai fell to the ground.
Everyone present was stunned, not only by Zhou Huai's death but because they had heard things they should not have.
Xue Changjing threw his sword to the ground, turned, looked at the infant in his arms, and then tossed him into the air. No one dared to catch the infant, watching him fall.
Xue Zining could bear it no longer and was about to make a move when suddenly someone moved before her.
A dark figure dispersed in the air, his wide cloak unfurling like a darkly beautiful flower.
"Mr. Li, you..." Xue Changjing's gaze turned cold as he saw the infant in Mr. Li's arms.
"Your Highness, the child is innocent. this bloodshed should not fall upon his head," Mr. Li said faintly.
Xue Changjing looked at him coldly. "Mr. Li, if the roots are not removed, the spring breeze will blow them back."
"Your Highness, you are the destined one. No one can shake you."
Xue Changjing was taken aback. The coldness in Mr. Li's eyes had lessened considerably. "I will leave the handling of this place to you, Mr. Li."
"Welcome, Your Highness!" Mr. Li bowed.
Xue Changjing left.
For the first time, Xue Zining found Mr. Li rather strange. She had not expected him to save this infant.
"Mr. Li, how should these people be dealt with?" a guard asked.
"Those above the age of ten are to be sent to the army. The women are to be released, but the Minister's mansion is sealed," Mr. Li said, then walked forward and handed the infant to the young woman.
The young woman had already woken up. Tremblingly, she took the infant and then kowtowed to him. "Thank you, Mr. Li."
Mr. Li said nothing, turned, and left.
Xue Zining quickly followed him. As Mr. Li was about to board his carriage, he remembered something and turned back. Xue Zining was looking at him.
This was the first time she had seen Mr. Li's face. Although his black cloak obscured his features from the nose up, she could tell from the shape of his lips that Mr. Li was not unattractive.