Xiao Changning looked at the motionless Jiang Yuzhou and called out, “Empress Sister?”
She threw down the bundle of weeds she was holding and stumbled over.
She shook Jiang Yuzhou, but the woman did not respond. She noticed Jiang Yuzhou’s body was burning hot. “A fever.”
“But… there’s no medicine or food here…”
Xiao Changning first lit a fire, then found a worn-out iron pot to boil water, feeding bowl after bowl of hot water to Jiang Yuzhou.
The situation was urgent, and she could not afford to hesitate.
Anxiously, she held Jiang Yuzhou in her arms, using her own cool body to lower the fever.
Xiao Changning’s mind replayed the earlier scene.
The assassin’s sword had been aimed at her, but the Empress had stepped in to block the attack, only to be wounded herself.
Now, Xiao Changning was consumed by endless guilt. If only she were stronger—not necessarily like a great hero, but at least capable of protecting herself—the Empress would not have been injured.
Thinking of this, she sniffled, took off her dried outer robe, and draped it over Jiang Yuzhou, tightening her embrace.
“Empress Sister, you must hold on.”
Xiao Changning looked up at the faint ray of sunlight above, her eyes gradually moistening.
As she lowered her head, she noticed the lake water seemed to be flowing.
Excited, Xiao Changning placed Jiang Yuzhou on the weeds and carefully moved her closer to the fire.
She scattered a handful of weeds into the water and quietly observed the current.
The weeds drifted downstream until they reached the wall, then sank beneath the water under her gaze, gradually disappearing from sight.
“The bottom of this lake is connected to the outside!”
Without hesitation, Xiao Changning jumped in to search for an exit.
The lake water was bone-chilling, and she couldn’t help but shiver. Yet, this was their only hope—she could not give up.
Holding her breath, Xiao Changning dove to the bottom, only to find a tiny opening. It was too narrow even for an arm to pass through, let alone a person.
Helpless, she could only return to the shore.
Wringing the water from her clothes, Xiao Changning suddenly thought of a clever idea. “Palace garments are different from commoners’ clothing.”
“If Bixia could follow the palace garments, he might find us.”
A faint smile touched her lips as she tore her outer skirt into small pieces and tossed them into the water.
The scraps of cloth, carrying the hope of survival, drifted away with the current.
Xiao Changning stood up, leaned against the wall, and held the feverish Jiang Yuzhou, doing her best to cool her down.
Meanwhile, thanks to the desperate resistance of the Imperial Forest Army, Murong Yao finally received reinforcements.
A large contingent of riders galloped out from the city gates, a dark mass of people heading straight for the Eastern Mountains.
With the advantage in numbers, the assassins were quickly subdued.
Murong Hao escaped under the cover of his death warriors.
Murong Yao surveyed the chaotic scene, his eyes scanning the blood-stained ground. “Changning!”
“Yuzhou! Changning!”
He called out several times, but only the howling wind and his own echoes answered him.
Xu Liangdi, supported by her maid, approached. “Bixia.”
“This humble consort hid from the assassins earlier and saw the Empress and Guifei fall off the cliff.”
Following the direction she pointed, Murong Yao rushed over in a panic.
He leaned over the edge of the cliff. “Changning!!! Yuzhou!!!”
Time passed, minute by minute, but no one answered him.
“Lu Ran, take some elite troops and follow me down the cliff to search for them.”
“Yes.” Lu Ran promptly gathered the men.
Prime Minister Jiang Xun approached from somewhere, “Bixia, I must also go and search.”
“Prime Minister, you are advanced in years. I will surely bring Yuzhou back unharmed.”
Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, the weeping concubines, and the court officials crouching and patting their chests in fear, Murong Yao spoke earnestly to the Prime Minister, “This situation still requires you to handle the aftermath.”
Jiang Xun sighed, “Very well, Bixia, rest assured.”
Murong Yao mounted his horse and galloped off with Lu Ran and the others, descending from the back of the mountain, searching inch by inch.
Defei, hiding in the carriage, watched Murong Yao’s receding figure and curled her lips into a smile.
Her maid, Lü Zhu, remarked, “Your Highness, falling from such a high cliff, Xiao Guifei is surely dead.”
Defei shook her head, “Until I see the body, I will not believe she is dead.”
“Are our people arranged?”
“Yes,” Lü Zhu replied. “As per Your Highness’s orders, they are all highly skilled elites. They set out before Bixia and will surely find them.”
“Good, but nothing is ever certain.”
Defei added, “Today, Murong Hao has also done me a favor. I shall kindly give him a reminder.”
She crooked her finger, and Lü Zhu understood, leaning close to her ear…
At the bottom of the cliff, Murong Yao called out while searching. They had practically turned the entire valley upside down, yet they still could not find the two.
Meanwhile, the traces of Xiao Changning and Jiang Yuzhou had long been obscured by the passing of blind bears.
Lu Ran comforted, “Bixia, the Empress is highly skilled in martial arts and will surely be unharmed.”
“Could they have already escaped?”
Exhausted, Murong Yao propped himself up, the veins at his temples throbbing. “Escaped?”
“Dispatch more troops. Search every household in the nearby villages, leave no corner unchecked.”
Just as Murong Yao swayed unsteadily, Lu Ran swiftly supported him. His hand touched Murong Yao’s back, feeling only a warm, wet fluid.
“Bixia, you are injured?”
“I am fine. Hurry and find them!” He pushed himself forward, taking two steps.
Lu Ran rushed up and urged, “Your servant and the Imperial Forest Army will search with all our might. Please, Bixia, return and tend to your wounds.”
“No!”
Murong Yao refused, “Once I lie down, I fear I will never want to rise again.”
“I am fine. The longer we delay, the more danger Changning faces. Find them first, then we shall see.”
Lu Ran opened his mouth but said nothing, knowing Bixia would not listen anyway.
Looking at his own palm, a treasonous decision formed in his mind.
His hand shot out like a swift wind, striking the back of Murong Yao’s neck.
Just before Murong Yao collapsed, he only saw Lu Ran say, “Bixia, rest and recover.”
Then, Murong Yao fell unconscious. Lu Ran had him escorted to the Prime Minister’s side.
Lu Ran gazed at the vast snowy expanse, then at the pine forest on the hillside, before finally looking toward the distant villages where cooking smoke curled upward.
“Form groups of four, disperse and search.”
The Imperial Forest Army quickly divided into several teams and scattered in all directions.
Meanwhile, the wounded Murong Hao staggered along a small stream, each step cracking the ice on the water’s surface.
He gulped down mouthfuls of the icy stream water, the cold piercing through his body.
Only in this way could he feel that he was alive.
Suddenly, he felt something blocking his throat.
“Cough, cough, cough.” His fingers traced the patterns. “Isn’t this the attire of the palace?”
In a flash, he thought of the Empress and Guifei Xiao who had fallen off the cliff.
“Could it be…”