The coachman immediately screamed in terror.
“Ahhh!!! Assassins!!!”
The black-clothed man let out a cold, vicious laugh and struck down the coachman with a single slash.
The other black-clothed men moved in perfect coordination and quickly killed all the guards surrounding the carriage.
One of them leapt onto the carriage and forcefully pulled open the curtain.
Under the cold, eerie moonlight, he clearly saw—
Inside the exquisitely decorated carriage, it was completely empty!
Not a single person was there!
He immediately sensed something was wrong and turned sharply.
Only to discover that on the hillside where they had originally set up an ambush, a large group of people was now standing there.
They were densely packed, their presence overwhelming. The cold glint of the swords in their hands reflected light that made one’s heart tremble.
The black-clothed men quickly gathered together, trying to break out of the situation.
But at this point, it was already too late…
An inn in the capital city.
Xiao Yun sat by the second-floor window, staring absentmindedly at the lights outside.
She had slipped out of the mansion again today—for the Third Prince.
But unexpectedly, after waiting the entire day outside the Third Prince’s residence, she never saw him.
Even the guards at the gate refused to report her presence!
Xiao Yun’s eyes flashed with anger.
Once the Third Prince falls in love with her, she will definitely teach these dog-eyed, people-who-look-down-on-others a proper lesson!
However…
How exactly was she supposed to make the Third Prince notice her and become completely devoted to her?
Feeling irritated, Xiao Yun downed the wine in her cup.
Just then, she overheard a conversation nearby.
“Did you hear? Just now, outside the city gate, there was an assassination attempt! A group of bandits tried to intercept the carriage of the First Prince!”
“Oh my heavens! That was right at the city gate—those bandits were insanely bold.”
“Exactly! But luckily, the city defense troops arrived in time. The bandits failed and were all arrested!”
After hearing this, Xiao Yun’s hand trembled around her wine cup.
The assassination attempt on Yunxing Dashi had actually failed…
Those city defense troops must have been lying in wait outside the city already.
Her mind spun rapidly.
No wonder that sickly First Prince had been going out early and returning late recently—he was hardly ever seen.
So he had already become suspicious.
Good thing she went out today.
No, she couldn’t return to the First Prince’s residence anymore.
She had to find another way out.
Zhenbei Marquis Manor.
“What should we do, my lord? All the men we sent out have been captured—none of them returned…”
The Marquise sat in a chair, her face full of worry.
The Marquis did not answer immediately. His eyes were lowered as his mind raced.
After a long while, he slowly said, “The worst-case scenario is that they confess I was the one who tried to harm Yunxing Dashi.”
“But that doesn’t matter. I can simply claim I had a personal grudge against Yunxing Dashi and sought revenge.”
“As for the matter of poisoning the First Prince in secret—very few people know about it. Nothing will happen.”
Hearing this, the Marquise finally let out a breath of relief.
“That’s good… that’s good.”
But at that moment, a servant rushed into the hall in a panic, sweat beading on his forehead.
“My lord! It’s bad, my lord! The First Prince has come with people to raid our manor!”
The Marquis suddenly stood up in shock.
“What?!”
At the gates of the Zhenbei Marquis Manor.
The First Prince, Xiao Jue, stood calmly, his handsome face expressionless.
Behind him was a large group of armored soldiers, their presence dense and intimidating.
The Marquis almost ran all the way to the gate.
“Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?!”
Xiao Jue’s voice was cold.
“Zhenbei Marquis attempted to harm me and sent people to assassinate Yunxing Dashi. The evidence and witnesses are conclusive!”
“By imperial decree—raid the manor!”
As he spoke, he took out a golden imperial edict from his sleeve.
The Marquis’s breath hitched. He forced himself to steady his emotions and tried to defend himself.
But Xiao Jue gave him no chance.
With a wave of his hand, two soldiers immediately stepped forward and restrained him tightly.
Xiao Jue strode forward and led the troops straight into the main courtyard.
Soon, he found a hidden chamber inside the study.
He opened the door.
Inside—sure enough, there were seven or eight dragon robes!
Xiao Jue let out a cold laugh.
Just as Father Emperor had said!
The black-clothed assassins who attempted to kill Yunxing had indeed confessed it was the Marquis.
However, they did not know about the secret poisoning of the First Prince by the Marquis and the Consort.
But that didn’t matter. This was merely an excuse.
An excuse to raid the Marquis household.
The true purpose was to find these dragon robes.
Only this could sentence the Marquis to death.
Prison.
“Zhenbei Marquis, do you confess?”
Xiao Jue sat in a chair.
The Marquis’s hair was disheveled, his body bound in chains, no longer bearing his former imposing presence.
A harsh laugh escaped his throat.
“Winner takes all, loser says nothing…”
“But I want to know—where exactly did I slip up?”
The Marquis raised his head, his tone sharp.
“Whether it was the poisoning or the dragon robes, I planned everything extremely carefully!”
“Even my own wife didn’t know about the dragon robes! How did you find out?!”
Xiao Jue lightly tapped the armrest, his expression unreadable in the dim prison light.
The poisoning and dragon robe matters—he had learned them by overhearing Sui Sui’s inner voice.
But who would believe that if he said it?
Seeing him remain silent, the Marquis grew even more agitated, struggling violently as the chains rattled.
He still could not understand. He had plotted for half his life—how had he been discovered?
Xiao Jue gave a cold snort.
He would never tell him it was because he heard his fifth younger sister’s thoughts.
The Marquis stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly sighed.
“Forget it. If you don’t want to say, so be it. At least on the road to the underworld, you will accompany me…”
He smiled darkly.
“I know why you came to interrogate me personally. You want the antidote, don’t you?”
Xiao Jue’s eyes lifted slightly, the prison’s faint firelight casting shadows across his gaze.
Seeing his reaction, the Marquis laughed even more wildly.
“I want you dead for certain, so there is no antidote.”
“What I feared most was someone being captured and tortured into revealing it, so from the start, I chose a slow poison with no cure!”
“You’ve been taking it for a year already!”
“You’re finished! Taking you down with me is worth it!”
The Marquis laughed viciously.
Xiao Jue’s jaw tightened.
He stood up and left the damp, dark prison without another word.
Of course he knew the Marquis was telling the truth.
Someone planning a rebellion would never leave themselves a way out.
But before leaving, he still instructed the jailers:
“Keep him alive. Do whatever else you want.”
Meaning—
As long as he doesn’t die, beat him as much as you like.
Xiao Jue returned to the First Prince’s residence.
Just as he stepped down from the carriage, Tang Xing rushed toward him anxiously.
“Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Xiao Yun has escaped!”