Chapter 65: If one dies, we all die!

“They finally found this opportunity!” Du Yu slammed his fist against the back of his chair.

“What on earth happened?” the second son of the Du family asked, his voice trembling. “Wasn't the He family fighting an internal struggle? Wasn't Zhang Shaode assassinated by He Hui out of resentment? How has this suddenly dragged in things from three years ago?”

“They began to prosper three years ago—wasn't that because they were promoted and given official positions?”

The second son had long since separated from the main household, but their interests were still intertwined, and he felt a profound sense of dread.

However, they were completely in the dark regarding these matters.

Du Minghuan was overwhelmed with anxiety. “Go back first!”

The second son refused to leave, so Du Yu half-dragged, half-persuaded him out.

Once the man was far away, Du Yu returned, closed the door, and his face began to twitch.

“To provoke the Shen family at a time like this, and even step on their toes—we are already beyond our ability to defend ourselves!”

Yesterday, they had been caught in a compromising position by the Shen family at Guang'an Temple, and before the cause and effect could even be investigated, Yan Bei had immediately reported the matter to the imperial court.

He had never imagined that after leaping to become high-ranking officials in the court, the Du family would encounter such a moment of being besieged from all sides!

“Father, is the Prince truly not giving us a chance?!” He walked quickly around the table to stand before Du Minghuan.

After all, since the very beginning of these events, they had considered the possibility of being exposed and had prepared for the worst-case scenario.

But they had assumed that even if that moment came, Yan Bei would never be willing to abandon a useful tool like the Du family and would surely lend a hand.

At most, they would suffer some hardship at Yan Bei's hands to ensure better leverage over the Du family in the future; their safety would not be an issue.

But this time, not only did Yan Bei refuse to help, he had taken the lead in exposing the matter, which meant the Du family had no way out!

The Prince's mansion, which held military power, was his greatest backer. Now that he was gone, what would he do? What would become of the Du family?

“Go to the Old Madam immediately. Have her write a letter personally to the Grand Consort of Mobei and ask her to intercede on our behalf!” Du Minghuan waved his hand forcefully. “There is no other way now; we can only try to find a solution through the Grand Consort!”

“But Mobei is over a thousand miles away. Will there be enough time?!” Du Yu was full of disagreement. “And Father, do you truly believe that given the Prince's temperament, the Grand Consort's intervention can change his mind?”

“Then what other way do you have?!”

Du Minghuan slammed the table. “The Du family has been living off past glories for two generations! We have no family estate and no connections. Even those relationships we forged over the last three years—which one can compare to Prince Jingyang? Besides, none of them are fools. Today the Emperor has issued an edict, and the Shen family has entered the fray. Who would dare take this on? Who would dare oppose them?”

Du Yu clenched his jaw tight, but he could no longer argue.

After a moment, he raised his head again. “If there is truly no other way, then we have no choice but to ask *that person* to step forward.”

Du Minghuan paused. “What do you mean?”

Du Yu said, “We are also working for someone. Although we received silver and official positions, did they not benefit as well? Why should we be the ones taking the bullets in the front while they hide safely in the back? Murdering the Princess of Yongjia is a capital crime involving collective responsibility. With the Prince's mansion and the Shen family applying pressure, in the end, it won't just be one or two people dying!”

Du Minghuan's facial muscles twitched. He turned his back and stared at the peony painting on the wall.

“No, they won't. The silver and official positions back then were used to buy our lives.”

“At least we shouldn't just sit here and wait for death, should we?” Du Yu walked around to face him. “What harm is there in trying to find them? Even if they bought our lives, they must still have a use for us, right? Otherwise, why would they send me to find the Clan Administration's tortoise medallion from Hu Wei?”

Du Yu took a deep breath and continued, “They spent a massive amount of silver to assassinate the Princess, and then three years later, they suddenly let you obtain the medallion to enter the Clan Administration. There must be another motive behind it.

“Even if they didn't give Father any reason at the time, can't Father see by now that the deaths of the Princess of Yongjia and Prince Duan are deeply connected to the concept of imperial power?”

Du Minghuan averted his gaze and sat down.

Did Du Yu even need to say these things?

When the person who assigned the task met them, they immediately presented banknotes, land deeds, and house deeds worth over a hundred thousand taels.

Such a massive sum, along with the golden fish pouch at their waist, spoke volumes about their immense background.

As for the official positions, the other party had said there would be benefits for him. Since Du Minghuan hadn't even seen the person's face, he hadn't taken it seriously.

Given the Du family's situation at the time—where they would proactively bow and greet even a fifth-rank official holding actual power—that sum of silver alone was enough to make him abandon all principles.

Although he had never met the Princess of Yongjia, the information provided made it clear she was merely a sixteen-year-old girl who had recently given birth.

He had long heard of how much this precious royal daughter was pampered, and he knew she had been taught by famous masters since childhood, but so what?

A royal woman was still a woman.

She was not a prince, after all.

Once she was killed, she was killed. As long as the preparations were thorough, who would investigate afterward?

Even Prince Duan—he wasn't old; was he really so worried about not having an heir? He wouldn't truly die of grief over a daughter, would he?

Furthermore, the person had stated on the spot that they would handle the aftermath regarding Prince Duan.

So, he had passed the portrait provided by that person to He Jianzhong.

The portrait was actually quite blurry, with only simple outlines of the facial features.

But a royal princess was still easy to recognize among a crowd.

Especially when the target was completely caught off guard.

Nevertheless, Du Minghuan had made the most complete preparations; he demanded that He Jianzhong thoroughly track the Princess's movements.

Coincidentally, on the first day of the seventh month, the person provided a clue, saying that the Princess of Yongjia was likely about to return.

He revealed this to He Jianzhong, who then obtained the exact route of her return through the Liu family.

When Du Minghuan arranged all of this, he was single-minded, determined to do it perfectly to ensure no traces were left behind.

That was why even the reward money given to the He and Zhang families was at the maximum possible amount.

But on the very night Yongjia was killed, Prince Duan died at the same time—when the news arrived, he was stunned!

The death of the Princess was not a major issue, but Prince Duan held a pivotal position in the court, and he had died too!

How could this be a trivial matter?

It turned out that when the person said they would "handle the aftermath" for Prince Duan, they meant they would kill him as well?!

To this day, Du Minghuan still remembered the bone-chilling coldness of that moment.

If the person behind this wanted him to kill Yongjia, could it really be for some trivial reason?

Absolutely not!

This was a crime so grave he wasn't even qualified to touch it!

The small Du family, which was now nothing more than an empty shell of a Marquis's manor, could not possibly be involved in such a thing.

Therefore, the following night, he practically dragged his legs to meet that person.

The person was in a very good mood, saying the job had been done well. They even proactively mentioned that since Prince Duan was dead, the Du family would be allowed to take charge of the Imperial City Guard in the future.

As long as he followed orders, there would be more benefits to come.

Seeing his hesitation, they reassured him, saying that the cleanup in the imperial court would be handled and he didn't need to worry.

At this point, how could Du Minghuan not guess the underlying scheme?

He had unwittingly become a knife aimed at the imperial power!

But a few days later, the imperial appointment indeed arrived. Prince Duan's death had been sudden, leaving the Imperial City Guard without a leader, necessitating an appointment from within the guard's own ranks. The court believed the Du family were descendants of meritorious officials and that Du Minghuan had been personally promoted by Prince Duan, making him the most suitable successor.

The transfer of power was so seamless; did it even need to be said how powerful the person behind this was?

Even if Du Minghuan felt a flicker of lingering fear and terror, it was utterly suppressed by the overwhelming surge of dread and apprehension!

He could not bear the charge of murdering a princess, but he could certainly not afford to offend this person!

The princess was already dead, but the person controlling the Du family's fate was still alive!

"Father?"

Du Yu's voice pulled Du Minghuan back from his stupor.

He looked up. "It's impossible. They will never help."

"Who is it, then?" Du Yu moved closer, his voice laced with suppressed excitement. "If they told us to find evidence against the Shen family, it shouldn't be the Shens. Is it the Mu family, or the Chu family?"

Du Minghuan met his gaze, then quickly looked away.

Then, he took one of Du Yu's hands and wrote a single character in his palm.

Du Yu pulled his hand back as if burned. "...Are you sure?"

"They have never shown their faces, but I will not guess wrong." Du Minghuan looked at him deeply. "I once picked up one of their beaded strings. I have seen that string before at a palace banquet."

Du Yu watched him with bated breath, then stood straight. "It seems this matter is even more complex than I imagined. In that case, I think we must go see him! Prince Jingyang is already acting very strangely. If the only possibility is that he is connected to the killer, would that person dare not act?

"Is he truly not afraid that we will defect?"

"What would be the benefit of defecting?" Du Minghuan said. "Do you think we would survive that way? Don't be foolish! They have planned everything long ago!"

"Then shouldn't we find a way to drag this person out so we can face it together?" Du Yu's eyes reddened. "Since we can't seek an opportunity from the Prince, then if we die, we die together; if we live, we live together!"

Hearing this, Du Minghuan could no longer sit still.

He stood up and paced twice, stopping beneath the curtain. He turned to look at his son, walked to the wall, took down the peony painting, pulled out the plug at one end of the scroll, and produced an oval copper token.

He gritted his teeth and gripped it. "Go prepare! After dark, follow me out through the back gate."

...

Otherwise, how could a teenager be chosen by Yan Bei to serve as a personal attendant?

Yu Ting had recorded every word and action of Xu He over the past few days, as well as the words spoken by the people he met, and told Yue Tang everything in detail.

Yue Tang then wrote down everything he described.

The Du family's immense effort, even to the point of risking a fallout, to insist on binding Xu He to them as an adopted son, likely had long-term uses.

However, when Shen Li came knocking that day, Du Yu did not rush back to the Marquis's manor to deal with it; instead, he hurried to the Xu residence to have Xu He search for the Clan Administration's tortoise medallions on the officials. This was highly unusual.

The Du family had no connection to the Clan Administration.

Therefore, they must be acting on orders.

So why did the person behind this suddenly have them retrieve the medallions?

While she was pondering under the lamp, Yu Ting returned.

"Reporting to Madam, Brother Wei just sent word from the guards the Prince sent to ambush the Du residence. He said that after dark, Du Minghuan had a carriage prepared and brought it to the back gate. They suspect they intend to leave at night. Please decide, Madam."

Hearing this, Yue Tang quickly put down her pen and stood up. "How long ago?"

Yu Ting thought for a moment. "Judging by the travel time, at most fifteen minutes ago."

Yue Tang looked at the sky and nodded. "Excellent. Tell Qin Niang I am going out for a bit!"

With that, she grabbed her sword and, without even using the door, leaped directly out of the window.

Yu Ting had not expected to see such skill from her. He was stunned for a moment before closing the door and stepping out.

...

After exiting the Xu family walls, Yue Tang stripped off her outer coat to reveal her night-traveling attire, put on a mask, and headed straight for the Du family's back gate.

Having been consuming the medicinal soup prepared by Hua Lin daily, her physical strength had recovered significantly compared to when she killed Zhang Shaode.

In a short time, she arrived beneath the Du family walls. She blew a whistle, and Wei Zhang emerged!

"Master! The Du father and son have indeed set out!

"The two went separately. Du Yu rode a horse out through the front gate first, followed by Du Minghuan in a carriage through the back gate. Fortunately, the Prince provided extra men; both father and son are being followed. They just reported that after passing the street corner, they both headed in the same direction!"

"How far have they gone?!"

"They have already left this street!"

"Pursue!"

The two of them took to the streets one after the other.

Halfway there, the Prince's guards were waiting to pass on information: "Keep going straight along this road. If you move quickly, you can catch up!"

With that, they led the way ahead.

Yue Tang nodded. She said nothing, but she inwardly admired the professionalism of the Prince's guards; their attentiveness saved a lot of trouble.

But they hadn't gone far before they saw a carriage parked by the roadside.

The three of them stopped abruptly.

The guard from before stepped forward to inspect it, then immediately said, "It's the Du family's carriage! But the people have abandoned it!"

Yue Tang looked at the dense residential buildings surrounding them. "Cunning!"

After a moment's thought, she climbed onto the wall, looking at the scattered lights around them. She then pointed to a dark alleyway. "Go through there!"

Wei Zhang and the other guard looked, nodded, and leaped down after her.

Since they had abandoned the carriage to travel on foot, the location where the carriage was parked could not be their destination.

Places with lights were inconvenient for hiding and could also be ruled out first.

A dark alleyway was not only good for concealing their forms but could also lead to other places, making it the natural first choice!

The alley was winding and devoid of any light, yet it was completely unobstructed.

The three of them ran quickly and soon reached the end.

The end was a T-junction; one way was back the way they came, while the other paths split left and right.

Yue Tang stopped in the middle of the path, looked left and right, and finally walked toward a residence on the right with vines covering the walls.

Standing beneath the gate, she looked down at two fallen leaves at her feet, bent over to pick them up, and after inspecting them, immediately waved to Wei Zhang. "Split up and infiltrate the left and right sides!"

She then instructed the guard, "Contact the other brothers and have them rush here as quickly as possible! Then enter through the middle path!"