Chapter 27: The Kid's Mother!

When Du Yu's roar rang out, Yue Tang had already leaped toward the western wall of the temple with Huo Yun.

Hua Lin was waiting in the adjacent alley with his carriage; once he picked up Yue Tang, he would drive away from the area at top speed.

However, since the Du family had prepared for this, the retreat would naturally not be easy.

A succession of arrows whistled past them, grazing their bodies several times. By the time they made an emergency escape onto the roof of a civilian residence outside the western wall, Yue Tang had already felt the dampness on Xiao Huo's arm.

"It's fine! Uncle Hua gave me hemostatic medicine!" Xiao Huo fished out a pill and swallowed it, then reached out to help Yue Tang climb over the wall.

Yue Tang waved him off. "No rush."

Xiao Huo looked down and was startled. "Princess!"

From the very first day his master began teaching him skills, he had been told that his primary duty, no matter the circumstances, was to ensure the Princess's safety. Over the past three years, prioritizing Yue Tang's safety had become his instinct, which was why she had not been hit during their flight.

But her body was currently weak and her breathing was erratic; it was clear her condition was not good.

"Just take it slow," Yue Tang signaled, telling him not to panic.

When Wei Zhang had carried her to find Hua Lin back then, Hua Lin had said she had a one-in-ten chance of survival. Even if she lived, she would need three to four years of careful breathing exercises to recover.

But Yue Tang could not wait. She feared that if she waited longer, the situation would become even more uncontrollable, so as soon as the three years were up, she had come to the capital.

Escaping from an ambush of dozens of assassins was part of the plan, but her body was nonetheless struggling.

Yet, it was nothing major.

After all, she wanted to survive more than anyone else.

To live and avenge all those who had died.

Just now, she had burned the memorial text written for A-Li right in front of Zhang Shaode, using the lives of the He and Zhang families as an offering. Perhaps this would provide a small measure of solace to little A-Li in the cold underworld.

Xiao Huo sat with her in the corner of the roof, allowing her to lean against him.

At that moment, the sound of rolling wheels rose from below. The two of them held their breath and looked down.

A carriage that had been parked ahead was now driving toward the temple gate.

Then, a middle-aged man in satin clothing stepped out first, bending down to set a footstool, followed immediately by another person.

This person was tall and elegant. Once he landed, he entered the temple gates without pausing his stride.

Yue Tang froze in her crouching position, motionless, like a statue in the wind.

Huo Yun noticed her abnormality. "Princess?"

Yue Tang withdrew her gaze, her brow furrowing deeply. "How strange."

"What is it?"

"I think I saw A-Qi again."

She looked up again, gazing at the figure ahead.

That silhouette, gradually blurring into the night, still appeared tall and upright.

Huo Yun thought for a moment. "Shall I go and take a look?"

"No need! It is dangerous here; we must leave as soon as possible."

She turned quickly.

But before she could steady herself, her body swayed weakly, and she tumbled right off the wall!

"Master!"

Huo Yun scrambled to roll down after her.

"Move!"

At that exact moment, someone moved like a flash of lightning, beating him to it and catching the unconscious Yue Tang first.

Huo Yun was shocked. "Master?!"

Wei Zhang frowned. "To dare instigate something so dangerous—I'll hold you accountable when we get back!"

Huo Yun had no way to defend himself. Seeing that the man had already left, he could only scramble to follow.

...

By the time He Hui led his men into the Buddhist hall, Yan Bei had already arrived at the temple gate.

However, he remained stationary until the sound of arrows erupted within the temple and the situation began to descend into chaos. Only then did he quickly enter the temple gates, standing in a corner to observe the scene.

There were few monks in the temple, but the Imperial Bureau of Investigation was everywhere.

Gao An asked, "Should I report this?"

"No need! Wait for me outside."

Yan Bei pulled a kerchief from his robes to tie around his face and vanished into the night in the blink of an eye. Several shadow guards followed him into the darkness.

The Buddhist hall where the incident occurred had already been occupied by the men led by Du Yu.

Several torches were stuck into the ground beneath the courtyard walls, illuminating several corpses lying in the yard with stark clarity.

A trail of blood extended from beneath the corpse of a middle-aged man in the center, leading straight into the hall.

Yan Bei had little impression of officials below the third rank, but based on observation, he could conclude that this man was indeed Zhang Shaode. The male corpse beside him was dressed in black and was naturally He Hui.

He crouched under the eaves for a moment, waiting for the right opportunity to enter the Buddhist hall.

The hall itself was empty of people, but the stench of blood was overwhelming, and the overturned ritual offerings on the floor made it almost impossible to step.

With the shadow guards providing slight cover in the dark, he reached the area where the bloodstains were most concentrated.

When he looked up, there was a massive hole in the ceiling directly above him.

Du Yu's shouts of chasing someone were still faintly audible, his voice low but laced with fury.

Yan Bei looked back at the blood on the ground, his gaze deepening.

Three years ago, in the late Emperor's decree to recall him to the capital to assist in governance, a specific sentence had been added: upon returning to the capital, the military command of the Jingyang Prince's Mansion would not be revoked, and Yan Bei would also serve as the Privy Councilor with the power to mobilize troops.

In other words, the late Emperor had broken a precedent that had never existed in this dynasty.

Such immense favor was precisely why Yan Bei felt deep suspicion and the reason he had secretly entered the capital to investigate.

Currently, the Shen, Mu, and Chu families divided power in the imperial court, constantly vying for dominance, while only the Jingyang Prince's Mansion followed the late Emperor's will, providing unwavering support to the Emperor.

In his three years in the capital, he had avoided forming ties with any faction.

The only reason he maintained a kinship with the Du family was that the Du family did not collude with those other factions.

The He and Zhang families were subordinates of the Du family; if the Du father and son wanted to kill them, they had plenty of reasons, and Yan Bei had no intention of intervening.

However, according to the Du family's calculations, their conspiracy against Zhang Shaode should have been realized, and with He Hui's death being a natural consequence, this farce should have ended immediately. Who was Du Yu chasing now? And how did that hole in the ceiling get there?

The night wind outside stirred the torches, and the flickering light illuminated an overturned brazier in front of him.

Then, two scraps of burnt paper were flipped over by the wind.

He knelt and picked one up.

Because the paper was fragmented, the sentences were broken, but it was still recognizable as a memorial text.

He tossed the paper aside.

Then, as if struck in the spine, his whole body shuddered, and he quickly snatched the paper back up!

...

Gao An was ordered to wait outside the temple gate.

As he stood with hands clasped, listening to the movements in the night, he heard the signal from the shadow guards behind him.

He turned around to see Yan Bei walking out with rapid strides.

Just as he was about to greet him, he saw Yan Bei stop before him, his face cold and grim.

"Your Highness..."

Gao An was astonished.

Yan Bei's jaw was clenched tight. "Immediately dispatch men to search the entire city for a woman named 'Wang Huan'!"

Gao An held his breath. "May I ask, Your Highness, who is this person?"

In recent years, aside from raising his child, Yan Bei had been solely focused on fulfilling the late Emperor's entrustment to assist the Emperor. Although nothing escaped his ears or eyes, he had always treated such matters as mere gossip and had never lost his composure.

But now, after merely wandering inside for a moment, he had emerged looking like this!

"Wang Huan is A-Li's mother! The name signed on the marriage contract she gave me was this very name!" Yan Bei gripped the scraps of burnt paper, his eyes sharp as blades. "The marriage contract was written in her own hand, yet the memorial text burned in the brazier during the Du family's blessing ritual for He Jianzhong was also in her handwriting!

"But she was supposed to have died three years ago!

"Now, do you understand what I mean?"

"...What?!"

Gao An, who had maintained a composed and steady demeanor his entire life, could not help but take two steps back!