Chapter 25: Who Cares About Being a Gentleman?

Xishan Enclosure!

The very moment those four words hit his ears, the blood in Zhang Shaode's entire body surged violently to his head.

By the time his consciousness was forcibly dragged back to clarity, a moment had already passed!

As a military officer, Zhang Shaode possessed a body that could not be called anything less than robust, yet facing Yuetang—whose frame was barely half his width—he found himself involuntarily retreating several steps!

A six-year-old child's face is vastly different from that of an adult; it was impossible for him to remember exactly what she had looked like back then.

But the composure this woman displayed while walking through peril, and the coldness she showed toward her wounded enemy, were identical to that of the noble lady who had swept through everything with thunderous fury on that night three years ago!

Who else but the person involved could remember the details of three years ago so clearly?

Who else but the Princess of Yongjia, who should have died three years ago?!

He clenched his trembling hands into fists.

But his fists were still shaking.

After such a tight encirclement three years ago, she had actually managed to escape?

He turned his gaze back toward the opposite side, his mouth opening several times, wanting to say he didn't believe it.

But the facts left him no choice but to believe.

No one could possibly resemble that person more than the woman before him!

"...Whoever dares to stop me, I'll kill them all!"

Sweat poured from his forehead like rain, just as the low, commanding shouts of the assassins, mingled with the clashing of blades, drifted in from outside.

Standing in a state of panic and helplessness for a moment, he suddenly grabbed his fallen knife and, without a word, swung it at Yuetang before turning to bolt toward the door!

Since the person who was supposed to be dead had not died, he finally understood what was going on with the He family and what that token under He Jianzhong's corpse meant!

The Du family might not have placed much importance on him or He Jianzhong, but they had never intended to strike them before!

He had been completely deceived!

And the many deaths in the He family had all served as stepping stones for today's scheme!

It was the lives of everyone in the He family, combined with the life of the Zhang clan, that had paved the way for Yuetang's execution plot today!

She had come to claim lives. His only chance of survival now was to rush out immediately and tell the Du family everything!

Even if the Du family already harbored intentions to silence him, Zhang Shaode was convinced that the news of Princess Yongjia being alive—and being the true mastermind behind the entire murder case—would be even more vital to them!

"Where do you think you're going?!"

A sword thrust in from the side, stopping perfectly across his throat!

At that moment, he was only a foot away from the hall doors!

He immediately performed a flourish with his blade, his eyes flashing with murderous intent as he swung toward Yuetang!

Yuetang merely crossed her arms and sneered.

Beside her, Huo Yun had already flown forward with a kick to his lower back. As he fell to his knees, the sword in Huo Yun's hand had already pierced his throat!

Zhang Shaode's strike was not slow, but he was merely a low-ranking general; how could he possibly match the strength and speed of Huo Yun, who had been personally trained by Wei Zhang?

After this brief exchange, Yuetang hadn't even been touched by the hem of his clothes, yet blood had already begun to seep from his neck.

Zhang Shaode's teeth ground together with a clicking sound: "I, Zhang, have been cautious for half my life, and I did not wish to fall into your trap again today. It must be my fate. Kill me!"

Yuetang snorted coldly. She extended her right leg and kicked a bound figure out from the shadows.

Upon seeing her, Zhang Shaode turned pale with shock: "Ying'er!"

Zhang Ying cried out, "Father, save me!"

Zhang Shaode looked at Yuetang with a distorted face: "Let her go! Direct your anger at me!"

Yuetang sliced through the ropes binding Zhang Ying, grabbed her by the collar with her left hand to lift her up, and brushed her right hand over the girl's tear-streaked face: "What, feeling heartache? When you were killing my son, did you not think of this day? I heard she isn't even betrothed yet? A perfectly fine maiden! I'm sure there are plenty of people in the brothels who would fight over her!"

Zhang Ying trembled uncontrollably in her grasp, weeping until she was nearly breathless.

Zhang Shaode lost all color in his face: "You dare!"

Huo Yun stepped onto his back: "If you dare do such things, why should the Princess not dare?!"

Zhang Shaode was forced to remain prostrate on the ground.

Zhang Ying screamed in terror.

This sight caused the guards nearby, who had been intending to come to the rescue, to halt in their tracks.

Yuetang pinched Zhang Ying's chin and pulled the hairpin from her head, letting her black hair fall: "Truly raised with delicate skin and tender flesh! But by what right? Your father killed my A-Li, allowing you to live as a young lady of the Zhang family, while my son suffers in the underworld. If I do not bring ruin to your house and sell you into slavery to taste the suffering my A-Li endured, how could I ever satisfy the hatred in my heart?"

Zhang Ying was on the verge of fainting.

Yuetang smiled: "Are you afraid? If you're afraid, make your father beg me."

With tear-filled eyes, Zhang Ying looked at Zhang Shaode: "Father, Father, save me..."

Zhang Shaode's teeth were nearly crushed: "To bully a defenseless woman... you are no gentleman yourself!"

Yuetang laughed loudly: "When you bastards conspired to kill my son and me, you didn't call yourselves despicable and shameless! Now that you've fallen into my hands, you turn around and act sanctimonious to condemn me!

"Then open your dog eyes and look closely—do I look like the kind of person who cares about being a 'gentleman'?"

Zhang Shaode was speechless!

Three years ago, she had quietly taken a husband from outside the capital; no one in the capital except the late King Duan had witnessed it. A year later, she had a child, and immediately left her husband to return to the capital with her son to inherit the princedom. She was capable of such unconventional acts; if she were now seeking vengeance, would she truly care about morality?

His face turned ashen instantly.

"A bunch of useless fools! Break in!"

The sounds of battle outside grew more intense, forcing the guards, who were distracted by the scene here, to focus their full strength on the external threat.

And the roaring voice outside the window—that voice sounded exactly like He Hui!

Zhang Shaode fell into a daze, suddenly understanding the Du family's true intention!

The Du father and son he followed didn't just want to kill him; they wanted to use He Hui to kill him!

He Jianzhong was dead, and He Hui was a useless coward. Even if he could survive, he could no longer rely on his parents to live; the Du family was his only hope. Therefore, whatever orders the Du family gave, he would surely fulfill them even if it cost him everything!

In this way, if Zhang Shaode did not die at Yuetang's hands today, he would surely die at the hands of He Hui and the Du family!

He struggled to lift his head slightly and said through gritted teeth: "You must already know that the Du family was the true mastermind! So now, what else do you wish to know? I will tell you everything I know! I will not hide a single word!"

Yuetang merely glanced at him: "Who told you I have anything left to know?"

Zhang Shaode swallowed hard: "The Princess is all-calculating. The He, Zhang, and Du families have all become players in your game. If you were only here to kill for vengeance, there would be no need to show yourself to me tonight. But since you have come, there must be some lingering doubts, and I might be able to provide the Princess with answers."

The hand Yuetang had placed on Zhang Ying's neck paused, followed by a cold laugh: "Since you are so 'clever,' you surely know what I want to know without me having to ask. Yet you still wait for me to prompt you; it seems you are still playing tricks!"

Zhang Shaode hurriedly said: "If the Princess wishes to know the person behind the Du family, that lowly one truly does not know!"

Yuetang sneered: "You also know that Du Minghuan is not the mastermind?"

Zhang Shaode's gaze trembled: "It is merely my guess; I have no proof. The Du father and son are very tight-lipped; in all these years, they haven't leaked a single whisper..."

"Then why do you have this guess?"

Zhang Shaode swallowed again but remained silent.

Suddenly, Yuetang yanked at Zhang Ying's skirt sash!

Her fine silk garment instantly loosened, causing Zhang Ying to scream.

Yuetang wrapped one arm around her, looking at Zhang Shaode with a frigid gaze.

By holding her this way, Zhang Ying would naturally not be exposed. But if she let go, then...

Zhang Shaode's jaw twitched several times before he spoke through gritted teeth: "One is that the origin of the Du family's vast wealth is suspicious. Second, in the past two years, the Marquis of Guangling has also been secretly recruiting scholars in the imperial court, painstakingly building his own faction!

"Among the new successful candidates of this year's spring imperial examinations, including the top scholar, many are people he has recruited.

"The key is, this group of scholars he recruited happens to be the very same ones drafted by the Secretariat!"

Yuetang twirled a strand of Zhang Ying's hair around her fingertip: "The Secretariat?"

"Yes!" Zhang Shaode nodded heavily. "Before the late Emperor passed, he left an imperial decree commanding Empress Dowager Shen to temporarily manage the Imperial Seal, stipulating that she could only take personal control of affairs after the new monarch had reigned for three years.

"In other words, until the Emperor reaches twenty, the Empress Dowager holds the power to govern and intervene in state affairs.

"This year's spring examination is the first session since the Emperor's ascension. Except for the top scholar, Xu He, who was personally selected by the Emperor during the palace examination, almost all the others were drafted by Empress Dowager Shen and the Secretariat.

"Xu He was transferred to the Criminal Division of the Secretariat; he is both a close attendant to the Emperor and has connections with the Imperial City Guard.

"The Marquis of Guangling then acted as a matchmaker for his niece—the niece of his wife, Lady Duan—to Xu He, and they are currently performing the formal betrothal rites!

"It all seems normal, but the Du family's background has been mediocre for decades, and the Marquis of Guangling had no rise in his official career for many years. It was only after that incident three years ago that he suddenly possessed vast amounts of silver to assign to He Jianzhong and me to carry out the murder. And now, during this first spring examination three years later, he is so aggressively courting scholars...

"I believe that if there were no one backing the Du family, they would not dare to be so high-profile!

"In other words, the actions of the Du family only make sense if someone is instructing them from behind the scenes!"

The finger of Yuetang, which had been twirling Zhang Ying's hair, came to a halt right against the girl's throat.