An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

Three long and two short were the code words they agreed upon.

The man in black dodged to the door and returned a moment later with a snow-covered messenger. He pulled a sealed letter from the inner layer of his jacket. The man in brocade opened it, took a quick look, and burst into laughter, nearly suffocating.

"Our chance has come." He slammed the letter down on the table. "That person's illness couldn't have happened at such a bad time. His beloved son must have poisoned him without him realizing it. Since yesterday afternoon, the entire Imperial Hospital has been surrounding him."

The man in black was startled: "Then our plan..."

"Perfect! We should be able to proceed ahead of schedule!" A terrifying glint flashed in the brocade-robed man's eyes. "This is a godsend opportunity. Pass the order down, have the men near the four city gates take action late at night the next day, just in time for the patrol battalion's shift change."

He suddenly stared at the man in black and said, "Let's get ready to enter the palace!"

"Yes, do you want to inform the deputy generals under Zhao Chong?"

"Tell him to bring his men in through the secret passage tomorrow night and wait for us. Be prepared for the response." The man in brocade clothes took out a black iron token from his bosom. "Go find our last card. It's time for him to make his move."

The man in black took the token with both hands, but trembled slightly at the moment of touching it: "Your Highness, is it too risky to use this hidden chess piece?..."

"Ten years have honed the sword, yet its frosty edge remains untested." The man in brocade stroked the jade pendant at his waist, engraved with a four-clawed python pattern. "Tell him that upon success, not only will his surname be restored, but he will also be granted the title of Duke, which will last for generations. You too will receive the same honor."

The man in black was delighted and behaved even more erratically until his figure disappeared into the snowy night, and the man in brocade stood alone in front of the window.

The snow had begun to fall again, falling so thickly that it covered every trace. He recalled the night he was expelled from the capital, when it had also snowed heavily.

Outside, I could faintly hear children singing: "Snowflakes are falling, plum blossoms are blooming, everyone wears new clothes for the New Year..."

He slowly clenched his fists.

New robes? Time to change.

……

Jing Chunxi seemed to have had a long dream, the dream was as long as a thread, tightly entangling her.

In her dream, she ran barefoot across the boundless grassland, grass leaves cutting her ankles and wind and sand hitting her cheeks; she also stumbled across the scorching desert, and every step she took seemed to be stepping on flames.

She waded through a winding stream of varying depths. The gravel in the water hurt her. She stumbled, twisted her ankle suddenly, and a sharp pain shot into her heart - her feet were swollen, and she didn't know where her shoes were lost. She was left in embarrassment and pain.

There was fog in front of her, and the scenery was hazy, but she could vaguely make out the outline of a deep forest, standing like a silent barrier between heaven and earth.

"Princess, the Crown Prince is not a good man at all..." Xiaoyu's choked whisper came to my ears, her voice intermittent, but every word clear. "There's a lot of talk outside, saying that he's neglecting state affairs and spending all day secretly with that woman... If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have ended up like this..."

Another voice rang out. It was Sister Jin's, her tone anxious and indignant: "Don't worry, sister, we've chased him away! Sister Jin and Mingzhu have joined forces and will never let him get close to you again..."

Then came Mingzhu and Yanjie'er's chaotic complaints and curses, each tearful and heartbreaking. They bitterly listed the eldest prince's faults, as if wanting to pour out all their resentment and anger.

Jing Chunxi felt a warm feeling in her chest in a trance. She thought it was a docile kitten snuggling up to her, but it turned out to be Xiaoyu - she remembered Duan Yizheng's instructions and stayed in her ear all day long, whispering to her without stopping. She also hugged her and stroked her, giving her comfort and warmth.

Occasionally, Sister Jin, Mingzhu, and Sister Yan would come one after another, their words mixed with worry, anger, and unwillingness. They would accuse her over and over again, and wake her up over and over again.

"No...Brother Xiaokang~He is not that kind of person." Jing Chunxi murmured in his dream.

She still couldn't figure out why she fell from the tall building that day - that moment of weightlessness, the feeling of the wind rushing past her ears, thinking back now, it was as if she was pushed by a divine force, as if it was worried that her staying awake would hinder the progress of things.

But she just couldn't believe it. Xu Zize, who obviously regarded her as a treasure and made countless vows to her, would indulge in women, ignore state affairs, and even abandon her in such a short period of time.

He is indeed a grateful person, but he is definitely not a person who is greedy for beauty, licentious and absurd.

She tried to make sense of this sudden change, but her thoughts were tangled like a tangled mess. The running in her dream had exhausted all her energy, and after a moment of thought, she fell into a deeper sleep.

Soon, the dream came again.

This time, she did not walk towards the forest, but stepped into a long and familiar palace road - towering red walls, glittering golden tiles, this was the only way she had to take to enter the palace many times.

But at this moment, the place was terribly quiet. There was not a single eunuch or palace maid, and no guards patrolling. The palace gate was empty without a single guard, as if the entire imperial city had been abandoned.

"problem occurs……"

Her heart tightened, and she ignored the pain in her feet and ran as fast as she could, almost flying. The cold wind blew past her ears, cutting her face like a knife, and her footsteps on the cold, hard stone slabs hurt, but she didn't dare slow down even a little.

Rushing out of the palace, the scene before her froze her blood—

Beneath the vermilion palace walls, a river of blood flowed. The bodies of palace maids and imperial guards lay scattered across the ground, some pierced by arrows, others torn apart by swords, still others, their heads torn apart, their faces unrecognizable. The thick stench of blood filled the air, the scene horrifying.

"How could this happen... How could this happen!" Her voice trembled and she could hardly make a sound.

"Brother Xiaokang... where are you?" She cried out, each cry becoming more urgent than the last. "Princess—Xuecheng, Yunshu, Yunwang—come out quickly!"

No one responded. Only the wind blew through the temple, bringing with it the echo of dead silence.

She stumbled forward, fell again and again, and got up again and again. Her skirt had long been soaked with the blood flowing on the ground, and every step she took was on coldness and death.

Zhengyang Hall, Qinzheng Hall... all they saw along the way were scenes of horrific violence. Occasionally, they heard a faint groan or two, but they quickly vanished, the survivors fearing that even the slightest noise would attract more slaughter.

"Brother Xiaokang must still be in the Wude Hall..." she murmured to herself, refusing to believe that Xu Zize had met with misfortune.

How could the man who had shared so much joy and laughter with her, traveled extensively with her, and endured countless hardships together with her, fall so easily? She used up her last bit of strength and ran towards the Wude Hall.

She ran to the junction of Wude Hall and the East Palace, and suddenly a group of figures appeared from the East Palace gate behind her. She wanted to hide but there was nowhere to hide.

The leader's voice was so familiar that it made her heart palpitate: "Hahaha, Your Majesty, there is still one left!"

Another person was surrounded in the front, laughing wildly like a devil: "Tsk, she is quite pretty. If she is his concubine, she will be sent to my harem! Let me have a taste of her..." His words were vulgar, like a bandit.

The familiar voice sounded again, its flattery tinged with cruelty: "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will deliver her to your bed unharmed..."

Jing Chunxi suddenly stopped, turned around and glared at——

She did not recognize the person surrounded in the middle, but the person who bowed, smiled, and offered advice was the person she hated most in her life.

At this moment, the other person looked at her with eyes as cold as a knife, and his mouth was pursed into a line, as if he had never known her.

Several men in black rushed over with knives, murderous intent.

In the chaos, she vaguely heard a sentence: "Thank goodness for the East Palace..., otherwise..."

In an instant, grief and anger surged into my heart like a tide.

She pulled out a short knife from her bosom - she didn't know when she had hidden it there, but perhaps it was the only real support in her dream.

The knife gleamed coldly, reflecting her scarlet face and resolute eyes.

"Brother Xiaokang, Xier is here to avenge you!!" She screamed, her voice tearing through the silence like a final oath.