When Shangchuan Hong reached the palace gate, he found several hundred elite soldiers lined up neatly around the entrance, blocking his way.
A storm seemed to blow through his mind. Su Ruhan was only a demoted guard. How could he possibly mobilize elite troops at a moment’s notice? Even if the Third Prince had deployed them beforehand, they should still obey him now that they were looking at what appeared to be the Third Prince himself.
“Move aside,” Shangchuan Hong ordered darkly.
“Reporting to Your Highness, no one may leave the palace without His Majesty’s permission.”
“Since when has that rule existed?” Shangchuan Hong remembered that the Third Prince had once been able to enter and leave the palace with ease.
One of the gate officers stepped forward and explained nervously, “Your Highness, this was an order issued by you. With the ruler of Lubei about to visit, every palace regulation was to be reviewed, especially the rules for entering and leaving the palace gates. Anyone leaving must have His Majesty’s personal authorization. You even said that if you yourself tried to leave without following the rules, we were to enforce the regulations and punish the violation just the same…”
Shangchuan Hong snorted coldly. “I made the rules. Now I am changing them. Who among you dares disobey?”
With that, he raised the reins and prepared to force his way through. He had barely moved forward when dozens of blades were leveled at the horse’s head.
“Please do not make things difficult for us, Your Highness. Yesterday you specifically ordered that even if you yourself refused to obey the rules you had established, we were still to enforce them exactly as before.”
Shangchuan Hong ground his teeth inwardly. He did not know whether to hate the Third Prince for being so calculating or himself for being careless. These rules had supposedly been created to welcome the ruler of Lubei, and now they had become a trap closing around him. After coming this far, being stopped at the palace gate would be absurd.
If the Third Prince had chosen to be ruthless, then Shangchuan Hong saw no reason to remain polite. Ruining a little of the Third Prince’s proud and righteous reputation here could count as repayment.
“I am the Third Prince. Who dares stop me from leaving the palace?”
A cold smile curved at Shangchuan Hong’s lips. He lashed the horse and charged toward the gate. Dozens of blades parted almost instinctively. He broke through the first line easily, only to look ahead and find the gate itself firmly shut, with dozens of elite soldiers standing before it and refusing to open it under any circumstances.
Shangchuan Hong immediately realized there was no time to attack the gate directly. Turning back would put him into Su Ruhan’s hands. He therefore leapt upward with Mu Xueshi in his arms and landed on the high city wall, intending to jump over it and escape.
The moment he reached the wall, however, several hundred archers were already lined up in rows. Their bows were drawn tight, their eyes fixed on Shangchuan Hong, and not one of them showed the slightest intention of yielding.
The officer commanding the archers was Zheng Qingcang, mounted on a tall horse and carrying a heavy crossbow edged in gold. He had sharp brows, bright eyes, and an imposing presence. Seeing the “Third Prince” carrying Mu Xueshi and apparently trying to break out of the city did not anger him. Instead, he looked almost delighted.
“This subordinate pays respects to Your Highness the Third Prince.”
Still holding Mu Xueshi, Shangchuan Hong said calmly, “I am leaving the city today no matter what.”
Zheng Qingcang laughed heartily. “Your Highness, that is hardly worth worrying about. Put down the person you’re carrying first, and let’s go drink a few bowls of wine on top of the wall. How about it?”
Another troublesome one. Shangchuan Hong said coldly, “I have no interest in drinking today. The person in my arms is seriously ill, and the physician capable of treating him travels throughout the jianghu. If treatment is delayed, no one here will be able to bear the consequences.”
Zheng Qingcang strode closer without a trace of caution. “Why have you covered the patient’s face, Your Highness? Is the illness on his face? I have a cousin who practices medicine in the jianghu. He is not famous, but he has treated people for many years and has always…”
“Enough,” Shangchuan Hong said slowly. Then he fixed Zheng Qingcang with an icy stare. “Are you opening the way or not?”
Zheng Qingcang laughed again. “If you really were the Third Prince, how would I dare stop you?”
Shangchuan Hong knew his disguise had been exposed. He drew his sword and attacked Zheng Qingcang. Zheng Qingcang specialized in archery and had been ordered not to injure the person Shangchuan Hong was carrying, so he could only dodge awkwardly while continuing to tease him. “The real Third Prince left the palace at the hour of Chen and still hasn’t returned… and the gates have been heavily guarded ever since… so he couldn’t possibly have slipped back in… which means the one standing here must be fake. But you really do look just as handsome dressed like him. You nearly fooled me, hahaha…”
By the time Zheng Qingcang finished speaking, he had already taken more than ten cuts across his arms and shoulders, yet his face still looked completely unconcerned.
Just as Zheng Qingcang was about to lose ground, dozens of archers surrounded Shangchuan Hong and aimed directly at him. If the arrows were released, even someone as skilled as Shangchuan Hong would be badly injured or killed, especially while carrying Mu Xueshi.
Shangchuan Hong had originally planned for the Third Prince to meet Hao Lin at Wangyun Peak and obtain the antidote. The mountain was far away. Even if the Third Prince rushed back safely, he should not reach the palace until the hour of Shen, by which time Shangchuan Hong expected to be long gone with Mu Xueshi.
Clearly, Shangchuan Hong had underestimated him. He had not expected the Third Prince to arrange so many obstacles before leaving. Shangchuan Hong had assumed only Su Ruhan would interfere. Since Shangchuan Hong held leverage over Su Ruhan, he had not feared him. Instead, he had run into one nuisance after another. Shangchuan Hong was not especially strong in direct combat, so forcing the issue much longer would expose his identity.
“Do not shoot!”
A command rang out. Su Ruhan had appeared on the city wall without anyone noticing. Zheng Qingcang stared at him, puzzled for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Guard Su, is that you? Long time no see! I’ve missed you terribly.”
In truth, Su Ruhan and Zheng Qingcang had met only once. Zheng Qingcang was simply enthusiastic and loved making conversation, even with near-strangers. Su Ruhan knew perfectly well that the friendliness was surface-level. After taking this many wounds, Zheng Qingcang would never willingly let Shangchuan Hong escape.
Su Ruhan now had to do two things at once: rescue Mu Xueshi and make sure Shangchuan Hong left safely. The ruler of Lubei would enter the city tomorrow. If Shangchuan Hong were detained here, the consequences would become far more complicated than they were now.
Shangchuan Hong seemed to understand Su Ruhan’s dilemma. He curled a finger beneath the silk covering Mu Xueshi’s face and said, “Escort me out of the palace, or I will remove this veil immediately.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Zheng Qingcang’s expression became fierce. At his command, dozens of arrows flew toward Shangchuan Hong. Su Ruhan swept his sword through the air. The arrows reversed direction and struck the archers who had fired them, killing the front row almost instantly. The next row retreated at once, unease appearing on their faces.
“Shoot!” Zheng Qingcang roared, fire blazing in his eyes.
Sheltered behind Su Ruhan, Shangchuan Hong and Mu Xueshi remained unharmed. Su Ruhan tried to seize Mu Xueshi during an opening, only to discover that the veil across Mu Xueshi’s face had been looped into Shangchuan Hong’s hand. If Su Ruhan pulled Mu Xueshi away, the veil would come off.
Shangchuan Hong laughed coldly. While he and Su Ruhan were still locked in their own struggle, Zheng Qingcang drew a single arrow and aimed directly at Shangchuan Hong’s back. The arrow left the string with tremendous force. Su Ruhan immediately poured internal energy into his sword and intercepted it, blade and arrow colliding in a burst of sparks.
“Excellent swordsmanship.” Zheng Qingcang abruptly switched from fury to admiration and looked at Su Ruhan with delight.
Shangchuan Hong seized that instant to leap from the city wall. Before he could get away, someone snatched Mu Xueshi from his arms in midair. Shangchuan Hong was left holding only the strip of gauze that had been torn free. A bloodthirsty smile curved at his lips. Su Ruhan had finally stopped caring about the risk.
A storm of dust suddenly swept across the city wall, filling the air until no one could see anything.
The smile vanished from Shangchuan Hong’s face. He watched Su Ruhan’s figure disappear into the rolling yellow haze. The warmth that had been in his arms only moments before had already gone cold.
Su Ruhan had arrived late while Shangchuan Hong was stalled at the gate, and now had taken Mu Xueshi in the middle of the chaos. Clearly he had prepared this outcome in advance. Shangchuan Hong felt no hatred, only bitter irony. From beginning to end, he had behaved as though his judgment had fallen apart and had failed to see through even such simple tricks.
Forget it. Hao Lin had only asked him to see Mu Xueshi’s true face while curing the poison. He had never ordered Shangchuan Hong to bring the man back. Shangchuan Hong himself did not know why he had suddenly wanted to take Mu Xueshi with him. Since Mu Xueshi was still in Su Ruhan’s hands, the mission could not be called a failure. He only felt a little regret.
While the soldiers were still blinded by the dust, Shangchuan Hong escaped the palace. Someone quickly came to meet him. He changed back into his own clothes at an inn, then mounted a horse as though nothing had happened and rode back toward the Lubei delegation.
Shangchuan Hong said nothing along the way, leaving Zhang Mu hesitant to speak. In his memory, his master rarely wore such an expression. Even when he was not radiating confidence, he was usually relaxed and unhurried. This strange coldness made Zhang Mu uneasy.
“Zhang Mu, tell me. Who is the most beautiful person you have ever seen?”
Zhang Mu froze at the sudden question, then answered carefully, “The most beautiful woman beneath heaven is the wife of Lubei’s ruler, while the handsomest man is the son of Yunxi’s ruler.”
“Today I saw the handsomest man beneath heaven.” A complicated light entered Shangchuan Hong’s deep eyes.
“Someone even more handsome? Who is Master talking about?” Zhang Mu’s curiosity was clearly stirred, and he asked cautiously beside him.
Shangchuan Hong smiled. “You will know someday.”