Save me!

Night deepened, but Tingfeng Pavilion was even livelier than it had been during the day.

The news that Tingfeng Pavilion had shut its doors, detained someone, and demanded the sky-high ransom of five million taels spread throughout the entire capital in just one hour.

Countless commoners and curious onlookers streamed in from every direction, packing Zhuque Avenue outside Tingfeng Pavilion until not even a drop of water could get through.

They all wanted to see with their own eyes what sort of holy figure dared to show such disrespect to Minister of War Fang Bin.

When they saw Young Master Fang Cheng, who usually threw his weight around in the capital, dumped in Tingfeng Pavilion's main hall with two tall Silver Armored Guards standing nearby, everyone was too stunned to speak.

"My heavens, they really did detain him!"

"Who are those two guards? They look terrifying."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! I heard His Highness Prince Zheng himself is behind this!"

"Prince Zheng? The same Prince Zheng who won a great victory in the north?"

"That's the one! I heard Young Master Fang was blind enough to offend His Highness Prince Zheng, and the prince's guards broke his legs on the spot!"

"Serves him right! Fang Cheng has done every wicked thing under the sun. Today, he finally kicked an iron plate!"

Every word of the commoners' chatter reached Fang Cheng's ears.

He lay on the cold floor, shivering with fear, listening to everyone point and whisper about him. Shame and fury nearly overwhelmed him.

When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

"Father... why hasn't Father come to save me yet..."

He muttered to himself in despair, his voice choked with tears.

Just then, a commotion arose at the edge of the crowd.

"Make way! Make way! Shuntian Prefecture is on official business!"

A squad of yamen runners in official uniforms, carrying Water-Fire Cudgels, forcefully parted the crowd. At their head was the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Right behind them came a sedan chair carried by eight bearers. Walking beside it was Minister of War Fang Bin.

Fang Bin had arrived!

The crowd parted of its own accord, opening a path.

Fang Bin climbed out of the sedan chair with a grim expression.

He glanced at Tingfeng Pavilion, surrounded by the crowd, then at the onlookers who were whispering among themselves. His face darkened until it seemed water might drip from it.

The matter had blown up so badly that it was now completely beyond his control.

If he couldn't take his son home in grand style today, the Fang Family would lose face in front of the entire capital!

"Father! Father! Save me, Father!"

The moment Fang Cheng saw Fang Bin, he scrambled toward him, but one of the Silver Armored Guards lightly pressed a foot against his back, pinning him in place.

"How dare you!"

Seeing this, Fang Bin's eyes nearly bulged with fury. He pointed at the guard and roared, "You insolent ruffian! You dare assault someone right in front of me! Men! Seize him!"

The Shuntian Prefecture yamen runners behind him immediately moved to advance.

But they had barely taken two steps before they all stopped in unison.

The two tightly shut doors of Tingfeng Pavilion had slowly swung open.

The two Silver Armored Guards stood on either side, swords in hand, blocking the entrance.

They said nothing and did nothing.

Yet the bone-chilling killing intent tempered amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood surged toward them.

Every yamen runner who had charged forward felt as though the blood in his veins were about to freeze.

Their calves trembled. The Water-Fire Cudgels in their hands felt heavier than a thousand catties, and they couldn't lift them no matter how hard they tried.

The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture had gone pale as well. Though he was a civil official, he could still feel the suffocating pressure radiating from the two guards.

These were definitely no ordinary Prince's Mansion Guards!

They were battle-hardened veterans fresh from the battlefield, men who had killed countless people!

"Mi... Minister Fang, this..."

The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture stammered as he looked at Fang Bin, his eyes full of retreat.

He didn't want to get mixed up in this mess.

Fang Bin's expression was just as ugly.

He hadn't expected the other side's guards to have such a terrifying presence just by standing there.

As the two sides remained locked in a standoff, Zhu Zhanjun sat in a private room on the second floor with Princess Channing, sipping tea as they watched the commotion below with interest.

"Where did you find those two guards of yours? They really are extraordinary."

Princess Channing praised them.

"My master left them to me."

Zhu Zhanjun made up an answer offhand.

"Aunt, have you heard anything about your 'Black Wind'?"

At the mention of business, Princess Channing's expression turned serious too.

"We have an answer."

She took a slip of paper from her sleeve and handed it over.

"Black Wind followed the scent on that piece of bloodstained cloth all the way and eventually found another person's scent near the southern camp of the Military Command."

"This person had been in prolonged contact with the assassin."

"After investigating, our people found that he was a Commander of a Hundred in the southern camp, named Qian Feng."

"We also discovered that half a month ago, this Qian Feng went somewhere."

Princess Channing paused, her expression turning complicated.

"Prince Han's Manor."

"Prince Han's Manor?"

Zhu Zhanjun raised his eyebrows slightly.

Just as he'd thought, it was connected to him.

It seemed Fang Bin was merely a dog Prince Han and Prince Zhao had put out in the open.

The true masterminds were still his two ambitious uncles.

"Zhanjun, Prince Han and Prince Zhao have spent years building their influence in the military. Their power is deeply rooted and intertwined. They won't be easy to deal with."