Assassination

The court had been plagued with countless affairs lately, and the Chancellor returned to the residence late every day. Outside, wind and snow raged. Shen Tingjue cracked sunflower seeds as he chatted with the Eldest Princess. Seeing her fidgeting restlessly and repeatedly looking outside, he could not help saying, "Father should be back soon. He has guards with him; nothing will happen."

The Eldest Princess held a delicate plum-blossom handwarmer of gold and jade, her brows tightly furrowed. "No matter how busy he is, he should usually be home by now. Yet today he is much later than usual. I simply cannot put my mind at ease."

Just then, a guard hurried inside. "Reporting to Your Highness, the Chancellor's carriage suddenly broke down on the road. The Chancellor fell from it and was injured. He is currently at the Rejuvenation Clinic on Vermilion Bird Street and has asked for the young master to fetch him."

The Eldest Princess immediately stood. "He was injured? Is it serious?"

The guard replied, "They said he hurt his knee, but it is nothing serious. The skin was scraped and bled a little. He is having it bandaged at the clinic."

The Eldest Princess set down the handwarmer and instructed Steward Feng to prepare the carriage. Shen Tingjue clapped his hands, shook out his robe, and rose. "Mother, the wind and snow outside are fierce, the roads are slippery, and it is late. I'll go."

"No. Precisely because the roads are slippery and it is late, Mother cannot rest easy letting you go. Your father is being ridiculous too, asking you to fetch him." The Eldest Princess rubbed his head. "Be good. Go back to your room, bathe, and sleep."

Shen Tingjue fastened the Shadowchaser Sword at his waist. "I'm going."

As a good son, how could he sleep peacefully when his father had been hurt?

No matter what, he had to go fetch him himself. Then father and son could cling to each other and weep, proving the depth of their bond.

"Fine." Unaware of his strange train of thought, the Eldest Princess could only nod at his insistence. She reached out to tighten his fox-fur cloak and reminded him, "Be careful on the road."

The cold wind still howled between heaven and earth. The clinic's curtain was lifted by the wind, blowing specks of fine snow inside.

The Chancellor's guards stood outside, rubbing their hands together and breathing warm air into them. When they saw a carriage emerge from the night and slowly stop before the clinic, their young master—like a puff of white snow—jumped down from within. A sword hung at his waist, making him look rather valiant.

The guard paused in surprise. "Young Master, why did you come in person?"

Shen Tingjue found that strange. "Didn't Father ask me to come fetch him?"

"In weather like this, how could the Chancellor possibly bear to let you brave the snow?" As he spoke, the guard lifted the curtain. "The Chancellor is inside. The physician should be done bandaging him soon."

On a deep winter night, with heavy clouds obscuring the moon, this sort of setting was often perfect for murder and arson.

Shen Tingjue twirled the tassel of the Shadowchaser Sword around his fingertip, recalling the guard who had returned to report the news, then claimed midway through leading him there that he had a stomachache and needed to find a latrine. His eyes narrowed.

The physician quietly packed his medicine chest. The Chancellor leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, dark circles beneath them. His snores rose and fell, and he looked utterly exhausted.

It was good that he could snore.

It meant he was still alive.

Though he was sleeping far too defenselessly. Someone could stab him to death, and he would never know.

Shen Tingjue strode forward, leaned close to the Chancellor's ear, drew in breath, and roared from his diaphragm, "Father!"

The Chancellor jolted and snapped his eyes open. His heart pounded wildly as he sat there, still shaken.

Shen Tingjue patted his chest. "It's me."

The Chancellor slowly let out a breath and rolled his aching neck. "In such heavy snow, it would have been enough to send a servant. Why did you come out yourself?"

"I heard you hurt your knee. Let me take a look." Shen Tingjue crouched and reached to lift his robe, his movements looking just the tiniest bit indecent.

"..." The Chancellor hurriedly stopped him. "Ahem, it's fine, it's fine. Just a scrape. It has already been medicated and bandaged."

Shen Tingjue looked at him. "Can you walk? If not, I can carry you."

The Chancellor looked at his slender shoulders and felt that if he climbed onto his back, he would crush him beneath Mount Tai.

Moved by his son's filial devotion, the Chancellor feared discouraging him and did not directly say, "That little body of yours could never carry your father." With a kindly gaze, he rubbed Shen Tingjue's head. "Ah, it is only a minor injury. Your father could walk home in one breath if he wished. Though I am a scholar, I am not as frail as you think. Back then, your father..."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm." Shen Tingjue cut him off. "Since you're fine, hurry back. Mother is waiting."

Once the words "back then" came out, anything that followed was bound to be bragging.

Unable to finish, the Chancellor felt somewhat regretful. "Fine, then."

The physician saw the two of them out. Shen Tingjue helped the Chancellor into the carriage, then climbed in after him.

Dark Seven flicked the reins, and the carriage began to rumble forward.

The weather had been growing colder lately. At night especially, the wind was biting. The townsfolk therefore went out less and less, huddling at home for warmth. There were fewer vendors as well, leaving the streets somewhat desolate.

Vermilion Bird Street extended from Vermilion Bird Gate of the imperial city and was also known as Central Axis Avenue. The Chancellor's Residence lay in the northwest corner inside the eastern gate. Once the carriage left Vermilion Bird Street, the route became even quieter.

Shen Tingjue suddenly asked, "How did Father's carriage break down?"

The Chancellor tucked both hands into his sleeves. "Perhaps a wheel came loose. As it traveled, it fell apart, and the whole carriage tipped forward. Your father..."

Before he could finish, the carriage abruptly stopped. Caught unprepared, the Chancellor pitched straight forward with the momentum. He instinctively covered his head, feeling that carriages had truly brought him nothing but disaster today.

Shen Tingjue reacted swiftly, grabbing the back of his collar and yanking him back. He braced one foot against the carriage wall and steadied himself firmly.

In the darkness, a burly man with a bamboo hat pressed low over his face blocked their path, like a ghost emerging from the night. Against the ink-black darkness, the Wolf-Fury Blade in his hand flashed with snowy light, reflecting chilling murderous intent.

The newcomer meant trouble.

Dark Seven immediately gripped the sword at his waist, his eyes filled with ruthless ferocity.

The guard tensed his back and gripped his sword hilt as well. He called into the carriage, "Chancellor, Young Master, there is a suspicious person blocking the road."

The burly man stepped forward, sending fine snow spraying in a fan-shaped arc beneath his feet. He suddenly burst into motion, his curved blade slicing in a cold crescent like a new moon. It struck the side of a sword with a sharp clang.

Dark Seven pinched a thin blade between the fingers of his other hand and hurled it at the man's eyes. The burly man twisted aside. A lock of hair that had flown from beneath his hat was sheared off in a single exchange, and his hat fell with his backward motion, striking the snow and revealing a fierce, scarred face.

The guard's heart lurched. With his sword half-drawn, he stood firmly before the carriage, vigilantly scanning every movement around them.

Countless black-clad men emerged and closed in on the carriage, their blade shadows weaving an impenetrable net.

The horse was startled. It reared up with a shrill neigh, violently jolting the carriage.

The guard alone could not withstand so many trained assassins. With the carriage left undefended, a long blade pierced straight through the curtain without obstruction.

The Shadowchaser Sword rang as it left its sheath, carrying a vast, arrogant gust of wind that knocked aside the long blade. The carriage exploded apart. Shen Tingjue seized the Chancellor by the shoulder and leaped into the air, landing steadily on the ground.

The Chancellor's legs went weak, and his heart hammered.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die.