The words spread through the camp like water splashing into a cauldron of boiling oil, and everything exploded at once.
At the Imperial City Office's camp, men were already taking over the Imperial Riders. When they heard the news, they flew into a rage.
"Ma Shunde! You dare rebel!"
"Follow this governor and kill the rebels! Save His Majesty!" Ma Shunde shouted. To everyone's surprise, the Imperial Riders around him truly began gathering in increasing numbers.
"Kill!"
Separated by several dozen paces, both sides fired volleys at each other and hurled spears. Blood sprayed without cease, lives being reaped one after another.
Prince Ninghe's Residence
The courtyard's layout was elegant and simple, carrying the faint air of a famed scholar. A subtle floral fragrance drifted from the corner of the walls.
Yet an atmosphere of killing lingered without dispersing. Personal guards stood beneath the corridors, each gripping a blade.
Inside a room with its windows open, Prince Ninghe wore a worried expression.
After moving here from his former Prince's Residence, the place had become desolate and lonely.
Having endured this ordeal, he himself had grown much thinner.
The rain tonight was too heavy. He could not sleep.
Faint sounds of killing carried over, and he could not help sighing. "Who has raised troops? Prince Qi, or Prince Shu? It should be Prince Qi, I suppose!"
"How nice. Even if things go poorly, he still has a chance to fight. Unlike me, who can only wait for the outcome!" The prince smiled without truly smiling, his face full of melancholy. "Life and death, glory and disgrace, are not mine to decide!"
They were both sons of the dragon. Why was the difference so vast?
Was it because of the rumors about his mother consort? Because of his imperial father's heartless face?