Wei Zhao's carriage had been destroyed, so he was now riding in the carriage behind it.
The carriage door was open, with the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Guard protecting it on either side.
Empress Feng held out a cup of tea to help Wei Zhao calm down.
When she looked up, however, she saw that Noble Consort Shu's face was as pale as paper.
She asked, "Sister, you must have been frightened just now, weren't you?"
"Y-yes." Noble Consort Shu had been scared out of her wits when she heard that Wei Zhao wanted the sacrificial procession investigated.
Now she could scarcely keep her composure.
Clutching Wei Zhao's hand, she said, "Your Majesty, after what happened today, I'm afraid it's no longer safe here. Why don't we let Commander Feng and Commander Zhao conduct the investigation while we return to the palace first?"
She thought that if the matter wasn't uncovered right in front of Wei Zhao, there might be room to maneuver as it was reported up through the ranks, so Wei Zhao wouldn't fly into a rage.
Little did she know, her words had the opposite effect.
"I know you've never seen anything like this, Yunniang. It's only natural for you to be afraid."
Wei Zhao said, "But I have governed diligently and brought peace and order to Great Wei. I should be held in high esteem, yet instead an assassin attacked me, leaving me in such a state. If I return now, wouldn't it look as though I had something on my conscience and was afraid of that assassin?"
"Today, I shall wait here myself until that assassin is caught!"
Noble Consort Shu's eyes filled with despair when she heard this.
Cold sweat even broke out on her forehead from sheer terror.
The princes' carriages were behind those of the consorts.
Wei Zeyu hadn't been allowed to bring Xuexue along this time. Frightened and with nothing to hold, he could only cling to Wei Mingxiu's arm. Leaning against him, he asked softly, "Sixth brother, my mother will be all right, won't she?"
Wei Mingxiu had meant to pull his hand away, but when he saw the fear in Wei Zeyu's eyes, he lowered his hand and said, "From the sound of things, the assassin has probably already escaped. Her Majesty the empress has a heavy guard around her. She'll be all right."
"That's good." Wei Zeyu felt a little reassured, then added, "But why did the assassin want to kill Imperial Father? Did Imperial Father do something wrong?"
Wei Mingxiu's gaze turned slightly cold at those words.
But wary of Wei Chengye's presence, he gave Wei Zeyu an answer he didn't believe: "Imperial Father is the Son of Heaven. He would never do anything wrong."
After all, in that imperial father of his's eyes, if anyone was wrong, it was someone else.
Wei Mingxiu was wary of Wei Chengye, but Wei Chengye was unusually willing to leave him alone.
He even ignored Wei Yuanshi when Wei Yuanshi tried to speak to him.
Instead, every so often, he couldn't help glancing out the carriage window.
Watching the Imperial Guard and Patrol Camp soldiers moving back and forth, he had a faint sense of foreboding.
He pulled the window open as wide as it would go, leaned out and grabbed an Imperial Guard soldier. "How are my imperial father and mother now?" he asked.
When the soldier saw that it was Wei Chengye, his face went a little pale, and he looked as though he wanted to speak but hesitated.
Wei Chengye's heart sank, and he demanded:
"Speak! What happened to them?!"
"Your Highness, Commander Feng found the Zhao family's eldest young master in a chest of sacrificial offerings prepared by Her Ladyship the noble consort. He was supposed to be locked up in the Ministry of Justice's prison."
"His Majesty is furious and is holding Her Ladyship the noble consort accountable as we speak!"
Wei Chengye's head buzzed when he heard this. His hand slipped from the soldier's collar, and he slumped back into the carriage.
Seeing this, the soldier hurried away.
Wei Zeyu leaned close to Wei Mingxiu's ear and whispered, "Sixth brother, what's wrong with that bad guy, Third Brother?"
"Nothing. He's just getting his retribution."
As soon as Wei Mingxiu finished speaking, Wei Chengye rushed out of the carriage and ran toward the front, ignoring the palace attendants outside who tried to stop him.
The only thought in Wei Yuanshi's head was to follow his third brother, so he jumped out of the carriage after him.
Watching them go, Wei Zeyu said scornfully, "The soldier already said we weren't allowed to get out, but they both ran off anyway. Neither of them is a good child!"
But before he could finish feeling proud of being a good child,
he heard Wei Mingxiu say beside him, "Let's go too."
"Huh, Sixth Brother?"
"What are we going to do?"
Wei Mingxiu lifted the carriage curtain and found that the sky, which had been overcast for days, was unusually clear at that moment. The warm spring sunshine streamed in, coating him in a pale golden glow.
He narrowed his eyes and chuckled.
A hint of slyness similar to Zhou Ye's showed in his expression.
He answered Wei Zeyu.
"Go watch the show."
--
Haha, Yun Shen and Feng Chenyi are a couple. You've all probably guessed that already!
But the romance between those two will only ever be ambiguous!
I hope everyone likes this kind of brotherly bond? Push and pull?