“If you need anything, just say so,” Xie Yanfang said.
Xie Yanlai smiled. “Alright, I will.” After speaking, he strode away.
Du Qi said, “He wasn’t this obedient before.”
Xie Yanfang glanced at him. “You didn’t used to have this much to say about him either. Are you very concerned or very afraid?”
Du Qi’s face stiffened, and he lowered his head. “This subordinate knows his error.”
Xie Yanfang said nothing more. He nodded to the guard and walked toward the great hall. Upon reaching the entrance, he didn’t go directly in but asked for permission once more.
Footsteps came from within the hall first, accompanied by a crisp female voice.
“Third Young Master.”
Xie Yanfang raised his head and saw the young lady rushing over.
He didn’t feel too surprised. Rather, many things made sense now.
Since the Young Highness had returned to the palace, it meant he had been safe at the Chu household. For Miss Chu, who could ensure the Young Highness’s safety, to follow him into the palace was quite normal.
Those unfamiliar troops.
Xie Yanlai being able to defend the city and faintly becoming a leader.
The Young Highness’s closeness to Xie Yanlai.
The sister the Young Highness was looking for.
Xie Yanfang stepped over the threshold. “Miss Zhao.”
Chu Zhao stopped before him. “You’ve come—that’s wonderful! Are you alright?” She looked Xie Yanfang up and down, left and right.
Hearing her three sentences, Xie Yanfang’s expression was complex.
“It’s my fault for being useless, wasting the repeated warnings you gave me, Miss,” he said. Then looking at Chu Zhao, “Fortunately you were here, and the Young Highness was preserved.”
Chu Zhao’s feelings were also complex. She hadn’t expected that even after warning Third Young Master Xie, she still couldn’t prevent events from occurring.
“This isn’t your fault,” she said. “It’s fate.”
As she spoke, she also nodded.
“Fortunately, the Young Highness was preserved.”
Xie Yanfang sighed softly and looked toward the interior. Chu Zhao quickly led the way. “Third Young Master, come quickly. Grand Tutor Deng is also waiting for you. We’ve been inside the city and don’t know what happened outside.”
Xie Yanfang followed her inside a few steps and saw the man sitting behind the desk.
He was in his early thirties, with refined features—long brows and thin lips. His emotions didn’t show on his face, and with the court robes he wore, he possessed a dignity that age alone couldn’t provide.
This was Deng Yi.
Xie Yanfang bowed. “I have met Grand Tutor Deng.”
Deng Yi set down his documents and stood up. “Young Master Xie, no need for excessive courtesy. What happened with the Crown Prince? How did the Third Prince ambush and kill His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Xie Yanfang straightened and said, “To be precise, the Crown Prince died first, and the Third Prince’s attack came after.”
What?
Both Deng Yi and Chu Zhao were somewhat surprised. The Crown Prince hadn’t actually died at the Third Prince’s hands?
Xie Yanfang said, “His Highness the Crown Prince died from lifting the cauldron.”
Deng Yi and Chu Zhao exchanged glances. This—
“But I asked around, and the Crown Prince had practiced lifting the cauldron many times. There shouldn’t have been an accident. He must have been schemed against,” Xie Yanfang said. “By the time I arrived, the scene had already been destroyed. I couldn’t see anything.”
So he had no evidence.
“Even so, the Third Prince indeed intended to ambush and kill the Crown Prince, and upon hearing news of the Crown Prince’s death, he didn’t stop but wanted to annihilate everyone completely,” Xie Yanfang said. He looked at Deng Yi again. “Therefore, I ask the Grand Tutor to announce to the world that the Crown Prince died from the Third Prince’s ambush and killing.”
After speaking, he bowed.
“I ask the Grand Tutor to preserve the Crown Prince’s reputation and the Young Highness’s dignity.”
A Crown Prince who died from lifting a cauldron would indeed be quite disgraceful. In the history books, it would become a laughingstock, and it would also lessen the Third Prince’s culpability. Xie Yanfang couldn’t give the Third Prince any chance to turn things around.
This was for the Crown Prince, and even more so for the Young Highness.
Deng Yi glanced at Chu Zhao.
See? This is someone whose heart is entirely focused on the Young Highness’s safety and honor.
Chu Zhao pressed her lips together. The Grand Tutor was teaching her how to handle matters and judge people. She smiled inwardly. She didn’t need him to teach her—of course she knew.