After Xiao Xun left, a crowd of officials and soldiers all rushed away with him.
Xiao Man watched the courtyard left with only their own people, put away the female official bearing she’d learned in the palace, placed her hands on her hips and smiled: “Little Rabbit, Granny, you did well this time! Auntie said there will be rewards!”
Laughter rang out from their own people in the courtyard.
Only then did Chu Tang peek out from inside the hall: “Little Rabbit, is it safe now?”
Little Rabbit turned back laughing: “Sister A’Tang, come out quickly—it’s been safe for a while.”
Safe, what? Just now there were many of Prince Zhongshan’s people in the courtyard. If she walked out and was caught to vent their fury—her meager life couldn’t withstand such a contingency.
Only after confirming there were no more of Prince Zhongshan’s people here did Chu Tang emerge with her parents, but Chu Lan refused to come out, lying on the ground feigning illness.
“Master Chu, hurry up and get up. There are still important matters for you to do,” Xiao Man said.
Hearing this, Chu Lan simply decided to faint dead away. More important matters? How many lives did he have to withstand this—
“—The Empress said you must personally escort Prince Zhongshan’s heir back to the capital. That way all under heaven will know that you risked your reputation and person, taking dangerous risks, to capture Prince Zhongshan’s heir,” Xiao Man continued outside.
Before she finished speaking, Chu Lan lying on the ground opened his eyes, his spirit instantly clear.
He knew what this meant—
“—While you lie here, how can you enter the capital in glory with all people gazing upon you? How will the court reward you?”
Chu Lan got up, and Jiang Shi beside him didn’t even have time to help him.
He straightened his clothes.
“Master, are we really going?” Jiang Shi asked. All these ups and downs—was it real or fake?
“Real, how could it not be real?” Chu Lan said. “This was exchanged with our lives—absolutely real.”
Chu Tang smiled and supported Jiang Shi: “Father, remember to ask for more rewards.”
After all, she had given up an Empress position.
……
……
When Xiao Xun came to see the Emperor, Xiao Yu was still on the battlefield.
Prince Zhongshan’s troops had laid down their arms and were being gathered and guarded. The surviving civilians in the city had all been released. Seeing the tragic state of those who died, they felt both fortunate and sorrowful—if the fighting had continued, they would have been the next batch of cattle and sheep to die.
The grieving people saw a child in yellow robes walking among the wounded and dead, helping bandage wounds, picking up orphans who had lost their parents—he was only a few years older than those orphans himself.
“Your Majesty, fortunately Your Majesty is here—” The people knelt and wept.
Troops came from the distance shouting loudly: “Prince Zhongshan’s heir has been brought bound!”
Countless gazes looked over.
A young gentleman, bound hand and foot, was escorted forward. Before drawing near, he knelt down and said loudly: “Xiao Xun, acting impulsively, quarreling with court ministers, unruly and insubordinate, has committed a grave error and deserves ten thousand deaths.”
Having spoken, he kowtowed.
Prince Zhongshan had confessed his crimes, but what he confessed was the crime of Xiao Xun’s “conflict” with the decree-bearing ministers. So it was acting impulsively, being unruly and insubordinate—the intent to force abdication was thus concealed.
“The heir must remember,” came the admonishment from the trusted aide Prince Zhongshan had sent earlier. “We cease hostilities, but the court cannot harm or prosecute the heir.”
Ning Kun beside him said through gritted teeth: “Empress Chu threatened the Prince with the heir’s life and death. The Prince had no choice but—”
Xiao Xun asked not a single additional question, only nodding in acknowledgment. Upon seeing the little Emperor, he also knelt down cleanly and decisively.
Xiao Yu looked at the person kneeling not far away. He actually didn’t recognize this uncle, perhaps having seen him once or twice as a child, but had no impression at all.
But he knew that on that night at the Chu residence, it was this person who came to kill him.
Looking at this enemy so close at hand, then hearing the trivial charge of acting impulsively, Xiao Yu showed no grief or indignation, no questioning—his expression was calm.
Earlier, Old Bai had conveyed Sister Chu’s words. To avoid greater casualties, the court now also had to take a step back, make this matter small, and temporarily not pursue the crime of treason by Prince Zhongshan and his son.
Whatever Sister Chu said was what it was. Sister Chu had also told him one more thing—
Xiao Yu put down the orphan he was holding and said: “Xiao Xun, you need not kneel to me, need not confess to me. You should kneel before these people who died, and confess to them.”
Hearing this, the people erupted in sky-piercing wails.
“That’s right, he’s the one who harmed us—”
“My son, you died so miserably! Hearing that Prince Zhongshan’s heir was protecting the capital, you ran to enlist, only to die under his horse’s hooves.”
“Heaven-cursed Prince Zhongshan’s heir!”
Curses, weeping—some person who had lost a relative, driven by extreme hatred, grabbed dirt and stones from the ground and threw them. Immediately more people began throwing.
Xiao Xun knelt on the ground motionless, letting dirt, stones, and shoes strike his body and face.
……
……
In the deep night, the city was brightly lit, and the troops camped outside the city were like a river of stars.
The battlefield had been cleaned up, corpses were no longer visible, and the wounded had all been settled in the city, but walking through it, one could still smell the stench of blood.
Xie Yanfang stopped and looked down at the ground. Despite being trampled and buried, a blade of grass still grew out crookedly.