Nangong Yan had been standing in the corner, silent. It was not appropriate for him to speak at this moment, but Consort Xian inexplicably spotted him.
"Prince Chu, why are you here?" Consort Xian seemed to have found an outlet for her distress.
Nangong Yan bowed and said, "When the Tenth Prince met his unfortunate end, this King happened to be at the scene, so I accompanied Lord Ling into the palace."
"It was you! You murdered my son! You were jealous that he was more favored than you, so you killed him!"
"Consort Xian, do not speak nonsense!" the Emperor rebuked.
"If he is not the murderer, why was he at the scene?" Consort Xian gnashed her teeth. "Why weren't others present?"
"Who says no one else was present? Princess Yongning was also there, and she even had a dispute with Prince Han," Zhu Yun, unable to bear others slandering his master, immediately implicated Xiao Man.
Upon hearing this, Ling Xuan felt a hint of doubt. Princess Yongning was also there? Yet, at the time, he had clearly only seen the Prince Chu and his retinue at the scene and had not seen Princess Yongning.
"Yongning was there too?" the old Emperor asked Nangong Yan.
"Replying to Father Emperor, yes. I, your son, encountered Princess Yongning by chance at the Hundred Blossom Pavilion. We left together, and on the street, we met the Tenth Prince. The Tenth Prince and Yongning have always been at odds, so they exchanged a few sharp words. However, when the Tenth Prince got into a conflict with the commoners, Yongning left, so she was unaware of the Tenth Prince's demise."
Ling Xuan mused, so that was it. Princess Yongning and Prince Han had been at odds for more than a day or two. If Princess Yongning had been at the scene, she would have likely become the primary suspect.
"Xiao Man!" Consort Xian cried out as if she had just remembered something. "Your Majesty, it was her! It was her! Cheng'er always said Xiao Man harmed him. It must have been Xiao Man! Xiao Man is undoubtedly the murderer of Cheng'er!"
"Consort Xian, please speak with caution," Nangong Yan said gently. "Regarding this matter, I, your son, witnessed the entire process. Yongning has no connection to the Tenth Prince's death. The Tenth Prince was indeed killed by the enraged commoners."
"Guards, summon Yongning to the palace."
Hu Wan immediately went to relay the order. However, as he stepped out the door, a young eunuch rushed past in a panic, colliding with him head-on.
"Damn you, can't you watch where you're going?" Hu Wan berated in a low voice. "For the next couple of days, all of you on duty are to be extra vigilant, or you'll lose your heads!"
"Eunuch, bad news! Something has happened!"
"What new trouble is there?" Hu Wan felt his right eyelid twitching violently. What could be worse than Prince Han's predicament?
"Prince Qin and Princess Yongning have both been attacked. They are now critically injured and hanging by a thread. The imperial physicians have already gone. I heard even the Grand Preceptor is rushing to the General's mansion to save them."
Hu Wan nearly fainted. The young eunuch quickly helped him up. Hu Wan gasped for breath and hurried back into the hall to report.
"Your Majesty."
The old Emperor was suffering from a severe headache. His son had been killed by the mob. Although the culprits were caught, some punishment was necessary to deter the common people, but Prince Han had been in the wrong first.
"Didn't I tell you to summon Yongning to the palace?"
"Your Majesty, the news just received is that Prince Qin and Princess Yongning have both been attacked and are critically injured, hanging by a thread."
The old Emperor was greatly shocked. "Xiao Si and Yongning are both in trouble?"
"Yes."
"Have the imperial physicians been sent?"
"The imperial physicians have already gone to Prince Qin's manor."
"What about the General's mansion?"
"The Great General, upon receiving the news, rushed back with the imperial physicians. I heard the Grand Preceptor is also on his way."
"Order the imperial physicians to do their utmost to save them."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Father Emperor, I, your son, will go to visit Fourth Brother and Yongning. Yongning was fine when we parted ways. In such a short time, she was attacked. I fear I cannot escape responsibility."
"Hu Wan, you go with him and check on the injuries of Prince Qin and Yongning."
"This servant obeys."
When the news reached the Grand Preceptor's mansion, the Grand Preceptor was lecturing the Crown Prince, with Wen Mo Han present as an auditor. Upon learning that Xiao Man had been attacked and was in critical condition, Wen Mo Han's mind went blank, and he nearly fainted. Fortunately, he managed to compose himself.
By the time he recovered, the Grand Preceptor had already disappeared. Wen Mo Han exchanged a glance with the Crown Prince, and they both left. One headed towards the General's mansion, the other towards Prince Qin's manor.
In Prince Qin's manor, Ye Qing's expression was grave. Nangong Yu was severely wounded. It was fortunate that Xiao Man had switched hands at the last moment, and the stab was deflected. Otherwise, Nangong Yu would have died on the spot.
"Divine Physician Ye, how is His Highness?"
"Just a little more, and he would have met the King of Hell!" Ye Qing was stopping the bleeding and bandaging the wound, while instructing, "With his skills, it's unlikely anyone in the entire Imperial Capital could have injured him so severely. Who indeed wounded His Highness?"
Si Chen looked troubled. Si Ye, however, gritted his teeth, "Who else could it be? Besides Xiao Man, who else could have wounded His Highness?"
Ye Qing was greatly shocked. "Xiao Man wounded him? Why?"
"Who knows? She was like a madwoman, attacking anyone she saw. His Highness went to stop her and ended up being wounded by her." Si Ye hated Xiao Man to the bone. This woman was simply their Prince's nemesis. She stole their Prince's body and heart, yet dared to shirk responsibility. Now, she had become even more ruthless, nearly taking their Prince's life!
"Is Xiao Man alright?"
"How would I know? When we left, she was still standing."
"She should also be seriously injured," Si Chen said thoughtfully. "When we arrived, Princess Yongning was covered in blood and had lost her reason. However, she regained consciousness later and instructed us to take His Highness back to the manor. I suppose she shouldn't have any serious issues."
"What do you mean by 'lost her reason'?"
Neither Si Chen nor Si Ye spoke. Xiao Man's berserk state, her disregard for all and sundry, was something they could not forget even now. In fact, it reminded them of an incident from many years ago. The็ ็ฅ (Sha Shen) from Yun Qi, alone with his sword, had charged into the army. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of them and had pierced His Highness's chest with his sword. Today, the scene of Xiao Man piercing His Highness's chest was eerily similar to that past event.
"I don't know."
At the General's mansion, Feng Tianlan looked at Xiao Man, lying on the bed like a bloodied person, and could barely stand. He reached out to feel Xiao Man's pulse. Only when he was certain Xiao Man was still alive did he heave a sigh of relief.
However, after a thorough examination, Feng Tianlan felt his heart grow cold. How could this be? Why was it like this? Her meridians had suffered severe trauma, her blood and qi were flowing in reverse, and her true qi was in disarray. It was clearly a fatal condition!
"Grand Preceptor, how is eldest miss?" He Qingyi asked with a pale face. She had been smiling and greeting people that morning when she left, and now she was like this. What was to be done?
"I will not let anything happen to her," Feng Tianlan said calmly. He immediately helped Xiao Man up and used his internal energy to guide the chaotic true qi within her. However, as his true qi entered Xiao Man's body, it was repelled and had no effect. Instead, it caused the true qi within Xiao Man to become even more disordered.