The city gates of Yulin Imperial City were flung open as the third watch struck.
The army, long trapped on Phoenix Mountain, entered the city with weary steps, escorting the imperial carriage of the Second Prince.
Upon seeing the army, the Second Madam, Yu Fenglan, felt her legs go weak and knelt to the ground. Fortunately, the Third Madam, Yin Wenying, was quick to her side, grabbing her sister-in-law’s arm and holding her up.
Ji Zixiu and Ji Ziyan stood side-by-side, their eyes brimming with tears as they gazed upon the army, now devoid of their kin.
Inside the carriage, Ren Jun, upon hearing the cries of the Ji family's women, lowered his head guiltily.
The Second Prince, Xie Jingxi, however, was visibly impatient. "Crying, crying! All you do is cry. Women are truly the most useless beings!"
Having been trapped by the raging fire for eight days, Xie Jingxi’s mood was at its nadir. Though unharmed by the flames, the thought of his recent torment, of how he had, to save himself, pushed his beloved concubine into the inferno to burn, and then looking at the carriage, now a mere shell of its former self…
Xie Jingxi’s fury boiled over, and everything he saw seemed to grate on his nerves.
The First Madam, Lin Wanyun, as the Second Prince's carriage drew nearer, suppressed her grief and stepped forward, her voice low. "The widows of the Ji family welcome home the remains of the Ji family's men."
Xie Jingxi scowled at the First Madam, Lin Wanyun, but showed no inclination to respond. He immediately averted his gaze and commanded Ren Jun, who stood beside him, "Are you not going to fetch them for me yet!"
"Yes, your subordinate will bring the person over for the Second Prince to interrogate personally." Ren Jun bowed his head and alighted the carriage.
The First Madam, Lin Wanyun, had not expected the Second Prince to disregard her so completely. Seeing Ren Jun dismount, she hurried before him, inquiring, "Is there anything more important than laying the remains of the Ji family’s men to rest?"
The other madams, hearing the First Madam’s questioning, also gathered around.
The Second Madam, Yu Fenglan, looked at Captain Ren with a flicker of hope. "Captain Ren, you are back safe? If so, does this mean some of the Ji family’s men have survived? Was the messenger's news mistaken?"
The Ji family's women were all too familiar with Ren Jun.
Back when he was just a young soldier, he had been noticed by the eldest master of the Ji family, who took him under his wing as a deputy. Later, the eldest master of the Ji family introduced him to the Ji family's old patriarch to apprentice.
It could be said that Ren Jun’s rise to the rank of captain at such a young age, while partly due to his talent, was more so a result of the Ji family’s support and promotion.
Yet, this man, who once showed humility and respect towards the Ji family, now faced the inquiries of the Ji family’s women with a cold indifference, as if they were strangers.
He even personally pushed aside the Third Madam, Yin Wenying, who stood in his way, eager to carry out the Second Prince’s command.
The Third Madam, Yin Wenying, fell to the ground, crying out in pain.
Ji Zixiu’s anger flared, and she reached for the whip at her waist.
Though Ji Ziyan felt for her mother, she remembered her elder sister's instructions. She grasped her second sister's hand and gently soothed her. "Second Sister, don't be rash. Let's see what the Second Prince intends to do before we react."
Ji Zixiu, though impetuous, knew that welcoming home the remains of the Ji family men was the priority. Gritting her teeth, she nodded. "I understand."
Ren Jun, with several soldiers, sped to the Xuanping Marquis's mansion and dragged Jin Qianyu, who was fast asleep in his bed, out. Jin Qianyu, bewildered, stared at the armored men before him, and after a long moment, wet his pants in belated terror.
"What… what do you want? I, I am the heir of Xuanping Marquis!" Jin Qianyu struggled to retreat back into his bed, but the hand gripping his wrist was like an iron clamp, allowing no resistance.
Ren Jun gripped Jin Qianyu’s wrist tightly, his voice stern. "The shopkeeper of Jin family pharmacy attempted to assassinate the Second Prince. It is heard that the Jin family pharmacy is currently managed by the young master of the Jin family. Now that the Second Prince has returned to the city, please have the young master of the Jin family accompany me to explain himself before the Second Prince!"
Jin Qianyu had waited for days, and finally, he received news from his shopkeeper.
However…
Why did this sound so wrong?
But Ren Jun allowed Jin Qianyu no time to struggle, tossing him to the soldiers behind him.
Jin Qianyu roared like a madman, "Let me go! Let me go! This is my home, I'm not going anywhere!"
The soldiers, however, paid no heed to Jin Qianyu’s pleas. They swaggered out of the Xuanping Marquis’s mansion, practically flying on their feet towards the city gates.
Jin Qianyu’s arrest alarmed the entire Xuanping Marquis’s mansion.
Knowing that the matter was serious as it involved the Second Prince, Xuanping Marquis Jin Dingyi immediately ordered a carriage prepared and set off for the palace that very night to petition the Emperor.
In her room, Ji Ruyun felt as if the sky had caved in.
As the saying goes, a wife follows her husband. If something were to happen to Jin Qianyu, what would become of them, mother and daughter?
Jin Xueyan, holding her mother’s hand, cried until her eyes were swollen. "Mother, what should we do? We must find a way to save Father!"
Saving him was, of course, imperative.
Even if not for Jin Qianyu, it was for the sake of their future, mother and daughter.
Looking at her daughter’s tear-streaked, distraught face, Ji Ruyun’s mind grew resolute. "You, tidy yourself up quickly. We are going back to the Ji family now."
At the same time, Jin Qianyu, still in his underclothes, was thrown before the Second Prince.
Jin Qianyu, seeing the Second Prince seated in the carriage, shivered all over. "Greetings, greetings to the Second Prince."
Xie Jingxi lowered his gaze from his elevated position. "Young Master Jin, you truly have great audacity, daring to send people to waylay me on the road back to the city with the army. Your Xuanping Marquis's mansion is truly lawless!"
Jin Qianyu trembled again. "Your subject, your subject is wronged. No matter how bold I am, I would not dare to oppose the Second Prince…"
Xie Jingxi, anticipating Jin Qianyu's denial, cast a glance in Ren Jun's direction.
Ren Jun turned and went behind the carriage. Soon, he violently hurled an object at Jin Qianyu's feet.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud almost made Jin Qianyu jump.
On the ground lay the body of the Jin family shopkeeper, who had been dead for several days.
Xie Jingxi, recalling his own ordeal in the inferno, could not suppress his rising anger. "Caught red-handed, Young Master Jin, what more do you have to say?"
Jin Qianyu was stunned, falling to his knees and trembling uncontrollably.
He had clearly sent people after the Four Great Medical Halls, so why had it turned out to be the Second Prince?
"Thump, thump, thump… thump, thump, thump…"
A sound of galloping hooves approached.
Soon, an eunuch in imperial attire was seen kneeling before the Second Prince’s entourage, shouting, "By imperial decree, the Emperor summons the Second Prince to the palace to receive an audience immediately!"