An Explosion

There were a few members of the Imperial family and important ministers and officials who were invited to join the banquet at the watchtower. As the festivity ended, Qin Zhi Hao had arranged for the ministers to return to their homes, and for the others to return to the palace on a few separate ways.

Although a few guards were arranged to accompany them to ensure their safety, the member of the imperial family was still rattled over this matter that they did not dare to make a fuss and instead, followed after the prince's arrangement quietly.

The Crown Prince, Qin Zhi Xuan, was exchanging a few words with the Emperor when he noticed his seventh brother walked over to them with a grim expression on his face. The Crown Prince and the Emperor quickly ended their conversation.

"Your Highness," Qin Zhi Hao stopped and greeted the Crown Prince.

"I will leave the Emperor's safety to you," the Crown Prince spoke.

Qin Zhi Hao cupped his hands. "Your Highness, please be assured. I will look after the Emperor well."

The Crown Prince nodded and turned around to leave. He stretched his hand to pat his brother on the shoulder but stopped himself.

"Your Highness, please be safe," Qin Zhi Hao said.

The Crown Prince left and walked over the carriage prepared for him. Soon, a few of his men surrounded him and the Crown Prince's expression turned darker. His steps halted just before the carriage. He whispered a few words to his trusted aide and soon entered his carriage to depart to the palace.

After the day is over, it was expected that there will be a big change in the palace.

At this time, the Emperor will be doubting everyone who was not presented towards the end of the banquet. There were a few concubines as well as princes who did not attend this banquet.

His mother, the Empress happened to be among the earliest to leave the banquet and now, the Crown Prince was worried about what might happen to him and his mother after sunrise.

If the Emperor suspected that his mother was the one who was behind this incident, he will not let them go.

He needed to find the evidence to stop the Emperor from suspecting him and his mother.

Once the Crown Prince's carriage departed, Qin Zhi Hao turned to the Emperor and spoke, "Your Majesty, we are ready to depart to the palace."

The Emperor nodded before he released the curtains on his carriage.

Qin Zhi Hao spoke to the guards and soon, the Emperor's carriage departed to the palace.

The procession for the Imperial Family from the palace towards the watchtower in the city square was grand, however, their journey back to the palace was quite dull. This time, there were no longer the sounds of music accompanying them.

Yu Feng watched everything silently. As the Emperor's carriage started to move, Yu Feng had to walk along with the guards.

After she had left the watchtower, Yu Feng began to realize that everything that happened to him on the day was a little unbelievable. She had faced countless dangers and had met the Emperor along with a few other members of the imperial family.

When she thought of how she had pushed the Emperor and rolled on the ground with him, Yu Feng felt a sense of danger. Although the Emperor did not say what he was going to do to her, Yu Feng could not be sure that the Emperor was not going to kill her. After all, the Emperor had instructed the guards to take her along to the palace.

Yu Feng glanced around her surroundings and sighed, knowing that she would never have a chance to escape under the guards' watchful eyes. At this time, there was nothing else she could do but to obediently followed the Emperor and the rest back to the palace.

She shifted her gaze and stared at Qin Zhi Hao who was busy talking to a few of the guards. Suddenly, Yu Feng was curious about the man's identity. Looking at how he was in charge of the Emperor's safety, Yu Feng could guess that his rank would not be that low.

The group had just left the square when they heard a very loud sound from a distance away. Swiftly, the guards started to pull out their weapons and gathered around the Emperor's carriage to protect him.

"What happened?" The Emperor's voice could be heard coming from the inside of the carriage. He removed the curtains and looked out the window. Instantly, his expression turned ugly.

Ye Feng tilted her head up in the sky and saw a high, blazing fire shot up. From the direction of the fire, Yu Feng knew that the deafening explosion came from the western district.

Her expression turned cold when she saw the size of the fire. It seemed that the explosion in the western district was bigger than it was planned for the square.

Yu Feng felt shivers down her spine when she thought of what could have happened.

Qin Zhi Hao's expression darkened as he watched the fire shot up. He inched closer to the Emperor's carriage and held the hilt of his sword. Once he was sure that there was no danger coming in their direction, Qin Zhi Hao turned to the guards and barked for the guards to hurry and return to the palace.

At this time, the drum from the watchtower was beating loudly. The message was passed over from tower to tower. Instantly, a few squads from different organizations were dispatched to the location.

…

In the Western District…

The frown on Officer Zhou Ming's deepened as he watched the fire in front of him. The shouts and cry of agony filled the surroundings, but Officer Zhou Ming could not hear a thing with the buzzing in his ear.

In front of him, the guards were struggling to put off the fire on their bodies. However, they soon fell on the ground and stopped moving with the fire continuously burning their body.

A few guards stepped closer to help them, but the fire in front of them was too big and no one dared to step closer.

Officer Zhou Ming's expression darkened when he thought of what had happened just before the explosion. At this time, he could only be at ease knowing that the little boy had successfully met with the Seventh Prince and warned him about the situation in the Western District.

If the Emperor stick to his plan to use the path in the Western District, the Emperor and the rest of the member of the imperial family would meet their demise.