commanded coldly

Cui Xiang said, "Last November, Empress Zhangsun gave birth to a little prince for Brother."

Chi Ying was momentarily stunned as if struck from behind.

Seeing her expression, Cui Xiang was alarmed, "Second Sister-in-law! What's wrong?" Cui Yi also called out loudly from inside, "Chi Ying?"

"No, no problem! Nothing's wrong!" Chi Ying quickly forced a smile, trying to appear indifferent despite the storm raging within her, "I'm just surprised. Please continue, Empress gave birth to a prince, then what?"

Cui Yi's puzzled voice came from inside, "Empress gave birth to a prince?"

Chi Ying told the inner room, "Don't worry, I'll tell you later." Cui Yi fell silent.

Cui Xiang didn't know the secret in Chi Ying's heart and thought she was happy for her sister, so he continued, "It was supposed to be a great joy for Brother, who was very happy and decided to grant amnesty throughout the land. But unexpectedly, the little prince died just three days after birth."

Chi Ying, who had just recovered, was shocked again, feeling as if she had plummeted from a hundred-foot cliff and then been lifted into the sky. She stammered, "Dead? How... what happened, how did he die?"

Cui Xiang lowered his voice, "They say he died of illness, but I don't think Brother was particularly sad. Most likely..."

Chi Ying's heart sank, understanding what he didn't say.

Cui Xiang meant that Cui Jie probably ordered the child's death. It wasn't hard to understand. Although Zhangsun Tai married his youngest daughter to the Crown Prince, who later became the Empress, everyone knew the importance of a male heir. The eldest daughter's child was already walking, while the youngest daughter hadn't given birth yet. It was inevitable that the Zhangsun family might consider other plans.

So giving Empress Zhangsun a child was necessary, but if the child survived, it would pose a significant threat to Cui Jie. The best solution was to let the child be born first and then fabricate a story of illness to kill him.

Chi Ying didn't doubt that Cui Jie could do such a thing—after all, her own child from her previous life was lost in a similar manner. However, Ye Shi seemed unconvinced and weakly said from inside, "Xiang'er, don't listen to rumors. As parents, who wouldn't grieve for their child? That was the Emperor's eldest legitimate son, how could he..."

Cui Yi calmly stated, "Nothing is absolute."

Chi Ying nodded, "Nothing is absolute. Before coming here, I wondered why the Emperor suddenly wanted to summon the Prince back so urgently. Now it seems the prince's death must have been the trigger. We suspect something fishy about the prince's death, and Lord Zhangsun must also have suspicions. If he discovers anything, knowing the Emperor is wary of them, it might turn out worse."

Cui Xiang lowered his head, ashamed, "It's all my fault... I shouldn't have written that letter."

Chi Ying comforted him with a smile, patting his shoulder, "No, even if you hadn't written it, they would have found another way to force you or even forge one. There are many methods."

"Now what?" Cui Yi asked, "Should we take Mother and Huaiyou and escape?"

Chi Ying pondered and answered, "Not sure yet. Huaiyou, please tell me if there are other important events. I feel that this alone isn't enough to make the Emperor panic and decide to kill us."

Cui Xiang then mentioned his marriage to the Empress Dowager's niece and Cheng Hu's affairs. Ye Shi sighed, "Lady Cheng is a woman with a tragic fate. I wonder how she is now."

Chi Ying's eyes darkened, thinking of Cheng Fei whose fate was unknown, and Yang Qiong who sacrificed herself. She sighed deeply, "Anything else?"

Cui Xiang couldn't think of anything else and shook his head. Chi Ying felt unsatisfied with the amount of information, feeling as if a piece of the puzzle was missing. But since Cui Xiang said there was nothing significant, it must be true. Perhaps she was overthinking.

"Oh, there's one more thing, I don't know if it matters," Ye Shi suddenly recalled, "Zhangsun's son married a Miss Tang."

Miss Tang? Chi Ying was confused. In her previous life, her younger brother married... Ah! Her younger brother married... Now Rongshi was married to Jing Wang, and somehow a Tangshi appeared. Was she another relative from Cui Jie's maternal uncle's family?

Cui Yi, sitting beside the bed, frowned for a moment and then relaxed, "Miss Tang, could it be the niece of Minister Yan Feng's wife?"

Ye Shi smiled bitterly, "Yes, that Tang family."

Chi Ying was still confused until Cui Yi reminded her, "Remember when I told you about General Xu Lao in Yanzhou, mentioning Former Minister of Personnel Yan Feng? After Yan Feng was exiled to Cangzhou, his wife's family remained in the capital doing business."

A flash of insight hit Chi Ying, piecing together the complete picture. The relationships were too intricate to explain briefly, so she muttered, "So that's it..."

Cui Jie needed to stabilize the imperial relatives by giving the Zhangsun family a child. But in the past, the Zhangsun family, despite supporting him wholeheartedly, was almost eradicated. Now, with two daughters marrying the Crown Prince and the Prince respectively, suspicion naturally arose. Repeated failed plots against Cui Yi led to doubts about the Zhangsun family's loyalty. Thus, killing the prince became inevitable.

Moreover, if past suspicions about the Zhangsun family were unfounded, the marriage between Zhangsun Pei and Tangshi was a direct slap in Cui Jie's face!

With the Zhangsun family already suspected of treason and now connected to Tangshi, who was related to Yan Feng, who supported Cui Yi and was later punished, this connection made it hard not to think—was Zhangsun Tai planning to switch allegiance to support his eldest son-in-law?

Additionally, with the failure of the Xie family's plot due to the deaths of Xie Yuchan and Xie Yong, Xie Xiao either continued to curry favor with Cui Jie or accepted the loss and secretly worked for Cui Yi. From a normal person's perspective, the latter seemed more plausible. Cui Yi maintained Xie Yuchan's status as Princess Consort, ensuring Xie Xiao would be the emperor's father-in-law if successful. On the other hand, under Cui Jie, the Xie family would merely be credited as loyalists.

With signs of both the Zhangsun and Xie families leaning towards Cui Yi, how could Cui Jie sit idly by? To nip this potential threat in the bud, he had to lure Cui Yi back and eliminate him, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

"It seems the situation is dire. If the Emperor fears the Zhangsun family might rebel, he will stop at nothing to kill the Prince," Chi Ying said gravely.

The four people in the room felt a chill. Ye Shi anxiously urged, "You must leave quickly!"

Cui Yi pretended to carry her off the bed, but Ye Shi shook her head and blocked his hands, "Don't mind me. In my current state, I'd only be a burden. If you have the strength, take Huaiyou and go."

Cui Xiang threw himself beside the bed, "If Mother doesn't leave, I won't either!" Ye Shi's tears fell again, "Foolish child, go quickly, or it will be too late!"

Chi Ying entered, looking hesitant. Cui Yi asked, "What is it?"

Chi Ying explained hesitantly, "We only have a thousand men. If the Emperor decides to label us as rebels or bandits, it would be easy to wipe us out. Not just bringing Mother and Huaiyou, even if it's just the Prince and me, escaping would be nearly impossible."

Silence fell among the four. Chi Ying spoke the truth. Even with a thousand troops, Cui Yi couldn't stand against the forty thousand imperial guards in the city. Once engaged, they would be wiped out in less than fifteen minutes.

"How about..." Ye Shi had an idea, "Let Yi take the men and leave first. Chi Ying can disguise herself as a palace maid and hide in the palace. When the nanny goes out to buy supplies, she can be smuggled out?"

Cui Yi firmly refused, "No, if the Emperor comes and doesn't find me, he'll tear the palace apart. Even if he doesn't remember Chi Ying's appearance, the Empress and Zhangsun Tai would recognize her. We can't risk Chi Ying's life."

Ye Shi realized it was true and stopped insisting. But Chi Ying was inspired, "How about this?" They huddled together to discuss. Ye Shi's eyes sparkled with hope, nodding continuously, "This plan is good!" Cui Xiang worried, "What if we're recognized?"

"Don't worry. The guards at the palace gate won't pay much attention to who enters, only remembering the clothes. They won't recognize us," Chi Ying reassured, "When the Emperor arrives and finds nothing, he'll think we've escaped and send people north to chase us. We just need to head south to Jiangzhou. Once we enter Jiangzhou, it's Zhong family territory, and everything will be easier."

Seeing her confidence, Cui Xiang didn't argue further.

The plan set, Cui Yi changed into inconspicuous clothes and handed them to a soldier, while a maid helped Chi Ying change. When Cui Jie arrived, they would pretend to be Ye Shi's distant relatives. Cui Jie wouldn't dare kill Ye Shi's relatives without evidence, so he would have to let them go.

Apart from Ye Shi, the three had to temporarily leave the palace and hide in the maple forest until Cui Jie's attention shifted northward, then return to fetch Ye Shi and head south to Jiangzhou.

Ye Shi finally abandoned the idea of letting them escape alone and agreed after persuasion from Cui Yi and Cui Xiang. The three dressed in plain clothes, climbed over the palace wall, and went into the mountains to find a hiding place. Ye Shi and the two imposters waited calmly for Cui Jie's arrival.

Before sunset, Cui Jie indeed arrived with a large entourage. Hearing from the guards that a carriage claiming to belong to Ye Shi's nephew had entered, he sneered, "This trick is too amateurish." Then, he marched toward Ye Shi's residence.

Ye Shi was having dinner when she heard the eunuch announce the Emperor's arrival. She waved, and the two imposters hurried out to greet him.

Cui Jie strode into the courtyard, expecting to see Cui Yi and Chi Ying, but when the couple knelt and greeted him, he frowned. "Your voices don't sound right."

"You two, lift your heads," Cui Jie commanded coldly.

They raised their heads, looking terrified. Cui Jie gasped, angrily shouting, "You dare deceive me!" The soldiers and maids hastily kowtowed, begging for mercy, claiming ignorance of their mistake. Cui Jie was furious but couldn't vent, nearly driven mad.