Chapter 212 — It Was All a Lie

Yet the wind was everywhere. It slipped between blossoms and leaves, blowing peony petals to the ground. It struck the lattice of the eaves and howled past like the whistle of arrows. That wind, sharp and sudden, grazed Ye Jiao's cheek, chilling her to the bone. So this was the battlefield of a palace coup.

Though the corridor was wide, it could not contain so many riders brandishing blades, charging forward in chaos. The wounded fell, and the fallen were trampled. She could feel the horses crushing corpses beneath their hooves, trampling through rivers of blood toward the Eastern Palace.

The Sixth Prince, Li Can, continued to chatter nonsense.

"Idiot, you missed your mark again!"

"Move! Don't block the way!"

"So annoying. Has your little Lin Jing returned yet?"

Ye Jiao had no time to answer. All she could hear was the clash of steel, and all she could see were bodies collapsing one after another. The carnage sickened her, terrified her. Why? Why were these people so willing to die for Li Chen? And why, indeed, was she here—risking her life to save someone entirely unrelated to her?

No.

She shook her head.

She was not here to save an unrelated man. She was here to protect the realm, to fulfill her duty as a court official.

Usurpers must die.

Dismounting, she arrived at the gates of the Eastern Palace alongside Li Can. Though a chatterbox, the Sixth Prince was clearly formidable.

The doors were closed, yet the sound of weapons clashing echoed from within. Blood seeped from the cracks. No need to open the doors to imagine the carnage inside.

Their boots—cloud-toed shoes and sheepskin boots alike—rose in unison and kicked the doors open.

Ye Jiao and Li Can stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the melee between the Crown Prince's guards and the Imperial Guard. Friend and foe alike were indistinguishable.

She scanned the battlefield, searching for Li Zhang and Li Chen. Suddenly, Li Can cried out:

"Fifth Brother! What a coincidence. Here to die?"

Ye Jiao's heart skipped a beat. Turning her head, she saw Prince Zhao—Li Jing—among the crowd. He gripped two shields, one before him, one behind, guarding chest and back. But he had no weapon—perhaps not even the skill to wield one. Words were always his sharpest blade.

"Charge! You are the Crown Prince's personal guard—future protectors of the Emperor! You must not flee!"

"You heartless Fourth Brother! We are kin—how can you strike to kill?"

"Second Brother… oh, how could it come to this…"

He wept.

Seeing his tears, Ye Jiao tilted her head slightly and asked Li Can, "Is the Crown Prince dead? Was this all for nothing? We should head to the Nanfeng Hall."

Had she known it was a wasted effort, she would have gone directly to rescue the Emperor.

"In your dreams!" Li Can rolled his eyes at her, then raised his sword at the gates and declared:

"The Imperial Guard is here! Physician Ye is here! Surrender your arms and yield!"

Ye Jiao hadn't expected this—Li Can invoking her name to intimidate both sides.

Had the Sixth Prince forgotten? She was but a fifth-rank court physician, not a great general of the first rank.

Predictably, the warring soldiers ignored him and fired arrows in their direction. They feared not the Crown Prince—why would they fear a physician?

"What nonsense," Ye Jiao muttered. Gripping her blade, she leapt from the high steps and struck down the first soldier in her path.

"Blood splashed on me!" Li Can howled, then added, "Good technique!"

Ye Jiao figured the wind carried the blood back to him—it wasn't so much spilled as hurled by the forceful gale.

There was no time to waste. Alone, she charged toward Li Jing's position. The Imperial Guard followed swiftly, breaking through the chaos to reach him. And there, just beyond, they saw the others.

The Crown Prince, Li Zhang. Prince Wei, Li Chen. And the Guozijian Chancellor, Lu Yi.

They stood on opposite sides of a wide path—how long had this standoff lasted?

Li Jing stood beneath the towering screen wall of the Eastern Palace, urging the Crown Prince's guard forward, the only one among them visibly anxious.

Li Zhang's face remained composed as he stood face-to-face with Li Chen. The two tall princes were like storm clouds on the verge of collision, their auras crackling with restrained fury.

Before Li Zhang stood only a single shield-bearing guard. Behind Li Chen, over a dozen crossbowmen readied their weapons.

Ye Jiao recognized them—armor-piercing crossbows. Arrows that could shatter shields… and lives.

If released, Li Zhang would be turned into a porcupine of bloodied shafts.

Li Chen raised his hand, poised to give the fatal command.

"Stop!" Ye Jiao's voice rang through the wind.

Her red dress fluttered, her long hair disheveled from a fallen golden pin, strands whipping in the air. Blood dripped from her blade. The path she had carved here left her stained and breathless, yet she stood tall, unyielding amidst a storm of blades.

All eyes turned to her. Li Can emerged beside her through the path she'd carved, straightening his robes and announcing with lazy elegance:

"Yes, cease."

Li Chen, however, showed no concern. So what if his useless Fifth Brother had arrived? So what if the Sixth and the Ninth Prince's fiancée had brought a hundred guards?

It was meaningless.

The Emperor was already under his control. Anyone who came would be killed. Once the dust settled, he would coerce the Emperor into issuing an edict of abdication. The Emperor was dying anyway.

To seize the throne, one must be ready to slay kin and friend alike. And these people before him—none could truly be called kin.

Casting Ye Jiao a sidelong glance, Li Chen sneered:

"The Crown Prince rebelled and attempted regicide. The Emperor has stripped him of title and cast him from the capital. His guards defy the imperial decree. Are you also rebelling?"

Treason warrants execution.

Ye Jiao let out a cold laugh.

"Such bold words, Prince Wei. Where is this decree you speak of? Have you forged an imperial edict and used it to justify this slaughter? If the Emperor commanded you to strip the Crown Prince of title, then he might as well command me to protect the Eastern Palace."

"Indeed," Li Can added with disdain, dabbing his hands with a handkerchief. "You're the one who's lost your mind—treasonous beyond measure."

Li Jing squeezed into their midst, cowering behind Ye Jiao as he cursed Li Chen:

"I suggest you find a well-favored burial spot and hang yourself—it might spare you the beheading."

"Does feng shui matter so much?" Li Can played along.

"Yes," Li Jing replied. "It should be well-ventilated, so the stench doesn't spread within days."

"Are you volunteering to collect his corpse?" Li Can asked, eyebrows raised.

"Whoever does is a bastard," Li Jing answered gravely.

"Apologies," Li Can sighed. "That was crude of me."

As their banter veered further off course, laced with disrespect, Li Chen's fury boiled over. He exchanged a glance with Lu Yi, the Chancellor, who nodded.

"Loose the arrows!" Li Chen commanded.

There was no turning back now. He did not believe Ye Jiao's hundred guards could defeat his own.

The soldiers hesitated. The senior officer barked:

"Loose!"

Still, they wavered.

"Loose! Loose them now!" Li Chen bellowed, seizing a crossbow and firing the first shot.

In that instant, the arrows flew toward Li Zhang.

So too did Ye Jiao and Li Can.

Blade and sword crossed in perfect harmony, shielding the Crown Prince's chest.

Li Zhang stumbled back as Li Can pulled him away. In the blink of an eye, the crossbow bolts pierced the shield. The Crown Prince's loyal guard, unmoving, fell to his knees—not because of weakness, but because death rooted him there. The bolt had skewered him and the shield together, yet still he did not collapse.

The atmosphere turned grim.

The jesting ceased.

Everyone realized: Li Chen truly meant to kill his brother.

And now, they were all ensnared in this fatal game.