Grandpa, you must save us!

That was a silver hairpin from Yan Xiuxiu’s head. When helping Yan Xiuxiu up, Xu Zhenglin had quietly plucked it off and concealed it in his sleeve. Approaching Mu Zhijin intentionally, he only drew the silver hairpin from his sleeve when Mu Zhijin grabbed him by the throat, lunging forward to stab directly at Mu Zhijin’s eyes.

Enduring the humiliation of being kept by a whore using prostitution money, he had clawed his way up from the very bottom to the position of Minister of Rites. Was it all to be killed today by someone of even lower birth than himself? No, he would not allow it! He could not let everything he had built be destroyed just like that! He had not yet attained the rank of a first-rank official, and he refused to die!

The distance was too close, and Xu Zhenglin’s movement was exceedingly fast. Had Mu Zhijin not long ceased to harbor any expectations of him, he would have already fallen victim to the attack.

Yet, even with his guard up and a timely sideward dodge, Mu Zhijin was still struck by Xu Zhenglin’s hairpin, which pierced through the hair ribbon Zhu Xishi had just neatly tied for him at the back of his head.

Realizing he had missed the eyes, Xu Zhenglin flicked his wrist and forcefully thrust downward at an angle. If he could not pierce the eyes, he would pierce the skull.

A fierce glint flashed in Mu Zhijin’s eyes as he bent his knee and delivered a swift kick.

Bang—it struck squarely in Xu Zhenglin’s waist and abdomen. Mu Zhijin released his grip just in time, and Xu Zhenglin’s body immediately flew backward at high speed like a kite with a snapped string.

Rip—the hairpin in his hand sliced through Mu Zhijin’s hair ribbon, sending it fluttering into the air along with Xu Zhenglin’s soaring body.

That was the very ribbon Zhu Xishi had just tied for him!

Mu Zhijin lightly tapped the ground with his toes, his body springing up, and launched another kick toward Xu Zhenglin in mid-air.

"Eldest Brother, Xu Yuan kowtows and begs you to spare Father’s life!" Xu Yuan banged his head hard against the floor, and when he raised it, his forehead was covered in blood.

Catching sight of this out of the corner of his eye, Mu Zhijin altered the trajectory of his kick, aiming for Xu Zhenglin’s waist and abdomen instead of his chest. This blow drove Xu Zhenglin back against the wall once more. When he landed, his eyes were closed, and fresh blood poured from his mouth, staining his chest crimson.

"Father—" The three young misses of the Xu family rushed forward together, weeping over Xu Zhenglin. Yet, having witnessed his actions just moments before, not a single one of them could utter a word of reproach against Mu Zhijin.

Mu Zhijin descended gracefully to the ground. Glancing at the severed ribbon cradled in his palm, he suddenly felt that his momentary softening of heart, which had caused him to alter his landing blow, was somewhat reckless.

Zhu Xishi had remained steadfast by his side through thick and thin, yet he had failed to protect even a single hair ribbon she left behind.

Xu Zhenglin! Enraged, Mu Zhijin took another step forward.

"Eldest Brother!" Xu Yuan slammed his head against the ground again. In his eyes, Mu Zhijin, with his disheveled hair and palpable murderous intent, genuinely intended to kill Xu Zhenglin with his own hands. He could not stand by and watch that happen.

Xu Yuan continued his rapid kowtows, every single one echoing loudly. "It is Xu Yuan’s incompetence that kept Father from acknowledging Eldest Brother sooner. Every fault, every error is Xu Yuan’s alone! Father is in the wrong too, but no matter how wrong he is, he is still the birth father who gave us our bodies, skin, and hair. I implore Eldest Brother, for the sake of heavenly principles and human bonds, to spare his life."

Mu Zhijin halted his steps without looking at him. "It is not that I refuse to spare him. Given his relationship with the Crown Prince, do you think the Second Prince would allow him to live?" Sending Guan Yueqing to drive them away earlier was meant for nothing more than to preserve their lives. Who could have anticipated that they would still seek him out?

Xu Yuan kowtowed even faster. "Eldest Brother and the Second Prince address each other as brothers. My maternal grandfather once said the Second Prince is benevolent by nature. If only Eldest Brother would put in a word with him..."

"I will not speak of this," Mu Zhijin interrupted Xu Yuan. "How you treated me, I remember. How he treated me, I remember even better!" He could hardly bring himself not to kill the man; how could he possibly save his life? Impossible!

Pausing for a moment, Mu Zhijin lowered his voice. "Before dawn breaks, I will escort you, your sisters, and Aunt Xiu to your grandfather’s estate. Otherwise, once daylight comes, none of you will escape this calamity."

"Xu Yuan is not leaving. Unless Eldest Brother spares Father’s life, Xu Yuan will absolutely not leave." Xu Yuan snatched up the sword with which Xu Zhongzeng had committed suicide. "If my second brother’s life is not enough to pay the debt, what about adding Xu Yuan’s as well? Xu Yuan asks for nothing else, only that Father be allowed to live out his natural life."

Mu Zhijin hurriedly kicked up a stone, striking and deflecting the sword Xu Yuan held across his throat. "For him, it is not worth it!"

Xu Yuan scrambled back up and resumed kowtowing. "Eldest Brother, if you cannot bear for Xu Yuan to die, then please spare Father’s life."

"You! Are you using your own life to threaten me?"

"I wouldn’t dare. Xu Yuan merely hopes that Eldest Brother, who will one day follow the Second Prince to supreme heights, will not one day face the condemnation of having committed the monstrous crime of patricide with his own hands!"

Mu Zhijin was momentarily stunned. "I never thought of ascending to supreme heights." Perhaps he had thought of it once, but after experiencing so much bloodshed and slaughter, he now simply wanted to return to Pingcheng and live the life of an ordinary person once it was all over.

That reasoning did not hold.

As Mu Zhijin took another step forward, Xu Yuan lunged and wrapped his arms tightly around his ankles.

"Eldest Brother! If you insist on doing this, you will have to step over Xu Yuan’s corpse."

"You..." With no other choice, Mu Zhijin raised his hand, intending to strike pressure points and knock him unconscious just as he had done with Yan Xiuxiu.

Xu Yuan spoke before he could act. "If Eldest Brother does that, Xu Yuan will never forgive you once he wakes up."

Mu Zhijin’s outstretched arm froze in mid-air. He deeply cherished this hard-won fraternal bond, and unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to sever it himself.

Yet, even if he did not kill Xu Zhenglin today, the Second Prince would dispatch others to dispose of him. And when that time came, even Xu Yuan and the others might not survive.

Mu Zhijin stood caught in a dilemma.

At that very moment, Guan Yue’s voice rang out. "Brother Jin, my master has sent someone from the palace to bring you something."

Something? "Bring it over!"

The imperial guards accompanying the order did not bring it over—they carried it.

When it was opened, everyone was struck with horror: it was Crown Prince Li Yincheng, who had been dead for some time.

Mu Zhijin, however, was elated.

He had fled the imperial palace before receiving news of the Crown Prince’s death, which meant that even if he wanted to dispose of Xu Zhenglin, he had to do it in secret. But now that Li Yincheng was dead...

Guan Yue handed over a letter. "My master also left a message."

Mu Zhijin took it, read it, and smiled even more broadly. The real Crown Prince was dead, yet the fake Crown Prince still intended for tomorrow’s tomb-relocation ceremony to proceed as scheduled. Whether it was genuinely proceeding as planned or merely another conspiracy to lure them into a trap and wipe them out in one sweep, the Second Prince and Guan Shiyin—who had remained inside the palace all along—would handle it. For him, this provided a legitimate avenue to protect Xu Yuan and the others.

Mu Zhijin crushed the letter into pieces with a squeeze of his palm and muttered into the open air, "Brother, my thanks."

Xu Yuan could not comprehend what he was saying, but the abrupt clearing of the gloom on Mu Zhijin’s face was instantly interpreted by him as a sign that his father was saved. "Eldest Brother? Father is...?"

Mu Zhijin helped him up from the ground. "Capital punishment may be averted, but lesser punishments cannot be escaped."

"That is acceptable." Xu Yuan agreed readily, so long as life was spared.

Mu Zhijin issued an order. "Guan Yue, shatter the meridians throughout Xu Zhenglin’s entire body."

The three young misses of the Xu family screamed, "Eldest Brother!" Wouldn’t that turn him into a living corpse? How would that differ from being dead?

Xu Yuan closed his eyes and waved his hand, signaling them to clear the way for Guan Yue. "As long as he lives, that is enough."

Mu Zhijin pulled Xu Yuan aside. "That is still not enough! If he had died, the rest of you might still have had a chance at survival. But now that he is dead—yet Ah Xi’s entire family has perished! Compared to my relationship with the Second Prince, Ah Xi, who has followed the Second Prince since childhood, undoubtedly holds far greater weight than I do! If the Second Prince seeks to vent his anger over Ah Xi, the few of you..."

Xu Yuan understood. "What does Eldest Brother want me to do?"

"Make the Second Prince understand your loyalty!"

"How do I make him understand?"

"Take the Crown Prince and me to your grandfather's!"

Xu Yuan’s grandfather, Xu Zhenglin’s father-in-law, Yan Xiuxiu’s father, the former Minister of Rites, and now Grand Chancellor Yan Yide!

At that moment, he was sharing a cup of wine and discussing worries in his back courtyard with Grand General Wei Rufeng.

"The imperial palace looks terrifyingly quiet tonight," Yan Yide said, draining a cup of wine.

Wei Rufeng tugged at his beard and sprang to his feet. "No, we cannot let the Crown Prince make a move against the Second Prince tonight! My men clearly saw the Second Prince enter the palace with guards yesterday. Today he claims he saw wrongly, and we are just supposed to accept it? I don't believe it! I am going into the palace to investigate myself right now!"

"Oh, hurry back, hurry back," Yan Yide hurriedly pulled him down, forcing him back into his seat. "Both of us are getting on in years. Do you truly believe you are still that mighty Grand General whose single stomp could make the imperial family of the Yaotian Kingdom tremble? Don't be a fool! Struggles for the imperial throne have existed since ancient times. It is already fortunate enough if you and I can preserve our respective clans amidst this smokeless war. Why must you insist on rushing to your deaths?"

"Are we simply to sit by and watch the Yaotian Kingdom rot until its destruction? When that time comes, what use is it even if our clans are safe? When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold, old friend!" Wei Rufeng slammed his fist against the table in agitation.

"Do you think I do not understand such grand principles? But even with good intentions, we need a wise ruler above us!" Yan Yide gloomily drained another cup. "Wait a little longer! If the Second Prince can survive tonight, it proves he commands substantial forces beneath him, making him worth gambling our lives for. If by chance he fails—"

Before he finished speaking, the old steward ran over in a state of panic. "Old Master, you must come quickly to the front hall. Little Young Master is dead; his body has been brought back."

"Who?" Yan Yide rose abruptly, knocking over the table and chairs.

"Your youngest maternal grandson, Young Master Zhong. Eldest Young Master Yuan has personally brought him back."

"Zhong'er? You say Zhong'er is...?" Yan Yide’s body swayed, nearly causing him to collapse.

Wei Rufeng steadied him hurriedly. "Don't panic, don't panic. Let's go take a look first."

Yan Yide’s fingernails nearly dug into the back of Wei Rufeng’s hand. "Let's go! I want to see who else dares to harm Yan Yide’s grandson!"

The two men hurried to the front hall. As soon as they stepped through the threshold, Xu Yuan wept as he collapsed to his knees, crying, "Grandfather, you must save us!"