Chapter 901

The carriage turned the corner, gave a slight shake, and the cheers of the crowd were finally left behind.

Xiao Ningxun lowered the carriage curtain: "Although the carriage bears no markings, Second Brother and Xiao Er are outside. If someone is stationed at the city gate watching when we enter the city..."

"As long as you recognize them, you'll naturally know who is inside the carriage."

Xiao Ningyuan suddenly understood: "You mean, the person who first shouted loudly when we just entered the city has been waiting for us all along?"

Xiao Er

Tuan Tuan tugged at his sleeve: "Who is it, Third Brother? Is Imperial Uncle missing me?"

Xiao Ningxun looked down at Xiao Tuanzi in his arms, raised his hand to ruffle her hair, and said softly: "Your Imperial Uncle surely misses you."

Tuan Tuan grinned, her voice sweet and crisp: "I miss him too!"

Xiao Yuanhang stood to the side, listening silently, saying nothing.

The carriage slowly stopped before the Ning Prince's Mansion gate; the guards at the door hurriedly pushed open the gate, came forward, and flung open the carriage curtain.

Xiao Yuanhang carried his daughter down from the carriage and gently set her on the ground.

Seventh Prince

"You take Tuan Tuan inside first," Xiao Yuanhang glanced at his three sons, "and tell An'er I'm going to the palace."

Jingcheng

Xiao Ningxun understood his father's meaning, nodded and said: "All right, since things have blown up this much, the sooner you report to His Majesty the better, to keep petty people from wagging their tongues."

"That makes sense," Xiao Ningyuan said, understanding, "Father, go ahead."

Each of them took one of Tuan Tuan's small hands: "We'll first take Tuan Tuan to pay respects to grandmother and mother."

Tuan Tuan lifted her little face, looking at her father: "Daddy, I want to go too!"

Xiao Yuanhang squatted down, his big hand gently covering her head, his voice softening: "Be good, go back and see your mother first; your Imperial Uncle isn't going anywhere in the palace, we can visit another day."

Tuan Tuan pouted, then nodded: "All right, Daddy, hurry back; Mom will surely make a feast tonight, and we'll have a reunion meal together!"

"All right, Daddy will go and come back quickly." Xiao Yuanhang stood up.

Xiao Er led Red Cloud up to him and handed him the reins.

Xiao Yuanhang swung onto his horse and galloped toward the palace.

Xiao Ningxun looked at Lu Qi and smiled: "Hurry back to the Fu Yun Teahouse; you've only just been newlyweds and been apart this long, you must be missing her dearly."

"Third Master, you flatter me," Lu Qi said, his face turning red.

Tuan Tuan understood, looked at Lu Qi and asked: "Uncle Seven, do you miss Sister Su?"

Lu Qi's face reddened even more: "No, I..."

"Then hurry back! Sister Su surely misses you too!"

Prince Jing's Mansion

Xiao Er laughed, led over a horse, and shoved the reins into his hands: "Come on, Brother Lu; since you're in Jingcheng, if the young lady misses you, I'll bring her to the teahouse to find you."

Lu Qi swung onto his horse, clasped his fists toward everyone, and said: "Then I, I take my leave." Having said that, he ran off as if fleeing.

Xiao Ningchen looked at his back and grinned: "Let's go! We're heading home!"

At the same moment, in the Phoenix Etiquette Palace.

Murong Jing dismissed all palace attendants, leaving only Siyu, who had just rushed back from the imperial mausoleum.

Siyu knelt on the ground, her clothes not yet changed, her temples blown by the wind into disheveled strands sticking to her sweat‑soaked face, weary from travel.

Murong Jing asked in a low voice: "Have you found the person?"

"Found, found them." Siyu bowed her head: "Those on duty that day in the inner palace prison were indeed all in the imperial mausoleum, not a single one missing."

Murong Jing's heart clenched tight, his fingers gripping the embroidered handkerchief: "Did you get it clear?"

Siyu gritted her teeth: "I lavishly rewarded all the silver the mistress had bestowed, just to get one of them to talk."

She paused, her voice dry: "That person said Liu Yun'er indeed confessed, saying… it was… the Seventh Prince who ordered her to do it."

Murong Jing slowly slumped into the chair, his lips twitching a few times, murmuring: "Indeed, it is true!"

"Did you ask what His Majesty said at that time?"

"Asked." Siyu's voice dropped even lower: "That person said, after hearing it, His Majesty said nothing and ordered Liu Yun'er to be beaten to death."

"Then, he sent all those on duty to the imperial mausoleum, and also said they were not allowed to return to Jingcheng for three years."

Murong Jing closed his eyes.

Beaten to death, silenced.

"In other words," her voice soft, as if talking to herself, "everything written on that paper is true."

She opened her eyes, gazing at Siyu kneeling on the ground, her expression hollow: "I understand. You may go rest now."

"Mistress!" Siyu lifted her head, wanting to speak but stopping.

Murong Jing furrowed his brows: "What else is there?"

Siyu hesitated a moment, then said: "Just now, as I returned, I happened to see the Seventh Prince's carriage entering the city gate."

Murong Jing's expression unchanged: "If you count the days, it's indeed about these past few days."

She wore a look of disgust: "He's come back, so what's there to say?"

"Mistress… mistress." Siyu's voice trembled: "I personally saw the common folk from the city gate follow the Seventh Prince's carriage all the way to Prince Jing's mansion."

"It was a sea of people, livelier than New Year, blocking several streets completely."

"Moreover, many people clapped their hands and sang nursery rhymes, saying… saying that it was all about the Seventh Prince's achievement in recovering Taiyuan Island."

Murong Jing's face turned pale inch by inch.

"Strange as it may sound," Siyu said carefully, "I also squeezed through to take a look."

"There was no sign of Prince Jing's mansion on the carriage, and I don't know how those people recognized it."

Murong Jing snorted coldly: "What's there to guess?"

"Naturally, he himself had arranged for the household staff to wait at the city gate in advance."

"Now his reputation for benevolence spreads far; as soon as someone shouts, won't the scene of the people's acclaim appear?"

Si Yu lowered her head even further, daring not to utter a single word.

"Go down," Murong Jin waved his hand.

Si Yu, as if granted a great pardon, bowed her head, retreated, and left.

The hall door behind her gently closed, and in the bedchamber only the sound of Xiao Che's yi yi ya ya from the rocking cradle remained.

Murong Jin turned and walked to the side of the cradle, leaning down to stare at his son.

Xiao Che lay on his back, his tiny hands flailing uselessly in the air; seeing his mother's face, he opened his toothless little mouth and gave a sweet smile.

Murong Jin extended a finger and lightly tapped his clenched little fist.

Xiao Che instantly seized that finger firmly, as if grasping the only thing he could rely on in the world.

"Che'er," Murong Jin murmured, "he is your elder brother, yet he wants to take your life."

"If he fails even once, how could he be content?"

"He wants everything, yet refuses to leave anything for you."

Xiao Che didn't understand his mother's words; his little hand loosened briefly, then clenched her finger tightly, and yip‑yap, he smiled at her.

Murong Jin stared intently at her son's smiling face; her eyes were wet, yet not a single tear fell.

From receiving that note until today, she had waited so many days, and what she waited for was not hope but a despair that was confirmed step by step.

"Seventh Prince," she murmured to herself, "you desire the Crown Prince's seat; this Palace cannot stop you. But why can't you tolerate Che'er? Must you use his life to pave your own path?"

"You've set your sights on the fact that there is no one left in my Murong clan!"

She lifted her head, her gaze falling on a flourishing phoenix tree outside the window, its petals bright red as blood.