Chapter 1581

Hu Xiaotian accompanied Jian Rongxin here, half out of sympathy, half out of curiosity; he simply could not imagine how Jian Rongxin had fallen to such a state. Li Chen Zhou had always been a refined gentleman in his impression, and he remembered that the couple had always been extremely affectionate in public—how could tonight's scene have happened? Even a fool could see that the husband and wife must have had a falling out; Jian Rongxin must have stormed out in anger,

Even if she had stormed out in anger, Li Chen Zhou should have sent someone to escort her; on such a snowy night, even though the two families were not far apart, how could he let his wife go out alone in light clothing and not worry?

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but recall Xue Lingjun's condition—she had ordered him to kill Jian Rongxin; the present moment seemed like a perfect opportunity, yet Xue Lingjun's aim of striking Li Chen Zhou by killing Jian Rongxin appeared utterly unattainable. If Jian Rongxin truly mattered to Li Chen Zhou, tonight's scene would not have occurred.

Jian Rongxin tried to enter the gate, but a strong hand seized her arm; Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Don't go in."

Jian Rongxin shoved Hu Xiaotian's hand aside and rushed inside, but after just a few steps she tripped and fell to the ground—she had stumbled over a corpse. In fact the body had lain there all along, merely hidden by the flying snow, so it was not obvious; seeing the corpse, Jian Rongxin's beautiful eyes widened in shock.

Hu Xiaotian strode up to Jian Rongxin and said in a low voice, "Hurry, this is a trap!"

Jian Rongxin shook her head, her heart pounding with terror; thinking of her father who had just left the Jingguo Duke's mansion, she felt utterly lost, murmuring, "Father… father…" She climbed up from the snow, overcame her fear, brushed the snow from the corpse's face, and by the snow's light recognized that the dead man was not her father but the steward, Jian An.

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed his bad luck; judging from the scene, the Jian family likely faced extermination—who would dare do such a thing? Jian Xihe was not only a Grand Secretary of Da Yong but also Li Chen Zhou's father-in-law. Who would dare move against him?

Seeing Jian Rongxin wandering dazedly in the snow, Hu Xiaotian suddenly understood: if this was a trap, it was certainly not aimed at him; he had merely happened to notice and blunder in by chance. The Jian family was the real target, and Jian Rongxin, the young mistress of the Jingguo Duke's mansion, was nothing more than one of the sacrificial pawns.

The snow kept falling. It covered corpse after corpse, concealed the blood, but could not hide the lurking danger; the present calm was only temporary.

Jian Rongxin came to her father's study.

Inside the study, the candles were still burning; Grand Secretary Jian Xihe sat silently at his desk. A bloody hole pierced his chest, his front soaked with blood that had already clotted; Jian Xihe had been dead for some time. Seeing this, Jian Rongxin felt the world spin. She cried "Father!" and flung herself onto him, then fainted.

Hu Xiaotian approached Jian Xihe, reached out to feel his neck arteries. Confirming Jian Xihe was dead—his body had grown icy from the cold—he heard faint footsteps outside. His ear twitched, his handsome face remained calm. He first hoisted Jian Rongxin onto his back, used her sash to tie her securely there, then blew out the candles and slowly drew his sword, Po Feng, from his waist.

Outside fell silent again except for the rustling of snow, yet Hu Xiaotian sensed an unprecedented danger approaching. Behind him, Jian Rongxin had slipped into a brief unconsciousness, which at least kept her away from grief for the time being.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly raised his sword Po Feng; as he swung, a clang rang out—sparks flew as he cleaved a feathered arrow that had burst through the window. After that blow, dozens of arrows rained in from all directions, their sharp tips piercing the walls and latticed windows. Hu Xiaotian's body spiraled upward, his long blade forming an impregnable shield around him and Jian Rongxin; the arrowheads clinked against the shield.

Hu Xiaotian chose the roof as his breakout point; with a loud boom he blasted a large hole in the study's roof, appearing on the roof with Jian Rongxin on his back. Looking down, he saw dozens of black-clad warriors already inside the Jian mansion, and outside the gate a force of hundreds had also arrived.

Hu Xiaotian dared not linger; he leapt into the air, employing the Art of Soaring, and shot like a great bird toward the rear gate. Dozens of arrows shot from behind toward him ****, and Hu Xiaotian swung his blade in midair, knocking down every arrow aimed at him.

But before he could land, over a hundred warriors swarmed the rear gate; Hu Xiaotian tapped lightly on the wall with his toe and sprang up again, only to see troops rushing in from all directions upon hearing the news. Though his martial prowess was outstanding, he couldn't help but feel a secret alarm—everything had clearly been prepared in advance, and a great upheaval was upon them tonight.

In the nick of time, a white streak swooped down from the sky; Hu Xiaotian fixed his gaze and felt overjoyed—it was a snow eagle belonging to Xia Zhangming. Snow eagles are easy to conceal in such heavy snow; in fact it had already been perched on the flying eaves of the opposite rooftop, motionless, blending with the snow on the eaves, so no one had noticed it.

Hu Xiaotian gathered his breath, flew toward the snow eagle, and landed steadily on its back; the eagle spread its wings and rose into the air. Although its carrying capacity is inferior to that of a war hawk, it can bear two persons for a short distance without much trouble.

Xia Zhangming's true purpose in sending the snow eagle was that it is easy to conceal and not likely to become a target for enemy archers.

Carrying Hu Xiaotian and Jian Rongxin, the snow eagle climbed higher and higher, soon vanishing into the blowing snow. The troops below, sent to intercept, could not make out what was happening; they aimed their arrows aimlessly into the sky, but the heavy snow's interference and the eagle's extraordinary speed meant their shots caused it no harm.

Princess Xue Lingjun woke with a start from a nightmare; she had dreamed of lying in a pool of blood that flowed from her own body, breaking out in a cold sweat and clutching her heaving chest. Still shaken, she panted as the wind and snow continued outside while the interior remained warm as spring. A sudden knock on the door startled her, and she snapped, "Who is it?"

From outside came the frightened voice of her personal attendant, Jian Peng: "Your Highness, many troops have arrived outside, surrounding the residence on all sides."

Xue Lingjun's heart jolted; she donned her robe and got out of bed, but instead of opening the door she went to the window to listen. All she heard was the sound of falling snow; everything seemed peaceful as before, yet Jian Peng would not deceive her.

She opened the door and let Jian Peng in; the attendant's clothes were dusted with snow, her pretty face full of alarm: "Your Highness, many troops have come outside."

"Which troops?" Xue Lingjun asked, staying calm despite the danger.

Jian Peng shook her head; she did not know who had sent those troops, only that they were presently surrounding the residence without taking any further action.

Xue Lingjun gave a faint smile, then unhurriedly went to the bronze mirror to tidy her appearance.

Seeing her still concerned with makeup at such a moment, Jian Peng could not help but say, "Your Highness…"

Xue Lingjun replied coolly, "Help me comb my hair!"

Within Cien Garden, wails shook the sky; officials who had received the news of the Grand Empress Dowager's death hurried here—of course not every official qualified for the news, among them the Grand Tutor Xiang Liren, Minister of Personnel Dong Bingtai, and Minister of Rites Sun Weiyuan. Prince Yan Xue Shengjing, dressed in heavy mourning, knelt before the mother's corpse, weeping tears and snot alike.

The Da Yong Emperor Xue Dahong and the newly enfeoffed Ming Wang Xue Daoming also came upon hearing the news, accompanied by Consort Dong Shu.

The ones hit hardest by the Grand Empress Dowager's passing were these senior officials; in fact most of those present were secretly afraid, for the only person who could now check Emperor Xue Dahong was gone, and he would undoubtedly grow more ruthless, sweeping away those with differing views in swift, decisive strokes.

Emperor Xue Dahong wept for a while, then turned to the eunuch and said, "The Grand Empress Dowager's health had always been sound—how could this happen so suddenly?"

The eunuch choked out, "Your Majesty… the Grand Empress Dowager was fine tonight, but after taking the decoction prescribed by Physician Changsheng Liu she soon complained of abdominal pain; I hadn't yet had time to summon the imperial physicians when the old lady passed… it's all my negligence, Your Majesty, please grant me death." He wept until darkness filled his eyes; to onlookers he seemed a loyal servant, yet in truth he had personally plotted the death of Consort Chiang.

Emperor Xue Dahong snapped, "I've long said the Liu father and son are untrustworthy—I never expected the Grand Empress Dowager to intercede for them; instead of gratitude they repay kindness with enmity! Seize them! Subject father and son to death by a thousand cuts!"

Grand Tutor Xiang Liren protested, "Your Majesty, absolutely not, absolutely not!"

Emperor Xue Dahong's face darkened as he asked, "Why not? Why not?"

Xiang Liren replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Liu father and son are merely herbalists of the Shen Nong Society; why would they harm the Grand Empress Dowager? What could they gain from such a deed? Surely someone behind them is pulling the strings—I urge Your Majesty not to rush to avenge the Grand Empress Dowager, but first to uncover the truth."

Beside him, the eunuch added, "There's something I don't know whether I should say…"

Emperor Xue Dahong snapped, "Stop beating around the bush—say what you have to say; if you dare conceal anything, I'll take your head."

The eunuch said, "Actually the Grand Empress Dowager was not acquainted with the Liu father and son; it was only because Princess Lingjun interceded for them that she stepped forward to ask the Emperor to spare their lives."

Everyone hearing this felt their hearts sink; although Prince Yan Xue Shengjing never glanced their way from start to finish, he never ceased paying attention to what was happening here. What the eunuch said was indeed true, yet how could Princess Lingjun possibly kill her own mother? What would she gain from doing so?

Additionally, notice: because few people participated in the comment-section floor‑building activity, it will end early; the winners of this event will receive their prizes via express delivery this month, and any extra prizes will be given out in subsequent WeChat activities—let you not post comments, let you not actively join the event, let you make Zhangyu embarrassed…… old embarrassment! Oh my neck, it kills me! (To be continued~^~)