Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

"Nonsense! They were clearly fighting tooth and nail over a maid!"

"Nonsense! My cousin works in the palace, and he was assassinated! The assassin went straight for his groin; it was extremely vicious!"

Rumors spread like wildfire, growing ever stronger with each passing day.

Lai Da stood at the street corner with his vegetable basket in hand, trembling as he listened.

Yesterday, Jia Yi asked him how to get to the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion... and today this kind of thing happened there?

He suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed loudly in the direction of the Rongguo Mansion: "From now on, I, Lai Da, am a dog at the feet of the Marquis. Whoever touches the Marquis, I will bite their throat!"

In the Pear Fragrance Courtyard, Yuanyang was tidying up her medicine box when she suddenly heard the maids whispering. Her hand trembled, and the porcelain bottle almost fell to the ground.

Her pupils constricted sharply—the Marquis had gone to Prince Zhongshun's residence last night?!

A chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

She turned to go to Rongqing Hall to report to Grandmother Jia, but after taking half a step, she stopped abruptly.

Everyone in the manor knows that the Marquis dislikes the old lady. If we rashly report this, we will only bring trouble upon ourselves.

With a change of heart, she turned around and headed straight for the east courtyard.

"Yuanyang? What brings you here?"

Jia She lay reclining on the couch, his eyes glued to her, as if he wanted to tear off her clothes. "Did you come to see Master about something?"

Yuanyang glanced at him coldly, her tone neither humble nor arrogant: "My lord, the Marquis went to the Prince Zhongshun's residence last night."

"Oh, go ahead, it's no big deal..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly glared at him, sat bolt upright, and exclaimed, "What did you say? You went to Prince Zhongshun's residence?"

The sound suddenly rose in pitch, startling a pair of sparrows flying away from under the eaves.

His throat bobbed, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

His own foolish son had barely stepped into Prince Zhongshun's residence when the father and son frantically searched for a doctor... Could it be...?

"Where is he?" Jia She asked in a low voice, his fingers digging into his palm. "Where is he now?"

"I went to the Loyal and Brave Camp early in the morning."

"All the maids and servants in the courtyard know that he went out at night, and I have already had my personal guards take him into custody."

After a slight pause, she added, "Also... yesterday afternoon, Second Madam Lian came to Pear Fragrance Courtyard."

The air suddenly froze.

"Remember this—your lord didn't step out of the manor gate once last night."

Jia She squinted, his gaze lingering on Yuanyang for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This girl is quite clever.

"yes!"

Yuanyang lowered her head in response, turned and left, her skirt lightly brushing the bluestone steps. Without stopping, she quickly disappeared outside the moon gate of the east courtyard.

"Go and pass on a message to Jia Lian."

Jia She spoke coldly, his eyes darkening, "Keep an eye on his gossipy wife. What happened at Pear Fragrance Courtyard last night—"

Not a single word is allowed to leak out.

The servant bowed and scraped, "Yes, sir."

Before the words were even finished, the person had already hurriedly retreated, disappearing in the blink of an eye like a startled sparrow.

At this moment, deep within the palace, the retired emperor had just heard that Prince Zhongshun was seriously ill and bedridden. He frowned and immediately summoned the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, ordering him to rush to the prince's residence to treat him.

But when the imperial physician stepped into Prince Zhongshun's residence with his medicine chest, he couldn't even get through the gate.

"roll!"

A furious roar erupted from the inner room, carrying the stench of blood and madness.

Prince Zhongshun leaned back on the couch, his face ashen. Chen Ze beside him had a vacant stare and a trembling voice: "No one is allowed to touch us!"

The two refused treatment, not because they distrusted medicine, but because they knew that the doctors who had treated them would not live more than three days.

Kill the imperial physician? The risk is too great. It would implicate the palace, and if it were leaked, it would mean the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire family.

But if left unchecked... they will die.

This is why they would rather spend all their wealth searching for itinerant doctors than dare to use the Imperial Medical Academy.

The doctors were kneeling on the floor inside the room, all trembling like leaves.

"Your Highness... Your Highness... We have done everything we could..." The leading old doctor kowtowed, his voice trembling, "The bleeding... has finally stopped, but whether he will fully recover is truly unpredictable..."

Before he could finish speaking, King Chungshun let out a cold laugh.

"Heh... So, you bunch of useless trash are no longer of any use?"

His tone was light and airy, yet colder than a blade.

Everyone was terrified and immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, their foreheads banging against each other with a loud thud.

"Your Highness, please have mercy! For the sake of our tireless rescue efforts throughout the night, spare my family's lives!"

"I have an elderly mother and young children at home. I beg Your Highness for mercy!"

Wailing cries rose from all sides, and the sound of weeping shook the rafters.

King Chungsun remained expressionless, uttering only a single, indifferent sentence:

"Drag him out and chop him up."

"The whole family, leave no one alive."

The guards pounced like wolves, dragging the doctors outside. Some struggled and screamed, while others collapsed like mud, their still-wet bloodstains slicing across the threshold, leaving glaring red marks.

"Jia Yi... I will fight you to the death!"

Prince Zhongshun gritted his teeth, his eyes surging with boundless hatred, as if he wanted to burn the entire capital to ashes.

In that instant, if he had a physical form, his hatred would have been enough to overturn mountains and tear the earth apart—even a magnitude 10 earthquake would not have been more powerful.

On the bed, Chen Ze huddled in a corner, tears streaming down his face, like a doll whose soul had been taken away.

"Waaaaah... Father! What should I do! I'm still so young!!! I have so many beauties waiting for me to pamper!!!"

Those carefree and joyful days are now just a dream.

His lower body was already wrapped in bandages, the smell of blood still lingered, and he had lost all dignity.

"Thank goodness... you still managed to leave behind a seed."

King Zhongshun was panting, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

"I also have a grandson...the bloodline is not broken..."

Thinking of this, a warmth actually rose on my back, which was covered in cold sweat.

If Jia Yi had been any more ruthless that day and found his grandson who had been hiding for so many years... this lineage would have truly been wiped out!

"Father..." Chen Ze suddenly looked up, his voice weak, "Do you think... Jia Yi might expose this?"

What he feared was not death, but losing his status, becoming a laughingstock, being reduced to a commoner, and falling into the mire!

"No." King Chungshun closed his eyes, squeezing out two words through gritted teeth, "He was the one who carried out the deed; if things fail, he will also be executed."

"But now... we can't touch him."

Every word and phrase is filled with the humiliation and resentment of bearing heavy burdens.

A prince, critically injured and on the verge of death, is forced to cover up the crimes of his enemy.

Absurd! Ridiculous! Yet, one has to admit it!

But then, things got even worse—

The retired emperor was furious because of the refusal to see a doctor, thinking that Prince Zhongshun was using illness to disobey the imperial decree, and he harbored resentment towards him.

An imperial edict was suddenly issued to the Prince's residence, delivering a scathing rebuke with harsh and almost humiliating words.

As the imperial edict was read, Prince Zhongshun struggled to sit up to receive it, experiencing excruciating pain and his inner clothes soaked with cold sweat.

The final sentence, "Reflect on yourself, and do not disappoint me," struck like a heavy hammer.

His eyes narrowed sharply, and a sweet taste rose in his throat—

"puff!"

He spat out a mouthful of black blood, fell backward, and lost consciousness.

Chaos erupted inside the hall.

At that moment, dozens of miles outside the city, on the official road, the morning light broke through the clouds and shone on a young man in black armor.

Jia Yi spurred his horse and galloped away, followed by 20,000 White-Spear Soldiers who scattered into the mountains and forests like a tide, turning into countless streams and quietly heading towards the Loyal and Brave Camp.

Silently and without warning, a bloody and ruthless game has already been laid.

From then on, the entire army of 50,000 men followed his lead.