The Dark Moonlight returns to the capital, and the mad prince is accused of forcing love.

Xu Qianhui's head buzzed.

To be able to use a princess's token to quietly swindle a prince away in a place like the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the person in question is definitely not an ordinary person.

Thinking of Xiao Shicheng's arrogant and domineering behavior in the main hall just now, Xu Qianhui's palms instantly became sweaty.

"They're going to make a move against the Second Prince."

"That madman Xiao Shicheng, what exactly is he trying to do!"

"There's no time to think about that. Which direction did His Highness go?"

Just as the two were about to set off, Xiao Shicheng's voice suddenly rose sharply from inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, penetrating the heavy hall doors and clearly reaching their ears.

"Uncle, I've been staying in the capital for some time now," Xiao Shicheng said, his tone undisguisedly forceful. "My father has endured so many years of harsh winds in the Northwest; after all, the capital is where he was born and raised. When does Uncle plan to issue an edict to welcome my father back to the capital?"

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Through the half-open side door, Xu Qianhui saw the emperor sitting upright on the dragon throne, his face eerily calm.

"You get used to a place after living there for a while." The emperor chuckled, slowly tilting his wine cup, spilling the wine onto the gold bricks. "Since you're used to it, there's no need to go to the trouble of moving it. Shicheng, you've overstepped your bounds."

"Really?" Xiao Shicheng burst into laughter, a laugh tinged with madness. "But I think this place needs a new owner!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud "bang" resounded as the tightly closed main gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was slammed open by a tremendous force.

Dozens of heavily armored assassins, their faces covered with black veils, surged into the main hall like a tidal wave. Some of the imperial guards who had been stationed outside the hall suddenly turned their spears around and pointed their halberds at the court officials inside.

Palace coup!

Chaos erupted instantly inside the hall, with screams from the women mingling with the sounds of tables and chairs collapsing and breaking.

"Protect the Emperor! There's an assassin!"

Chu Yunci reacted with lightning speed. He kicked over the table in front of him, drew his sword, and stood in front of the emperor. Several assassins brandished their longswords and rushed at him, but Chu Yunci's sword flashed like lightning, instantly cutting down two of them.

"Kill him!" Xiao Shicheng drew his curved sword from his waist and roared, pointing it at Chu Yunci.

More assassins surged towards the high platform. Chu Yunci was surrounded by five or six men. Although he was highly skilled in martial arts, the assassins fought with a reckless, suicidal style. Just as one of the assassins' longswords was about to strike Chu Yunci's shoulder from the side, a stumbling figure suddenly rushed out from the crowd.

"Brother-in-law, watch out!"

It's Lou Miaomiao.

She didn't know where the strength came from, but she actually stepped over the chaotic crowd and rushed straight towards Chu Yunci, blocking the long sword in front of him.

"Pfft—"

The sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh was particularly jarring in the noisy hall. The long sword pierced Lou Miaomiao's chest in an instant, the tip protruding from her back, splattering blood all over Chu Yunci's face.

Chu Yunci's eyes widened, and with a backhand slash, he severed the head of the assassin, then caught the falling Lou Miaomiao.

"You..." Chu Yunci's voice trembled as he looked at the blood gushing from her chest.

Lou Miaomiao gripped his clothes tightly, blood gushing from the corner of her mouth, yet a grim smile appeared on her face.

"Brother-in-law... I've finally... made you remember me..."

Before she could finish speaking, her hand loosened, and she breathed her last.

"Walk!"

Princess Fu'an pulled the stunned Xu Qianhui out through the side door, her voice urgent, "With Chu Yunci and the remaining Imperial Guards holding the fort inside, Father Emperor was prepared, nothing will happen. We must find Second Brother quickly. Since Xiao Shicheng dared to force the palace, he will definitely not let Second Brother off the hook!"

Xu Qianhui was dragged along by her as they ran wildly down the dark palace path.

The cold wind rushed into my lungs, causing a sharp, cutting pain.

Shouts of battle echoed throughout the palace, and firelight flickered on the distant palace walls. The two evaded several patrolling rebel corps and made their way to the edge of the Imperial Garden.

This place is so big, with artificial hills everywhere and swaying trees, it's impossible to find anything here.

Xu Qianhui forced herself to calm down.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and leave!" Princess Fu'an stamped her feet anxiously.

"Wait a moment."

Xu Qianhui suddenly opened her eyes and quickly walked to a red-lacquered pillar next to her.

She leaned closer to the pillar, smelled it carefully, and then touched it.

There was a very fine scratch on the pillar, and a little dark brown powder remained in the scratch.

"It smells like orchids." Xu Qianhui's eyes lit up. "His Highness always carries this medicine with him. He knew he'd been tricked, so he deliberately left marks along the way!"

Princess Fu'an's spirits lifted: "Can we continue the search?"

"able."

With the keen sense of smell he had honed by traveling with itinerant doctors, Xu Qianhui, like a hunting dog searching for a way in the dark, pressed close to the palace walls and corridors, painstakingly trying to catch the faint medicinal fragrance in the air.

The scent of medicine lingered intermittently, indicating that Xiao Huaijin left the mark in a great hurry, and may even have been injured.

Following the scent, the two arrived at a secluded palace wall deep within the Imperial Garden.

The aroma of herbs here became extremely strong, even unable to mask the intense stench of blood permeating the air.

"clang--"

The crisp sound of clashing weapons came from behind the artificial hill in front.

Xu Qianhui and Princess Fu'an exchanged a glance, then immediately slowed their pace, pressed themselves against the cold palace wall, and quietly peeked out.

Upon seeing the situation ahead, Xu Qianhui's breath hitched, and her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Several corpses lay scattered on the open ground behind the artificial hill.

Xiao Huaijin was cornered by the palace walls. He was left with only one blood-soaked guard, while they were attacked by seven or eight strangely dressed foreigners wielding curved swords.

Xiao Huaijin's black python robe had been torn in several places, and there was a deep knife wound on his left arm that exposed the bone. Blood dripped from his fingertips onto the bluestone slab.

He held a stolen longsword in his hand, and his eyes, which were usually gentle and smiling, were now as cold as ice.

"You were brought in from the northwest by Prince An."

Xiao Huaijin was panting heavily, the tip of his sword pointing diagonally at the ground, his voice still steady.

"What benefits did Xiao Shicheng promise you that made you dare to kill a prince in the Forbidden City?"

The leading foreigner sneered and replied in broken Mandarin, "Second Prince, the dead don't need to know so much. Attack!"

Several aliens charged forward again, brandishing their swords.

Xiao Huaijin's bodyguard roared and blocked the two men, but was struck in the leg by a third man's blade and fell to his knees. Xiao Huaijin parried with his sword, his swordsmanship precise, but he was clearly exhausted and was forced back a step, his back slamming heavily against the palace wall.

"You bastard!"

Princess Fu'an's eyes instantly reddened. She drew her soft sword and hissed, "Stay here and don't move! Don't come out!"

Having said that, Princess Fu'an, like an enraged mother leopard, suddenly charged out from the shadows.

"Second brother, I'm here to help you!"

Princess Fu'an's soft sword, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, instantly wrapped around a foreigner's curved blade. With a powerful twist, the man screamed as his wrist was severed.

Her arrival instantly relieved Xiao Huaijin's pressure.

Xu Qianhui covered her mouth tightly and pressed her body against the cold Taihu stone.

She knew she didn't know martial arts, and rushing out would only be a burden.

She forced herself to open her eyes wide and stare intently at the chaotic battle.

Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, Princess Fu'an, though ruthless in her moves, was ultimately no match for the strength of these foreign warriors who had spent years rotting among corpses.

Soon, she was entangled by the two men and couldn't break free.

Just as Xiao Huaijin deflected one man's curved blade, another man's blade swept past his neck, severing a lock of his hair.

He gritted his teeth and fought back, his sword piercing the other man's chest, but because he was exhausted, the other man grabbed the blade tightly and he couldn't pull it out for a moment.

In that life-or-death struggle, Xu Qianhui suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint reflection on the palace wall diagonally above.

That was the cold glint of an arrowhead!

A foreign archer, hidden in the shadows, had somehow scaled the palace wall. He was now drawing his bowstring taut, the cold arrow aimed directly at Xiao Huaijin's unsuspecting back.

Xiao Huaijin's longsword was still stuck in the enemy's bone. Princess Fu'an, with her back to the wall, was completely unaware of the murderous intent above her.

The distance was too far; it was too late to shout.

In that instant, Xu Qianhui's mind went blank.

She didn't think about the consequences or calculate the gains and losses; her physical instincts outpaced her reason.

She suddenly rushed out from behind the Taihu rock.

"Whoosh—"

The arrow, released from its bow, tore through the night wind with a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for Xiao Huaijin's back.

Xiao Huaijin heard the news, but he was held back by the assassins in front of him and had no way to avoid it.

A flicker of despair crossed his eyes, and he could only manage to twist his body to try and avoid vital organs.

However, the expected excruciating pain did not come.

A slender figure suddenly lunged at him from the side, slamming into him with a resolute force.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sharp arrow piercing flesh rang in Xiao Huaijin's ears.

Using the momentum, Xu Qianhui tackled Xiao Huaijin to the ground.

The heavy arrow that was originally aimed at Xiao Huaijin pierced straight through her right shoulder and back, and the huge impact caused the two of them to roll several feet on the bluestone slab.

"Ah Fen!"

Xiao Huaijin's pupils suddenly contracted, and his usual composed demeanor shattered instantly. He abruptly sat up and grabbed Xu Qianhui in a tight embrace.

Warm blood gushed out, instantly soaking Xu Qianhui's thin clothes and staining Xiao Huaijin's hands red.

"Ah Hui... Ah Hui!" Xiao Huaijin's voice trembled uncontrollably.

He frantically pulled out some hemostatic powder from his pocket, but his hands were shaking so badly that the powder spilled all over the floor.

Xu Qianhui lay in his arms, in so much pain that even her breath smelled of blood.

She struggled to lift her eyelids and looked up at the pale, bewildered face above her.

"Little Huaihuai..." Xu Qianhui forced a smile, but only coughed up blood. "This medicine... is it under-prepared...? Why doesn't it stop the pain at all..."

"Don't speak! I'll save you, I'll save you right now!"

Xiao Huaijin pressed hard on the acupoints around her wound, his eyes bloodshot, and tears fell unexpectedly onto Xu Qianhui's face.

The archer on the palace wall, seeing that his first shot had missed, was about to nock a second arrow when Princess Fu'an, who had reacted quickly, threw a short knife that pierced his throat, causing him to fall from the top of the wall.

The remaining few aliens, seeing the situation was not good, were about to flee when suddenly the sound of armor plates clashing came from afar, and a large number of imperial guards rushed into the imperial garden with torches in hand.

"Take it down!"

The general leading the team shouted angrily.

As the shouts of battle faded into the distance, Xu Qianhui felt the firelight in front of her growing dimmer.

After the initial onset of excruciating pain, the back pain gradually turned into a numb, cold sensation.

She felt Xiao Huaijin holding her tightly, his body temperature seeping through her clothes—one of the few moments of warmth she had ever experienced in this cold capital.

"Don't sleep... Ah Hui, please don't sleep..."

Xiao Huaijin's voice seemed to drift further and further away, as if through a film of water.

Xu Qianhui wanted to tell him that when she wanted to return to Jiangnan back then, she actually blamed him for not stopping her.

But now, she doesn't blame Q.

She closed her eyes and was completely enveloped in boundless darkness.