Xie Jinglan smiled, his eyes lowered.
This eldest daughter of the Ji family was truly remarkable.
With a single letter, she managed to achieve three objectives with one action.
Xie Jinglan walked back to his desk and picked up another letter from the envelope. "Nian Gong."
A dark shadow flitted into the room. "Your Highness."
"You will personally travel to Luoyi and deliver this letter to the fourth daughter of the Ji family."
"Yes."
Not long after, the gates of the Fourth Prince's mansion were opened.
Xie Jinglan boarded the carriage heading to the palace.
If his second brother had already reached Phoenix Mountain, the messenger should be entering the city by now. Since he had decided to align himself with the eldest daughter of the Ji family this time, he had to go to the palace to gauge the Emperor's intentions. This way, the eldest daughter of the Ji family would be in the open, while he remained in the shadows, facilitating future actions.
After delivering the letter, Madam He felt uneasy. She deliberately waited outside the Fourth Prince's mansion for a while and saw the Fourth Prince heading to the palace in the middle of the night.
Within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Ji Zizhao learned of this matter from Madam He.
"Miss, if you ask me, the Fourth Prince is still a prince. If you ask the Fourth Prince to protect our Ji family, it might not be possible. The Fourth Prince is rushing to the palace like this, it's likely he has already informed the Emperor about this matter," Madam He mused. After much thought, she still believed that it was most reliable for Miss to request the Fourth Prince to rescue the Ji family. She recalled that the last time the Ji family had faced assassins, Miss had a chance encounter with the Fourth Prince, so it was natural for them to be able to speak. Su Dan Novel Network
Ji Zizhao's mind calmed down upon hearing Madam He's words.
It seemed the Fourth Prince intended to weather the storm with her.
Otherwise, the Fourth Prince wouldn't have gone to the palace in the middle of the night to gather information. After all, she hadn't told him in the letter that the messenger sent by the Second Prince into the city had already died.
The firelight to the northwest of the city gates reddened half the sky.
Ji Zizhao stood up and walked to the window, narrowing her eyes to gaze into the distance.
Madam He followed closely beside her. Seeing the firelight to the northwest, she was startled. "Where is this fire? I'm afraid it will soon alarm the imperial court."
Ji Zizhao curled her lips in a sarcastic smile, her eyes filled with disdain. "Those who confine themselves to grand residences and red bricks and green tiles every day are likely blinded by the beauty within their courtyards, and can no longer see the dire straits outside."
In Yulin, the higher the power, the higher the mansion walls were built.
At some point, high-walled residences had become symbols of power in Yulin.
These people blocked the hunger and cold of the common people within the city behind their walls, enjoying only the beautiful scenery before their eyes, including the Emperor in the palace.
It was just that they probably never imagined that one day they would also be blocked from sight by high walls.
It was like shooting oneself in the foot.
The gloomy night was deep, and the firelight to the northwest grew brighter. It was likely that the Fourth Prince's men had arrived.
So much the better. It was always easier for brothers who understood each other to turn on each other than for an outsider like her.
Ji Zizhao was correct. Tang Di had already arrived at Phoenix Mountain with his men.
Seeing that the vagrants were unable to withstand the large army surrounding the Second Prince's carriage, Sun Zhiteng gritted his teeth and set fire to the wooden crates that Zhang Ji had used to surround the Second Prince's convoy.
However, those wooden crates couldn't last long, and the fire was about to be extinguished.
Without a word, Tang Di directly led his men to open the oil barrels they carried and poured them onto the wooden crates. In an instant, the fire that was about to die out flared up again.
Sun Zhiteng stared dumbfounded at the scene before him. He had almost shattered his teeth just now before gathering the courage to light the wooden crates, thinking it was a desperate gamble. To his surprise, the others didn't even blink before pouring several barrels of oil, and the fire shot up into the sky.
Wang Can and Xin Bi, who were usually hot-tempered, lost their tempers at the sight of the large fire.
The army trapped by the raging flames was like being steamed and roasted on a stove.
The gradually depleting oxygen and the constantly rising temperature of the fire caused them to panic and surrender without a fight.
Inside the carriage.
Xie Jingxi's entire face had lost all color. His fingers tightly gripped Ren Jun's arm. "What do we do? Think of a way! If not, have those soldiers form a human wall! No matter what, my safety must be protected first!"
Ren Jun's heart trembled.
He, who had followed the men of the Ji family, had been in desperate situations on the battlefield countless times. But each time, it was always the Ji family who stood in front. Whether it was the old general of the Ji family or the young generals...
Even if they died, they vowed to die honorably in front of the soldiers!
"Second Prince, please calm down. We are now trapped in the fire and completely passive. Once we order the soldiers to form a human wall, it will inevitably cause panic among them. When panic eventually turns into rebellion, the situation will be completely uncontrollable." Facing the Second Prince, who was only concerned about his own safety, Ren Jun had to admit that after the Ji family's demise, Yulin would no longer have any generals who could stand in front of the soldiers.
Xie Jingxi was angered by the refusal and kicked Ren Jun in the chest. "Useless! You followed the men of the Ji family for so long, yet you haven't learned even a tenth of what they knew!"
Ren Jun felt a dull ache in his chest and lowered his head in silence.
Helpless, Xie Jingxi could only shout desperately out of the carriage window, "Who dares to attack me like this! I am the Second Prince of the current dynasty! Are you tired of living to plot such a wicked scheme against me!"
The shopkeeper of the Jin family watched and felt increasingly that something was wrong. Especially after hearing someone repeatedly claiming to be the Second Prince from the trapped carriage, his scalp tingled.
Zhang Ji quickly shouted, "Quickly stop the Jin family members and don't let him go back to report!"
Before anyone could react, Tang Di had already blocked the Jin family's shopkeeper.
The Jin family's shopkeeper was so frightened by Tang Di that he collapsed onto the ground.
On the day the Ji family faced assassins, the masters were all in the courtyard, and they, the subordinates, guarded the mansion gates.
Therefore, Zhang Ji had seen Tang Di and knew he was someone close to the Fourth Prince.
Although Zhang Ji did not know why the Fourth Prince had sent people, Tang Di's actions seemed to be in their favor. So, he hurried over and explained the day's events to Tang Di.
Tang Di listened silently to Zhang Ji's words, then grabbed the Jin family's shopkeeper by the collar and threw him directly into the fire. "Since your Jin family dared to be so audacious as to surround the Second Prince, this matter will be for your Jin family to explain to the Second Prince in person."
Zhang Ji, "..."
Is the Fourth Prince crazy? Or are you crazy?!
In the middle of the fire, the Jin family's shopkeeper wailed as he was burned. "We were only following our young master's orders to retrieve the goods from the Four Great Medical Halls. We didn't expect things to escalate like this. Our Jin family really didn't intend to oppose the Second Prince..."
Xie Jingxi, who was sitting in the carriage, heard these words and his eyes turned red with anger.
The Jin family?
The Marquis of Xuanping's manor?!