"Second brother! I'll fight you to the death!" The Third Prince looked at the tragic state of his second brother, his heart filled with despair.
He grabbed his sword and slashed desperately. Soon, he too was hit by an arrow and crawled to his second brother's side, a smile on his face, murmuring, "Don't be afraid, second brother, third brother is here to accompany you."
Without leadership, the rebels were quickly suppressed. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Wu Caiwei's eyes involuntarily narrowed, and she flicked a dagger, intercepting a hidden arrow.
"Protect the Emperor's safety!" The head eunuch reacted, shouting loudly. The hidden guards surrounded the Fifth Prince, the Empress, and the Emperor. If they hadn't seen it wrong just now, the projectile was aimed at the Fifth Prince.
It was truly unexpected. It seemed someone wanted all the princes to be annihilated, leaving only the Fourth Prince and the underage princes. There was even someone hidden in the rafters, undiscovered for so long. If they hadn't made a move, would she have known more palace secrets?
Wu Caiwei flicked her dagger and quickly fled. Knowing she had been exposed, she didn't want the other party to find her. Although she had helped the Fifth Prince, she had caused him some trouble. However, she feared more for the Fifth Prince's safety.
Indeed, as soon as she left, hidden guards came to search. To avoid pursuit, she took advantage of the rebels' confusion, knocked one out, quickly changed into his clothes, and blended into the crowd. Tonight was full of danger. Only by keeping the Fifth Prince under her watchful eye could she feel at ease.
After that, there were no more mishaps. Seeing the situation slowly stabilizing, she seized the opportunity to sneak back. The sky was just beginning to dawn, and she could see the corpses outside the Mu family's gate, knowing that rebels had come last night and fought with the people in the mansion.
Without taking time to check for casualties, she returned to her courtyard. Looking at the mess in her room, she was stunned. If it were her previous courtyard, which was too close to the outside, it would be normal for someone to enter. But her current courtyard was almost in the center of the Mu family. How could they have entered so easily? Of course, with Madam Mu in the mansion, perhaps it was intentional.
As if to confirm her conspiracy theory, she found that everyone in her courtyard had not escaped. It didn't matter about others, as they were basically sent by Madam Mu. Yan'er couldn't be hurt, or she would blame herself endlessly.
She went to Yan'er's room and found that it had also been burgled. After calling out for a long time with no response, her heart sank to the bottom. After some thought, she simply dressed and tidied herself up, then went to the front courtyard to check on Master Mu and Madam Mu.
Unexpectedly, as she approached Master Mu's study, she saw Yan'er kneeling on the ground. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
As if sensing her, Yan'er looked up and saw her young lady. A joyful smile appeared on her face. She was afraid something had happened to her. Now it seemed her worry was in vain. As long as her young lady was safe, what did it matter if she suffered a little?
Wu Caiwei nodded reassuringly at her before entering. Master Mu saw her and abruptly stood up. After a moment's thought, he felt his reaction was too strong and quickly sat down.
He coughed twice and said sternly, "You still know to come back? You're too bold! It's chaos outside, and you went out alone. You know that if anything happened to you, the Mu family would suffer with you, and your father would worry."
Wu Caiwei didn't take the last sentence to heart. Her disappearance was certainly worrying to him, after all, she was the future Fifth Prince's consort. Regardless of the outcome tonight, as long as the Emperor didn't die, any mishap with her would spell disaster for the Mu family.
"Judging by the state of my courtyard, if I hadn't hidden, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now," Wu Caiwei said, a half-smile on her face as she looked at him.
Master Mu felt a pang of guilt for a moment. He knew his wife targeted her. Although he thought his wife was a bit irrational, their feud had already begun. If he suddenly changed his stance, his wife probably wouldn't appreciate it. So, as long as there were no major mistakes, he didn't interfere much. But he never expected his wife to try and frame her at such a critical juncture.
"I don't understand what you mean. I admit our Mu family's guards are a bit lacking, and they didn't protect your courtyard well. But I can guarantee that such a thing won't happen again. If you're not at ease, you can move to the courtyard next to mine," Master Mu pretended to be ignorant, knowing everything. He absolutely would not admit that his wife had murderous intentions. If he did, even if she married into the royal family later, she would break ties with him. Besides, tonight's event was unexpected, and no one could have foreseen it. Even if he didn't admit it, it was understandable.
"Father just said he cared about me, but it seems that's all. I merely expressed my suspicions, and you immediately covered for her, as if no one knew her machinations. Such self-deception is unacceptable." If Wu Caiwei was merely guessing at first, then as she walked out of her courtyard towards Master Mu's residence, she could very clearly determine that Madam Mu had acted intentionally. She didn't believe it was a coincidence.
Master Mu was adept at judging the situation. Seeing that the other party did not believe his words at all, he decided to be forthright to dispel her doubts. "I never expected your hatred for your mother to reach such a point. Tonight's events were unexpected. I heard there was a rebellion. Our Mu family is not prominent in the capital, and the losses incurred are within an acceptable range. Some families have lost many masters.
No one expected that at this crucial moment, your mother would still have the time to order people to lure them to your courtyard. By the time I found out, it was too late. Everything had already happened. Fortunately, you were unharmed. So, I immediately placed her under house arrest in her courtyard. I won't release her until you are married, so she can never harm you again."
She knew it would be like this. It was entirely within her expectations. If she hadn't gone out tonight, or if she had been capable, her reputation would have been ruined, and she might have died a gruesome death. Although her father was cold-blooded and heartless, he had always treated his wife exceptionally well, which she had long since gotten used to. However, she still needed to express her dissatisfaction, otherwise, he would always feel she was easy to bully.
"Father is too biased. What wrong did my maidservant do to be made to kneel outside? Yet Mother made such a grave mistake and is only confined. Does that mean I can do the same someday? After all, the price is very small," Wu Caiwei said indignantly, looking at him.
"I know this is somewhat unfair to you, but she is, after all, the mother of my three children. I cannot let their hearts grow cold." Master Mu frowned involuntarily at his daughter's aggressive demeanor, feeling she was too shortsighted. He had already confined his wife; what more did she want?