When he walked out of the Imperial Chamber, the concubines guarding the outside of the palace had already dispersed, and under the purple-gray canopy, the entrance to the palace was particularly deserted.
In October in the capital, the weather has already started to turn cooler especially before dawn. The refreshing air with its foggy dampness was cold on the skin.
The young man took the cloak handed up by his personal attendant and walked ahead.
Stepping into the gray light, his steps were languid and unhurried, not too fast nor too slow. His majesty was already prominently towering.
After a good distance away from the Imperial Chamber, someone caught up a few steps forward and stopped behind the young man. "Your Highness, everything's been surveyed, and there's no ambush on the way. Will you go straight back to the mansion?"
The boy nodded, "Yeah."
Suddenly, he caught a fiery red glow at the corner of his eye.
The young man's face turned pale and he looked sharply in that direction.
The tongue of soaring fire appeared unusually abrupt and fierce under the gray-purple sky.
It seemed to have opened its bloody mouth, waiting to swallow up anyone who approached at any moment and burn them to ashes.
He clenched his fists tightly, his nails burying into his flesh. He trembled all over, staring at the fire and unable to move a step.
Wei Zi was the closest person to him. Seeing the young man in such a state, he quickly covered his eyes with his hand. "Notify someone to put out the fire! Also, thoroughly investigate what's going on!"
After saying that, he carried the frozen young man and flew away.
At the same time, he was extremely frustrated.
At this hour, at this location, the sudden emergence of a large fire could never be a coincidence.
As hidden guards, they guarded the prince's safety. They had avoided many ambushes and even shielded the prince's path back to the royal mansion as airtight as possible.
Against all odds, they still have overlooked something!
"… Check if any news was leaked out from Xinghua village. If there is…" the young man closed his eyes tightly, his face white as gold, and he almost squeezed his voice out of his throat with difficulty, "silence!"
"Yes!"
The fire in the palace was quickly extinguished. The fire wasn't really big enough to cause much damage.
After a thorough investigation, there was no flaw to suspect. It was a young eunuch who had risen too carelessly in the morning and knocked over an oil lamp. By the time he returned from the latrine, the fire was already burning.
The young eunuch was punished for it, and the matter seemed to have ended, but the undercurrents that lay beneath the surface began to surge intensely.
The Nanling King had a high fever after the shock in the palace, and it took him two days to wake up.
The Emperor was furious, and the whole court down to the people were trembling with fear.
Fearing that the King's shock and fever would burn his head up, everyone clamped their tails for a few days.
This incident wasn't unprecedented.
When the Nanling King had just returned to the capital, the Emperor had made a big move, with a hundred people being tortured and officials being dismissed. Even the major families in the capital were implicated and fell into a quagmire from clouds into mud, without any chances of recovery.
The Nanling King was His Majesty's reverse scale.
From the moment the king returned to the capital, this was known to everyone – to the powerful and noble families.
"What did you find out?" In Nanling Palace, a young man was sitting on his bed, his face still pale.
"Your Highness, there's no information leaked out over there, but according to the news that came back from Xuzhou, someone is secretly snooping around in Xuzhou territory, seemingly trying to find out what happened to Your Highness before."
The young man's knitted brows loosened a bit. As long as that side was safe and sound, he could calm down and plan.
"Since they're desperate to know, deliver the information to them."
"What does Your Highness mean?"
"A made up story is true as long as someone believes it."
Wei Zi was stunned. "This humble servant will be on it!"
His Royal Highness intended to set an enclosure.
Circle all the enemies in the battlefield he has drawn up.
Life and death would be decided on this battlefield.
He wouldn't allow a single inch of the war to affect Xinghua Village.
The young man raised his eyes to look out the window.
It was cloudy in the capital, and the window was gray, absent of bright colors.
His vision penetrated that grayness and cast far, far away.
At the far end, what was his little girl doing at the moment?
Liu Yusheng was already sitting on the ox cart returning home. The sun shining overhead in the sky was just right.
"Finally, we're going home," Liu Zhixia uttered.
The family on the ox cart looked at each other, then they all pursed their lips and chuckled.
Indeed, the thought of going home soon immediately made them particularly relaxed.
Although there was no major conflict during their two days of stay, the atmosphere was depressed to the end.
"I'm guessing Grandpa and Grandma must have run under the ancient acacia tree early in the morning to wait for us."
"Do you have to guess this? They're definitely going to wait."
…
"I don't know if Second Brother is back yet. They're closer to home."
"We'll find out when we get back."
….
From time to time, the two children blurted out senseless remarks that meant nothing special; they were just homesick.
From Liangshui Village to the town, it required another ride to Xinghua Village for them to get home.
Liu Dalin initially thought of paying additional money so they could be taken directly home, but at the entrance of the town, he saw Grandpa Liu wearing a straw hat sitting in an ox cart and frequently looking in their direction.
The old man has really upgraded his pick-up operation. Instead of waiting at the village entrance, he ran to the town entrance to wait!
Liu Yusheng also saw the old man at a glance and stood up holding onto Liu Zhixia's shoulder, raising her small hand and waving vigorously while shouting, "Grandpa! Grandpa! I can see Grandpa!"
It caused passersby to look over their shoulders, and then, they would smile knowingly.
"Aiyo! My precious little girl has arrived!" A smile blossomed on Grandpa Liu's wrinkled face, while he shouted nervously, "Nannan, sit down, sit down! Don't stand up, or you'll fall!"
When the ox cart stopped next to the old man, the old man immediately picked up Liu Yusheng. "I knew you'd be back in time, so I couldn't stay at home. I simply borrowed Li's ox cart and drove out to pick you up."
"Have you been waiting for a long time?" It was almost noon. If the Grandpa came early, he must have been waiting all morning.
When she was around her closest family, she couldn't stop herself from talking.
She was so happy – that kind of happiness of wanting to convey it to her family.
Infect them all with her joy.