There were only thirty or so of them, the Concubine Liu and the Ninth Prince included, while the soldiers pursuing them numbered several hundreds, and the city gates ahead had been closed. They were cornered in the middle of a thoroughfare, unable to retreat to anywhere or exit the city, as though they had reached a dead end.

Fang Quan had no room in his head to wonder why these killers hadn't killed the the Ninth Prince and the Concubine Liu as he'd instructed. Despair was the only thing he could feel at this moment. He had originally believed that he had a chance of escape, but now he ended up being trapped in this place. 'I'm doomed. I'm so doomed,' he thought.

"Wha–What are you doing?!" At this time the Concubine Jin's scream was heard. With a start, Fang Quan jerked his head aside to look in that direction and saw that a killer had held a sword to his grandson's neck, in which a bloody slit could be seen.

"What do you think you're doing?!" railed Fang Quan.

"Calm down, Your Lordship. This is part of the plan. Just stay put and watch," breathed the fake prison guard that had broken them out of the Court Prison, clapping Fang Quan on the shoulder.

"AAARGH! What are you doing?! Let go of my son!" the Concubine Liu squealed again.

The Ninth Prince, who was only two years old, was drawn to the roadside, crying aloud, a sword held to his neck as well. "Mother! Help me, Mother!"

"Let him go! Let go of my son!" The Concubine Liu tried to rush to her son's help but was restrained by a man in black, unable to move a step.

At this time, their pursuers had encircled them ring upon ring. Before the soldiers could take any further action, the two young princes were forced out of the crowd, each having a sword held to his throat, the sharp blades reflecting the moonlight menacingly.

"Let us leave or see the two princes of the Zhou family die where they stand."

Caught flat-footed by this turn of events, the one in charge of the manhunt didn't dare take the liberty of making a decision and ordered a soldier to go back and report it to his superior as quick as possible.

The fake prison guard and the others... No, these killers, they were not anxious at all. It was as though they had been expecting the pursuers to send someone back to report. Somewhat confused, Fang Quan asked, "What do you want to do exactly?"

"Be quiet and enjoy the show, Your Lordship," the fake prison guard warned Fang Quan in a placid tone, twisting his head aside to look at him. At the sight of the expression in the man's eyes, Fang Quan didn't dare utter another word.

...

When Ling Zhang was pulled out of his heap of covers, he was sleepy and groggy. Looking at Yuwen Tong standing at the beside with sore eyes, he said sourly, "What are you doing?!"

Why did Yuwen Tong get up in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? What had got into Yuwen Tong? He'd been sound asleep and having a really sweet dream before being suddenly awoken, and now his temper had begun to fray.

Yuwen Tong rubbed Ling Zhang's head and then planted a large kiss on his brow. "Get up and come with me to watch a show."

"Watch a show? What's the problem with you? I was having a good sleep! If you're soft in the head, you may go out there and mess around all you want. Why wake me up as well? It's the middle of the night! What kind of show could there possibly be?!" Ling Zhang went berserk, raised a pillow and hurled it at Yuwen Tong.

Still sleepy, Ling Zhang hadn't realized what Yuwen Tong was talking about. He mistakenly believed that by 'watch a show', Yuwen Tong was referring to an opera or something. Who would stage a show at this hour of the night? Had the theatrical troupe lost their mind? Or had the audience gone crazy?

Yuwen Tong was hit by the pillow, caught it and then explained explicitly, "Someone bust Fang Quan out of the prison, and some others broke the two princes of the Zhou family out of the palace. Right now they're trapped at the South City Gates. The funny thing is that their rescuers demand to see me, threatening to kill the two young princes if I don't go there."

Ling Zhang'd mind was still a little unclear. "Um? What?"

It was after Yuwen Tong repeated his words that Ling Zhang came to understand what was going on. Also, his mind cleared. Fang Quan and the two princes of the Zhou family wanted to escape? They must be stopped. If they escaped, there would be serious trouble!

"What are you standing there for? Let's go and check right now!" said Ling Zhang, giving Yuwen Tong a push, jumping out of bed, dressing in great haste.

Smiling, Yuwen Tong walked up to him to help him get dressed. "Without my leave, nobody would dare let those people go, and neither would those people dare kill anybody. It's the middle of the night and there's still several hours before daybreak. Let them stand there for a little while longer. Besides, it's pitch-dark out there, so I sent some men to get some torches. We may wait until the whole street is well lit to set out."

Ling Zhang was thrown into perplexity by these words. "Ah? You want us to wait until the whole street is lit to go there? Are you crazy?"

Yuwen Tong helped Ling Zhang adjust his underwear and put on the other clothes. Then he held Ling Zhang's face in his hands and gave him a smack on the cheek, which nearly sent Ling Zhang into a stupor. Looking emptily at Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang said heatedly, "Is your mind really not quite clear at night or something? Why did you make the kiss so loud?!"

There was no doubt that all the guards on night duty had heard it. What the hell did he think he was doing? Had he no shame?!

Yuwen Tong chuckled, "Well, isn't night the time for me to kiss you loud? I mean, you don't let me do this during the day. Okay, go and wash your face. It'll help you get rid of the drowsiness."

Ling Zhang felt like contradicting him but was at a loss for words. Eventually he still washed his face and was instantly fully awake. When he looked out of the window at the inky blackness of night, his face crumpled up as though he was on the verge of tears. Wasn't everybody supposed to be asleep at this hour? Why did he have to get up?

"Let's get going right now. I don't understand why you don't seem to be concerned at all. If they really escape, I doubt you would still have that smile on your face," said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong was pushed to the doorway, opened the doors and asked Yao Yi and Miao Shisan who were on guard duty outside, "Did they beat the gongs and drums loud enough?"

"They did! It's definitely loud enough. I assure you the whole city have been woken up," replied Yao Yi, excitement written all over his face.

Ling Zhang couldn't quite understand what they were saying, looking at them with a bemused expression. "What do you mean by 'gongs and drums'?"

"When we were pursuing the princes of the Zhou family, I specially had some men beat gongs and drums loudly on both the gate tower of the inner city and the one of the outer city, and I also had them yell. Right now probably everybody in this city has come to know that Fang Quan broke out of prison and abducted the two princes of the Zhou family."

Ling Zhang was even more bewildered. "Ah? Didn't some people try to rescue the two princes?"

"They're living in the imperial palace and don't need rescuing. It must be that those people kidnapped them," responded Yuwen Tong in a significant tone of voice.

Yao Yi even let out two sly chuckles. "Come to think of it, we were worried that this explanation might not be convincing enough, but strangely – I don't know what their rescuers were thinking – they actually really changed their mind and abducted the two princes, making it totally unnecessary for us to explain anything. Now it's absolutely compelling enough."

Ling Zhang slightly frowned, pondering over it. After a few moments, he had a general idea of what was going on. "Are you saying that you intentionally had some men beat gongs and drums to have the whole city believe that Fang Quan broke out of prison and abducted the two princes?"

Yao Yi inclined his head. "That's right."

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong. "Is that why you want the whole street lit by torches?"

Yuwen Tong also bobbed his head. "Yeah."

Ling Zhang, "..."

"What do you have to do with this?"

Before Yuwen Tong could say anything, Yao Yi replied, "Don't misunderstand, Childe Ling. The Marshal really has nothing to do with this. It was some men from Jiangzhou that came here to rescue Fang Quan and the Eighth Prince. They just abducted the Ninth Prince in passing, and it was shortly before they took action tonight that this matter came to the Marshal's knowledge, and then the Marshal decided to outwit them with their own trick."

"Outwit them with their own trick?" Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong.

"The other two princes are a hot potato in my hands, and I don't know how to deal with them without causing serious backwash. My original plan was to place them under house arrest after my enthronement and wait until people gradually forget about the two of them to figure something out, but this plan has a drawback – there's no guarantee they won't make any trouble, and the cost of keeping watch on them will be rather high. It's a quite troublesome issue, but those people from Jiangzhou made things a lot easier for me by coming here to rescue them, because when they were under my control, I couldn't do anything to them, but now, considering they have fallen into other people's hands, that's no longer the case," explained Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang took a deep breath, feeling that Yuwen Tong had indeed done something big without him noticing.

"So the reason why you're trying to have this matter come to the knowledge of the whole city is because you want to make it clear to those needing to know about this that it was some people from Jiangzhou who abducted the two princes, that you don't have a choice and isn't the one to blame, right?" observed Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. "You're very smart, Brother Zhang."

Ling Zhang, "..."

With such a broad hint provided for him, he needed to be a fool not to have guessed it.

"Can we go now?"

Yuwen Tong looked at Yao Yi, who looked at Miao Shisan. The corners of Miao Shisan's mouth twitched and then he said, "Even Lord Hu and Lord Pei were alarmed. A moment ago I heard that the two old lords were hastening to this place."

"What about the others? Are they heading for the street or the imperial palace?" asked Yuwen Tong.

"Almost all of them are heading for the palace. Only a couple of them are going to the street," responded Miao Shisan.

Yuwen Tong snorted coldly, "Good. Keep close watch on those hurrying to the street. I'll take care of them after this is over."

Gaping at Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang inquired, "Is this also part of your plan?"

Yuwen Tong replied, "I'm just turning their trick to my own use."

Ling Zhang lapsed into silence. It struck him that he would never be able to outshine Yuwen Tong in terms of wit.

"So we're staying?"

Yuwen Tong nodded. "Yeah. I'll have them prepare some food. We may grab a bite first before going there to see those people. Yao Yi, when those people come here, tell them they'll have to wait, that I'm still in bed."

"Yes."

...

The cooks in the kitchen soon prepared some noodle soup and the servants proffered it to the two of them. After they each drank a bowl of noodle soup, their stomachs felt very comfortable, and they were in good spirits. Ling Zhang would have drifted off to sleep if what was happening out there hadn't concerned him.

Yuwen Tong had the servants clear the table, wiped his and Ling Zhang's mouths clean, and then handed a cup of tea to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang took it, had a sip and said, "Don't you think it's time to go? Those people out there must be as anxious as cats on a hot tin roof."

It was only then that Yuwen Tong twisted his head aside and said to Miao Shisan, "Tell Yao Yi to let them in."

"Yes."

Before long, the front gates of the Infinite Fortune Palace were opened. Almost all the civil officials and military officers who should be here at this point in time had come, gathering in the gateway, seeking an audience with Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong walked outside with Ling Zhang and said to the two old lords, "I've been informed of what's going on. Now let's go and take a look."

"Marshal," said Lord Hu after paying his respects to Yuwen Tong with Lord Pei, "may I ask how you plan to deal with this issue?"

Yuwen Tong cast the two of them a glance and replied, "We cannot let any harm come to the two princes, for they're both still young. First we have to find out what Fang Quan wants, and the safety of the two princes takes precedence over anything else. Now let's not waste any time and get going right away. We may continue our talk on our way there."

The two old lords exchanged looks and came to know what each other were thinking about. They both felt relieved but were also inwardly sighing. That remark of Yuwen Tong's made it inappropriate for either of them to say any of the words they intended to say. Yuwen Tong had said that the safety of the two princes took precedence of anything else, which meant that there was no need whatsoever for the two of them to try to persuade him. They were inwardly sighing because this incident was happening at the worst possible time. The two old lords had waited at the gateway of the palace for quite a while, along with a group of other courtiers, and they'd both come to know that the rescuers were from Jiangzhou. The two of them were fully aware of the situation in Jiangzhou. Previously Jiangzhou had picked the wrong side, and there was no doubt some day Yuwen Tong would make them pay for it. And now those people in Jiangzhou conspired with Fang Quan and did this. It was only too obvious that they were simply trying to take advantage of the two princes to make trouble.

If truth be told, both the two old lords had quite mixed feelings about this matter. Their allegiance belonged to the Zhou family, which was the former imperial household, but the former emperor had been fatuous and incompetent, and he had done a myriad of stupid things. The people of Cangzhou rising in revolt was only the beginning of the fallout, and more popular uprisings would have followed on the heels of it had someone not successfully saved the situation. In that case, the Great Yue would descend into civil strife and the people would still be the ones who suffered. Currently, Yuwen Tong had put the overall situation under control, and his method of taking the throne had been quite moderate – abdication, which had been a move that almost nobody had foreseen. For the Zhou family, it had been a catastrophe, and it might prove detrimental to Yuwen Tong's future reign as well, because there was no telling whether or not the surviving members of the Zhou family would seek to take revenge. However, for the people of this country, it was absolutely a good thing. A smooth transition between the old dynasty and the new one, to the greatest possible degree, allowed things to stay the way they were instead of making anything worse. Many of the decisions that Yuwen Tong had made during the past few weeks had been very favorable for the people's restoring their lives, and they would be put into action one by one after his enthronement. Thinking from the perspective of the people, the two old lords actually preferred Yuwen Tong to accede to the throne.

However, Lord Hu and Lord Pei also wanted to help the two young princes survive. After all, they used to be very much in the former emperor's confidence. If they failed to save the deceased emperor's sons, they would be living in guilt and shame for the rest of their lives.

But unexpectedly, Yuwen Tong seemed to have some time ago fathomed out what the two of them had been thinking, and at the very beginning of the conversation, he made them hold back their words.

It struck them that Yuwen Tong was too clever.

...

Martial law had been imposed when they reached the street, but there were still a lot of lookers-on on the sides of the street. Predictably, they had all been woken up at this late hour of the night.

All soldiers standing on the sides of the street were holding lighted torches, and the torches on the gate tower were also ablaze with light. The whole street was well lit as expected.

Ling Zhang unnoticeably gave a little cough. Had he not been informed of the secret orders given by Yuwen Tong, he would really have mistakenly believed that the soldiers had lit these torches of their own accord.

The group of killers, who abducted the two young princes, had thought that Yuwen Tong would soon come to see them. It had never crossed any of their minds that Yuwen Tong would wait until almost two hours later to show up. Even that fake prison guard, who had always appeared to be the most composed one of them, had a rather sulky face.

A scab had formed at that long thin wound in the Eighth Prince's neck, and the Ninth Prince was so exhausted from crying that he could barely stand on his own. The abductor restraining him had had no choice but to scoop him up, and after such a long time, his arms were terribly sore, but in order to save face, he had to tough it out, showing no sign of his tiredness.

The Concubine Jin was on the verge of losing her temper and would probably have started hurling abuse had Fang Quan not been trying his best to keep her from doing it.

"It took you so long to come here, Marshal Yuwen. You're indeed a quite poised man," remarked the fake prison guard. From the vantage of the present, he should be the leader of this group of killers.

"Who are you? Why did you abduct the two young princes?" demanded Yuwen Tong.

"We're just a group of people who do what people pay us to do for a living. As long as you let us leave, I promise we won't harm the two young princes. After all, their lives are worth a lot of money. We also don't want things to get ugly, because we'll lose our payment if that happens," responded the leader of the killers.

"How dare you?! They are both princes. The value of their lives cannot be measured by money. Let the princes go and surrender yourselves right now!" bellowed a courtier.

Ling Zhang thought scathingly, 'This guy really thinks blustering will do any good?'

Unsurprisingly, the leader of the killers didn't even glance at that courtier. He just looked at Yuwen Tong and added, "So what's your decision, Marshal Yuwen? Let's not waste any more time. As long as you give the order to let us go, I'll have my men take the swords off the princes' necks. Then we'll deliver the two of them to our employer. After that, you may do whatever you want. There's no need to make things awkward for you and me at this point in time."

"Who hired you?" asked Yuwen Tong.

The ringleader said, "I can't tell you that. We have to keep the identity of our employer secret."

"How am I supposed to get the two princes back if I don't know where they'll be taken? And why would I let you leave if I won't be able to get them back?" said Yuwen Tong.

The look on the ringleader's face flickered and with that he replied, "Stop sniping, Marshal. Are you not afraid that we'll kill the two princes if you don't let us leave?"