In the night, a maroon horse galloped into the town through the west gate and sped towards the Fragrance-Retaining Tower, followed by a small troop of Pei's army.
On the horseback was, of course, Xiao Wuchen, who had been sent by Xiao Yixuan to track someone down today.
Xiao Wuchen was soaked from head to toe, and the other guards following him were in no better condition. Once they entered the town, Xiao Wuchen noticed the Zhao family's thugs patrolling the streets.
He sent someone to inquire and learned that they were reminding the common people to pack up their belongings quickly and be ready to avoid the flood at any time. He was quite surprised.
He had chased the so - called "thief" for a while. When it started to rain, he stopped the chase and led his men to find a safe place to take shelter from the rain.
But after a day of taking shelter, the rain showed no sign of stopping. After some thought, he decided to lead his men back to Dongli Town.
He had chased the thief from the west, which was the highest - lying area of Dongli Town. There were no rivers nearby, so he had no idea that the river water had already started to flood the houses of the town's residents.
After a moment of thought, Xiao Wuchen gave the order, "Return to the Fragrance - Retaining Tower first!"
However, when they returned to the outside of the Fragrance - Retaining Tower, they found that the whole building was pitch - black and silent, without a single sound.
Xiao Wuchen's heart sank inexplicably.
He always felt that something was amiss.
On high alert, Xiao Wuchen approached the Fragrance - Retaining Tower cautiously. He pushed open the half - open door. As he looked up, he saw Xiao Jingcheng sitting by the window, sipping hot tea.
Xiao Wuchen's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "Your Highness the Crown Prince... Elder Brother."
There were many guards following Xiao Wuchen. They also saw the man sitting in the room.
The familiar face suddenly appearing in front of them gave everyone a great shock.
Ghost!!!
Xiao Wuchen's cry of "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Elder Brother" woke everyone up. When they realized that it was really the "dead" Crown Prince Xiao Jingcheng in front of them, in an instant, a group of people knelt down at the door.
"Your subordinate pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
With a "clank", the waiter who had been carrying a kettle and was about to go and refill Xiao Jingcheng's hot water came out from the kitchen. His face was full of terror, and his legs trembled as he also knelt down towards Xiao Jingcheng.
What! This man was actually the Crown Prince?!
But, but wasn't the Crown Prince already dead? When the Crown Prince's body was washed ashore by the river, there had been quite a stir in the town!
The waiter timidly looked up ahead. The candlelight cast a long shadow of Xiao Jingcheng, and his feet were firmly on the ground.
There was a shadow, and his feet could touch the ground. This... this was really the Crown Prince!
He hoped he hadn't said anything disrespectful to the Crown Prince just now!
The scene was extremely quiet. Xiao Wuchen could almost hear the heartbeats of the other guards behind him. Just when he didn't know what to say, Xiao Jingcheng looked up at him and said,
"Come here and play a game of chess with me."
Xiao Wuchen's fingers tightened involuntarily. He lowered his head slightly and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Elder Brother, I don't know how to play chess."
Concealing his sharpness and hiding himself had become a habit deeply ingrained in Xiao Wuchen's bones.
Whether in front of Xiao Yixuan or Xiao Jingcheng, only by pretending to be dull could he have a glimmer of hope for survival.
Xiao Jingcheng knew this well. He didn't say a word, but simply pushed a black chess piece to the empty seat opposite, gesturing to Xiao Wuchen.
The Fragrance - Retaining Tower was extremely quiet. The guards led by Xiao Yixuan were nowhere to be seen, and the carriages and horses that had originally been parked in the yard had also disappeared without a trace. This made Xiao Wuchen feel uneasy.
He couldn't help but wonder if Xiao Yixuan had already been killed by Xiao Jingcheng, and now Xiao Jingcheng was here to cause trouble for him.
Xiao Wuchen took a deep breath, stepped forward, sat down in front of Xiao Jingcheng, picked up a black chess piece, and started to play chess with him.
And Xiao Jingcheng never glanced at the soldiers kneeling on the ground from beginning to end.
In the main hall, for a moment, there was only the sound of the chess pieces hitting the chessboard as Xiao Jingcheng and Xiao Wuchen played.
"Tap, tap, tap." The sound of the chess pieces colliding with the chessboard made the guards feel even more uneasy.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Xiao Wuchen let out a breath, put down the black chess piece in his hand, and said with a smile, "My chess skills are poor, making Your Highness the Crown Prince, Elder Brother laugh."
Xiao Jingcheng stared directly at him. "Is it because your chess skills are poor, or are you deliberately hiding your sharpness and losing in a smart way?"
Xiao Wuchen clenched his fingers and said with a smile, "I don't understand what you're saying, Elder Brother."
Xiao Jingcheng's fingers stroked the chess piece and said, "Wuchen rode his horse west. Did you catch up with the thief who stole things in the Fragrance - Retaining Tower and behead him under your horse?"
How did he know that Xiao Yixuan had sent him to chase the thief?!
Could it be that he had been lurking nearby all this time?
Thinking of the case file and the secret letter that had been thrown into the room, Xiao Wuchen's heart raced, and his eyelids twitched wildly.
He carefully replied, "No. That thief was too cunning and very familiar with the nearby terrain. Moreover, it suddenly started to rain heavily, and I lost track of him."
Saying this, Xiao Wuchen suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Xiao Jingcheng. "Please forgive me, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Elder Brother!"
Xiao Jingcheng said indifferently, "What crime have you committed?"
Xiao Wuchen bent over. "Some time ago, a body appeared in Dongli Town. The body was wearing your clothes, and its stature was very similar to yours. We all thought that you had met with misfortune."
"Uncle was extremely grief - stricken. He escorted the body back to the capital first and ordered me and the Second Elder Brother to stay in Dongli Town to investigate the case of your attack."
"I was extremely sad. I strictly interrogated the mountain and water bandits who had harmed you, trying my best to find out the truth and seek justice for you. But I never thought that the body was not you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"I was negligent in this matter, which made you suffer so much for such a long time. Please punish me, Elder Brother!"
Xiao Jingcheng let out a soft laugh, and his eyes were as sharp as a knife. "Was it really negligence, or in your heart, you also thought it would be better if I was dead?"
Xiao Wuchen lowered his body even more. His soaked clothes clung tightly to his body, making his spine look especially prominent.
"Wuchen has never thought like that. Wuchen knows that his birth is humble. To be granted the title of 'Ning', to have his own princely mansion, wife, and children, is already more than enough. I've never dared to covet things that don't belong to me."
Xiao Jingcheng looked at him silently for a while and then said, "Alright, we are all brothers. Why talk like this? Get up."
Hearing this, Xiao Wuchen secretly let out a sigh of relief and straightened his body. The wind blew in from the window. Whether it was the rain on his body or the cold sweat from before, he shivered slightly.
Xiao Jingcheng let him off for the time being and then looked at the soldiers of Pei's army who were still kneeling on the ground.
"What about you?"
The guards allocated to Xiao Wuchen by Xiao Yixuan were just the most inconspicuous troop in Pei's army. The leader of the hundred - man squad was surnamed Cui. He knew this was a good opportunity to show his stance, so he immediately said,
"We are the soldiers of the Great Sheng. Naturally, we will follow Your Highness the Crown Prince's lead!"