Xin Yeheng ran at a rapid pace, too preoccupied to check if Qi Ha'er, who was chasing after him, had caught up. He was deathly afraid of being overtaken. In terms of martial arts, even though Xin Yeheng had learned a few moves from Wei Wei, he was no match for Qi Ha'er. If Qi Ha'er made a move, he feared he would surely meet his maker.
He dashed past a pavilion and spotted a life - sized rockery in the nearby garden. He quickly took shelter in a cave within the rockery, holding his breath. He peeked out through a crack in the rockery. There was no sign of anyone. After a long while, still no one passed by.
"Could it be that Qi Ha'er has given up the chase?" Xin Yeheng murmured softly.
In fact, Qi Ha'er didn't stop chasing because he wanted to. His wound had split open due to his strenuous movements. Knowing that he was on the verge of losing consciousness, he had no choice but to abandon the pursuit of Xin Yeheng. He cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"
Qi Ha'er turned back to Huaman Palace. He summoned several maids and eunuchs to tend to his wound. While they were doing so, he wrote a letter. He called one of his trusted subordinates and said, "Remember, this letter must be delivered into General Sima Tianhai's hands. It must not fall into anyone else's hands. Do you understand?"
"Yes, General Qi Ha'er."
However, this scene was witnessed by Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao, who had been hiding nearby. Originally, they had no intention of coming to Huaman Palace. But on their way to find Ge Zian, they saw Qi Ha'er clutching his waist and limping back into the palace. Wei Shuxuan pulled Xin Zizhao along and followed. They noticed bloodstains on the cyan floor tiles. They exchanged a glance and then chased after him.
They hid on the roof of the main hall of Huaman Palace. Perhaps because Qi Ha'er was injured, he didn't notice Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao hiding on the roof.
"What should we do now?" Wei Shuxuan whispered to Xin Zizhao.
"For now, let's go find Zian first. Dawn is approaching. We must try to deal with all of Qi Ha'er's men stationed in the palace before daybreak."
Xin Zizhao whispered his plan to Wei Shuxuan. Wei Shuxuan nodded. She didn't care what was in the letter Qi Ha'er's subordinate was going to send to Sima Tianhai. No matter what the letter said, Sima Tianhai couldn't possibly reach the palace of the Yulong Kingdom within a single day.
So, they followed their original plan and headed to the square in front of the Golden Throne Hall. To their surprise, a battle was already raging there. When Ge Zian saw them coming, he said, "Young Master Xin, Xuan'er, you're finally here. I'll assign two elite troops to you. Now, go to the south and north gates respectively and block the exits. Don't let any of Qi Ha'er's soldiers escape."
Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao led their respective troops and reached the south and north gates. The soldiers who had managed to escape Ge Zian's capture in the square outside the Golden Throne Hall rushed to these two gates, only to find that both places had already been occupied by Ge's army.
"Don't even think about running away. Those who dare to cause trouble on our Yulong Kingdom's territory are doomed to be punished. Men, charge! Bring down these rebels who tried to seize our kingdom!" Wei Shuxuan shouted loudly from the front of the formation. At her command, she charged forward with her sword in hand and cut down several soldiers who came close to her.
Soon, Ge's army had captured all the rebels in the palace. Ge Zian ordered his men to arrest the surrendered soldiers, tie them up with ropes, and send them to the prison in the palace. Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao also successfully captured the soldiers who had attempted to flee the palace.
Day was gradually breaking. The stars dimmed in the light of the approaching dawn and slowly faded away, leaving only a faint glow on the horizon.
Xin Yeheng, who had been hiding in the rockery, was too scared to come out. He spent several nerve - wracking hours inside. It was not until dawn that he emerged with the imperial seal in his arms and rushed straight to the Golden Throne Hall.
When Xin Yeheng arrived at the Golden Throne Hall, he noticed that the guards in front of the hall had been replaced. As he was about to step forward, he was stopped. "Hold it! Who are you? State your name!"
"I'm the Eleventh Prince. I'm here to find someone!"
"Eleventh Prince! You're a rebel. We're going to arrest you now!" With that, several guards rushed forward, trying to seize Xin Yeheng. But Xin Yeheng dodged their outstretched hands.
"Wait! Let me see my elder brother and sister - in - law before you do anything!"
"No way! You're a rebel. We can't let you in!" The guard insisted on blocking Xin Yeheng.
The commotion outside interrupted Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan, who were having a conversation inside. Ge Zian looked out of the Golden Throne Hall. "Why are there so many people outside? I'll go and take a look."
As soon as Ge Zian stepped out, he saw Xin Yeheng being blocked by the guards, holding something in his arms. When Xin Yeheng saw Ge Zian, he was like a drowning man seeing a life - saver. "Brother Zian, save me!"
Hearing this address, Ge Zian couldn't help but frown. Weren't they told that Xin Yeheng was under Qi Ha'er's control? He didn't seem like it. Maybe there was more to this than met the eye. He had to find out.
"Let him go. I need to talk to him."
Ge Zian led Xin Yeheng into the Golden Throne Hall. As soon as Xin Yeheng saw Wei Shuxuan, tears welled up in his eyes. "Sister Xuan! It's me! I'm Yongheng!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Wei Shuxuan was stunned for a moment. She quickly rushed forward. "Yongheng, do you still remember that I'm your Sister Xuan? You little rascal, you've really worried me to death!"
"Of course I remember!" Xin Yeheng had thought that Wei Shuxuan would resent him. He was touched to find that she was so worried about him. A warm current welled up in his heart. "By the way, I have something important to tell you. Brother, here's something for you."
With that, Xin Yeheng unwrapped the cloth in his hand, revealing what was inside. It was clearly the imperial seal of the Yulong Kingdom that Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan had been searching for last night!
"Yongheng, how did you get this imperial seal? We thought it had been sent to Sima Tianhai by Qi Ha'er!" Wei Shuxuan exclaimed. She recognized the imperial seal of the Yulong Kingdom at a glance.
"The one I gave to Qi Ha'er was a fake. This is the real one. Don't worry. Now that Brother is back, everything should return to its rightful owner."
Xin Yeheng smiled. From his smile, it seemed that he had other plans. Xin Zizhao glanced at him. "Brother, where do you plan to go? This is your home."
"I... I thought that after what I did, you wouldn't recognize me anymore..."