The side gate of the second wing of the Feng Mansion was guarded by men from the escort agency. Lady Thirteen and Manager Wen, along with Manager Wang of the Baofeng Bank, were escorted to the Feng Mansion. Chaos engulfed the Capital City; the streets were locked down, and Lady Thirteen and Manager Wen had encountered riots on their way. Xie Xun and Lin Cheng were locked in fierce combat in the Southern City, not far from the Feng Mansion. Within the mansion, terror gripped everyone’s hearts, as the sounds of battle reached their ears. The Forbidden Army and Imperial Army were severely undermanned, the Kyoto Governor shirked responsibility, the government office was shut, and the Kyoto Capital Guard was a disorganized mess with no one to take charge. Uprisings had broken out in the northern and western parts of the city. Fengyu kept her words brief: "The Capital will descend into chaos for some time. The rebellion will have its resolution, whether in victory or defeat. Manager Wang, Sister Wen, your task is to relocate all the silver, gold, and food supplies out of the city as quickly as possible. Once the city gates are open, leave immediately!"
"Miss, the bank holds a total of nine million silver. It would take days to load it onto carts. If we’re to move it all, where should it be sent? With the chaos now, checkpoints along the way will certainly be strict. How can we pass?" Manager Wang’s chest tightened. If the Marquis Mansion were to lose, the Feng Family would be implicated as well.
"Head north, to Ningzhou!" Fengyu said sternly. "All the silver and supplies will go to Jinzhou. The twelve cities to the north are all garrisoned by the Marquis Zhenbei’s trusted generals. As soon as the city gates are open, depart immediately, splitting into dozens of trade caravans. The route from the Capital to the cities leading to Ningzhou shouldn’t obstruct you. Circle northward to Jinzhou; it is a stronghold of twelve states, territory of the Su Family. Someone will support you. Move your entire household; leave nothing behind."
Manager Wen frowned. "I will assist Brother Wang with transporting the silver, gold, and supplies, but I will stay behind to accompany Miss."
"I’m not leaving either!" Lady Thirteen declared. Life or death, she would remain with her sister Fengyu. The silver, gold, and food supplies were hard currency, and they could all guess what Fengyu intended to do. She was nearly emptying out all the silver of the Su Family in the Capital. This bank was an enterprise owned by the Su Family and wasn’t part of Su Yuejiao’s dowry. All the Su Family’s circulating funds in the Capital resided in the Baofeng Bank.
"Understood!" Manager Wang said gravely. "Once I return home, I will begin preparations immediately."
"In the next two days, there will be riots in the Capital. Do not move any personnel from the bank. Guard the front doors and do not let anyone take advantage of the chaos."
Wen Shisan listened to the growing intensity of the shouts and sounds of slaughter. In the near distance, flames illuminated the night like day. Wen Shisan asked, "Can the Marquis Mansion... prevail?"
If they won, it would signify a change of dynasty. If they lost, their entire clan would be doomed.
Fengyu had been prudent, and thankfully, not one to shy away from preparation. Before Xie Zhang and Feng Shu’s wedding, she had already ordered Manager Wang to relocate two hundred thousand silver out of the Capital, which had already reached Lian City. If the whispers of unrest in the Capital proved true, this silver would be dispatched to the twelve states.
As the fury of the sounds of slaughter surged, Fengyu’s heart raced wildly. Her eyelids incessantly twitched, and a foreboding sense of disaster consumed her. "Manager Wang, Ayu has an important charge for you," she said.
As she finished her words, she knelt heavily to the ground, bowing her head deeply.
"Miss, you mustn’t!" Manager Wang was so startled that he also knelt, pressing himself to the ground in panic, unwilling to accept such an act. "The Su Family has treated my brothers with kindness as vast as a mountain. With a single command from you, I would go through fire and water, no matter life or death."
Fengyu’s eyes turned slightly red. Lady Thirteen and Manager Wen supported her from either side, helping her up. "The grand structure has collapsed, the imperial power looms ominously, and the Feng Mansion has already become a cage with no escape. Should my sister and I perish or be imprisoned, find a way to contact the Young Marquis. Hand over the money and supplies to him. If... the Young Marquis is already dead, give them to the Second Young Master. This is my order, perhaps my final one. You must see it through."
"Uncle Wang, promise me!" Fengyu, fully aware of the uncertain future, gave instructions for her final wishes as comprehensively as possible. "If my sister and I die, the Su Family’s Trading House will defer to the Xie Family."
"Miss, please don’t speak of such ominous matters. Let us escape!" Lady Thirteen interjected. "Though the six major city gates are under lockdown, there must be a way to get out of the city. Amid tonight’s chaos, no one will notice you."
She cared nothing for disputes over grudges or imperial power; she only wished for Fengyu’s safety.
"My grandmother, parents, and sister are all here in the Capital. I’m not going anywhere!" Fengyu said with a smile laced with tears. "I am but a drifting duckweed, inseparable from the Feng Family and this pond. Don’t worry about me."
At this moment, her thoughts lingered on Xie Xun, fighting desperately for his life.
And on Feng Shu, trapped in the Marquis Mansion.
The eight thousand Forbidden Army soldiers were no match for the two thousand elite cavalry who fought with unmatched ferocity, forcing retreat after retreat. The Forbidden Army’s corpses littered the ground, rivers of blood forming. The cavalry, eyes bloodshot from killing, closed in step by step, already fighting their way to the Marquis Mansion gates.
Inside the Marquis Mansion, the multitude of guests had been imprisoned. The six military generals who resisted had been executed on the spot. Fang Lingjun trembled violently, hiding in Mrs. Fang’s embrace, as the chatter around continued unabated.
They were discussing why the Marquis had killed the Emperor. Even if the Emperor had slain the Noble Consort, he should not have acted to kill the sovereign. That was the monarch.
The Emperor of Yanyang.
Regicide—it was tantamount to rebellion. Everyone had seen the Marquis grasp the blade, and that blade had been plunged into the Emperor’s heart. Yet Fang Lingjun was overwhelmed with fear and disbelief.
"Junjun, don’t be afraid. With Mother here, no one can harm you!"
"It wasn’t the Marquis!" Fang Lingjun murmured to herself. "Mother, it wasn’t the Marquis who did it."
Mrs. Fang’s eyes narrowed as she held her daughter, who was pale as a ghost and teetering on the edge of madness. Fang Lingjun continued, "I saw it—it was the Crown Prince... The Crown Prince killed the Emperor."