Volume 1, Chapter 8: Tonight, They Will All Die

The young man shook his head and said, “I am deeply honored by His Majesty’s favor. With my seven-foot stature pledged to the nation, the vast realm of Great Chu is the perfect match for me.”

Hearing this, Zhu Xiaozhi breathed a slight sigh of relief. She had no desire to become a confined lady of the inner chambers in a feudal era, losing both freedom and dignity.

“Father, I have no intention of marrying. Please don’t randomly arrange matches for me.”

With that, she clasped her fists and bowed toward Pei Zai.

“Lord Pei, thank you for saving my life. Though I cannot offer myself in marriage, I will surely repay your kindness.”

After Pei Zai turned away, Lu Yuan grabbed her daughter’s hand and carefully taught her, “From now on, you must not greet others like that. It is too crude. According to the court etiquette of Great Chu, both hands should be folded over the waist with a slight bend in the knees.”

Zhu Xuanli looked at Zhu Xiaozhi and Pei Zai, shaking his head with a long sigh. Clearly, the two were a perfect match, a pair destined for each other.

At that moment, a letter shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

“Your Majesty, General Ning Dehai invites you and your family to a farewell banquet at the former Liu residence, now the general’s mansion.”

What scheme could that scheming fat man be hiding? It just so happened that the matter she had failed to accomplish last night had presented itself again tonight.

“Since it is a farewell banquet, how can we do without the Seal Bearer? Please ask Lord Pei to come along as well.”

“General Ning said Lord Pei has traveled far and should rest well at the inn. This time, he should not trouble himself to accompany everyone for the feast.”

Lu Yuan glanced over the children one by one. Zhu Shiyue was properly dressed, but Zhu Xianzhi still had a blade of grass stuck atop his head, and Zhu Xiaozhi’s hair was a tangled mess. The expressions of the siblings were stubbornly alike.

She sighed, plucked the grass from her son’s head, and led her youngest daughter into the inner chamber to fetch a comb and tidy her hair.

Her mother’s hands were not soft. Once delicate and refined hands of a noble lady from the capital had been toughened by years of labor, coarse and calloused, brushing against the neck with a ticklish sensation.

But her long hair reached her waist, and with utmost tenderness and patience, she carefully smoothed out her daughter’s tangled hair again and again, binding it into a sleek black waterfall. Even in her modern life, Zhu Xiaozhi had never groomed her shoulder-length hair with such care.

Her mother’s gentle attentiveness had fulfilled Zhu Xiaozhi’s longing for maternal warmth — yet, why was her mother’s name the only one absent from the list of those she felt affection for?

Zhu Xiaozhi opened the list again to confirm and was shocked to find that all the death dates had changed.

After three names, neatly written were the two words: Tonight.

Panicked, she jumped up and accidentally knocked into her mother, who looked at her in shock as she darted out like a frightened rabbit, murmuring, “How utterly unreasonable…”

“Father, Father, where did you go?”

Zhu Xiaozhi searched the entire yard but found no one. She paced anxiously.

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Zhu Xuanli replied at a leisurely pace after a long pause.

“Xiaozhi, Xianzhi and I went out to see off Lord Pei. Your sister seems to have gone to buy you new clothes for the banquet. Why are you so anxious?”

“Father, we must not attend General Ning Dehai’s banquet.”

“They have given us face; how can we not show gratitude? Don’t be so willful.”

This was not giving face—it was walking straight into hell!

“You don’t understand how dangerous he is—just trust me, we cannot go tonight. Quickly find Lord Pei and discuss a way to leave Fanyang. General Ning has murderous intent.”

“I already said, General Gao is still on the road…”

“Then we leave the city first and wait for reinforcements.”

“But we can’t run away like lost dogs. How can we keep our dignity?”

Clenching her teeth, Zhu Xiaozhi took long strides, running until she was nearly breathless. She finally caught up with her father and brother strolling leisurely in the fields.

“Father, if you don’t listen to me now, you’ll all die!”

Zhu Xuanli turned in surprise, wrapping his arms around his daughter’s soft body as she collided with him like an arrow.

“Xiaozhi? Why say such things? Rest assured, Ning Dehai still dares not rebel, much less kill us.”

Looking at the family’s neatly listed death warnings in her mind, Zhu Xiaozhi found it hard to be convinced. At this point, their only hope was to rely on the young imperial official.

“Where is Lord Pei? I want to speak with him.”

“He’s gone back to the inn to rest—Ah, Zhu Xiaozhi!”

The girl came and went like a gust of wind.

Pei Zai, injured, wasn’t moving quickly, so Zhu Xiaozhi soon caught up. In her haste, she grabbed him so abruptly that she tore off half of his outer robe.

Turning her face away, she no longer cared about embarrassment and pleaded urgently.

“Lord Pei, please find a way to get my family out of the city. Ning Dehai intends to kill them tonight.”

Pei Zai furrowed his brow, quickly straightening his disheveled garment.

“Princess, where did you hear this news?”

“I would never gamble with my family’s lives. If we do nothing, they will all die tonight.”

“Forgive me for speaking plainly, but you were the first to provoke him. If you hadn’t angered him, he wouldn’t act so swiftly.”

Though he said this, he stepped forward first.

“The banquet must still be attended. We cannot arouse suspicion. I will go with you.”

Zhu Xiaozhi obediently followed behind, clicking her tongue in disbelief—Pei Zai was thinking far too simply. A reviled traitor of infamy—would he really heed the words of a loyal but expendable official?

“Lord Pei, I don’t underestimate you, but two fists cannot fight four hands. Once we’re caught in this, there’s no escape. I’m telling you this to find a way out, not to march to our deaths together.”

In truth, Pei Zai’s advice for the new emperor to stay in Fanyang was not merely a bet that Ning Dehai dared not make the first move. Because of his harshness toward his subordinates, a few rebellious spirits had already contacted Princess Changle.

But until the final moment, one must not reveal all cards.

“Princess, rest assured, I have a plan.”

“Ning Dehai must not be underestimated. Though his power seems confined to Fanyang, he has already infiltrated Hedong and Pinglu. He is not as weak as you imagine.”

As they spoke, they gradually reached the bustling market. From afar, a towering mound of meat slowly approached. Ning Dehai sat on a high chair, leaning slightly forward, a jade pendant shaped like a ghost’s face hanging from his waist.

“Isn’t that the young princess and Lord Pei?”

Ning Dehai’s beady eyes fixed on the young pair walking side by side, a half-smile playing on his lips.

“Why are there no others with you two?”

Zhu Xiaozhi immediately linked her arm with Pei Zai’s still-bandaged one and leaned in affectionately.

A gentle breeze stirred, entwining their white robes, blurring the boundaries between them like an ordinary couple.

“I am close in age to Lord Pei, and he once did me a great kindness. I have grown fond of him and couldn’t resist coming out alone to find him.”

Pei Zai restrained a twitch at the corner of his mouth and returned the smile in his usual manner.

“The princess is young and sincere. I have also been out of line. Please forgive us, General Ning.”

Ning Dehai clicked his tongue twice, reclining comfortably in his chair.

“A woman in love should dress up. How can one look so bedraggled as the young princess does?”

Yet, he truly believed their words and waved dismissively as he moved on, leaving Zhu Xiaozhi and Pei Zai arm in arm, unwilling to loosen their grip.

Indeed, if the childish and impulsive little princess and the mature, cautious young official were not discussing matters of romance but the current political situation, that would truly be jaw-dropping.