Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 201 Above the Palace Walls
The Sixth Prince hadn't expected Yan Mingzhang to throw this question at him. If he answered that he would protect them, they could simply say they hadn't found them, rendering the scheme useless. But if he said he wouldn't protect them, it wouldn't make sense either emotionally or logically, and he wouldn't be able to rely on their support later on...

"Sixth Prince! Lord Yan! Miss Rong! Quickly..." A young eunuch with a fair complexion rushed in from the doorway, panting, shouting as he ran, "Something terrible has happened, Sixth Prince..."

"What's all this fuss about! What kind of behavior is this!" The Sixth Prince narrowed his eyes, somewhat displeased.

"What happened, Eunuch Li, don't panic..." Yan Mingzhang quickly stepped forward to help calm the situation, patting the eunuch's back to help him catch his breath.

This eunuch was the same one who delivered the imperial edict to Yan Mingzhang that day. His surname was Zhou, and he was a very kind person, so he was quite popular in the palace.

"The Khitan princess just came looking for Miss Yu. She had her servant send us all away. I don't know what she said to Miss Yu, but now she's on the palace wall, saying she wants to see you..." Eunuch Li said urgently, not even having time to wipe his sweat.

Before Eunuch Li could finish speaking, the Sixth Prince's expression changed instantly, and he turned and ran in the direction Eunuch Li had come from.

"Please, both of you, go and help persuade Miss Yu..." Eunuch Li said anxiously, "Please come with me!"

Human life is at stake. The palace walls are so high, and there's a moat outside. If someone were to accidentally fall in, there would be absolutely no chance of survival.

Yan Mingzhang and Rong Wanyin followed closely behind.
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On the high palace wall stood a young girl in red, braving the wind. Beneath her feet lay the majestic palace wall, and below its foundation flowed the raging moat. Falling from here, the chances of survival were extremely slim.

"Miss Yu, listen to me. Come down from up here first. We can talk things over properly!" Rong Junye happened to be on duty today. He and a team of guards had already arrived, a step ahead of the Sixth Prince and his entourage.

“Yes, Miss Yu, please come down first…” Rong Wanyin and Yan Mingzhang both advised.

"What are you holding in your hand?" The Sixth Prince immediately noticed the yellow cloth wrapped in Yu Ni Chang's hand, and he could hardly believe it.

"It's nothing, just the jade seal we found in your carriage!" Yu Nishang said calmly.

"Imperial jade seal?"

"Wasn't the imperial seal lost?"

"Could it be..."

The guards were buzzing with gossip and speculation. Those whispered words pierced the Sixth Prince's heart like needles, and he felt as if he had returned to his childhood, a time when he was drowned out by idle chatter.

At first, the Sixth Prince didn't believe it, but after his attendant whispered something to him, a murderous intent slowly ignited in his eyes; anyone could see the obvious anger in his eyes. The Sixth Prince stared at Yu Ni Chang without saying a word.

"Answer me first, why did you lie to me? My sister is clearly dead, she died on the fifth day after I entered the palace, why didn't you tell me?" Yu Ni Chang screamed hoarsely, overwhelmed with grief, but not a single tear fell. After the family's misfortune, her sister was her only remaining relative. She endured every day, just to obtain more precious medicinal herbs for her sister. "But I didn't kill her, it was... she died of illness due to her own misfortune!" The Sixth Prince glanced at the circle of guards around him and insisted on changing his story.

"Yes, you didn't kill her, but you didn't save her! If you had saved her, she could have survived! She was so young, only five years old, and you abandoned her in a side courtyard to fend for herself. You even lied to me, saying you found the best imperial physician to see her and prescribed the most expensive medicine... Liar!" Yu Nishang's voice was hoarse.

"Let me explain! That's not how it is!" The Sixth Prince said, and started to walk forward.

"Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll throw the imperial seal down!" Yu Nishang held up the bright yellow cloth bag in her hand.

The sixth prince had a severe headache. He looked around, his heart filled with uncontrollable rage. Everything he had painstakingly built was almost ruined by this stupid woman!

"Shut up, what nonsense are you spouting! Where did you steal the imperial seal from!" The Sixth Prince had no choice but to bite the bullet and pin the blame on Yu Ni Chang.

Yu Nishang didn't reply, but continued to say to herself, "It's so good to be able to see you one last time before I die... I love you, did you ever love me?"

Yu Ni Chang's gaze swept across everyone's faces, lingering a moment longer on Rong Jun Ye's face before moving past him to look at the Sixth Prince. In the darkness, no one noticed, except for Rong Wan Yin and Yan Ming Zhang, who had exceptional eyesight and knew that she did not love the Sixth Prince, so these words were not meant for him at all.

Yu Nishang knew she couldn't look at him, that it would hurt him. What a pity! Even in death, she couldn't tell the one she loved her true feelings.

The Sixth Prince: "Yu'er, I love you, of course I love you. Do you know what I gave up? What I sacrificed for you? I refused the Khitan princess's marriage proposal! Do you know how great a loss that was?"

The way he called out "Yu'er" sounded like "Rui'er" at first glance, making it hard to tell whether he was calling for Rui'er or Yu'er. Yu Nishang knew all too well how terrifying this person pretending to be affectionate was; he was so convincing that even she believed him.

Yu Ni Chang sneered: "I am not Rui'er, I am Yu Ni Chang! I am myself! Do you know that? You don't love me, and you don't love that girl named Rui'er. You love yourself the most, you love that self who pretends to be affectionate, you love the perfect Rui'er in your imagination. You are so pathetic! You don't even know who you love. No, you don't even know what love is. You are so pathetic! You have given so much, but it is not what I wanted at all. You are just indulging in self-pity. Your heart is harder than the blue bricks on this palace wall."

After Yu Nishang finished speaking, she took another half step outward, with half of her foot already dangling in the air.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" the Sixth Prince almost roared. "Give me the Imperial Seal right now! Stop going crazy!"

"I've been insane for a long time, no, I should have died sooner, on the very first day you took me to the Prince's mansion, rather than being tortured like this by you." Yu Nishang rolled up her sleeves, revealing a series of hideous wounds. "Hypocrite, you're the one who's insane! Hahahaha..."

Yu Nishang stretched out her arms and leaned back, falling straight down. Everyone ran forward to try to catch her. Rong Junye was the closest to her, but he could only grab a corner of her clothes. With a "rip", the brocade was torn, and Rong Junye was left with only a piece of cloth in his hand.

Yu Ni Chang plunged straight into the darkness, only to hear the moat below erupt with a splash as everyone rushed down the palace walls. The once bustling palace walls were now deserted.

"Quickly! Search quickly! We must find the Imperial Seal!" The Sixth Prince stood on the bank of the moat, his eyes bloodshot, almost insane. "And that stupid woman! I want to see her alive or dead!"