My Prince said he'd break my legs.

Do not,

Prince Chen immediately realized that the Northern Army had not come to their aid in time, but rather that Pei Yue had already set a trap to lure them into a snare and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Pei Yue had also placed his own people in the Imperial Guards long ago, and they were people with high-ranking positions.

Prince Chen's gaze slowly shifted to Liang Shu, the Imperial Guard commander he had recently promoted himself, and he suddenly burst into a bitter laugh, his expression as if he had gone mad.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain, hahahahaha, Pei Yue, my strategies are inferior to yours. We've been fighting for so many years, and in the end, you've won."

Pei Yue slowly walked towards Prince Chen, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Guess why Father Emperor only died yesterday?"

"You......." Before Prince Chen could utter another word, a piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth and he was dragged away.

Pei Yue stood in the center of the hall, his aura sharp and imposing, creating a sense of oppression.

A guard entered and knelt before him to report on the battle: "Your Highness, the number of casualties among the palace women is not large. A few have died, including Consort Xiao. All the female relatives of the rebels have been imprisoned."

Pei Yue asked calmly, "What about the Crown Prince's Palace?"

"Everything went according to plan, but then Consort Feng betrayed us and led the Southern Army to surround Feiyu Palace. Later, Prince Chen's men sent hidden guards over. The Crown Princess was seriously injured and is receiving treatment, as are the other concubines..."

Pei Yue frowned: "I'm asking about Consort Liang. Is she alright?"

"Liang... Consort Liang..." The guard lowered his head, trying his best to suppress his fear, his voice growing softer and softer: "Consort Liang is gone."

"Miss Qinglan said that Liang Liangyuan must have run away on her own. Liang Liangyuan was still in the cave at night, but when it was dawn, Miss Qinglan found that Liang Liangyuan was gone."

Pei Yue's gaze suddenly darkened, his aura turning icy cold: "Go find them. If you don't, you'll all die."

"Yes, yes, yes." The guard scrambled out.

Pei Yue stood there with his hands behind his back, staring ahead in thought. With such a short time, Liang Zhiyi must not have left the city yet.

"Liang Shu".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Pass down the order to Lieutenant An to seal the city gates and move all the female relatives of the convicted officials to the estates inside the city, and have them secretly guarded."

Pei Yue forced out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Since she's playful, then let her have fun."

Liang Shu couldn't help but feel worried for his cousin, but he had no choice but to obey: "Yes, Your subordinate obeys."

.........

Liang Zhiyi avoided the Northern Army and went down the mountain from another side. By the time she came down, it was past noon.

She looked in the direction of the Sixth Princess's residence. Prince Chen and the Sixth Princess were born of the same mother. She wondered how the Sixth Princess was doing now.

She gritted her teeth, turned around and left. Everyone has their own fate. She can barely take care of herself now, so how can she help the Sixth Princess?

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, a day that should be joyous and lively. However, the streets are as if they have been soaked in blood. Almost every household has its doors tightly shut, and people only dare to observe the fighting outside through the cracks in their windows.

Liang Zhiyi avoided the fighting soldiers and headed towards an empty road, intending to escape Kyoto in the chaos, but found that the city gates had been sealed off and no one was allowed to enter or leave.

She had no cash on her, and although she wore some jewelry, she dared not pawn it in the capital city, because if she did, Pei Yue could easily find out where she was.

She had no money and dared not stay in inns, let alone go to guesthouses, for fear that people would report her as a rebel and arrest her.

Left with no other option, she went back up the mountain and found a place to hide halfway up.

She survived by picking wild fruits from the mountain. Although the mountain stream nearby was frozen, it was still flowing water and not completely frozen. When she was extremely thirsty, she would take a small sip to keep herself alive.

After several days of waiting, he estimated that Pei Yue should have already purged the remaining followers of Prince Chen, and the city gates were most likely open.

When she came down the mountain, the snow had stopped, and there were no more traces of blood on the roads in the city. She didn't know if they had been covered by the snow that had fallen for several days.

However, the city gates remained closed, and Liang Zhiyi immediately deflated. She was so hungry that she had lost a lot of weight in the past few days. Even though she was wearing a fox fur coat, if she didn't eat hot food soon, her body would freeze into an ice sculpture.

Fortunately, there are no soldiers searching for her, and her portrait has not been posted on the streets.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, guessing that Pei Yue thought she was dead or had left the city, which was why he hadn't sent anyone to look for her.

He glanced down at the fox fur coat he was wearing. Although it was a bit dirty, he figured he could pawn it for some money to tide him over.

There was no other way; without money to buy food, she was going to starve to death.

Just as she was about to leave, someone grabbed her wrist before she could take two steps. She was so frightened that she tried to scream, but someone covered her mouth.

Liang Zhiyi's eyes widened, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

Chunmei led her to an inn. As soon as they entered the room, Liang Zhiyi asked, "Chunmei, why are you still here? Didn't you leave?"

Chunmei looked at her with teary eyes: "Miss, how could you bear to send me away? I..."

Seeing that Chunmei was about to cry, Liang Zhiyi quickly stopped her: "Alright, alright, don't cry. Quickly have someone bring some dishes. Your daughter is starving."

Chunmei sniffed to hold back her tears and hurriedly went to arrange food and hot water.

Liang Zhiyi devoured the food like a starving ghost, leaving no trace of manners.

Chunmei watched with a heavy heart, knowing how much her daughter had suffered these past few days.

"That day, Miss Qinglan brought me my indenture and silver notes, telling me to leave. But I have no relatives or friends, where could I go? I wanted to go to the East Palace to find you, but I couldn't get in without a token. So I had no choice but to stay at the inn for now."

That night, the city descended into chaos. I hid in the inn, too afraid to go out. After Prince Chen's rebellion failed, I understood your thoughts best. With the situation so chaotic that night, I thought I might meet you at the city gate, so I went there to wait every day.

"Heaven rewards those who persevere; I have finally found you, young lady."

Liang Zhiyi's mouth was stuffed full of food. She used one hand to pat Chunmei's shoulder, chewing her food while mumbling something through her teary eyes. Chunmei couldn't quite hear her, but she could understand what she was saying.

After Liang Zhiyi finished eating and soaked in the bathtub, the hot water enveloping her entire body, she felt like she had come back to life.

Those few days were truly unbearable.

"What's the situation in Kyoto these past few days?" She dared not go down the mountain and knew nothing about the situation.

"A few days ago, martial law was declared in the city. No one was allowed to move around freely. Soldiers searched house to house for the remnants of Prince Chen's faction. Many people were beheaded every day, and those killed were all former high-ranking ministers. All other male officials involved in the treason, regardless of age, were imprisoned. Prince Chen... was the first to be beheaded and his head displayed in public."

Liang Zhiyi sighed. Throughout history, the change of dynasties has always been a sacrifice of blood. If Pei Yue were to lose, his subordinates would suffer the same fate.

"His Highness has entered the palace and taken the throne. He has already calculated the date for his ascension to the throne in half a month. Perhaps His Highness is preparing to ascend the throne, because the court has stopped killing people in the past two days. All the female relatives of Prince Chen's faction have been taken to a manor to await their fate."

Chunmei paused, then looked cautiously at Liang Zhiyi: "The eldest young lady is among them."

Liang Zhiyi lowered her head slightly: "You know, with so many wives and daughters of disgraced officials living in the same estate, if a minor concubine suddenly disappears, surely no one will notice, right?"

With hundreds of people crammed into a small village, they probably had to sleep back to back, so how could the guards possibly notice who was missing?

"Since we can't leave the city anyway, shall we go take a look?"