Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha Playboy in Ancient Times - Chapter 108

As Shen Xingyue made her way back to the palace, the two teams of imperial secret guards had already interrogated the captured men separately. Knowing that the matter involved the Crown Princess, the secret guards dared not make any decisions on their own and brought the archers directly to the palace.

In the Hall of Diligent Governance, Shen Kaiyuan was pacing anxiously. The ministers standing nearby were as tense as if walking on thin ice. The palace attendants sent to deliver orders to Shen Xingyue and Han Shu finally returned. Shen Kaiyuan immediately asked, “Well? Were my orders delivered?”

“General Han Shu received the decree and immediately rushed outside the city to mobilize her troops. As for Her Grace the Grand Princess before we arrived, she had already gone to the Yuning Guard to deploy soldiers. It seems she acted on the news right away,” the attendant reported respectfully.

“Good,  good. Yue’er acted quickly. It should still be in time,  it must be in time.” the Empress muttered, pacing nonstop. She was clearly no longer composed.

At that moment, Wen Jing strode quickly into the hall and whispered by Shen Kaiyuan’s side, “Your Majesty, the secret guards captured two separate groups of suspicious individuals one at the Third Prince’s residence, the other at the Fifth Princess’s. They said the matter concerns the Crown Princess and dared not take action without your permission. What do you wish to do?”

“There’s no point avoiding names at a time like this! Bring them in!” Shen Kaiyuan snapped, her tone sharp and brittle. She was already sick with worry over her youngest daughter’s safety—and now this? Secret guards catching suspicious men sneaking around the residences of her other son and daughter?

The captured archers, trembling with fear, fell to their knees and began begging for mercy.

“Please spare us, Your Majesty! It was His Highness the Third Prince who ordered us! He made us shoot at Her Highness the Crown Princess! We had no choice!”

“Yes, Your Majesty! It was all the Third Prince’s doing! We were just following orders—it wasn’t our fault!”

“The Fifth Princess held my wife and children hostage! I had no choice, Your Majesty!”

“Mine too! She threatened my entire family—I couldn’t disobey!”

Shen Kaiyuan staggered back two steps. Just hearing that the Third Prince had ordered the attack made her vision blur. When she heard the Fifth Princess was involved as well, her breathing turned ragged.

Her own son and daughter had conspired… to murder Ning’er?

“You—you dared lay a hand on my Ning’er? Thank heaven the secret guards caught you in time… You bastards deserve to die!” Shen Kaiyuan roared. In her fury, she grabbed a teacup from the nearby table and hurled it at the archers.

The commander of the secret guards stepped forward to kneel and explain, “Your Majesty, please forgive us. These men were intercepted on their way back after completing their mission. They had already reached the South Gate.”

“What?!” Shen Kaiyuan barely managed to steady herself against the imperial desk. Her voice trembled. “Then… what about Ning’er? What happened to her?! Answer me!”

She seized an inkstone and hurled it at one of the archers—it hit him squarely in the chest and clattered to the ground with a loud crack.

The man burst into tears, his forehead pressed to the floor. “I didn’t want to do it! If our arrows failed to wound Her Highness, the Fifth Princess said she’d slaughter my entire family! Please, Your Majesty, see the truth!”

“It was the same for us, Your Majesty! The Third Prince said if the Crown Princess wasn’t bleeding, we’d pay with our heads!”

Shen Kaiyuan rushed forward, grabbing the lead archer by the collar and snarling through clenched teeth, “So it was you who shot Ning’er—wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?”

She slapped him hard across the face.

The man, terrified and sobbing, wailed, “Spare me, Your Majesty! I’ll tell you everything—just please don’t kill me!”

Shen Kaiyuan’s hands were shaking as she clutched his collar. “Then speak! What exactly happened? Say it—now!”

“T-the situation outside was already a mess,” the man stammered through sobs. “The Fifth Princess sent people disguised as refugees. They were there to stir up the crowd while the Crown Princess was trying to calm them. The people were quickly provoked and rushed toward Her Highness and her guards. There were tens of thousands of them… they scattered the few hundred guards that came with Her Highness. She was crushed in the crowd. We had no choice but to shoot…”

He paused, sobbing.

“The Third Prince’s men also shot at her. Altogether, the Crown Princess was hit by at least two arrows. Your Majesty, even if we hadn’t struck her, I don’t think she would’ve survived. The mob was out of control. Many people were trampled and suffocated… it wasn’t necessarily our arrows that killed her…” he tried, weakly, to defend himself.

Shen Kaiyuan completely lost control. She struck him again and again before collapsing, barely able to stand. Wen Jing rushed to hold her up.

“You think this excuses you?” she gasped. “I’ll spare your miserable lives for now—just so those two wretches can hear your confession themselves. But if Ning’er doesn’t survive… I swear, every last one of you will be buried with her.”

“Forgive us, Your Majesty—it was the Fifth Princess who gave the order! We were only following instructions! We had no choice!”

Several ministers standing in the hall were also weeping silently. The Crown Princess—North Chuan’s hope for the future—had been preparing for her long-awaited wedding, only for disaster to strike at such a moment. And the ones responsible were none other than the other two royal heirs. If this was true, North Chuan was on the brink of fresh turmoil. Even the matter of succession would become an unbearable burden for the Empress.

Meanwhile, Shen Xingyue had already arrived at the palace gates. She had not brought the Yuning Guard directly to the inner palace—instead, she stationed them further outside to prevent desperate rioters from attempting to breach the palace.

Only a few royal guards from the Prince’s Manor followed her, along with the soldiers carrying the bodies of Shen Yining and Wu Ren on stretchers. They rushed toward the gate.

From a distance, the palace guards saw their armored approach and, mistaking them for a threat, tensed up and shouted from afar, “Who goes there? Advance another step and we’ll open fire!”

“I am Shen Xingyue of the Ankang Prince’s Manor! I have urgent military intelligence for Her Majesty—who dares to stop me? If anything happens because of a delay, who among you will take responsibility?” Shen Xingyue’s voice was hoarse from shouting, but she forced herself to yell again, firm and resolute.

Two guards were dispatched to verify her identity and quickly recognized her. “It’s the Grand Princess!” they reported back.

Only then did the palace guards relax slightly. As Shen Xingyue approached, they moved to block her path again. “Your Grace, weapons are not permitted in the palace.”

“Get out of my way! Do you have any idea what’s going on out there? The rioters have already broken into the city—who can guarantee the palace is still safe? I’m bringing the Crown Princess! If any of you dares stop me again, I’ll report your names personally to Her Majesty!” Shen Xingyue snapped.

She had been running herself ragged the entire afternoon, circling the city on horseback and personally holding the line at the South Gate. Her cousin had died violently. The only reason she was still on her feet was sheer willpower.

The guards still hesitated. “Your Grace, if it were just you with a sword, that would be one thing—but there are too many people, and you’re carrying stretchers. We cannot allow them inside.”

“There’s a corpse on that stretcher—and it’s the Crown Princess! Do you even have a brain?! If I intended rebellion, I could’ve brought the entire Yuning Guard. Why would I show up with only a few close guards? If you try to stop me again, I will order my men to act!” Shen Xingyue’s voice turned icy with rage.

“We can’t, Your Grace! Unless we inspect the body on the stretcher, we cannot let it through.” The lead guard reached for the white cloak covering Shen Yining’s body—only to have his hand slapped away by Shen Xingyue.

“You think you’re worthy to touch her?” she growled.

Her eyes blazing, Shen Xingyue turned to Ziyi and the others. “Wait here. Don’t let anyone lay a finger on Her Highness’s body. I’ll go in and request Her Majesty’s permission myself.”

Her chest heaving, she glared at the palace guards who had blocked her. “You brainless dogs… Do you want the Crown Princess’s body to rot here at the gate? Fine. Her Majesty will hear about this herself.”

With that, she mounted her horse and cracked the whip, charging through the gates toward the Hall of Diligent Governance.

The captain of the guards shouted after her, “Your Grace! You must not ride or bear weapons in the palace! Someone—go after her!”

But Shen Xingyue was beyond restraint. Blood boiling, she galloped straight to the hall. By the time she dismounted, her strength was almost gone. She stumbled forward, nearly collapsing, and rushed inside.

The guards at the entrance tried to block her. Seeing her covered in blood and in armor, they instinctively reached for their swords—but she kicked one aside and stormed into the hall.

The commotion reached Empress Shen Kaiyuan, who looked up to see Shen Xingyue staggering through the doors in blood-stained armor, her eyes red with grief. She dropped to her knees in front of the throne.

“Aunt…”

She couldn’t get another word out before her eyes brimmed over again. “Please… have someone go retrieve Ning’er from the palace gate. The guards wouldn’t let me bring her in.”

Shen Kaiyuan rushed forward and grabbed Shen Xingyue’s shoulders. “You brought Ning’er back? Is she badly hurt? Is she—how is she?”

She turned immediately to Wen Jing. “Go! Summon the imperial physicians! And send people to the gate—bring Ning’er in, now!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Wen Jing swiftly gave the orders and dispatched attendants.

Shen Xingyue, her voice trembling, said through clenched teeth, “Aunt… when I arrived, Her Highness was surrounded. She had already been shot by two poisoned arrows. I had the Yuning Guard break through the mob… but by then, Ning’er’s face had turned blue. She… she wasn’t breathing…”

Shen Kaiyuan collapsed to the floor, shaking. She grabbed Shen Xingyue’s shoulders and shook her hard. “No… That can’t be. Ning’er’s fine. You must be mistaken! She had hundreds of guards with her—there’s no way… She must have just fainted. That’s all. Just fainted…”

“No… no… What kind of sin did I commit to raise two children capable of murdering their own sister?!” Shen Kaiyuan’s voice cracked as tears finally spilled down her cheeks. “Guards! Summon the Imperial Guard. Bring Shen Yiqian and Shen Yijia to me—bind them and bring them in, now!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Wen Jing quickly relayed the command.

Shen Xingyue knelt to one side, tears dripping silently down her face. She removed her helmet and cast it aside, her mind spinning from exhaustion and grief. It felt like her head might burst.

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