The imperial guard was sent flying by the lash of a whip.
Rong Qi stood steadily atop his horse, his lips curled into a faint arc, though his eyes burned with ruthless malice.
"I am the Crown Prince of Western Zhou, here today to see off your country's Eldest Princess."
He cracked his long whip in the air, provocatively declaring, "However, the Eldest Princess once bestowed this whip upon me, and I have yet to return it. Today, I have come specifically to return it."
"It is a virtuous thing for Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince to requite kindness with kindness. On behalf of the Eldest Princess, I thank you."
Lin Xun had already stepped out from the carriage. He soared through the air, landing directly before Rong Qi, and proclaimed in a resonant voice, "As for this whip, I shall accept it on the Eldest Princess's behalf."
"Who the hell do you think you are!"
With a furious curse, Rong Qi lashed out at him. Lin Xun caught the whip with his bare hand, the force nearly tearing it from his grip.
Lin Xun’s martial arts were formidable. If a real fight were to break out, Rong Qi might not emerge unscathed. Yet, it was clear that neither man wished to expend the energy for a full-scale battle.
Rong Qi glared at Lin Xun, his eyes filled with an unnamed, raging fire. He gritted his teeth and hissed, "You can accept the object on her behalf, but can you also suffer the one hundred and eight lashes she once gave me?"
Lin Xun replied calmly, "If the Crown Prince insists on keeping count, I can suffer them for her as well."
"Suffer them yourself! Do you even think you're worthy?"
Rong Qi erupted in a rage. He yanked the whip back and bellowed, "Today, either you open the coffin and let me return those one hundred and eight lashes to Li Fuyin myself, or I will slaughter the citizens of this city to vent my rage, leaving her, Li Fuyin, to bear an eternal stain of infamy, never to find peace in death!"
As these words fell, the Western Zhou shadow guards, previously hidden among the masses, revealed themselves. Weapons in hand, they seized nearby civilians, instantly inciting chaos. As the people fled in terror, screaming for help, the scene devolved into complete disorder.
Seeing this, Lin Xun’s expression turned grim.
Inside the imperial carriage, Li Mexiao—who was impersonating Emperor Qingyuan—was covered in a cold sweat, sensing that the situation was taking a disastrous turn. If it were only Rong Qi, the situation might have remained under control with Lin Xun present. But once the safety of the common people was involved, even a single death could shake the imperial court, lead the citizenry to doubt the majesty of the Sheng State, and ignite a firestorm of public outrage.
Li Mexiao’s power base was still fragile; he had no desire to see the imperial authority destabilized. Furthermore, with Li Fuyin having just died and various princes eyeing the throne, he had to preserve the image of Emperor Qingyuan at all costs.
"The Eldest Princess has already passed. The dead deserve respect, and these are old grievances. For Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince to act in such a manner is surely being unreasonable!" Lin Xun said in a deep voice. "Regardless, the people of the Sheng State are innocent. Does Your Royal Highness intend to declare war on the Sheng State just as your foundation in Western Zhou has finally stabilized?"
A hint of madness glinted in Rong Qi’s eyes. Completely unmoved, he gritted out, "Open the coffin! I want to see her, dead or alive!"
Opening the coffin now would not only be a grave disrespect to the Eldest Princess but also a massive loss of face for the Sheng State. By what right did he demand the coffin be opened? Why should the Emperor of the great Sheng State listen to the whims of a Western Zhou Crown Prince?
If Li Yuanzhao were here himself, he would have surely cursed Rong Qi out long ago, never allowing such insolence in the capital of Sheng. But the person in the carriage was Prince Ning, Li Mexiao, who dared not reveal his identity and cared little for Li Fuyin’s reputation in death. Thus, he remained silent, praying only that Lin Xun would quell the matter quickly.
Lin Xun stood his ground, his gaze cold as he fixed his eyes on Rong Qi, his own aura beginning to flare.
"Within the borders of the Sheng State, the remains of the Eldest Princess represent the dignity of the nation. I will not permit anyone to desecrate or insult them!" Lin Xun’s eyes were firm, his stance ready for battle. "Not unless you step over my dead body!"
Watching the two of them on the verge of blows, Li Fuyin—hidden in the carriage—felt her eyes light up with excitement. How long had it been since she’d seen her Eldest Senior Brother in action? With Lin Xun’s strength, he would surely beat that little brat Rong Qi to a pulp. Then they would see how arrogant he remained!
In her previous life, the reason she allowed Rong Qi to take her body was because Lin Xun had also wanted to open the coffin and was waiting for an opportunity in the shadows. He likely hadn't believed she was truly dead and wanted to take her away to find a way to revive her. But he had been distracted when Li Yuanzhao was injured, allowing that little madman Rong Qi to succeed.
This time, Lin Xun was clearly in a better state, and Li Yuanzhao hadn't even left the palace. She didn't believe for a second that this kid Rong Qi could get the better of Lin Xun.
"Lin Xun, you obstruct me at every turn, refusing to open the coffin..."
Rong Qi stared at Lin Xun for a long moment before suddenly laughing. "Could it be that Li Fuyin isn't dead at all? That all of this is just a smokescreen, and you are shielding her... is that it?"
A massive stir rippled through the crowd at his words. Not only the commoners of the Sheng State, but the ministers themselves began to wonder: was Li Fuyin faking her death? Was all of this just a ruse?
After all, her death had been far too abrupt. No one had seen her body with their own eyes, nor did they know how she had died or who had harmed her!
Perhaps... perhaps as Rong Qi claimed, Li Fuyin was not dead at all.Lin Xun’s expression shifted slightly as he said in a deep voice, "The Eldest Princess passed away suddenly, and His Majesty has been overcome with grief, kneeling by her spirit tablet for days without sleep or rest. If she were still alive, why would she hide the truth even from her closest kin? Would that not be too heartless?"
"Too heartless? A person like her—is she even capable of having feelings? You ought to ask her yourself: in this world, is there anything she, Li Fuyin, wouldn't do?"
Rong Qi, perhaps reminded of something, gripped his long whip so tightly that the corners of his eyes began to flush a faint red.
*Whoosh—*
A red-tasseled spear suddenly cut through the air, whistling with a fierce, murderous aura as it struck toward Rong Qi.
Rong Qi’s ears flicked; he instantly somersaulted to dodge the spear, then tapped his toes lightly against the horse's back and landed steadily on the ground.
The spear struck the coffin with a sharp *thud*, burying itself deep into the wood.
The next instant, a dark figure launched itself like a cannonball, throwing itself violently at Rong Qi, who was still on horseback.
"With me here, no one is going to touch a single hair on her head!"
Following the roar, the figure slammed into Rong Qi, knocking him from the saddle. The two men crashed to the ground and tumbled several times before coming to a stop.
Rong Qi found himself pinned firmly beneath a man clad in soldier’s armor, and without a word of preamble, the two began to trade wild, desperate blows.
"Zhao Yunchi, have you lost your mind! I just refuse to believe she's dead! I am going to drag her out of hiding!"
Rong Qi had not expected to run into someone even more unhinged than himself; he roared in exasperation, forgetting his usual composure.
Zhao Yunchi, however, ignored his nonsense, landing blow after brutal blow. "As long as I am alive, no one is allowed to insult A-Yin! Even if she has been dead for ten, twenty, or a hundred years, I will not permit anyone to say a single word against her!!"
*Thud, thud, thud...*
Li Fuyin leaned out of the carriage window, watching with interest as the two men brawled like children, trading sloppy punches. This kind of raw, cathartic venting actually felt more satisfying to watch than a clash of blades.
She had not expected that there would still be men in this world willing to fight over her.
That Zhao Yunchi would defy the Emperor’s decree to rush back from the border was something Li Fuyin had anticipated.
When Li Fuyin had first met Zhao Yunchi, he was only six or seven years old—a dull, clumsy little chubby boy who was always the target of mockery and bullying. At that time, Li Fuyin was already eleven, being raised alongside Consort Li, who was then at the center of a storm, cursed by courtiers and commoners alike as a "wicked concubine who would ruin the state." Having seen enough of the endless intrigue and treachery in the palace, she had grown weary of it and instead grew fond of people with simple, pure natures. So, she had taken the silly little fat boy under her wing and made him her protégé.She had never expected someone like Zhao Yunchi to amount to much, keeping him around merely as a lucky charm. Yet, one day, the lad suddenly changed his disposition, insisting on learning martial arts and going to war, declaring that he would one day become a great general to conquer the world for her alone.
She remembered that in her previous life, after Zhao Yunchi rushed back only to discover she was truly dead, he had spiraled into despair. He stopped practicing martial arts and ceased fighting, spending his days drowning his sorrows in wine at taverns. Within half a year, he was assassinated by his enemies, and the military power he held eventually fell into the hands of Prince Ning, becoming a major asset for him later on.
Li Fuyin knew that the little chubby boy had always looked up to her, viewing her as his faith. Beneath his seemingly dull and honest exterior lay a remarkably sharp mind; he had long ago sensed her burning ambition and was thus content to serve as a blade in her hands.
She knew how devastating her passing must have been for him.
Therefore, seeing Zhao Yunchi rush back for her, dusty and weary, and then brutally beat up Rong Qi on her behalf, Li Fuyin was deeply moved—she could hardly resist rushing over to help him strike a few more blows!
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
It was unclear how much time had passed, but the two remained locked in an inseparable struggle, both faces bruised and bloodied. As Zhao Yunchi was wearing armor, he held a slight advantage.
However, after Rong Qi whispered something to Zhao Yunchi amidst the fray, the two, still grappling, suddenly slammed heavily into the golden nanmu coffin nearby.
With a resounding "clatter," the heavy golden nanmu coffin tilted over with a crash, and the lid, which had not been fully sealed, began to teeter precariously...
At this sight, everyone froze, their gazes fixed intently upon the massive coffin.
The battered and bruised Rong Qi, fueled by some unknown surge of strength, threw Zhao Yunchi aside and lunged toward the coffin immediately, prying the lid open to pull the person out from within.
However, the moment his hand reached inside, he heard a sharp "hiss."
He paused, stunned, his movements coming to a halt.
"Whoosh—"
A streak of light suddenly cut across his vision, shooting straight up into the night sky like a bolt of lightning striking his heart.
"Bang—"
A firework erupted in the quiet night sky.
In the instant the fireworks bloomed, the heavy curtain of night was torn asunder, and the colorful light illuminated everyone's faces.
Rong Qi looked down. The coffin was empty.