The more Song Yanqing said so,

the less Xie Ruotong believed.

She commanded Lin Qianyu, "Go check if there’s an ambush outside." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Yes." Lin Qianyu hastily rode away on his horse.

Song Yanqing just watched Xie Ruotong like this.

She indeed would not believe him.

Indeed.

It was impossible for her to believe him.

He kept silent, just waiting, for Xie Ruotong to verify and confirm.

It wasn’t surprising that Xie Ruotong was wary of him.

Logically.

He really should have left by now.

Not leaving.

He knew very well what the consequences would be.

But he couldn’t just follow the King of Chu and leave without any care.

Regarding today’s coup, he had told his father not to get involved. Which is to say, he had warned his father not to go to the palace when the King of Chu summoned people from the scholar mansion. If the King of Chu’s coup succeeded, considering his loyalty to the King of Chu, the King wouldn’t blame his father for this incident. He could still keep his father safe. Besides, his father’s position at the scholar mansion wasn’t influential enough to matter much.

But if the King of Chu’s coup failed, the King might escape, but the others certainly wouldn’t be able to.

He could not let his father be ensnared in it.

So tonight, he had had his father and mother prepare to leave immediately if the King of Chu’s coup failed.

After sending the King of Chu away, he had rushed back immediately to inform his parents to leave.

The King of Chu had actually asked him several times whether he really didn’t want to leave with him or not.

By not leaving, he could imagine the consequences himself.

Yet, he still refused the King’s invitation.

The King of Chu would certainly be able to escape.

Now everyone’s attention was on the coup, and even if the Crown Prince rushed back, his energy would be focused on how to ascend the throne, a task of utmost importance. The pursuit of the King of Chu would be only one aspect and not consume all his efforts. Moreover, the King of Chu had long planned his escape route carefully, almost guaranteeing his safety.

This time, the Crown Prince would certainly not be able to capture the King of Chu, but Song Yanqing felt that the Crown Prince would not care too much about the King of Chu’s escape. Since the King of Chu failed to succeed in the coup under such thorough and meticulous preparation, being left with nothing after his escape would make it even harder for him to make waves.

For Song Yanqing, this was the peak of the King of Chu’s fate, and here it would halt.

The King of Chu could no longer be "resurrected from the dead."

Of course, his refusal to leave was not because he foresaw the King would take action in the future; his sole reason was to ensure his family’s safety.

And he did not leave with his parents.

It was also to ensure they could leave smoothly.

Without the King’s meticulously planned routes, his parents would have a hard time escaping.

If he stayed behind, he could prevent the Crown Prince’s people from pursuing his parents, allowing them a real chance to escape.

After all, the one the Crown Prince truly wanted to capture was him.

With the Crown Prince’s intelligence, it would certainly be assumed that the person who helped the King of Chu escape was him.

As long as he was interrogated, the whereabouts of the King of Chu could be revealed.

But in fact.

How could he possibly know everything?

He only helped plan part of it.

The majority of the escape routes were the King of Chu’s own arrangements.

Otherwise, the King of Chu wouldn’t have so easily let him return.

The King of Chu would never allow someone who held his fate in their hands to leave.

Song Yanqing looked at Xie Ruotong.

He had never thought that the one to capture him would be Xie Ruotong.

Unexpectedly.

After several months apart.

Xie Ruotong, donned in armor, stood high above.

A world apart from the once injured and breathless Xie Ruotong who stood before him in the past.

Song Yanqing seemed to smile.

A secret, quiet smile.

After leaving him.

She was able to live better.

That, it seems, was enough.

In the quiet.

Lin Qianyu returned to Xie Ruotong’s side and whispered in her ear, "No anomalies were discovered, no ambushes, and no traps around."

Xie Ruotong’s eyes tightened.

After all, she couldn’t be too at ease.

She said, "Search again, see if there are any other people. Song Yuanzhong, Ming Yufang, and Xie Ruilin are all missing. Search again!"

"Yes."

"Be careful," Xie Ruotong instructed again, still uneasy.

She feared that Song Yanqing was playing tricks.

"Yes."

Lin Qianyu took people to search the Song Residence thoroughly once more.

"No need to search any further; they have all left," Song Yanqing stated bluntly, "I stayed to give them a way out."

Xie Ruotong frowned.

At that moment, she also understood Song Yanqing’s intentions.

Because Song Yanqing stayed, the Prince of Chen wouldn’t go after his parents.

If he had left with them, they would surely be hunted down relentlessly.

Given Song Yanqing’s filial piety, perhaps he truly would make such a choice.

That was also why she was certain that Song Yanqing hadn’t left with Xiao Jinsen.

But she hadn’t expected

That he would really forsake his own life for his parents to survive.

Xie Ruotong didn’t think further.

Song Yanqing’s decision was his own business.

She was only ordered to capture Song Yanqing and investigate the whereabouts of the Prince of Chu.

She didn’t respond to Song Yanqing with a single word.

Song Yanqing thought.

No matter what he said now, Xie Ruotong might not believe him anymore.

After a while.

Lin Qianyu came back with his men, "There’s no one else."

"Are you sure?"

"We’ve searched inside and out. We’ve also searched the underground chambers of the Song Residence. There’s no one else," Lin Qianyu confirmed.

Xie Ruotong took another look at Song Yanqing.

Song Yanqing remained calm throughout.

"What about the Prince of Chu?" Xie Ruotong asked him.

"I don’t know," Song Yanqing said.

Xie Ruotong’s eyes tightened as she said coldly, "Did you help the Prince of Chu escape?"

"No," Song Yanqing denied, "If that were the case, I wouldn’t be here."

"You just said that you stayed behind so your parents could leave safely!" Xie Ruotong uttered each word deliberately, obviously somewhat enraged.

The implication was that he hadn’t left with the Prince of Chu, all for his parent’s survival!

"I only stayed because I received news of the Prince of Chu’s failed rebellion and worried about the potential implication, so I let my parents go first while I stayed purely to stop the Prince of Chen from pursuing my parents. The Song Family will inevitably be implicated due to the Prince of Chu’s rebellion, and I am willing to bear the consequences," Song Yanqing stated, with right on his side.

Xie Ruotong naturally did not believe him.

Just as the Prince of Chen said, the people from the scholar mansion were present, while the Song Family members were absent.

And with Song Yanqing having Xiao Jinsen’s trust to such a degree, he couldn’t possibly not be involved in this incident.

The only possibility was that he was helping Xiao Jinsen with more important matters.

And the most important task would be to ensure Xiao Jinsen’s safety.

"Song Yanqing, if you disclose the Prince of Chu’s whereabouts, perhaps the Prince of Chen might still allow you to redeem yourself and spare your life," Xie Ruotong tempted.

Song Yanqing laughed.

In matters concerning the authority of the state, there was never such a thing as redemption for merits.

And he was loyal to the Prince of Chu.

Naturally, he would not betray the Prince of Chu.

No matter whether the Prince of Chu’s actions were traitorous.

But in the end.

The struggle for power never had a clear right or wrong.

Whoever wins is justice.

It’s an inevitable part of history!