Prince Yi's Orders

On another side of the city…

The Emperor's procession was heading from the palace to the City Square. The lively sounds of music were played loudly to accompany this parade. Colorful flags were raised to accompany the luxury carriages.

At both sides of the road, lanterns of different sizes and shapes were hung, painting the streets with different colors. The atmosphere was very lively and everyone who was watching suddenly was in the mood to join this festivity.

The citizen who wanted to take a peek at this procession had lined up at the sides from early morning. Their head craned to see the luxurious parade and hope that they would have the chance to take a glimpse at the imperial family.

Some were taking guesses at which carriage belonged to the Emperor and which carriage belonged to the princes.

With the number of civilians, there were also pushing and pulling among the people. However, with the soldiers guarding the area tightly, no one was dared to cause any disturbance.

However, no matter how much they wanted to steal a look, by the time the Imperial carriage passed by, the civilians would have to lower their head and no one was allowed to look at the Emperor or any of the imperial family directly.

Qin Zhi Hao sat up straight as he was riding his horse as he personally guarded the Emperor's carriage.

At this time, Pei Zi, who was dressed in a soldier's uniform approached the prince with his horse before he leaned in to whisper a few words to him.

In just seconds, Qin Zhi Hao's expression turned ugly when he heard reports about the fire in the northern part of the city.

Because this incident began with the lantern, Qin Zhi Hao could not help but feel suspicious, especially since he was investigating the materials used to build the huge lantern not too long ago.

They have been worrying that someone would do something to that big lantern to harm the Emperor.

But what if there was no problem with the big lantern but instead, the person who wanted to harm the Emperor would use other ways?

Fortunately for them, the place where the fire started was farther away and the Emperor's procession would not pass by that area.

The Emperor and half of the royal family were on this entourage to head over to the tower at the center of the town. If an accident happened, then, a lot of people will be in trouble.

Qin Zhi Hao could almost imagine what would happen if the lantern on the roadside was caught on fire while the Emperor was passing by. The area was cramped with people and once an accident started, everyone would be running around to save their life. At that time, the civilian would not have the time to care if the Emperor's carriage was caught on fire or not. As long as they could save themselves, everything else does not matter.

Once the fire got bigger and the people started to run, a stampede would happen. The situation would be too hard to manage even with the number of guards around and soon, a lot of life will be lost.

However, just because this accident happened far away, it does not mean that they could be at ease. This accident proved that they should continue to be vigilant.

Turning to Pei Zi, Qin Zhi Hao whispered some instruction, telling him to investigate the fire and the cause of it cautiously.

Seeing that the man had not left after receiving the instruction, Prince Yi cocked his head to and asked, "You have something else to report?"

Pei Zi cupped his hands and leaned forward again. "Your Highness." His lips barely moved as he whispered, "We lost track of that boy."

Qin Zhi Hao turned his head swiftly. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched as he tried to suppress his anger. "What happened?"

Pei Zi hesitated before he reported the truth, "We are not sure what had happened, but the boy suddenly ran off away from the City Square. The others tried to follow him but lost sight of him after a few minutes. The boy was too fast and the crowd did not allow others to catch up with that boy. If we make too much movement, our enemy might suspect something. We don't dare to take any chances."

His grip on the rope tightened as Qin Zhi Hao heard the report.

Qin Zhi Hao could not help but wonder where did that little boy had disappeared to. That boy had promised that he will stay and help as a runner, but he had disappeared before he received his task.

Did that boy run away?

Does that mean he did not want his orange cat anymore?

Or does this prove that Xiao Feng was indeed working with his enemy? Xiao Feng had entered his camp a few times and had met his men. Now that he had important information, could it be that Xiao Feng wanted to betray him and sold the information to his enemy?

"Your Highness," Pei Zi called when he noticed the long silence. "Awaiting for your next instruction."

Qin Zhi Hao closed his eyes before he gave out his instruction. "Your mission remained the same. Find the person who wanted to harm the Emperor before the day ends and how they are planning to harm him. As for that boy… send messages to everyone that the boy is to be killed upon sight."

Pei Zi's eyes grew wide upon hearing that instruction but seconds later, he quickly composed himself. "Yes, Your Highness."

As a soldier, it was his duty to obey the Prince's order without question. He had been by Prince Yi's side for years and he was not going to start questioning orders he received now.

Prince Yi must have his reason if he wanted the boy dead. After all, it was better to kill an innocent boy rather than harming a thousand others.

"After this festival, everyone will have to receive their punishment."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Qin Zhi Hao watched as Pei Zi's horse retreated from his side before he headed somewhere else. His gaze grew cold as he thought of that boy. He had gambled and decided to put his trust in him. But it seemed that he might have lost.

At this time, the small window to the carriage slid open. Without waiting for his name to be called, Qin Zhi Hao went forward and whispered, "Your Majesty."

"What happened?" The old man's deep voice could be heard coming from the inside of that luxurious carriage.

"There was an accident in the northern part of the city," Qin Zhi Hao reported. "A few were hurt after the shop lot caught on fire.

The Emperor's expression grew darker upon hearing the matter. After saying a few words to Prince Yi, the small window shut, and the procession to the City Center continued as planned.