Ahan ran off

Ronghe got out of the carriage, with his nerves frazzled from Ahan's reaction, and the scene kicked up earlier. His heart nearly skipped a beat watching the three guards in pursuit of the escaping Ahan from a distance. He heard the command not to hurt him, but given the circumstances, Ahan faced a grave danger.

In a blink, they vanished from sight. Ronghe inhaled deeply at the presence of Yinyue and the bodyguards joining in. His breath caught in his throat and he gulped. All their eyes laid on him, creating a crushing pressure on his heart.

Ronghe towered over her by a head or more, almost the same height as Hushiyi. Yet, she stood her ground, standing straight and seemingly unflustered by the earlier episode of his boy attendant's madness. Yinyue radiated an aura of authoritative presence, enough to make him avoid her gaze. Her full face mask covered most of her expressions.

Ronghe didn't know she was a young girl, only presuming her to be a very young man. And she didn't realize her magistrate in Bian town was so young until today.

His palms were cold and sweaty as he lowered his head, not daring to look at the grand prince before him. Deep fear for Ahan's life festered within his mind. That wasn't a simple faux pas. The reality of being tagged with disrespectful behaviour was real, given Ahan's sudden outburst.

Life hung in the balance at the whim of her command and Yinyue knew it. One word from her mouth and everything ends.

He swept his gown, smoothing the fabric while his eyes searched for clear ground free from horse dung. His legs felt weak and unsteady from his vulnerable state and kneeled, prostrating in front of her.

Ronghe's muscles stiffened with tension. The rough earth pressed against his knees, with his nose nearly touching the ice on the ground. He wanted to flee her presence. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to escape, but he couldn't.

Ronghe took another gulp and cleared his throat, hoping to steady his voice. He could hear his heartbeat pounding away louder and louder. His throat felt constructed as though a hand tightened around his throat, like a ready noose to strangle him.

"Your subject greets your highness," he mumbled the formal greeting. Then his voice quivered. "P-please spare your subjects' life. T-the boy h-has some p-past trauma."

"Get up." A voice of a man spoke and it wasn't the grand prince.

When the guard spoke, Ronghe didn't know what to make out of the tone in the guard's voice. A surge of relief mixed with apprehension swept through him.

Not unusual for a high-ranking imperial member to use their closest guards to speak for them. Either they saw the person as far too low in status to interact with, or they were angry. Ronghe hoped it wasn't the latter.

Yinyue said nothing, only turning away to glance in the direction of where Ahan went.

With dread gnawing at his insides, Ronghe rose slowly to his feet. He steadied himself with head still facing downwards, looking at the snow and soil peaking out of where he knelt.

Hushiyi never used someone to address Ronghe when he was present. This isn't the Imperial Prince Hushiyi, Ronghe reminded himself, while slowly getting up with his mind running through the following possible scenarios.

"Come with us, we'll take you to the site," the guard spoke to him, beckoning him to follow the silent grand prince. Ronghe wanted to ask about what would happen to Ahan, but he stopped, realising he might make things worse.

Now wasn't the right time to intercede for Ahan. If the grand prince didn't mention it, then best he didn't. He trudged behind them into the pine tree forest. A faint putrid smell grew into an overpowering stench, which almost turned his stomach upside down. Ronghe didn't dare to cover his mouth, instead choosing to keep them by his side. He noticed the guard pinching his nose, but the grand prince only continued walking forward, meandering through the pine trees with no motion to cover the nose.

Either the grand prince's mask had some effect in repelling the great pungent reek of rot. Or the person wearing the mask was too used to the smell.

He saw the outline of the broken carriage entering his view. Then his eyes drifted down to see three bloodied bodies, beyond recognition, below the broken compartment of the carriage.

He reeled back, hesitant to move forward.

"Hurry," the guard called out while the ones at his back nudged him forward.

"Maybe we should get a physician to look," Ronghe blurted out, covering his mouth with his sleeve. Physicians in Bian also could examine corpses for any unusual signs of death.

"Are you questioning the Grand Prince's orders?" one of the guards growled at him.

"Oh no, just…never mind," Ronghe replied, keeping his mouth shut. Less he spoke, less the smell escaped into his oral cavity.

Ronghe never expected the bodies to reek like they rotted in summer, yet they were in winter. He should have grabbed a few scented sachets to cope with the foul stench, like he always did in summer and early autumn, when villagers reported dead person. Maybe a cloth mask to cover his mouth.

Heat made decomposition fast, while the cold slowed decomposition. The cold weather would have tempered the smell. Those three didn't die naturally, he concluded as the first guard who spoke for the Grand Prince pointed to the dead bodies.

No one wanted to move them because of the foul stink. Such a malodorous stench would stick to clothes for days.

Ronghe moved up at the gesture of the guard, who pointed at the three while pinching his nose. He gingerly bent over to examine the corpses. His eye caught the emblem on the hanging wheel of the carriage. That belonged to the Imperial Prince Hushiyi.

No wonder the imperial prince didn't summon him. But now he wondered if one of those bodies belong to Hushiyi. The realisation drained all blood from his face, but he didn't dare to ask for confirmation.

"Anything worth noting?" Yinyue finally uttered something. Nothing in the soft voice of the grand prince expressed any grief. Enough for Ronghe to deduce none of those bodies belonged to the imperial prince.

He examined the first body. The face resembled the mash meat he'd seen the old ladies pound in the Bian marketplace. The hairpieces on all three were pieces worn by women.

Ronghe frowned at a long gash, then he looked at the rest of the gaping wounds. He had seen enough mauling in Bian to recognise and identify teeth-marks belonging to different animals. The beast bit into one corpse, but the other wounds looked too smooth, like a sword sliced through them.

"We saw the snow leopard," the guards said. They didn't look like they were lying, for they pointed him to the bloodied body of a snow leopard riddled with arrows lying on the nearby ground.

His eyes searched for the paw marks and only five paw marks on the ground around.

Ronghe knew if he spoke the truth, the truth may not please the Grand Prince. "Perhaps we can get a physician to examine the corpse."