The once-in-a-decade snowstorm in the capital came to an abrupt end the next morning. The thick snow could reach one’s knees. In such cold weather, even the most diligent merchants would rather stay at home to enjoy the warmth of the blanket than go out in the cold to do business.
The old night watchman who was on night shift hurriedly got up with the gong. The sun was not up yet, and it was still pitch black. He wrapped himself up in a shabby linen jacket and trudged across the snow-covered street. Before long, he reached Prince Yu’s mansion.
The door of Prince Yu’s mansion was slightly open and unguarded. The guards in Prince Yu’s mansion were all extremely fierce. Everytime the old watchman passed by, he would often be teased by the guards at the door, but he did not see any of them today. For a moment, he was a little puzzled. He suddenly remembered that yesterday was the day of Prince Yu’s wedding. These guards and servants must have also drunk quite a lot and were nodding off somewhere.
The old watchman shook his head and was about to continue walking on when a cold wind blew past, making the heavy door creak and open a bit wider. The old watchman couldn’t help but stand rooted to the ground and stare absent-mindedly at the door. For some reason, the old watchman had a strange feeling. He didn’t know where this feeling came from, but he was gravitating towards looking at the door until one of the vendors who had already come out to set up the stall said to him, “Fourth Brother Li, why are you standing at the door?”
The old watchman’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly realized why he had a strange feeling. It was simply too quiet. Even if the servants were all drunk and asleep, what about the dogs? The dogs were supposed to bark at the smell of a stranger. However, there was nothing. It was as lifeless as a tomb.
His hands were trembling, and he couldn’t help but take two steps forward. As soon as he reached the dark door, a strong smell hit him, almost making him stagger. The old watchman pushed the door, but the door couldn’t be pushed open. He looked down and saw a square ice cube stuck in the doorframe.
It was probably because the snow from last night had frozen into ice and stuck the door.
The old watch widened his eyes and took two steps back. Suddenly, he screamed, causing the people on both sides of the street to look at him.
With the help of the first ray of morning light, the scarlet blood was especially dazzling to the eye. What came into sight as the old watchman took a peep into the mansion was a mound of corpses one on top of the other with their blood condensed into thick clots.
The smell was repugnant…
…
On the day of Prince Yu’s marriage, he and his entire mansion were wiped out. All the servants, concubines, cats, dogs, chickens, and ducks in the mansion were put to death. The People who did it seemed to have a deep hatred for Prince Yu as they left all the items untouched. Clearly, they didn’t do it for money.
Prince Yu was a cruel and vicious person. He had done many evil things and had made many enemies. No one knew who might be the murderers. However, the people who did it were really bold. By doing this, they would also offend the royal family of Ming Qi. Everyone knew that Emperor Wen Hui valued Prince Yu the most. Because of that, Prince Yu’s position had been unchallenged in the capital for so many years. Even the princes were afraid of him because he had Emperor Wen Hui backing him up.
