30: Chapter 30 Fourth Life, All-in Failure? Watch Me Turn the Tide (Part 7)

That afternoon, Liu Quan led Wang Shi through the deep, secluded alleyways, heading toward the main courtyard of the Third Prince, Heir Xiao Heng.

It was a standard three-tiered courtyard.

Compared to the mansions of the First Prince and Second Prince that he had seen before, this place was indeed far too shabby.

There were very few guards at the gate, and most of them, like him, were low-level guards with only Iron Skin Realm cultivation.

Liu Quan led him familiarly through the main gate, and in a separate side courtyard on the east side of the outer court, they met the Head Steward of the mansion.

Upon seeing him, the Head Steward was initially surprised, but then a hint of unconcealable gratification welled up in his eyes.

"In this day and age, there are not many people who, instead of clinging to powerful branches, still remember old favors."

This Head Steward was an old servant brought from the maternal family of Heir Xiao Heng's birth mother.

He had been the steward by her side back when Heir Xiao Heng's mother was still a young lady in her boudoir.

Now that Heir Xiao Heng had lost power and favor, he was worried day and night, having seen too much of the cold indifference where people scatter when the tree falls.

Seeing someone who had left the mansion willing to give up a "bright future" to return and pledge loyalty naturally moved him deeply.

He immediately gave Liu Quan face, directly promoting Wang Shi to a small squad leader in charge of a team of Body Tempering Realm guards, specifically responsible for night patrols.

One late night in the third month after entering the mansion, while Wang Shi was patrolling the backyard, he suddenly heard a stifled groan coming from the martial arts practice field.

He paused, made no sound, and crept closer, using the shadows of the courtyard wall for cover.

He saw Heir Xiao Heng kneeling on one knee, his face deathly pale, cold sweat covering his forehead, while the aura around him surged chaotically.

It was clearly the precursor to qi deviation caused by being too eager for success in cultivation.

If this matter were discovered by others and news of Heir Xiao Heng's secret hard work spread, it would surely invite even harsher suppression from the First Prince and Second Prince.

Especially in this precarious situation, he could even be directly accused of "practicing forbidden techniques" and have his cultivation crippled.

Without a moment's hesitation, Wang Shi sent away the squad members who were about to approach, turned around, and stood guard at the entrance of the practice field.

He gripped the sword at his waist, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings, locking down every direction from which anyone might approach.

It was not until dawn that the aura inside the practice field finally stabilized.

Heir Xiao Heng walked out, his training outfit covered in dust, his face still pale, and the look he gave Wang Shi carried a hint of unfathomable inquiry.

Wang Shi simply bowed and saluted, his tone calm and ripple-free: "Your Highness, nothing happened last night."

Heir Xiao Heng looked at him for a long time before speaking indifferently: "Starting tomorrow, you will serve in the inner court as my personal guard."

This single sentence meant that Wang Shi had finally crossed the chasm between the outer and inner courts, truly standing by Heir Xiao Heng's side.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed.

During these three years, the situation in the Tianhuang Princes Mansion became increasingly tense.

The Old Prince was only one step away from the Silver Marrow Realm and could break through at any time, bringing the struggle for succession into the open.

The First Prince, relying on his maternal grandfather being the current Grand Marshal, had deeply entrenched connections in the capital, to the point where even the royal family had to give him some face, making his arrogance in the mansion the most flagrant.

The Second Prince's uncle was the garrison general of Huangyan Prefecture, holding thirty thousand border troops and real military power, giving him ample confidence.

The two fought tooth and nail; today you report me for hoarding weapons, tomorrow I expose you for embezzling military pay, their methods becoming increasingly vicious.

Only Heir Xiao Heng's cold courtyard remained as tepid as ever, as if the bloody storms outside had nothing to do with him.

But only Wang Shi knew that in these three years, Heir Xiao Heng's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Heir Xiao Heng's hidden constitution finally awakened completely at the age of sixteen; it was the rare "Concealed Edge Physique."

This was a state-of-mind constitution; the more forbearance and restraint one practiced, the faster their cultivation would progress.

By now, he had already quietly broken through to the Copper Bone Realm, becoming the first among all the princes to break through.

And Wang Shi, with the support of Heir Xiao Heng's tilted resource allocation, had also broken through to the late stage of the Iron Skin Realm, catching up to his cultivation from his previous life and becoming one of the notable experts in the cold courtyard.

More importantly, through three years of living together, Wang Shi had accompanied Heir Xiao Heng in dodging several assassination attempts and blocking countless overt and covert attacks.

He helped Heir Xiao Heng build his initial intelligence network and became the only person by Heir Xiao Heng's side who could speak some heartfelt words.

But Wang Shi knew better than anyone that this trust was still separated by a thin barrier.

Heir Xiao Heng had been suppressed for too many years and had seen too much of the cold indifference of those who betray their masters for glory or change with the wind.

Even toward him, he still kept a final shred of precaution.

Moreover, the struggle for succession had reached its most critical moment, and both the First Prince and Second Prince were frantically recruiting people.

Someone like him, who knew most of Heir Xiao Heng's secrets, could immediately exchange that for immense wealth if he defected.

He had to completely shatter this barrier and tie his own life and Heir Xiao Heng's life together completely.

Leaving no way back.

Only in this way could he, after Heir Xiao Heng achieved final victory in the succession struggle, gain his unreserved trust and reliance, truly becoming the embodiment of his will.

Acting on his behalf in every move, truly able to take revenge in the open.

Finally, the day arrived.

The day he had to be ruthless with himself.

Late that night, Wang Shi sat in his room, looking at the strong wine and medicinal herbs already prepared on the table, and slowly closed his eyes.

He was very clear about what he had to do.

A guard is, after all, an outsider.

With family and a way out, one could defect to another at any time.

But a eunuch is different.

Once castrated, there would be no offspring, cutting off the possibility of family lineage.

The only reliance in this life could only be one's master.

If the master prospers, he holds great power.

If the master dies, he can only be buried with him.

Only in this way could Heir Xiao Heng trust him completely.

And only then could he hand over all his trump cards and all his schemes into his hands without reservation.

He picked up the strong wine and tilted his head to down the entire bowl.

The spicy wine burned his throat, and it also burned away the last shred of hesitation in his heart.

Hand raised, blade fell.

Intense pain instantly swept through his whole body, and cold sweat soaked his clothes in an instant.

He gritted his teeth tightly, not making a sound, used the prepared medicinal herbs to press hard against the wound, and forcibly endured this heart-wrenching ordeal.

At dawn the next day, dragging his still-bleeding body, he moved step by step to the front of Heir Xiao Heng's study and knelt straight down.

When Heir Xiao Heng saw his face, pale as paper, and the bloodstains continuously seeping beneath him, his pupils contracted sharply.

The wolf-hair brush in his hand instantly dropped onto the rice paper, causing a large patch of thick ink to spread.

"Wang Shi, you..."

Wang Shi kowtowed heavily to him, his voice trembling uncontrollably from the intense pain, yet carrying unprecedented determination.

"Your Highness, this servant Wang Shi will follow only Your Highness in this life."

"From now on, this servant has no home and no descendants; only Your Highness is this servant's only destination in this life."

He raised his head, his gaze colliding directly into Heir Xiao Heng's eyes, with not a shred of regret in the depths of his gaze.

"The path Your Highness must walk is too difficult."

"This servant is willing to be the sharpest blade in Your Highness's hand, the most hidden shadow, and will never have a second heart in this life."

Heir Xiao Heng stood in place, watching Wang Shi kneeling on the ground, and remained silent for a long time.

He had seen too many sycophants and too many people who betrayed their trust.

Never had anyone been willing to cut off all their own paths for him, staking their entire life completely on him, a prince in a cold courtyard who seemed to have no hope.

After a long while, he stepped forward quickly, bent down to help Wang Shi up, his voice carrying a hint of emotion he himself hadn't even noticed.

"You... why go to such lengths?"

But his hand, supporting Wang Shi's arm, gripped it extremely tightly.

Never letting go again.

From this moment on, the two people in this cold courtyard became grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

Sharing honor and disgrace, living and dying together.

During the days Wang Shi was recovering from his injuries, Heir Xiao Heng, for the first time, laid out all his trump cards before him.

The secret of the Concealed Edge Physique, the manpower and hidden lines gathered secretly over these years, and all his schemes for the succession struggle, without reservation.

After Wang Shi recovered, he logically became the personal eunuch by Heir Xiao Heng's side and became Heir Xiao Heng's only spokesperson.

The first thing Wang Shi had to do was to obtain ironclad evidence of the First Prince and Second Prince crossing the bottom line.

He knew that if Heir Xiao Heng wanted to win, he could absolutely not rely on competing with the two princes in terms of wealth, connections, or military power.

In these, Heir Xiao Heng had no advantage.

If he wanted to win, he could only strike precisely at the most painful spot.

Striking at the Old Prince's taboos, at the bottom line of the mansion's foundation, and at the forbidden red line of the royal family in the capital.

The Tianhuang Princes Mansion had guarded Huangyan Prefecture for thousands of years and was the iron wall of the royal family against the Northern Territory.

The thing it feared most was naturally outsiders interfering, leading to internal impurity.

After all, if loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely not loyal!