"What should we do? Elder brother, there are guards here too. How can we bypass them to see our mother? "

It turned out that this person was the Third Princess, Murong Jie, and the tall figure beside her was presumably the Fifth Prince, Murong Ze.

Murong Ze did not directly answer Murong Jie’s question. After carefully observing the terrain, he said to her.

"In a moment, no matter what I do, you must not make a sound. Do you understand?"

Murong Jie covered her mouth and nodded solemnly. The Fifth Prince, seeing this, whispered to her.

"Now, hold onto my clothes tightly, and let’s jump over the wall."

Murong Jie widened her eyes, her mouth agape, suddenly realizing what her brother had just said. She quickly nodded, holding tightly onto Murong Ze’s clothes. They both simultaneously took a deep breath, pushed off the ground, and easily leaped over the wall, landing inside. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Unfortunately, as soon as they landed, they saw a pair of guards patrolling in their direction. They quickly hid in the nearby greenery, and only when the guards slowly walked away did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Murong Jie furrowed her brows and looked at Murong Ze: "What should we do, elder brother? How can we possibly see our mother now? The gate to her palace is completely guarded."

Murong Ze’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he observed his surroundings. Seeing this, Murong Jie wisely kept silent.

Suddenly, he seemed to have discovered something, and a fleeting glint of darkness flashed in his eyes.

He tightened his grip on Murong Jie’s hand and quickly rushed towards his target.

Soon, they arrived at an abandoned well. After checking that no one was around, Murong Ze, without hesitation, picked up Murong Jie and leaped down.

Murong Jie was frightened and pale, holding her mouth tightly. As soon as they landed, Murong Ze’s warning voice rang out.

"If you don’t want to die, keep your mouth shut."

Murong Jie stifled her tears, looking unbelievably at the slightly unfamiliar Murong Ze in front of her. Today, he seemed so mysterious, and his martial arts had never been this good. When did he become so skilled? And this abandoned well?

Just thinking about the abandoned well made her involuntarily shiver.

When the foul stench hit them, both siblings simultaneously felt an urge to vomit. At Murong Ze’s signal, Murong Jie hurriedly covered her mouth.

The siblings fought against the nausea roiling in their stomachs and groped their way forward.

Suddenly, Murong Jie seemed to step on something soft and squishy, but unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything.

She only heard the dripping sound of water, "Who would’ve thought there’s something more down here at the bottom of the well!"

Frightened, Murong Jie clutched tightly onto Murong Ze. They were twin siblings, having been close since childhood. Although Murong Ze was sometimes reticent, he was unfailingly kind to Murong Jie. So as an elder brother, he naturally felt the need to protect his younger sister.

As they walked, Murong Jie’s voice began to tremble: "Elder brother, it’s so dark here. Where are we going? It feels like there’s no end."

Hearing this, Murong Ze hesitated momentarily before finally taking a flint from his pocket. After a few blows, it lit up. Though the light was weak, it was enough to see the surroundings. Unexpectedly, they were greeted by a terrifying sight. Unable to hold back, Murong Jie turned away and vomited profusely.

Murong Ze was just as uncomfortable. He hadn’t anticipated how much more brutal the palace’s punishment methods had become.

Once there was nothing left to vomit, Murong Jie, her eyes brimming with tears, looked at Murong Ze. Just as she was about to plead for her brother to take her away, she inadvertently glimpsed what she was stepping on. Then she let out a piercing scream: "Ah..."

Murong Ze felt no less shocked, though he was a man and had to appear strong in front of his sister. But inside, he was already regretting it immensely. Had he known what was down here, he never would’ve brought her along.

To quell Murong Jie’s fear, he involuntarily hugged her trembling body, softly reassuring her.

"Jie’er, be good; if you’re scared, just close your eyes. Elder brother will get you out of here."

Murong Jie sobbed quietly: "Elder brother, can we leave here, please? Why... why are there so many corpses here? Ugh..."

Thinking of the horrifying scene that greeted her, she once again started retching uncontrollably.

Suddenly, she shivered all over, because she sensed a cold, slippery creature sliding under her foot...

In that instant, Murong Jie seemed to be paralyzed, unable to move despite Murong Ze pulling her along. Her face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat oozed from her pores like bubbles, one after another—