Zhaoxing was immediately struck so hard that he staggered crookedly, his ears buzzing nonstop as he became dizzy and disoriented.
But he did not dare care about being dizzy, because if he fainted now, the next moment Qingyan would send him straight to the King of H*ll.
Covering his face, he was filled with shame: “My lord, it is all because this subordinate failed to judge character properly and raised such scum!”
“What use is there in saying this now?!” Qingyan fiercely slapped him again and sternly shouted: “They must have failed to assassinate Wen Mingfeng, been captured, and turned traitor!”
Zhaoxing’s face became even paler.
The people under his command had turned traitor. He himself would not meet a good end either.
At the same time, he could not help feeling furious.
What exactly was wrong with Shuwei and Langhao?!
How could they have become traitors?!
Shuwei and Langhao felt wronged.
They indeed could not hold out and had wanted to confess to Qi Yuan.
But Qi Yuan had not wanted them to talk at all. She only asked about a place called Rouge Alley, then tied them up and brought them here.
And now it just happened to be nighttime. Their hands were tied behind their backs, while Babao and Liujin behind them were pressing daggers against them. From the perspective of the people opposite them, didn’t it look exactly as though they were leading the way?!
They had truly been screwed over by Miss Qi!
Just what exactly did Miss Qi want to do?!
The room quieted down, and Qingyan reacted swiftly: “Burn everything clean! Everything that can burn and cannot burn, burn it all clean!”
Zhaoxing still had this much awareness.
As shadow guards, they were already extremely practiced at doing such things.
He immediately let out a whistle. The shadow guards in front received the order and instantly charged recklessly toward the government officers.
Meanwhile, Zhaoxing opened the bookshelf and urgently beckoned Qingyan: “My lord, you leave first! This subordinate will clean up all these things and stall them a bit longer!”
Qingyan glanced at him and flashed into the secret passage.
Zhaoxing restored the bookshelf to its original position, then turned around and threw all the letters into the brazier.
Fortunately, it was winter already. The moment the letters were tossed inside, the flames shot upward with a whoosh, instantly swallowing all the papers whole.
Zhaoxing’s face was also reflected red by the firelight.
The sounds of fighting outside grew closer and closer, and his movements became increasingly hurried. Just as the final letter finished burning and he was about to sigh in relief, the room door was violently kicked open.
The Commander of the Patrol Office, the Eldest Princess consort, Lu Mingan, stood outside the door. He coldly swept his gaze over the situation inside the room before sternly shouting: “Colluding with Duke Cheng Manor and Wen Mingfeng to assassinate and murder His Highness the Imperial Grandson, what are your intentions?!”
?
Assassinate who?
Zhaoxing felt as though he could barely understand what the man before him was saying anymore.
The person he had assassinated was Wen Mingfeng. Since when had he assassinated Xiao Yunting?!
But clearly there was no way to explain things now, and he had no intention of explaining either. He kicked over the brazier with one foot and took the opportunity to open the window and flip himself out.
Lu Mingan retreated a few steps backward. By the time the brazier hit the floor, all that remained visible was Zhaoxing’s back.
He curled his lips into a cold smile.
Zhaoxing, meanwhile, could not care less about what was happening behind him.
He only wanted to escape this place as quickly as possible.
Yet the moment he vaulted over the wall, it was as though he had seen a ghost. He could not help retreating several steps before suddenly turning to flee again.
It was actually Xiao Yunting!
Xiao Yunting had personally led people here!
No wonder, no wonder Lu Mingan had spoken about them assassinating Xiao Yunting.
So Xiao Yunting was involved in this matter as well.
But if that was the case, didn’t that mean Xiao Yunting also knew that the Lu family’s treason case was actually connected to the Crown Prince?
How much did he know?
Langhao and Shuwei themselves had not known very much. Logically speaking, finding Rouge Alley should already have been their limit.
His thoughts became a chaotic mess, to the point that he only lowered his head and ran blindly. It was not until his head struck something with a buzzing thud that he fell to the ground, clutching his head as he looked up.
The moment he looked up, his scalp tingled in terror,
Babao was holding a shield in his hand and looking at him with a broad smile.
And behind Babao stood a woman dressed in riding attire.
For some reason, Zhaoxing instinctively shivered, sensing danger.
The woman before him was definitely extremely dangerous.
He did not dare fight Xiao Yunting head-on and twisted around to rush into the nearby alley instead.
This place had originally been an area where all sorts of people gathered. As long as he randomly rushed into some household, it would be like a clay ox sinking into the sea. Finding him again would be harder than ascending to heaven.
But although the idea sounded good, in reality, before he had even run several steps, a sharp pain shot through his calf, and he immediately lost all balance and crashed to the ground.
That single fall was already enough to determine life or death.
Qi Yuan slowly walked up to him and looked down at him from above: “Zhaoxing, right?”
She even knew his name!
Zhaoxing subconsciously clenched his teeth.
But before he could do anything, someone had already seized his jaw.
Xiao Yunting looked at him with a half-smile: “You had a chance to die just now and didn’t. If you want to die now, it’s a bit too late, don’t you think?”
After speaking, he exerted force without changing expression, immediately dislocating Zhaoxing’s jaw.
Zhaoxing only felt a burst of agonizing pain shoot through his cheeks. Immediately afterward, he could not even speak anymore, saliva streaming from his mouth, much less bite off his tongue or break the poison sac hidden in his teeth.
He stared at Xiao Yunting in terror, cold sweat pouring out wave after wave.
Qi Yuan, meanwhile, slowly crouched down before him and looked at him: “Don’t be in such a hurry to die yourself. You colluded with Wen Mingfeng and Duke Cheng Manor to assassinate His Highness the Imperial Grandson. About this matter, you should at least give an explanation, shouldn’t you?”
By the time the sky began to brighten, Old Master Xiang had also heard about the events at Rouge Alley.
Standing outside the Meridian Gate, he could still hear endless discussions among his colleagues.
“How outrageously bold! How could Duke Cheng Manor dare assassinate His Highness the Imperial Grandson?!”
“Who knows? I heard it was because Duke Cheng bore resentment toward the Crown Prince…”
Old Master Xiang immediately felt a toothache coming on.
So what His Highness the Imperial Grandson had said at the estate, that perhaps Ling Chuhan changing the hunting dogs had been aimed at him, had actually been serious.
And just like that, the charge of assassinating the Imperial Grandson had been pinned onto them!
His Highness truly dared to think and dared to act!
Moreover, because there were these unidentified assassins from Rouge Alley, the attempted assassination of His Highness the Imperial Grandson seemed especially real.
No one knew why exactly Duke Cheng Manor would do such a thing.
They provoked Miss Qi, yet somehow ended up provoking His Highness the Imperial Grandson instead.
It was said that Duke Cheng had already died in the Imperial Guard prison from severe injuries without treatment.
This time, Duke Cheng Manor was truly facing the destruction of their entire family.
No one understood what exactly Duke Cheng Manor had been trying to accomplish.
At this moment, within the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was equally furious and alarmed.
Framing Lu Ting had been such a difficult matter, yet they had managed it flawlessly.
Who would have thought that something as simple as sabotaging Qi Yuan and Xiao Yunting’s marriage instead would end up with such an enormous blunder, even costing him so many shadow guards!
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