Below them were the assassins led by Qi. Apart from a few trusted subordinates who always stayed by his side, the other assassins were guarding outside. On the other side were the Imperial Guards led by Huo Jingsha. Huo Jingsha only brought Yue Ping, Xu Chang, and a few other subordinates into the house, leaving the rest outside.

Huo Jingsha patted Shu Yao's hand, then casually walked down from the high place to a long table in the main hall. He and Qi and his group stood on opposite sides, facing each other. The table became the dividing line between Chu and Han, and the surrounding area instantly fell into a tense atmosphere, as if as long as the other side dared to do the slightest thing, they would immediately turn to arms, leaving no room for the other side to fight back.

Seeing the two groups staring intently at each other with unwavering determination in their eyes, Shu Yao immediately realized—this was a negotiation!

She just didn't expect that Huo Jingsha would bring her along when negotiating with Qi, since Qi represented an assassin organization, and she used to be a member of that organization.

"Bring the things up." Huo Jingsha raised his hand and gave the order. Immediately, a member of the Imperial Guards brought a wooden box onto the long table.

The box made a loud thud the moment it was placed on the ground, indicating that it was quite heavy and the contents inside must be very heavy.

"Open."

The Imperial Guards immediately came to unlock the box and lifted the wooden lid. A dazzling golden light suddenly burst forth, making everyone's eyes dazzle. It turned out that the wooden box was full of gold ingots, estimated to be worth at least ten thousand taels.

The assassins were equally astonished when they saw Yuanbao, but Qi remained unfazed. He glanced at the gold ingot indifferently before fixing his sharp eyes on Huo Jingsha.

"May I ask, sir, what does this mean?"

"This box of gold ingots is worth 10,000 taels. There are ten boxes in total. Please give them to your gang leader, and tell him that they are the betrothal gifts from Huo Jingsha."

These words caused an uproar among those present. Not only did Qi's expression change, but even You Shuyao was stunned and speechless.

One box costs 10,000 taels, ten boxes would be 100,000 taels. He's using 100,000 taels of gold as a betrothal gift to propose marriage? You should know that, according to market prices, gold is worth ten times that of silver. You Shuyao secretly clicked her tongue. Was she really that valuable? Even she herself didn't know!

Moreover, the reason he summoned the assassin here was not to negotiate, but to propose marriage.

Qi Leng observed the situation before him and finally understood what Huo was planning.

He wanted to marry Shu Yao, but Shu Yao was a traitor to the organization, and the leader had issued a kill order. Even he couldn't stop it. The organization sent several groups of people, but they all failed. They were either killed on the spot by Huo Jingsha's men or captured alive.

Moreover, Huo Jingsha hadn't been idle for over a month, wiping out five of the organization's branches in various locations, causing them to lose significant core personnel and assets, severely weakening the organization. Just as the leader was enraged and decided to use the entire gang's strength to fight Huo Jingsha to the death, Huo Jingsha sent a letter to the leader, indicating a desire for negotiation. Enclosed with the letter were ten captured assassins and all the looted assets from one of the branches. One of the assassins was the organization's second-in-command.

Huo Jingsha's move was to turn hostility into friendship. He first demonstrated his abilities, proving that he had the strength to defeat them. Once they were wary, he would offer them some incentives. This way, he would give them face while forcing the leader to consider things carefully. If they were to confront him head-on, he would likely have no chance of winning. Only then would he decide to temporarily withdraw his troops and send him to see Huo Jingsha to find out what the other party was really up to.

Unexpectedly, he was using the guise of negotiations to take the opportunity to propose a marriage alliance.

Qi's face was grim, and everyone present fell silent. But in that quiet moment, when even the wind could be heard clearly...

“Our leader is a man, how could he agree to your marriage proposal?” one of the assassins said quietly.

Lord Huo proposed marriage to their leader? Has he made a mistake? Men to men? Or does Lord Huo have some peculiar fetish? Is this his preferred method?

These words immediately drew a chuckle from Shu Yao, who was sitting in the hall. Then, everyone's eyes were focused on the assassin who had spoken, their eyes filled with silent contempt.

Shu Yao shook her head inwardly. There was nothing she could do about it. Apart from Min'er, who was studious and knew how to read and write, most of the assassins were simple-minded and physically strong. Especially those who spoke without thinking. No wonder the failure rate of their missions had been a bit high recently.

Qi's cold gaze shot at his subordinate, making him lower his head and dare not utter any more nonsense, before he turned his gaze back.

Why?

Qi stared at Huo Jingsha, never expecting him to be willing to marry Shu Yao. With his power and status, he could easily marry any young lady from a prominent family. Shu Yao's identity would be of no help to him in his career or future promotions, and would only bring him trouble. So far, she had already cost him 100,000 taels of silver, which was no small sum. You have to know that their organization's total annual income was only 30,000 taels of silver.

Huo Jingsha replied with a faint smile, "I only wish for her safety, at any cost and by any means necessary."

His tone was unusually relaxed and matter-of-fact, as if he had planned this all along and was only informing them in advance.

You Shuyao, who was standing to the side, went from being amused to being shocked. It seemed that as soon as she entered the room, her expression and thoughts kept changing, from embarrassment to surprise, to joy, and then to shock. The shock that Huo Jingsha brought to her was stronger with each change.

Is he really going to marry her? Marry this assassin who is being hunted by the organization and is not tolerated by the imperial court?

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!