Chapter 60 Assassination Attempt "Why aren't you dressed?!"...

On the fifth day of their rapid march, the army successfully passed through Juyong Pass and arrived in Youzhou.

Youzhou is located at the foot of Yanshan Mountain. The land is fertile and the people are wealthy. When they heard that the emperor was leading his troops to conquer the area, many wealthy families donated grain and silver to support the cause.

So Xie Lanzhou decided to rest here for a few days.

The soldiers set up camp at the foot of the mountain outside the city, and Xie Lanzhou secretly led Su Panyue into the city after nightfall.

The two changed into ordinary clothes and went straight into the largest restaurant in the city.

The waiter greeted them warmly, but after recognizing their appearances, he paused for a moment and asked, "Young master, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

"Check into the hotel, the best room available." Xie Lanzhou said, handing over a piece of gold.

The waiter's eyes lit up immediately. "Okay, no problem."

After saying that, he glanced at Su Panyue beside him and respectfully asked, "Shall we arrange a superior room for your maid?"

Su Panyue glared at him. She was just wearing a mask, yet she looked like Xie Lanzhou's maid?

The latter said, "No need, she'll share a room with me."

The waiter acknowledged and went to make the arrangements.

Su Panyue pouted unhappily, "Do I really look like your maid?"

Xie Lanzhou looked carefully at her masked face, then glanced down at her figure, and shook his head, saying, "He doesn't understand."

Su Panyue felt a little better after that, and pulled him to a random seat in the lobby, where they ordered a few signature dishes.

They had been traveling for the past few days and had been eating and drinking very casually, so she had been wanting to have a proper meal for a while.

Before the food arrived, Su Panyue leaned back in her chair, bored, when she suddenly overheard a conversation at the next table:

"Do you know that an army has come from outside? There are tens of thousands of them."

"When I went hunting outside the city yesterday, I saw them on the mountain. They were all wearing armor and riding horses. They looked really impressive."

"Of course, I heard that the emperor himself is leading the troops into battle."

"The people of Lu are so capable, can they really do it?"

"Have you forgotten how our Youzhou came to be? It was originally the You Kingdom, but it was only after it was conquered by that person that it became the Youzhou of the Great Qi?"

"How can that be the same? We are all honest and hardworking farmers. I've heard that the people of Lu are all wild men who eat raw meat and drink blood, and they're very fierce."

Hearing this, Su Panyue blinked incredulously. So, in the eyes of the people of Daqi, the people of Lu were so barbaric?

Xie Lanzhou, who was standing nearby, had also overheard the conversation at the next table and was looking at her with a half-smile.

Su Panyue quickly shook her head and explained, "That's not how it is. We're just not particular about details. How could we be as terrifying as eating raw meat and drinking blood?"

Before she could finish her explanation, someone at the next table chimed in:

"I've also heard that the women of Lu are very open-minded, and it's common for them to have several men. If they take a liking to someone, they can just have sex with him."

"Really? Then I eagerly await His Majesty's triumphant return."

The two then uttered even more vulgar and offensive remarks, and began to fantasize about the future.

Su Panyue gritted her teeth and listened in silence, wishing she could go over and cover the mouths of the two people.

Xie Lanzhou raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really?"

"Well, the separation of men and women in Lu wasn't that strict. It was a matter of mutual consent, so it's understandable..." Su Panyue's voice trailed off as she spoke.

Seeing the man's gloomy gaze fixed on her, she finally asked weakly, "You agree, right?"

Before Xie Lanzhou could reply, the waiter came over with the dishes and greeted the two of them warmly. Su Panyue then took the opportunity to change the subject.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two returned to their guest room.

As the largest guest room in this restaurant, it is furnished with great care and is fully equipped with all kinds of amenities.

But what Su Panyue looked forward to most was taking a hot bath.

The waiter quickly brought over two large buckets of hot water. Xie Lanzhou helped her tidy her hair and take off her clothes, and then massaged her shoulders to relieve her fatigue.

Su Panyue leaned lazily against the edge of the bathtub, feeling the light but firm pressure on her shoulders, and asked:

"Your Majesty, wouldn't you like to take a bath to relax?"

Xie Lanzhou continued his work, asking in a deep voice, "Are you inviting me to bathe with you?"

"Also, don't call him Your Majesty when you're out; call him your husband."

Su Panyue pouted, "I didn't mean that, my husband."

She said the word "husband" through gritted teeth, but Xie Lanzhou found it very pleasing.

After massaging her shoulders, he moved on to massage the acupoints on her forehead, whispering as he did so, "I'll let you get a good night's rest tonight, don't overthink things."

Su Panyue snorted and gave him a look that said, "That's more like it."

She had really had a hard time traveling these past few days. The carriage was constantly swaying both inside and outside, which made her back and legs ache.

After washing her thoroughly, Xie Lanzhou pulled her out of the water, dried her off carefully, carried her back to bed, and gently wrung out her hair.

"Doesn't the ruler of a country feel wronged to be doing these things of serving others?" Su Panyue asked deliberately, feigning innocence after getting the benefit.

The man looked down at her, his movements meticulous and earnest, and said in a calm voice, "When I was unconscious, you took care of me too. It was all consensual."

His tone was natural, but Su Panyue inexplicably felt that he was mocking her earlier statement about the openness of male-female relationships in Lu, where everything was consensual.

She nuzzled her head against his palm and asked again, "Does my husband really think that way?"

Xie Lanzhou stroked her soft hair and nodded gently.

The two were very close, and Su Panyue overheard his thoughts: "You put in quite a bit of effort when you served me back then; I'd like to have you serve me again..."

Su Panyue then realized that the two of them were not serving each other at all!

She closed her eyes, somewhat speechless. This man said he would let her rest for the night, but in his heart, he didn't give himself a break at all.

After drying his hair, Su Panyue couldn't bear to listen to his inner thoughts any longer and urged him to go wash up quickly.

Xie Lanzhou chuckled and readily went behind the screen.

The dark outer robe was removed, followed by the moon-white inner garment, which was draped over the screen.

The flickering candlelight clearly illuminated the man's broad shoulders and narrow waist on the screen.

Every movement of the water created a gurgling sound, making people itch with desire.

Su Panyue leaned against the soft pillows at the head of the bed, watching with great interest, marveling at her excellent taste.

Suddenly, a black figure appeared on the screen, and a flash of light seemed to appear as he raised his hand.

Su Panyue was startled and immediately warned, "Be careful!"

The next instant, the sound of water broke the silence, and the blade struck the top of the bathtub with the sound of breaking wood. The man tore off his outer robe from the screen and put it on, then began to fight with another man in black.

Su Panyue's heart was in her throat. She got out of bed and felt for a hidden arrow at the foot of the bed.

This was specially commissioned by Xie Lanzhou to be custom-made for her before her trip. With just a light pull of the lever, it could unleash a miniature flying sword with immense force, capable of taking the enemy's life in an instant.

This was a gift he personally gave to Su Panyue after he learned that she was having someone make a human skin mask for her. His exact words at the time were: "Instead of hiding, it's better to face it. Killing fear is the best way to overcome it."

Unexpectedly, the hidden arrow came in handy before it even reached the State of Lu.

The two behind the screen were fighting fiercely. Xie Lanzhou was clearly faster, but the man in black was wielding a sharp blade, each strike deadly, which is why the two were locked in a stalemate.

Su Panyue approached quietly, not daring to make a sound, and even less daring to go around the screen, for fear of hindering Xie Lanzhou's retreat.

She raised her sleeve dart through the screen, squinted at the figure of the man in black, and deftly pulled the lever.

With a "whoosh," the flying sword pierced through the screen and stabbed into the arm of the man in black who was holding the knife.

He cried out in pain, and at the same time, the dagger in his hand fell to the ground, but Xie Lanzhou caught it with his other hand and held it against his throat.

The next instant, Xie Lanzhou raised his hand and dislocated his jaw and joints, rendering the man in black unable to move and causing him to collapse limply to the ground.

Only then did Su Panyue dare to peek out from behind the screen and rush to Xie Lanzhou, asking with concern, "How are you? Are you alright?"

Xie Lanzhou said in a low voice, "Take a look."

Su Panyue nervously looked him up and down, only to find that although he had put on an outer robe, he hadn't fastened his belt, and at that moment, Xiao Xie Lanzhou was swaying and waving at her.

Su Panyue quickly closed his collar, muttering "Don't look at what you shouldn't see," and pulled his belt over to him: "Put your clothes on first."

"You help me." Xie Lanzhou still had the mood to joke with her.

But the man in black lying on the ground couldn't bear to watch any longer, yet he couldn't speak, and could only sob and whimper to express his dissatisfaction.

Only then did Su Panyue notice that the person looked somewhat familiar. She reached out and ripped off the person's mask, her face immediately showing surprise.

She recognized the man; he was Sun Shi, a fellow spy from the State of Lu who had caused her great suffering.

When Sun Shi saw her, he seemed a little surprised and tried to say something.

Xie Lanzhou slowly fastened his belt before raising his hand to bring his chin back down.

His first words were: "You tyrant! I thought you were a sentimental person, but you've already found someone new!"

Su Panyue asked, "What are you doing here? Who sent you to assassinate His Majesty?"

Sun Shi snorted coldly and said, "Your voice does sound like that one, but Xie Lanzhou, your taste has declined far too much."

Knowing he had misunderstood, Su Panyue rolled her eyes, too lazy to explain.

Xie Lanzhou was no longer so kind; he directly plunged the knife that had just fallen into his arm into the arrow wound, even turning it around.

Blood gushed out immediately, and Su Panyue felt a little dizzy. She quickly raised her hand to cover her eyes and said, "I'll excuse myself for a moment!"

She suffers from hemophobia and cannot bear to see such scenes, so she can only hide behind the screen.

Through the screen, she said to Xie Lanzhou, "He is the one who arranged for me to poison you. He is the head of the spies that the State of Lu planted in the palace!"

Sun Shi realized what was happening, and even though his voice trembled with pain, he still managed to retort: ​​"You, Su Panyue, you actually betrayed the State of Lu, and even changed your appearance to follow this tyrant and act as his henchman in the war against the State of Lu!"

Hearing his words, Su Panyue became even more furious, "If you hadn't kept threatening me, I would never have wanted to be a spy!"

Xie Lanzhou suddenly spoke up: "So it was you who kidnapped her? Blackmailed her? Forced her to run away from home?" Accompanying this was the sound of a knife piercing flesh, clearly heard through the screen.

Sun Shi grunted, unable to utter another complete sentence.

Su Panyue first let out a bitter sigh, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly reminded him, "Don't kill him. He has some kind of master behind him. We can interrogate him properly."

Xie Lanzhou stopped, but he had already fainted from the pain and blood loss.

He wiped the blood off his fingers one by one, then took off his blood-stained black outer robe and threw it aside before stepping out from behind the screen.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?!" Su Panyue asked, blinking.

The man said as he walked away, "It's dirty, you don't need to wear it anymore."

Su Panyue shrank back onto the bed, her gaze fixed on the spot, but she still asked worriedly, "What if another assassin comes?"

Xie Lanzhou followed her to the bed, gently leaning against her side, and said nonchalantly, "There won't be any more. Even if there were, my wife will protect me, won't she?"

Su Panyue glanced at the dart she had placed under her pillow and said with lingering fear, "You're one to talk! I was really scared just now. My hand was shaking when I shot the arrow, afraid that I might accidentally hurt you."

Xie Lanzhou had already lifted the blanket and crawled inside, resting his chin on her chest, and whispered, "It's okay, I won't blame you even if you get hurt. Be bolder next time."

As he spoke, he took her hand and played with it, and then Su Panyue heard his inner thoughts:

Even if you kill me with your own hands, I won't blame you. I only hope that the knife is sharp enough so it doesn't hurt your hand.

She paused for a moment, then said earnestly, "No, I will never hurt you again."

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Author's Note: As you've probably all noticed, Zhou is a bit of a madman—a super-love-obsessed character who would sacrifice everything for Yueyue, including power, wealth, and even her life. But a friendly reminder from the author: in real life, please stay rational and protect yourselves! [doge emoji with rose in hand]