Chapter 76 Is she being coquettish?

Shen Qingci already had a plan in mind, but she needed a crucial tool. However, among the people she knew, only Chu Jichen possessed that tool.

She had to wait for Chu Jichen to leave the palace.

Shen Qingci said in a low voice, "Tell the steward to arrange for someone to wait at the palace gate. If they see the Regent, tell him that I have something important to discuss with him."

"Okay." Wanqing immediately agreed and hurried off.

But Chu Jichen did not return until bedtime.

Because Chu Jichen had not returned, Shen Qingci was constantly worried.

The emperor woke up more than ten days earlier than Chu Jichen had arranged, so something must have gone wrong.

Could it be that the emperor knew about Chu Jichen's coma and that Chu Jichen was behind it, so he took action against Chu Jichen?

Such speculation made Shen Qingci increasingly uneasy, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

If Chu Jichen hasn't returned by the time she wakes up tomorrow morning, she'll have to figure out what to do.

Even if she has no way to find out news from the palace now... she can still ask the steward, or have the steward send someone back to the Regent's Palace to inquire.

Those in the Regent's Palace should be able to find a solution.

As Shen Qingci was thinking, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

Shen Qingci rolled out of bed almost without hesitation, grabbed a cloak, put it on, and rushed out.

"What's wrong? Has the Prince returned?" Shen Qingci asked hurriedly.

The person who arrived was not Chu Jichen, but the butler.

"It's not the prince." Just as the steward finished speaking, Shen Qingci faintly heard the sounds of fighting.

Her eyes narrowed: "An assassin?"

The butler nodded: "There was indeed an assassin, but he was sneaking into the neighboring yard at night."

Shen Qingci immediately understood. The neighboring courtyard was where she ostensibly lived, and the attack was aimed at the neighboring courtyard, which meant it was because of her.

"People from the Marquis of Yongning's residence?"

"We don't know yet, but it's highly likely." The butler paused before adding, "Moreover, the behavior of these assassins is quite strange. In just a small courtyard, they have set up a total of eight attack points, with about ten people at each point."

So many people?

"And they were so engrossed in fighting our people that even though they had opportunities to break in during the fight, no one did it."

Shen Qingci narrowed her eyes, a suspicion forming in her mind: "Is this a test?"

"That's what I thought too."

Shen Qingci gripped the cloak tightly, her face cold. She knew what Huo Yunzhan intended to do.

Chu Jichen once mentioned that Huo Yunzhan and Emperor Yongming were both quite certain that her father had a private army.

When she left the manor, she used her father's old subordinates. During the day, when Huo Yunzhan tried to pull her away, the guards arranged by Chu Jichen attacked him.

Nine times out of ten, it was these two things that aroused Huo Yunzhan's suspicion.

He must have suspected that the private army did exist, that she knew how to command them, and that she had already deployed some to protect her.

Because they became suspicious, they arranged for nearly a hundred people to attack the small courtyard next door that night.

That's why they only fight the guards and don't try to break through or infiltrate.

The guards surrounding her courtyard are all Chu Jichen's men; there are quite a few of them, and each one is a martial arts expert.

Once Huo Yunzhan's men return tonight and report, Huo Yunzhan will likely be even more certain that the private army is in her hands.

That's fine too...

If Huo Yunzhan were to believe that this private army truly existed, he would definitely try every means to get close to her in order to obtain that so-called troop deployment order.

And they tried every means to subtly gather information.

His desire to find out about the Shen family was, for her, a perfect opportunity—an opportunity to investigate the secret behind the Shen family's misfortune.

And if he wanted to find out information, he had to find a way to get close to her.

Perhaps, this could be used as a pretext to persuade the old lady of the Hou family and Liu Ruolan to come over and apologize to her.

She can arrange for more people to come and watch the excitement in advance.

By the way, let's put her plan into action!

Shen Qingci's mind raced, but he simply nodded and instructed the steward, "Just find a way to force them to leave. If they don't enter the courtyard, we shouldn't make a big fuss."

"yes."

Just as the butler was about to leave, someone rushed over: "Miss Chen, butler, those assassins have inexplicably retreated!"

Shen Qingci knew perfectly well that it must have been Huo Yunzhan's instruction; he only wanted to test the strength of the guards in her courtyard and didn't really intend to do anything.

Now that they've probably found out, they naturally won't linger.

"Don't pursue a desperate enemy; let them run. We don't need to chase them."

"yes."

After explaining everything, Shen Qingci returned to the house.

Just as he untied his cloak, some noises came from outside the door again. This time it seemed... not footsteps, but a wheelchair.

Shen Qingci quickly turned her head and saw Chu Jichen maneuvering his wheelchair into the room.

Shen Qingci immediately went to greet him: "Your Highness! You're finally back! Are you alright? Did His Majesty give you any trouble?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Chu Jichen's face, which seemed... somewhat pale.

"Are you injured?"

Chu Jichen's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he shook his head, his voice slightly hoarse: "No, I wasn't harassed, and I wasn't injured."

After he finished speaking, he looked up at Shen Qingci and said, "Today during the day, I saw Huo Yunting and Prime Minister Liu in the palace."

“They were already there when I arrived. The Emperor said that Huo Yunting had nothing to do with his coma and blamed me for imprisoning him in the imperial prison without distinguishing right from wrong, thus wronging an innocent person. He ordered me to issue a proclamation to clarify that Huo Yunting was wrongly convicted by me.”

Shen Qingci narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning cold. The emperor had clearly been furious because Huo Yunzhan had sent the wrong person, but now he had changed his mind.

It must be that Emperor Yongming and Prime Minister Liu reached some kind of deal.

Chu Jichen pursed his lips: "At the time, I felt that Huo Yunting was a bit strange, but I didn't investigate it in detail."

"Unexpectedly, upon leaving the palace, I learned that in addition to Huo Yunting in the palace, Huo Yunzhan had also suddenly come to see you during the day!"

After he finished speaking, he simply looked at Shen Qingci quietly, observing her reaction.

Shen Qingci responded, looking into Chu Jichen's dark eyes. Her mind raced, and she took a deep breath before walking straight to sit on Chu Jichen's lap. Then she hugged Chu Jichen and rested her head on his neck.

"You weren't here before, so you have no idea how disgusting Huo Yunzhan is!"

"It absolutely infuriates me!"

Her voice was soft and sweet, more like she was being coquettish.

Chu Jichen's originally violent heart softened instantly. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and hugging Shen Qingci's waist: "You don't have to see him."

Shen Qingci curled her lip: "I originally wanted to expose his disguise and humiliate him. I never expected that he would create another Huo Yunting!"

She looked up, her eyes slightly bewildered: "What should I do? Now that Huo Yunting and Huo Yunzhan have both shown up, does that mean I... am no longer a widow?"

Chu Jichen chuckled lightly, concealing the fleeting murderous intent in his eyes: "Then I'll kill you, and let you continue being a widow."

Shen Qingci couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Then all the nearly three months I spent as a widow before, was it all for nothing? Do I have to start counting from the beginning?"

"If Huo Yunzhan dies again, our wedding will have to be postponed for another hundred days. That won't do..."

Chu Jichen's eyes suddenly darkened.

So, was Shen Qingci's sudden intimacy with him, her coquettishness, and her insistence on not postponing their wedding day all to prevent him from killing Huo Yunzhan?