Chapter 123

After saying this, Prince Ning'an seemed to chuckle lightly, lowered his head, and gently flicked his sleeve, saying, "What bargaining chips do you have to offer me for this? Tell me."

Qin Sang was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "It's so convenient to talk to smart people. I won't beat around the bush. Do you know who your real opponent is?"

Prince Ning'an's eyes flickered slightly.

"The Crown Prince is naturally the first stumbling block, but even if you get rid of him and ascend the throne, you probably won't be able to hold onto that position."

Prince Ning'an raised his eyes again: "What do you mean?"

Qin Sang smiled and said, "This is my bargaining chip. Only if you're willing to talk to me can I open up to you, right?"

Prince Ning'an stared quietly at the girl who looked young but was not very discerning, and a look of inquiry finally appeared in his eyes.

Qin Sang frowned slightly.

Because what she saw in this person's eyes wasn't curiosity—no, it should be said, not curiosity about what she had said, but curiosity about her. As if curious why she knew about this.

At this moment, she felt a little flustered. Her mind raced, and she realized that since Prince Ning'an and Xie Zhongxu had been plotting for so many years, and even she knew that there was another force in the capital, they should have been able to detect it as well.

But... even if they knew there was a third force, or even if they had found out that this third force was the Eldest Princess, they might not know why, because they simply couldn't guess what the Eldest Princess was doing, let alone that her ultimate goal was to destroy the Nanwu Kingdom. They would only think that the Eldest Princess was ambitious and had ulterior motives.

With this in mind, Qin Sang calmed herself down. She placed her hand on the stone table, her slender white fingers gently tapping the surface, her chin slightly raised, exuding a composed and arrogant air of "I know, but you don't."

Prince Ning'an glanced at Qin Baoyun, who was escorting Qin Sang in, and waved his hand.

The butler withdrew consciously, and Qin Sang also turned around and nodded, signaling Uncle Qin to leave as well.

Once the two had retreated to the opposite corridor, Qin Sang spoke again: "Are you aware that there is a third force in the capital, sitting back and watching the two fight?"

Prince Ning'an remained expressionless and acquiesced.

Qin Sang said, "So you've already found out where the third force came from?"

Prince Ning'an said, "I'm not entirely sure. Could you elaborate?"

Qin Sang said, "Princess Yuanzhao."

Seeing a slight change finally appear on the other person's expressionless face, Qin Sang couldn't tell if he was surprised or what, but it didn't matter.

She said, "You can't beat her. But I can, but my condition is that you either break off the engagement, or I pretend to marry you and then fake my death to get away."

Prince Ning'an seemed unconcerned about her conditions, only casually asking, "Why can you defeat me but I cannot?"

"This is my bargaining chip, how can I tell you?"

"Alright, let me ask you another question. You've been lying low for years, scheming and plotting, only to have your plans shattered by your own romantic feelings... What makes you think you can clear the Su family's name without marrying me, all by your own strength?"

Qin Sang: "..."

"You're right, I don't necessarily need you, but don't forget who saved you when Prime Minister Xie suddenly passed away. Is this how you treat your savior?"

Qin Sang was speechless.

To be honest, compared to the blood feud within her family, her petty romances were indeed insignificant. But the problem is, isn't she really Su Yun'er?! She finally wants to find love, like a rare tree finally blooming—is it really that easy?!

It's not easy.

So after a long silence, she decided to be shameless and resolutely defend her budding, fragile love.

She said, "That makes sense, but you have to look at it this way. Didn't you also use me as an excuse to quickly gain access to the power behind the Prime Minister's mansion? Of course, I'm very grateful, so I will still do my best to help you, just in a different way. And I'm not exaggerating, you really can't do anything about that princess. When she gets going, only I can stop her."

Prince Ning'an was not amused by her unfounded confidence. Instead, he asked calmly, "Exerting force? Is the Princess a monster who knows magic?"

"..." Qin Sang was speechless again.

“No,” she said firmly, “no, but not far off.”

Prince Ning'an finally couldn't help but lower his eyes and smile helplessly, shaking his head: "You don't mean to say that you also know sorcery, do you?"

Qin Sang paused, then suddenly leaned closer: "Since the Prime Minister has told you everything about me, you should know that I came from a mass grave, right?"

Prince Ning'an, however, was no longer interested in listening to her nonsense. He stopped smiling, stood up, and said seriously, "No matter what you have against the other party, I cannot annul the engagement with you now. I don't want to, and I can't. Go back and prepare well for your audience with me at the palace tomorrow."

After saying that, he took a step forward and added before Qin Sang could speak: "Don't even think about causing any trouble in front of the palace tomorrow. If you don't want your Su family to be in turmoil even in the afterlife, I advise you not to."

Qin Sang watched as the other person's long legs crossed the threshold and left along the corridor without lingering, while the light rain outside continued to fall silently.

She sighed inwardly. Well, although she knew this trip would be fruitless, she at least knew that he was actually more capable than she had imagined. She would just have to take it one step at a time.

She also got up and walked outside. Qin Baoyun was waiting at the bottom of the steps with an umbrella. He glanced at her, and there seemed to be a faint sorrow in his eyes.

The two retraced their steps. Qin Sang felt that what she had done was indeed a bit willful. She had carried the hopes of so many people, yet she acted so recklessly. If anything went wrong, how could she face those who were willing to do things for her?

"Uncle Qin..." She wanted to say something to comfort him, but after opening her mouth, she didn't know where to begin.

Qin Baoyun hummed in agreement, waiting for her to speak. After a long while, he saw that she seemed to want to say something but hesitated. He thought for a moment and said, "When the Prime Minister rescued you back then, he did not expect you to be involved in this conflict. You can do whatever you want. There is no need to blame yourself too much."

These words were truly heartwarming, Qin Sang thought. With such a loyal and understanding follower, Su Yun'er's father must also be a wonderful person. One could only imagine how many other good people like them were being silently eliminated in the Southern Kingdom…

The two drove back to the Xie residence.

Xie Sui'an secretly came once before dinner. Neither of them mentioned that they had gone to see Prince Ning'an. They only said that the matter was already set in stone and it was impossible to cancel the marriage in a hurry. They had to proceed according to the original plan first, and then make further plans before the wedding.

Because they were both preoccupied with their own thoughts, and Wang Huiwen was keeping a close eye on them, Xie Suian left after only a few words.

Early the next morning, two maids came to the palace to help with the dressing and etiquette. After a busy period, Qin Sang was finally dressed neatly and solemnly, and was helped into a fine carriage by a large entourage, which drove all the way to the royal palace.

The Kingdom of Namo has been established for over two hundred years, and its streets are already quite grand and well-maintained. Their procession attracted crowds of early-rising merchants who lined the streets to watch, speculating about which noble person was entering the palace. The excitement wasn't particularly great; it was just idle gossip.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the crowd outside, followed by the sound of horses' hooves approaching from behind, one of which stopped just outside the carriage window.

Qin Sang lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and, sure enough, saw Prince Ning'an dressed in a purple brocade robe.

He looked better than yesterday, and his fine clothes made him look dignified, which drew gasps of admiration from the roadside.

The Prince of Ning'an smiled, turning his head to look at her affectionately. Qin Sang trembled and drew the curtains of the carriage.

The procession marched into the palace, where they disembarked at the second gate and boarded a magnificent palanquin. The palanquin bearers were all robust and steady, and the palanquin swayed without them feeling any sway. The eunuch leading the way kept lecturing about the rules and regulations, and Qin Sang dared not disobey, fearing that a mistake would cause unforeseen complications.

Upon hearing that after meeting the Emperor and Empress, one must also meet Consort Xian, Qin Sang couldn't help but glance at Prince Ning'an.

The Prince of Ning'an I met in private yesterday was very different from the one I had met earlier. He seemed to have two faces. In public, he was always unpredictable and strange, but in private, he was shrewd, calm and composed. It was hard to imagine how he had managed to play dumb and keep up the act under the noses of the Crown Prince and the Empress.

Just as she was thinking this, Qin Sang suddenly felt herself lose her balance, and the sedan chair she was sitting in tilted and was about to fall to the ground... But she was quick-witted and agile. Just as her body was about to fall, she lightly touched the ground with her toes and grabbed Zhao Kun next to her, flying out together.

A loud crash came from behind, and the palanquin landed heavily on the ground. The guard who had been walking on the left front was clutching his throat and struggling to breathe. He was lying on the ground, trembling violently, his face flushed red, and then his eyes rolled back.

"How dare you! Guards! Guards! There's an assassin!" the eunuch cried out in a panic.

Qin Sang's heart pounded wildly, and her limbs felt weak. If she hadn't been seriously injured before, she wouldn't be so useless. However, Prince Ning'an was, after all, a man, and dragging him was inevitably a bit strenuous.

Seeing the guard lying there motionless, and everyone around except the leading eunuch kneeling on the ground, Qin Sang looked at Prince Ning'an: "Someone wants to kill you?"

Prince Ning'an was looking down at her, his eyes filled with incredulous inquiry: "Why didn't you say someone wanted to kill you? Do you know martial arts?"

"..." Qin Sang, "I know a little about self-defense."

Taking off while dragging a man weighing over 100 pounds is no small feat; Prince Ning'an gave her a deep look, but knew that this was not the time to pursue the matter.

His eyes, sharp as an eagle's, fell to the ground. He walked over, squatted down, and examined the man's eyelids. He saw a streak of blood slowly seeping from the corner of the eye, followed by blood flowing from the mouth, nose, and ears.

“Arrow poison tree,” he said calmly. “It kills instantly upon contact with blood.” Then he examined the man’s hand, his brows furrowing slightly.

"What..." Qin Sang walked over and was about to squat down to check when Prince Ning'an stopped her.

“Someone has poisoned the palanquin,” he said, turning to the other panicked guards. “Why aren’t you fetching water to wash it off? Do you want to end up like this guy on the ground?”

Having witnessed their companion's sudden death, the group was already terrified. Upon hearing this, they turned even paler and were almost unable to move. It took them a long time to react before they stammered, "But...but we still have to see His Highness off..."

"No need for you to see me off, go on your way."

The group of people ran away quickly, feeling grateful.