The man looked around for a long time, and only after confirming that no one was around did he cautiously open the door.

A person was lying on the bed, and although there was a thin bed curtain between them, their protruding belly could still be seen.

He slowed his pace and approached with a sinister grin.

He touched the hard object at his waist, and the instant he lifted the bed curtains, he drew his short knife and aimed it precisely at his bulging abdomen, ready to plunge it in.

In a flash, the woman on the bed straightened up and grabbed the man's hands with both hands, the sharp blade of the knife freezing in mid-air.

The man's expression changed drastically. After recognizing the woman's face, he exclaimed in surprise, "It's you?!"

While he was in a daze, Lotus jumped off the bed and delivered a heavy kick to his lower abdomen.

Before his wailing could end, in the blink of an eye, he saw Gu Jiangli standing on his head, holding a stool high above his forehead.

"Wait...wait..."

Gu Jiangli ignored him completely, channeling all her strength into her arm, and slammed the chair down, hitting him squarely on the forehead.

She smashed the chair with such force that it shattered.

The man lay on the ground, blood streaming from his forehead, unconscious.

Lotus breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran over, kicking away the short knife that had fallen to the ground.

He helped Gu Jiangli to sit down on the bed again.

"That son of a bitch really went all out, he really aimed for your belly! Luckily, I'm the one lying in bed today."

Gu Jiangli frowned as well, "I think he wants to kill me."

At this moment, Aunt Du also came in from outside with her servants. She was dressed as a maid. When she saw the man lying on the ground and the chair that had been broken into pieces, one could imagine that a "violent" one-sided fight had just taken place.

The servants didn't dare to say a word. Gu Jiangli ordered them to tie the man up, and they did so.

Out of a doctor's conscience, Aunt Du should have gone to check on the man's life or death, but she didn't care at all and went straight to Gu Jiangli.

"Your Highness, are Miss Lotus alright?"

Gu Jiangli shook his head. "It's okay. I hid in the closet, and Hehua kicked him over. Then I grabbed a chair and smashed it over his head. Before he could even react, we had him taken care of."

But she still seemed a little uneasy, focusing intently on taking Gu Jiangli's pulse.

Seeing that Gu Jiangli's pulse was normal, he was relieved.

"Phew, it's good that you're alright. It seems that Miss Lotus is quite agile and has considerable martial arts skills."

Lotus chuckled and said, "I saw that when you climbed in through the window, Aunt Du, you were quite agile. You were no less agile than me."

Aunt Du smiled shyly.

In order to create the illusion for the spy that only the princess was left in the room, she first left the courtyard, then turned back from the back, climbed through the window, and entered the room again.

Then she put on the maid's clothes with lotus flowers on them, disguised herself as lotus flowers, and left.

To outsiders, it appeared that she left the house first, and then Lotus followed her out.

In fact, it was Aunt Du who left the room both times.

Gu Jiangli hid in the closet, while Hehua, disguised as Gu Jiangli's pregnant wife, lay on the bed. The man, impatient as ever, took the bait.

Seeing that the plan had succeeded, Gu Jiangli was relieved.

The man in front of them was bound hand and foot, making it impossible for him to commit any further violence.

Gu Jiangli instructed, "Bring over a few basins of water and wake him up."

The servants obeyed orders and dared not utter a word.

Looking at the unconscious man, Gu Jiangli wished she could rush up and kick him a couple more times.

Now that we've captured him alive, we should at least hear what he has to say.

In the courtyard.

The man was tied to a ginkgo tree.

Two basins of cold water were poured over his head, and the man shivered, waking up from his deep sleep.

The sticky bloodstains blurred his vision, causing him great discomfort.

Upon seeing Gu Jiangli sitting unharmed in front of him, he spat out, "It's my bad luck to have been outsmarted by a bitch like you."

Gu Jiangli laughed and said, "Don't worry, your bad luck is yet to come."

She waved her hand, signaling the servants around her to leave. After confirming that the ropes binding the man were strong enough that he couldn't break free, Aunt Du also left sensibly.

Lotus stood ten steps away, quietly watching.

The man suddenly felt emboldened and snorted coldly:

"I advise you to release me as soon as possible, or better yet, hang yourself in the Prince's mansion. That way, it will save us both trouble."

Gu Jiangli remained calm, knowing where this man's confidence came from, and asked directly, "How much silver did the emperor give you to kill me?"

Upon hearing this, the man's expression changed slightly. "You...how did you know?"

Gu Jiangli smiled without saying a word, and the man then pretended to be calm and said, "So what if you know? I serve His Majesty with integrity. You and the prince displeased His Majesty, but he didn't execute your entire family. He only sent me to kill you. That's doing you a favor."

"Should I then be grateful to the emperor in the underworld?"

"Tch, you deserve this for offending His Majesty."

Gu Jiangli scrutinized him for a while, hoping that a little provocation might reveal something else.

She adopted a sorrowful and pitying expression, saying, "Oh, what a pity."

“What a pity!” the man replied, echoing her words.

"It's a pity you failed your mission. I'm afraid you won't be able to get money from His Majesty again. If His Majesty complains about your poor performance and punishes you, you'll be in big trouble."

The man's arrogance vanished instantly. "No...no, His Majesty won't punish me."

"Are you so sure? Fine, even if the emperor is benevolent and doesn't punish you for your incompetence, do you think you'll still be alive to report back to the emperor when the prince returns to his residence?"

"You assassinated the princess, which is a capital offense. The prince is merciful and probably won't let you be beheaded, but he will likely execute you by slow slicing."

The man's eyes darted around in panic; he finally became afraid. "No... wait... I haven't touched a single hair on your head, why is Your Highness attacking me? I'm working for His Majesty, His Majesty will protect me."

Gu Jiangli's disdainful gaze swept across his face.

Is this guy so addicted to gambling that he's gone crazy?

"Brother, you not only failed to accomplish your mission, but you also exposed the Emperor as the mastermind. The Prince is just merciful, not stupid. What's the point of keeping you around? Are you waiting for you to attack me again?"

After Gu Jiangli's words of comfort, the man's face gradually lost its color.

His chest heaved violently, and his breathing became extremely rapid.

"You...I...he wouldn't!" He shouted loudly, as if he had suddenly thought of something, startling even the lotus flowers ten steps away.

Why are you shouting so loudly?

"No way! His Majesty has a backup plan, and the Prince has no way to deal with me! You think you can scare me? It's true that I'm greedy for money, but I'm not stupid!"

"His Majesty said that if I succeed, he will have a way to free me from Prince Yu's revenge!"

"This shows that His Majesty was prepared all along, and it was not Prince Yu's turn to deal with me at all!"