"King Xuan sent a message that he has successfully taken Lan Yuning to the Dali Temple. He will be tried publicly tomorrow at noon, and many people will surely come to watch." After reading the letter, Xie Liwei casually lit a candle on it and then threw the rest into the incense burner.

Since the Ministry of Justice prison opened, Song Yaozhu has sent people to visit the Xie family every day, and she has also personally overseen the food delivery.

"The dog emperor will be furious when he finds out." Song Yaozhu wanted to laugh at the thought of Yuwen Wuji jumping up and down in anger. But she couldn't laugh, because the matter wasn't over yet, and there was always a chance for things to turn around.

"Now everyone knows that Lan Yuning will be publicly tried tomorrow, which means the Xie family can clear their name. Yuwen Wuji has lost the opportunity to seriously damage the Xie family."

"If it were me, I would rather die than let the Xie family escape unscathed."

At this point, the two suddenly looked up and met each other's gaze.

They exclaimed in unison, "Oh no! Lan Yuning is going to die!"

Xie Liwei hurriedly summoned Fang Rao and ordered him to personally lead men to the prison of the Dali Temple to ensure that Lan Yuning would live until the trial the next day.

Song Yaozhu's eyelids twitched, and she said in a panic, "I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen."

Xie Liwei also breathed a sigh of relief and comforted her, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. The Yuwen family thought, 'When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the enemy state is destroyed, the strategist dies.' [1]"

How many years has the Great Chen Dynasty been established? With neighboring small countries eyeing it covetously, does it think it can rest easy?

Xie Liwei glanced at her, the meaning in his eyes was very strange, Song Yaozhu couldn't put it into words, the two of them were quiet, one lying on the bed and the other sitting on the couch, neither of them could sleep.

The room was dark and the two of them stopped talking. The room was so quiet that even the slightest sound from the people inside seemed particularly jarring.

The cats outside were meowing so pitifully that it didn't sound like they were mating; it sounded like they were fighting with their own kind.

The roof tiles rattled softly. In the dark room, the two men rose simultaneously and nimbly rolled out of bed. One grabbed a dagger from under his pillow, while the other grasped the sword hanging from the eaves of the bed.

All I could hear in the quiet night were some rustling sounds, along with the calls of wild cats in heat, and I assumed it was just stray cats running around outside.

But Song Yaozhu knew it wasn't like that. Xie Liwei had practically broken ties with Yuwen Wuji this time, and Yuwen Wuji would definitely want his life to vent his anger. He must have sent people over to keep a close watch on the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion.

No sooner had Fang Rao left than someone sneaked into the Prince's mansion at night; it was no simple matter.

The rustling sound disappeared, and the smoke seeped in through the cracks in the window. Song Yaozhu picked up a handkerchief, soaked it in tea, and covered her face with it, then casually tossed one to Xie Liwei.

Why do these people not set off sleeping gas when they're on the roof, but instead run down to set it off? Do they think they can sleep better if the gas is set off down there?

The two sides remained deadlocked for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea when the window creaked open, and several dark figures leaped in, rushing straight towards the bed. Several short blades with a cold glint stabbed at the bed, but all that could be heard was the muffled groan of the sharp blades hitting the wooden board.

Several assassins instantly changed their expressions and ran towards the window. Xie Liwei had already emerged from the shadows and thrust his sword into the chest of the nearest assassin.

Knowing her own rudimentary skills were inadequate, Song Yaozhu shouted loudly the instant Xie Liwei made his move, "Assassin!"

In the blink of an eye, all the lights in the mansion came on.

The assassin, Yi, hadn't expected to be exposed so easily, and recklessly picked up his knife and attacked them, each strike ruthless and aimed straight for their vital points.

Song Yaozhu lit a lamp in the room to provide light for Xie Liwei to see the assassins, but this also exposed her. One of the assassins charged straight at her, and she parried several blows with her dagger. However, a woman's strength is no match for a man's, and after just a few blows, her hands were numb and her arms were sore.

Seeing that she was no match for him, a long sword was held horizontally in front of her, deflecting the assassin. Xie Liwei stepped between the two, shielding Song Yaozhu behind him, but in doing so, he exposed his back. An assassin pierced his shoulder with a single sword strike, and hot blood splattered on half of Song Yaozhu's face.

"Ah Li!"

Caught off guard, all her emotions rushed to her mind, and her body moved faster than her brain. With a dagger that could cut through iron like mud, she severed the assassin's hand!

But she was also annoyed. That was her younger brother, how could she let someone bully him in front of her!

Soon, the guards from the palace rushed into the room, captured the surviving assassins, skillfully dislocated their jaws and limbs, and removed the poison sacs from under their tongues to commit suicide.

"Your Highness and Your Highness, I am late!" The head guard knelt on one knee, awaiting punishment.

"This!" Song Yaozhu pointed at the assassin with the severed hand and said, "Chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"

Upon hearing this, the guards trembled and obeyed the order to drag the person away.

The physician hurriedly carried his medicine box into the room, where servants were busy wiping away the bloodstains.

"This isn't the place to treat wounds, let's move to another room." The group moved to a side room, where Granny Qin wiped away her tears while asking someone to boil water.

Xie Liwei's penetrating wound had directly damaged his bones and muscles, causing him to be in so much pain that he was covered in cold sweat. Song Yaozhu anxiously wiped his sweat and stroked his head, trying to make him feel more comfortable.

The physician was a retired military doctor who remained relatively calm in the face of the situation. He examined the wound, his expression grave: "The blood is black."

Without him saying it, Song Yaozhu understood what he meant—the sword was poisoned.

“If we use Mafeisan (a type of anesthetic), we have to wait a quarter of an hour for the medicine to take effect before we can remove the sword. But by then, the poison might have seeped in, and if we pull it out forcefully, I’m afraid His Highness won’t be able to withstand it.” The physician was somewhat helpless. It wasn’t that he hadn’t treated such wounds before, but those were for battle-hardened men, while their prince looked frail…

Xie Liwei bit down on his handkerchief, the pain almost making him lose all strength, but his voice trembled yet was full of determination: "Pull it out!"

"Pull it out!" Song Yaozhu reacted quickly. If it was a deadly poison that would kill on contact with blood, every moment wasted would be a life-threatening situation for Xie Liwei!

The physician, upon receiving orders, skillfully removed the broken sword, squeezing out all the black blood. Only after seeing the bright red blood did he begin to clean the wound, apply wound medicine, and bandage it.

"The pharmacy will have fever-reducing herbal medicine prepared, but we don't know what kind of poison it is. We can only wait until the symptoms appear..." The physician stopped halfway through his sentence. By the time the symptoms appeared, it would be like fighting with the ghost messengers to save the person! Even if the person was saved, their health would be severely damaged.

Song Yaozhu's face was extremely pale, and Xie Liwei was in so much pain that he almost fainted; his thin undergarment was already soaked with sweat. He lay on his side on the bed, his neck and above all pale.

She couldn't see his face, but Song Yaozhu knew that the expression behind the mask was one she couldn't bear. He had never been so vulnerable in front of her, as if he might breathe his last at any moment.

"Your Highness, hold on! I will definitely find out what the poison is!" She turned to Granny Qin and said, "Have Qin Yu find a way to get those assassins to talk!"

When Granny Qin met her bloodshot, tearful gaze, she couldn't help but tremble. Her eyes were sharp and murderous, her ruthless gaze like that of an enraged lioness, eager to find her enemy and tear them to pieces.

Upon receiving the order, Qin Yu immediately went to the dungeon of the Prince's mansion to severely torture the assassins.

Song Yaozhu held Xie Liwei's hand tightly, seeing that he was barely breathing and looked extremely exhausted.

She felt annoyed and guilty. If it weren't for saving her, Xie Liwei wouldn't have taken that sword for her!

"Ah Li..." Tears streamed down her face, but all she could do now was cry! How could she be so helpless?

Xie Li was barely breathing, and his lips were completely white.

He was injured in his right shoulder, and raising his left hand aggravated the wound. Even so, he still used trembling fingertips to wipe away the tears on Song Yaozhu's face.

"Don't cry, sister. I've protected you this time..."