The kindness of a beauty

He replied with a smile, "Indeed. Could it be that Consort Zhao is from the same hometown as me?"

His confident and assertive statement, turning the tables on the other party, revealed no sign of guilt. This was the result of his careful planning.

If Zhao Lingying had noticed something amiss with his identity, she should have made an attack long ago, instead of making these half-hearted hints and suggestions now.

Zhao Lingying smiled and said, "That's not the case. I come from Wu County, and my father was the Sima of Canglang. He and the Right Chancellor are from the south and the north, respectively, and their positions are quite different."

Gongyi Xiu was surprised that Zhao Zhaorong, a favorite of the emperor, would have time to chat with him casually, which he found quite strange.

However, Zhao Zhaorong's next sentence almost made Gongyi Xiu lose his mind.

"The Left Prime Minister seems to really like wearing white."

Gongyi Xiu was shocked and turned around in disbelief to look at Zhao Zhaorong.

The fashion of clothing in this dynasty was simple and plain, with black or white being the colors commonly used by nobles and officials in their private attire in addition to their official robes.

Even though he often wore white, he was by no means particularly suspicious among the group of elegant and refined officials.

Gongyi Xiu was accustomed to wearing white in Lanling Hall, and he greatly admired his master Wanqi Qing's elegant demeanor in white robes. His master once said that white corresponds to the west in the five directions and autumn in the four seasons, representing both killing and loyalty, which best aligns with the spirit of the Lanling assassins. Therefore, all three halls of Lanling Hall adopted white as their standard attire color.

Junior sister Shenbing Hall Master A Qiu and junior brother Xingfeng Hall Master Mo Yimingyue both secretly disapproved of him.

From then on, two peculiar groups emerged in the martial arts world: the assassins of the Divine Weapon Hall who travel in the night in white robes, and the thugs of the Punishment Wind Hall who are as ethereal as immortals in white robes.

In the world of martial arts, strength determines power, so no one dares to laugh.

In truth, he could hardly imagine that his fierce and capable junior brother Mo Yi would lead a team of Xingfeng Hall thugs with flowing sleeves and fluttering robes into a gang, slam his famous "Dragon Slayer" weapon heavily onto the table, and then display his famous "winning people over with virtue" slogan, and begin to amicably negotiate the profit sharing with the various hall masters and bosses.

However, for his family of strategists, white robes were a very good choice, as they aligned with the tastes of the upper-class literati, were elegant, and made it easier to blend in.

Therefore, although Gongyi Xiu, being an official, no longer needed to visit his master at Lanling Hall every morning and evening, he still retained the habit of wearing white robes.

Even if he wore more white robes than other officials, Zhao Zhaorong couldn't openly conclude that he was the Lanling Assassin based on that alone, could she?

Gongyi Xiu snapped open his jade-bone folding fan with a "snap" to cover his guilty conscience. He was about to open his mouth to explain with a smile when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

A sweet yet cool fragrance silently wafted into his presence.

All the clerks and recorders in the hall put down their pens and stared at him in disbelief.

Because this hidden weapon was none other than a slender, delicate finger.

Zhao Zhaorong's soft, boneless, and beautiful hand, which emerged from her sleeve, was already pressed against his lips.

She looked up at Gongyi Xiu, smiling broadly, and said, "The Right Chancellor not only loves wearing white,"

"And he is the man who looks best in white clothes that Lingying has ever seen, without exception."

After saying that, she drifted away as if nothing had happened.

Gongyi Xiu, his integrity shattered, his teeth knocked out and blood swallowed, was left behind, along with the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, who were working overtime through the night, and the rigid and traditional clerks.

The clerks immediately lowered their heads and continued their busy work on official documents. They all unanimously decided that they hadn't seen anything.

Gongyi Xiu covered his face with a fan while subtly wiping away the cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

This Zhao Zhaorong is simply determined not to leave him a way out.

As for her claim that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen in white, he couldn't believe it.

Because he firmly believed that it was because she had never met his master, Wan Qiqing, the master of Lanling Hall.

Engaging in close combat with the Lanling Assassins is actually a very dangerous thing.

Coil, embrace, twist, and entwine, A Qiu and Si Kongzhao's figures were already tangled together with unparalleled speed, the force of their fists and palms clashing creating a continuous gust of wind.

If both were unarmed, Sikong Zhao might not necessarily lose. After all, her physical strength and brute force far surpassed A Qiu's, so she would naturally be able to withstand the same punch from her.

But A Qiu possessed the weapon to assassinate the Qin emperor; a single blow from him would result in disembowelment and dismemberment. Sikong Zhao dared not meet the attack head-on and had to constantly avoid its sharp edge.

A-Qiu silently counted in his mind: three, two, one.

If her senior brother Gongyi Xiu doesn't come soon, she will definitely kill him.

This relentless, aggressive attack had forced Sikong Zhao into a desperate retreat, leaving her routed. Yet, even now, she still did not wish to kill.

But the situation was pressing and could not be delayed any longer; Sikong Zhao's life was precious, and so was hers.

Even Sun's wife's life is a matter of fate.

one.

Suddenly, the dagger in A Qiu's palm shone with a dazzling light. She flipped and flicked her wrist with her right hand, stabbing, slashing, and thrusting back in one smooth motion, trapping Sikong Zhao within the small space cut by the arc of light from the dagger.

The purpose of the three consecutive thrusts was to create a situation where the opponent had no way to avoid it and was thrown into disarray, thus ensuring the final blow would land.

Sikong Zhao stared at a sharp light streaking towards him in the night—no, several sharp lights.

The flowing light was like a shower of stars.

It is the brilliance of the famous Warring States weapon, the "Assassination of Qin".

She vaguely recalled Ah Qiu's opening words: "I'm just here for a visit; I'm neither killing nor stealing."

This fearless general, at this moment, even felt a trace of regret.

A series of clear, intersecting clanging sounds rang out in the air.

Sikong Zhao suddenly felt that A Qiu had released her left arm, which had been held by her.

The series of metallic clanging sounds, clear and melodious like a zither, rang out, carrying a musical beauty within the air of killing intent.

She was not injured.

Sikong Zhao hurriedly retreated, and upon closer inspection, she saw a figure in a black cloak gracefully descend and block her path.

On the hand behind his back, there was an object three feet long, shimmering with crystal light.

It is Junior Tutor Gu Yi, Juntian Yuheng.

The young assassin "Jing Ke," whose face was covered by a white cloth, had vanished without a trace. She must have been intercepted from the air by Junior Tutor Gu Yi and forced to flee to the ground.

All city defense patrols should be notified immediately to launch a search and arrest operation.

Sikong Zhao came from a powerful and aristocratic family in the Central Plains, and had no personal relationship with Gu Yi, whose origins were unknown and whose background was mysterious. But at this moment, he had saved her life, and soldiers value gratitude and loyalty, so this relationship could not be ignored.

Sikong Zhao cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your help, Junior Master."

He added, "There are assassins infiltrating the palace. This humble general must immediately mobilize troops to search and capture them. There can be no delay. I hope the Junior Tutor will understand!"

Then, remembering something, he asked, "That assassin was so fierce, I wonder if the young master managed to injure him?"

With each move aimed at killing, holding back was impossible in such a fierce exchange. Sikong Zhao was concerned that if Gu Yi wounded the assassin, the assassin would not have escaped far and would have left bloodstains. This would significantly reduce the search area.

As she spoke, she glanced around at the pavilions and palaces in the area.

Gu Yi coughed softly and turned around.

Upon seeing him, Sikong Zhao was immediately stunned.

She has a keen sense of smell and immediately detected a faint scent of blood in the air.

Blood was gushing from Gu Yi's right side, beneath his black robes. He was pressing it with one hand to prevent excessive blood loss.

Junior Tutor Gu Yi was actually injured.

Thinking that if he hadn't been injured, she would have been the one to die under his dazzling and fierce attacks, Sikong Zhao felt a pang of guilt and stepped forward, saying, "Young Master!"

Gu Yi raised his hand to stop her and calmly said, "I am not very capable, so I let her go."

Sikong Zhao said apologetically, "Please ask the Junior Tutor to return to Jinling Terrace to recuperate. I will immediately report to the Emperor to request the imperial physician to come and treat him."

Gu Yi calmly replied, "It's just a minor injury; it won't interfere with the General's official duties." He then turned and left.

In the time it takes to say just a few words, she should have found a place to hide, right?

Sikong Zhao watched Gu Yi leave, then suddenly remembered something.

She actually discovered Gu Yi Shao Shi first, not A Qiu.

She was patrolling the city below the palace wall when she suddenly heard the sound of clothes rustling in the air above. She knew that a master was traveling at night and became very vigilant. She immediately flew up to investigate, but saw Gu Yi's black clothes flash by in front of her.

Then, she saw the white-clad girl's stealthy movements from afar. She concluded that Gu Yi was following the girl, and the girl's behavior was quite suspicious. So she went to ambush her and recognized her as the Lanling Assassin as soon as they met.

When she fought "Jing Ke," Gu Yi should have been nearby. As for why he didn't join forces with her, it was probably to save face for her as the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guards.

It is common knowledge that Gu Yishao never oversteps his bounds in the slightest.

Swaying his head, which was still spinning from the beating, Sikong Zhao leaped off the city wall and decided to lead the troops to conduct a ground patrol and search.

A Qiu hid behind a palace gate, watching helplessly as a patrol of soldiers walked past right under his nose.

The patrol teams were mostly composed of ten men, arranged in two rows, and the frequency of patrols had increased significantly.

Sikong Zhao must have already launched a search throughout the entire palace.

A sliver of dawn was already visible above the palace walls.

As dawn approached, under such tight security and surveillance, it had become impossible to go to the Ministry of Personnel to find Gongyi Xiu.

At this moment, A Qiu's heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of frustration and defeat.

After a whole night of fuss and a huge fight, they were left unable to see their senior brother or save Lady Sun, and now they're being searched throughout the palace.

And he even stabbed Gu Yi.

At that moment, she couldn't stop herself, nor could she stop. The Long Rainbow Strike was a desperate gamble, a move with all the willpower of the assassin, a move from which there was no turning back, no regrets once made, a situation where there was no way to stop until death or injury was achieved.

Gu Yi's sacrifice of his own body to save Sikong Zhao's life must have been worthwhile.

In fact, even if she killed Sikong Zhao, her mission would still have failed.

After all, her goal was to save people, not to kill them.

She felt a weariness she had never experienced before.

Those tasks used to be much simpler. As long as you cut off a head, it was considered a successful mission.

Now, she's caught in a dilemma; killing or not killing, she'll lose anyway.

Another patrol of imperial guards approached her location, heading forward through the palace gates.

A Qiu quietly hid behind the shadow of the vermilion gate, preparing to silently knock out and intercept the last soldier as he passed by, then change into his armor to sneak into the inner palace and return to Tangli Garden.

At least tonight she dared not go up high up anymore and could only walk on the ground.

Seven, eight, nine.

A-Qiu silently counted the soldiers of the past in his heart.

ten.

This is the last one. The sergeant seemed to have just been called up for an emergency duty shift; he was carrying a gun in one hand and covering his mouth with his other hand while yawning.

Ah Qiu's sleeves twitched, ready to seize the person.

But just as she was about to move, she suddenly felt something strange behind her.

Her heart tightened, and before she could move her right arm, it was already locked in place by someone with iron-like strength.

As soon as she realized her hands were restrained, she immediately raised her leg and launched a flying kick backward.

Her opponent was faster than her, and with lightning speed, his fingers struck several acupoints between her knees.