Chapter 20 So, Xie Zhuo likes her? ...

Xie Zhuo crawled out of a sea of ​​blood and a mountain of corpses.

But what he saw before him still sent chills down his spine.

In the dim light, Xue Mingyao was covered in blood from head to toe, and at first glance, it was impossible to tell the color of her clothes. Yet, this blood-soaked woman was standing there, seemingly unharmed, and waving to him.

"General Xie, it's you!"

She sounded even more shocked than he was.

Xie Zhuo let out a long sigh of relief without making a sound.

He knew that someone as troublesome as Xue Mingyao couldn't be bullied.

His gaze swept across the room, and he saw the blood-soaked corpse of a man in black curled up under the long table. He roughly guessed where the blood on Xue Mingyao's body came from.

That was her usual ruthless style; she was as merciless as when she stabbed someone or hunted prey.

At the far end of the room lay the unconscious Green Branch. When Xue Mingyao went over to wake Green Branch, Xie Zhuo asked her what had happened.

Xue Mingyao answered in a few words.

Just as Xie Zhuo had guessed, Xue Mingyao came to soak in the hot spring. After soaking for half an hour, she felt sleepy. She put on her clothes and was about to go back to sleep when she suddenly noticed something strange happening outside. Out of caution, Xue Mingyao and Lüzhi hid the lamp and went into a hidden compartment in the wall, intending to leave only when it was safe.

Before long, a wounded assassin burst into the hot spring. Xue Mingyao quickly extinguished the light in the hidden room, and the assassin, unaware that someone was hiding inside, stumbled in and hid. He was badly injured and his mind was relaxed. Xue Mingyao hid in the shadows and, taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, picked up the knife he had placed on the ground and stabbed him in the chest.

This place is safe again.

Xie Zhuo frowned and asked her why she didn't respond when he called for someone.

Xue Mingyao retorted confidently, "How do I know if you're a friend or foe? If the Imperial Guards were looking for someone, they would come in groups with torches, openly and honestly, unlike you who tiptoe around like a thief."

Xie Zhuo paused, "You didn't recognize my voice?"

"No," Xue Mingyao said simply. "The general's voice isn't heavenly, so what's so strange about me not recognizing it?"

Xie Zhuo remained silent.

Green Branch fainted from fright when blood gushed from the assassin's chest. When she woke up and saw the princess's clothes stained with blood, she screamed and covered her eyes, unable to look.

Xie Zhuo removed his outer garment and handed it to Xue Mingyao, saying, "Put this on, and I'll take you home."

Xue Mingyao said with disdain, "No. Do you think I'm the kind of person who can just wear men's clothes?"

Xie Zhuo didn't try to persuade him any further and calmly withdrew his hand.

With her eyes closed, Green Branch said loudly, "Princess, please wear my clothes." As she spoke, she began to take off her clothes.

Xue Mingyao also refused.

The spring chill was still in the air, and wearing only a single layer of clothing would surely lead to catching a cold; otherwise, Xue Mingyao wouldn't have endured her nausea while still wearing her blood-stained clothes. And if she were to exchange outer garments with Lüzhi, Lüzhi would probably faint again.

Green Branch took out the lantern they had brought from the cabinet, and the three of them walked out of the hidden room.

Xie Zhuo still held his outer robe in his hand. Xue Mingyao looked down at the sticky, blood-stained clothes and gritted her teeth, saying, "General Xie, please stay away from me so that the smell of blood doesn't bother you."

Xie Zhuo glanced at her, then tossed the clothes over to her.

The aim was so perfect that it landed right on Xue Mingyao's shoulder.

Caught off guard, Xue Mingyao froze for a moment, her lips parted and then closed, ultimately not scolding him. She slowly took off her blood-stained clothes and covered his with them.

Xie Zhuo's clothes felt comfortable against her skin; they were dry and smooth, without any fragrance, giving her a strange sense of intimacy. At first, she simply draped them loosely, but slowly she rolled up the sleeves and tightened the belt.

The commotion on the mountain subsided somewhat, and they even encountered a group of guards searching for the assassins along the way. It seemed the situation was under control. Xie Zhuo instructed them to retrieve the body from the Tangquan Palace, while he continued escorting Xue Mingyao back.

When Xue Mingyao asked about the assassin, Xie Zhuo rushed over, but knew very little about the situation in other families, so he couldn't answer anything.

Xue Mingyao thought he was being perfunctory and was about to express her dissatisfaction when Xie Zhuo preemptively rebuked her, "Princess, it's best to avoid going out at night. If it weren't for the assassin you encountered who was injured, I think your life would have been in danger."

Xue Mingyao was indeed still shaken, knowing that Xie Zhuo's words made sense, but she was unwilling to admit it. She changed the subject and asked, "General Xie, how did you end up in the back mountain?"

Xie Zhuo had only recently returned to the capital and did not hold any official post. The defense of Beiming Mountain was the responsibility of the Imperial Guard commanders and had nothing to do with him. Xue Mingyao never expected that it would be him who came to the hot spring to find someone.

"The back mountain was the most severely attacked. As a general, I could not stand idly by, so I came to check the situation."

Fearing she would press him further, Xie Zhuo continued to scold, "Why didn't you tell the maid you were leaving so suddenly? Your sister doesn't know where you went and is very worried."

"When I went out, the maid on night watch was asleep. I couldn't very well wake her up."

"The princess is arrogant outside, but she is considerate in her own residence."

Xue Mingyao calmly accepted his sarcasm, "Otherwise, what am I supposed to do? Be a good person outside and a bad person at home?"

"One should be consistent in word and deed, but the princess will never understand this principle in her lifetime."

"General, you have the nerve to say that? You are a completely different person in front of others than in front of me."

“Treat the good with leniency and the evil with severity. I have no intention of encouraging the princess’s arrogance.”

Green Branch followed behind, carrying the blood-stained clothes. She saw the two people walking side by side go from being a step apart to half a step apart, and then that half step disappeared without her noticing. The princess's shoulder occasionally brushed against General Xie's strong arm.

Ping An escorted Xue Mingyao back, and Xie Zhuo didn't say anything more. He didn't even go through the door; he just strode away.

The word "thank you" that Xue Mingyao was trying to say stuck in her throat. She had to swallow it back down and went into the house while pulling off Xie Zhuo's outer robe.

Xue Mingyu rushed out, "Sister, you're finally back! You always cause trouble for others!"

Suddenly noticing the specks of blood on Xue Mingyao's inner dress, her voice turned urgent, "Are you injured? Did you encounter an assassin?"

The maids brought hot tea and wiped the bloodstains off Xue Mingyao's body with handkerchiefs. The hot water for her bath was already boiling and would be brought over soon. Xue Mingyao waved to Xue Mingyu, closed her eyes to relax a bit, and explained the situation to her.

Xue Mingyu's eyes widened in surprise. "That was close!" she exclaimed. Then she muttered, "General Xie went to all this trouble to find you, why didn't you invite him in for a cup of tea?"

"He's in a hurry to go back to sleep," Xue Mingyao said lazily.

Xue Mingyu said with a mix of sarcasm and sigh, "Sister, you're really something. You've managed to bewitch General Xie without anyone noticing. If Chen San Niangzi finds out, she'll be furious."

Xue Mingyao almost choked on her water. "What did you say?"

Xue Mingyu scoffed, "Don't try to hide it from me. As soon as the assassin incident started, General Xie came over. When I told him you were missing, he was frantic, like he wanted to eat you alive, terrified something might have happened to you..."

......

The imperial guards spent the entire night searching for the assassin, and were still searching at dawn.

For this spring hunt, the Imperial Guards sealed off the mountains several days in advance, setting up posts at the main passes leading in and out of the mountains to guard them day and night. The assassins were clearly prepared, having hidden in the mountains before the mountains were sealed off, avoiding the soldiers who patrolled the mountains around the clock, and carefully choosing a foggy night to launch a surprise attack.

The emperor's carriage was heavily guarded. Several assassins made a feint, but their real intention was to attack the back mountain. The palaces where half of the accompanying ministers were staying were attacked. Two noblewomen, two officials, and a member of the imperial family were killed by the assassins, and more than a dozen others were injured. As for the casualties among the servants in various residences, they were countless.

Such a bloody incident occurring right under the emperor's nose enraged Emperor Deyuan. He reprimanded all the officials in charge of the spring hunt, ordering them to strengthen security and find the mastermind within a specified time, leaving no stone unturned. He lost all interest in the spring hunt and decreed that he would return to the capital three days later.

Xue Mingyao had a close encounter with the assassin at the hot spring last night, which was due to her impulsive decision to go out in the middle of the night. She didn't want to talk about it, and even when Zhao Jingyun, who was busy with his own affairs, came to ask her about the incident of "suspected kidnapping by assassins" last night, she only claimed that it was a misunderstanding and told Zhao Ying about it in detail.

Zhao Ying felt a lingering fear for her, "Luckily you know a little martial arts, otherwise, your legs would have gone weak with fear."

Xue Mingyao smiled wryly, "My hand was shaking when I stabbed the assassin."

She had wielded guns and clubs, and witnessed the carnage of battle, but when it came to actually taking up a knife and killing someone herself, even the bravest person would be afraid. Especially after the assassin splattered her with blood, all she could see was crimson, and she could hear the hissing sound of flesh being sliced ​​open. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and she had no strength to wake Green Branch.

When Xie Zhuo came looking for her, she was still in a daze. She couldn't even recognize his voice, let alone hear what he was saying, so of course she didn't respond.

Strangely enough, upon seeing Xie Zhuo's masked face, Xue Mingyao instantly snapped back to reality. She managed a few sharp words with him, feeling as if she had returned from the underworld to the mortal realm.

Zhao Ying held her hand tightly, "Fortunately, General Xie arrived in time, so you didn't have to stay in the same room with the corpse for too long."

"Yes," Xue Mingyao said softly.

“You were prejudiced against him before, now you should change your attitude,” Zhao Ying said with a smile.

Xue Mingyao's smile was somewhat ambiguous. "Yingniang, don't just talk about me. You were facing the assassin head-on, which was a hundred times more dangerous. I never expected that our Prince Consort Chen, a mere civil official, would have the courage of ten thousand men and actually be able to kill the assassin with his own hands."

"I didn't expect that either," Zhao Ying sighed. It was true that Chen Liang was working in the Ministry of War, following the orthodox path of a scholar, and the sword was just an ornament. She never expected it could actually be used to fight the enemy. "I asked him if he had ever practiced martial arts, and he said he had only practiced a few sets of boxing with others on the training ground. He said the ambush was successful mainly because the assassin underestimated him, and because he had good eyesight and gained the upper hand. Yao Yao, tell me, he's used to doing those things in the dark, how could his eyesight be bad?"

Xue Mingyao laughed until her stomach hurt, "Unbelievable, the benefit is right here!"

"Not to mention him, I feel like I can see even better in the dark," Zhao Ying said with a smile.

After the two laughed for a while, Zhao Ying said seriously, "I don't know who planned this assassination. It's really vicious. It seems like they're provoking the court by massacring court officials. However, it's also possible that they're using this to cover up who they really want to kill."

The assassins were all highly trained assassins; they hid poison in their teeth and committed suicide immediately after being captured. The prison officials could only look for clues on the corpses, and they couldn't find any results for the time being.

"Perhaps it's the people of the southern border who intend to retaliate," Xue Mingyao guessed.

"I hope there won't be another wave of attacks," Zhao Ying said worriedly.

The grand spring hunt ended in a bloody night, leaving the emperor humiliated. Three days later, the returning carriages and horses lacked the imposing presence they had displayed on the way there.

White banners were hung at the homes of several families who had received news of the assassination, and the suspicion of the assassination lingered in everyone's minds for a long time.

However, another question lingered in Xue Mingyao's mind.

The name that puzzled him was Xie Zhuo.

Xue Mingyu's words gave her a lot of inspiration.

It sounds unbelievable that Xie Zhuo likes her, but upon closer examination, it's not impossible.

He often appeared before her, always trying to find ways to be with her.

He was angry that she was clinging to Chen Liangqing, probably out of jealousy.

He even touched her hand several times...

After that night, Xue Mingyao would ponder this mystery whenever she had free time, and the more she thought about it, the more interesting it became.

Green Branch massaged her shoulders. "Princess, I also think General Xie is interested in you. I've noticed several times that he steals glances at you when there are other people around. He also said he admires Chen Hanlin, but I haven't seen him get close to Chen Hanlin. He's more familiar with Consort Chen."

“That makes sense, absolutely right.” Xue Mingyao nodded slowly. “But there’s a problem: why was he so rude to me?”

Shouldn't liking someone involve sweet words to win their heart?

When Xue Mingyao was fifteen or sixteen and still unmarried, she received gifts from the princes every day and attended banquets. The number of young men who showed her affection was countless. She would throw tantrums and make these young men bark like dogs for her, and they would all vie to do it.

I've never seen Xie Zhuo so cold and sarcastic.

Green Branch stammered, "He may admire your beauty, but he also has reservations about your reputation... so he's in a dilemma."

"Really?" Xue Mingyao smiled insincerely. "This guy looks aloof, but it turns out he's not immune to the mundane. He's been acting strangely towards me; I need to think of a way to tease him."

After Xue Mingyao figured it out, she felt incredibly relieved.

She knew it! How could any man remain unmoved by her beauty? Since Xie Zhuo liked her, she could have him under her thumb. She would also put an end to his arrogance and make him grovel at her feet, bowing his head and obeying her every command.

The next day, Xue Mingyao sent an invitation to the Xie family, ostensibly to thank him for escorting her on the night of the assassination attempt at Beiming Mountain, but in reality to invite him to their residence for a chat in the afternoon.

A note from the author:

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Hehe, Yaoyao is about to take action!