Chapter 349 Kill Shen Ci'an First

Even Emperor Xuanzhao couldn't stand still now.

He ordered Lu Yuan in a deep voice, "Quickly take men to the Shen residence to rescue them. Princess Xiang, Lord Shen, and Madam Shen, none of them are allowed to be harmed."

Lu Yuan was already very worried, and with Emperor Xuanzhao's decree, he dared not delay for even a moment. He led all the Imperial Guards and quickly left the palace for the Shen residence.

Xiao Yunheng could hardly believe what he was hearing.

He had planned everything. Even though things had been exposed and there was no way to turn back, Shen Ci'an's life had to be spared today.

But shouldn't Mother Consort be staying at the Prince of Xiang's residence right now?

Why were they trapped in the Shen residence for no apparent reason?

"Father, please, I beg you, to rescue Mother. She has lived a life of hardship, never fighting or vying for anything. I did this without her knowledge; she knew nothing about it!"

With his upper body bound, Xiao Yunheng could only kneel before Emperor Xuanzhao and beg for help.

Emperor Xuanzhao frowned, but still reassured her, "Commander Lu has already led the Embroidered Uniform Guard there. Your mother will be alright."

＊

Inside the main house of Mansion Shen.

Jiang Zhi fell to the ground, barely managing to move her fingers, only to find that she couldn't muster any strength at all.

She looked up.

Ruying and Anyue were both kneeling on the ground, swaying precariously, clearly having inhaled a lot of the sleeping gas.

Qingxing struggled to get up, but to no avail.

Only Shen Ci'an lay quietly on the couch, oblivious to everything around him.

At that moment, a hoarse voice came from outside the main house, which was completely surrounded: "Pour kerosene all around! I want to grind the people inside to ashes!"

The voice was sinister and sharp, filled with intense hatred.

Jiang Zhi recognized him as Yan Wenhong.

Someone nearby hesitated and said, "But the Princess Consort of Xiang is inside right now..."

Yan Wenhong sneered, "I have my own plans. I want Jiang Zhi dead first!"

If it weren't for Jiang Zhi, the Zhongqin Earl's Mansion wouldn't have collapsed overnight, and he wouldn't have suffered so much in the imperial prison!

Soon, the pungent smell of kerosene wafted in from outside, and flames licked and leaped higher and higher until the entire main house was engulfed in flames.

The sounds of clashing weapons came from outside; it was Xiao Xuanyou's secret guards fighting with the Imperial Guards, trying to rush in and rescue people.

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but glance at the Princess Consort of Xiang, who was also lying on the ground beside her, and gave a bitter smile. "I'm so sorry, Princess Consort of Xiang, you may be trapped here with me and die today."

Princess Xiang remained calm, only managing a forced smile. "If my death can alleviate some of the Crown Prince's karmic burdens, then it will be worthwhile."

Jiang Zhi knew that Xiao Yunheng would take action today, but she didn't know how he would do it.

Furthermore, the Master's body is not suitable for movement, so he would be powerless to protect himself if he encountered danger.

She had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, sending Xiao Xuanyou's secret guards to "invite" the Princess Consort of Xiang to the Shen residence.

As long as Princess Xiang is around, Xiao Yunheng will be hesitant to act rashly and will certainly not dare to go too far.

Unexpectedly, the person sent by Xiao Yunheng was Yan Wenhong, who hated her to the core.

The fire outside had already started burning, and the temperature inside the house began to rise.

The door was suddenly opened, and Yan Wenhong came in carrying a sword.

In the darkness, his cheekbones protruded high, his eye sockets were deep, and his pupils were like cold ink dipped in poison, making the several scars on his face look even more ferocious.

He walked with a limp, and his hand holding the sword looked strange. Upon closer inspection, Jiang Zhi noticed that he was missing three fingers on his right palm.

It was cut off by Lu Yuan while he was in prison.

He glanced at Jiang Zhi with a sinister grin, but ignored her and walked toward the bed with his sword.

"I will kill Shen Ci'an first, and then I will take good care of Madam Shen."

Xiao Yunheng had made a prior agreement with him: as long as he took Shen Ci'an's life immediately, he could do whatever he wanted afterward.

As for the Princess Consort of Xiang—two imperial guards behind him came in, intending to take her away.

"No, no one is allowed to move!" Jiang Zhi suddenly shouted with all her might, her wrist struggling to climb onto the shoulder of the Princess Consort of Xiang, aiming at her neck.

"Yan Wenhong, if you dare to harm my husband, I will kill the Princess Consort of Xiang right here and now!"

Yan Wenhong squinted at him.

But on her wrist was a silver bracelet with a lotus scroll design. It was simple and unremarkable, except that the bracelet had a cold, bluish sheen.

"The silver needles inside this bracelet are coated with deadly poison," Jiang Zhi said, catching her breath, trying to keep her voice calm. "Would you like to test whether your sword is faster or my hidden weapon is?"

This silver bracelet was a hidden weapon that Lu Yuan gave her a long time ago for self-defense. However, she did not wear it when she left the capital to conceal her identity, and it is only now that it comes in handy.

Jiang Zhi no longer cared whether the Princess Consort of Xiang was innocent or not.

She only wanted to save her husband.

Yan Wenhong's sword tip was already pointed at Shen Ci'an's neck, but he ultimately stopped his movement.

If he were to disregard the life of Princess Xiang and kill Shen Ci'an, it would very likely provoke retaliation from Xiao Yunheng.

"You think you can threaten me like this?" Yan Wenhong sneered. "Now you can't even protect yourself, you and your husband are both fish on the chopping block. Even if I don't make a move, neither of you will escape alive today."

Although Jiang Zhi was unable to move, she did not show the panic that Yan Wenhong had imagined.

“Yan Wenhong, let me give you a piece of advice: for your own life, not only should you not kill Shen Ci’an, you should also hope that he can wake up soon.”

Yan Wenhong knew this woman was always cunning, but he still couldn't help asking, "Heh, why is that?"

Jiang Zhi took a breath. "Do you think Shen Ci'an would be so stupid as to let you get out of the imperial prison unscathed, knowing that you hate me to the core, and do nothing about it?"

"What do you mean by that?" Yan Wenhong frowned deeply.

"Have you forgotten how you got out of the imperial prison in the first place?"

Yan Wenhong naturally remembered.

It was Shen Ci'an who obtained an imperial edict to visit him and secretly administered the medicine...

Thinking of this, his brow twitched violently. "What exactly did he feed me?"

Shen Ci'an had told him that it was a specially made medicine by Doctor Xue, who was under the command of the Prince of Xiang, that could make him bleed from all seven orifices as if he were seriously ill and incurable, but in fact it did not cause much damage to his body.

At that time, I was imprisoned for a long time and had no other choice but to listen to Shen Ci'an and take the medicine he handed me.

After being rescued from the imperial prison, apart from the physical injuries left by the torture, his body was indeed normal.

Aside from... heart palpitations that suddenly occur every few days.

However, the attack only lasts for a few moments, and the patient quickly recovers.

He assumed it was a lingering effect from his time in prison and didn't take it seriously.

Hearing Jiang Zhi mention it now made him suspicious.

“I don’t know. He only said he had a way to control you, but he didn’t tell me the specifics,” Jiang Zhi shook her head. “Only he knows what he fed you.”

"So you can't kill him, otherwise you'll die from the poison and no one will be able to save you."

Jiang Zhi looked at the unconscious person on the bed.

He seemed to be asleep, his breathing shallow, his hands resting quietly on his lower abdomen, without making a sound.