Xue Shen lay on the inner side of the bed, holding a dagger in one hand and lightly pressing it against Shen Youying's lower back, while his mind quickly analyzed the current situation.
Shen Youying froze, feeling as if the person behind her was a lurking demon or beast. But she dared not make a move, and could only grit her teeth and endure, secretly waiting for an opportunity.
After waiting a moment, Danzhu knocked on the door again: "Chief Secretary Wang has summoned the guards. Is the Princess ready to get up?"
Shen Youying did not turn around, but she spoke to the person behind her: "Usually at this time, I would get up to wash and dress. If I linger, it would only arouse more suspicion."
Xue Shen heard from outside that Wang Deshun had already sent people over and that he did not intend to stay here for long, so he gestured for Shen Youying to answer.
"Bring me water, I need to wash up."
Shen Youying raised her voice and slowly propped herself up on her arms. She glanced at the commotion outside, guessing Danzhu would arrive soon. At the same time, she secretly gathered strength in her right hand, and taking advantage of the moment when the person behind her was off guard, she suddenly turned and thrust the hairpin towards the other's neck—
Xue Shen's reaction was not slow, but the space between the beds was small, and he was unsure how much he cared about Shen Youying. In the moment his counterattack faltered, he was stabbed in the right arm by the hairpin.
Shen Youying used deadly force; he hissed in pain, and then saw Shen Youying rush towards the inner room door like a deer, simultaneously opening her mouth to call for help—
He felt a headache coming on for a moment, but reacted quickly by rushing forward to subdue her, covering her mouth again, and locking the door at the same time.
Shen Youying was restrained again in front of the door. Feeling the strong body gathering strength behind her, she opened her eyes wide in despair and began to struggle desperately, hoping to make a noise so that the maid outside would notice and call the guards.
Xue Shen pulled her close, his arms around her waist. The wound on his right arm immediately reopened, causing him to wince in pain.
Left with no other choice, he could only grab Shen Youying by the back of the neck and increase the force, knocking her unconscious.
"Miss, why is the door locked?" Danzhu asked curiously from outside, as the door remained locked.
After Xue Shen picked up the unconscious person and placed him on the couch, he opened the door bolt and jumped onto the roof beam to hide.
Danzhu was about to call for help when she discovered that the locked door could be pushed open again. She carried the copper basin into the room and saw Shen Youying lying peacefully on the couch, which eased her anxiety.
While she went to call Shen Youying, Xue Shen landed lightly, used the same method to knock Danzhu unconscious, closed the door, and quietly left the inner room...
Sure enough, there were guards from the Prince's Palace outside the side hall, and further away, there were imperial guards from the palace.
Xue Shen sent out a coded signal from a hidden spot, and soon a response was heard, followed by someone coming to meet him.
*
Shen Youying woke up first and found herself lying on the bed, while Danzhu was lying on the footstool.
She hurriedly went to wake Danzhu, who then groggily came to her senses, touched her sore neck, and asked, still not quite understanding, "What happened?"
Shen Youying's expression turned grave: "I'm afraid we've encountered assassins."
Danzhu was startled and quickly got up to check on her: "Are you alright, young lady?"
Shen Youying shook her head, hurriedly changed her clothes and went to the outer room, only to see Bai Luo and two other maids also lying face down on the table, obviously unconscious as well.
Shen Youying asked Danzhu to wake the person up, and went to find the guards outside with a solemn expression. Just as she was about to speak, she hesitated.
She remembered that the assassin had once hidden in her bedside, and if the Imperial Guards questioned him, it wouldn't sound good if word got out.
Shen Youying pursed her lips, not speaking immediately, and instead asked about the assassin.
The guard, thinking she was afraid, said, "Commander Zhang has already captured the assassin and sent him to prison for interrogation."
Shen Youying's eyelids twitched. They caught him so quickly?
She pressed further, "Where were the people caught?"
"It is located in an empty side hall, two or three corridors away from here."
Those were most likely the assassins who broke into her bedchamber.
Shen Youying was relieved. Now that the assassin had been caught, she didn't need to bring it up again to avoid unnecessary gossip.
She said no more, turned around and went back into the palace, and gave Bai Luodanzhu and the two maids some more instructions.
*
"Have you investigated the person thoroughly? Who sent him?" Emperor Cheng'an asked.
Zhang Qian hung his head, looking troubled, unsure of what to say.
After the torture, the interrogation did yield results, but the other party identified Prince Chen. He had only taken over the Imperial Guards in place of Commander Zhou Qing, and now the assassin had identified Prince Chen. If not handled properly, he could easily be accused of forming cliques to frame a prince.
Seeing his troubled expression, Emperor Cheng'an immediately understood: "The assassin identified Prince Chen?"
Zhang Qian lowered his head and said, "Yes."
"Has the person been shown to the Crown Prince?"
"We've already had the Crown Prince's guards and his entourage identify him. They said the figure and attire do resemble him, but they were all wearing masks, so we're not entirely certain."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Cheng'an's expression darkened further.
The crown prince was seriously injured and unconscious. Given his nature, he would not risk his life to frame the Prince of Chen.
That assassin is most likely real.
However, there were too many coincidences on Chen Wang's side, and he couldn't determine for the time being whether Chen Wang acted impulsively and didn't have time to clean up the mess, or whether someone had really framed him.
Emperor Cheng'an remained silent for a long time before speaking, "Summon Prince Chen."
Before Chen Wang's anger had subsided, he was summoned again, and his intuition told him that nothing good was coming.
This time, Emperor Cheng'an did not get angry again, but instead showed Zhang Qian the evidence of his crimes.
Prince Chen took the document with suspicion, read it quickly, and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, crying out his innocence: "Your Majesty, please understand! This was not my doing! It was clearly a frame-up!"
Emperor Cheng'an also had some doubts, but if the assassination of the Crown Prince succeeded, the only one who would benefit the most would be Prince Chen.
Emperor Cheng'an frowned as he scrutinized his second son kneeling in the hall, but suddenly a person came to mind.
He turned to Qi Zhong and asked, "How has the King of Qin been these past two days?"
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