Jiao Nian'en, her face veiled, swam resolutely toward the palace.
Halfway there, she heard someone calling her: "Jiao Ruxue?"
Only Jiaoze knows this name.
No, the merfolk with pale golden hair also knows—she might be someone sent by the Merfolk.
Meng Qingyin swam up to Jiao Nian'en: "You really are Jiao Ruxue."
Jiao Nian'en's eyes remained expressionless, neither confirming nor denying: "What do you want from me?"
Meng Qingyin extended her hand and said in a friendly manner, "My name is Jiao Yinyin, it's nice to meet you. Jiao Ruxue."
Jiao Nian'en didn't want to exchange pleasantries, her expression cold: "I have other things to do. If you don't have anything else, I..."
“I came here on Jiaoze’s orders to retrieve his mermaid pearl,” Meng Qingyin said, staring at her intently.
Upon hearing this name, Jiao Nian'en was stunned.
A moment later, she took out a mermaid pearl from her sleeve and handed it to Meng Qingyin: "Go and report back to him."
Now that the decision has been made to kill Jiaoming, the Jiaozhu pearl from Jiaoze can be returned to its rightful owner.
She was about to leave after she finished speaking.
"Your purpose in taking the Mermaid Pearl must have been impure, so why are you handing it back to him so easily now?" Meng Qingyin's voice rang out from behind.
Jiao Er said that Jiao Ruxue had asked him to spread the news of the missing Jiao Ze Jiao Pearl, but he did not agree.
It is clear that Jiao Ruxue has not yet achieved her goal, so why would she return the Jiao Ze pearl?
She even speculated that Jiao Ruxue's purpose in doing this was inextricably linked to her parents' rebellion years ago.
Could it be that she guessed wrong?
Jiao Nian'en's eyes suddenly turned sharp. "What do you know?"
Meng Qingyin smiled. "I have no hostility towards you, so you can rest assured. I just want to know why you handed over the mermaid pearl to me so easily. Do you still have feelings for Jiaoze...?"
Jiao Nian'en coldly interrupted her: "Knowing too much will not do you any good. I advise you not to pry into the matter and to return the Jiao Pearl to Jiao Ze as soon as possible."
After saying that, he ignored Meng Qingyin's attempts to stop him and left quickly.
Looking in the direction she left, Meng Qingyin pondered for a moment before chasing after her.
The questions in her heart were still unanswered, such as how Jiao Nian'en could survive for so many years without being blessed by her ancestors or using any secret medicine? Was her weakness related to this?
For example, did Jiao Nian'en's uncle, Jiao Si, play a role in this whole affair?
But...
Her mission is almost over, so she should return the pearl to Jiaoze as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, on her way to return the mermaid pearl, Meng Qingyin was once again "invited" to the palace of the Mermaid Clan with flaxen hair.
Meng Qingyin, having been familiar with the place twice before, was much more composed and calm this time. She even waved and greeted Jiao Ming, saying, "Hi, what a coincidence, we meet again. What brings you here this time?"
Jiao Ming looked at her with a deep gaze, a hint of warning in his voice: "This guest from the cat-human race, although our two races have always been on good terms, this is, after all, the territory of the merfolk. You'd better behave yourself and not pry into the privacy of the merfolk. What do you think?"
Meng Qingyin was taken aback; Jiaoming seemed to be implying something in his words.
Does she know something?
Meng Qingyin composed herself: "Please enlighten me, sir."
Jiaoming was not angry because she pretended to be stupid. Instead, he glanced behind her before saying, "You are a smart person, so I don't need to waste my breath."
Meng Qingyin subconsciously glanced back, and then her eyes widened.
Two maids entered through the palace gate, each carrying a tray. The one whose face was covered by a light veil was none other than the silver-haired Jiao Ruxue!
Why is Jiao Ruxue here?
For some reason, Meng Qingyin felt a slight unease.
Jiao Ruxue never expected to meet Jiao Yinyin here. She was afraid that the other party would reveal her identity, which would cause her assassination plan to fail.
That's right, she disguised herself as a maid and sneaked into Jiaoming's palace with the intention of assassinating Jiaoming!
Only by killing Jiaoming can she avenge her parents and... protect Jiaoze.
She had no other choice.
Fortunately, Jiao Yinyin only glanced at her casually and didn't say anything.
Using the tray as cover, she gripped the dagger in her hand tightly. The dagger was coated with a drug that was extremely poisonous to the merfolk, capable of killing instantly upon contact with blood.
Ever since her uncle told her the truth about her parents' death when she was ten years old, she had been preparing for this day, but she knew that she could not kill Jiaoming on her own.
The secret medicine of shark ear fungus made her think that she might also be able to make good use of medicine.
So, one time when she went to Jiao Er's house to get medicine, she made an excuse that she was not feeling well. While Jiao Er was making medicine, she secretly slipped into his study and found a book on poison making. Jiao Er did not notice.
After returning home, she flipped through the book on poisons and, sure enough, found the poison she wanted. After memorizing the recipe, she quietly returned the book.
Later, she painstakingly gathered all the necessary raw materials and finally succeeded in developing the poison.
It would be difficult for her to kill Jiao Ming with a dagger, but as long as she could leave a wound on Jiao Ming, she would have achieved her goal!
Jiao Ming's gaze did not linger on Jiao Nian'en; she stared at Meng Qingyin: "Don't continue the investigation, or even the cat people won't be able to protect you."
A sudden inspiration struck Meng Qingyin.
Jiaoming knew that she was investigating Jiaoruxue.
Does this also mean that Jiao Ming has been secretly watching Jiao Si and Jiao Ruxue all these years?
What was her purpose in doing this?
Could it be that Jiao Ruxue is thinking...?
As she was lost in thought, Jiao Ruxue passed by her carrying a tray, and something flashed before her eyes.
The next moment, something unexpected happened.
Jiao Ruxue, who had been so respectful, suddenly threw away the tray and thrust the dagger in her hand straight into Jiao Ming's heart!
"Mother!" Jiao Ze suddenly appeared at the door, his eyes wide with fury at the sight before him.
In an instant, Meng Qingyin's chaotic thoughts became clear.
Without a second thought, she lunged forward and knocked away the dagger that was about to pierce Jiaoming's heart.
At this moment, another maid, startled, screamed, "An assassin! Help! An assassin!"
Jiao Ze immediately stepped forward to shield Jiao Ming behind him, glaring angrily at Jiao Nian En: "You audacious assassin! You..."
He suddenly fell silent, staring wide-eyed at Jiao Nian'en in shock, "Ru Xue?! How could it be... Why is it you?"
The moment Jiao Nian'en's dagger was knocked away, she knew that defeat was inevitable, and collapsed to the ground in despair.
She still messed things up.
Jiaoming brushed Jiaoze aside and said coldly, "Lock her up first."
Jiao Nian'en remained silent, letting the guards drag her away.
Jiaoze seemed to suddenly come to his senses, and knelt before Jiaoming: "Mother, please, please spare her life..."
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