Chapter 405 Night Assassination
For a moment, Mei Qingyun was at a loss for how to react. At the same time, she didn't know how Gu Jingxi knew that there was a secret room in the study. It couldn't be because she and Meng Jinyao had mentioned the study many times that day, and the topic of conversation was all about the study, could it?
If that's the case, then Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao were just putting on an act from the beginning. Gu Jingxi's sudden illness was probably not real; it was just an excuse to delay things and stay a few more days. Now that they have the evidence, they'll return to Beijing immediately.
She was still completely baffled and couldn't understand what went wrong. Even though she had repeatedly mentioned the study to alert Meng Jinyao, the key had always been on Wei Heng. How did Gu Jingxi discover and open the secret room? She had never mentioned anything about the key.
Just now, she was unusually calm, thinking that it was good to have Wei Heng as a scapegoat. Anyway, she was tired and weary and didn't want to live like this anymore, so they might as well suffer together. But now that she had truly calmed down, she felt a little uneasy.
Corrupt officials were punished according to the severity of their crimes. They were either executed along with their entire family, or only the official was executed. They were also exiled to cold or malaria-ridden places. The family members of corrupt officials were either beheaded and displayed to the public, or exiled, or sent to the brothel, or even forced into prostitution. If they were men, they were basically either sent to the army or exiled.
Neither exile nor being sent to the Jiaofangsi (a type of brothel) was what she wanted. Exile would not kill her, but she would have to endure unimaginable suffering. Being sent to the Jiaofangsi was no different from being a prostitute. Her best chance would be to be taken as a concubine by some high-ranking official, but even that would be a great humiliation for her.
Back then, she was the most beautiful woman in the capital, exceptionally talented, and many sons of officials sought her hand in marriage. If she were to be banished to the brothel, the women who once admired her would surely ridicule and mock her. And the men who once yearned for her would come to the brothel to find her, for whom she would have to grovel and serve them. She couldn't bear to imagine such a life; she would rather die.
About half an hour later, Lord Wei returned and saw her sitting quietly with her brows furrowed and her thoughts elsewhere. She didn't even notice him coming in.
Lord Wei sneered, "Madam, isn't it a bit too late for you to regret it now? If you knew this would happen, why did you betray him in the first place?"
Mei Qingyun looked up at him slightly and replied, "It wasn't me. I didn't inform on anyone, and I never touched the key. As for why your account books and letters disappeared, I don't know either."
Lord Wei looked at her, his tone surprisingly calm: "Whether it is or not is no longer important. Don't you hate me so much that you want to suffer with me? Then let's suffer together."
However, Mei Qingyun became anxious upon hearing this, frowning as she asked, "Wei Heng, are you just going to sit here and wait to die?"
"What else can we do?" Lord Wei replied nonchalantly, his expression calm, as if he were not the person who had been filled with resentment, rage, and despair half an hour earlier.
Mei Qingyun stared at him in disbelief, then asked after a long pause, "Do you already have some plans?"
"What plans could I possibly have? How could I possibly outmaneuver your beloved?" Lord Wei calmly shifted his gaze, then said in a low voice, "It's getting late, Madam. Let's bathe and retire for the night."
After he finished speaking, he grabbed Mei Qingyun without saying a word and dragged her to the bathroom to bathe together. After the bath, he did another round of fussing, not allowing her to refuse.
After it was over, Mei Qingyun turned her head to look at him and found that she couldn't quite understand him at this moment. Had he really resigned himself to his fate?
The calmer and quieter he was, the more panicked Mei Qingyun became. She didn't want to be exiled and live a life of hardship, nor did she want to be sent to the brothel to serve people in a lowly manner like a prostitute.
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Meanwhile, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao's group traveled north by boat. The weather was clear and there were no waves on the canal. After three days of sailing, the food on board was used up. When they arrived at the next dock, they stopped the boat to replenish their food for the next few days.
Spending the whole day on the boat is tiring, and the boatmen are a husband and wife with a helper. They don't continue sailing at night, so it's better to go ashore to rest than stay on the boat.
Gu Jingxi and his group decided to go ashore and find an inn to rest for the night before continuing their journey the next morning. The boatman, not wanting to waste money on an inn, decided to spend the night on the boat.
Gu Jingxi requested several superior rooms, and the master and servants all lived on the same floor so that they could look after each other if anything happened.
After a quick wash, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao undressed and were just about to go to bed when they heard the sounds of fighting coming from next door.
Meng Jinyao's heart skipped a beat: "Husband, why is there such a commotion outside all of a sudden?"
"Ah Yao, we're in trouble tonight. Get dressed first."
Gu Jingxi looked solemn and quickly took the clothes and draped them over Meng Jinyao. He then put on his own outer robe. Just as he tied the belt, men in black broke down the door and entered.
The couple looked in the direction of the sound and saw a masked man dressed in black barge in.
Upon seeing Gu Jingxi and identifying his target, the man in black swiftly thrust his gleaming sword at him.
The incident happened so suddenly that Meng Jinyao was terrified and turned pale. Before she could react, Gu Jingxi pulled her aside and they successfully avoided the sword.
Seeing that he had failed, the man in black quickly attacked again. Gu Jingxi stepped forward to fight him and said to Meng Jinyao, "Ayao, don't move."
Meng Jinyao nodded hurriedly, hiding in a corner to watch the two fight. She saw that the assassin was as fast as a ghost, his hands flashing with cold light, and every move was dangerous and intended to kill. Her husband was also skilled, his movements were as fast as lightning, and he countered every move. Even though he had no weapon, he did not let the assassin gain the upper hand.
Even though the assassins hadn't gained the upper hand, she was still terrified. She had never seen anything like this before. To encounter villains while staying at an inn meant that it was either robbery or death. It looked like it was death. She thought of Lord Wei. She guessed that Lord Wei had discovered the account book was missing, connected it to them, and then sent people to silence them.
A short while later, four more skilled men in black entered the room.
Gu Jingxi was fighting four opponents alone. He had to keep an eye on his wife, who was too afraid to move in the corner, and also stop the assassin from getting closer. He was unarmed and it was very difficult for him to cope.
He could only seize the opportunity to snatch the longsword from one of them, and the situation was finally not so passive. The clash of swords echoed in the small guest room, sending chills down one's spine.
Meng Jinyao dared not move, and could only hide between the bed and the wall in a narrow space that could only accommodate one person.
Suddenly, Meng Jinyao saw an assassin's sword aimed at Gu Jingxi's back. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she hurriedly said, "Husband, watch out behind you!"
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