Chapter 38 Street Assassination and Arrows Made of Tofu
In the deep alleys of the West Market, a murderous aura instantly erupted.
The dozen or so men in black were clearly well-trained assassins; without any preamble, they launched their killing blows right from the start. They worked together seamlessly, with a clear division of labor—seven or eight men held off Shen Jin, while the rest pounced on Jiang Mianmian and Shen Xingchen, who were being protected behind them, like hungry wolves.
"court death!"
The soft sword in Shen Jin's hand was like a silver snake spitting its tongue; wherever the sword light passed, blood splattered.
However, he was only one person and could not stray too far from Jiang Mianmian and the others, which greatly restricted his movements.
"Mother! I'm scared!"
Shen Xingchen gripped Jiang Mianmian's clothes tightly, her face deathly pale. The excitement she had felt moments before, mocking the bully's fall, had vanished completely; after all, this was real violence, and people could die.
"Don't be afraid."
Jiang Mianmian shielded him behind her, reaching into her sleeve with one hand and pulling out a pepper spray.
What are you afraid of? Your royal uncle is here. Even if your royal uncle can't hold on, you still have your auntie.
[Hmph, daring to provoke me on my turf? Don't they even know who's in charge here?]
Just then, a man in black broke through Shen Jin's defenses and slashed at Jiang Mianmian with a steel knife.
"Watch out!" Shen Jin was caught in the crossfire by the two men and couldn't defend himself in time, so he could only let out a roar.
Jiang Mianmian's eyes turned cold.
【You're asking for it, aren't you?】
She was about to take out pepper spray to give this man a "spicy eye combo" when the man in black suddenly changed his move. He turned his blade and instead of slashing at her, he stabbed straight at Shen Xingchen behind her!
The target is the emperor!
This move was too insidious; Shen Xingchen had no time to dodge, and the gleaming blade was about to pierce his throat.
"Ah—!" Shen Xingchen closed her eyes in fright.
At the critical moment.
"Smack!"
A crisp sound, similar to swatting a mosquito, rang out.
The expected pain did not come.
Shen Xingchen opened his eyes tremblingly, and then he saw a scene he would never forget—
His usually gentle and frail aunt, who couldn't even open a bottle cap, was now stretching out a fair and slender hand and grabbing the sharp steel knife with her bare hands—yes, directly with her bare palm!
She gripped the blade tightly in her hand, motionless, only 0.01 centimeters away from Shen Xingchen's throat.
Man in black: ? ? ?
He tried to pull the knife out forcefully. It didn't budge.
He poked it again with force. Still, it didn't budge.
It's as if this knife was welded into Jiang Mianmian's hand!
"You want to mess with him?"
Jiang Mianmian slowly raised her head, her usually smiling eyes now flashing with a chilling light. "Did you get my permission?"
[Dare to touch my long-term meal ticket? Dare to touch my godson? You're asking for it!]
She applied slight pressure with her palm.
"Crack—"
That finely crafted steel knife, forged through countless refinements, was actually crushed by her like a biscuit right before everyone's eyes!
It's broken!
The man in black stared at the remaining half of the knife handle in his hand, utterly devastated.
Who am I? Where am I? Is this knife made of paper?
Before he could react, Jiang Mianmian raised her foot and kicked him precisely in the stomach.
"Get out of here!"
The man in black flew backward like a cannonball, slamming hard against the wall, and couldn't be pried off.
The entire room fell silent.
Even Shen Jin and the assassins, who were fighting, subconsciously paused for a moment.
Everyone stared at the woman who still held two shards of a razor blade in her hand, her face completely calm, and felt their worldview shattered.
Breaking a large sword with bare hands?
Was that a kick that sent the burly man flying?
Is this the Regent's wife?! She's clearly a female demon!
Shen Xingchen's mouth dropped open, her jaw almost falling to the ground: "Your...Your Majesty's Aunt...you..."
Jiang Mianmian only realized she had "godlike" again after kicking the ball.
Oops! Oh no! I used too much force!
[Oh no, oh no, this is really hard to explain! Even the miracle cure isn't working! This is a steel knife!]
[Whatever! As long as I'm thick-skinned, there's no hurdle I can't overcome!]
Jiang Mianmian's eyes darted around, and she suddenly threw the razor blade in her hand to the ground. Then, clutching her chest, she once again unleashed her Oscar-worthy acting skills:
"Oh dear! How scary! This knife... why is this knife so brittle?"
She looked at Shen Jin with an innocent expression, then glanced at the people around her, her voice trembling:
"This assassin is so unprofessional! Using such a shoddy knife to assassinate His Majesty? I just lightly blocked it to protect His Majesty, and it... it shattered on its own!"
"Really! This knife must be made of tofu! Or maybe flour!"
To prove her point, she even stomped on the broken pieces on the ground, looking disgusted: "Tsk tsk tsk, the quality is terrible, bad review!"
Assassins: ...
Shen Jin: ...
A knife made of tofu? Or flour?
Can your tofu be ground to such a shine? Can your flour cut through the wooden stake next to it?
This excuse is utterly insulting to the intelligence of everyone present!
But when Shen Jin looked at her stubborn refusal to admit it and her desperate attempts to wink at him, a helpless smile appeared on his lips.
"Um."
Shen Jin finished off the remaining two assassins with a single sword strike, sheathed his sword, walked to her side, and said in perfect cooperation, "The quality is indeed too poor. It seems that a lot of the funds for these assassins... have been embezzled."
Assassin Leader: I'll be damned! That's refined steel! Refined steel!
"Okay, it's alright now."
Shen Jin didn't even glance at the corpse on the ground, and directly picked up Shen Xingchen, asking, "Were you scared?"
Shen Xingchen had by now recovered from her shock.
He looked at the broken razor blades on the ground, then at his aunt, who looked weak and said, "I was so scared."
Tofu?
He may be young, but he's not stupid!
That was clearly the Empress's extraordinary skill! She was keeping it a secret!
Shen Xingchen's eyes instantly turned into two huge red hearts.
My idol!
This is a true idol! Even more amazing than the Imperial Uncle!
"Royal Aunt!"
Shen Xingchen suddenly pounced on Jiang Mianmian and hugged her leg tightly, refusing to let go. "Auntie, you're amazing! Tofu knife! I want to learn how to use a tofu knife too! Teach me!"
[Pfft... Did this kid really believe it or just pretend?]
Jiang Mianmian awkwardly touched her nose: "Well... when you grow up and have internal energy, this knife will naturally... cough cough, turn into tofu."
"Alright."
Shen Jin interrupted the absurd lesson, "This is no place to linger. Shadow One."
"Your subordinate is here."
"Investigate. Find out who sent these assassins wielding 'tofu knives'." Chen Jin's voice was chilling. "Whoever dares to touch the Emperor and the Princess, I will make them...crush them into tofu dregs."
"yes!"
...
The three returned to the Prince's mansion. Although they had experienced an assassination attempt, the atmosphere was not as heavy as they had imagined.
The main reason was that Shen Xingchen was too excited.
He circled around Jiang Mianmian several times, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Auntie, that kick you just used was so cool! Was it the 'Shadowless Kick'?" "Auntie, are you some legendary martial arts master?" "Auntie, from now on I'll follow you! If anyone dares to bully me, just chop them down with a tofu knife!"
Unable to resist his persistent pestering, Jiang Mianmian had no choice but to resort to her trump card—
"Shut up. If you keep making noise, you won't get a family bucket of food."
Shen Xingchen immediately covered her mouth, behaving as obediently as a quail.
As Shen Jin watched this scene, he was pondering something else.
The assassins' target was clearly the emperor. And the fact that they acted at this time indicates they were desperate.
The Empress Dowager? Or... some other force?
Regardless of who it was, Jiang Mianmian's display of skill today, though she managed to fool everyone with her "tofu knife" trick, was bound to be noticed by those with ulterior motives.
It seems that some things need to be expedited.
"princess."
Shen Jin suddenly spoke, interrupting Jiang Mianmian's "parenting time," "Come here."
"What?" Jiang Mianmian looked at him warily.
Shen Jin took her hand and opened his palm.
There was no wound on the palm of her hand that had just crushed the steel knife, but there was a red mark.
"Does it hurt?" Shen Jin asked in a low voice.
Jiang Mianmian felt a warmth in her heart.
So he saw it.
[I did use a little force just now to show off. But more than the pain, I'm afraid you'll ask me how I managed to crush the knife.]
"It doesn't hurt," Jiang Mianmian shook her head, "It's just... my hand is a little sore."
"acid?"
Shen Jin raised an eyebrow, suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear:
"Since your hands are sore, how about tonight... I'll give you a 'massage'?"
Jiang Mianmian blushed.
[A massage? The proper kind?]
Seeing her shy expression, Shen Jin smiled.
"Of course it's... serious."
As for how to do it properly, that's a matter for behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, deep within the palace...
Upon hearing the spies' report, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she smashed her most beloved jade ruyi.
"Failed? Failed again?"
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
"And... what tofu knife? What kick that means? Is Jiang Mianmian a monster?"
The Empress Dowager slumped into her chair, a flicker of fear in her eyes.
This regent's wife is absolutely bizarre!
It seems that ordinary assassination won't work.
"Someone come here," the Empress Dowager said in a sinister tone, "Go and invite... the Imperial Preceptor to come out of seclusion."
"I refuse to believe that I can't subdue this person or this demon!"
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