Chapter 335 Assassin
As they were talking and laughing, a burst of crisp and cheerful footsteps and excited shouts came from outside the hall:
"Mother! Mother! Let's play hide-and-seek."
I saw Xiaoxiao flying in like a happy little bird, with a blush of excitement on its little face.
Xiongxiong followed closely behind, his face flushed from running, his eyes bright and full of anticipation.
Wen Li'er laughed. The two children had been obsessed with hide-and-seek these days. If Prince Liang and Prince Lang were too busy to play with them, they would definitely come and pester her.
"Okay, okay." Wen Li'er sat up with a smile, looking at the two children lovingly.
"I'm going to hide now, so don't peek."
Xiaoxiao patted his chest to assure her, and Xiongxiong shook his head vigorously: "No! We absolutely won't watch it!"
"You are not allowed to look either!" Xiao Xiao acted like a young master, pointing at the palace servants standing in the hall and saying, "Get out! Stay away!"
The palace maids suppressed their laughter, answered "yes" in unison, and retreated respectfully.
Qingmei and Qingzhu stood beside Wen Li'er's couch, looking at their master hesitantly.
Seeing this, Xiaoxiao and Xiongxiong ran forward, each one holding one of them, and pretended to pull them.
"Aunt Qingmei, Aunt Qingzhu, please go quickly!"
The two adults were not pulled by the two children. They just saw Wen Li'er waving at them with a smile. Then Qingmei and Qingzhu followed the force of the two children and left the bedroom with a smile.
Wen Li'er instructed again, "Huazhan, Qiuying, follow and watch carefully, don't let them bump into anything."
Huazhan and Qiuying responded and followed the two young masters out.
In a blink of an eye, Wen Li'er was the only one left in the huge bedroom.
She listened carefully to the noise outside the palace. Xiao Xiao was solemnly directing the palace servants: "Go further away! Don't look back to see where your mother is hiding!"
Then, the sound of people's footsteps moving away was heard.
Wen Li'er couldn't help laughing, her eyes wandering around the spacious and bright bedroom.
The children were all very clever. They had searched many times in ordinary carved cabinets, behind screens, under beds, and even inside thick curtains.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on the golden...big tortoise in the corner of the hall.
A thought flashed through her mind, and a sly smile appeared in Wen Li'er's eyes.
If I hide inside, those two little guys will never find me!
She walked over quickly, opened the lid on the turtle's back with swift movements, and moved out all the brocade boxes that were originally stored inside.
Then, a soft, thin silk quilt was stuffed in as a cushion.
She then lifted her skirt, carefully crawled in, and gently closed the turtle's back lid.
The inner wall of the golden beetle is icy, with a unique coolness of metal, which seems particularly comfortable on this hot afternoon.
Light penetrated through the vents on the turtle's body and fell on Wen Li'er's dress and face.
She adjusted her position to make herself more comfortable lying on her side, a playful smile on her lips.
Wen Li'er held her breath and listened attentively to the noise outside.
From far outside the hall, Xiaoxiao's clear and loud questioning voice was heard.
"Are you hidden? Here we come!"
Let’s talk, the two little guys couldn’t wait to run into the bedroom.
"Mother? Mother, where are you?" Xiaoxiao's voice came from far away.
"Cabinet?" Xiongxiong muttered in a baby voice.
Wen Li'er only heard the sounds of rummaging through drawers and rustling outside.
Pulling out from under the bed? No!
In the rosewood cabinet? No!
Behind the large Huanghuali wood screen? No!
They even looked through the gaps between the antique display cases against the wall.
"Huh? Mother is so powerful! Where is she hiding?" Xiaoxiao supported his chin and thought.
"Could it be that he hid outside?" Xiongxiong also seemed to be thinking about it.
The footsteps of the two children circled the hall a few times, seemingly without any clue, and then they were heard running away, probably to search in the side hall or other places.
Qingmei and Qingzhu came in to clean up the things that the children had turned over, and at a glance they saw a small mountain of brocade boxes piled on the table, which were obviously moved out of the golden turtle.
The two looked at each other and immediately understood what was going on. They couldn't help laughing and walked to the golden turtle.
Qingzhu gently lifted a corner of the turtle's shell and saw her master winking at them playfully.
Wen Li'er quickly raised a finger to her lips, made a gesture of silence, pointed in the direction of the side hall, and whispered, "Go and see if Tiantian and Miaomiao are awake? Don't reveal my position!"
Qingzhu felt helpless and amused, so he could only nod, close the turtle shell again, and pull Qingmei, whose shoulders were shaking from trying to hold back her laughter, out.
Silence returned to the hall.
Wen Li'er was just about to enjoy this rare "hiding" time for a while longer.
Suddenly, a deliberately quiet but clearly adult male footsteps came closer and closer, and a palace maid could be heard respectfully calling out "Eunuch Wan'an" from a distance outside the hall.
Huh? Wan'an? Didn't you say you'd be back tomorrow? Why are you back early? Wen Li'er was a little surprised.
Then, she clearly heard a familiar, deliberately lowered voice outside the hall.
"We have an important matter that needs to be reported to Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine immediately. You can go about your business."
Several palace maids responded, their tone showing some respect for Wan'an.
Then, I heard footsteps getting closer and closer.
Wen Li'er was happy, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to scare Wan'an.
She quietly stretched out her hand, ready to wait for Wan'an to walk to the door, then push open the turtle shell and give him a scare.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the cold inner wall of the golden beetle, an inexplicable chill suddenly shot up her spine.
Wan'an walked straight into her bedroom without greeting or informing anyone.
That's not right.
The footsteps lingered in the empty hall, carrying a furtive, tentative, and purposeful search tone.
Wen Lier's movement of pushing the glans froze instantly.
Who? This person is not Wan An!
The eunuchs would never dare to enter her bedroom without permission.
If it was really Wan'an who came to express his gratitude, he would never have stayed for so long when he saw that she was not in the palace, let alone spying and searching like this.
Wen Li'er's heart sank suddenly, and cold sweat instantly soaked her thin summer shirt.
It's an assassin! This thought exploded in her mind.
But why did the palace maids call him 'Eunuch Wan'an'?
She bit her lower lip, not daring to make even the slightest sound.
Wen Li'er's body was pressed tightly against the cold inner wall of the golden beetle, and she prayed in her heart that Xiaoxiao and Xiongxiong would not come back at this time.
Fortunately, Huazhan and Qiuying were with her...she felt a little more at ease.
"Damn it!" A low curse filled with suppressed rage suddenly rang out, with a thick, stiff and difficult foreign accent.
"Didn't you say you were taking a nap with the child? Where is he?!"
Before he finished speaking, there were a few "clang" sounds, and the brocade boxes that Wen Li'er had piled on the table were accidentally knocked to the ground.
The strange noise was like a huge rock dropped into a calm lake.
The secret guards outside the palace were instantly alert.
"No, it's a trap!" The leader Zuo Qing shouted softly, and his figure rushed into the hall like a ghost.
At the same time, more than ten nimble black-clad secret guards quietly slipped in from various corners and instantly surrounded 'Wan'an' who was standing in the middle of a pile of brocade boxes.
Wan'an obviously didn't expect so many men in black to suddenly appear. His body paused, and a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
Then, he forced himself to remain calm, his face quickly filled with shock, anger, and questioning. He shouted sternly, "Who are you?! How dare you trespass into the Imperial Concubine's bedroom! Are you trying to kill yourself?!"
This person not only looks exactly like Wan'an, but also has the same voice.
In the encirclement, Zuo Qing's sharp eyes locked onto the man in front of him, his brow furrowed as he ordered in a cold voice, "Capture him! This man is definitely not Wan'an!"
"Yes!" The surrounding secret guards responded in unison and attacked the man in an instant.
Wen Li'er hid in the golden tortoise and heard the sudden shouts of fighting outside. She knew that the people coming behind her were protecting her, and she felt a little relieved, but still did not dare to move.
She protected her lower abdomen tightly, as any accident could harm the fetus in her belly, so she absolutely could not go out and take risks.
The secret guards are all elite, working in perfect harmony and their moves are fierce.
The man's skills were also very extraordinary, and he was caught in a dilemma and in danger under the siege.
During the fierce fight, there was a "swish" sound, and one of the man's arms flew out.
“Pah…”
It hit the golden beetle where Wen Li'er was hiding, and quickly rolled to the cold ground, leaving a glaring scarlet mark.
The newcomer could no longer disguise himself and uttered a harsh, foreign accent: "Fuck it!"
He knew that he had no chance of winning, so he suddenly pushed away a secret guard beside him and rushed towards the nearest carved window frame like lightning, trying to break through the window and escape!
However, just as he broke through the window frame and jumped out, several cold rays of light covered his head.
But within a few breaths, the man was pinned to the ground by the secret guards outside and tied up tightly with a rope soaked in cow tendon.
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