Chapter 59 Weapons Commonly Used by Assassins
The old shopkeeper's expression changed: "What does the Second Miss mean?"
"Did my mother hide something here back then?" Ye Wanning asked, unwilling to give up.
The old shopkeeper hesitated for a moment: "The madam did hide the item under the Buddha statue in Ci'an Hall back then, saying it would protect the second young lady. However, she said it shouldn't be taken out unless absolutely necessary."
Ye Wanning's heart seemed to be pounding at over eighty beats per minute: "Under which Buddha statue?"
"It's the Guanyin statue in the backyard," the old shopkeeper said.
Ye Wanning hurried to the backyard. The Guanyin statue in the backyard was sculpted by her mother years ago and was as tall as a person. Ye Wanning circled the statue and found a small hidden compartment behind the base. She opened the compartment, and inside was a brocade box.
The brocade box was opened, but inside was not a treasure map, but a letter and half a tiger tally.
This was a letter her mother had written to her, saying that she had always known about her origins and the late emperor's treasure. However, that treasure was used by the late emperor to appease the vassal kings of the Western Regions; it wasn't gold or silver, but rather symbolic tokens. She mentioned the treasure to protect Ye Wanning, preventing those who coveted it from harming her easily. The half-ticket of tiger tally could be pieced together with the one Ye Wanning possessed. Her mother said that this was the true tiger tally capable of mobilizing the vassal kings of the Western Regions; the rubbing of the military tally was merely a deception.
Looking at the complete military tally, Ye Wanning felt not only shock but also deep emotion. Her mother had truly gone to great lengths for her.
Just then, Ye Wanning heard a commotion outside. She went to the door and saw a group of soldiers rushing in, led by the emperor's eunuch.
"Miss Ye, the Emperor has decreed that you come to the palace," the eunuch said.
Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat. Why was the Emperor sending someone to fetch her at this time?
Unbeknownst to her, before she went to the palace, the old shopkeeper quietly went into the backyard, bowed before the Guanyin statue, and muttered to himself, "Madam, I have done what you asked me to do..."
After saying that, he took out a small whistle from his pocket and blew it. In the distance, a dark figure instantly disappeared at the alley entrance.
Ye Wanning's hand had just touched the assembled tiger tally, the cool metallic texture not yet warmed up, when a series of "thump-thump-thump" footsteps sounded outside the courtyard—not the soft-soled shoes of ordinary people, but the thick-soled boots worn by officers and soldiers.
"Imperial edict! Miss Ye, receive the decree!" A shrill voice rang out in Ci'an Hall. A stranger walked in proudly, claiming to be a eunuch, but instead of a bright yellow imperial edict, he carried a dark, murky package.
Chun Tao leaned close to Ye Wanning and said anxiously in a low voice, "Miss, something bad has happened! The imperial edicts are always delivered by Eunuch Wang or Eunuch Li. This person is an outsider, and... look at his waist!" Ye Wanning followed Chun Tao's gaze and saw half a black iron dagger protruding from under the eunuch's wide robe—the scabbard was engraved with Tantric symbols, snake-shaped, short, and a weapon commonly used by assassins.
"You've come a long way, sir. But my attire is rather frivolous and lacks manners. Please allow me to change." She smiled and ushered the eunuch into the inner room, then quickly gave Black Wind a wink—a coded signal from the Shadow Pavilion, meaning "There's an ambush, prepare to act."
When she came out dressed in a neat blue cotton dress, the eunuch impatiently stomped his foot and shouted, "What are you dawdling for, Miss Ye? The Emperor is still waiting for you in the palace!" As soon as she stepped out of the Cining Hall, five men in black suddenly jumped out of the alley. Two fierce eyes were revealed under the black veils covering their faces, and they rushed straight towards Ye Wanning!
Seeing this, the eunuch suddenly drew his dagger and surrounded the man in black, the tip of the dagger pointed at his heart: "Take down this girl, and the tiger tally will be ours!"
"It was fake after all!" Ye Wanning was already prepared. She reached into her sleeve with her left hand, and three silver needles shot out, striking the leader of the black-clad men in the knees. The man collapsed to his knees with a thud. Before he could even scream, Pei Zhi led the Shadow Pavilion members from one end of the alley—the cold glint of drawn swords and knives instantly surrounded the assassins: "You've injured Miss Ye! You're all tired of living!"
The fake eunuch, sensing the danger, turned and tried to climb the wall to jump over. Pei Zhi's sword flashed, severing the eunuch's Achilles tendon in one stroke. The eunuch screamed and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Pei Zhi pressed his foot against the eunuch's back, his sword pressed against his throat: "Speak! Who sent you? If you don't confess, I'll cut out your tongue right now!"
The eunuch trembled with pain but managed to confess: "It was...it was Zhou Song, the Minister of Revenue! He said...if we kill Miss Ye and retrieve the tiger tally, he'll give us one hundred taels of gold..."
Ye Wanning clenched her fists. The Minister of Revenue was a childhood relative by marriage to Duke Li. When Duke Li was overthrown, he had pleaded for the Li family in court, so it seemed that he had long been colluding with the remnants of the Li family.
Black Wind kicked the man in black on the ground and said in a deep voice, "Miss, these people are all assassins from the Secret Sect. We can't get anything useful out of them. Should we..."
"Keep him alive," Ye Wanning interrupted him. "Take him back and interrogate him properly. Perhaps we can find evidence of Zhou Song's collusion with the Tantric sect."
Pei Zhi nodded, signaling the Shadow Pavilion members to tie up the assassin. He walked to Ye Wanning's side and gently patted the dust off her skirt: "Weren't you scared?"
“With you here, I’m not afraid.” Ye Wanning looked at him, her eyes still showing a hint of fierceness. “I just didn’t expect that the remnants of the Li family still had so many tricks up their sleeves. We need to hurry into the palace and see what Zhou Song said to the Emperor.”
After dealing with the fake eunuch, Ye Wanning insisted on going to the palace—she wanted to see what tricks Zhou Song had up his sleeve in front of the Emperor. Pei Zhi was worried and insisted on going with her, but as soon as they arrived at the palace gate, they were stopped by the guards: "The Emperor said that only Miss Ye is to be summoned inside."
"Wan Ning, be careful." Pei Zhi pulled her along, his warm fingertips providing strength. "If anything happens, just blow this." He handed her the silver whistle in his hand. "This is the Shadow Pavilion's signal whistle. Three short whistles and I will immediately take action."
Taking the silver whistle, Ye Wanning walked into the palace gates alone. The atmosphere inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation was heavy. The Emperor sat on his dragon throne, his face so cold it seemed to drip water. Zhou Song, the Minister of Revenue, stood beside him, smiling smugly. Seeing her enter, he raised an eyebrow and provocatively asked, "Second Miss Ye, do you know your crime?"
"Your Majesty, I am unaware of what crime I have committed. Please enlighten me."
Zhou Song immediately stepped forward and handed over a folded piece of paper. "Your Majesty, this is a secret letter that was seized from the Xishan branch of the Secret Sect. It clearly states that Ye Wanning colluded with the Secret Sect to overthrow the Great Qi Dynasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com