Shen Ruyu suppressed her excitement.
Everyone's eyes were fixed intently on Cao Anmin.
Cao Anmin calmly replied, "Your Majesty's grace is deeply appreciated by me."
Qi Lin breathed a sigh of relief and said "Good!" several times. The officials also secretly breathed a sigh of relief and happily swallowed their own pills.
Just as Cao Anmin was about to pick up the pill, a slender hand quickly took it from him. "This humble woman serves you, sir."
At this banquet, it wasn't that no one was served pills; for example, Qi Lin had a palace maid bring one to his lips.
A brief silence fell over the banquet. Xia Yixin saw Cao Anmin pause slightly and nod almost imperceptibly. Taking advantage of the moment when she picked up the pill, she secretly switched it with the one she had taken from him, concealing it with her wide sleeves.
She had a strong intuition that there was definitely something wrong with the pill.
It wasn't the first time she had given someone medicine, but for some reason, this time her ears turned slightly red.
As the night deepened, the sounds of string and wind instruments continued, and waves of dancers posed seductively.
With the blessing of this "longevity" elixir, most of the officials were already drunk. The older officials, such as Minister Lin and Minister Cao, left early. The other officials looked dizzy and abnormal. Xia Yixin had secretly replaced the elixir she had obtained earlier.
Cao Anmin also seemed a bit dizzy, but she hadn't seen him drink much, so she guessed he was faking it. She also pretended to be drunk and slumped onto the table.
Until the moon rises above the willow branches.
She then heard the young emperor mumble drunkenly, "Let's all leave."
The young emperor ordered the morning court session canceled, as he had already gone off to frolic with a beautiful woman. The drunken officials were helped out by the eunuchs who were already waiting.
Everyone had left, and she was about to end her act of pretending to be drunk when suddenly someone picked her up and carried her horizontally.
"My lord?" she exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't speak." Cao Anmin's face was still flushed and his steps were unsteady, but there was no trace of drunkenness in his voice.
Once the two boarded the carriage at the Governor's Mansion, Xia Yixin quickly rolled to the side, her face genuinely flushed.
Cao Anmin remained calm and composed. "Could you possibly see the secret behind that elixir?"
Xia Yixin breathed a slight sigh of relief. "This humble woman has done her best."
She immediately pretended to take the "elixir of immortality" from her sleeve, but actually from her storage ring. She took a little with her fingernail, smelled it, and tasted it. Immediately, she frowned. "Dahlia ointment?"
She then recalled how everyone had reacted after eating it that night, and became even more certain. In her haste, she grabbed his arm and said, "Sir, this stuff is extracted from a plant. It's highly pure and makes people feel like they're floating on clouds. But after a few hours, the pain becomes unbearable. If you stop eating it, you'll experience excruciating pain all over your body. It's something that can control people!"
Cao Anmin's expression was cold and indifferent, seemingly without the slightest surprise. "She's quite bold."
Xia Yi had a sudden inspiration and said, "My lord, more than half of the officials in the court ate this at the banquet tonight. I'm afraid the Imperial Concubine has ulterior motives, especially since His Majesty ate it. She will definitely make him susceptible to manipulation by someone with ulterior motives. Things may change tonight!"
That makes sense now.
Cao Anmin was surprisingly calm, and Xia Yixin belatedly realized that he probably already knew. Fortunately, she hadn't blurted it out earlier.
At this moment, the carriage left the palace and was traveling on a quiet official road, with dark houses on both sides, and deathly silence.
The carriage suddenly stopped.
Xia Yixin sensed the murderous intent.
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, a fierce battle erupted, and suddenly a gleaming sword pierced through the curtain, heading straight for Cao Anmin.
Xia Yi was alarmed to see Cao Anmin standing still. He was in a hurry and was about to disregard exposing his storage ring and summon Shang Xie to defend himself.
The sword shattered inch by inch, and finally seemed to be blasted away by an invisible force. With two whooshing sounds, the carriage fell silent. The cotton curtain swayed gently in the cold wind, and nine cracks had appeared on it.
Xia Yixin was shocked, but the next moment Cao Anmin pulled her into his arms and said, "Stay in here and don't go out."
Outside the carriage, swords flashed and shadows clashed, but inside it was completely quiet. However, Xia Yixin dared not relax, clutching a dagger she had taken from her storage ring, ready to strike at any moment.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, with a soft thud, an assassin tumbled down from the roof of the carriage and landed on the carriage shaft.
In the silence, footsteps approached from afar, and the corpse was disdainfully lifted. A pair of bloodstained hands lifted the ornate curtain.
Then, what came into Xia Yixin's view was a familiar face wearing a black and gold mask. There were still a few drops of blood splattered on the man's cheek, and his right hand was dripping with blood from his long sword. Yet, this person was clean, and his cold and aloof aura made people afraid to approach him.
But now, this person made Xia Yixin's tense body slowly relax.
"Sir, are you alright?"
Cao Anmin's imposing aura vanished instantly, and instead of answering, he asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
She subconsciously shook her head, but the curtain in front of her closed, and Cao Anmin's voice rang out from outside, "Take her back to the Governor's Mansion."
When the curtain was pulled back, the people who were originally dressed in the Eastern Depot's uniforms were gone. Instead, there were people dressed in black, with half their faces covered by black cloths, including Cao Anmin.
Even if Xia Yixin were stupid, she could guess that Cao Anmin was probably planning a sneak attack.
at this time.
The houses around them, even the quietest ones, couldn't possibly be like this. She figured Cao Anmin had probably already evacuated some of the people in the capital, and tonight was bound to be a fierce battle.
Seeing that they were about to leave, she suggested, "Wait, sir. Since you are trying to confuse the situation, the people lying in ambush outside the city will hardly believe you if they only see you. Why don't you take me with you?"
Cao Anmin frowned, about to refuse.
Just then, a loud bang came from the Eastern Depot behind them, followed by a towering flame. At the same time, a loud bang also came from all the city gates of the capital, as if a punishment had been imposed from the heavens.
A strong smell of gunpowder wafted on the wind, startling Xia Yixin. How could there be gunpowder in this era?
This is something that transcends this era!
It's not safe to go back to the governor's mansion now, since it's just a wall away. Cao Anmin walked over in a few steps, picked her up, and put her on the horse's back, instructing her, "You're not allowed to make a sound later, just pretend to faint."
He also casually wiped two handfuls of blood on her face.
The direction of the Eastern Depot was ablaze with crimson flames!
This firelight is also a signal.
But the Allied forces did not act rashly; they were still waiting for the assassin to deliver the message.
Finally, the city gate was opened, and more than a dozen riders in black galloped out.
The feudal lords were all sweating bullets, not wanting to see their men chasing after Cao Anmin.
"Report! The traitor Cao has been eliminated!" The leader of the men in black shouted, holding up a fresh head with disheveled hair.
The feudal lords could not believe it.
Is it really that simple?
Shen Shaoyang then saw that the person behind the leader was holding an unconscious woman in his arms.
Although they were far apart, he recognized her at a glance – it was Xia Yixin!
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