Chapter 1301: Your Majesty Has a Serious Illness (Part 2) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
"Hehehehe..."
As Miao Ne's strength gradually increased, the Queen of Qi's eyes became bloodshot, almost bulging out of their sockets. She desperately let out meaningless hoarse sounds, her struggles growing weaker and weaker. She couldn't understand, she couldn't understand at all why "You Bao" would betray her.
Everything "You Bao" possessed was built upon the foundation of the queen! Once she lost the queen's trust, "You Bao" was nothing. Why betray her? Why was she the one who betrayed her?! The force in her throat was so intense that the queen felt as if her neck was about to snap, and her vision blurred: "For..."
All she wanted to ask was, why!
Miao Ne was no saint; naturally, he wouldn't let his opponent die knowing why. Just as he was about to finish him off in one fell swoop, the string on his zither snapped. As the King of Qi was about to lose consciousness, he felt the fatal restraint around his neck loosen.
Her body rolled half a circle.
Before the joy of escaping death could even register, she saw "Youbao" above her looking impatient, his fingers clawing at the strings, drawing blood. With a decisive pull, the bone beneath his fingertip shattered. The King of Qi's head lolled to the side; he was lifeless, his eyes still wide open. Miao Ne checked his breath with her finger, confirming he was truly dead, before letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Finally dead." Miao Ne came to her senses and realized that her back was covered in cold sweat, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her hands were so tense that they had no strength. The person in front of her was, after all, the ruler of a country. She had called him "Lord" for several years, so he was her legitimate lord. To assassinate him single-handedly, it would be a lie to say that she wasn't nervous.
Miao Ne had no time for sentimentality.
Having regained some strength, she rose and properly positioned the body of the King of Qi in a sleeping position, lowered the tent hooks, and then used the little tricks of verbal magic she had learned while traveling the world to fake the breathing of a living person. The guards who had been diverted returned quickly, and the breathing sounds could deceive them for a while.
Having erased the traces of the king's struggles and commotion before his death, her mission was accomplished. Miao Ne took a deep breath, calming her wildly beating heart, and left with a composed expression. Back at her residence, she pondered her next move—should she leave before anyone discovered the king's passing, or continue her covert disguise? Both paths carried risks.
Continue to lie low and disguise?
No one knows how many magical words still exist in this world, and whether these words can trace back the scenes before death from the corpse.
Should we leave now?
All the passes in this area are under martial law, and no one is allowed to enter or leave.
Rushing into a challenge is tantamount to admitting guilt.
Even if you hide inside the pass, you're likely to be caught in a trap.
Miao Ne wasn't afraid of death; she had encountered far more dangers in her past adventures. But if she could live, no one wanted to die. She stroked her teacup, wondering whether she should use Cui Xiong. As the current head of the Cui family, the chances of successfully using him as a hostage or tricking him into handing her over were quite high. Miao Ne took a sip of her cold tea and made her decision.
Footsteps of servants came from outside the door: "Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
The servant said, "Young Master Cui has come to pay his respects."
Miao Ne raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this too much of a coincidence?
Just as he was about to deceive Cui Xiong, Cui Xiong arrived?
It's like a pillow appearing when you're about to doze off.
"Don't be negligent, please invite them in."
Cui Xiong was still dressed in his daytime attire, looking preoccupied. Miao Ne rose to greet him. Hearing her footsteps, Cui Xiong snapped out of his reverie, naturally and familiarly taking her cold hand, and frowned, saying, "Why aren't you having lamps lit at this hour?"
"After all, it's not something we're used to using, so it's normal to neglect it occasionally."
Cui Xiong said, "You've been too lenient with them."
"Now that I'm living under someone else's roof, how can I be picky?" I can't completely trust the military commanders in this area. I've been defeated and fled to their territory, so I still have to keep a low profile.
Cui Xiong took out a tinderbox and lit the oil lamp.
The candlelight illuminated his handsome, angular face.
Miao Ne had to admit that the Cui family's children were quite capable, managing to inherit the best features of their parents. Cui Xiong's appearance alone would rank in the top ten among the people she had ever met. If personality was taken into account, he would be number one; the others were far too cunning.
Cui Xiong, unaware of her thoughts, said, "You don't need to feel so wronged."
"Are you implying that I'm using your position to intimidate others?"
“Why not? We can’t neglect anyone, not even the future matriarch of the Cui family. Neglecting you is neglecting me, and neglecting me is going against the Cui family.” Cui Xiong’s words made Miao Ne wary.
She probed, "Did someone give you a hard time?"
Otherwise, how could Cui Xiong have "changed his personality so drastically"?
He is usually humble and gentle, and would never say such things.
Cui Xiong put away the tinderbox, lifted his robe, and elegantly sat down opposite Miao Ne. He didn't speak, but stared at Miao Ne with deep, unfathomable eyes, making Miao Ne feel a chill run down her spine. She couldn't help but use her long sleeves to conceal herself, and touched the dagger on her wrist: "You—"
"Hou Bai".
"Um?"
“Call me Hou Bai. I rarely hear Bao Jun call me that.” Cui Xiong blinked, his deep, enigmatic gaze vanishing completely, replaced by the gentle warmth Miao Ne was familiar with. “Or perhaps call me Brother Bai?”
Both forms of address seem too intimate.
Miao Ne didn't choose any of them.
She wondered what kind of lewd act Cui Xiong was up to late at night. Even if they were engaged for many years, it was still somewhat impolite for someone to suddenly address him as "Brother Bai." If Cui Xiong hadn't been breathing normally, she would have suspected he was an imposter.
Cui Xiong is definitely keeping things from him.
"What brings you here today?"
Cui Xiong's rhetorical question forced Miao Ne to flip the table first: "Does Bao Jun know that there are Cui family confidants among the royal guards?"
The table rolled several times.
Cui Xiong had a dagger pressed against his neck.
Miao Ne asked, "You know?"
Cui Xiong froze, seemingly not expecting Miao Ne's reaction to be so swift, decisive, and ruthless. Had Miao Ne already assumed he was an enemy without even knowing his purpose? He composed himself: "The change of guards is different from usual; there's a half-quarter of an hour of vacancy… You wouldn't normally cause such a blunder… I just didn't expect that Bao Jun would actually commit regicide. Why did you do that?"
He asked the question that the king hadn't had a chance to ask.
Miao Ne said, "Guess?"
Cui Xiong's tense muscles gradually relaxed, and his brows unfurrowed—before seeing Miao Ne, he thought that the enemy had secretly replaced You Bao, but now he could confirm that this was her true self.
Cui Xiong whispered, "You underestimate the holder of the national seal. Without special means, a ruler who is a scholar is far less capable of protecting himself than a ruler who is a warrior... He would have been assassinated many times over."
His words made Miao Ne's pupils tremble.
She snarled, "She's not dead?"
The dagger in his hand grazed Cui Xiong's skin, leaving a bloodstain.
Ignoring the dagger, Cui Xiong gently patted Miao Ne's tense back with his other hand, which wasn't being held down by her knee, and whispered to comfort her, "Don't worry, she's dead, but her fake death has become real."
In a single sentence, a wealth of information is conveyed.
Miao Ne asked, "Did you kill him?"
He was pondering whether or not to turn the tables on them.
Cui Xiong was completely unaware: "No, it's because the injuries you left behind were too severe. She woke up midway, but no one called a doctor for her."
The guards, being deaf, didn't hear the strange noises inside the house, nor did they go to investigate—considering there were no physicians nearby, even if the guards broke in and discovered it, the king's chances of survival were slim, but You Bao's regicide would definitely be exposed, at which point he would have no chance of escaping.
It was You Bao who killed him.
I am at most an accomplice who failed to save someone in distress.
Miao Ne's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, but there was still an even more troublesome question before her: "Cui Houbai, what is your purpose?"
Knowing she murdered her master, they still helped her cover it up?
Cui Xiong said in a low voice, "This is the question I should be asking."
Why did she commit regicide?
Such a big thing can't be decided on a whim.
Miao Ne wanted to laugh when she heard this: "What's so difficult about this question? People strive for higher positions, water flows downhill. Her power is gone, and I don't want to continue playing the subservient role. Should I hang myself on one tree if I don't seek a new future? I can kill her if I want. Is that answer satisfactory?"
Cui Xiong was not satisfied at all.
"You're not telling the truth."
"If I tell you the truth, you won't survive!"
This is an indirect admission that the previous paragraph was just a perfunctory response.
Cui Xiong said, "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"What?"
"Didn't you ask me what my purpose is? I don't want anything to happen to you! Between the king and you, naturally... you are more important."
Miao Ne's hand holding the dagger trembled slightly.
It wasn't because I was moved, but because I was shocked.
Shocked that Cui Xiong, this law-abiding and honest man, could also have such a mad side. To dare to drag the king to his death and cover up the murderer's crime just because he "didn't want anything to happen to you"? Was there anything wrong with the Cui family's upbringing? Miao Ne felt like she was meeting Cui Houbai for the first time.
"Do you think..." she swallowed hard, "that I would believe that?"
I can't believe it at all.
She was more hoping that Cui Xiong would say something like, "The Qi state is doomed, and I want to make plans as soon as possible to benefit the Cui family."
Cui Xiong asked, "Why don't you believe me?"
Miao Ne: "..."
Why should she believe it? If Cui Xiong were a normal person, how could he believe someone who was hypocritical from beginning to end?
Miao Ne looked at the boy beneath her, whose eyes were full of sincerity.
“Cui Houbai”.
"Baojun?"
"I'll use you as a hostage!"
Miao Ne's attack was swift and decisive, delivering a heavy blow to Cui Xiong's neck. If Cui Xiong was lying, this would expose his lie; if he wasn't lying, he could be taken hostage to clear his name, and Miao Ne could escape smoothly—a win-win situation…
It was indeed easy to use Cui Xiong to open up the pass.
The garrison commander already owed the Cui family a debt of gratitude, so he naturally wouldn't allow the young master of the Cui family to be harmed by villains before his eyes. He opened the gate and let Miao Ne leave. Cui Xiong was thrown onto the horse, and he still couldn't help but persuade Miao Ne: "Bao Jun, you don't have to do this."
Cui Xiong said, "Actually, changing the ruler right now would be more beneficial than harmful to the Cui family. We share the same stance..."
It wasn't entirely for his fiancée; it was half and half.
"Shut up!"
"oh."
The hostages cooperated well, and Miao Ne escaped unharmed.
After running for fifty or sixty miles, they finally saw a river. Miao Ne left Cui Xiong behind, saying, "You stay here. Someone will come looking for you."
"Baojun!"
"I'm not!"
Even though he was mentally prepared, when he actually heard the truth, Cui Xiong's breathing became heavy for a moment. His heart felt like it was being squeezed, making it hard for him to breathe. It was all a lie?
Miao Ne used a hand seal to set up a spell to imprison her.
"I will untie it once I am safe."
Having said that, he used the Word of Power [Crossing the River on a Reed], and his figure disappeared into the vast river at an extremely fast speed. Cui Xiong stepped forward but was blocked by the Word of Power beneath his feet, his lips parched and his throat dry, yet he was helpless. In less than a quarter of an hour, Cui's guards arrived with the garrison commander's trusted confidants.
Cui Xiong was relieved: "I'm fine."
"But your neck is still bleeding..."
"It's alright." Cui Xiong bandaged his wound with a handkerchief, a gift from Bao Jun that he always carried with him. "The villain has already been taken away; we can't catch up now. Don't linger here; hurry back and investigate!"
Cui Xiong did not pursue the culprits, and the garrison commander's confidants were also happy to see it happen. He was most afraid that these young noblemen would use this as an excuse to make things difficult for others.
But, to everyone's surprise, the king was assassinated! Not only was the king dead, but the body of his confidante was also found in the pond. It was rumored that this Lady You was Cui Dalang's fiancée. Cui Dalang, who had just escaped death, fainted on the spot upon hearing this news!
Miao Ne reverted to his original appearance, dressed as a wandering knight, and mingled among the common people. However, he heard not a single word about the king's assassination, let alone his death. Instead, he heard rumors that Cui Xiong was seriously ill and that Cui Zhi had rushed to his aid despite his illness.
She did indeed see a caravan bearing the Cui clan crest.
"Choi Ji-sun really came?"
Miao Ne pulled down the brim of her hat and blended into the crowd.
Anyway, what happens next has nothing to do with her.
Little did they know, Cui Zhi was now in a real predicament.
Despite being seriously ill outside, Cui Zhi walked briskly to his eldest son's room. The room reeked of strong medicinal herbs, and Cui Xiong looked pale and sickly. Seeing his father standing outside, Cui Xiong put down the medicine, rose, and bowed.
Then, he got slapped by his father.
"Cui Houbai, you've gotten quite bold!"
Cui Xiong did not argue, but bowed down to apologize.
Cui Zhi asked, "Did you kill her?"
Cui Xiong swallowed the blood secreted from his gums: "Yes."
Since he admitted it so readily, Cui Zhi couldn't bring himself to slap him again. He thought his eldest son would be the least troublesome, but he never expected the other to give him such a "surprise." Cui Zhi sat down, lifting his robe, and angrily said, "You'd better explain yourself!"
Cui Xiong said, "There's not much to explain."
Cui Zhi nearly crushed the teacup.
He lowered his voice and said, "Cui Houbai, what's wrong with you! Do you know that you're recklessly throwing your future away? If word gets out that you murdered your master, who will tolerate you or the Cui family in the future?"
Cui Zhi was still worried about her son's future.
For various reasons, Cui Zhi's retirement was inevitable.
It was inevitable that Cui Xiong would be thrust into the limelight, but he was too young, and the elders of his clan were difficult to deal with. Furthermore, integrating into the Kang Kingdom would require dealing with the royal court and the powerful families of Kang… Cui Xiong couldn't be without ambition, but he also couldn't be too ambitious, lest he leave himself open to criticism. Everything was going well, so why did Cui Xiong go and assassinate the king?
Cui Zhi never imagined that it was his eldest son who did it.
Who are you covering for?
Cui Xiong didn't even blink, and asked in return, "When does Father plan to announce the news that the Lord is suffering from a serious illness?"
Cui Zhi was so angry he laughed.
"Very well, very well, what a lawless and outrageous act!"
Having accomplished such a major feat, he can still lie without batting an eye.
Unfortunately, Cui Zhi only had two sons, and he was only grooming one successor, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride and deal with the aftermath.
"Get back home and wait for the family discipline!"
|ω`)
Cui Xiong has escaped with his life.
P.S.: Being love-struck is probably the biggest misunderstanding about Cui Xiong.
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