Chapter 79 Assassination

Sui Yan blinked: "What did your highness say?"

Duan Mingchong looked at him, his expression even more confused than his: "What...what did I say?"

Sui Yan pointed at himself and said, "Your Highness said this about me, what's wrong with me?"

Duan Mingchong was confused for a moment, then his expression suddenly turned into horror. He stepped back and looked at Sui Yan as if he were a monster.

Sui Yan stepped back and looked at his face in doubt at the silver wine pot beside him. After making sure that he did not show any scary fangs, he looked at Duan Mingchong strangely.

Duan Mingchong was startled, then he sat up quickly, put his hands on his knees, his heart pounding, and he was so confused and at a loss as to what to do.

Sui Yan said: "Your Highness?"

Duan Mingchong immediately shook his head: "No, I didn't say anything just now, you heard it wrong."

Sui Yan held the cup and said awkwardly, "I wanted to ask if you would like some tea?"

Duan Mingchong was stunned and his ears turned red instantly.

"Okay, okay."

Sui Yan poured a cup of freshly brewed tea and handed it to Duan Mingchong. Seeing that Duan Mingchong looked as if he had seen a ghost, he did not ask any more questions.

After provoking Duan Mingchong to this extent, Sui Yan felt refreshed both physically and mentally, but he also knew when to stop and stopped teasing him.

He knelt and rubbed against the window frame, pushed open the window, pointed at the woman still dancing below, and said, "Your Highness, the woman from Southern Xinjiang that I told you about before is her."

Duan Mingchong drank half a glass of water to suppress the madness in his heart. He glanced down inconspicuously, nodded, and said in a hoarse voice: "I know her."

Sui Yan said, "A few days ago, I heard from my brother that the Fifth Prince and Concubine Ning were convicted, but this woman managed to escape. I wonder where she got such great magical powers from?"

He half-leaned on the window frame, looking down with his body sideways, his eyelashes slightly drooping, looking somewhat nonchalant. When he tilted his head to smile at Duan Ming Chong, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was vaguely aware of his own thoughts, felt that his heart seemed to slow down by half a beat.

Duan Mingchong looked at him blankly.

Sui Yan waited for a while but received no answer, and asked in confusion: "Your Highness?"

Duan Mingchong immediately came back to his senses, lowered his head, coughed shyly, and then said, "She only stayed in Duan Xichen Palace for a few days at that time, so her crime was not punishable by death. Perhaps she was bailed out by Duan Ruwang. After all, the Princess of Southern Frontier is from the previous dynasty. If she is controlled in the hands of the emperor, she can do a lot of things."

Sui Yan bent his waist slightly, resting his elbows on the window frame, holding his chin and looking at Duan Mingchong seriously, saying: "Your Highness, Ning Yuan committed a crime a few days ago, and now Duan Xichen and Concubine Ning are also suffering. There are too many discerning people in the capital, you..."

Duan Mingchong raised his head and glanced at him.

Sui Yan smiled lightly and said, "...Is it because I am too jealous?"

Duan Mingchong pursed his pale lips and said after a long while, "I know."

Sui Yan continued to tilt his head and look at him, saying, "You were born to be the heir apparent of a country. His Majesty likes and values ​​you, but the heart of an emperor is unfathomable. I think he will be more jealous of you. You have been taught by His Majesty and the palace tutor since you were a child. You have read a basket of books on sages. You should understand this principle."

Duan Mingchong nodded.

Sui Yan said: "Even my brother thinks that the incident between Duan Xichen and Concubine Ning was caused by you, what about the other people in the court?"

Duan Mingchong's pupils shrank and he exerted force on the hand holding the cup.

After a long while, Duan Mingchong whispered, "I know."

"I know everything."

Sui Yan didn't say much. He could see that Duan Mingchong knew what was going on, but the teachings he had received since childhood had prevented him from making the determination to act ruthlessly. If he had been fully prepared, he would naturally know what to do.

Having just stimulated Duan Mingchong, Sui Yan felt guilty after the pleasure. He had always vaguely known that Duan Mingchong felt the same way about him as he did about him, but he was not sure because Duan Mingchong had never revealed the truth.

After acting out a drama with Jun Jingxing today, seeing Duan Mingchong's distracted and dazed look, Sui Yan probably had an idea in his mind.

He felt guilty yet happy at the same time, and his smile became a little strange.

Just when Sui Yan was about to go forward to comfort Duan Mingchong, there was a sudden scream outside the window, and then the window frame behind Sui Yan was suddenly broken, wood chips flew down, and a group of men in black rushed in with great momentum.

At the same time, the woman on the platform in the middle of Tianshui Lane suddenly spread out the red silk in her hand, and swung her slender palm violently. The red cloth scattered into pieces in mid-air, and fell towards the crowd.

After the red ribbon fell, some unknown mechanism suddenly exploded on the spot, producing a cloud of smoke that spread out rapidly.

Suddenly, screams spread throughout the street.

Sui Yan was startled by the person who suddenly rushed in. He stumbled and fell straight towards Duan Mingchong who stood up.

Duan Mingchong was startled and instinctively reached out and hugged him tightly.

Sui Yan huddled in Duan Ming Chong's arms in shock, and said in a gloomy voice, "Another bunch of idiots wearing night clothes in broad daylight have come."

Duan Mingchong: “…”

With a gloomy face, he held Sui Yan's waist and stepped back a few steps. Before the man in black arrived, several secret guards appeared from the darkness in an instant and blocked the two of them.

Sui Yan was most afraid of someone suddenly appearing in front of him. Even if they were not assassins, he would be scared half to death. At this moment, his legs were weak, and he could not stop sliding down even though Duan Mingchong was holding him.

Sui Yan clung to Duan Mingchong's broad shoulders, took a few breaths, and said, "Your Highness, who are these people?"

Duan Mingchong's body was stiff, and for a moment he didn't know whether to let go of the hand that was holding Sui Yan's waist. He struggled for a moment before coming to his senses and speaking hoarsely: "Maybe... people from Nanjiang and Duan Ruwang..."

Sui Yan nodded.

Duan Xichen had been completely deposed in the past three years. In addition, Ning Yuan was convicted this year, and even Concubine Ning was not favored by the emperor. Duan Ruwang happened to be behind the scenes adding fuel to the fire, and somehow persuaded them to go and assassinate Sui Yan and Duan Mingchong.

Sui Yan didn't know whether Duan Xichen had really sent someone to assassinate the prince at this time, nor did he know how Duan Ruwang had done it, but he actually took the initiative and accused Duan Xichen of murdering the prince.

The emperor was suspicious to begin with, and his feelings towards the prince had weakened over the years. When something like this happened, he would naturally guess that the prince had done something fishy.

And now it is almost New Year's Eve, and the prince has been stabbed on the street again. Once the emperor hears about it, Duan Ruwang's wishful thinking will probably be shattered.

The heart of an emperor is hard to predict. As long as Emperor Beilan thought about it, he could figure out who had used the pretext of assassinating the crown prince to bring Duan Xichen down completely, and also put the blame on the crown prince.

Duan Mingchong was holding Sui Yan as he retreated to the outer room. He looked at the assassin who was entangled with the secret guard in front of him with a somewhat cold look in his eyes, and his hands unconsciously exerted a little force.

This assassination was too coincidental.

If Duan Ruwang had set up this trap to make the emperor suspect Duan Mingchong of framing his brother, he would not have arranged for someone to assassinate the prince in a busy street at this time.

Duan Mingchong was a little dazed.

So who sent the assassin this time?

Duan Xichen had already lost power. Was it Duan Shisu, who had been standing aside and watching the disputes in the court? If it was really him, why did he do this?

Before he could figure out what was going on, Sui Yan in his arms suddenly hissed, apparently in pain.

Duan Mingchong immediately lowered his head.

Sui Yan lay in his arms, his face pale, and he kept pressing his own hands to pry them apart.

It was then that Duan Mingchong realized that he had unconsciously used too much force on Sui Yan's waist. Seeing that Sui Yan's face turned pale, he knew that he was probably pinched and hurt.

Duan Mingchong immediately loosened his hands as if he had touched a hot potato. Before Sui Yan could react, his legs went limp and he fell straight out of his arms.

bang.

Sui Yan propped himself up on the ground with his elbows, looking up blankly at Duan Mingchong who had thrown him down.

Sui Yan trembled and asked, "Your Highness?"

Duan Mingchong then hurried over to help him.

The secret guards and the assassin were fighting bloody battles on the side, but after a moment the man in black jumped out of the window again, and disappeared in the crowd after a few leaps, and the woman on the platform had also disappeared long ago.

Tianshui Lane was in chaos.

Duan Mingchong ignored the escaped assassin and simply told the secret guards to check what happened outside. He then carefully helped Sui Yan to sit on the couch in the outer room and stood beside him with some uneasiness.

Sui Yan's knees and waist ached, and after he sat down steadily, he looked at Duan Mingchong dimly, waiting for him to give him an explanation.

Duan Mingchong pretended to be calm and glanced down at him, but they only looked at each other for a moment before looking away in bewilderment.

Sui Yan: “?”

Duan Mingchong tilted his head, his ears turned red, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Does it still hurt?"

Sui Yan: "Shh, it hurts. I can't tell whether it hurts from you pinching me or from falling."

Sui Yan had been raised in luxury, and except for being forced to receive an injection by Jun Jingxing, he had never suffered such torture. He tore open his outer robe, muttered something under his breath, and reached for his waist belt.

Duan Mingchong held his hand and looked at him in shock: "You...you...what are you doing?"

Sui Yan looked at him in confusion: "Let me see if my waist is bruised by you?"

Duan Mingchong retracted his hand as if he had been stung by fire, and his ears turned even redder.

I don’t know if it was Duan Mingchong’s own illusion, but since he just touched upon some of his forbidden feelings for Sui Yan, no matter what Sui Yan did afterwards, he inexplicably felt his face blushing and his heart beating fast.

Sui Yan was seducing people without knowing it. Just as he was about to take off his waist belt, he saw Duan Mingchong gently pulling his hand and said, "Someone will come here to deal with it. I'll open a private room for you and you can take off your clothes in a place where no one is around..."

Duan Mingchong pursed his lips, turned his head unnaturally, and whispered: "...It's too cold here, you will catch a cold."

Sui Yan turned around and stared at the East Palace's secret guards, then nodded in understanding, "Oh."

——Okay, I bullied you just now, now whatever you say is what counts.

Sui Yan felt guilty, so he obeyed Duan Mingchong's words. Without saying much, Duan Mingchong supported him and went to a private room nearby.

In the chaotic Tianshui Alley, Jun Jingxing, wearing Sui Yan's cloak, walked into a narrow alley. Hearing a deafening noise outside, he was about to go out to take a look when a figure fell from the sky and landed in front of him.

Jun Jingxing paused, and when he took a good look at the person in front of him, his eyes instantly turned cold.

The person in front of me was wearing a single red silk dress. The hem of her dress was so short that her slender calves and arms were exposed. Her skin had turned blue from the cold weather, but she remained calm.

Jun Jingxing said coldly: "Princess of Southern Xinjiang."

The princess had black hair tied with red silk and draped over her back. Her collarbone was tattooed with intricate patterns that looked like totems from southern Xinjiang.

She put on heavy makeup, raised her lips slightly, and said with a sweet breath: "I am Wuyuan, and the Marquis asked me to tell you something."

Jun Jingxing: “…”

She is unwilling to act out any role, and her face can be disguised. However, this time she not only has a woman's face, but her body is also graceful and thin, with a waist that is so slender that it cannot be grasped with one hand. This cannot be achieved by using the bone-shrinking function.

Wuyuan is usually very timid and introverted, but when she disguises herself as someone else, in order to avoid being exposed, her personality changes a little. Once her identity is exposed, it will take her a while to change her personality.

On weekdays, Wuyuan would wrap himself tightly in a black robe so that even his face could not be revealed.

Jun Jingxing had never seen such a charming Wuyuan before. He swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice: "You, you, you are a woman?"

Wuyuan glanced at his clothes and said, "You too."

Jun Jingxing: “…”

Jun Jingxing almost roared: "I am not!"

Wuyuan hummed, looking like someone who had seen a lot of things, and said calmly, "I know that everyone has some little quirks that they cannot show to others. I understand, and you don't need to explain any more."

Jun Jingxing: “…”

You know nothing!