Chapter 12
"Cheng Baisang, put down the dagger." Qian Yuan's voice trembled slightly, which was rare. Even as an experienced man, he could not have imagined that it would come to this.
"You can let it go. If you just clear this case, we'll be done with it." Cheng Baisang quietly put the sharp blade of the dagger close to Jian Xinyi's neck. In an instant, Jian Xinyi felt cold liquid slowly flowing out of her neck. For a moment, her mind was filled with the indescribable fear as usual.
The feeling of blood slowly flowing on the skin was not pleasant. She frowned slightly, and when she raised her eyes, she happened to look at Qian Yuan. He felt a little reluctant, and the cold light of the dagger was imprinted in his eyes, like a cold and bright moon.
"I promise you, I'll let her go." Qian Yuan finally compromised, clenching his hands tightly, looking quite unwilling.
"Are you crazy? As a Jinwu Guard, how can you disregard human lives?" Jian Xinyi couldn't understand why Qian Yuan chose the stupidest and most foolish one when there were so many ways.
Cheng Baisang suddenly laughed out loud. "Then, our Lord Jinwuwei, how are you going to fulfill your promise?"
Qian Yuan spread out the evidence in his hand and placed it on the table. "I'll give you the blood-stained clothes. There will be no evidence in this matter, and it will become an unsolved case."
Cheng Baisang admired Qian Yuan's style very much. He moved the dagger in his hand a little further away from Jian Xinyi's neck and said, "One hand over the object, the other hand over the person."
Qian Yuan held the brocade bag containing the fragments tightly in his hand and walked forward step by step. His eyes had long since abandoned his previous indecision and became decisive and firm.
Jian Xinyi seemed to be attracted by the determined look and forgot the strangeness on her neck.
Qian Yuan was getting closer and closer, and Jian Xinyi could already feel Cheng Baisang retracting the dagger and gently pushing her out.
Now is the time!
Jian Xinyi seized the opportunity and snatched the brocade bag from Qian Yuan's hand. Then, she grabbed Qian Yuan's sleeve tightly and turned around to stand behind him. "Cheng Baisang, you have committed many evil deeds and killed your own sister with your own hands. Don't you want to repent?"
Cheng Baisang suddenly saw his plan change, and he clenched the dagger in his hand tightly. His hand was covered in blood, and his eyes were full of murderous intent and anger. "Come here, catch them!"
Inside Tanhua's mansion, layer upon layer of servants and guards surrounded the three men.
The blood on Jian Xinyi's neck suddenly dripped onto her arm, a bright red color that made her dizzy. She had no choice but to hold on to Qian Yuan tightly and hide beside him. However, Qian Yuan alone could not protect Jian Xinyi and the other two, and he also suffered a lot of injuries.
"I advise you to return the evidence to me as soon as possible." Cheng Baisang watched the men fighting and calmly drank a cup of tea. "As for you, Lord Jinwuwei, I don't want to harm you. It was you who insisted on protecting these two girls."
Bai Yuanyuan was also very angry at this man and couldn't help cursing out loud: "Cheng Baisang, you are still dreaming of getting promoted and getting rich, bah."
A guard was about to snatch the brocade bag from Jian Xinyi's hand. She dodged immediately, but unexpectedly bumped into Qian Yuan. The two quickly exchanged positions. Jian Xinyi barely passed by several servants and walked straight out the door.
But at this moment, a guard knocked her to the ground, and the brocade bag rolled out. Just as Jian Xinyi was about to move to take it, the guard stepped hard on her hand.
In an instant, tearing pain reached every nerve. Jian Xinyi gritted her teeth to prevent herself from screaming. She couldn't let Qian Yuan down. This damn murderer must pay the price.
Just as Jian Xinyi was trying to get the sachet with her other hand, someone suddenly broke in through the door and shouted, "Your Highness, I am late to your rescue."
The sudden bright light made Jian Xinyi squint her eyes. The man in front of her was wearing silver armor and looked very imposing. He was not inferior to the leading Jinwu Guard.
But who is he, and who is His Highness?
Jian Xinyi looked into the room. Cheng Baisang did not look surprised at all. Instead, he was thinking secretly that Qian Yuan had only stopped when he heard the sound, but the wounds on his body were still terrible, and the people around him had also stopped. This was a good opportunity for her to secretly take the brocade bag back.
"Sixth Prince, stop pretending?" Cheng Baisang smiled slightly, but that smile still couldn't hide the murderous intent in his eyes, and he walked straight towards Qian Yuan.
Wait, what is this?
Before Jian Xinyi could react, the silver-armored warrior had already arrived in front of Qian Yuan and bowed, "Sixth Prince, I am sorry for being late."
Sixth Prince, no wonder.
The jade ring that shows wealth and nobility, the Jingzhao Yin who changes his expression so quickly, and the token that can be given at any time, everything can be explained.
He is not a Jinwu Guard at all, even Cheng Baisang knows it.
But she had no idea.
Jian Xinyi's stunned eyes met Qian Yuan's, but she saw that he couldn't bear it. She quickly turned to Cheng Baisang and said, "You shouldn't have killed your own sister."
"I knew from the beginning that I would lose, but I still wanted to take a gamble because I never want to go back to the miserable life of the past. Have you ever experienced the pain of not being able to eat anything one day? You haven't at all! A royal noble like you will never understand." Cheng Baisang finally released all the hatred in his heart and glared at the prince in front of him.
"As for Qianrou, she was just three when I was six. There was a famine at the time, and she was sold by my mother in exchange for rice porridge. She has held a grudge against our family ever since. I didn't have the money to redeem her, so she forced me to dress up as a ghost to scare the girls in the building. She also threatened to tell all the young masters that I had abandoned my family and my career. How could I let her tease me like this? I worked so hard to get to where I am today."
Cheng Baisang rushed towards Qian Yuan like a madman, but the Armor Warrior was one step faster and knocked Cheng Baisang to the ground.
"You are too obsessed. It's a dead end." Qian Yuan shook his head, a trace of barely visible compassion in his eyes, "Take him away."
"Wait, sir, can I have a word with him?"
Liu Qin suddenly rushed in from outside. Seeing Cheng Baisang in such a mess, her eyes showed no sadness or joy. She walked straight towards him and squatted down. "You think Qianrou is your sister based on her bracelet, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"She snatched the bracelet from me because she thought it looked pretty and I was willing to give it to her. I didn't expect that she was also willing to pretend to be your sister and brother." Liu Qin's smile was more sinister than Cheng Baisang's. She had set up this trap long ago.
Cheng Baisang was immediately furious, but he was pinned to the ground by the Armor Warrior and could not move. He could only grit his teeth and roared, "You bitch, bitch."
"Take him away!" Qian Yuan couldn't bear it anymore. He waved his hand and asked someone to take Cheng Baisang away.
Jian Xinyi was shocked by this reversal and looked to Bai Yuanyuan for help. Bai Yuanyuan was even more confused. The two of them supported each other, with clear stupidity in their eyes.
"Stay here and don't move. I'll call someone over." Qian Yuan saw Jian Xinyi was about to leave and hurried to her side. "Your injuries are still very serious."
"It's okay, I can bandage it myself when I get home, no need... Your Highness to worry." She emphasized the word "Your Highness", deliberately widening the gap between them, and stood up to leave.
"Zhuiyu, let the imperial physician come and take a look." Qian Yuan grabbed her and did not allow her to leave. He called the Armor Warrior in and told him to call the imperial physician.
Jian Xinyi looked at Bai Yuanyuan for help, but Bai Yuanyuan pretended not to notice and spoke to Liu Qin beside her, "Miss Liuqin, did you know all along that Cheng Baisang was your brother?"
Liu Qin nodded, "Yes, my family called him Brother Sang. I have some memories of that time, and since his background is correct, it's not difficult to guess."
"Then you knew that it was Cheng Baisang who was pretending to be a ghost that day, but you still went to the street to buy mahogany sachets. Were you trying to hide your tracks?" Jian Xinyi asked, also very puzzled.
"Of course. If I'm the only one not wearing it, wouldn't that give myself away?" Liu Qin looked at her with a look that had lost its gloom, leaving only tenderness. "I did all this just to get away from this family, but I didn't expect them to get so deeply involved, to the point where they even got you hurt."
This scheming, this cunning, this broad mind.
He is truly a role model for our generation.
"Your Highness, the imperial physician is here." The Armor Warrior invited the imperial physician in. The imperial physician looked at Qian Yuan's injuries and was about to shout, but was interrupted by him: "Treat that first."
The imperial physician was a little puzzled, but was even more shocked when he saw the injuries on Jian Xinyi's body. He hurried forward to bandage her and stop the bleeding. Seeing how thin she looked, he also prescribed several prescriptions for her to replenish her qi and blood.
Well, I have to run back to Chuntang again.
Seeing that the wound was almost bandaged, Jian Xinyi turned around and said goodbye to Liu Qin and Qian Yuan. Liu Qin nodded generously, but Qian Yuan hesitated and stood up. "Zhuiyu, I didn't mean to hide this from you."
"Your Highness, whatever you say is true, but it's really late today, so I'll go back first."
Jian Xinyi didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. This was ancient times, not modern times, and the difference in their identities and status was a reality.
She cannot change society by herself, nor does she want to change it. She just wants to make money.
She held Bai Yuanyuan's hand and walked in silence all the way.
During this time, Bai Yuanyuan wanted to say something several times, but when she saw her serious face, she was frightened back for a moment. She only said when they parted that she would go find Shi Kui tomorrow and tell him the truth.
Jian Xinyi nodded and agreed to meet at the bookstore tomorrow morning.
As soon as she entered the bookstore, Lao Lin came out to greet her happily, "Zhuiyu, all our books are sold out."
"Sold out." Jian Xinyi nodded nonchalantly, but when she came to her senses, she suddenly asked, "Sold out today?"
"Yes, a distinguished guest came today and bought all the books in one go."
"What does it look like, male or female?"
Jian Xinyi probably guessed who it was, but she was a little unsure, so she asked anyway.
Old Lin still had that beaming face. "A man, dressed in armor and looking impressive, who would have known he was here to buy books?"
Sure enough, Qian Yuan came to show his goodwill to her.
"He's definitely not here to buy books. Give me the money you earned and I'll return it to him." Jian Xinyi remained calm, but she saw that Lao Lin's face looked very strange. She asked, "What's going on?"
"That man was sent by Qian Yuan. Didn't you tell me to have less contact with him? Return the money to him."
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