Chapter 06 The Sixth Kill

Xiaoyu didn't have the chance to see the student named Cao Ming being slapped on the hand.

Zhou Xunran had not been in the Imperial College for long when he started coughing up blood again. Zhou Yi was too busy to handle it alone, so he handed Zhou Xunran over to Xiaoyu and arranged for someone to beat him with a stick.

Xiaoyu supported Zhou Xunran and took him back to the mansion in the carriage.

He was really thin, and Xiaoyu could even feel his arm bones through the thick cloak. She was a little unconvinced and squeezed his arm vigorously.

Zhou Xunran was getting into the carriage. When she pinched him, his body softened a little and he turned to look at her in disbelief.

Xiaoyu smiled guiltily: "Prince, be careful."

[He looks so skinny, with barely 200 grams of meat on his body. I guess the duck in the kitchen that has been hungry for half a month is fatter than him.]

Zhou Xunran sighed, ignored her, got up and sat in the carriage.

Xiaoyu lowered the car curtain and saw that his back, which had been straight, finally bent a little, and he leaned listlessly on the back pillow.

Xiaoyu poured a cup of hot tea and brought it to him: "Prince, would you like to have a cup of tea to rinse your mouth?"

[What a pity! I was in such a hurry to get out that I forgot to get the poison. If I had known that today would be such a good opportunity, I should have been more fully prepared.]

Zhou Xunran took the cup, tilted his head back and took a sip.

[Or maybe I should just use a knife. Zhou Yi is out beating up Cao Ming, so I should be able to take down these idiots outside.]

Zhou Xunran took a sip of the teacup, which went into his trachea and made him cough even more violently.

Fortunately, this time I just spit out tea and didn't vomit blood.

Xiaoyu felt sorry for him, but her face was tense: "Prince! Prince, are you okay?"

She held him and patted his back vigorously.

"Stop it," Zhou Xunran panted and spoke with difficulty: "Even if I don't die from coughing, I will be beaten to death by you."

Xiaoyu withdrew his hand awkwardly.

"I am also concerned about the prince, and I am anxious for the moment."

Zhou Xunran was very tired, so he closed his eyes and didn't look into her eyes. This way he couldn't hear her thoughts for the time being and could feel more peaceful.

His right hand under his sleeve gently stroked the Buddhist beads on his left wrist.

Since he had this strange ability to hear people's inner voices when he looked them in the eye, he relied on it to be invincible in the court and firmly established his position as the regent of the dynasty. However, everything has its pros and cons. Every time he looked people in the eye, those inner voices rushed towards him, tormenting him with a splitting headache.

Later, he met Master Wu Le by chance and became his disciple. After learning about Zhou Xunran's situation, Master Wu Le gave him a string of Buddhist beads, saying that they were blessed and could suppress evil desires.

Zhou Xunran didn't believe it at first, but it was strange that every time he put on the Buddhist beads, even if he looked into other people's eyes, Zhou Xunran could no longer hear other people's voices.

Until he met this little assassin, Zhou Xunran found that the Buddhist beads were useless. He wanted to find out the reason, so he kept her in the mansion. From the meals in the kitchen to today's solo trip, he also secretly gave her many opportunities to assassinate him.

Now it seems that what he did was really unnecessary.

Since the Buddhist beads cannot be suppressed, let her leave the capital and never see her again.

Zhou Xunran made up his mind, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Xiaoyu staring at him with bright eyes. He asked, "Is there something on my face?"

Xiaoyu shook her head: "My Lord, I just took a careful look. If you had more flesh on your face, you would definitely be an exceptionally handsome man."

[As expected, human nature is evil. When seeing beautiful things, they want to destroy them. I don’t know who this guest of mine is. He has such a sharp eye that he saw Zhou Xunran’s fat face and decided to take the initiative and kill him. He is really foresighted.]

Zhou Xunran asked: "Does the king look ugly now?"

[Oops, I said the wrong thing! ]

"No, no, of course the prince is handsome, extremely handsome!"

"Whose life do you want?"

"Of course it's yours...my life!"

Zhou Xunran sneered, "Why would I want your life? There are many people who are deliberately trying to kill me."

Xiaoyu asked out of genuine curiosity: "Are there a lot of people?"

[There is no one else in the palace except me. Is there a killer hiding somewhere? ]

Zhou Xunran said: "There are many. There is one right in front of you."

Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, thinking he was talking about himself, and asked stutteringly: "Eye, in front of my eyes?"

There was no one else in front of him except himself.

The carriage slowed down, and Zhou Xunran said, "Here we go."

As soon as he finished speaking, the driver suddenly stopped the horse, and at the same time, a man's deep questioning voice came from outside: "I don't know what my son did wrong to make the prince do such a cruel thing to him!"

Zhou Xunran did not answer him, but said to Xiaoyu: "Cao Shipeng."

Xiaoyu understood that Cao Ming's father was Shangshu Ling Cao Shipeng.

"He's here to pick a fight with you!" Xiaoyu opened the car curtain a little and saw a burly man standing outside the car. Behind him stood nearly 20 guards of the same build. She turned around and said to Zhou Xunran affirmatively.

Zhou Xunran said calmly: "Open the car curtain."

Xiaoyu quickly refused: "You can't get off the car. We don't have enough people with us and we can't win. Show up now unless you want to be beaten to death."

Zhou Xunran looked at her and said, "It sounds like you have a lot of experience?"

Xiaoyu nodded, a hint of embarrassment on her face: "I gained experience from fighting when I was a kid."

"So are you on the side with more people or fewer people?"

Xiaoyu held up five fingers and said proudly, "Of course there are fewer people. I have been through five against one, six against one, and seven against one."

"Then you are quite resilient. It's a miracle that you are still alive."

Xiaoyu: “….”

【I thank you for your compliment! 】

"My Lord, what should we do now?"

Zhou Xunran still insisted: "Go down."

"Really? Cao Ming was hit with 70 slaps and 30 big sticks. His hands are probably useless and his butt is probably a pile of rotten meat. His father is furious now and might even chop off your hands."

"That's perfect. Even if he kills me today, the palace won't be able to hold you responsible."

The little fish reacted.

[Yes, that makes sense! Now I should team up with Cao Shipeng and instigate him to beat Zhou Xunran to death, and then my goal will be achieved! ]

"Okay, go down. Don't be afraid, my lord. I will stand behind you!"

Xiaoyu opened the curtain and prepared to get out, and saw Cao Shipeng snatching the knife from the guard beside him and walking towards the carriage angrily. She put down the curtain and said to Zhou Xunran: "Cao Shipeng is coming to kill me."

Zhou Xunran walked around her and got out of the car first.

Xiaoyu followed closely behind, and only after getting off the car did she realize that they had arrived at Yu Street, in front of the Regent's Palace.

Yu Street was bustling, and the wide road surface could accommodate two carriages running side by side. On both sides of the road, various shops were lined up, and pedestrians were almost shoulder to shoulder. On the first day of arriving in Beijing, Xiaoyu had wondered why Zhou Xunran had set up the Regent Palace in such a place close to the people.

No matter how suspicious they were, now that they had reached Yu Street, it proved that the Regent Palace was not far ahead. Even if Cao Shipeng was extremely brave, he would not dare to attack Zhou Xunran here.

No wonder he was so calm just now.

[Damn it, Zhou Xunran tricked me! Fortunately, I didn’t do anything just now! ]

Xiaoyu cursed inwardly and stood beside Zhou Xunran.

Zhou Xunran lifted his sleeves and took off the Buddhist beads on his left wrist. Then he looked at Cao Shipeng and asked leisurely, "What made Lord Cao go to war like this?"

Xiaoyu secretly curled her lips, thinking to herself, you have beaten someone's son to a cripple, and you still ask others why they are angry.

Cao Shipeng's face was grim, and his chest rose and fell greatly because of the anger he suppressed. He gritted his teeth and said, "Zhou Xunran, don't go too far."

The guards of the Regent's Palace lined up and rushed over from a distance, squeezing through the crowd to watch the excitement and blocking the Cao family guards to one side.

The leader was the stern-faced guard who escorted Xiaoyu into the palace.

Xiaoyu glared at him and stood on the other side of Zhou Xunran.

Zhou Xunran ignored their interaction and looked at Cao Shipeng: "Oh? Then I wonder what I did to make Lord Cao so rude that he actually called me by my name in public?"

Even though the two of them had equal status in the court, Zhou Xunran still held the title of 'Prince Regent' and was still able to suppress him.

Cao Shipeng was almost furious, but he tried his best to remain rational: "I don't know what my son did wrong, to be ordered by the prince to be beaten with 70 sticks?"

It sounded like Zhou Xunran was seeking revenge.

Zhou Xunran said, "Lord Cao has lost his mind due to his rage, right? He actually asked me in Yu Street what my son did wrong?"

Cao Shipeng was not unaware of the fact that Cao Ming relied on his status to do whatever he wanted and act tyrannically throughout the capital. However, he had been suppressing it because of his young son's young age. Now that Zhou Xunran had pointed it out so bluntly, Cao Shipeng could not help but raise his hand holding the knife.

Zhou Xunran stood in front of him, motionless. "You can still have another son, but if you lose your life in an impulsive way, you will lose everything. Lord Cao, you must think carefully."

Xiaoyu felt that what he said was wrong, and whispered: "Prince, he can't have children at his age."

"Oh~" Zhou Xunran raised his eyebrows, "Then I was wrong."

The two of them sang in unison, which made the onlookers burst into laughter.

Cao Shipeng was in a dilemma whether to raise the knife or put it down. When the situation was at a stalemate, the housekeeper of Cao's residence squeezed through the crowd and trotted over. After whispering to him for a while, he snatched the knife from Cao Shipeng's hand.

Cao Shipeng glared at Zhou Xunran for a moment, then turned away.

The protagonist left, and the play came to an end. The guards of the palace began to disperse the crowd, and the cold-faced guard said to Zhou Xunran: "Prince, are you going back to the palace?"

Zhou Xunran nodded and took the lead to walk forward.

Xiaoyu followed behind him, still thinking about the evil deeds of Cao Ming that she had just heard from the crowd. Looking at Zhou Xunran's thin and gaunt back, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind: wasn't it because Yu Street was prosperous and bustling that the Regent Prince's Palace was established here?

It is because the Regent Prince's Palace is established here that Yu Street is prosperous and bustling.

The main gate of the palace was right in front of them. The three of them stepped over the threshold and the main gate closed. Zhou Xunran leaned forward and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The blood splashed on the ground and broke into pieces.

"Your Highness!" The cold-faced guard immediately supported him.

"It's no problem."

"Why is your Highness so anxious? Cao Ming will never be able to open the Imperial Academy."

Zhou Xunran took a breath before he had the strength to speak: "Cao Shipeng has been in contact with Xishan Suburban Court recently, and this time is to teach him a lesson. The emperor has just taken over the government, and he cannot take care of this matter, so I have to step in."

Xiaoyu lifted her feet, jumped over the bloodstain on the ground, and followed them, "Who lives in Xishan Suburban Courtyard? Why does the prince care so much about him?"

For him, Zhou Xunran even ran out even if he vomited blood.

The cold-faced guard supported Zhou Xunran and even found time to glare at her: "Is this your business?"

"I'm just asking, you're so anxious, could it be your little lover?"

"you!"

Zhou Xunran motioned him to shut up and said to Xiaoyu, "It's the posthumous child of the late fifth prince."

Xiaoyu had heard about the feud between the former crown prince and the former fifth prince from Chief Steward Zhu. Cao Shipeng was now so close to the former fifth prince's people, Xiaoyu asked, "Does he want to rebel?"

"That's possible." Zhou Xunran looked into her eyes and replied.

The little fish sneered.

【If you don't know your own strength, it won't be easy to change the dynasty. 】

Zhou Xunran's emotions were surging and he was about to spit out blood.

Xiaoyu saw his action and immediately frowned and leaned back. Then she realized that her action was a bit deliberate, so she grinned at Zhou Xunran, who had a cold face, to ease the atmosphere.