Chapter 07 The Seventh Kill

As expected, Zhou Xunran vomited blood again.

This time it didn't spurt out from his mouth, but flowed out slowly from the corners of his mouth.

But even so, the people in the palace were worried enough that they carried him back to Qingwu Courtyard.

After he vomited blood, Xiaoyu was basically gone from the East Courtyard.

Xiaoyu wandered around for a while and found that there were guards hiding in almost every corner here, so he returned to Fengheyuan where he lived in boredom.

Fenghe Courtyard was separated from Qingwu Courtyard where Zhou Xunran lived by only a wall. Xiaoyu lay on the wall and could easily hear the cold-faced guard and the voice of Nanny Zhao anxiously calling for a doctor because he was vomiting blood.

Xiaoyu sighed. After vomiting blood and falling into a coma, he didn't rest well. He took a carriage and quarreled with others. Even if he had a normal body, he couldn't withstand such torture.

I don’t know what Zhou Xunran is thinking.

No, she knew, it seemed as if he was still explaining it to her and the cold-faced guard just now.

Xiaoyu squatted in the corner, sighed, and thought that the target of the assassination should be a good minister who was loyal to the country and the people. Xiaoyu looked down at his hands, wondering if he would be spit on by thousands of people if he really killed such a loyal minister.

What if I go to the eighteenth level of hell after I die?

Xiao Yu banged her head against the wall in worry, and heard the woman's coquettish chuckle. She turned around and saw a young girl in a pink chest-length skirt standing not far in front of her.

"You must be Miss Xiaoyu, I've heard mother talk about you before."

The girl was so gentle and kind, and she even exuded a faint fragrance in the wind. Compared to her, Xiaoyu felt that she was very arrogant squatting in the corner. She stood up from the corner and asked, "My name is Xiaoyu, who are you?"

The girl said, "My name is Minglu, and I am the prince's maid. The palace has a rule that you cannot enter the East Courtyard at will without any reason, so we have never met. You look younger than me, so you can call me Sister Minglu from now on."

The smile on her face was kind and amiable, completely different from the fierce Nanny Zhao. Xiaoyu really couldn't tell that they were actually mother and daughter.

Xiaoyu patted the dirt on her clothes and said shyly, "Hello, Sister Minglu."

"You're welcome. I'll call you Xiaoyu then." Minglu smiled softly and said, "The prince asked me to come over and ask if you need anything."

"Nothing, nothing, nothing." Xiaoyu refused twice, and when she heard her mention Zhou Xunran, she asked, "Sister Minglu, how is the prince?"

Minglu explained: "He has stabilized and is no longer vomiting blood."

Speaking of Zhou Xunran, Xiaoyu changed the subject: "Is the prince's illness really incurable? I saw him vomit so much blood today, so pitiful."

Ming Lu's eyes flushed when she heard this. "We have been looking for famous doctors everywhere in the past two years. At present, we can only try our best to prevent the toxin from spreading."

She sighed and suppressed her sadness. "Let's not talk about this. The prince said that you should move to the inner courtyard and be his accompanying maid in the future. Come on, I will take you to the inner courtyard first."

Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise, "How come I didn't know... No, I'm here to be a cook, not a maid."

Minglu held her arm affectionately and said affectionately, "You are silly. A maid has no more chance to get close to the prince than a cook."

Yes!

Xiaoyu reacted and followed her out.

As for the accompanying maid, that means as long as Zhou Xunran doesn't rest, she will always be by his side!

This is good!

Minglu took her to the inner courtyard, which was actually the backyard of Qingwu Courtyard, where Zhou Xunran lived. However, because it was his residence, the walls and guards around the inner courtyard were more than twice as many as those in the front yard of Qingwu Courtyard.

Xiaoyu looked at the pair of patrol guards who passed by from time to time, and thought to herself, I wonder how many times Zhou Xunran had been assassinated. He needed so many people watching him day and night for him to fall asleep.

The main room in the inner courtyard is Zhou Xunran's bedroom, with four guards standing at the door.

Minglu greeted them and walked into the room with Xiaoyu. Zhou Xunran was lying on the bed in the room, and Madam Zhao was sitting beside the bed, wiping the blood off his neck with a wet towel.

Minglu whispered, "Mom, I brought Xiaoyu here."

Madam Zhao nodded and said, "Lin Kun has gone to boil the medicine. Go and see if he has finished."

Minglu let go of Xiaoyu's hand, turned around and walked out.

Madam Zhao handed the handkerchief in her hand to Xiaoyu. Seeing that Xiaoyu was in a daze and refused to take it, Madam Zhao frowned and wanted to get angry again. Thinking of the person on the bed, Madam Zhao lowered her voice and said, "What are you doing standing there? Go and clean the prince!"

Xiaoyu simply didn't react at first. After being scolded by Madam Zhao, Xiaoyu took the handkerchief, walked to her previous seat and sat down, imitating Madam Zhao's example, twisting the wet handkerchief with his fingers and wiping the dried blood behind his ears.

Aunt Zhao stood aside and looked at her: "Be gentle."

Being rejected by her one after another, Xiaoyu lost her patience and frowned and whispered, "Madame Zhao, do you still want the prince to have a good rest?"

Nanny Zhao closed her mouth and waited until Xiaoyu's movements were gentle before she left with peace of mind.

Hearing her footsteps getting farther and farther away, Xiaoyu held the wet handkerchief in her hand but did not move.

Her soft knife was still hanging at her waist.

Zhou Xunran is currently in a coma. If we stab him under the quilt and then pretend that he is asleep, the people in the palace will not be able to notice it in a short time.

This period of time is enough for her to escape.

Xiaoyu turned her head to look at his sleeping face. The skin on his cheeks was as white and transparent as the snow in the mountains due to excessive blood loss. His lips were tightly pursed under his nose, as if he was worried about something difficult even in his sleep. Because of his thinness, his chin was pointed, and his body was made up of skin and bones.

Xiaoyu stretched out her hand and pinched the skin on his chin, and indeed, she easily lifted a layer of skin.

Alas, if she kills a person like this now, wouldn't it seem like she is taking advantage of him?

Why not let him be raised for a while and then kill him when he is alive?

Xiaoyu sighed, and realized that the towel in her hand was a little dry, so she stood up and prepared to wet it in the wooden basin. When she stood up, she inadvertently saw a man in black squatting on the beam.

The little fish was startled and leaned back, using his hands to support himself to avoid falling.

A muffled groan came from the bed behind her. Xiaoyu turned around and saw Zhou Xunran had woken up with his eyes squinting, staring at her hand.

Xiaoyu followed his gaze and saw her hands resting on his chest.

She withdrew her hand.

As she was distracted, the man in black on the beam jumped down and pulled off the mask on his face before Xiaoyu could scream.

It's that cold-faced guard!

Xiaoyu scolded him, "If you are sick, go see a doctor. You are playing tricks here and scaring... the prince. Can you afford to pay for it?"

Zhou Xunran said softly, "Xiaoyu, I'm a little hungry. Go make me something to eat."

[Your excuse is too lame. You coaxed Aunt Zhao to give you food, and now you say the same thing to me? Do you really think I'm as easy to fool as Aunt Zhao? ]

"Okay, what do you want to eat?"

"It's all right, just hurry up, I'm so hungry."

[It would be better if he starved to death, so I don't have to do anything. 】

Xiaoyu muttered to herself, threw the handkerchief in her hand at the cold-faced guard as if to vent her anger, and then left slowly.

When her figure completely left, Zhou Xunran put away the smile on his face, "Lin Kun, help me up."

Lin Kun walked forward and supported his upper body, then placed a soft quilt behind his back before letting him sit back and lean back.

"Your Highness, can this Xiaoyu really be trusted? How about I catch her and torture her to extract a confession?" Lin Kun said.

He had just hidden on the beam, and was afraid that she would find him, so he even changed into night clothes. He didn't expect that she only cared about looking at the prince's face, and didn't take advantage of the opportunity to be alone with the prince to attack him as he thought.

Could it be that she was deceived by the appearance of the prince? Lin Kun looked at Zhou Xunran's face. To be honest, the prince did look like a pretty boy, especially now that he looked so fragile, which was most likely to arouse a woman's sympathy.

Zhou Xunran didn't know what he was thinking, so he shook his head and said, "I haven't figured out her reasons yet, so don't touch her for now."

She had such a good opportunity just now, but she didn't even make a move on me, and even had the leisure to "tease" me.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xunran felt annoyed. If he didn't really want to find out the relationship between Fozhu and him, he would have driven her out of the capital long ago.

"Could it be Cao Shipeng's man?" Lin Kun asked.

Zhou Xunran said with certainty: "We have tested her repeatedly today, so it should have nothing to do with Cao Shipeng."

Although Lin Kun didn't know Zhou Xunran's ability to listen to people's inner thoughts, he had followed Zhou Xunran for many years and knew that he had never made a mistake. When Lin Kun heard Zhou Xunran's words, he immediately believed them, "If it's not Cao Shipeng, then who else could it be?"

There are not many people in the capital who can compete with the prince.

Zhou Xunran was able to guess it.

No, he didn't guess it. The last time he entered the palace, he heard with his own ears that the emperor had an idea in his mind and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Zhou Xunran said, "We'll find out who's behind her later. I've transferred her to the inner courtyard, so she'll have more opportunities to come into contact with Minglu. Tell her to keep an eye on Xiaoyu."

Lin Kun hesitated: "Prince, is Minglu okay? This little fish has been carefully trained."

Listening to his words, Zhou Xunran said jokingly, "Elaborate training? It's just half-baked skills, just some neat punches and kicks. I think she was just a lazy person in the past. She just loves to eat, so she practiced some exquisite cooking skills."

Lin Kun was relieved: "Okay, then I will explain this to Minglu."

"Well," Zhou Xunran's eyelids became heavier after saying this, "Let her bring the medicine over."

Xiaoyu, who was in the pharmacy next door, sneezed twice. She rubbed her nose and said to Minglu, "Someone must be scolding me. I think it's that cold-faced guard!"

Minglu was still fanning the flames of the medicine pot: "Which guard?"

"The one who followed the prince today."

Minglu said, "That's Lin Kun. The prince has two personal bodyguards. This one is Lin Kun, and the other one is Zhou Yi."

Thinking of him, Xiaoyu's butt seemed to hurt again.

"That cold and impatient guard is called Lin Kun? Sister Minglu doesn't know that he is very rude and fierce. He threw me to the ground and my tailbone still hurts now."

Minglu frowned in worry: "Does it still hurt? Then I'll go get you a doctor."

"No, I'll just rub it."

Ming Lu said with relief: "I apologize to you on his behalf. Actually, when you get to know him better, you will find that he is a very nice and enthusiastic person, but he looks very cold on the outside."

"Why are you apologizing on his behalf, sister? It wasn't you who dropped me." Xiaoyu asked in confusion.

Minglu blushed, "He is my fiancé, and we will get married in March next year."

The little fish opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

Finally, he hesitated and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know your relationship and I didn't mean to say bad things about him."