A blunder
Xiao Yu was startled by the curse that Rouge had stabbed into his lungs. The chaos outside was brief, but then it suddenly quieted down.
She recalled the fleeting thoughts that had crossed her mind earlier, sensed a conspiracy, and couldn't help but become impatient: "What do you mean?"
Upon hearing this, Rouge seemed to go mad, her eyes bloodshot as she growled hoarsely, "This is your retribution! This is your retribution for betraying that lord."
Xiao Yu ignored the helpless roars of the trapped beast. Her hearing was excellent, and she could hear someone approaching her location.
She didn't have much time left for the interrogation, and she was afraid that the other party was in cahoots, so she had to finish quickly.
"Your eyes are beautiful, I quite like them." Xiao Yu's voice was gentle yet authoritative: "Tell me, or not?"
Rouge glared at her resolutely.
"Your bone structure is also excellent, you're a beautiful girl... I'll give you one last chance, I'll count to three."
"Three, two...one"
After venting her anger, Rouge still stubbornly held her head high, refusing to bow her head.
Before she died, she heard a faint sigh, then her vision went black, a dull pain came from the back of her neck, and she lost consciousness.
Xiao Yu rubbed her face, which was stiff from faking a smile. Although the other party had tricked her into getting a straight flush, she, a supposedly morally upright modern person, couldn't do such a brutal job.
Having failed to extract any useful information from any of his threats, Xiao Yu felt somewhat frustrated.
Moreover, the sounds of the search outside were getting closer and closer to her. Xiao Yu went around and found a place in the inner room where people could hide. She struggled to tie the hands and feet of the two unconscious people and stuffed them in one after another.
Meanwhile, she pressed herself against the wall, listening for the anticipated moment, quickly tidied her messy hair, and calmly opened the door at the perfect time.
Perfectly, it matched the uniforms of the Imperial Guards who searched her doorstep.
Xiao Yu opened the door and stood in the shadows. Outside was a small squad of soldiers in armor. The leader, seeing that there was a young woman inside, softened his expression: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is investigating a case. Please cooperate."
"What are you gentlemen trying to do?"
Xiao Yu didn't move.
Xuanlan Courtyard was a brothel. From her disheveled hair and tattered clothes, the leader could roughly deduce what was going on. He hesitated for a moment, then pressed his hand on the knife at his waist and asked for permission again: "Young lady, please cooperate with the search. Our superiors have said that anyone who disobeys will be killed without exception."
Xiao Yu quickly waved her hand and rushed out of the house, apologizing profusely. She lifted her skirt and tried to run, but before she could take a few steps, two Imperial Guards grabbed her arms.
The team leader, seeing her suddenly realize something, incredulously stepped forward, carefully examined Xiao Yu who was being supported, and then exclaimed in the crowd, "You, you are the Third Prince?"
It was truly a bolt from the blue, a thunderbolt from the blue. Sometimes, dressing up as royalty isn't necessarily a good thing.
For example, right now, this team leader clearly recognized her. Without giving her a chance to react, he clasped his hands in a salute and quickly added insult to injury: "This humble servant, Himekawa, greets Your Highness... Weren't you put in solitary confinement... How come you're here?"
Xiao Yu was being supported, and he and the Imperial Guard who claimed to be Ji Chuan stared at each other for a long time, until other Imperial Guard colleagues carried out a warm couple from the side room.
Ji Chuan recognized one of them; she was Rouge, a maidservant of the Third Princess. Therefore, the woman before him was undoubtedly the legendary Princess Mingzhao.
As for the other one, Ji Chuan took out the arrest scroll from his pocket, carefully checked the relevant details, and then his eyes drifted to Xiao Yu, his expression strange.
Ji Chuan looked young, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with youthful spirit in his eyes. He moved away from the couple and beckoned to his colleague to whisper in his ear, "Go and fetch Lord Pei... Something has happened."
Seeing Ji Chuan's furrowed brows, Xiao Yu's heart pounded. She was confused about many things. But seeing that he was young and seemed hesitant, she mustered her courage.
Is there a problem?
Ji Chuan instructed his colleagues to act quickly and settle everything. He returned, and his first words were like a bolt from the blue: "Did you kill these two corpses?"
Xiao Yu stood there, stunned, looking completely bewildered: "What corpse? I didn't kill anyone!"
"Whether you killed him or not, your words don't count for anything." Ji Chuan shook his head. "This person is involved in a major corruption case and is one of the key figures in this case."
Xiao Yu, who originally had a way to deal with the situation, was so shocked by the word "dead man" that her vision went black. In disbelief, she wanted to rush over and insert the card.
Because of her status, the imperial guards who were handcuffing her only lightly held her sleeves, and Xiao Yu easily broke free and approached the "evidence".
She was always very restrained in her actions; what dead bodies? Those two people were clearly just knocked unconscious by her.
"Ji Chuan! There are three more chests of gold and silver inside!" The young Imperial Guard was drawn by the voice of his colleague in the room. He looked up and made way for Xiao Yu so that she could see the "evidence" clearly.
Xiao Yu squatted on the ground, disregarding her image, and examined the dragged-out corpse. Her pupils dilated—the person she had personally knocked unconscious had a purple face and black lips, clearly having just died not long ago.
It looked as if she knew the Imperial Guards were coming and immediately killed the person and hid the body.
As for gold and silver, Xiao Yu searched carefully for the hidden person and found that they did not exist.
Fear gripped her tightly once again.
She squatted beside the two corpses, her neck, half-covered by her collar, still bearing bruises and bloodstains, but Xiao Yu still forced a laugh to clarify for herself: "It really wasn't me."
Ji Chuan stared at the three boxes of gold and silver and the two freshly made corpses for a moment, then lowered his voice with a mature air, saying, "You should talk to my master."
"My family."
We can't delay any longer... the Embroidered Uniform Guard...
Xiao Yu pursed her dry lips, the contents of her interrogation of Yan Zhi still vivid in her mind. In a flash, she pieced together a chilling truth from the fragmented words.
She checked before opening the door and confirmed that both of them were still breathing. They died only after the Imperial Guards entered the house to search. It was obvious who did it.
The "that person" that Rouge mentioned is very likely the same person as the "my master" that Ji Chuan mentioned!
Xiao Yu forced a smile. Perhaps the original owner had done something to offend the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They were willing to kill a witness and send out such a large group of colleagues to fish her out, just to make her suffer.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yu had no reason to let the other party have their way, especially since she hadn't killed the person at all.
Faced with a large number of people on the other side, Xiao Yu assessed the situation for a moment and still tried to fight back. She knew she couldn't be a lamb to the slaughter. She had to break through the encirclement no matter what and couldn't be unjustly accused and fall into their trap.
The Imperial Guards were also going in and out, sealing off the scene. The coroner they found examined the bodies on the spot. Both deaths involved physical contact with others, but there were no obvious fatal injuries.
The direct cause of death was poisoning.
The fact that they captured the target so easily, even though the higher-ups hadn't said to capture him alive, was still giving them a real headache. Ji Chuan couldn't help but glance at Xiao Yu a few more times.
Xiao Yu's heart tightened. She scanned the room, thinking of a way to escape unscathed, but unfortunately, her every move was being monitored, and Ji Chuan quickly caught her intentions.
Ji Chuan sneered and bluntly asked, "Trying to run?"
His words were laced with murderous intent, his cold glint gleaming as he swiftly drew his embroidered spring knife.
In an instant, Xiao Yu broke free from the Imperial Guards who were holding her, but among the several men with broad backs and narrow waists, she appeared extremely thin and weak. It seemed that she was about to bleed, but she was not afraid at all.
Xiao Yu met Ji Chuan's blade head-on. The other party was clearly not expecting her to be so bold. In the moment of distraction, a hairpin hidden in Xiao Yu's sleeve popped out.
She gripped the hairpin tightly, pried open Ji Chuan's hand from an extremely tricky angle, and snatched the embroidered spring knife into her own grasp.
Having weapons made things much better. Xiao Yu didn't want to fight. Although swords and blades were indiscriminate, they were still much easier to deal with than modern firearms. She had just figured out the whole situation and planned an escape route.
The cold blade grazed Xiao Yu's neck, leaving a line of blood. Xiao Yu barely dodged it, flipped over, stepped onto the second-floor railing, grabbed the hanging banner, and jumped down.
No one could have predicted her crazy actions, which is also the source of her confidence in maintaining her foothold in the perilous life of an undercover agent.
Xiao Yu dared not go through the main entrance. She rushed to the back room of the restaurant and quickly blocked the door, slowing down the speed at which the Imperial Guards were going to arrest her.
Fortunately, fate was on her side. When the Imperial Guards searched the area, they drove everyone to the front hall, which was a kitchen for preparing food. There was a half-open window in the southwest corner, and outside was a glimpse of life.
Ji Chuan, furious that his knife had been taken from him outside, frantically pounded on the door. The kitchen door, old and dilapidated, was about to be smashed open. Xiao Yu, disregarding everything else, used his knife to cut open the wooden strips sealing the window, stepped on the window frame, and jumped out.
The restaurant is located by the river, and there is a small path outside for people to pass through. The place is secluded, making it a good opportunity to escape.
She was in a good mood and caught off guard.
Xiao Yu curled her lips and estimated where she would land, but before her toes even touched the ground, she was caught by a pair of strong arms and lifted up around the waist. In mid-air, she was unable to fight back, and the knife in her hand was snatched away and slammed into a solid chest.
"Why jump into the river instead of using the main gate?" A male voice, neither hurried nor slow, landed on her head. "Your Highness, you seem to be in a good mood."
That's nonsense.
Xiao Yu's nose bumped into the metal ornament on the man's clothes, causing him to be speechless from the pain. However, the faint scent of incense from the man's collar calmed his tense mind.
She looked up and met a pair of eyes that held a hint of mischief. Those eyes possessed a keen insight that seemed to see right through her soul.
She instinctively wanted to escape, but the other person grabbed her and bounced her around. Xiao Yu reached out and hooked her arms around the person's neck, leaning close to the other person's chest, where she was held tightly in their embrace.
The distance was extremely ambiguous and narrow, but the two sides took the opportunity to boldly gaze at each other, as if testing and provoking each other.
The other person's eyes were full of scrutiny, and Xiao Yu glared back defiantly.
"Let me go," she commanded.
This was extremely inappropriate, and the man released her as instructed. Xiao Yu took a step and was about to run away, but the other party grabbed her wrist instead.
"Where is Your Highness going?"
Xiao Yu's anger flared up. This person had just rudely tripped her up. By now, Ji Chuan and the others should have already broken down the door... Wait, where is Ji Chuan?
Xiao Yu was startled and abruptly looked up, meeting the gaze of a group of people quietly watching the commotion from the windowsill. Ji Chuan, who was at the head of the group, blinked innocently, while a woman next to him calmly nodded and said, "We're just watching the show, you guys continue."
Non-existent thunderbolts struck Xiao Yu, leaving him charred and raw.
Xiao Yu closed his eyes in despair, giving up the struggle and letting his fate take its course.
Presumably, the person holding her is the "Lord Pei" who, for some unknown reason, wants to mess with her.
Lord Pei Wenjin is the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, holding a second-rank official position in the imperial court.
Pei Wenjin held Xiao Yu's hand tightly, afraid she would run away again. Hearing this, he remained calm and considerately arranged Xiao Yu's next itinerary: "It seems that His Highness has encountered some trouble. What do you think, should we go to the prison warden for tea first, or go to His Majesty for a talk?"
Pei Wenjin didn't inquire about what had happened before, automatically ignoring the bloodstains on her body. His sharp gaze sent chills down one's spine.
Either option was extremely dangerous. Going to the prison would be falling into his trap. She gently closed her eyes and chose to take the risk: "Go see my father."
Pei Wenjin's arched eyebrows reached his temples: "Logically speaking, you should still be in solitary confinement... This is not a wise move."
Xiao Yu shoved him, trying to get away from him, but before she could take a few steps, Pei Wenjin pulled her back.
She rubbed her nose, feeling uncomfortable all over: "Can you please not touch me?"
"Oh." Pei Wenjin released her hand, then magically produced a piece of rope, asking her in a friendly manner, "Shall we change to this?"
Xiao Yu wanted to stomp on him in anger, but looked to the side with a cold face and instructed, "Hurry up."
Pei Wenjin had teased them enough, so he put away his playful mood, whistled a short whistle, and signaled everyone to retreat.
"Walk!"
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