Chaos reigned in Cixi Palace. People were calling for help, screaming and crying. It was a chaotic mess, like a pot of porridge that had been overturned, scalding birds and beasts and creating a smoky, chaotic atmosphere.
Shen Mingzhuang turned and left Cining Palace, her steps light as if she had wings. A numbness settled in her heart. Everything she had now was given to her by others who sacrificed themselves, yet she had never been grateful or reciprocated. This time, she didn't want to endure it anymore.
Xue Rong is dead, Man Huan is gone, and those who followed her—she can't wait until all those who followed her are dead before she rises up in rebellion. What's the point of rebellion then?
Song Yi stood in front of his duty room, holding a cup of tea, lost in thought, when he heard hurried footsteps outside. His subordinate, Li Tiesheng, was rushing back from outside.
"General, something terrible has happened outside!"
Song Yi frowned and looked into the distance. Li Tiesheng said, "It's Cixi Palace. An assassin broke in. The Empress Dowager is seriously injured and in critical condition. The palace is in an uproar. We must immediately seal off the palace gates and investigate the assassin."
There were assassins in the palace who even seriously injured his aunt, the Empress Dowager. Who did this?
Suddenly, he thought of the Empress Dowager's private treasury being robbed, the ghostly figure that night, and a mysterious person or force that had infiltrated the capital.
Song Yi placed the teacup on the windowsill, solemnly stepped out, and suddenly a figure flashed past on the palace wall. A commotion broke out outside the guardhouse, clearly indicating that someone had also spotted the assassin and was shouting for someone to chase after him.
But that figure flashed by like lightning, too fast for an ordinary person to catch.
Song Yi focused intently on catching up, afraid of losing track of the person like yesterday. His lightness skill was superb, and few in Tianzhong could match him. In just a moment, only he and Na Jinshi remained.
After chasing him all the way out of the palace, Shen Mingzhuang knew that Song Yi was behind him, and he didn't want to be caught by him. It wasn't that he was afraid of him, but he didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
She discovered that she was agile and powerful, completely different from the weak strength she had before. Thinking of Shi Jiang, she was momentarily distracted, and her movements slowed down, allowing the person behind her to almost catch up.
It seems she hasn't fully mastered the skills she unexpectedly acquired. To avoid Song Yi, Shen Mingzhuang jumped off the roof of a house and quickly darted into the tall courtyard. Song Yi hesitated slightly and was left behind.
This was a large mansion with five courtyards, which Song Yi was very familiar with. The layout of the Duke of Wei's mansion was almost the same as that of the Duke of Wen's mansion. Since he often went in and out of the Duke of Wei's mansion, he naturally recognized this place at a glance.
Shen Mingzhuang quickly slipped through the Wei State Duke's mansion, turned around and hid in a quiet west courtyard. Her figure was so fast that no one inside or outside the house noticed that someone had entered. She had already hidden behind a screen in the inner room.
There was no movement outside, so Song Yi probably hadn't caught up with him.
Just as Shen Mingzhuang breathed a sigh of relief, a voice suddenly rang out behind him: "When you're looking for a place to hide, can't you at least check if the owner is home?"
As if she had seen a ghost, she instinctively clutched her chest and took a step back before she could see clearly that there was someone behind the gauze curtain, and it was a naked man.
"Who are you?"
Wei Chen found it amusing. He was taking a rare day off at home when he encountered such a thing. He lifted the curtain to look and was surprised to find a familiar face, and a beautiful woman at that.
"A beauty holding her heart is indeed beautiful."
Shen Mingzhuang recognized Wei Chen and was about to speak when a maid's voice rang out from outside: "Young Master Song..."
Shen Mingzhuang frowned slightly, and Wei Chen immediately understood what she was trying to avoid.
"Don't be afraid."
The next moment, she was pressed into the bathtub, the warm water soaking her clothes, and the person outside strode in.
"I've seen you bathe countless times, yet these people actually think they can stop me like that."
It was Song Yi's voice.
The confident tone in his voice made Shen Mingzhuang curse him inwardly for being nosy. Wei Chen emerged from the water, half of his chest exposed, and Shen Mingzhuang's nose almost touched his skin. She was dumbfounded.
She was currently hiding under Wei Chen, an angle that made her feel extremely awkward, but she had no other choice but to avoid Song Yi.
"Why don't you come out after you've finished washing?"
Song Yi sat on a chair outside, looking like he had no intention of leaving.
Wei Chen became somewhat displeased. "What's wrong? You're not in the palace when you're on duty. What are you doing here? I rarely get a day off, so don't spoil my mood."
They've already told you to leave.
Song Yi, however, did not take it seriously and smiled, "When this happened in the palace, I followed it here, but it has disappeared. I don't know if you saw it."
Wei Chen was slightly taken aback. "What assassin? Even you couldn't catch him?"
"The assassin who nearly killed the Empress Dowager is still unconscious. If you see anything, please let me know."
After Song Yi finished speaking, he actually got up and made to leave. Shen Mingzhuang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the footsteps. But after taking two steps, he turned back. Shen Mingzhuang's heart jumped. But Song Yi just said with a half-smile, "By the way, don't soak in the bath for too long. It's not good for your health."
These words... made Wei Chen's face darken.
Song Yi chuckled, turned around and strode out of the inner room. This time, at least he didn't come back for a surprise attack.
Shen Mingzhuang could almost hear the heartbeat inside the house just now. Now that the footsteps had faded into the distance, she could still hear them clearly, confirming that Song Yi wouldn't be coming back. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Chen laughed: "I didn't expect him to let you off the hook."
Shen Mingzhuang felt very uncomfortable being confined to a small corner, so he quickly stood up from the water and got out of the bathtub.
Hearing this, she was taken aback. Was Song Yi deliberately letting her off the hook?
Perhaps so. After all, they were so close just now. Anyone with good internal strength could easily tell how many people were in the bathtub.
She couldn't be bothered to argue about it; since things had already gone off track, it was best to leave quickly.
She also needed to go to the Shen family to ask Liu Shi if Manhuan had been found.
"Thank you very much." She said, turning to leave, but after thinking for a moment, she took out a gold brick from her spatial storage and tossed it to Wei Chen, saying, "This is a thank-you gift."
She didn't want to owe anyone any more favors. She could repay Song Yi's favor later, but she didn't need to owe Wei Chen any more.
Wei Chen was caught off guard by a gold brick flying out, and his eyes widened in surprise. The brick was so close it hit his face before he reacted and hurriedly caught it. "Ouch, my face was almost ruined! Couldn't you have..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Mingzhuang had already disappeared.
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