Nangong Liuli was having a great time in Biluo Palace. Ostensibly a guard, she was actually infuriating Ling Shuang.
Faced with a table full of delicious food, she couldn't eat a bite, while Nangong Liuli ate with more gusto than anyone else.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes and say, "Like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, haven't you ever eaten like that before?"
He paused in his act of picking up food and said, "I really haven't eaten this before!"
"Sigh!" She let out a deep sigh.
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, saying, "You're of noble birth, you have no worries about food or clothing every day, what else is there to be troubled about!"
"What do you know!"
She walked to the door and looked at the white flowers fluttering down outside, saying, "I will never be able to fly out of this golden birdcage!"
In his eyes, she had always been an innocent and carefree young girl, somewhat willful and unrestrained; this was the first time he had seen her like this.
"This is the first time I've felt so useless about my princess status, watching helplessly as Brother Ye was framed and I had no power to help him prove his innocence!"
He strode confidently up to her and said slowly, "Now everyone in the world despises him and thinks he's a ruthless murderer. Are you so sure he's innocent?"
Her eyes suddenly sharpened, and she said fiercely, "They don't even think about how much Brother Ye has contributed to Lingqi, fighting on the battlefield and defending the territory. Without Brother Ye, how could they live a peaceful life!"
Her righteous words made Nangong Liuli look at her with new respect.
Her smug little face was flushed red by the wind, as tempting as a ripe apple. Nangong Liuli was so captivated by her that she couldn't look away for a moment.
"Knock knock knock!"
An urgent knocking sounded outside the thatched hut. A kind old woman answered the door.
"Auntie, I've been traveling and have come this far. May I stay here for the night?"
Seeing the woman approaching against the wind and snow, with her delicate features and clean clothes, he immediately replied, "Come in quickly!"
"Thank you, ma'am!"
She was Xiu Niang, the personal maid who took care of the young prince.
We tracked them all the way here, ready to strike at the opportune moment.
Suddenly, the room became eerily quiet, then a scream erupted shortly afterward.
"ah!"
Ling Ran rushed into the house first, only to see two or three men in black holding long swords, ready to kill her with a single blow.
"Whoosh!" The arrow in Yu Shaoqing's hand instantly struck one of the men in black, knocking him to the ground. The arrow pierced his chest, leaving a pool of crimson blood.
"Speak, who sent you to assassinate us?" Ling Ran demanded sharply.
The two men in black stared at each other for a few seconds, neither intending to reveal their employer. They then raised their swords and lunged at each other.
Dressed in men's clothing, I hid in a corner and saw Xiu Niang sneak out, so I followed her.
Fortunately, he had good stamina and caught up with her in no time.
I grabbed her hand and shoved her to the ground: "Where do you think you're going?"
Suddenly, several handfuls of snowflakes were thrown at me, momentarily blinding me. She tried to escape, but I caught up with her.
She glared at me fiercely and asked warily, "Are you here to kill me?"
I smiled and said, "Wrong! On the contrary, I'm here to save you!"
She laughed dismissively: "You?"
"Do you know who assassinated you?" I asked.
She laughed: "How could I not know? The fact that you chased after me today means you must have found out who the mastermind is. Of course, the purpose of doing so... you should know without me having to say more!"
She changed the subject and asked, "I'm curious how you came to suspect me?"
"On the day the young prince was rescued from the water, I happened to see you hurriedly leaving the crowd."
"That doesn't prove anything!"
“I deliberately ordered my men to search your house, only to find that you had already packed up and left. My men secretly followed you and discovered that there was a group of people chasing you. I knew then that this matter was not simple!”
"Furthermore, the ice is very thick. A weak woman like you with no martial arts skills would have no way to break it. So there must be someone helping you from behind!"
As I spoke, my eyes darted around, a wicked smile playing on them: "Your Prince Yu..."
She curled her lips into a smile: "What if the Prince of Anyang broke the ice and pushed the young prince off?"
"Impossible!" I immediately denied.
"Why?"
"I've tried it. The ice will definitely make a sound the moment it breaks. As the young prince's personal maid, you must have been carefully selected to take care of him. Your sensitivity and reaction speed must be exceptional."
"You would have known when the ice shattered, not when he was dead. So either you neglected your duties, or the murderer knows you!"
His sharp gaze didn't miss a single expression on her face.
She suddenly laughed: "You've found out too late!"
Just as I was wondering what she meant by that, I heard footsteps behind me, crunching on the snow.
Turning around, dozens of men in black appeared, armed with weapons, seemingly also there to hunt down Xiu Niang.
I smiled and asked, "If I save you, would you be willing to tell the truth and clear the name of Prince Anyang?"
She asked with a disbelieving look, "You have a way?"
Seeing them getting closer and closer, I shouted anxiously, "Just tell me if you're willing or not, and don't worry about anything else!"
"I...I do!" She nodded frantically.
"Aren't you grown men ashamed to chase after a woman?" I mustered my courage and shouted, trying to divert their attention.
"Where did this brat come from? Do you believe I'll kill you too?"
"Hmph! I'm afraid you don't have the ability." Who knows that behind my confident words was a terrifying panic inside?
Sure enough, their attention was drawn to me, and then I said, "Do you want to know where the imperial edict is?"
"You know?" one of the men in black asked.
“Of course!” I said confidently, “It’s in my hands!”
Those people couldn't help but laugh after hearing that.
"Stop wasting time talking to him, just kill this woman so we can go back and report!"
"Look at this!" I said, tugging at a piece of bright yellow cloth. Perhaps anticipating this scene, I had come prepared beforehand.
"An imperial edict?" someone exclaimed in surprise.
Seeing their drooling expressions, I couldn't help but smile smugly to myself. Perfect, this is the effect I wanted.
"If you release her, I will give you the imperial edict!"
How do we know if what you have is real or fake!
"What if it's true? Do you really want to work for someone else your whole life?"
Then I added, "Getting the beckoning hand is half the battle won. If you can also seize the imperial seal of Prince Yu's mansion, wouldn't the world be yours?"
Finally, I deliberately said that the imperial seal was in Prince Yu's residence, causing unrest there.
These conditions seemed particularly tempting to them.
One of them pointed at Xiuniang and asked, "Brother, what do we do now?"
"How will the exchange proceed?" the man in black asked.
"Leave her here. I will give you the imperial edict as long as I am certain she is safe a hundred meters away!"
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