Gu Mu's room.
Chen Ling changed into a clean and tidy set of clothes.
Having just finished bathing, there was no trace of blood on her body.
“Your Majesty, I’m a little worried about Youyou. When those assassins came, I had already sent her to hide in Hidden City, but now, Hidden City is practically the domain of those martial arts practitioners. I’m afraid she might encounter some misfortune,” Shen Ling said with a frown and concern in her eyes.
"Is Hidden City already dominated by people from the martial arts world?" Gu Mu repeated the sentence with a hint of amusement.
What he didn't tell Shen Ling was that as long as he was there, even if the entire Hidden City was populated by people from the martial arts world, the Hidden City would never be a place ruled by them.
The biggest one will always be him.
"Let's go take a look," Gu Mu said.
At the same time, he was thinking that Hidden City had always been a means of escape for the people around him, but as the number of people in Hidden City increased, it was no longer a reliable means of escape.
As for the assassins and sheepskin scrolls who served as the "city management" of the hidden city, they were often sent out on missions and could not always stay in the hidden city.
This is indeed a headache.
In the hidden city,
Youyou squatted on a street corner, shivering.
Upon seeing Chen Ling, she immediately rushed over: "Your Majesty, you scared me to death! You haven't come to see me for so long, I thought something had happened to you. I was even thinking... I was thinking that if Your Majesty left, I would go with you. If I wasn't afraid of holding Your Majesty back, I really wanted to leave Hidden City and see what was happening outside... I was so worried about you, Your Majesty... Waaah!"
Youyou said so much in one breath without even panting, and then she hugged Chenling and started crying. It seems she was really worried.
Shen Ling smiled gently and patted Youyou's head. She glanced at Gu Mu beside her and smiled with relief: "They came in two groups. Luckily, we ran into His Majesty. Otherwise, you might really be going to the Yellow Springs to see me."
Shen Ling chuckled and teased.
Gu Mu stood next to Shen Ling, and was considerably taller than her.
The look Shen Ling gave him was one of utter reassurance.
Youyou glanced at her and His Majesty with a hint of envy; the two were truly a perfect match.
Seeing this made Youyou feel a pang of sadness.
She unconsciously turned her head away: "Now that Your Highness is alright, let's go back first."
After all, the sweet blow was still quite cruel for Youyou, a single dog.
...
Gu Mu didn't know whether Xiao Su hadn't told him about this assassination attempt because she herself was unaware of it, or because she harbored rebellious intentions.
In any case, Gu Mu felt it was necessary to be wary of Xiao Su.
The next day, a dart delivered the information Gu Mu needed to his injured body as scheduled.
He looked at the note indicating the location where the martial arts figures who wanted to assassinate him had gathered.
Gu Mu frowned slightly.
Is this location reliable?
"Was the assassination attempt last night because those people didn't trust Xiao Su and kept it from her, or... did Xiao Su harbor rebellious intentions?"
Gu Mu was deep in thought.
"Your Majesty, what are you thinking about?" Shen Ling walked up behind Gu Mu and asked softly.
Gu Mu told Shen Ling everything that had happened in the past few days, as well as his plans.
Shen Ling closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I feel... there's something fishy about this location!"
Shen Ling had already opened her eyes. Her peach blossom eyes seemed to be smiling, even when she wasn't smiling, they still gave the impression of a smile.
When she smiles, it's as if a spring breeze has swept over her, and in an instant all the peach blossoms have bloomed.
Gu Mu was momentarily lost in thought as he watched.
"Your Majesty, what are you looking at? We are discussing serious matters!" Shen Ling noticed that something was wrong with Gu Mu and said coquettishly.
"Tell me, why do you think that way?" Gu Mu then withdrew his gaze.
There was no trace of embarrassment at being caught.
It's only natural for him to look at his empress.
If he weren't tied up with something important right now, he would definitely watch it to his heart's content!
“I think that no matter what the reason for this assassination is, the location must be a trap.” Shen Ling analyzed seriously: “Your Majesty, think about it. If it’s because those Jianghu people don’t trust Xiao Su, then it’s impossible for them to tell her the real location at such an important gathering where everyone is gathered together.”
Shen Ling had a firm grasp on the matter of human nature: "If Xiao Su had rebellious intentions, then tonight's assassination attempt already revealed her true colors. She was definitely afraid that you had become suspicious of her, so naturally she wanted to continue to frame you in order to secure her own chance to survive."
"So, we're not going?" Youyou asked timidly from the side.
After last night's danger, she was truly afraid that the Empress and His Majesty would be in danger again.
"No, we want to..."
"Let's turn the tables on them!"
Shen Ling and Gu Mu exchanged a smile and said in unison.
Not long after,
The assassins rode in the sedan chair that Gu Mu usually used, heading towards the mansion of the Jianghu Alliance Leader.
As soon as the assassin's sedan chair left the palace, it was immediately spotted by martial arts practitioners who were lying in wait at the city gate.
"Go, tell the alliance leader that the target has appeared," said one of the martial arts figures, who appeared to be the leader and was dressed as a merchant.
"yes."
Soon, someone took advantage of the chaos in the crowd and quietly left.
Meanwhile, those martial arts figures, disguised as people of all sorts of identities, casually followed the imperial sedan chair, gradually heading towards the Alliance Leader's residence.
The leader of the martial arts alliance quickly received a message from the servant who rushed in from outside.
"You mean, His Majesty travels in a sedan chair?" the Jianghu Alliance Leader asked, frowning.
"What's wrong?" the money shop owner asked curiously, unaware of the situation.
“If His Majesty wants to wipe us out in one fell swoop, then the less attention he draws, the better.” The leader of the martial arts alliance expressed his concern: “Moreover, even if His Majesty’s martial arts are superb, we are not easy to deal with. He will definitely have to pay a price.”
"And His Majesty is the supreme ruler, why would he bother to do such a thing himself? He could simply order his subordinates to do it."
The leader of the martial arts alliance frowned and analyzed.
He suddenly remembered,
Previously, when Eunuch Cheng came to his residence to demand the person,
He saw through the nightmare that had plagued him for over a decade at a glance.
To be able to subdue such a shrewd and experienced person, this emperor must be no ordinary character.
"The more I look at it, the more I feel something is wrong." The leader of the martial arts alliance felt his heart was pounding, and he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"How about we withdraw the ambush first and discuss it further?"
The Cloud Sword Pavilion Master seems to be thinking the same way as the Jianghu Alliance Leader, he couldn't help but say.
"No, this is a rare opportunity. Let's take another look." After hesitating for a moment, the leader of the martial arts alliance said firmly, "Go and find out if the person sitting in the sedan chair is really His Majesty."
The leader of the martial arts alliance sat down again and poured himself a cup of tea.
Looking into the distance, he said, "Old Yun, if we succeed this time, no one in the martial arts world will be able to challenge our position."
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