Chapter 87

Seeing Zhang Yuehui approaching, Wan Yan Jun grew irritated. This gossiping merchant—if he hadn’t sold the information through several intermediaries, maybe things wouldn’t be so complicated.

Wan Yan Jun impatiently blocked him at the door, saying, “Master Zhang, I’d be happy if you didn’t make things worse. There’s nothing you can do here. Please leave.”

Zhang Yuehui shamelessly peered inside, glancing at the blood on the floor, and said with feigned concern, “My lord, is the princess injured? I have some rare medicinal herbs. After taking them, even the most severe injuries can be immediately alleviated.”

Wan Yan Jun hesitated. While he was wary of Zhang Yuehui, he also knew that he was a slick merchant, all about profit. He would never openly confront someone behind their back, and as long as it was just some medicine, he might as well accept the courtesy, since he was still the most powerful person in the manor. It could only benefit Xu Kouyue’s injury.

“Well then, why don’t you go get it?” Wan Yan Jun furrowed his brow.

Nan Yi, listening anxiously from inside the room, felt something was amiss with Zhang Yuehui’s return.

Sure enough, she soon heard Zhang Yuehui say, “But this medicine needs to be administered in very precise amounts; otherwise, it could be poisonous. If the most knowledgeable doctor in the manor about the princess’s health could accompany me to fetch the herbs…”

“You, come here,” Wang Yan Jun ordered, “Go with Boss Zhang.”

At this, Zhang Yuehui naturally turned his gaze toward Nan Yi, pretending not to recognize her, and calmly met her eyes.

Nan Yi, in a hurry, subtly shook her head at him, silently pleading for help, but Zhang Yuehui acted as if he didn’t notice.

At that moment, Nan Yi realized... Zhang Yuehui intended to take her away in the chaos. Unfortunately, at this time, she couldn’t refuse!

If she went with Zhang Yuehui like this, how would she take the princess away? Wouldn’t the plan be ruined?

Nan Yi could only buy some time: “I need to first give the princess an acupuncture treatment to stabilize her injury before I can go with Boss Zhang to fetch the medicine.”

Wang Yan Jun, pressed for time, waved his hand and gestured for a guard, “You follow Boss Zhang and the doctor. I’ll go after the assassin.”

With that, Wang Yan Jun swiftly left.

Nan Yi quickly entered the tent and exchanged a look with Xu Kouyue.

Xu Kouyue tried to slip something into Nan Yi’s hand, signaling for her to leave with the item, but Nan Yi held her hand down and silently but firmly shook her head.

She had promised to save her as well.

After a moment, Nan Yi walked out of the tent.

Zhang Yuehui gave her a calm nod and turned to lead the way. The guards followed behind them.

Once outside Wang Yan Jun’s residence, the streets were already in disarray. The assassin’s incident had clearly spread to the surrounding streets. The carriage couldn’t move in the busy market, so they had to walk.

Zhang Yuehui walked with a sense of urgency, worried that Nan Yi might run away halfway. He grabbed her wrist in front of the guards and pulled her forward along the street.

His steps were long, and Nan Yi had trouble keeping up.

After a few steps, Zhang Yuehui suddenly stopped. His normally nonchalant gaze turned sharply focused as he locked eyes on Nan Yi.

The “Nan Yi” unconsciously took a step back.

Zhang Yuehui had noticed something was off. This was definitely not the way Nan Yi walked, nor her gaze. He couldn’t believe it, because he hadn’t been on guard around Nan Yi, nor had he thought that she might deceive him.

He didn’t waste any more time and reached out to check behind her ear for any signs of a human skin mask. Just as his hand reached out, it was suddenly blocked.

A figure in black leaped down from the eaves, standing in front of “Nan Yi,” and another person appeared from the alley, silently killing the guard who had been following them. Zhang Yuehui’s shadow guards immediately took action, engaging in combat with the two, but they didn’t linger. They pulled “Nan Yi” along and quickly disappeared into a dark alley.

The shadow guards tried to chase, but Zhang Yuehui stopped them.

That was not Nan Yi.

— He had been too careless! The human skin masks he could get, the Candlelight Division could also obtain, and their actions would definitely have backup plans.

That person earlier was most likely Xu Kouyue.

The real Nan Yi... was still at Wang Yan Jun’s residence!

Zhang Yuehui’s mood darkened, like the gradually fading twilight sky, unable to stop the setting sun from falling into the valley. He tried to hold on, but it only left a brief streak of brilliant light before everything was consumed by the darkness.

He had wanted to take Nan Yi away from that dangerous place. He didn’t care about the old dynasty’s princess, nor the new dynasty’s king. Whether the world was clear or chaotic was none of his concern; he only wanted to hold on to the last bit of warmth that belonged to him. He thought this was Xie Que Shan’s conspiracy — that he had tempted Nan Yi, deliberately putting her in a situation that obstructed him. He didn’t want his beloved girl to become a pawn in this conflict.

He had thought that if he put her in such a position, she would have nowhere to run and would willingly leave with him.

But she had willingly swapped herself for Xu Kouyue.

At that moment, he realized, she had done it willingly.

“You haven’t seen her in so long. You no longer know what kind of person she has become.”

Xie Que Shan’s words echoed like an unshakeable curse. Even though he didn’t believe it, even though he sneered, everything was progressing in that direction.

This time, he had harmed her again.

He clearly wanted to be closer to her, to save her.

Zhang Yuehui’s hand trembled, feeling lost — what should he do?

...

Wang Yan Jun led his men in pursuit of the assassin, but the further he chased, the more something felt off. No matter how skilled the assassin was, after jumping from roof to roof for so long, their stamina should have started to decline. But this person in black moved with incredible agility, disappearing between buildings and reappearing quickly, managing to lead them on a wild goose chase but always staying ahead.

Wang Yan Jun soon realized — this wasn’t one person! This was a planned “escape relay,” a classic tactic to draw attention away from the main target! If the residence was left empty, Xu Kouyue...

“Return to the residence! Immediately return!” Wang Yan Jun shouted, panic in his voice.

Meanwhile, Nan Yi, disguised as Xu Kouyue, sat quietly in the tent, waiting for time to pass.

She had to wait until Xu Kouyue was safely rescued, and she heard the signal from her allies before she could escape. Otherwise, the guards in the residence would realize something was wrong, chase after Zhang Yuehui, and the plan would fail.

Finally, she saw a burst of fireworks in the sky outside the window — the signal of a successful rescue!

Nan Yi immediately got up, climbed out the window, and silently took down two guards at the door with her sleeve darts.

She knew the layout of the residence well, having walked through it countless times. She could navigate it with her eyes closed.

However, just as everything seemed to be going smoothly, with the light of dawn on the horizon, Wang Yan Jun returned with his troops. He found that Xu Kouyue was no longer in the room, but the bedding was still warm. The person hadn’t been gone for long, so he immediately surrounded the residence and ordered a large-scale search.

Nan Yi was forced to turn back, hiding in the garden. But the garden was simple, and if Wang Yan Jun conducted a thorough search of the residence, she would be found quickly.

Nan Yi had been cornered. Strangely, at that moment, she felt no fear. Instead, she felt calm. In fact, she was grateful for Zhang Yuehui’s arrival, as it had ensured Xu Kouyue’s safe escape.

Her mission was completed ahead of schedule.

At this point, she finally understood the feelings of Pang Yu when he faced death. Between life and death, one can still choose faith. And Nan Yi’s faith was simpler: if her death could exchange for greater value, for the death of more bad people and the survival of more good people, then it would be worth it.

She just felt a little regretful. Before she set off, Song Muchuan had earnestly looked into her eyes and said, “Don’t die.”

When she swapped clothes with Xu Kouyue, she held her hand with cold fingers and tearfully said, “Don’t die.”

There were still some people she hadn’t been able to say proper goodbyes to, some people she wanted to see once more.

Nan Yi clenched the dagger in her hand, ready to make a desperate last stand. No matter life or death, she would give it her all.

It was as though some god had heard the cry in her heart. Despite being someone who was always unlucky, she, at this crucial moment, found a glimmer of hope.

The soldiers who were supposed to arrive for the search did not come as expected. As they approached the garden, their footsteps turned around and left.

At the same time, another group of soldiers poured into the gates, and to her surprise, it was Gusha who had brought people. The two groups confronted each other in the courtyard, neither side willing to back down.

In fact, it was just moments ago that Gusha had learned from Zhang Yuehui that Xu Kouyue might have brought the imperial succession decree. He thought about it, and Xu Kouyue was someone whom Wang Yan Jun had insisted on bringing to Lidu Mansion, claiming he could use both power and kindness. But now his men were in trouble, and he hadn’t said a word. If the succession decree was found, wouldn’t Wang Yan Jun claim the credit?

It must have been hidden or intentionally suppressed, or perhaps he was blinded by the beauty of his woman and wanted to protect her. Regardless of the reason, this was a great opportunity to bring Wang Yan Jun down!

While Gusha was planning how to escalate the situation, he heard that an assassin had appeared at Wang Yan Jun’s residence. He immediately brought the leader of the Black Raven Camp, Ya Jiu, and aggressively went to “help catch the assassin.”

Ya Jiu and the Black Raven Camp were the true elite army of the royal court. They didn’t align with any faction of the court, only following the king’s orders, assisting Gusha as a task. Their only goal was to pave the way for the expansion of the Great Qi Kingdom.

Anything that harmed the interests of the royal court would be ruthlessly eliminated by the Black Raven Camp. Therefore, proving Wang Yan Jun’s dereliction of duty was something Ya Jiu had to witness, so when he reported back to the court, he would have a strong witness.

When Wang Yan Jun saw Ya Jiu’s arrival, his heart sank. He could no longer maintain the facade of harmony among colleagues, and he was willing to resort to violence to keep his soldiers firmly stationed, never letting Gusha break in.

Because Xu Kouyue was no longer in the residence. If Gusha discovered any clues, his political career would be over.

Thus, the two groups faced each other, tension rising to a boiling point.

And this worked in favor of Nan Yi, who was trying to find a way out. Taking advantage of the chaos, she leapt to the roof to escape, fleeing swiftly.

Ya Jiu had sharp eyes, and even in the dark of night, he spotted a figure.

“Someone’s running!” Ya Jiu’s expression tightened, and he immediately leapt agilely onto the roof, chasing after the figure.

“Quickly, chase the assassin!” Gusha ordered, and the soldiers he brought rushed forward.

Wang Yan Jun’s men, still in shock and guilt, were quickly scattered.

It was a rout.

Wang Yan Jun knew it was over. Once Ya Jiu made his move, nothing could be hidden. He had lost this round completely.

...

Nan Yi dared not look back as she ran across the roof. She needed to leave the area controlled by the Qi soldiers as quickly as possible. The paths she could take were limited, and she inevitably passed near the borders of Wang Xue Wu.

Of course, she didn’t want to enter Wang Xue Wu. First, it would bring trouble to Wang Xue Wu, and second… she didn’t want to return to that prison. In Wang Xue Wu, she was an unwelcome illegitimate daughter, an unlucky widow who brought misfortune. She was forced to hide her true nature and comply with the rules of the aristocratic families. She had worked hard to break free from these chains, and now she had no desire to return.

However, not far away, Zhang Yuehui had his crossbow aimed at the girl jumping across the rooftops.

He finally saw her clearly: she was an eagle that wanted to fly. But in this dangerous night sky, the higher she flew, the more dangerous it became.

If he couldn’t keep her, then he would find a cage that could.

Rather than losing her completely in this world, he would rather have her hate him.

He wanted her safe.

Whoosh—an arrow shot through the air, hitting Nan Yi in the leg. She felt a sharp pain in her leg, lost her balance, and fell.

She landed right in the backyard of Wang Xue Wu.

That night was peaceful, and Lu Jin Xiu was in the garden, tending to potted plants with several maidservants. They were startled when a black figure fell from the sky, scaring the maidservants.

Everyone jumped, and some sharp-eyed ones recognized Nan Yi, trembling as they whispered, “The young madam?”