TPGA - 40

Though Shen Moping deserved death, killing him would sever their only lead to Shen Yunyi, rendering their plan to lure her useless!

Seeing that Li Shimin hesitated, Li Jiancheng barked harshly, “I told you to kill him! Did you hear me? He’s about to bite through my leg bone—kill him now!”

Li Shimin’s mind raced furiously. He understood the urgency of the situation, but killing Shen Moping was the worst possible solution. Moreover, it was clear that Shen Moping sought death intentionally; granting him that wish would only play into his hands.

Wait… an idea struck him. He could break Shen Moping’s teeth, rendering him incapable of causing further harm to his older brother. “Someone, come and break his teeth...”

Before he could finish, one of the guards’ swords was suddenly snatched away. A flash of cold light blinded everyone momentarily. When the glint faded, the steel blade was embedded deep in Shen Moping’s back, held firmly by a frail figure whose chest heaved violently with each labored breath.

As the icy blade pierced through his body and sank into the earth below, a faint smile appeared on Shen Moping’s face. Finally… he had achieved his goal.

He released his iron grip on Li Jiancheng’s leg. The moment Li Jiancheng felt the pressure ease, he immediately withdrew his leg. The guards seized the opportunity to drag Shen Moping aside, ensuring no further danger.

Blood continued to flow profusely from the wound in his chest, draining the last remnants of life from him. With great effort, Shen Moping turned his head to look at Yunyi, who still clutched the hilt of the sword, panting heavily.

Thank you, Master, for freeing me. But alas… I can no longer accompany you. Please take care of yourself. Killing Li Yuan would be ideal, but if it proves impossible, don’t force it. Above all… return safely to Luoyang!

From the moment he saw Yunyi, Shen Moping had resolved to die. He knew Yunyi wouldn’t stand idly by while he hung there and would attempt to rescue him. However, this place was surrounded by Li Jiancheng’s men—an intricate web of danger. Any move Yunyi made would result in her sharing the same fate as him.

The only way to stop Yunyi was through his death. Only by dying could he prevent Li Jiancheng from using him as bait and ensure Yunyi’s safety.

Thus, he deliberately lured Li Jiancheng into releasing him, then bit down hard on his leg once close enough, forcing Li Jiancheng, in his agony, to order his execution.

However, he hadn’t anticipated Li Shimin’s composure—even under such dire circumstances, he hesitated to kill him and devised the plan to break his teeth. Fortunately… the master intervened. But because of this, Li Shimin might grow suspicious of her.

Master, Li Shimin is sharp-minded and highly strategic. If you intend to remain in the governor’s mansion to assassinate Li Yuan, he will pose a significant threat. Be careful! Be extremely careful!

These words echoed repeatedly in Shen Moping’s mind until he exhaled his final breath…

Meanwhile, Li Shimin glanced at Yunyi, whose entire body trembled uncontrollably. He hurried over to Li Jiancheng’s side. There was a gaping wound on his right calf, and blood flowed incessantly from it. Anxiously, Li Shimin asked, “Big Brother, how are you feeling?”

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Li Jiancheng replied with a pale face, “It hurts terribly—I don’t know if the bone is damaged!”

“It’ll be fine. You’ll recover soon!” Li Shimin reassured him before urgently instructing, “Quickly carry Eldest Master back to Qingchun Garden. Also, send for Doctor Xu immediately—he’s the best at treating bone injuries. Hurry!”

The guards swiftly followed his orders, carrying Li Jiancheng toward Qingchun Garden. Drops of blood trailed along the way, chilling the hearts of those who witnessed it.

After seeing Li Jiancheng off, Li Shimin approached Yunyi, who still clutched the sword hilt tightly. Staring intently at her, he asked, “Why did you do it?”

Yunyi slowly raised her head, her expression vacant as she stared at him. After a long while, she seemed to regain some awareness, noticing Shen Moping’s corpse and the sword in her hand. She hastily let go, backing away nervously. Overwhelmed by fear, she stumbled and fell to the ground, stammering, “I… I don’t know. I just… I didn’t want to see him continue hurting Eldest Master, so…” She looked down at her trembling hands, her face filled with terror. “At the time, I only thought about stopping him from harming Eldest Master, and then… my mind went completely blank. I didn’t know anything until now… I… I killed someone. What should I do? What should I do?” Sobbing, she crawled forward and clutched the hem of Li Shimin’s robe tightly, pleading, “Second Master, I didn’t mean to! I… I don’t know what I was doing. Please don’t kill me!”

Jiang Caiping also came to her senses and quickly rushed to Li Shimin, kneeling down and pleading, “Second Master, my sister only wanted to save Eldest Master. Please don’t blame her, and please don’t kill her! She didn’t mean to kill anyone—she just… desperately wanted to save Eldest Master. Besides, that Shen Moping was an assassin and deserved death anyway. Please forgive my sister this time!”

Li Shimin stared intently at Yunyi for a long while before bending down to help her up. “You saved my brother. How could I possibly blame you? Stand up.”

Yunyi let out a sigh of relief, timidly looking at him. “Second Master, you… really don’t blame me?”

Li Shimin smiled faintly. “Of course not. If it weren’t for your decisive action in killing Shen Moping just now, Big Brother might have had his leg bone bitten through. In fact, I should thank you. You’ve truly surprised me—your composure in such a critical moment even surpassed mine.”

Yunyi shook her head repeatedly. “No, I… how can I compare with Second Master? I don’t even know what I was thinking back then. Even now, I’m still somewhat confused, as if… I were dreaming. By the way, since I’ve killed him…” Her voice faltered, and a flicker of fear appeared in her eyes. After taking several deep breaths, she continued, “Now that I’ve killed him, doesn’t that mean we’ve lost our chance to capture Shen Yunyi?”

“Don’t worry. As long as she’s still in this governor’s mansion, she’ll be caught sooner or later.” With that, Li Shimin added, “In any case, what you did just now wasn’t wrong—it was actually commendable. After I check on Big Brother, I’ll reward you properly.”

Yunyi expressed her gratitude profusely. “Thank you, Second Master! Thank you so much!”

Li Shimin smiled slightly. “Enough. You two may go.” After Yunyi and Jiang Caiping left, the smile on Li Shimin’s face gradually faded. He turned to Duan Zhihong and asked, “What do you think?”

“Does Second Master mean about Miss Wu?” Seeing Li Shimin remain silent, he realized he’d guessed correctly. After pondering for a moment, he said, “It is indeed surprising that Miss Wu suddenly grabbed the sword and killed Shen Moping. However, I’ve seen some people act unusually under extreme circumstances.”

Li Shimin glanced at him coldly. “Unusually enough to resort to murder?”

“Not quite to that extent, but…” Before he could finish, Li Shimin interrupted, “Do you remember what I said just before she took the sword?”