Half an hour later, the Bearded Man finally stopped, his mouth parched from talking.
Duke Anguo beckoned, and a maid who knew exactly what to do hurried forward with a cup of tea for the Bearded Man, then slipped a piece of broken silver into his hand.
The two pieces together amounted to nearly five taels of silver, making the Bearded Man beam with delight.
“Thank you for your generosity, Duke!” he said with a grin.
Duke Anguo waved dismissively. “That’s enough. You may leave.”
The Bearded Man happily led Dazhuang and the others away. The moment they were out of sight of Duke Anguo and his party, his expression changed.
“No wonder the two commandery princesses started killing people without a second thought when they were so young. The Duke’s estate must have bullied them constantly—bullied them so badly that they had no choice but to fight back.”
Dazhuang said worriedly, “Boss, do you think they’ll go after the princesses right away? You told them far too much just now.”
The Bearded Man shook his head. “They won’t. I deliberately emphasized that the two princesses love having fun and had spent several days playing around here. They’ll assume the princesses will do the same wherever they go next, so they won’t be in a hurry to pursue them. Besides, everything I said is common knowledge. They’ll definitely ask other people as well. If I’d said nothing, that would have seemed suspicious.”
At the end of his words, he grew somewhat excited.
“This is our chance. We’re going to gamble on it. Let’s set off now and reach the next place as quickly as possible. We’ll find the princesses and tell them that these people are looking for them. We’re not asking for much. As long as we can become their errand runners and have enough to eat, that’ll be good enough.”
The group acted as soon as they had made up their minds. They used the silver to buy some dry rations, then immediately went to a passenger vessel. After purchasing the cheapest berths, they boarded happily.
Liucheng.
Xi Qingyue’s pleasure boat had already reached Liucheng, the next stop after Yongfu City. They moored the pleasure boat and the larger vessel at the docks.
The guards stayed aboard to keep watch, while Xi Qingyue and the others leisurely explored the city.
They had not revealed their identities, nor did they intend to look for an inn. Xi Qingyue planned for them to spend their days eating, drinking, and having fun, then return to the pleasure boat at night.
Lu Jinshuang rarely had the chance to go out and enjoy herself as well. She carried Xi Weilan while strolling alongside Xi Qingyue. Whenever they spotted something delicious, the group would go in and have a taste.
Mu Jin and Dongxue followed the three of them and found the arrangement wonderfully easy. Aside from eating and drinking, they had to do nothing at all—not even carry the things they bought.
As they walked along a street lined with drooping willows, Xi Qingyue felt that even the air seemed fresher. Looking up, she saw lush greenery everywhere.
Just as the group was enjoying their leisurely stroll, a sharp sound split the air. An arrow shot toward them from the roof ahead, and in the next instant, hidden weapons flew at them from both sides.
Xi Qingyue stood calmly where she was. With a casual wave of her hand, the willow branches of a tree near the roof snapped off as if cut by an invisible force. In the blink of an eye, they pierced through the body of the person hiding on the rooftop.
The assassins on either side died almost simultaneously. Their bodies were riddled with dozens of holes as well, yet there were no marks left by blades. Only the fronts of their clothes were soaked through, as though drenched in water.
The arrows and hidden weapons they had fired halted in midair before falling to the ground in front of Xi Qingyue and the others.
Three corpses dropped from different directions and hit the ground, instantly sending the pedestrians into a panic. Many people screamed and fled in all directions.
Lu Jinshuang and Mu Jin had not even had a chance to act. In the blink of an eye, all three assassins were dead.
Mu Jin raised a hand to her lips and blew a sharp whistle. Before long, more than a dozen highly trained experts arrived before them.
She pointed toward the bodies scattered around the area. “Someone attempted to assassinate the princess. Bring the bodies together and find out who they are.”
These people belonged to Lu Qianning. They had originally accompanied the group to assist Xi Qingyue, but since they had not been needed for the time being, they had remained aboard the ship. The location was not far from the docks, and Mu Jin had used her inner force when blowing the whistle, which was why they had been able to arrive so quickly. Some of the guards were also hurrying over from behind.
The commoners scattered in terror, wishing they could get as far away from the corpses as possible. The dozen or so experts moved swiftly, and in no time, they had placed all three bodies in front of Xi Qingyue and the others.
They were extremely startled while moving the corpses, because the manner of the three deaths was rather strange.
After carefully examining the items on the bodies, the leader, a woman dressed in blue, finally spoke.
“Princess, these people belonged to the Guangling Pavilion. The pavilion has a hidden division whose members are skilled in all kinds of concealed weapons. They are particularly fond of launching surprise attacks.”
Xi Qingyue pondered this for a moment.
“People from the martial world who knew exactly where I was… Then they must be from the south. Other than Prince Kang, it could only be one of those great clans.”
She was not surprised in the least. After all, she had remained in Yongfu City for so long, and it was only natural for word of her actions to spread to the surrounding cities. Someone might very well have decided to eliminate her.
As for whether the Guangling Pavilion was truly behind the attack, that remained uncertain. Perhaps these three had been so arrogant that they thought she was sure to die. Or perhaps they were traitors from the Guangling Pavilion. Who would use their own organization’s signature weapons when committing a murder?
She stroked her chin and thought carefully. Then again, her own sisters killed people in much the same way.
In that case, perhaps these three really had simply been too arrogant.
She muttered to herself, “Looks like I’ll have to pay a visit to the Guangling Pavilion when I get the chance.”
Mu Jin said from the side, “Princess, everyone knows the name of the Guangling Pavilion, but no one knows where it is actually located. No one has any idea where they’re hiding.”
Xi Qingyue waved her hand. “It’s fine. They’ll probably come again. Next time, I’ll hold back a little and leave one of them alive.”
Xi Weilan stood angrily in front of the corpses. She had wanted to punch them, but Xi Qingyue had been quick enough to grab her and lift her off the ground.
“Weilan, they’re already dead. Don’t dirty your hands. Next time, Sister will leave one for you.”
Only then did Xi Weilan calm down a little. Pouting, she said, “Sister, we were only out having fun. Why did they try to kill us?”
Lu Jinshuang had remained silent the entire time, but her face had darkened like the bottom of a cooking pot. She remembered that Lu Qianning had once been hunted and attacked all the way from place to place. Now it was Xi Qingyue who had become the target, and the fury in her heart surged instantly. She had not even noticed when Xi Weilan had jumped out of her arms moments earlier.
Only now did she speak in a cold voice.
“Don’t worry, Weilan. I’ll definitely help you find their hideout.”
As soon as she finished speaking, dozens of guards came running over, their heads glistening with sweat.
They were ordinary guards without any qinggong, so they naturally could not compare with the dozen or so experts who had arrived earlier. Being able to get there in such a short time was already impressive—at the very least, they had arrived much faster than the local constables could have.
After running up, they all shouted in unison, “Princess, please forgive us! This subordinate and the others arrived late. We beg the princess to punish us!”
It had already been agreed that Lu Jinshuang’s identity would be kept low-key and not disclosed for the time being. As for the identities of the two princesses, word had long since spread throughout the surrounding area, so there was no need for them to conceal it deliberately.
When the many onlookers heard that she was a princess, they all stared over in astonishment. At the same time, they thought to themselves, “Could these be the two little commandery princesses from the rumors—the ones who killed the magistrate of Yongfu County?”
Taking a closer look at the girls’ ages, they realized that they matched the rumors perfectly.
Some of the commoners could not help whispering, “The princesses were attacked the moment they arrived. Could it have been the work of some corrupt official?”
The county magistrate, hurrying over with a group of yamen runners, happened to hear that last sentence. He was so terrified that he nearly dropped to his knees on the spot. Heaven was his witness—he wasn’t a corrupt official, nor had he sent anyone to assassinate them!
