Chapter 146 - Do You Think You Can Come and Go Freely?

As night fell, the Prefectural Princess Mansion was completely silent. The dark night enveloped the entire mansion. The blooming flowers were constantly shaking against the background, giving off a creepy feeling.

Summer was about to begin, and the courtyard was filled with bugs that kept humming. Tonight, however, even the humming seemed to be inaudible.

Suddenly, a black figure appeared beside the wall. He was thin and wore a black night gown. His face was covered with a cloth, revealing only a pair of empty and emotionless eyes. After observing the surroundings, he waved his hand behind him. Immediately, a circle of people appeared on the wall and landed in the courtyard as light and silent as ghosts.

Because there weren’t many people in the Prefectural Princess Mansion, many places were dark at night. This made it easier for this group of people to sneak in. They surrounded Ruixi Courtyard without alarming anyone.

Inside the room, the candle flickered slightly and a dazzling light burst out. Bai Ruo stepped forward and cut off the long lamp wick. She walked to Shen Ninghua who was sitting by the desk and said, “Miss, it’s getting late. It’s time for you to rest. You need to take care of Youngest Master Xuanlin tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

Shen Ninghua stood up beside the desk. Her slender silhouette was reflected on the window. She rubbed her shoulders slightly and walked towards the inner chamber.

The black-clothed men quietly hid outside the door. After Bai Ruo came out with the basin and there was no movement in the room, they slowly moved closer to Ruixi Courtyard.

Someone pried open the door, someone opened the window, and the dozen of them used different methods to surround the room.

Finally, they saw the figure facing them with her back on the bed. The killing intent in their eyes immediately surged out, and the swords in their hands stabbed towards the figure.

Cold light shone and the sound of strong striking wind could be heard. The blades of the swords let out a light sound and pierced into the bed.

The assassins were shocked and had a bad premonition in their hearts.

The woman lying on the bed dodged and jumped up from the bed. She narrowly avoided the long swords that were stabbing at her. At the same time, she shot out silver needles as thin as cow hair at an undetectable speed towards the surrounding assassins! With such a close distance and such thin needles, there was no chance for them to dodge. Immediately, six assassins were hit.

Qing Que suddenly rolled over and landed on the ground. She took off the dress, revealed a neat outfit and charged towards the nearby assassins.

She had disguised as Shen Ninghua and waited for this moment. These people actually dared to assassinate Miss. Since they came, there was no way for them to leave!

The assassins quickly reacted. They exchanged glances with each other and rushed towards Qing Que.

Qing Que’s moves were fierce and carried a bone-chilling killing intent. She was actually on par with these eight assassins.

The assassin leader looked at his companions who were hit by the silver needles and his heart sank even lower. What kind of poison did the silver needles carry that made them unable to resist at all?

In order to be nurtured into assassins of sacrifice, they had to take various poisons from a young age in order to adapt their bodies to poisons. Ordinary poisons were useless against them.

The soft sword in Qing Que’s hand formed a cold sword flower. With just a scratch, any assassin who fought against her would fall to the ground with a thud and could no longer fight.

The assassin leader let out a howl and the sword in his hand mercilessly pierced towards Qing Que’s back. Just as the sword was about to pierce through her, he felt his body going soft and he could not even hold the sword in his hand. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Qing Que kicked him. After confirming that he didn’t have the ability to move, she wiped the soft sword clean and wrapped it around her waist. Then she walked to the side and opened the door.

“Miss, I didn’t disappoint you. All the assassins who entered the room have been captured.”

Shen Ninghua nodded and turned to look outside the room.

Hong Ling, Liu Yun and a few guards dragged the other eight people over and threw them on the ground. Hong Ling reported in a crisp voice, “Miss, the eight assassins outside the mansion have also been captured.”

Shen Ninghua glanced coldly at the assassins on the ground and coldly instructed, “Well done. Bring them all to Lenghui Hall.”

“Yes.”

The assassin leader thought that he was doomed, and he didn’t expect that he would open his eyes again. When he saw the environment around him, his body suddenly stiffened and he wanted to sit up, only to discover that he didn’t even have the strength to move his fingers.

There were candles lit in the room. The candlelight was somewhat dim and he could not see the face of the person sitting in the front seat clearly. However, even though it was blurry, he could still feel her stunning beauty. Didn’t Xiao Huanxi order them to come here to disfigure her?

Shen Ninghua looked at the assassins lying on the ground. The cold light in her eyes was like sharp blades, causing people to be terrified by the sight of her.

“You are assassins of sacrifice. I also know some of your rules. For you, once you are sent out, there will be two results. Either you complete the mission or you die. This time, you failed to complete the mission to assassinate me, and there is naturally only one path left for you.”

No one on the ground said a word. If it wasn’t for their loss of power to move, they would have all killed themselves the moment they were captured by chewing the poison pouch in their mouth.

Shen Ninghua didn’t care about their silence at all. “I won’t make things difficult for you. I just want to borrow something from you.” After saying that, she signaled Liu Yun who was standing by the side.

Liu Yun immediately brought his men forward to search the assassins’ bodies and collected their weapons, hidden weapons, and even their clothes. Every time he took off a set of clothes, a guard would come out and put it on and then stand by the side.

Fifteen minutes later, a group of black-clothed guards stood in Lenghui Hall. Judging from their appearances, they were no different from the assassins on the ground.

Shen Ninghua nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, let’s begin.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Liu Yun took the lead and disappeared into the night with the guards.

Shen Ninghua stood up and said, “Qing Que, I’ll leave these assassins at your disposal.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Shen Ninghua walked out. Just as she arrived at the door, she heard an exceptionally hoarse voice suddenly calling out to her. “Prefectural Princess Zhaohua!”

Shen Ninghua turned around and her gaze landed on the man who spoke. He was the leader of this group of assassins. “What do you want to say?”

“I want to know what you asked those guards to do.”

“You’re already going to die. Why do you care so much?”

The assassin leader continued to ask, “Did you let them impersonate us and commit crimes, and then frame the Xiao family?”

Shen Ninghua curled her lips. A smile flashed in her eyes. “You are quite smart. Since you are about to die anyway, I might as well tell you the truth. Xuanlin was set up by somebody and had chickenpox. I couldn’t find the person behind it, so I could only choose to turn more people into victims. Before the end of tomorrow, people in several major aristocratic families will be infected with chickenpox. His Majesty will naturally pursue this matter. As for who will take the blame, that’s not my business.”

“Do you know how dangerous chickenpox is? If you don’t operate properly, countless people will die in the capital!”

An assassin actually cared about the citizens of the capital. Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but be curious. “You are an assassin. Countless people have died at your hands. You actually care about human lives?”

The assassin leader shut his mouth and did not answer her question.

“If my guess is correct, I’m afraid you’re not concerned about the citizens of the capital. Instead, you’re concerned about some people or someone in particular…Since you’re the leader of the Xiao family’s assassins, then they trust you very much. Or perhaps they believe that you won’t betray them. You have some kind of handle in their hands. Am I right?”

The eyes of the assassin leader trembled. He restrained his emotion extremely quickly, but Shen Ninghua still saw it.

Shen Ninghua’s eyes moved. “You were extremely concerned about human lives because you are afraid that I will vent my anger on the Xiao family and cause everyone in the Xiao family to be endangered by chickenpox. In other words, the person you cared about is in the Xiao family. It doesn’t matter even if you are reluctant to say it. I can naturally find out if I want to, but it’s just unnecessary. Anyway, the Xiao family and I are already enemies, and you are sent by the Xiao family to kill me. As long as the Xiao family is completely annihilated, I will be able to avenge myself. ”

After saying that, Shen Ninghua turned around and walked out.

“Prefectural Princess Zhaohua!” The assassin leader could not help but say, “How about I telling you something useful and you helping me rescue a person from the Xiao Mansion in exchange?”

“Are you making a deal with me?”

“Yes, equivalent exchange.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyelashes trembled, and a trace of light flashed in her eyes. “Qing Que, leave him behind.”

After leaving Lenghui Hall, Shen Ninghua directly came to Yingyue Courtyard. Seeing that Shen Xuanlin was sleeping soundly and was not disturbed, she felt relieved.

Just as she stepped out of Yingyue Courtyard, she saw Chu Junyi leaning against a pillar of the corridor.

“Bai Ruo, you guys go back and rest first.”

“Yes, Miss.” After Bai Ruo and the others retreated, she and Chu Junyi were the only ones left.

Shen Ninghua walked to the side and sat down in the pavilion. She looked at Chu Junyi who was following her and said, “How long have you been here?”

“Pretty long.”

So he knew what she was planning to do.

“You are not going to stop me?” Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows and looked at him. As she dealt with the Xiao family, she was indirectly weakening his support. The situation was still unknown. Whoever had stronger power would have a higher chance to win. Furthermore, Chu Junyi’s identity was special. If he wanted to fight for the throne, power was even more important.

Chu Junyi raised his head to look at the moon in the night sky. His voice carried a worry-free feeling. “It is difficult to have both fish and bear paws. If I care about the Xiao family, I will have to make you suffer. If I let you do what you want, I will definitely see the Xiao family weakened.” He knew that Shen Ninghua’s plan would put the Xiao family in a difficult situation but he chose to stand by. He was listening to his own true feelings.

Every step Ninghua took was extremely difficult. She never yielded, and he did not want to see her yielding. This time, the Xiao family would suffer a loss. It would be very painful, but it wouldn’t hurt their bones. But if Xiao Huanxi’s actions succeeded, Ninghua would probably be dead now. That was why he allowed Ninghua to carry out her plan without interfering.

Shen Ninghua’s eyes moved, and her heart softened slightly. “After all, the Xiao family raised you. If their direct descendants don’t personally attack me, I won’t kill them. This is my bottom line!”

Chu Junyi raised his eyes. A trace of warmth flashed through his eyes, and he made a decision in his heart. It was time to take charge of the Xiao family. This was good for Ninghua, and even better for the Xiao family!