“Ah!”
Wang Qi raised his hand, lifting the horsewhip. Li Yishu let out a sharp scream, scrambling away on all fours to dodge it.
“Cousin, Yishu knows she was wrong. Yishu dares not harbor any more improper thoughts. I only beg to see Auntie one last time. After this, the palace walls will be deep, and we shall seldom meet again.”
Li Yishu’s voice was choked with sobs as she kowtowed, her forehead touching the ground—a pitiful sight.
Jiang Xingyan found it utterly ridiculous.
Was the bond between that aunt and her niece truly so profound?
Remembering how the two of them had once worked in tandem to bully and humiliate her, a malicious curl touched the corner of her lips. “Fine. Take her in.”
Li Yishu expressed profuse thanks as she moved inside, still casting a fearful glance backward.
Jiang Xingyan followed her gaze and turned to look.
In the dark alley opposite, a sleeve flashed past.
Someone was clearly watching her.
A playful glint entered Jiang Xingyan’s eyes.
It seemed this honored concubine of the Grand Prince was not having an easy time in the palace.
Wang Qi personally escorted Li Yishu to the side courtyard, and with sharp awareness, also sent word to the hidden guard assassins, instructing them to stay alert and listen in on what the two women discussed.
The three adults and one child returned to the separate courtyard.
Huo Ci looked around, seeing all the furnishings just as they had been, yet knowing that he and A-Yan could never return to how things were before. A pang of sorrow struck his heart, and he instinctively headed toward the side room.
Jiang Xingyan didn’t stop him.
He had been somewhat more sensible these past few days.
She had been worried he might seize the chance to pester her relentlessly, forcing her to waste her breath.
Whoosh!
Just as Huo Ci turned past the moon gate, the sound of something cutting through the air came rushing toward him.
Two gleaming meteor darts flew straight for his eyes.
“Look out!”
Jiang Xingyan was horrified—that was her body!
She snatched the hook from her belt and hurled it with force.
Clang!
In her panic, her aim was off, only knocking away one dart.
The other, poisoned projectile was about to strike Huo Ci.
Jiang Xingyan didn’t hesitate. She yanked him into her embrace and simultaneously sent a palm strike toward the direction the dart had come from.
Holding him, she dashed out of the corridor into the courtyard, then leapt up onto the roof ridge.
Clink!
The meteor dart struck a pillar, embedding itself halfway in.
The sheer force and vicious intent behind it were startling.
“Who dares to assassinate someone in my Grand General’s residence? Show yourself at once!”
At Jiang Xingyan’s shout, countless torches instantly flared to life throughout the Grand General’s estate.
Guards and assassins rushed to the sound, surrounding the separate courtyard completely.
Suddenly, a black shadow flickered in a corner.
Jiang Xingyan instantly launched two projectiles, sending them with deadly accuracy.
She used the pair of pearl-inlaid tourmaline earrings from Huo Ci’s ears.
Thump! Thump!
The earrings struck the shadow squarely, pinning it in place.
The guards hurried over, raising their torches for a look.
The leader reached out and lifted the black mass—it was a cat covered with a night-mask cloth! Its neck had been wrung before the earrings hit, already lifeless.
It had been thrown to divert attention.
“Not good, a feint!” Jiang Xingyan’s gaze sharpened as she scanned the surroundings. There wasn’t a trace of the assassin left.
“Damn it, she got away.”
Tonight’s assassin was clearly targeting “Jiang Xingyan.”
Huo Ci’s analysis was correct: Shangguan Luoyue would absolutely not allow her to remain alive in this world.
Sending an assassin overnight to kill her, not even willing to let her live one more night—such a temperament was unduly ruthless.
“Young Miss!”
The voice of Yun Chunfeng suddenly came from the courtyard, tinged with grievance.
Only then did Jiang Xingyan snap back to reality.
She realized she was standing on the roof ridge of the main house of the separate courtyard, clutching Huo Ci tightly in her arms.
Huo Ci’s face was buried against her chest, his expression unseen.
But the roots of his ears were flushed a deep, bleeding red.
Jiang Xingyan felt intensely awkward.
Clearing her throat lightly, she wrapped an arm around Huo Ci’s waist and flew down from the roof.
Little Ya covered her eyes with her splayed little hands, peeking through her fingers at her mother and the bad father holding each other.
Last time it was kissing, this time it was hugging.
Was A-Niang going to forgive Bad Father?
Yun Chunfeng’s gaze was woeful, a storm of jealousy churning within him.
How could this person act so coy, hiding in the Young Miss’s embrace like that!
The two, one big and one small, each lost in their own thoughts, their resentful looks making Jiang Xingyan both amused and abashed.
“The situation was critical, Brother Yun, please understand. Besides, wasn’t I just holding my own body? It’s of no consequence.”
Yun Chunfeng turned his face away, muttering under his breath, “But Young Miss is still using his body to do it.”
Jiang Xingyan smiled.
Brother Yun acting jealous really was like a child.
She would have to properly coax him in tonight’s dream.
“Huo Ci is currently powerless to even tie up a chicken. For the sake of safety, the three of us and Little Ya should try to stay together as much as possible.”
Yun Chunfeng gave a discontented hum. “This Yun obeys the Young Miss’s arrangements.”
Huo Ci was still dazed.
When A-Yan had held him so tightly just now, he realized how much he craved that feeling.
And now, he was going to eat and live together with A-Yan again?
At this moment, he actually felt that Shangguan Luoyue had come to help him.
No, he couldn’t entertain such opportunistic thoughts. It was truly improper!
Huo Ci hung his head in shame.
Just as the group was about to enter the main house, Wang Qi hurried over to report: “General, the Old Madam requests your presence.”
Preoccupied with the assassination attempt, Jiang Xingyan had no time for her. “Tell her this General has retired for the night.”
Wang Qi’s face showed difficulty. “The Old Madam said if the General does not go to the side courtyard, she will take her own life.”