The nursemaid looked awkward.
ng Qianqian said, "Where is your master? I’ll carry her over."
The nursemaid discreetly sought instructions from the Commander of the Jinyi Guard hidden in the trees.
The Commander nodded.
The nursemaid smiled and said, "Much obliged to this lady. Please, follow ."
The two of them headed to a small courtyard.
As they passed a small garden, Lu Linglong, who was wandering nearby, spotted them.
"ng family? Where is she taking a child? And who’s that with her? Sneaky, sothing’s off!"
Lu Linglong followed them.
The nursemaid led them to the ditation room and quietly slipped away.
ng Qianqian had no choice but to carry Bao Shu inside herself.
She kept her gaze steady as she stepped forward, holding the drowsy Bao Shu, and knelt opposite Lu Yuan: "Greetings, Grand Commander."
Lu Yuan bent his left leg, his defined, muscular arm resting casually on his knee. Such a nonchalant posture, yet on him, it exuded the charm of a mature man and the danger of authority.
The corners of his lips curled into a wry smile. "Still have the nerve to appear before ? Are you not afraid I’ll kill you?"
ng Qianqian, ever versatile, bowed her head: "This humble woman was wrong."
Lu Yuan: "..."
Lu Yuan’s cold gaze bore into her.
ng Qianqian murmured softly, "What must I do for the Grand Commander to forgive ?"
Lu Yuan suddenly laughed again, his voice layered with aning: "What I want from you—"
Before he could finish, his arm shot out, gripping the back of ng Qianqian’s head and pulling her into his embrace.
ng Qianqian’s fingers moved, and a silver needle stabbed downward.
At the sa ti, an arrow smashed through the window, grazing his hand and embedding itself deeply into the wall!
Had he not dodged, the force of the arrow would have pierced right through his skull.
ng Qianqian froze for a mont.
Lu Yuan hadn’t completely pulled her into his embrace but maintained a controlled and respectable distance. At a glance, it seed she was in his arms, but in truth, they hadn’t actually touched.
"Yu Zichuan, are you dead?"
Lu Yuan called out sharply.
From the rooftop, a young man in green robes, who had been diligently counting arrows, leapt into action. Drawing his large bow, he pulled an arrow from the quiver at his side and shot it fiercely toward a large tree in the southeast.
A muffled groan was heard, and soone fell from the tree.
Yu Zichuan used his Qinggong to pursue the figure.
anwhile, the Commander of the Jinyi Guard arrived at the ditation room.
He found the Grand Commander cradling Bao Shu in one hand and shielding the Young Madam’s head with the other. His hand was injured, blood streaming freely.
As for the Young Madam, she was also protecting Bao Shu with one hand, but her other hand had driven a concealed weapon into the Grand Commander’s chest.
The Commander of the Jinyi Guard frowned deeply, swiftly drawing his Brocade Spring Saber: "So you’re an assassin too. Surrender your life!"
At that mont, a small but swift figure darted through the air and delivered a kick to his wrist, forcing him back a few steps.
Tan’er landed firmly at the door of the ditation room, clapped her hands, and sneered, "Touch my sister again, I’ll kill you, you N!"
The Commander of the Jinyi Guard glanced at his slightly numb arm, a flicker of confusion crossing his gaze.
This girl had remarkable strength; no wonder she had managed to injure three assassins chasing their lord the other day.
However, that didn’t an he would show her rcy.
Those who hard the Grand Commander were to be killed without pardon!
The Commander slashed at Tan’er with his saber.
Tan’er dodged to the side, countering with a punch as he followed up with a palm strike. The two exchanged blows briefly before separating, with Tan’er retreating further, her feet dragging two long grooves across the ground.
"N’s got so skills, huh! Co again!"
Lu Linglong, who had been stunned into silence, decided that self-preservation was more important than spying on ng Qianqian’s secrets. But just as she turned to leave, a hand strike knocked her unconscious.
Inside the ditation room.
Lu Yuan sneered as he looked at ng Qianqian. "You’ve been waiting to use that needle for a long ti, haven’t you?"
He let go of ng Qianqian’s head and plucked out the silver needle with two fingers, his voice icy. "Aren’t you disappointed it didn’t kill ?"
ng Qianqian made no defense.
The first ti he had broken into her room at night, she had indeed intended to use the silver needle to kill him. She thought she had hidden it well, but he had noticed it long ago.
This ti, however, she hadn’t ant to kill him initially; she had misunderstood his intentions. By the ti she heard the arrow’s whistle, her needle had already pierced his chest.
She had exerted all her effort to stop it just in ti, leaving the needle only a hair’s breadth from his heart.
"Next ti, say sothing first," she muttered.
If she hadn’t been able to stop in ti, he could have actually died.
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You’re planning on a next ti?"
Clutching the now deeply asleep Bao Shu closer, ng Qianqian flattered him shalessly: "The Grand Commander’s fortune and longevity are boundless."
"Hmph!"
Lu Yuan snorted disdainfully, examining the silver needle in his hand.
He was clad only in an outer robe, his upper body revealed to show a strong, lean build, wrapped in white bandages that were now bleeding through from his earlier exertions, clearly tearing open old wounds.
ng Qianqian’s eyes didn’t stray further and instead fixed on his hand, where black blood oozed from the wound: "The arrow is poisoned."
Lu Yuan responded with a calm "Mm," as if utterly indifferent to the fact that he had been poisoned. His attention remained on the silver needle. "I’ve heard that the Chu Grand Marshal was killed by only a few silver needles back in the day."
ng Qianqian said, "I’ll fetch a doctor."
She had just laid Bao Shu gently on a small cushion when she heard a heavy thud behind her. Lu Yuan had collapsed.
Grabbing his ice-cold wrist and examining the darkened flesh on the back of his hand, she frowned deeply.
His survival should an nothing to her.
But she hated owing anyone favors.
...
"N put down! N put down!"
In the courtyard, Tan’er was tightly bound and hung from a tree, swinging back and forth like an enraged little silkworm cocoon.
The Commander of the Jinyi Guard sheathed his Brocade Spring Saber and wiped the blood from his brow. "That brat was really hard to deal with. My face is even swollen!"
He strode quickly into the room.
Lu Yuan lay flat on the clean floor, his robes neat and tidy, his breathing even, with the blood on the back of his hand seemingly stopped and a handkerchief wrapped around it.
ng Qianqian sat nearby, still holding the mumbling Bao Shu.
The Commander of the Jinyi Guard gave ng Qianqian a complex look.
At that mont, several Jinyi Guards stationed around the temple reported in.
One said, "Commander, we killed five; one escaped."
"No one escaped."
Yu Zichuan tossed a prisoner whose acupoints had been sealed into the courtyard.
Another Jinyi Guard hesitated before signaling for subordinates to bring over an unconscious young woman: "Found this outside the courtyard. Commander, how should we handle her?"
The Commander of the Jinyi Guard turned to ng Qianqian.
Recognizing Lu Linglong, ng Qianqian calmly said, "The eldest daughter of the Lu Family, not soone I brought."
The Commander paused for a mont, then approached another ditation room and bowed respectfully. "A few assassins intruded earlier. Is the master unhard?"
The young Emperor turned to glance at the closed door.
The monk replied, unhurried, "All is well."
The Commander of the Jinyi Guard said, "Apologies for the disturbance, master. I shall take my leave!"
Outside, Tan’er yelled fiercely at him, "Hey! Saber-wielding jerk! N let down!"
The Commander returned to Lu Yuan’s ditation room and addressed ng Qianqian sternly: "Madam Lu and Miss Lu, I must trouble you to co to the Governor Mansion for further investigation!"
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