Xu Qing's footprints

  Footprints of Xu Qing

  Ye Li brought a collection of poems back to her room and sat down calmly. Princess An Xi was not a brainless princess who became the crown princess of Nanzhao by chance, at least the people she sent to monitor Ye Li were very measured and would not make guests feel offended.

  Forget it. Ye Li didn't bother to say anything more about these things. If Princess Anxi really completely believed her, then she would have suspected that the brain of this Nanzhao princess was not good.

  "Miss, Princess Anxi has left the mansion." An'er came in and said in a low voice.

  Ye Li nodded and whispered, "That princess is not simple, don't get too close to her or you might be misunderstood." An Er frowned, looked at the door and said, "She doesn't believe us at all, in that case, staying here would be completely useless and would only make it harder for ourselves to leave.

  "Then?" Ye Li shook her head, "Princess An Xi must know where Big Brother went. Even if she can't find Big Brother now, it's clear that she's not worried about Big Brother's safety. What has Big Brother been doing since entering Nanzhao? Can you investigate?" An Er nodded, "Tomorrow

  "Previously, it was handed over to the young lady." Ye Li nodded and frowned, staring at the book in her hand, but her mind had already flown far away. Big Brother obviously wasn't taken away by someone, but went somewhere on his own initiative. However, after going there, he didn't follow through with Anxi Princess

  The promised time has come back. Big brother himself didn't have any interests or enemies in Nanzhao, so he could only be going for Princess Anxi. Even so... following big brother's inheritance of his uncle's cunning nature, it shouldn't be that there wouldn't be any clues left behind, right?

  Clue... where is it after all?

  She spread out a sheet of rice paper on the table, and Ye Li took out her usual charcoal pen to quickly write and draw. Her mind kept flashing back to the complex messages about Nanjiang that Anwei had sent over last night after staying up all night, and she quickly drew out a diagram of the power structure distribution in Nanjiang.

  The table, analysis of various forces in the capital of Nanzhao and so on. Before long, a large piece of rice paper was densely filled with all sorts of simple symbols and strange texts. An Qi looked at it with some curiosity, but didn't say a word as he couldn't understand what was written on it at all.

  Inquiry. Ye Li Ge put down her pen and stared at the paper, also taken aback for a moment. It wasn't that she intentionally wanted to guard against anyone, but what was written on this paper wasn't actually any secret, it was just her reorganizing the information she saw last night. Looking at the smooth writing, at least interspersed with

  The paper with the four-country characters, Ye Li couldn't help but smile wryly in her heart. In fact, she had always been nostalgic for her past life, and she could have been a perfect and quiet queen, but she just didn't like it. So after leaving the capital city, she would deliberately avoid Mo Xiu Yao's gaze on herself.

  Instead of taking the safe route for protection, they chose a more dangerous path.

  Putting aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Ye Li stared at the papers spread out on the table for a long time before furrowing her brow and asking, "Why is there no news about the Holy Maiden of Nanjiang?" The clear diagrams in front of her showed that they had information about the Holy Maiden of Nanjiang, a crucial figure in Nanjiang.

  Extremely lacking. Even if there is, it's just a brief mention of a few words. They are all some basic content and what she knew when she was in the capital city, with little difference, only age and name, even appearance characteristics are not clear. If the Holy Girl of South Jiao is secretly competing with Wang Taimei...

  If it's a coup, there can't be so little information.

  The Dark Second Avenue: "The Holy Girl of the South is revered as the guardian deity of all tribes in the South, enshrined in the Temple of the Holy Girl five miles outside the city of Nanzhao. Except for major events and festivals, the Holy Girl will not leave the temple, while normally only thirty-six selected servants can approach her."

  The temple maidens. The current Holy Maiden, Shu Manlin, ascended to the throne at the age of fifteen and has left the temple ten times in eight years, but each time with a mask on. It is said that no one in the entire Nanzhao knows what she looks like except for the previous Holy Maiden who has already entered the sacred land of South China."

  Ling shook her head, "This is simply impossible. The Saintess in office does not have the right to teach and nurture the next Saintess, so who taught and nurtured the current Saintess? Who took care of her when she was young? And what about her parents? Moreover... if it's true that no one has ever seen the Saintess' true face,

  "So... who dares to confirm that the person under the mask is really the Holy Maiden of Southern Xinjiang?"

  "Uh..." An Er furrowed his brow slightly. Ye Li picked up a pen and wrote several lines heavily on the paper, "Re-examine the information about the Nanzhao royal family and the Holy Maiden of the Southern Frontier, don't miss any details or clues."

  An yi responded: "Yes, I'll have someone take care of it immediately. Miss suspects... the Holy Maiden of Nanjiang..."

  Ye Li played with the charcoal pen in her hand, smiling lightly: "If the Holy Girl of Nanjiang really rarely leaves the temple, how could she have hooked up with King Lei? A few years ago when King Lei was on a diplomatic mission to Nanjiang, the Holy Girl of Nanjiang did not appear. So..." An Er's eyes lit up in front of her, saying:

  "I've met him in private. The reason why the King of Lei won't send anyone to negotiate, and also, the Holy Maiden of Nanjiang isn't that easy to meet..." Ye Li nodded, leaning back in his chair, deep in thought, "The Holy Maiden... this title is really strange. Suddenly making someone who doesn't"

  A young girl with unknown origins, abilities and identity is pushed to the top of the entire Southern Territory's respected position. Is it that people from the Southern Territory are too easy to believe in others?" An Er shook his head and shrugged: "If in our Great Chu, we randomly pick someone out to be crowned as the Crown Prince, even if it's the Emperor himself...

  "Even if you speak eloquently, it's still hard to convince everyone."

  "The Holy Maiden institution of Southern Xinjiang seems to have a history as long as that of Nanzhao State?"

  "It wasn't long after that, before the founding of Nanzhao, each tribe had its own government and there was no such thing as a holy maiden. It was indeed after the founding of Nanzhao that the national teacher, who was also in charge of the royal family's sacrifices, chose the first holy maiden." An Er lowered his head in thought. Ye Li raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like the country..."

  "The roles of the Master and the Holy Maiden are roughly the same, so after the Holy Maiden appeared, Nanzhao no longer had the title of National Master." An nodded twice, thought for a moment and said: "The actions of the National Master are not as strict as those of the Holy Maiden, but the responsibilities to be fulfilled are roughly the same.

  In the eyes of Southern Xinjiang people, the Holy Maiden is obviously more worthy of worship than the National Preceptor.

  "Compared to an old man who's always wandering around, most people prefer a mysterious and beautiful young girl." Ye Li agreed.

  In the morning, after eating the breakfast brought by the maid, Ye Li took An Er and was about to go out. However, she met Princess An Xi at the door, who was also going out. "Miss Chu, are you going out?" Ye Li went up with a smile full of expectation and some nervousness.

  "Has there been any news of Qingchen brother?" Princess Anxi shook her head regretfully, "Sorry, Miss Chu. There is still no news of Qingchen for the time being." Ye Li's head drooped in disappointment and she said softly, "It doesn't matter, Qingchen brother will definitely be fine. I'll

  Lin Han also went out to find Qingchen's brother, and they would definitely find her soon."

  "Miss Chu had just arrived in Nanzhao and was unfamiliar with the place, where did she want to go?"

  Ye Li's fingers fidgeted, and she said in a low voice: "I... I'll search everywhere, maybe, just maybe I can find it." Princess An Xi couldn't help but smile and say: "If Miss Chu feels bored, you can take a walk around the capital city. If there's anywhere you'd like to go, you can let the mansion..."

  Inside, people will guide you, but there are many dangers in the south border. Miss Chu must not take risks alone, lest Qingchen young master worries." Ye Li nodded and said: "I know, thank you Princess sister. You'll find Qingchen brother soon, right? Otherwise, otherwise I'll write a letter

  "Alright, Uncle Xu will be fine," said Qingchen's brother. "Uncle Xu is the smartest person in the world, he'll definitely find a way to locate me."

  "Is it Mr. Hongyu?" Princess Anxi hesitated for a moment and asked softly.

  Ye Li nodded heavily and smiled: "Princess sister also knows Uncle Xu? Was it Qingchen brother who told you?"

  Princess Anxi nodded slightly and smiled: "Miss Chu, please rest assured that I will definitely find Qingchen young master soon. The road to Nanjiang is difficult, so let's not worry Mr. Hongyu about it. Otherwise, Qingchen young master would also be worried if he knew, wouldn't he?" Ye Li blinked her eyes.

  Her eyes gazed blankly at Princess Anxi for a moment before nodding and saying, "Sister Princess is right."

  See off Princess Anxi out of the door, Ye Li also followed behind with a faint smile and came out of the princess's mansion gate, "Tell someone to follow Princess Anxi."

  "Yes."

  In the inn, Han Mingxi walked down from the lobby with a look of satisfaction, his lazy and elegant demeanor, which was different from that of people in the southern border, instantly attracted everyone's attention. Han Mingxi naturally didn't mind others looking at him, and he lazily walked downstairs to beckon over

  The little waiter asked, "Have you seen the two young masters who came with me?" The little waiter looked dizzy and hurriedly said, "Replying to the young master, those two young masters left early this morning. Oh, and there's a letter for the young master too." The little waiter ran quickly to the counter

  The shopkeeper took the letter and handed it to Han Mingxi. Han Mingxi raised an eyebrow, took the letter and scanned it, furrowing his brow, "Jun Wei is really too inconsiderate, how could he abandon me and sneak away? Hmph, there's no one in this world that I, young master, can't find." He casually crumpled the letter

  Cheng Yituan waved his hand and then hesitated, putting it back into his sleeve pocket. He walked out with a huff, leaving behind the stunned guest at the inn.

  At this time, in a large wine house opposite the inn, Ye Li was sitting at the window drinking tea in men's clothing, and the person following him had changed from An Er to An San. Looking out of the window, he could see Han Ming walking out with a sulky face and a resentful air.

  Ye Li smiled and watched as Han Ming Xue walked into the crowd, gradually disappearing from view. She asked, "What did Han Ming Xue do yesterday?" An San replied in a low voice, "Young Master Han went out at midnight the day before yesterday and didn't return until 10 o'clock last night. He should have gone to Tian Yi Pavilion in Nan Zhao."

  Their base. We and the Tianyi Pavilion have always been mutually exclusive, Young Master... do you need to go check? Ye Li shook her head and said: "No need, as long as he doesn't interfere with us it's fine. Pay attention to the news from An Si's side, don't let Han Mingyue find trouble for us, we still don't know."

  He nodded three times, "Strictly speaking, the young master didn't actually plot anything against Tianyi Pavilion either. It was Han Gongzi who followed us to Nanjiang on his own accord. The master of Tianyi Pavilion shouldn't bother us."

  "That's not necessarily true. Does Tianyi Pavilion send messages at regular intervals?" Ye Li asked.

  "There is, the information we obtained from Tianyi Pavilion and our own information are not much different after comparison." An San replied. Ye Li nodded in satisfaction, "That's good... If there's still someone who can deceive both the Dark Guards and Tianyi Pavilion at the same time, then even if we're deceived, it won't be a big deal."

  "It's a misunderstanding. When I asked Tianyige about the news of the Nanzang Saintess, I told Han Mingxi that I wanted to get the Youluo Minghua, now that I'm asking for the news of the Nanzang Saintess, Han Mingxi won't be suspicious."

  "Yes. Young master, there's news from the doctor too. Old Master Liang is afraid he won't be able to hold on, are you..."

  Ye Li furrowed her brow in distress, she hadn't expected to receive news of her brother's disappearance as soon as she arrived in Nanzhao. This not only meant that she couldn't get any advice or help from Xu Qingchen, but also that she had to find out Xu Qingchen's whereabouts in the shortest time possible. It was also making her feel a bit overwhelmed.

  It's absolutely impossible to ignore the sick book, "Mr. Liang is not a martial artist after all, and the sick book's method is probably something that even a martial artist can't withstand for long." Before, the sick book was still worried that if he killed Mr. Liang, there would be no clues at all, but now the evidence is in his hands.

  Even if Old Master Liang refused to say a word, he would still be able to find some clues with a bit more thought. Moreover, without the token, Old Master Liang himself had no way to explain things.

  "Where are they?"

  "Outside the city."

  Ye Li thought for a moment and said, "First, we need to find Big Brother. Let the Dark Guards keep an eye on them. If necessary, we can help those people from the Luo Yi Department rescue that Old Man Liang too. We absolutely cannot let him tell Bing Shu Sheng the method of getting the Bi Luo Flower. At least not until we have time to deal with it. If not, then we'll just have to force our way in and take it by any means necessary. If we can't get it, then we'll destroy the Bi Luo Flower! We absolutely cannot let Bing Shu Sheng get his hands on it."

  An Qi hesitated and said: "Bai Luohua should say that it's uncertain whether he can cure the prince's illness, if he fails..."

  "So we must try our best to get it. But if we really can't get it, we can't let the sickly bookworm have it either. Who do you think he would want to deal with first if he got the Bixi flower?" Ye Li asked with a smile.

  "Your Highness?"

  Ye Li gazed out the window with a faint smile and said, "Bing Shu Sheng is one of the three masters of Yan Wang Ge. If he wants to do something, he can just send someone from Yan Wang Ge to take care of it. But this time, he went to Nan Jiang alone without using any of Yan Wang Ge's power. What could be the reason? It must be that the other two masters of Yan Wang Ge disagreed with him. Back then, Bing Shu Sheng was severely injured and almost died. Even now, he's still struggling to survive. How can he not harbor resentment? However, Yan Wang Ge has a pact with Ding Guo Wang Fu to never interfere with each other. So he can only rely on himself..." As soon as Ye Li recalled the venomous gaze in Bing Shu Sheng's eyes when he mentioned Bi Luo Huang Quan, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. She even had a fleeting thought of taking preemptive action and killing Bing Shu Sheng first. However, this thought only flashed by for an instant. Regardless of whether it was due to Bing Shu Sheng's identity or other reasons, he couldn't be killed now. At the very least, he couldn't die at the hands of Ding Guo Wang Fei.

  "I understand. I absolutely won't let Bing Sheng get his hands on the Bili Lotus."

  In a certain secret palace of Nanzhao, the marble floor and pillars were carved with intricate patterns, and exquisite gold-plated decorations inlaid with various precious stones shone brightly, replacing candles. The most valuable lotus silk from Nanjiang fluttered layer by layer. Behind the silk curtain, a handsome man in white clothes sat quietly reading a book. Under the soft glow of the night pearls, the man's perfect profile emitted a faint halo, making him look even more serene and peaceful.

  The heavy stone gate was pushed open from the outside, and a slender woman with a delicate figure walked in slowly. Unlike the traditional Nanjiang costume, the woman wore a bright yellow wide cloak with phoenix patterns, with the hem dragging on the ground. A head of black hair was casually tied up, with exquisite five-colored gemstone ornaments between her hair, and a golden mask covered her entire face. The exquisite mask had an eerie charm, making the eyes under the mask even more dazzling. The woman walked in elegantly, looking at the white-clothed man and laughing softly: "Qingchen young master, don't you really want to take a look at me? As long as you nod, I'll remove my mask and let you see."

  Xu Qingchen put down the book in his hand, let out a light sigh and raised his head to ask: "You... are you more beautiful than those few beauties depicted in the Chu Jing's national beauty portraits back then?"

  This seems to be Xu Qingchen's first reaction to this question, and the woman is slightly surprised. "You like women from Da Chu? I've also heard of Chujing's national color, which one do you like more? Is it Su Zuijian, who is known as the number one beauty in Da Chu? She seems to be dead already?" Xu Qingchen smiled lightly: "Su Zuijian...is indeed a pretty good beauty. If you don't look better than her, then there's no need to look."

  "Ah!" The woman's eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance, but she quickly calmed down and chuckled: "Young Master Qingchen is being too picky. In my opinion, that little fiancée of yours doesn't look bad, but...she's not quite at the level of an absolute beauty yet." Xu Qingchen lowered his gaze, subtly hiding the unusual color in his eyes. The woman, however, took it as a sign of agreement and hummed softly: "Speaking of which, that Miss Chu really does have deep feelings for you, Master. She actually traveled all the way to Nanjiang with only one guard. Just this point alone makes Miss Chu not quite like other women from the Central Plains."

  "Where is she?" Xu Qingchen asked.

  "Hehe, she went to the mansion of our Wang Taifei Anxi Gongzhu with great fanfare yesterday. Since Anxi Gongzhu and the young master are good friends, I'm sure they will treat the young master's fiancée well." The woman smiled behind her hand, "Qingchen Young Master, won't you consider my proposal? If it succeeds... we can share the world together." Xu Qingchen's expression remained calm as he spoke in a soft voice, "If I'm not mistaken, three years ago, you also made a promise to Great Chu's Li Wang to share the world together." The woman sneered and laughed, waving her sleeve, "Mo Jingli? How can he compare to the young master? No... I believe that apart from Di Wang, there is no one in this world who can compare to the young master. Only... now that Di Wang has been deposed, the young master is the most perfect man in this world and also the one most suited to me."

  Xu Qingchen shook his head, "I'm really sorry. The Xu family rules are to marry a virtuous wife, and the Xu family descendants must not covet beauty, wealth, or power. In this life, I will only take one wife. Miss, keeping me locked up like this won't do you any good either. Nanzhao's city is not big, it's only a matter of time before someone finds us here."

  The woman leaned against the marble pillar and laughed, "Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you? In these six months, how many bad ideas have you come up with for Anxi, how much trouble have you caused me? You like women from the Central Plains, don't you? Am I not more like a woman from the Central Plains than Anxi?"

  Xu Qingchen shook his head and continued reading, saying, "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already. And... what good would killing me do for you?"

  "True enough." The woman sighed in frustration, "Killing you would be a real hassle. The Xu family of Zhongyuan, and maybe even the Dingguo royal palace will come looking for me. And our own Princess Wang, she'll definitely try to take my life as well. But... hehe, I may not be able to kill you, but I can lock you up here. That way, you won't ruin my plans. Without you causing trouble, it won't be long before that arrogant and annoying woman from Anxi dies a miserable death. Of course... along with your lovely fiancée."

  "Don't you dare touch her!" Xu Qingchen seemed to be enraged, coldly warning.

  "Huh? You really care about her?" The woman looked at Xu Qingchen with some surprise and said, "That kind of immature little girl, how can you like her?" Xu Qingchen replied calmly, "As long as she is my fiancée, I will naturally care about her." The woman stared at him and asked, "Your meaning is that no matter what kind of person she is, as long as she is your fiancée, you will care about her?" Xu Qingchen smiled and said, "Isn't this a very natural thing? Since she is going to be my future wife, who else would I care about?"

  "You...good, I'll show you!" The woman said coldly, glaring at Xu Qingchen with hatred and turning to leave.

  Hearing the heavy stone door close again, Xu Qingchen slowly put down the book in his hand. His clear and handsome eyes drooped slightly, "Fiancée... Miss Chu... Li'er..."

  In the dead of night, the Anxi Princess's residence was quiet. Only the study had a faint light on. The Anxi Princess's delicate and elegant face showed a hint of fatigue, her slender eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the person in front of her, "Still no news from Qingchen?" The man shook his head, saying in a low voice, "None." The Anxi Princess said somewhat anxiously, "What's going on? Doesn't she still not believe that we really think Qingchen is missing?"

  The man nodded, "It's very likely that although we sent people to look for Qingchen Gongzi everywhere, she still thinks we are in cahoots with Qingchen Gongzi and putting on a show for her."

  "I hope nothing goes wrong with Qingchen." Princess Anxi closed her eyes wearily, rubbing her aching forehead: "We've spent so much effort and finally made some progress. If it all falls apart now... Father will..." The man frowned: "Does the king still not believe you?" Princess Anxi sighed bitterly: "Father is only just over 40, in his prime. Even if he believed us, he wouldn't support us - he needs another force to counterbalance me, the crown princess." If it weren't for Father secretly favoring her, how could they have failed so many times this past half year? Every time they were about to catch that person's tail, she managed to slip away. "Now that she has the military symbol in hand, if we can't retrieve it, everything is pointless."

  Anxi Princess really didn't understand why her usually wise father had to favor that woman. But she couldn't just watch as she plotted against Nanzhao. It was her duty as the princess of Nanzhao and also the crown princess.

  "Can Qingchen's current whereabouts be found out?" asked Princess Anxi, "If it really can't be done, then please ask Qingchen to withdraw first. This is a matter of Nanzhao itself and cannot implicate him."

  The man shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not possible. Although we can sometimes receive news from Qingchen Gongzi, they are all messages that Qingchen Gongzi has arranged for us to contact him. We have no way of determining where Qingchen Gongzi is."

  "How detestable!" Princess Anxi cursed in a low voice.

  "Assassin!" A shout came from outside the courtyard, and Princess Anxi suddenly stood up. The man beside her immediately drew out his dagger and retreated to the door, only to return quickly with a furrowed brow, saying: "It's heading towards the guest house." Princess Anxi said: "The guest house only has Miss Chu, what does the assassin want from her? Hurry, let's go take a look." After finishing speaking, she took the lead and rushed out of the door towards the guest house. The man hastily closed the door and followed after her.

  The window in the quiet study room creaked open slightly, then was pushed open by someone. A black-clad figure quickly flipped into the room. Underneath the black mask, a pair of clear eyes shone through. The black-clad person rapidly walked to the desk and began flipping through the documents on it. After scanning them once, seemingly without finding anything, they turned to search the bookshelf behind.

  Princess Anxi's study didn't have many books hidden away; most were official documents and scrolls from the southern border region. After expending a lot of effort, a document hidden in an inconspicuous corner of the bookshelf caught the black-clad person's eye. What drew their attention wasn't the document itself but the seal imprint - a pattern resembling a sunflower.

  Their eyes flashed with light, and a thin blade appeared at the tip of the black-clad person's finger. With lightning speed, they opened the sealed document. Scanning it quickly, their clear eyes revealed a faint smile. After re-sealing the document, they restored the study to its original state before flipping out the window once more.

  In the guest house, Princess Anxi arrived with her guards and was immediately blocked by An'er at the door. An'er looked at the people in front of him with a gloomy face and said, "Princess, what's going on so late?" Princess Anxi said, "Just now an assassin broke into the guest house, is Miss Chu okay?"

  "An assassin?" An Er frowned and said: "I've been keeping watch outside all night, there hasn't been any assassin coming in."

  Princess Anxi was taken aback, her own guards would never lie. Moreover, she had indeed seen several black shadows entering the guest house from a distance earlier, so why did Chu's guard insist on denying it? "Lin Guard, Miss Chu is the fiancée of Qingchen Gongzi, if anything happens to harm me, I won't be able to explain it to him. Is it true that no one entered the guest house?" An's face turned gloomy, and he said in a low voice, "Earlier, when the commotion started outside, several black shadows did approach, but they were scared away by my hidden weapons, and some of them should have been injured. However, absolutely none of them entered the guest house. The young lady's reputation is at stake, please be careful with your words, Your Highness."

  Looking at An Qi's dark and serious expression, Princess An Xi finally understood why the guard insisted that the assassin had not entered. Women from the Central Plains were indeed much stricter about their reputation than those from Nanjiang.

  "Sorry, Lin Wei. It seems I misspoke." She waved her hand to let the guards behind her continue searching for the assassin before turning back to An Er and asking: "Will the commotion just now scare Miss Chu? Why hasn't she come out yet?" An Er replied calmly: "Miss is staying in the inner courtyard, perhaps she didn't hear the noise outside." Princess An Xi furrowed her brow and said: "Since Lin Wei isn't convenient, I'll go take a look at Miss Chu myself. If she's scared, that wouldn't be good..."

  "No..."

  "Princess, what's wrong?" Just as An Er was about to refuse, Ye Li's voice came from behind. At this time, Ye Li was wearing a large cloak, with her hair down and a hint of sleepiness and confusion in her eyes. Beside her was a maid sent by Princess An Xi to serve her, holding a lantern. Princess An Xi smiled: "Nothing, just a few little thieves broke in and disturbed Miss Chu?" Ye Li tilted her head, smiling gently and beautifully, "Don't worry, Lin Han's martial arts are very powerful. He has been protecting me all the way." Ye Li turned to Lin Han, "Right, Lin Han?" An Er bowed his head respectfully: "Yes, miss, please be at ease. The assassins didn't even get in, they were driven away by my subordinates."

  Princess Anxi looked at Ye Lian and saw nothing unusual, so she nodded and said: "In that case, Miss Chu should rest well. I'll let someone else check other places to avoid missing any fish."

  "Yes, it's been a hard day for the princess." Ye Li smiled cleverly. As she watched An Xi Princess leave, Ye Li's smile gradually faded away. She turned to her maid and said, "Let's go back too." The maid nodded in agreement and followed Ye Li towards the inner courtyard. Just as they entered the room, Ye Li felt a sudden numbness and fell to the ground. An Qi appeared quietly at the door, and Ye Li looked up at him with raised eyebrows, asking, "What about the assassin?" An Qi replied in a low voice, "There really was an assassin, and it seems like they were targeting Miss." An Qi walked into the room, bent down, and pulled out a black-clad figure from under the bed. "A total of three people came, but they were too careless and were discovered by the princess's guards. After being injured by my hidden weapons, they immediately left. This one was the most seriously injured and was caught by me."

  Ye Li crouched down to take a look at the person on the ground, with typical Nanjiang features. Although wrapped in black night-traveling clothes, they didn't conceal their characteristics. "Shouldn't be Princess Anxi's people, Chu Liu Yun shouldn't have any enemies in Nanjiang." Who would dare to come to the princess's mansion specifically to provoke? An Er furrowed his brow: "Could it be that our identities were discovered by someone?"

  Ye Li shook her head, "No. If our identities were really exposed, I'm afraid it wouldn't be just these few mediocre assassins. Tonight's incident seems more like a show of force or... provocation towards Princess Anxi."

  "Is it because of Qingchen Gongzi that they're provoking Anxi Gongzhu?" Ling Er speculated. Ye Li nodded, seeming to be deep in thought: "I think so too. In the Southern Border, only Big Brother has a connection with Chu Liuyun's identity. However, what's the use of such provocation if it doesn't even hurt? Compared to that, capturing me and threatening Big Brother would be more useful, wouldn't it? If Big Brother is in their hands..."

  "With the abilities of these assassins, even if I weren't here, they wouldn't be able to take a single person away from the princess's mansion." They hadn't even reached the guest house yet and already alerted the princess's guards. Assassins like this couldn't even kill someone, let alone kidnap them alive. "Miss, can you guess who did it?"

  Ye Li smiled shallowly: "Originally didn't know, now it seems to have some confidence. Tomorrow try your interrogation skills and verify my idea at the same time."