Yuhen Pavilion is the most heavily guarded place in the entire General's Mansion, except for Xie Jingyuan's residence. The moonlight is dim tonight, and the edges of the glazed tiles are gleaming with a bleak light. The fairy beasts standing on the four corners of the eaves look at the moon, but they can only leave a black silhouette.
Jiuyong smelled something unusual. He held the sword tightly at his waist and patrolled the area tirelessly. Just then, he found something and suddenly stopped. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he picked up a piece of gravel and hit the treetops in the east with force.
"sieve-"
Something quietly landed in the darkness and fluttered twice. The guards ran over to check and found it was a night crow, its wings still flapping. "Oh, it's a bird."
Jiuyong said in a cold voice: "Continue patrolling."
Xie Jingyuan issued a death order, anyone who dared to step into Yuhen Pavilion would be killed without mercy. No matter if they were beasts or not, Jiuyong would treat them as such.
Just now, three spies sent by the Prince of Jin's Mansion had broken into the place, but unfortunately, they were killed on the spot before they could even reach him. He didn't need to torture them. Since they had been sent out, they must be dead men, so there was no need to waste time.
The bloodstains on the ground had not yet dried, silently showing what had just happened.
Jiuyong had taken all precautions, but he did not expect that Yuhen Pavilion would still have an uninvited guest.
"The general has ordered that anyone who dares to enter the ground will be killed without mercy—"
Jiuyong glanced at Chu Xinian who came late at night, and the long sword at his waist was unsheathed with a clang. The sword tip flashed with a cold light and directly hit his neck.
"How dare you! How dare you be rude to my young master!" When Yun Que saw him draw his sword, he stepped forward and stood in front of Chu Xinian, glaring at Jiuyong.
Jiuyong ignored him and stared at Chu Xinian as if he was looking at a dead object: "If you come any closer, I will kill you without mercy."
Chu Xinian was holding a lantern covered with white silk. It was so bright that it made the bluestone floor glow. He ignored the sword across his neck, smiled, and raised his finger to block it: "You want to kill me?"
Because of his status, Jiuyong was very wary and was extremely alert: "Guard this place under the order of the general, no one else is allowed to enter."
Yun Que snorted, "Since your general has married our young master, then we are related by marriage. How can it be considered as someone else? The general is your master, and our young master is also your master. Why don't you even listen to your master's words?"
Jiuyong sneered: "What a sharp-tongued mouth you have. If you don't believe me, just step forward and see if I dare to kill you."
Yun Que's momentum weakened for a moment after hearing this. She subconsciously turned back to look at Chu Xinian, only to see him already holding a lantern and walking straight into the courtyard. Jiu Yong threw his long sword in a flash, and it sank into Chu Xinian's feet.
"… "
Chu Xinian finally stopped walking. He turned around and looked at the people standing by in full battle array. He smiled like the breeze and the bright moon, and said slowly, "I have been in the general's mansion for a few days, but I have never been inside. Why can't I get in?"
Before Jiuyong took him away, he felt more and more that he was a spy, so he pulled the long sword out of the ground with his backhand and said coldly: "I can't do it."
If Chu Xinian comes any closer, he will show no mercy.
Chu Xinian lowered his eyes and turned the handle of the lantern. It seemed that there was a small piece of paper hidden in his sleeve, so it was hard to see clearly. He smiled to himself: "Jiuyong is guarding against me like a thief. What if a real thief gets in?"
His words were full of hidden meanings. Before Jiuyong could understand what he meant, Yunque suddenly pointed at the window and exclaimed, "There's something inside!"
Jiuyong looked subconsciously, and saw a black shadow flashing quickly through the window. His face changed immediately, and he didn't care about Chu Xi's age, and immediately rushed in.
Yun Que hid a stone on his fingertips and hit the window frame at the moment Jiu Yong rushed in. There was a clang and the window opened, making it look like the thief had just broken through the window and escaped.
The lights were turned on in the dark room, and the inner room was clearly visible. Jiuyong rushed in and saw the window was wide open. He was misled by the illusion, so he immediately sent a team to track it down, and he quickly checked whether anything inside was missing.
Yun Que stood outside, looking nervous, and subconsciously looked at Chu Xinian: "Master, what should we do next?"
Chu Xinian calmly blew out the lantern in his hand, and tore up the hand-shaped paper and threw it in. What should they do next? It would be better for them to go back to the house, but they were afraid that they would not be allowed to leave.
"stop!"
As a result, they were stopped by the guards before they took two steps.
Chu Xinian had expected that he would not be able to escape. There had just been a thief in Yuhen Pavilion, and they happened to be there, so they were too suspicious. He said to Yunque, "It's okay, we'll stay here."
No one knows what he is up to.
How could Xie Jingyuan not be alarmed when such a big thing happened? When he hurried over late at night, he saw Chu Xinian standing in the courtyard. Thinking of the assassin who had broken in, his face suddenly became slightly gloomy.
He clenched his fingertips silently, not knowing what he was thinking. He walked in front of Chu Xinian and spoke in a calm voice, which made people feel cold: "Are you there?"
Xie Jingyuan thought of what he had said to the prince today, and his eyelids twitched. He couldn't explain what he was thinking, but a nameless fire suddenly rose in his heart.
Chu Xinian still looked calm and composed, as if everything was under control. He frowned and looked a little worried: "I couldn't fall asleep late at night, so I wanted to go out for a walk. Who would have thought that I would be treated as a thief, General, it's really... unfair."
The last two words were spoken lightly and casually, as if they were not saying "unfair" but "very good".
Xie Jingyuan would not believe Chu Xinian's one-sided words. His eyes hidden under the mask were hollow and dark, and one could not see the bottom. The corners of his lips were slightly raised, slowly pulling out a cruel arc, and whispered in Chu Xinian's ear: "Are you sure the thief is not you?"
The breath is cold.
Chu Xinian deliberately stared blankly: "General, are you doubting me?"
Xie Jingyuan was now like a bloodthirsty snake, staring at his prey. If the opponent made the slightest move, he would kill him. He said, "It's better not to be you."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked into Yuhen Pavilion. Jiuyong left the room and whispered in Xie Jingyuan's ear, repeating what had just happened. He frowned and concluded, "General, it must be related to them."
Xie Jingyuan did not respond, but walked to the antique shelf and turned a vase, and the floor tiles under the desk made a slight sound. He leaned over to open the secret compartment, pulled out a pile of papers, glanced at them, and said coldly, "The things are still there."
Jiuyong: "The assassin escaped quickly just now, so he probably didn't have time to find the mechanism."
Xie Jingyuan put the things back as they were, and slowly wiped the dust off his fingertips with a handkerchief. He was terrifyingly calm and asked, "Have you seen what he looks like?"
Jiuyong shook his head: "I haven't seen it, but the servants that Chu Xinian brought from Quyang Hou Mansion did not move."
"Find—" Xie Jingyuan said this word.
He turned and walked out, his dark wind cloak brushing against the threshold, making a slight rustling sound. Xie Jingyuan put his fist to his lips, coughed sickly, closed his eyes and said slowly: "It is better to kill by mistake than to let him go."
Jiuyong looked towards the outside of the courtyard: "Then Chu Xinian..."
"I'll check."
After Xie Jingyuan finished speaking, he walked straight towards the man in white in the courtyard, then slowly stopped and stopped in front of him. He was laughing, and the happier he laughed, the more serious the consequences would be.
Xie Jingyuan said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Chu Xinian, I'm going to ask you one last time, come?"
Chu Xinian didn't say anything. He seemed to be doing this on purpose, doing many things that would arouse suspicion. After a moment, he asked, "General, are you doubting me?"
Xie Jingyuan stared at him, the mask on his face was cold, and the shadow cast by the wall split the whole thing in half: "Is it Youru? Not Youru?"
"Why not, General, if you really suspect me, just do whatever you want. You can kill me or chop me up as you wish."
Chu Xinian said this, and slowly stopped smiling, looking unusually silent and quiet. He took out a pile of paper from his sleeve, which was covered with densely written words.
"I saw that the general was troubled by his old illness and was getting restless day by day. I was worried that someone might have poisoned him, so I checked the furnishings in the house. Who would have thought that it was related to the green stem tree outside..."
With every word he spoke, Xie Jingyuan's expression changed, and in the end the smile on his lips gradually disappeared, becoming gloomy and terrifying.
Chu Xinian paused and continued, "And I'm not sure if the root is really there. I heard that the general used to live in Yuhen Pavilion, so I wanted to come and see if there were any green stem trees planted there, but I ended up mistaking him for an assassin..."
A breeze blew by, the shadows of the trees swayed, and the green-stemmed trees planted in the courtyard silently dropped many unknown black fruits, which rolled to the ground.
Chu Xinian sighed after he finished speaking, his voice was low, and he seemed to be really heartbroken: "I know the general has always had doubts, suspecting that I am the King of Jin. But I have no interest in party disputes, I just want to live a good life with the general, but I didn't expect that it would be wishful thinking after all."
After he finished speaking, he handed the stack of papers in his hand to the stunned Xie Jingyuan and forced a smile: "But I still hope that the poison can cure the general's body. As for the assassin, if the general does not believe it, you can kill me or chop me up, and I will have no complaints."
Chu Xi had always been smiling like a cloud, and she had never been in such an abnormal mood before. Yun Que stood beside him, buried his head, and dared not even make a sound.
Jiuyong frowned and said anxiously: "General, you must not listen to his temptation-"
Xie Jingyuan raised his hand to interrupt him and said coldly: "Go, invite Doctor Wan."
He squeezed the stack of papers and almost broke them. If what Chu Xinian said was true, then Xie Jingyuan would have been a fool for nothing, not even knowing that he was almost poisoned to death.
Xie Jingyuan's face was ugly. Seeing Jiuyong didn't move, he shouted sinisterly, "Go quickly!"
My heart, which was tense just now, suddenly relaxed for some reason.
Jiuyong heard the order and went to ask for a doctor. When he passed by Yunque, he saw the dead girl making a face at him. He was not in a good mood, but he could grit his teeth and endure it.
After Jiuyong was taken away, the courtyard was mostly empty.
Chu Xinian didn't care about the dust, he lifted his robe and sat on the ground, with a large area of green tree shade above his head. He picked up a black fruit that fell on the ground and said to himself: "General, don't believe me. I am an assassin. Not only will I steal your secrets, but I will also kill you, huh?"
He smiled after he finished speaking. There was no moon tonight, and Chu Xinian was dressed in white, but his brightness was far better than the full moon in the sky.
Xie Jingyuan read through his "experimental draft" in a hurry, and was already 70% convinced. He leaned over and squatted in front of Chu Xinian, and asked in an ambiguous tone, "You came here late at night just to test for poison?"
“No,” Chu Xinian shook his sleeves and shook his head slowly, “I came here to steal the secrets of the General’s Mansion. Jiuyong caught me right away. The general had better kill me right here to avoid endless troubles.”
Xie Jingyuan frowned upon hearing this, narrowed his eyes, and said angrily: "Chu Xinian, do you really think I can't bear to kill you?"
Can’t bear to…
Chu Xinian frowned in doubt when he heard these three words, but he didn't dwell on the meaning of the words and quickly put them out of his mind: "General, if you want to kill me, then kill me. I will never fight back. Even if I survive, I will still be suspected. What if another assassin comes and targets me again?"
Xie Jingyuan was speechless. When it comes to eloquence, he is definitely no match for Chu Xinian.
Seeing that he didn't move, Chu Xinian smiled and said, "General, you don't want to kill me? If you don't want to kill me, then I will go back first."
After saying that, he stood up from under the tree, dusted off the dust on his body, and walked out of the arch.
Seeing that he didn't continue to make trouble, Xie Jingyuan was relieved. But before he could say anything, he heard Chu Xinian indifferently tell Yun Que, "Go, pack your things and return to Quyang Marquis' Mansion."
Xie Jingyuan: “…”