There was an assassin?
Tang Xinhua's face turned pale. Before she could think, she rushed in front of Yun Shu, instinctively shielding her.
"Y-Your Highness!"
"Do not be afraid."
Yun Shu's heart had leapt as well, but she gathered herself quickly.
"The commotion outside isn't too loud. There likely aren't many of them."
Besides, she had four Dragon Shadow Guards with her. That alone should be more than enough.
As if to confirm her assessment, the clash of blades outside faded quickly.
Then came a knock at the door. Ah Ku's voice followed.
"Your Highness."
"Enter."
Yun Shu let out a slow breath.
The door to the private room swung open from the outside. Ah Ku stepped in, sword in one hand. On the other end of his blade, the tip rested squarely against Huyan Mingchuan's neck.
Yun Shu blinked.
Her gaze shifted downward. Blood soaked Huyan Mingchuan's robes from chest to waist, a brutal gash carved across his side.
"On your one day of rest, Master Huyan chooses to attempt an assassination on This Princess, only to be stabbed instead?"
"What would I gain from assassinating you?"
Huyan Mingchuan clutched his wound with one hand, paying no mind to the sword at his throat. As if unbothered, he moved at a leisurely pace to the seat across from Yun Shu and sat down.
"Your shadow guard can testify. This wound isn't his doing. I was already like this when I arrived."
"So you were being pursued?"
Yun Shu's eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at the man slumped in the chair like some idle noble, even as fresh blood trickled endlessly from his waist.
"That wound looks fresh. You had better not have led your pursuers straight to This Princess."
"You are truly heartless."
No wonder she was fit to be the Crown Princess. What kind of noble young lady sees a man bleeding out before her eyes, shows no panic, no concern, and even has the gall to complain?
Huyan Mingchuan almost laughed in disbelief. He tore a strip from the hem of his robe and wrapped it crudely around his waist to slow the bleeding.
"Even if they could track me this far, do you truly think they would dare raise their blades within the capital, against the Crown Princess of Tian Sheng?"
"They're from Bei Xiang. Unless they seek to ignite war between nations, they would not dare."
Bei Xiang was already steeped in chaos. Waging war now would be no different from digging their own graves.
As he tied the fabric in place, Huyan Mingchuan prepared to speak again when a packet of medicinal powder suddenly landed in front of him.
"Poison?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Yun Shu smoothed the belt at her waist and looked up with indifference.
"To stop the bleeding."
Huyan Mingchuan drew in a sharp breath, then let out a half-laugh, half-sigh.
"You couldn't have given me this before I bandaged it?"
"Take it or leave it," Yun Shu said coolly. "And remember to pay."
Huyan Mingchuan said nothing.
Of course. Quick with numbers and impossible to rile up. Truly maddening.
He ground his molars in silence and reached for the packet—only for a glint of steel to flash before his eyes. He yanked his hand back just in time. Before he could even curse, fighting erupted outside the window and across the roof above.
The shadow guard who had exchanged blows with him earlier was already ushering Yun Shu and Tang Xinhua to the other side of the room.
Realization dawned in Huyan Mingchuan's eyes, his gaze turning cold.
Yun Shu's face darkened.
"This is what you meant by they wouldn't dare?"
"Is this not a good thing?" Huyan Mingchuan picked up his folding fan and rose to meet the incoming blade that slashed in from the window.
"It means someone has grown so desperate in their failure, they've begun to act without restraint."
Yun Shu clenched her jaw.
Good, indeed.
If they had the courage, they should have stayed far from her. That would have truly been good. And he was using a fan to parry a sword. Had he never heard the saying that reach gives strength?
No wonder he kept losing. And now he had brought this disaster straight to her.
Yun Shu ran a hand over the bracelet at her wrist. For her own safety and that of Tang Xinhua, she did not send Ah Ku to aid the fight. Instead, she quietly adjusted her stance, angling her wrist to prepare the poison needle's trajectory.
But the room was small, and the assassin from Bei Xiang was evenly matched with Huyan Mingchuan. Their movements were swift and chaotic.
One moment, Yun Shu had a clear shot at the assassin. The next, Huyan Mingchuan had pivoted directly into her line of fire.
The martial exchange was too fast, too fluid. Yun Shu, who had never trained in combat, struggled to find a precise moment to strike.
Fortunately, Huyan Mingchuan's injury soon took its toll. He stumbled, clearly losing ground.
Just as the assassin lunged to finish him off, Yun Shu's eyes lit up. She flicked her wrist, and the poison needle shot from her bracelet—piercing the back of the assassin's neck with perfect precision.
Clang!
The assassin's sword hit the floor first. Just before collapsing, he turned his head in disbelief and looked toward Yun Shu.
Thud.
His body crashed to the ground, and at nearly the same moment, the sounds of fighting on the rooftop ceased.
Rustling came from the roof tiles above. Someone was cleaning up the aftermath.
Wukong vaulted in through the window, ignoring the body on the ground and the wounded Huyan Mingchuan huddled in the corner. He knelt before Yun Shu on one knee.
"Your Highness. All nine assassins were deathsworn. None survived interrogation, but we can confirm they were from Bei Xiang."
"Understood."
Yun Shu nodded, then gestured toward the corpse at her feet.
"Check if this one is still breathing. Take him along when you leave."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Wukong turned and pressed two fingers to the side of the assassin's neck. A moment later, he hoisted the body over his shoulder and vanished through the window.
At last, silence returned to the private room.
Only the fragments of porcelain, splintered furniture, and chaos remained.
Yun Shu nudged aside a shattered vase with the toe of her boot. Her mind quickly tallied the day's expenses.
"The decor alone is worth at least two thousand taels. Add in the cost of This Princess's intervention and the psychological damage inflicted today… round it up. Have someone send twenty thousand taels to This Princess later."
"That seems a touch expensive."
Huyan Mingchuan struggled to sit upright. His wound had worsened, and a sharp breath escaped his lips. Still, he smiled as though nothing was amiss.
"How about we make a trade? I offer you a piece of information in exchange."
"That depends on whether your information is worth twenty thousand taels."
Yun Shu paused mid-step.
"If it is useless, the price becomes thirty."
"No wonder they say the Crown Princess of Tian Sheng is wealthy."
Huyan Mingchuan chuckled low in his throat as he leaned back against the wall. His head tilted slightly, exposing his vulnerable neck. But the glint in his eyes was anything but meek.
"Does Your Highness know why Bei Xiang has descended into sudden chaos?"
He asked, then answered himself without waiting.
"Because a plague has broken out in Bei Xiang."