Night had fallen. Murong Jin sat alone on the eaves, gazing at the stars. Her bamboo hat lay within reach.
A sudden disturbance in the courtyard made her sit up. She grabbed her hat and leaped down, landing squarely in front of a hurrying Xiazhi.
"What is it?" Murong Jin grabbed her arm.
Xiazhi hesitated. "It's nothing serious. It's late, Miss Murong should rest."
Since she couldn't call her Empress, Xiazhi settled on "Miss Murong."
Murong Jin's eyes narrowed. "Did Xue Liulan assign a mission to the Fifteen?"
Xiazhi sighed. Why is the Empress so smart?
"Your silence confirms it." Murong Jin crossed her arms, her bright eyes piercing through the black veil.
"I surrender." Xiazhi threw up her hands. "Yes. A new assassination mission."
Murong Jin nodded and stepped aside. Xiazhi raised an eyebrow and walked past, only to find Murong Jin following her.
Xiazhi spun around, blocking the way.
"Miss Murong, it's late. Shouldn't you sleep?" Her smile was stiff.
Xue Liulan's order was a death mission. Even if only one of the Fifteen survived, it had to be done. It was crucial to his plan.
"Since it's a mission for the Fifteen, I'm participating. Don't forget, I am your subordinate now. Part of the Fifteen." Murong Jin stated it as fact.
Xiazhi gaped. She couldn't argue with the logic. Murong Jin was part of the Fifteen now.
But it wasn't the same.
She had agreed to let Murong Jin hide her identity and come to Jindu, deceiving her master, because she thought it would be safe. But this mission was perilous. If she dragged Murong Jin into it and Xue Liulan ever regained his memory, Xiazhi would be the first to suffer.
Xiazhi never doubted Xue Liulan's love for Murong Jin. Even if he had taken Danxi, even if he had chosen to forget, Xiazhi believed that if he met her again, he would fall in love again. To the bone.
"If you have no objections, let's go in." Murong Jin smiled.
"No! Miss Murong, don't make this hard for me. This is our business. You know you are different from the rest of us." Xiazhi said firmly.
"Different? How?" Murong Jin gave a faint, cold laugh. "In his heart, is there any difference left?"
Him, of course, meant Xue Liulan.
Xiazhi lowered her head. Xue Liulan had burned the portrait in front of them. He had asked, calmly, who the woman was.
"Even if there is no difference in the Master's heart, in Xiazhi's heart, you will always be…" She stopped, bowing deeply, hands clasped over her heart.
To Xiazhi, she would always be the Empress.
Murong Jin reached out and took Xiazhi's hand, shaking her head with a smile. "You are wrong. From the day I chose to leave, Xue Liulan and I became strangers."
"Strangers?"
"Yes. So I am here only to repay his grace in sparing the Murong family."
"So you mean I should treat you as just another member of the Fifteen?" Xiazhi finally understood.
Murong Jin smiled and nodded, releasing her hand.
"Follow me." Xiazhi sighed deeply, turning to lead the way. There was no stopping her.
Inside, the squad was assembled. All eyes turned to Murong Jin and Xiazhi.
Xiazhi cleared her throat. "I called you here tonight because I received a difficult mission."
"Have the Fifteen ever received an easy one?" A man in the shadows laughed.
The room chuckled.
"True enough," Xiazhi smiled.
"So tell us, Xiazhi. What is it?"
Murong Jin watched them, smiling. It had been a long time since she felt this atmosphere. The last time was probably her final mission with the Vermilion Bird Camp before her marriage.
"Our target is Prince Cheng."
"Prince Cheng?" Someone muttered.
Murong Jin frowned. The man continued, "He's from a side branch of the Xue family. If the Emperor and the Fourth Prince have no heirs, the throne passes to his line."
"Correct." Xiazhi nodded approvingly at the man.
"You learn these things if you hang around the court long enough," he drawled lazily.
"Don't be smug. You're in charge of intelligence; of course you know." Xiazhi rolled her eyes, laughing.
Murong Jin understood immediately.
Guo Shangzhong had planned to make Xue Liulan his puppet. But Xue Liulan had hidden his strength and allied with Suyi. So Guo Shangzhong needed a new puppet. Prince Cheng, a fifteen-year-old wastrel, was the perfect candidate.
"Prince Cheng's guards were handpicked by Guo Shangzhong. You know their methods." Xiazhi looked at each of them.
They all knew. Guo Shangzhong's elite killers were rigorously trained, highly skilled, and worked in perfect coordination. Everyone in the room had suffered at their hands.
"Guo Shangzhong trains his death warriors differently. They have no emotions, no pain. But their weakness is rigidity. If we exploit that, we can kill Prince Cheng silently," Murong Jin said calmly.
"Silently?" The intelligence officer straightened. "That's a high bar. We can kill him, sure. But silently? No one here is that good."
Xiazhi looked at Murong Jin, confused. Xue Liulan hadn't ordered a silent assassination.
"Why did Guo Shangzhong bring Prince Cheng to Jindu? To force an abdication and install him on the throne." Murong Jin walked to the front, standing beside Xiazhi.
Even through the veil, her commanding presence was palpable.
"You're right. That is his plan," the intelligence officer agreed. "You know a lot."
Murong Jin nodded. "So, if Prince Cheng dies now, who will the court suspect first?"
"The Emperor, of course. He benefits the most."
"No. Someone else." Murong Jin shook her head. "If the Emperor dies without an heir, the Fourth Prince is next in line."
Xiazhi gasped. "You mean Guo Shangzhong is targeting the Fourth Prince?"
"Yes." Murong Jin said firmly. "Guo Shangzhong doesn't accept defeat easily. The Emperor broke free of his control, so he wants to crush him completely."
Xue Liulan had lost his brother, his son, and his wife. The only person left was Xue Zhuoran. To break a man, you isolate him.
Murong Jin stepped forward.
"I will take this mission. I will bring back Prince Cheng's head, and no one will know."