The assassin came and went in the blink of an eye.
Soon, silence fell both inside and outside the room.
An Lingrong’s hands were too weak to grip the table. Her voice trembling, she asked, “Did you hear that?”
Concubine Xiao’s face was pale and ashen as she slowly nodded, seeming not to have come back to her senses.
“I-I heard it.”
The two of them looked at the other maid. She was even paler than they were and couldn’t get a word out before fainting to the floor.
An Lingrong panicked at once.
“Auntie, what do we do now?”
Concubine Xiao had never faced anything like this either. Her legs trembled uncontrollably. “Let’s call for help first.”
“Help! Someone’s been murdered!”
The Zhen Family’s inner courtyard descended into chaos. Zhen Huan and her parents hurried over as soon as they received the news.
When An Lingrong saw Zhen Huan, she seemed to have found someone she could rely on. She threw herself into Zhen Huan’s arms and began to cry.
“Sister, someone tried to kill me.”
Zhen Huan quickly comforted her. “Lingrong, don’t be afraid. It’s all right. This was just an accident.”
She stroked An Lingrong’s back with one hand as she asked Zhen Yuandao beside her, “Father, who did this?”
Zhen Yuandao’s face was pale as he shook his head.
“We can’t tell who they are. Let’s report it to the authorities first.”
An imperial consort who was about to enter the palace had nearly died at home. The lives of the entire family were at stake. Zhen Yuandao’s hands trembled with lingering fear.
He glanced at the servants guarding the courtyard and quickly instructed them, “Stay here and protect the Mistress and Madam. Don’t touch anyone or anything in the room. I’ll go report this at once.”
There had been an incident at the Zhen Residence. A selected maiden had nearly been killed.
The news spread throughout the city overnight. Even the palace heard about it.
Nian Shilan was stunned when she heard the news.
“She didn’t die?”
Songzhi didn’t dare look up at Nian Shilan’s displeased expression. She kept her head bowed low.
“Our informant reports that the general’s men mistakenly identified the wrong person and killed the wrong one. Lady An is alive. A maid was killed instead.”
Nian Shilan slammed her hand down on the table.
“How can the people under him handle things? They can’t even get such a simple matter right!”
Songzhi hardly dared to breathe as she said softly, “The general was furious too. He punished the people responsible and is preparing to find someone else to finish the job. He told you not to worry.”
“How am I supposed to stop worrying? The whole city is already abuzz. Everyone knows someone tried to target that selected maiden. If Brother makes another attempt, there’s no guarantee he won’t be discovered.”
Nian Shilan’s expression darkened. Irritated, she paced back and forth across the hall.
Songzhi looked up at Nian Shilan with concern. She wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know what to say; her brows drew together in a deep frown.
After a long while, Nian Shilan stopped in front of Songzhi and spoke coldly.
“Send word to Brother. There’s no need to make another attempt.”
Songzhi immediately nodded and went out to relay the order.
Nian Shilan watched Songzhi’s retreating figure and narrowed her eyes.
“So what if you make it into the palace alive? If I don’t want you to live, you won’t survive once you’re in the palace.”
Naturally, news of the selected maiden’s misfortune could not be kept from the Emperor.
When the Emperor heard the report from his subordinates, he tapped the beads in his hand against the table.
“You’re saying someone attacked a selected maiden at the Zhen Residence?”
The subordinate below nodded, sweating profusely.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes and sneered. “The Zhen Residence. Zhen Huan. How interesting.”
“Have you found out who did it?”
The Emperor’s tone changed in an instant, his voice cold enough to freeze a person. The man giving the report was nearly scared to death and dropped trembling to the floor.
“We haven’t found out yet.”
The Emperor said nothing, coldly staring at the person sprawled on the floor.
Sweat streamed down the man on the floor. The pressure made it hard for him to breathe, and his face flushed red.
Seeing that things were going badly, Su Peisheng came in with a cup of tea.
“Your Majesty, please have some tea to soothe your throat.”
The Emperor glanced at Su Peisheng, then ordered, “Go investigate. If you can’t find out who did it, you can forget about keeping your post!”
The man kneeling on the floor hurriedly bowed and took his leave, then rushed out.
The Emperor reached for his teacup and asked Su Peisheng,
“Who do you think was behind this?”