The assassin trembled as he clutched his crotch.
Only after confirming that the family jewels responsible for carrying on his bloodline were still intact did he glare at Shang Changge with grief and indignation.
“Y-You… you woman… you’re simply… simply…”
“Impudent.”
Xiao Ji’s expression turned cold.
His sword left its sheath with a sharp hiss, the gleaming blade pointing directly at the assassin’s vital spot.
“You attempted to assassinate the Princess and then dared show her disrespect.
Death would be too merciful for you.”
Though he said so, he made no move to actually kill either assassin.
Shang Changge quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She still had a use for these two.
“Who’s there?!”
A loud shout rang out, accompanied by the synchronized footsteps of approaching soldiers.
A patrol unit of twenty men finally arrived.
Following the sound, Shang Changge looked over.
As she watched the patrol soldiers appear—neither earlier nor later, but at precisely this moment—a certain answer began taking shape in her mind.
Turning toward the direction of the Imperial Palace, she sneered repeatedly.
Even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs.
The old Emperor truly was something else.
“Y-Your Highness? General?”
The patrol captain visibly startled upon seeing them.
His gaze swept over the chaotic scene littered with assassin corpses.
When his eyes passed over the two surviving assassins, killing intent flashed briefly before vanishing.
The next moment, he and his men dropped to their knees.
“Your subordinates arrived—”
“Not late at all.”
Having already figured out the truth, Shang Changge had no desire to listen to lengthy excuses or hypocritical explanations.
Pretending she hadn’t guessed anything, she instead smiled warmly and praised them.
“You’ve arrived at exactly the right time.
I just happened to capture two assassins and was wondering how to transport them back to the residence for questioning.
I was troubled by the lack of a carriage.
Then you appeared.
Since that’s the case, I’ll trouble you to fetch a carriage and escort me back to the Princess’s Residence.”
The captain’s surname was Guo.
After cautiously glancing up at her, he spoke hesitantly.
“Your Highness, preparing a carriage and escorting you are naturally our duties.
However, these assassins are vicious criminals.
If they were to harm Your Highness again, the consequences would be terrible.
Perhaps it would be better if we—”
Whoosh—!
A sword sliced through the night air.
It shot past Xiao Ji and embedded itself precisely into the corpse of a dead assassin.
The only remarkable thing about that corpse was that it happened to be closest to Captain Guo.
Shang Changge’s smile disappeared.
“I graciously chose not to punish you for arriving late, and you’ve actually convinced yourself you’re innocent?”
“Say one more word and I’ll kill you on the spot.”
“Even my father the Emperor wouldn’t dare criticize me for it.”
“Do you understand?”
The old Emperor wanted to eliminate her, yes.
But he only dared do so through indirect means.
Because Shang Changge wasn’t merely the Emperor’s daughter.
She was also the Empress’s daughter.
The Crown Prince’s elder sister.
The granddaughter of the Empress’s powerful maternal family.
Captain Guo naturally understood the principle that when gods fought, mortals suffered.
Sweat poured down his forehead.
Wiping it away frantically, he nodded repeatedly.
“I understand! I understand!
This subordinate will fetch a carriage immediately!”
Satisfied, Shang Changge waved her hand as though granting amnesty.
“Very good.
Now get moving.
I’ll wait here.
And be quick about it.
If I have to wait too long, I might become upset.”
Captain Guo scrambled to his feet.
Leading his men, he practically rolled away in panic to prepare a carriage.
After watching them leave, Shang Changge turned toward Xiao Ji, intending to speak.
But he beat her to it.
“The roads are unsafe tonight.
I will accompany them and personally escort Your Highness back to the residence.”
After speaking, he shot a glance at the coachman who had thus far been serving as little more than a decorative prop.
The coachman immediately understood.
Walking over to the two assassins, he expertly dislocated their jaws.
Then, with two swift strikes to the neck, he knocked them unconscious.
His actions made it abundantly clear that not only would Xiao Ji escort her home personally, he also intended to help transport the prisoners.
Shang Changge: “…”
What could she possibly say?
Naturally, she accepted.
It wasn’t every day that the cold-hearted Great General decided to be helpful.
Rejecting him would only seem rude.
The moon grew brighter.
Some people headed toward the Princess’s Residence.
Others accompanied the Princess back home.
Still others hurried toward the Imperial Palace to deliver reports.
And there were also those who knew disaster was about to descend upon them—people desperately scrambling to save their own lives and those of their families.
Late that night.
A carriage emerged from the rear gate of the Wen Residence.
After winding through countless streets, it finally stopped outside the secluded back entrance of a grand estate.
People were already waiting there.
Once the carriage entered, they carefully checked their surroundings before quickly closing the gate.
Some time later.
A shadow silently appeared around a nearby corner.
After studying the estate for a moment, the figure vanished without a trace.
When the figure appeared again, he was already inside the General’s Residence.
By then, Xiao Ji had returned home, bathed, changed clothes, and was reviewing official memorials in his study.
The shadow knelt and reported:
“Just as General predicted.
Shortly after Miss Wen returned home, Wen Shian paid a visit to the Yun Residence.
The incident at the Princess’s Residence today, as well as the assassins who targeted the Princess, are likely connected to the Yun family.”
He stopped there.
Neither the Wen family nor the Yun family alone possessed the courage to target a princess of the realm.
The person truly seeking the Princess’s death was most likely someone inside the palace.
But that was not something a subordinate should discuss openly.
Xiao Ji tossed aside the memorial in his hand.
His expression remained indifferent.
“In your opinion, who is more suited to inherit the throne?
The Crown Prince or the Third Prince?”
Besides Xiao Ji, two trusted subordinates occupied the study.
Upon hearing the question, they exchanged glances before lowering their heads.
“We wouldn’t dare speak recklessly.”
Xiao Ji shot them a cold look.
The two instantly abandoned their act.
“Of course it’s the Crown Prince, General!”
The first to speak was none other than the coachman who had accompanied Xiao Ji to the poetry gathering.
His name was Duoming—”Life Taker.”
“Is that even a question?
Does it really need comparison?
Anyone with eyes can see the Crown Prince is the most suitable person for the throne!”
“Even if someone were blind, they’d only need to hear about the Crown Prince’s achievements over the years to know he’s the best choice!”
Where there was Duoming, there was naturally another man called Zhuihun—”Soul Chaser.”
Unlike his chatterbox companion, Zhuihun was far more reserved.
He simply reported the intelligence gathered by his agents.
“The Third Prince remains as enthusiastic as ever about wandering the jianghu.
Two days ago, he even participated in a martial arts tournament held to find a husband.
Although he didn’t win first place, the young lady involved has taken a liking to him.
The situation has become somewhat complicated.”
Duoming frowned deeply.
“Doesn’t the Third Prince already have a girl by his side?
Why is there another one now?”
Then realization struck.
Wiggling his eyebrows at both Xiao Ji and Zhuihun, he grinned mischievously.
“Forgive my disrespect, but is the Third Prince really passionate about roaming the jianghu?”
“Or is he simply passionate about finding girls while roaming the jianghu?”
Zhuihun had no interest in discussing the Third Prince’s romantic pursuits.
Instead, he pointed out the truly fatal issue.
“His Majesty wants to weaken the Empress’s maternal family.”
“And the only people he genuinely favors are the Imperial Consort and the Third Prince.”
That was why the Crown Prince’s excellence meant nothing.
No matter how outstanding he was, he could never earn the Emperor’s approval.
The day the Empress’s family finally fell…
The Emperor could strip the Crown Prince of everything with a single excuse.
And all the achievements he had painstakingly accumulated over the years would become wedding garments for the Third Prince.
In other words—
The Crown Prince would do all the work.
The Third Prince would reap all the rewards.
Duoming might have been talkative, but he wasn’t stupid.
How could he fail to understand the implication?
He desperately wanted to curse.
Unfortunately, cursing the Emperor was dangerous.
So he could only mutter quietly to himself.
“His Majesty’s favoritism is completely outrageous.”
“I honestly feel sorry for His Highness the Crown Prince.”