Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 141 Assassination at the Post Station
Just as Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen left Fangling with a small entourage led by the Prince of Luling, Wei Xun, who had been sentenced to death by the authorities for stealing and trafficking children, mysteriously died in prison, becoming an unsolved case that no one cared about.

Since it was a capital offense, Wei Ze's death did not cause much of a stir, and the yamen closed the case by saying that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

……

After a day's journey, as night fell, the group stopped at a mountain inn.

On summer nights, the stars scattered across the night sky are exceptionally bright, like the Milky Way hanging upside down.

But the evening breeze couldn't dispel the gloom in people's hearts. Because it was too hot and humid, many people used fans, and some even swatted at the mosquitoes at night.

"Oh dear, these darn mosquitoes! They've given me so many red rashes on my arms! Mother, do you have any mosquito repellent?"

Li Guo'er cried out in displeasure, pouting and snuggling in Wei Shi's arms. Wei Shi had no choice but to think to herself: It would be good enough to find a post station to rest on this mountain. Besides, they are secretly returning to the capital and must not expose their identities.

"Guo'er, just bear with it, the night will pass quickly."

“Yes! Sister, look at that young master Xiao and his wife. They haven’t uttered a single word, and no matter when or where, the wife has never complained. We should learn from them,” Li Chongrun added.

Li Guo'er was even more displeased. She bit her lip and glanced at Xiao Muchen again with her bright eyes. She saw him wiping the sweat from Murong Huan's forehead. The two looked at each other with focused and gentle expressions. Li Guo'er was immediately furious and an unnamed anger burned in her heart.

At this moment, she suddenly thought of Yagyu, recalling the look of amazement and infatuation in the eyes of that handsome man when he first saw her. That admiration bordering on worship had once filled her with immense pride and joy.

Thinking of this, she called out to Liu Sheng, who was fanning Murong Xian'er, "Hey! Liu Sheng, come and swat the mosquitoes for me!"

Liu Sheng glanced at her but didn't move. Li Guo'er seemed to get angry and said, "What are you standing there for? I told you to come and fan me and swat the mosquitoes!"

Upon seeing this, A-Shu angrily said, "You have hands and feet, why don't you fan yourself to swat the mosquitoes? Besides, this young master Liu is not your servant, why do you humiliate him like this?"

Li Guo'er had never been criticized or scolded in her entire life, let alone as a maidservant.

Enraged, she immediately jumped up, pointing at A-Shu and saying, "You lowly servant, how dare you speak to me like that?"

"Guards! Guards! Beat her up!"

Her shout immediately drew the attention of everyone in the post station, but no one paid any attention to her.

Therefore, Li Xian traveled light and simply, as requested by Xiao Muchen, without bringing a single maid or servant. The guards brought by Xiao Muchen would not obey such a willful princess.

Those in the post station who did not know their identities began to discuss them with disdain.

“This young lady is right. Everyone has hands and feet. Why should you expect others to do these servant's chores for you? Are you a princess or the Emperor himself?”

"Exactly! That's so ill-mannered and impolite!"

"Look, that lady is very polite, and she's as beautiful as a fairy from heaven!"

One of the burly men in military robes pointed at Murong Huan and chuckled, but there was no lewdness in his laughter.

Seemingly realizing that his words might have been offensive, the burly man smiled at Xiao Muchen and said, "Young master, please don't be angry. We rough men speak frankly, but we were just admiring and praising the rare beauty in this post station."

Xiao Muchen nodded with a smile, without saying anything more.

Because he was wearing a hood, his face was not visible to others unless they looked closely. But when he turned around, the big man's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "I have never seen a man as handsome as you in my life."

After he finished speaking, the other burly men burst into laughter.

"Sir, you've truly never seen a beauty in your life. Have you ever heard of the most handsome man in Luoyang, the capital of our Great Zhou Dynasty?"

"Who is it? Could it be that Minister Xiao, who dared to expose the crimes of the Prince of Wei at Princess Taiping's Peony Banquet?"

"That Vice Minister Xiao is indeed a first-rate handsome and talented man, but unfortunately, he has disappeared in recent years. The most handsome man in Luoyang recently is probably Zhang Changzong, the emperor's male favorite."

"Pah! That kind of trash dares to call himself the most handsome man in my Great Zhou?"

"You haven't heard, but not long ago, Zhang Changzong wore a feathered robe that only women could wear, played a flute, and rode a fake crane, flying around the banquet set up by the Empress. A group of sycophantic officials wrote poems for these two handsome men, saying that he was the reincarnation of Prince Jin, the crown prince of King Ling of Zhou."

It's one thing to say he's a reincarnation of an immortal, but Prime Minister Yang Zaisi went even further, praising him with the most eloquent words: "People say that Liu Lang resembles a lotus flower, but that's not true. It's more accurate to say that the lotus flower resembles Liu Lang."

As the burly man spoke, he raised his pinky finger, his tone extremely contemptuous and sarcastic.

Ah Shu couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahaha..."

"You idiot, how dare you speak ill of General Yunhui like this? Aren't you afraid that if these words reach the ears of that Lotus Sixth Prince, your head will roll off the table!"

"What's there to be afraid of? We're far from the capital, and if we chat in the mountains, will it reach Luoyang, the capital?"

Hearing these idle chatter, Li Guo'er's face darkened even more, and Li Chongrun's eyes also revealed extreme disgust. He thought to himself: I never thought that my grandmother would be deceived by such a villain. When I return to Luoyang, I will definitely punish Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi!
Li Chongjun, Li Chongfu, and the others all seemed to be deep in thought.

Liu Sheng continued to fan Murong Xian'er. Li Guo'er glanced over, but seeing that Liu Sheng no longer looked at her, her anger grew even stronger.

At this moment, the postmaster, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, couldn't help but ask again, "Sir, you seem to know so much about what's happening in Luoyang, the capital. Have you heard any other interesting stories?"

At the mention of amusing anecdotes, the burly man became animated again, took a big gulp of wine to bolster his courage, and laughed: "Speaking of amusing anecdotes in Luoyang, the capital, there are quite a few. Five years ago, two young ladies from the Anping branch of the Cui family in Boling were assassinated in the street. The murderer has not been found to this day, and another accomplice, a blind musician, was pardoned at the request of the people of Luoyang. Have you heard of this?"

"I've heard that the truth of this case was uncovered by Murong Huan, the wife of Xiao Zhongcheng. The blind musician was also a victim, and the guilty ones were the two young ladies from the Cui family. Why are you mentioning them, sir? Could it be that something interesting has happened in the Cui family again?"

"The Cui family is not what it used to be. Now, with three vice ministers in the family, they are very prestigious. Cui Jiulang, Cui Shi, has become involved with Shangguan Wan'er, the first female prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Now he can be said to have risen to prominence and made great strides in his official career."

"What's so funny about that?"

"The interesting thing is that our Cui Jiulang not only became Lord Shangguan's lover, but also the most popular male favorite in the princess's residence..."

"I bother!"

The big man spat out a mouthful of wine.

"It's an insult to scholarship! The eldest son of the prestigious Cui family of Boling, who passed the imperial examination at a young age, doesn't rely on his own efforts to advance in his career. Instead, he uses his flattery in bed to climb the social ladder by taking advantage of women."

As the big man was speaking, he suddenly smelled an extremely sweet and delicious aroma, and followed the scent to look at Ah Shu, who was making pastries.

A-Shu presented two plates of pastries, resembling crimson plum blossoms scattered on a snow-capped mountain, to Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen: "A-Huan, Lord Xiao, these are the crispy mountains and sesame cakes I made. Please try them, are they delicious?"

Murong Huan smiled and nodded, pushing one of the servings into A-Shu's hands: "A-Shu, you should have some too. It's not easy to get ice in the summer, so make one for your mother and Liu Langjun as well. Zicheng and I will just have one." "Okay, then, A-Huan, you two enjoy yours."

As she spoke, A-Shu carried one of the crispy mountain pastries and snacks to Murong Xian'er.

"Mother, Mr. Liu, you should eat too!"

"Thank you!" Liu Sheng said gratefully.

Murong Xian'er's eyes were filled with tears.

At this moment, someone couldn't help but sniff and ask, "Young lady, what kind of pastry are you making? It smells so good!"

"Yes! It smells so good, can I have a bite?"

When Li Guo'er saw the crispy mountain presented to Liu Sheng, she was so tempted that she almost drooled.

"Hey, you little brat, why aren't we getting any?"

Ah Shu said, "I didn't bring much food with me on this journey, and this crispy mountain requires ice to make. This is a method that Ah Huan taught me. I managed to make a little bit, but now it's all gone. However, I can give you this sesame seed cake!"

As she spoke, A-Shu brought the two flatbreads she had made to Li Xian and Lady Wei.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to make do!"

Although Mrs. Wei was displeased, she masked it with a smile and said, "Thank you!"

But Li Guo'er didn't have such a good temper. Looking at A Shu's smirking face, she wanted nothing more than to slap her across the face.

She stomped her foot hard, almost kicking over the plate of flatbread in front of her, but couldn't resist the temptation of the food on the plate, so she picked up the flatbread and started eating.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the post station, as if soldiers were shouting outside the station gate:

"Two jugs of liquor!"

The postmaster immediately went outside and saw three men dressed in black robes and wearing bamboo hats leaping down from their horses, followed by a woman in red.

A chilling aura seemed to emanate from each of them.

"Gentlemen, and this lady, do you have any official documents or credentials?"

"Have!"

The leader said that as the postmaster approached with a smile, the man suddenly drew his sword from his waist. Before the postmaster could react, he felt a white light cleave the night in front of him, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

At the same time, sensing the approaching murderous aura, Murong Xian'er shouted, "Not good, an assassin is coming!"

Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan immediately became alert and hurriedly ordered Xuan Yu to lead the accompanying guards to protect Li Xian and the others.

Li Guo'er was even more terrified: "What happened? What's going on?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a group of men in black robes and a woman in red walked menacingly toward them.

"All irrelevant personnel, get out of here!"

The woman in red spoke first, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the post station with a cold, sharp intensity.

One of the burly men scoffed, "Who are you? Anyone with identification and credentials can stay at this post station. What gives you the right to tell us to leave?"

Before the big man could finish speaking, he felt a sudden pain in his neck, his eyes widened in shock, and before he could even cry out, he collapsed to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Li Guo'er couldn't help but let out a scream.

The silver needles in the red-clad woman's hand suddenly flew towards her, but fell to the ground in an instant.

Another dagger suddenly appeared and collided with the silver needle in her hand, sparks flashing in the night sky as both the needle and the dagger fell to the ground simultaneously.

Without uttering a word, these men took the lives of two people. The others in the post station dared not utter another word and fled in panic.

In the end, only Xiao Muchen, Murong Huan, Murong Xian'er, Liu Sheng, A-Shu, and Li Xian's family remained.

"Are you the legendary assassin?"

Before the woman in red could answer, Murong Xian'er answered for her: "They are the legendary matchmaker, the Kunlun slave, Wang Xianke, and the young master of Xingyang... I didn't expect the sect leader to send four legendary experts at once. Who hired you to kill us?"

“Murong Xian’er, the sect leader has always relied on you, but you have betrayed him. Do you think he will let you go?” Hong Niang replied.

"No matter who we are employed by, you killed so many people in our legend before, and then left with Liu Yi and the others. You knew you would end up like this."

"Don't waste words with them, just kill them, and take these two with you!" Hongniang said, pointing her brightly painted fingertips at Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan. "The sect leader is very interested in these two, so everyone else can be killed, but these two must be spared!"

After saying that, Hongniang's murderous aura suddenly intensified, and she shot countless silver needles at Li Xian and the others. At that moment, Murong Huan's expression also changed abruptly. She immediately waved a long ribbon, which wrapped up the silver needles, and she instantly appeared in front of Hongniang, reaching out to grab Hongniang's neck.

"you--"

The matchmaker was horrified. She looked at the woman who had seemed so weak just moments before, but now seemed to be radiating an aura that could crush everything like Mount Tai. She quickly signaled to her companions for help.

Just as the young master of Xingyang was about to approach them, Murong Huan grabbed Hongniang by the neck with one hand and swung his long ribbon with the other, knocking the young master of Xingyang back as well.

"Who, who are you? How can you move so fast?"

“Name who hired you to kill us, and I will spare your life!” Li Linghuan shouted fiercely. “Otherwise, I can snap your neck with just a little force!”

At this moment, Kunlun Slave, Wang Xianke, Murong Xian'er, and Xiao Muchen were locked in a fierce battle.

Li Xian and the others could only hide in fear behind Xuan Yu and the others.

"Okay, I'll tell you, I'll tell you who it is, and you'll let me go right now!"

Faced with Li Linghuan's imposing aura, Hongniang seemed somewhat intimidated and compromised.