Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 147 The Demon Cat Eats People
"Pei Hang? You're also a legendary figure?"

No sooner had Murong Huan finished speaking than the sound of arrows whistling through the air came from outside the door. She immediately looked at Xiao Muchen and shouted, "Get out of the way to the right!"

Xiao Muchen responded by bending down and dodging to the side. The arrow broke through the door and shot straight toward them. Murong Huan also turned his head and narrowly dodged it.

At that moment, Pei Hang shrank back and slipped out of the door in a flash, his figure disappearing into the night like a ghost.

The moment the door opened, Murong Huan saw four people appear under a full moon in the night:
Matchmaker, Wang Xianke, Young Master Xingyang, Kunlun Slave!

"Long time no see, young lady. It seems your husband's poison has been cured, and you no longer need me to give you the antidote!"

Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen rushed to the door, where they saw a woman in red holding a bunch of fresh chrysanthemums, smiling at them with petals in her mouth.

"This man is our partner, he can't die yet, so we're taking him with us!"

After saying that, the four of them grabbed Pei Hang and leaped over the courtyard wall in a few bounds, disappearing into the night.

Such ghostly skill amazed Murong Huan, but remembering what Murong Xian'er had said—that there was no useless person among the legends, and that each of these people possessed a skill—she dared not chase after them without absolute certainty.

"Ah Huan, that's enough, stop chasing. These people's movements are very strange, and it won't be easy to catch them."

"I know, I'm just wondering why they chased me all the way to Luoyang, what are they trying to do here? Master... could they be involved?"

Xiao Muchen fell silent. This was also the question that had been puzzling and frightening him. The scrolls his master gave him all seemed to be related to assassins in legends. However, these assassins had killed Ahuan and her mother eight or even fifteen years ago. This should not be an order from his master. After all, his master had saved Ahuan eight years ago, and it was from that time that another soul entered Ahuan's body.

But if he wasn't the legendary leader, how did he know about these famous scrolls that Murong Xian'er saw in the sect leader's study?
Is it simply because of the prophet?
He vaguely sensed that his master was still making plans, that he was playing a grand game, but he couldn't guess what the next move would be.
Thinking of this, Xiao Muchen felt increasingly uneasy, and his expression towards Murong Huan became even more distressed.

"Ah Huan, don't think about it so much, let's go back!"

Just as the two were about to leave, Zhu Qiniang suddenly called out, "Xiao Lang... no, Prime Minister Xiao!"

Xiao Muchen stopped and turned to look at her along with Murong Huan.

Zhu Qiniang hesitated, her eyes brimming with tears, before finally opening her lips to ask, "Xiao Lang, were you so kind to me back then simply because of my background, because my mother was Princess Yiyang, the daughter of Consort Xiao?"

Xiao Muchen pondered for a moment before nodding.

The light of hope in Zhu Qiniang's eyes was instantly extinguished, but then she heard Xiao Muchen say, "But it's not just that. You play the zither very well. In the past, I could feel a moment of peace in your music." After saying that, he paused and then said, "Zhu Qiniang, don't be arrogant or look down on yourself because of this."

Zhu Qiniang burst into tears, feeling as if her heart had been emptied and she no longer had any desires. Just as Xiao Muchen was about to leave with Murong Huan in his hand, Murong Huan suddenly said, "If you are really too afraid of Pei Hang, how about I redeem you and buy you some land so that you can live a worry-free life? What do you think?"

Zhu Qiniang's eyes lit up with disbelief. For women like them who had entered the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), it was extremely difficult to redeem themselves. Not only did they need a large sum of money, but they also needed official approval.

She couldn't help but look at Xiao Muchen, and to her surprise, Xiao Muchen nodded and said, "If you want to redeem yourself, I can help you do so, but... you can't stay by my side..." Zhu Qiniang was slightly disappointed, but also replied with gratitude, "Alright, thank you, Right Prime Minister Xiao! Thank you, Madam Xiao!"

Xiao Muchen did not speak again, but entrusted the matter of redeeming Murong Huan to Xuan Yu, and then took Murong Huan back to the Xiao family.

"How credible do you think Pei Hang's words are?" Murong Huan asked as soon as they returned to the Xiao family. "He said that Wang Xiaojie left a will before he died. Does that mean that Wang Xiaojie did not die immediately when he fell into the valley, but left a will and this painting?"

"It's not impossible, but Pei Hang is a legendary assassin, so why would he tell us this?"

"He said that there were spies in Wang Xiaojie's army, and that there might be traitors colluding with other countries in the court of our Great Zhou. Could this spy be Su Honghui? You said that after Wang Xiaojie died, the Emperor sent an envoy to Youzhou to kill Su Honghui, but as soon as the envoy arrived, Su Honghui made a great contribution. Where did this contribution come from? And who was the envoy sent by the Emperor?"

Xiao Muchen also suddenly realized this point. If this envoy had already colluded with Su Honghui, it was possible that he had falsely reported his military achievements.

"If Su Honghui has already colluded with the Tibetans and Turks, this will be extremely detrimental to the Great Zhou!"

"That's true! But this is just our speculation. There's no evidence, so no one can believe it. Besides, what Pei Hang said can't be entirely true either!"

Xiao Muchen also fell into deep thought, but after a moment, he smiled and stroked Murong Huan's cheek: "Go to sleep early tonight. We will enter the palace tomorrow. I will visit Prime Minister Di again to find out who the envoy sent by the Emperor is. Perhaps then the truth will come out."

Murong Huan smiled, said okay, and lay down to sleep. The two embraced and slept. Even after Murong Huan fell asleep, Xiao Muchen could not fall asleep. Instead, he quietly looked at her from the side, his heart filled with endless longing and worry.

The next day, Xiao Muchen took Murong Huan to visit Di Renjie's residence. Not long after they left the residence, they heard the sound of horses' hooves, which seemed to cause a commotion on the street. The two opened the carriage curtain and saw that Lai Junchen and his entourage had blocked their way.

So Xiao Muchen got off the carriage and asked, "Why did you block my way, Your Excellency?"

Lai Junchen glanced at Murong Huan, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "Prime Minister Xiao, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to block your way, but to express my gratitude!"

"What are you thanking me for?"

"If Prime Minister Xiao hadn't been away from the court for three years, His Majesty probably wouldn't have thought to summon me back to serve as the Censor-in-Chief. So, of course, I want to thank Prime Minister Xiao for his kindness in yielding to me. But then again, if it weren't for Prime Minister Xiao's wisdom and courage in defeating the King of Wei's scheme, I wouldn't have ended up as a commoner."

Xiao Muchen laughed: "So, you've come here today to seek revenge for the demotion you suffered that day?"

"How dare I! I have come to invite Prime Minister Xiao to the palace. His Majesty has been having nightmares lately and wishes to invite Madam Xiao to the palace to treat him."

"nightmare?"

"That's right! Hasn't Prime Minister Xiao heard about the recent spate of cases of demonic cats eating people in the palace? The Prime Minister's wives and concubines went to the palace once and then disappeared without a trace. Some say they were eaten by demonic cats. Prime Minister Xiao should also know that the Emperor is most afraid of cats. Recently, he keeps dreaming of Consort Xiao from back then, saying that after she died, she would turn into a cat to come find her, so..."

"Lai Junchen!" Xiao Muchen suddenly interrupted sharply, "What does the Emperor fear in his heart? How do you know?"