Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 475 Assassination of Luo Yuheng (10,000 words)
Under a sky full of stars.

That figure inexplicably attracted Luo Yuheng's attention.

A plain white robe.

A slender figure.

She is described as a man, but she is more like a woman.

From his vantage point, although he couldn't see the person's face, that unique aura subconsciously made Luo Yuheng gradually associate him with someone from his memory.

Luo Yuheng's fingers were already on the windowsill, but the next moment, he felt a slight blur before his eyes. When he looked more closely, the person was no longer in the crowd.

It was as if everything was just an illusion.

Luo Yuheng raised an eyebrow, a faint smile appearing on his lips. This was more interesting than he had imagined.

She stretched her arms lazily, her slender waist so delicate that one worried it might break if she moved too much. She yawned, feeling a bit tired, and headed straight outside.

The lobby was filled with women.

Many scholars and young masters sought pleasure here.

Of course, Qunyu Garden was more elegant than ordinary brothels:

Springtime warmth fills the painted pavilion, the sound of a jade flute fades behind the icy silk curtains.

The beaded curtain is half-rolled up, revealing the pear-shaped clouds; secretly, she ties up her black hair.

Suddenly, the warbling of a nightingale's tongue was heard, reciting half a scroll of slow verses:

Back then, we shared incense with silk ribbons, and trimmed candles by the warm west window!
What I'm looking for is elegance, a sense of mystery, and sophistication.

However, even with a beautiful woman by his side, Luo Yuheng still attracted everyone's attention when he walked down the stairs. Every pair of eyes was full of admiration. Such a beauty was truly a rare sight. Her male attire did not diminish her charm; on the contrary, it added a unique allure.

Luo Yuheng ignored the stares of others.

He drifted away.

Even after Luo Yuheng's figure completely disappeared through the gates of Qunyu Garden, the guests in the hall remained stunned for a long time. Even the courtesan playing the zither behind the beaded curtain stopped what she was doing.

When Luo Yuheng stopped again, he had arrived in front of a mansion. Looking up, he saw that the plaque of the mansion had lost its former luster and appeared somewhat dull.

Normally, even after a princess gets married, she spends most of her time living alone in her princess residence. Her husband is required to pay his respects to her at the princess's residence every day. Apart from that, he is only allowed to appear by the princess's side on certain festive days or when the princess summons him.

In some ways, he was a slightly more sophisticated son-in-law.

Therefore, most of the truly talented people in the four Central Plains were unwilling to become imperial sons-in-law, especially those who had passed the imperial examinations. If someone were to act as a matchmaker and arrange a marriage between them and a princess, they would be criticized and ridiculed for the rest of their lives.

Back then, when Luo Yuheng moved from the Princess's residence to the Wang family, it was considered a great honor for Wang Shaojie.

Perhaps it is for this reason that rumors of her and her husband's deep affection for each other arose.

After the marriage, Emperor Ninghe bestowed extremely generous rewards upon the Wang family. Not only Wang Shaojie, but also his brothers received favor and were given positions in the court. Otherwise, how could those good-for-nothing playboys of the Wang family have any place in the court? Even their wives were granted titles of nobility.

The whole family was showered with honors and favors.

Luo Yuheng smiled mockingly. It was all a transaction after all. Even without the friendship they had shared as study companions, she felt that the royal family had given Wang Shaojie more than enough.

But what I got in return was betrayal.

The copper rings on the dark red vermilion door were already covered in rust.

Looking up, you can still see spider webs on the inside of the signboard, which means it has been neglected for a long time.

The door was not locked.

Luo Yuheng gently pushed the door open and heard a hoarse creaking sound. A putrid smell wafted out, and in the moonlight, dust particles could be seen floating in the air.

Having lived here for several years, I looked up and saw pavilions, waterside terraces, rockeries, winding lakes, towers, and long corridors—everything felt familiar.

However, after so many years of neglect, it inevitably fell into disrepair.

After Wang Shaojie was beheaded, Emperor Ninghe immediately launched an investigation into the Wang family.

All indications suggest that Wang Shaojie's connection with the Yang family was orchestrated by the Wang family.

Subsequently, the entire Wang family was executed.

Without any proper procedures or trial, in just one night, the Wang family, which once held a certain status in Dongling City, was wiped out completely. The Wang family hoped to regain their place among the top aristocratic families by attaching themselves to the Yang family, but they forgot that even though the imperial power was declining and could not deal with the Yang family, eliminating the Wang family was still a very simple matter.

Luo Yuheng walked slowly through the Wang family mansion, occasionally stopping to look around... He could still see some dark marks, probably all of which were splattered blood.

Wang Shaojie is definitely dead.

Who could have sent that letter to him?
The text was even written in Wang Shaojie's name and handwriting, suggesting that the other party intended to avenge the entire Wang family.

But that was practically impossible. Due to the urgency of the situation, the elder brother dared not be negligent in the slightest and displayed unprecedented ruthlessness. The entire Wang family, from the head of the family to the servants, including the newborn children, were all spared.

But besides the Wang family, who else would go to such lengths to avenge what happened twenty years ago?
Could it be that some members of the Wang family escaped the net back then?

Thinking this to herself, Luo Yuheng suddenly raised an eyebrow. She suddenly realized that she had unknowingly arrived at the back of the Wang family's residence, and right in front of her was the bedroom where she used to live.

Without knowing what was on his mind, Luo Yuheng took a step forward. Just as he was about to push the door open, he suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on the door frame. The door was covered with a thick layer of dust, with only a few clear fingerprints on the edge of the door frame.

Luo Yuheng's pupils contracted slightly; someone had opened this door before.

It was not long ago.

Luo Yuheng's throat bobbed slightly, and he reached out and pushed open the door.

Moonlight streamed in from outside the door, illuminating a bright area of ​​the ground.

He pulled a tinderbox from his sleeve, opened it, and a small flame, about the size of a soybean, suddenly leaped up. In that dim light, everything in the room came into Luo Yuheng's view.

The next moment...

hiss.

In the silent night, a sudden gasp of cold air could be heard.

What did she see?

The room was empty; the bed, wardrobe, table, and chairs had all been moved out, leaving only four bare white walls. On those walls, crimson marks, twisting like venomous snakes and centipedes, outlined indescribable characters:
"Go to hell."

"die."

"Luo Yuheng..."

"Emperor Ninghe".

"Die, die, die..."

The blood hadn't darkened yet; it was still red.

Luo Yuheng could even smell the strong stench of blood floating in mid-air.

Looking at the distorted words left behind as if all the strength had been used, she could almost feel the overwhelming hatred churning in the heart of the person who wrote them, and she could almost hear the almost insane roars and howls echoing in her ears.

My heart skipped a beat.

Luo Yuheng suddenly felt a slight pain between his eyebrows.

Looking at them again, the bloody characters seemed to come alive out of thin air, twisting and writhing.

The words seemed to possess some kind of mysterious magic, attracting Luo Yuheng's gaze.

Right behind Luo Yuheng in the pavilion, a figure, like a sinister ghost, almost completely blended into the darkness. Even under the moonlight, only a hazy outline could be seen.

He held in his hand a crossbow that was rather exaggerated in size, much larger than a military crossbow.

Crunch!

crunch.

With a strange sound, the axle began to turn.

The crossbow was slowly pulled back.

Under the moonlight, the crossbow bolts emitted a chilling glint.

A finger is gently stroking the suspended blade.

Looking through the mountain, the arrow and Luo Yuheng's head formed a straight line.

The next instant, his finger suddenly pressed down on the suspended blade. *Swoosh*.

With a sharp whooshing sound, the crossbow bolt, like a shooting star piercing the night sky, headed straight for Luo Yuheng's head.

Just then, Luo Yuheng, who seemed to be completely absorbed in the text, suddenly sharpened his eyes and turned around leisurely. The instant he turned, a sharp crossbow bolt was already in front of him; the cold glint of the arrowhead seemed to sting his eyes, causing him to squint.
Immediately, Luo Yuheng slowly raised his right hand.

The movements were unhurried and calm, completely unlike the swift crossbow bolts.

The crossbow bolt was incredibly fast. Given Luo Yuheng's unhurried movements, it seemed impossible for him to catch up. Yet, the entire scene seemed to be twisted in some strange way. Just as the arrow was about to pierce Luo Yuheng's brow, her small, white hand caught the bolt at the last second.

It's completely impossible to tell how Luo Yuheng raised his arm.

With a hiss, the crossbow bolt stopped in mid-air, just half an inch away from Luo Yuheng's brow.

He opened his palm, looked down, and saw that his palm was slightly red.

Looking at the arrowhead again, it was somewhat damp, clearly having been coated with some kind of deadly poison.

They were well prepared.

Luo Yuheng chuckled and with a slight twist of his wrist, he saw the crossbow bolt immediately return along its original path, even faster than before.

The black silhouette on the upper floor was clearly not prepared for this, and had no time to dodge completely. It only slightly leaned forward, and with a soft thud, the crossbow bolt instantly pierced the black figure's shoulder.

Painful groans could be heard in the night sky.

The shadowy figure trembled, then quickly retreated, crashing through the attic door behind it with a bang before disappearing into the darkness.

Luo Yuheng lightly touched the ground with her toes, her body floating away like a fairy in the moon, her clothes fluttering.

In the blink of an eye, they were already on the upper floor. Looking down, they saw a few drops of bright red blood on the wooden floor. Looking up, they saw that the upper floor room was empty, except for a window at the back that was open and swaying gently in the night breeze.

He took two steps forward and reached the window.

Looking into the distance, there was nothing unusual in the area.

The dark figure simply vanished.

"Your lightness skill is quite good," Luo Yuheng murmured softly.

Then, her beautiful face suddenly turned deathly pale, and a stream of bright red blood slowly gushed from the corner of her mouth.

That wasn't all. In just a few breaths, strange, scarlet marks began to appear on Luo Yuheng's pale face.

It felt as if fire was burning inside.

Suddenly, her pretty face seemed to possess an eerie allure.

The scarlet mark spread extremely quickly, reaching her entire cheek in the blink of an eye, and then continuing to spread along her slender, swan-like neck.

This process seems to be very painful.

Luo Yuheng's brows furrowed tightly, and his forehead was covered in a layer of cold sweat.

About fifteen minutes later, the scarlet lines began to fade. Another fifteen minutes passed, and the last trace of scarlet on her fair cheeks completely disappeared, as if it had never been there at all.

Twenty years.

I still can't control this power.

Luo Yuheng let out a heavy sigh, turned around and went down the pavilion, his body gradually disappearing into the darkness.

……

at the same time.

the other side.

The post station of the Honglu Temple.

The Chu delegation arrived a few days ago and met up with Lin Xue and Chu Menglan.

For Yu Linxue, she didn't want to be tied down by the delegation. If she were alone, she would probably disregard everything and head straight for Pingyang. She had never cared much about the diplomatic relations between Ning and Chu, after all, they had just gone to war last year, what kind of diplomatic relations were they?

In comparison, the younger brother's matter is naturally more important.

However, Chu Menglan was also by his side.

This is not her own territory after all. If she encounters any danger, she can accept it calmly, but she cannot implicate the princess.

Ningguo is different from Chuguo. In Chuguo, the martial arts world is almost entirely controlled by the imperial court, and those so-called martial artists can't cause much trouble. But in Ningguo, the imperial court clearly doesn't have that kind of control. Martial artists are extremely rampant, and no one knows how many masters are hidden in this vast land. If you accidentally offend someone stronger than yourself, they won't care whether you're a princess or not.

Secondly, before leaving the State of Chu, she had promised the King of Chu that her journey would only extend to Dongling.

Even if he wanted to meet Song Yan, he had to ask the Emperor of Ningguo to issue an imperial edict to summon Song Yan back to the capital.

Of course, Lin Xue didn't take the promise she made to Emperor Chu to heart. In her original plan, after the delegation arrived, she would simply hand Chu Menglan over to them, and then she would travel the world freely.

Unfortunately, the Chu Emperor clearly knew Lin Xue's personality very well.

Inexplicably, a large number of extremely powerful individuals appeared in the delegation. Although none of them were a match for Lin Xue in a one-on-one fight, Lin Xue would definitely not be able to withstand them if they attacked together.

Having barely managed to break free of the encirclement, this large group of dozens of martial artists completely abandoned any semblance of martial dignity. They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground with a thud, and wept uncontrollably. The gist of their story was that their relatives had already been taken to the capital by the Chu Emperor. If they failed to protect the princess and Lin Xue, they too would be beheaded by the Chu Emperor upon their return. One woman had just married, another had just had a child, and yet another's parents had just gotten married… If they were beheaded, each one would suffer an increasingly tragic fate.

Although none of them claimed to have been killed by Lin Xue, the sound of their weeping and wailing made Lin Xue's forehead veins bulge.

damn it.

This trick was definitely taught to me by that shameless old man, the Chu Emperor.

Unfortunately, Lin Xue was just that kind of person. Having suffered so much hardship in Ningguo, she grew up peacefully in Chuguo, so she had an extremely good impression of Chuguo. This goodwill even extended to everyone in Chuguo. As long as you didn't cause trouble for no reason and repeatedly provoke Lin Xue, as long as you didn't go too far, this female general who could lead a large army to capture two cities in Ningguo and defend the border against the Xiongnu was actually very easy to talk to.

Looking at the group of martial artists kneeling on the ground, and at their innocent eyes, Lin Xue's lips twitched.

She really wanted to ask, "You're all martial artists, where's your dignity? Where's your backbone?"

Seeing that Lin Xue wasn't planning to leave, the envoy approached with a smile and told her to get some rest tonight, as she would be paying her respects to the Emperor of Ningguo tomorrow.

Lin Xue was absolutely certain that this scheming guy had been secretly watching from the sidelines, probably feeling quite smug.

He snorted in response.

Lin Xue lifted her foot and walked out of the post station.

"General Lin, where are you going?" The envoy's voice came from behind.

Almost simultaneously, Lin Xue could feel dozens of eyes on her. Taking a deep breath, Lin Xue desperately suppressed the anger that was about to explode in her chest: "Can't I go out for a late-night snack?"

"How could that be?" The envoy said with a smile, "His Majesty has instructed that General Lin is free to come and go outside of the Ning Kingdom's court, and the delegation will not be subject to any restrictions."

Lin Xue's lips twitched. As expected of someone in diplomacy, she could actually say such a thing. She really had a thick skin.

With another snort, Lin Xue left the inn.

Watching Lin Xue's figure disappear from sight, the smile on his face gradually faded, turning into a helpless sigh. If he could, he really didn't want to offend General Lin. After all, no one wants to be caught in the act of walking at night, suddenly found with a sack over their head, and then get a beating.

However, General Lin Xue is far too important to the Emperor of Chu and to the entire Chu Kingdom.

The fact that Lin Xue was from Ning was common knowledge in the Chu court.

Whether it was the generals who fought on the battlefield or the civil officials who loved to nitpick, none of them targeted Lin Xue for this reason. Generally speaking, in the Chu court, from the Chu emperor down to the eunuchs at the palace gate, everyone hoped that Lin Xue could fully integrate into the Chu Kingdom.

Her talent deserves such treatment.

That was said by the old master of the Lin family himself: given time, Lin Xue will be more outstanding than him!

Over the years, people had even forgotten her origins, only remembering that she was the legitimate daughter of the Lin family. It wasn't until Lin Xue came to Ning Kingdom to find her long-lost younger brother that people suddenly remembered that Lin Xue was from Ning. For the delegation, re-establishing diplomatic relations between Ning and Chu was secondary; protecting Lin Xue's safety was paramount. If necessary, even Princess Chu Menglan could be abandoned; they would do everything in their power to bring Lin Xue safely back to Chu Kingdom.

"You few, follow him from a distance, and make sure General Lin doesn't encounter any danger." The envoy waved his hand and addressed the strongest of the dozens of martial artists. He then summoned a clerk who was accompanying him: "Send all of Song Yan's information to my room."

The Emperor of Chu was not worried that Lin Xue would betray him.

His concern was whether Lin Xue would be unable to bear the ties of family and choose to stay in Ningguo because of her younger brother.

Therefore, this is the second most important task of the mission... to bring Lin Xue's younger brother, Song Yan, to the State of Chu!

I heard that Song Yan prefers older, more mature women.

Otherwise, why would the Chu Emperor have agreed to let Princess Menglan accompany him?

(End of this chapter)