After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Shen Jingque wasn't the only one caught off guard by this news; Xiao Changqi was too.

The golden fan in his hand fell to the ground with a thud. He didn't even bother to pick it up and rushed to Xiao Mingyue's desk.

"What did you just say, stepmother?"

Xiao Changqi felt like his ears were stuffed with donkey hair.

"Is that Yan Kingdom hostage who spends all his time indulging in debauchery in the capital's restaurants the master of Tingfeng Pavilion?"

This news was even more unbelievable than telling him that the Great Yong Dynasty was going to perish the next day.

Xiao Mingyue poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it over.

"Take a sip of water to calm your nerves, don't look like you've never seen anything like this before."

She calmly recounted the agreement she had reached with Rong Jing in the Immortal Forest.

Shen Jingque listened with great interest.

It turns out that Mother and Rong Jing had been secretly having an affair all along.

They've even borrowed Tingfeng Pavilion's intelligence network.

Xiao Mingyue looked into the distance, her fingertips tapping lightly on the table.

"The current emperor is indecisive and suspicious by nature. I supported this younger brother's ascension to the throne out of consideration for my father."

She stood up, placed her hands on the edge of the table, and looked back at the two children in front of her with great interest.

"But how did he treat me?"

"This Xiao family's empire was originally established by my mother and her men. Rather than letting him squander it all, it's better to return it to me."

Xiao Changqi almost spat out his mouthful of herbal tea.

Having followed his adoptive mother for so many years, he could easily understand the meaning behind her words.

"Does your adoptive mother want to become the emperor herself?" Xiao Changqi's voice trembled.

Shen Jingque jumped up immediately.

She slid forward and grabbed Xiao Mingyue's arm.

"That's wonderful! I've always felt that only Mother deserves this throne!"

Xiao Mingyue was so startled by her sudden movement that she swayed to one side.

She originally thought that no matter how clever the girl was, she would be so frightened by such blasphemous words that her legs would go weak.

To make matters worse, they didn't even try to hide it; they were even more excited than she, the one who wanted to rebel.

"You've got some nerve, girl."

Xiao Mingyue couldn't help but reach out and tap Shen Jingque's forehead.

She suddenly realized that the crazy spirit of her adopted daughter was exactly to her liking.

Shen Jingque rubbed her forehead and grinned foolishly.

Nonsense, this is a golden opportunity.

Xiao Jingchen schemes against others all day long, but he only climbed to the top because of his aristocratic family.

With your own mother having soldiers, money, and connections, wouldn't it be better to just flip the table and become your own boss?

She wished she could go and sew a dragon robe for Xiao Mingyue right now.

Xiao Changqi watched from the side, his lips pursed in disapproval.

"You're flattering me way too fast."

"But then again, since Rong Jing is the head of Tingfeng Pavilion, he'll definitely extort a hefty sum from us while he's helping us investigate Cheng Rui, right?"

Merchants are driven by profit, and Xiao Changqi was most afraid of others eyeing the money in his pocket.

Xiao Mingyue was amused by the brother and sister's banter.

"What he wants is the throne of Yan. I promised him that I would help him return to his country and seize power in the future. This is more than enough to buy him a few pieces of intelligence."

She sat back down in her chair and picked up her teacup to moisten her throat.

"Now you know why your dad got so angry last night, right?"

Shen Jingque was stunned for a moment.

How did this bring up Dad again?

"Is it because Father feels that Rong Jing has taken liberties with me?"

Xiao Mingyue sighed.

"Although your father seems to have a gentle temper, he's very perceptive."

"Since Rong Jing is the head of Tingfeng Pavilion, it is impossible for him to stay in Dayong as a hostage for the rest of his life."

"He will return to Yan sooner or later to reclaim what is rightfully his."

Xiao Mingyue looked at Shen Jingque, her tone unusually serious.

"It's a path destined to be fraught with danger, how could your father bear to let you wade into this muddy water?"

Shen Jingque finally understood.

The old man was just afraid that Rong Jing would take advantage of her.

He was terrified that his carefully nurtured little cabbage would be snatched away, pot and all, by some blond-haired bastard who might lose his head at any moment.

For Shen Yan, a father who cherishes his daughter like the apple of his eye, Rong Jing, a dangerous individual, is simply his number one nemesis.

Shen Jingque patted her chest forcefully.

"Don't worry, Mother, I will not leave Father and you."

"I will reassure Daddy and make sure he doesn't have to worry. I will be a good boy for the next two days."

Xiao Mingyue nodded in satisfaction.

"You can handle things with your father, but I'll take care of Rong Jing's affairs."

"I will personally go and talk to Cheng Rui about this matter. You should avoid going to the epidemic area these next few days, lest your father's heart condition flare up again."

Shen Jingque nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

She also realized that she had been acting strangely in front of Rong Jing lately.

I might as well stay in the county government office for a couple of days to escape that creepy, ambiguous atmosphere.

……

Night gradually swallowed the outline of Cangcheng.

In the small courtyard in the epidemic area south of the city, it was so quiet that the only sound could be the rustling of the wind through the leaves.

Rong Jing sat cross-legged on the bed in the bedroom.

His eyes were closed, and he was meditating and regulating his breath according to the mental techniques taught by Elder Fengming.

Although the potent wound medicine suppressed the festering of the wound, he had lost too much blood, and his internal energy was still somewhat stagnant.

Recalling the way Shen Jingque sat by his bedside last night wiping his wounds, Rong Jing's breathing became erratic for a moment.

The little girl's fingers were warm and soft, carrying a certain allure that he found irresistible.

The night wind squeezed in through the crack in the half-open window, causing the candlelight on the table to flicker wildly.

Rong Jing suppressed his distracting thoughts, and his breathing became even and long again, as if he were an old monk in deep meditation.

At that moment, the feeling I had experienced in the Forest of Immortality crept up my spine again.

It was as if a pair of cold eyes were hidden in the shadows, staring at his throat.

He didn't open his eyes, but held his breath and listened quietly.

Then, an arrow pierced through the thin paper window and headed straight for his face.

Rong Jing moved at that instant.

He leaned back, following his instincts, and slid off the bed.

The poisoned arrow grazed the tip of his nose and embedded itself in the pillar at the head of the bed.

The feathers at the fletching of the arrow were still trembling wildly, emitting a muffled buzzing sound.

Rong Jing slapped the bed with one hand and shot out the window like an arrow.

The night wind billowed his dark robes.

He landed lightly in the center of the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

The courtyard was deserted, except for a few broken earthenware pots piled up in the corner.

It seems the newcomer is a master of light-footed martial arts.

Rong Jing stood there for a while, then rubbed his temples in annoyance, turned around and slowly walked back into the house.

Meanwhile, a dark figure was hidden among the dense foliage of an old locust tree outside the courtyard wall.

He moved slowly, like a venomous snake coiled on a tree branch, revealing a pair of murderous eyes from behind the branch.

The fact that the arrow was dodged was completely unexpected.

The message his master gave him clearly stated that Rong Jing was a good-for-nothing wastrel.

What's more, he was injured.

But that person's reaction speed just now was nothing like that of a useless person.

The assassin gritted his teeth and took out another exquisitely crafted repeating crossbow from his waist.

He mounted the crossbow on the thick tree trunk, closed one eye, and aimed through the gaps in the leaves at the tightly closed window.

The candlelight inside the room shone on the paper windows.

But not a trace of human movement could be found.

Strange, where did they go?

An uncontrollable panic suddenly arose in the assassin's heart.

He instinctively sensed danger and was about to put down the crossbow and retreat when he felt a chilling coldness on his neck.

It was a dagger as thin as a cicada's wing, pressed against his carotid artery.

Just half an inch further in, and he'd be splattered with blood.

Are you looking for me?

A slightly mocking voice rang in the assassin's ear.

Rong Jing had silently appeared on the tree branch behind him without him noticing.

The night wind tousled the stray hairs on his forehead, and his once smiling peach blossom eyes now surged with a chilling ferocity.