Chapter 42: Exposed
Jinsui had Hei Hu pick up the lantern in the courtyard, as if afraid assassins wouldn’t be able to find the place, using the lantern to guide people.
Seeing the lantern lit, Cheng Yu instantly understood the Prince’s plan, smiled and shook his head, truly a bold one! Worthy of the name ‘Li, the Boundless King’.
He took down the wine gourd from his waist, drinking as he staggered, and walked towards Jinsui’s residence with loud shouts and laughter:
“Your Highness, you want to reward this subordinate’s fine wine, is it ready tonight?”
Then he started singing: “If there is someone in the mountain’s embrace, wearing ivy and bound by wild vines…”
Wei Assistant Secretary, inside the room, was so anxious he stomped his feet:
“This drunkard, it’s one thing that he always has wine on him, but he has to get this drunk at such an important time tonight!”
Han Xing pondered: “No, Cheng Assistant Secretary knows there are assassins, he would never get drunk!”
Jinsui thought of this at the same time, stood up and said: “Hei Hu, accompany this King to pick up Cheng Assistant Secretary.”
She raised her hand to signal Han Xing and Wei Assistant Secretary not to persuade further, and said seriously: “Wei Assistant Secretary, you hide well and don’t come out, Captain Han, lead the men to ambush.”
Han Xing suddenly stepped forward to stop Jinsui and quickly told her his plan.
Soon, the hearty laughter of Li King came from inside the room, and then they saw him and a Big Black Guy walk out:
“Lord Cheng, please come in quickly, this King has prepared good wine, we won’t go home until we’re drunk tonight!”
Cheng Yu’s singing stopped, swaying unsteadily under the moonlight, he cupped his hands in greeting to the person before him:
“Your Highness.”
As he uttered this call, in almost the blink of an eye, in the moonlight and night, several flashes of light like thin lightning streaked by.
Then four long sabers, accompanied by four dark figures, attacked Li King in unison.
Seeing the sabers nearing, Li King and the other two also moved. Hei Hu let out a loud shout, drew the long saber from his waist, and blocked one of the attacks.
And Li King’s martial arts were also extremely high. He drew the long sword from his waist to meet the enemy.
Even Cheng Yu, who couldn’t stand steadily, picked up his wine gourd and smashed it at one of them. Cheng Yu’s strength was immense, turning his spear into a fist, he was indeed a skilled fighter.
Even if these four were stupid, they knew they had fallen into a trap. Li King and the other two were clearly prepared, and did not look like they were being ambushed at all.
But the four, with the determination to complete their mission even if it meant death, struck with fatal blows, determined to take Li King’s life tonight.
As the three of them fought the four under the moonlight, Wei Assistant Secretary inside the room banged on the gong with all his might, shouting:
“Help! Catch the assassins!”
Half of the soldiers ambushing in the courtyard rushed out to assist, while the other half remained hidden.
After shouting for a while, Wei Assistant Secretary covered half his face and let out a pained groan.
Someone beside him comforted him: “Don’t be afraid, they can’t break in. Stop crying.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Assistant Secretary almost cried for real:
“Your Highness, this subordinate is not crying from fear, but from unbearable toothache.”
That’s right, the person beside him was Jinsui, and the Li King fighting the black-clothed man outside was Han Xing.
She wasn’t the only one who thought of the body double technique.
Jinsui calmly fiddled with Hei Hu’s bow and said with a smile: “When there’s time, this King will help you pull out that rotten tooth.”
Wei Assistant Secretary asked in a low voice: “Your Highness, aren’t you afraid at all?”
Jinsui scoffed: “What kind of situation has this King not seen? Just a few assassins.”
Wei Assistant Secretary wanted to say that in the past, you were the Crown Prince, with countless secret guards, so of course you didn’t need to be afraid.
But now, you are in the borderlands, isolated and without help, how can you still smile?
Soon, Wei Assistant Secretary discovered that the Prince couldn’t even draw the bow.
He quickly stepped forward to take the bow: “Let this subordinate try!”
Jinsui was slightly surprised: “Wei Assistant Secretary knows martial arts too?”
The dissolute drunkard Cheng Yu outside, fighting the assassin with a long saber while holding his wine gourd, was not at a disadvantage, which had already surprised her.
She didn’t expect Wei Assistant Secretary to know martial arts too!
“Heh heh, the six arts of a gentleman, my archery and horseback riding are still quite good.”
It made sense, living in the borderlands, one couldn’t survive without knowing martial arts!
Jinsui pretended to rub her arm: “They injured my hand on the way, which made it so this King can’t even draw the bow.”
Wei Assistant Secretary didn’t suspect anything, and while slurping, he drew the bow and aimed at the courtyard, but the four people were too fast, and he couldn’t aim properly.
Jinsui held his hand: “Don’t move yet.”
There were five people coming, and clearly one more was hiding in the dark.
As if on cue, as soon as she finished speaking, several hidden arrows suddenly flew from high above, hitting the soldiers hiding in the courtyard one by one.
Then a person flew down from the roof. This person had been hiding on the roof all along!
With a ‘clang’, he kicked through the window in front of Jinsui, then rolled into the room.
Han Xing outside had already noticed the situation and quickly retreated inside, with Hei Hu and Cheng Yu clearing the way for him.
But the assassin inside was faster. This person was clearly the leader, with extremely high martial arts.
With two swift slashes, he cut off the bow from Wei Assistant Secretary’s hands, kicked him over, and Wei Assistant Secretary, spitting blood, still shouted:
“Your Highness, run!”
Jinsui truly wished Gu Changxiao could see this scene, at least to let him know that the soldiers in the borderlands were willing to risk their lives to protect him.
Although the black-clothed leader was masked, Jinsui recognized his eyes, as they had met twice before.
Once in the ruined temple, when he led people to confront the bandits.
And once when she impersonated Gu Changxiao and jumped off the cliff, this person was also the first to arrive at the cliff’s edge, watching her jump.
Jinsui knew he was extremely skilled and she was powerless to resist. She only had one chance to win.
Under the dim candlelight, she feigned composure and rebuked: “Bold villain! How dare you assassinate an Imperial Prince.”
The man, holding his sword, was advancing step by step. When he was three steps away, he suddenly stopped, his eyes wide with surprise:
“You are not Li King!”
He knew the Li King in the courtyard was fake, but he never expected that the Li King hiding in this room was also fake.
He quickly looked around, thinking the real Li King must be hiding in the room.
Seizing this moment of his distraction, Jinsui moved her wrist, gripped the dagger hidden in her sleeve, and aimed straight for his face.
Unfortunately, her speed was too slow. The black-clothed man lightly swung his sword, knocking the dagger from her hand.
Upon seeing the character ‘Jun’ on the dagger, the black-clothed man was certain the real Li King was nearby and swung his sword towards the bookshelf next to Jinsui.
Just then, Han Xing arrived, and the two fought. Jinsui picked up the dagger and looked for an opportunity to strike.
Seeing that the assassination had failed and Li King was nowhere to be found, the black-clothed man prepared to retreat. Just then, a ‘whoosh’ sound was heard.
From the window broken by the black-clothed man, an arrow flew, and with lightning speed, it shot into the black-clothed man’s shoulder.
He let out a muffled groan, his body stiffened, and his speed slowed. Han Xing’s attack was faster, and after more than ten moves, Han Xing disarmed him and held his sword to his neck.
He turned to Jinsui: “Your Highness, shall I kill him?”
The black-clothed man’s eyes were filled with disbelief, and he exclaimed: “He is not Li King at all!”
After saying this, the black-clothed man’s body went limp and he fell to the ground, still staring at Jinsui and asking:
“Who are you? Where is Li King?”
Jinsui knew that the anesthetic on Hei Hu’s arrow had taken effect. She stepped forward and kicked him hard, asking with a cold smile:
“You say this King is not Li King, then who is he? Is he your father?”
The black-clothed man spat out a mouthful of blood with a ‘poof’ and fainted.
Jinsui had originally intended to kill him, but on second thought, he was just an assassin sent by Prince Yu. If she killed him, other assassins would come the next day.
Furthermore, he had just said in front of so many people that she was not Li King.
If she killed him now, wouldn’t it look like she was silencing a witness?
Only by making him change his statement would her identity not be suspected.
