Chapter 104 : Perhaps She'll Even Have to Beg for Mercy
After inviting Mu Qinglan, Jiang He's mood remained excellent.
Though somewhat concerned about her health, just thinking about finally making a friend, and even inviting her out using methods from books, Jiang He couldn't help but move more lightly.
This was a friend, after all...
There was something she hadn't told Mu Qinglan.
Although Heyang's autumn hunt had no limit on numbers, in reality, each royal family member could only invite one person each time.
Before this, Jiang He had never used this privilege. During each autumn hunt, she would hide in the corner, watching her brothers and sisters show off their skills, her little face devoid of emotion. This was the first time she had invited a friend.
Truthfully, when she spoke up yesterday, she had been a bit nervous, but when Mu Qinglan agreed, her heart felt as sweet as if she'd eaten honey.
Mu Qinglan was truly a good person, whether covering her retreat at the Human Gate or being reliable at the Hundred Flowers Banquet...
This gave her a completely different feeling from the past.
'She hasn't been to an autumn hunt before, right? There are still three days. Should I also prepare her share?'
Jiang He pushed open the door. The morning sunlight was neither cold nor hot, feeling warm on her body.
Her residence was in a corner of the imperial palace, with a serene environment and few visitors on ordinary days.
And because she was a princess,
The separate courtyard was quite large. Walking around it would take nearly five minutes.
Standing on the stone steps, Jiang He gently stretched her body, crossing her fingers over her chest and pushing outward lightly, dispelling the sleepiness of the morning.
"Good morning. You seem to have woken up quite early today?"
Bodyguard Qin Mo, who was tending to the flower beds, turned around and casually asked.
She had expected Jiang He would just nod coldly.
But unexpectedly, Jiang He seriously answered: "Because I need to prepare for the autumn hunt."
"Autumn hunt?" Qin Mo was puzzled: "Don't you usually prepare for such things on the last day? Besides, it's not your first time going. Why rush to pack?"
"This year is different."
Jiang He firmly shook her head, her little face full of solemnity.
"Suit yourself. Since you say so, I'll call the maids to pack things later. But I won't move the items you'll need in the next few days, so you don't have trouble finding them," Qin Mo didn't insist on asking and agreed.
"Remember to prepare double portions."
"Double portions, for Prince Qi's daughter?"
"Yes."
Qin Mo stopped pruning branches, her mouth open in surprise.
She looked at Jiang He suspiciously, thinking she had never done this before, right? Was that young girl so attractive?
But the princess had never had friends before, so she probably didn't understand the boundaries of friendship. Let it go this time, don't spoil her excitement, and just remind her next time.
She thought for a moment:
"I can certainly prepare for you, but I don't know Prince Qi's daughter. Her situation… We might need to contact them to ask what to prepare."
"I see." Jiang He frowned. She hadn't intended to let Mu Qinglan know about this.
Having already invited someone to the autumn hunt, then making them think about what they needed to prepare? It seemed a bit unfriendly.
"Then shall I go there this afternoon to discuss it?"
"That works. I'll accompany you to coordinate with their maids. Given that young lady's health... she probably hasn't actively attended such events before," Qin Mo said.
"...Then was it not good for me to invite her?"
Jiang He was stunned, her solemn little face becoming even more grave.
She had never thought about this before...
She hadn't expected that making friends would have so many considerations. She had been careless.
It felt like playing a game, fighting a boss halfway through, when suddenly it revealed a mechanism she had never seen before, giving her a headache.
"You can just be more careful next time. I wanted to tell you yesterday, if it's someone you're not familiar with, especially in her condition, inviting her like this would definitely offend her," Qin Mo said helplessly. "She's very nice."
Jiang He defended softly, then gently nodded: "I'll remember and won't do it again next time."
Though she felt somewhat remorseful for making such a mistake, when it came to whether she had offended Mu Qinglan, she could confidently answer:
"No."
As for why, it was because—
Mu Qinglan... Qing Qing... wasn't that kind of person.
○
South of the city, in a small courtyard.
Yun Juan, who had been excited last night about the possibility of revenge, had now calmed down. But thinking of the vast gap in status between them, she couldn't help but fall silent.
Yun Juan squeezed the calculation beads in her hand, her sister's keepsake, which she had managed to collect from the secret realm just before it collapsed.
These days, she relied on them to barely alleviate her troubled, depressed mood.
"No need to rush. There will be opportunities, there will always be opportunities."
Yun Juan murmured to herself.
The calculation beads in her hand were strung together with a thin thread. Held in her hand, they were like a high monk rotating prayer beads, almost leaving afterimages.
Whoosh—
When the speed of rotating the beads slowed down, Yun Juan finally carefully put them away and heaved a long sigh.
"Feeling better?" The black-robed figure leaned against the doorway, asking casually.
"Just a little trick to relieve pressure. Sorry you witnessed it," Yun Juan said softly.
The black-robed figure had just mentioned it casually and had no intention of delving deeper into this topic. He merely brought it up, and the conversation immediately returned to the assassination from a couple of days ago.
"The Six Bureaus is coming on strong. Do you feel afraid?"
The black-robed figure smiled.
Though it was Yun Juan's first time being so publicly hunted by the Six Bureaus, she shook her head.
For an assassin of her caliber, as long as she escaped the first wave of pursuit, there would generally be few problems afterward.
Even the famous Six Bureaus wasn't invincible.
If the Six Bureaus were that powerful, who would dare cause trouble in Heyang? Wouldn't it be better to go elsewhere?
Moreover, Yun Juan had the backing of Prince Li's mansion, with layers of cover, plus the mansion's protection of her whereabouts. It could be said that as long as she didn't cause trouble, there was a 99% chance the Six Bureaus couldn't catch her.
"The talk of the town?"
"It's just talk," Yun Juan thought.
However, the black-robed figure hadn't come for this matter this time. He said: "What do you think about that person from Prince Qi's family?"
Yun Juan hesitated for a moment, then said:
"I feel it's not yet time to move against her. I may not be able to defeat her guards, and I haven't thoroughly researched the protective forces around her."
"After all, I only have one chance."
"I still want to observe for a while longer, wait until she lets her guard down, then strike with a fatal blow," she said.
"Not bad. In this kind of matter, it's better to be cautious. It seems you've grown a bit after this failure," the black-robed figure was pleased.
He almost couldn't bear to send her to die as cannon fodder.
Never mind, keeping her around would be like having a ticking time bomb. Better to have her probe for information for this purpose. Who knows when it might be useful?
"Just recuperate for now. After you've healed, then think about this matter."
"I'm really puzzled as to why she wanted to stand out like this."
Hearing this, Yun Juan also gave a cold laugh, cooperating:
"Young people, you know, always wanting to stand out, to prove their abilities."
"I really didn't expect her to be able to expose me this time, but I guarantee, it will be the last time."
"Next time... I won't give her a chance!"
Her status was indeed unattainably high; a small assassin like herself wasn't even worthy to carry her shoes.
But, people have only one life.
And security isn't omnipotent.
When I truly find the loophole in your security and stand before you, will you still be able to smile? Perhaps you'll even have to beg for mercy in front of me, crying.
Thinking this way, Yun Juan lowered her head, a flash of fierce pleasure in her eyes.
○
Three days passed leisurely.
Under the push of public opinion, news of this incident spread widely in Heyang City. Almost everyone knew that Heyang had another lawless assassin.
And a young lady from a noble family who had gained much attention.
However, in the external newspapers, no specific names were mentioned, so ordinary people with limited information could only guess.
But no matter how they guessed, in the end, the matter always came back to someone's badassery.
After all, the Six Bureaus had lost face.
Whether something is impressive or not is determined by comparison. An assassin that the Six Bureaus had tried in vain to catch was casually exposed by that wealthy young lady, putting them at a natural disadvantage in terms of status.
But the powerful and wealthy in the city knew the identity of that person.
For example, Miss Bai Yuyu, though instructed by her family to work hard, still found time to secretly visit her.
Looking her up and down, checking to make sure her friend hadn't been injured anywhere, before turning to leave.
And then there was Shen Yao.
She truly fulfilled the promise she had made to Bai Yuyu that day, coming to watch over Mu Qinglan for a while each day. But each time, the bad woman teased her until her fists were hard as rocks.
She wanted to punch the bad woman hard in the stomach, to make her cry and lose teeth!
But when she saw the night pearl placed on the table, that belated birthday gift, Miss Shen's tightly clenched fist loosened.
She probably wasn't deliberately trying to anger me.
So, should she... tolerate her once more?
'Hehe, her thoughts are indeed the easiest to guess. Knowing someone inside and out makes them easy to bully,' Mu Qinglan thought.
Mu Qinglan smiled as she saw Shen Yao off, called for Zhu Yan, and instructed her that she would be leaving today, and the plan could now be prepared for implementation.
"Then I'll act tomorrow," Zhu Yan nodded.
The child is teachable, Mu Qinglan was satisfied.
Miss Zhu Yan was quite intelligent and quite useful, whether as a maid, as a servant to warm the bed, or as a terrifying assassin who coldly harvested lives~
"You can judge the specific details yourself. If you really can't manage, go ask Steward Yuan. He retired from the battlefield and has some understanding of this field," Mu Qinglan said.
"I understand."
Zhu Yan said seriously.
After speaking with Zhu Yan, Mu Qinglan called for Shadow One, telling her to bring the things that had been packed this morning and get into the carriage to leave.
'I wonder what the city will be like when we return?'
'I'm really looking forward to it…'
Mu Qinglan sat in the carriage with her face in her hands, watching the scenery retreat on both sides, smiling gently.