Chapter 1236

Bloodiness spread through the fine rain and night; at dawn the rain finally stopped, Haiwang City was washed clean, every blade of grass and tree unusually fresh, the air filled with the fresh scent after rain—but it wasn't pure, and if you savored it closely you could smell the bloodiness within.

In the Bohai king's palace all officials fell silent as crows; Bohai King Yan Dongsheng's face was grim, his mood terrible, he had been woken from a sweet dream early that morning; first he heard that Minister of Punishments Li Changxing had been assassinated, then he heard that the personal guards of Da Yong's Princess Xue Lingjun had been killed; the former was tolerable, but the latter left Yan Dongsheng anxious, for Xue Lingjun's noble status meant even her guards were far more important than an ordinary Bohai official; if she made a big issue of this, he feared he could not cope.

Yan Dongsheng snapped, "You're all mute? Zheng Yangqi! You're in charge of the capital's security—give me an explanation!"

The commander of the imperial guards, Zheng Yangqi, drooped his head like a sick chicken: "Your Majesty… I… I am at fault…"

"Nonsense, I'm not asking for blame—I want you to investigate thoroughly and give me a report as soon as possible!"

A eunuch supervisor hurried into the palace, came to Yan Dongsheng's side, leaned in and whispered something; hearing it, Yan Dongsheng's expression changed, he pondered a moment and said, "Dismiss court, you discuss countermeasures first—I have some matters to attend to; I'll return in an hour to ask for the results."

Yan Dongsheng hurriedly left Sea Blessing Hall, followed the eunuch to Auspicious Cloud Palace, where Da Yong's Princess Xue Lingjun awaited accompanied by Bohai's Princess Yan Dongqing, who continually comforted her; Xue Lingjun appeared highly agitated, and upon seeing Yan Dongsheng enter she sprang to her feet—not to salute him. A king of a small state had not yet earned her regard.

Yan Dongsheng certainly understood why Xue Lingjun had come, yet he feigned ignorance: "Your Highness the Princess, I don't know why you've come so early."

Xue Lingjun sneered, "May I ask, Your Majesty, in what way has Da Yong wronged Bohai?"

Yan Dongsheng replied awkwardly, "Your Highness, what makes you say that? Da Yong and Bohai are like brothers, flesh and blood; to me, Da Yong is like water to a fish!"

Xue Lingjun chuckled, "Then it's we who have fallen short toward you."

Yan Dongqing kept giving her brother looks from the side, signaling that Xue Lingjun was flying into a rage and that he must choose his words carefully.

Yan Dongsheng said, "Your Highness, you overstate it; I have always respected the Princess and harbor no disrespect."

"Then why did you kill my guards and try to put me to death?"

Yan Dongsheng groaned, "Your Highness, you misunderstand; I only just learned of this myself, and was in the midst of convening the officials to discuss it, determined to find the culprit as quickly as possible and give you a satisfactory answer."

Xue Lingjun asked, "How long?"

Under her piercing gaze, Yan Dongsheng involuntarily lowered his head and sighed, "I will do my utmost." He knew to leave himself some leeway; he wasn't a fool—if he promised a specific date and failed, Xue Lingjun would not let it go.

Xue Lingjun said, "Fine! I give you three days; if you don't find the killer within that time, don't blame me for turning hostile!" With that she flicked her sleeve and left.

Yan Dongsheng's face turned livid with anger, the muscles at his mouth twitching; seeing him thus, Yan Dongqing hurriedly urged, "Brother, you must not get angry—harming your dragon body would be trouble."

Yan Dongsheng snapped, "Dragon body? I'm no true Son of Heaven; even if I were, I'm of humble birth!" The dragon's nine sons are all different. As a small state, we're bound to be bullied; Xue Lingjun's earlier aggressive demeanor showed at root that they never regarded this island kingdom's lord as worthy of notice.

Yan Dongqing said, "Brother, I heard Li Changxing was also killed?"

Yan Dongsheng, still angry, replied, "Court affairs are none of your concern."

Yan Dongqing pursed her cherry lips, "Dongqing certainly knows she shouldn't meddle in your affairs, Brother, but seeing you troubled by these matters, as your sister I naturally want to ease your burden; though I'm a woman who stays out of worldly affairs, I also know Li Changxing was judging the case of Yuan Tianzhao, and his killer surely wanted to stop him from continuing the trial and discovering the truth."

Yan Dongsheng visibly grew impatient: "Enough, I've said it before—don't involve yourself in these matters!"

After leaving Blessing Clear Pavilion, Xue Lingjun did something that shocked everyone around her: she moved out of Blessing Clear Pavilion, packed her belongings, and took her personal Gold Scale Guard straight to Know Spring Garden to live. Previously her affair with Hu Dafu had been mere rumor; now, with Hu Dafu's wife just having left, she openly moved to Know Spring Garden, making their relationship unequivocal.

However, most of Sea-Viewing City's populace now focuses on Li Changxing's murder; few pay attention to these gossip items, and besides, Xue Lingjun's flirtatious behavior is her own affair—she isn't Bohai's princess, so any loss of face concerns Da Yong and Bohai not at all.

Know Spring Garden is spacious, with plenty of lodgings; Hu Xiaotian arranged a quiet, elegant courtyard for Xue Lingjun. Taking advantage of the moment while everyone was busy packing, Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian went together to the waterside pavilion before the courtyard, gazing at a stretch of green water; Xue Lingjun's expression shifted between overcast and clear, her eyes flickering like rippling waves.

Hu Xiaotian whispered, "I've heard about what happened at Blessing Clear Pavilion."

Xue Lingjun gazed at his feigned innocent face, suddenly feeling the urge to pull off his mask, but she restrained herself, biting her lip and said, "You didn't even tell me beforehand!"

Hu Xiaotian smiled, "Since you don't want to get involved, Elder Sister, I can only do this on my own—and of course everything I do is done with your best interests in mind."

Xue Lingjun sighed, sat on the bench, eyes fixed on the water, and said, "People are already dead; I don't know what more to say—what do you plan to do next?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I had originally planned to stage a fine assassination plot against the Princess, but since you've come here, I can't very well keep lifting a stone only to drop it on my own foot."

Xue Lingjun said, "Li Chenzhou is very shrewd; he might well suspect you, which is why I decided to move here—if he dares to act against you, outsiders will think it's aimed at me, giving me grounds to demand redress from the Bohai royal house."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Elder Sister, you really have my best interests at heart."

Xue Lingjun gave him a white look, "Just know that—because of you, my reputation is now in tatters."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Reputation is nothing; as long as I know you're wholeheartedly devoted to me, it's fine even if the whole world calls you a wanton woman—in my heart you remain the purest, most faithful one."

"Bullshit! You're the wanton one!" Xue Lingjun snapped, blushing; yet her heart wasn't angry—rather, a warm current flowed through her, perhaps this is what's called teasing banter; this kid's words and deeds really make one love and hate him, Xue Lingjun reminded herself deep down that Hu Xiaotian wouldn't easily fall for her, that this guy always just uses her, and she does the same to him.

Hu Xiaotian sat beside Xue Lingjun, reached out to put his arm around her slender waist, but she sprang up like a startled bird, pointing at him and said, "Kid, don't think I don't know what you're after."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "I truly have no ulterior motive; it's just that facing Elder Sister's peerless beauty, I couldn't help myself."

Xue Lingjun said, "The two who attacked Guo Zhenhai last night were both experts—one was you, who was the other?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Yan Tianlu!" Having already decided to join forces with Xue Lingjun to face the present situation, he saw no need to conceal anything.

Xue Lingjun approved of that answer; she knew Yan Tianlu was not only the master of Mangjiao Island but also the Bohai king's paternal uncle, wielding great influence within Bohai—with his help, it's no wonder Hu Xiaotian dared to penetrate Haiwang City.

Another reason Hu Xiaotian revealed the truth was to boost Xue Lingjun's confidence in him; judging from her expression, his aim had been achieved.

Xue Lingjun asked, "What are you planning to do next?"

Hu Xiaotian deliberately said, "Next?" while lowering his gaze as he spoke.

Even though Xue Lingjun was used to such scenes, this time she couldn't help but blush furiously, grinding her teeth as she snapped, "You shameless thing—I'm discussing serious matters; if you keep joking around and annoy me, I'll broadcast everywhere your collusion with Yan Tianlu."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "What are you thinking, Elder Sister? I've always been a proper gentleman."

Xue Lingjun snorted in derision.

Hu Xiaotian said, "There's only one reason Li Changxing was killed: he handled cases too rigidly, and the other side likely saw too many variables, so they decided to eliminate him; this couldn't have been done by Bohai King Yan Dongsheng; after careful thought, the perpetrator might be Li Chenzhou or Zhou Yong."

"Zhou Yong?" If it were Li Chenzhou, Xue Lingjun wouldn't be surprised, but Zhou Yong? She hadn't expected that, since in her view Zhou Yong was merely a pretty boy who traded his looks for profit.

Hu Xiaotian said, "As far as I know, the person most likely to succeed Yuan Tianzhao's position is Zhou Yong."

Xue Lingjun said, "Based solely on this, we can't be certain."

Hu Xiaotian smiled, "Elder Sister, what we want now is to turn the tide, not to get to the bottom of things; muddy water makes fishing easy—only by thoroughly stirring this pool can we find an opening; since they dared to strike and kill Li Changxing, we can act on other fronts."

Xue Lingjun said, "So you killed Guo Zhenhai?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Just a beginning!"

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