Chapter 730

Xi Yan felt a sourness in her nose, feeling that since she met Hu Xiaotian he had never been so good to her; this shameless thing deliberately said such words to move herself, thinking that would coax her into obedience, really treating her as an ignorant little girl? Xi Yan finally managed to calm her turbulent emotions, she softly sighed and said: "I'm very tired, I don't want to talk to you, go out."

Hu Xiaotian again felt the feeling of a hot face pressed against a cold butt, he gave a wry smile and shook his head. He recalled something, took out a small bottle from his bosom, inside was the Returning Origin Pill Qin Yutong had given him. Hu Xiaotian said: "You're injured; you had better take one Returning Origin Pill first, it will help your wound."

Xi Yan coldly said: "I won't eat anything that demoness gave you."

Hu Xiaotian then recalled the various grudges between her and Qin Yutong, he secretly wondered, but he did not know how Xi Yan knew that the Returning Origin Pill was given by Qin Yutong; probably this is a secret medicine of Xuantian Guan, so she came to that judgment; had he known earlier he would not have revealed the pill's name.

Hu Xiaotian helplessly shook his head, placed the small bottle containing the Returning Origin Pill on the bedside table, and said softly: "Rest first, I'll go handle the scene."

Xi Yan reminded him: "It's best not to handle the corpses, lest you make things worse; just say they died from a poisonous insect backlash, after all there's no one to contradict."

Outside, Hu Xiaotian did not recognize the several corpses; his true concern was Yang Xuan, whom he had severed both legs with sword qi, because at the time he was anxious to come rescue, so he had not had time to interrogate; after so long he did not know whether Yang Xuan had already bled to death.

Hu Xiaotian returned to his own courtyard and saw that the several corpses were still there, but Yang Xuan was nowhere to be found; on the ground lay only her pair of severed legs, speaking of which those legs were still well-formed. Attached to the body they were sexy, but once cut off they lost any beauty; once a beautiful thing loses its vitality it also loses its luster. Hu Xiaotian secretly wondered, Yang Xuan's legs were already severed, logically she could not have fled far, perhaps she was hiding somewhere in the Qixin Palace. Just as he was about to search the surroundings carefully, Huo Shengnan received the report and rushed back.

The night rain had stopped, the scene's brutality far exceeded Huo Shengnan's imagination; the female soldiers she had stationed in Qixin Palace, six were killed, her most trusted subordinate Yang Xuan also missing, the scene still had three corpses, these three. Among them, the female was the assassin masquerading as palace maid Cailan, the other two were completely unfamiliar to her.

Huo Shengnan's face was grim; despite personally witnessing the state of Qixin Palace, she still did not want to believe Yang Xuan would betray her. Reality forced her to confront this issue; together with Yang Xuan's disappearance, eight more on-duty female soldiers were also missing. These eight were equally suspicious. As for the other on-duty personnel, they were unclear about the specific situation; although many had joined the operation to follow Yang Xuan in hunting down Hu Xiaotian, they were merely obeying the commander's orders.

Huo Shengnan again came before the six fallen subordinates; they had been severed at the torso by sword qi; although she had not personally witnessed the scene, she could imagine the power of that sword. Gazing at those faces devoid of life's luster, Huo Shengnan's inner turmoil reached its peak; these had once been sisters who shared life and death with her, yet she did not know why they would betray her. Looking at their faces, Huo Shengnan felt heart-rending pain; she bit her lip and said: "Sir Hu, your swordsmanship is formidable!"

Yes!

Huo Shengnan again came before the six deceased subordinates; their bodies had been severed by sword qi. Although she had not witnessed the scene herself, Huo Shengnan could imagine the power of that sword. Gazing at those faces devoid of life, Huo Shengnan's feelings became extremely complicated—these were once sisters who had shared life and death with her, yet for some unknown reason they had betrayed her. Looking at their faces, Huo Shengnan felt a piercing pain in her heart; she bit her lip and said: "Sir Hu, your swordsmanship is formidable!"

Huo Shengnan coldly glanced at him: "Can you give me a reasonable explanation?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I, too, am quite muddled; I was also hoping General Huo would give me a reasonable explanation—why did General Huo go to Cien Palace tonight?"

Huo Shengnan furrowed her brows: "Are you suspecting me?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I dare not! I would not groundlessly suspect anyone; it's just that tonight's huge incident at Qixin Palace implicated the Princess's injury, and I myself nearly lost my life, so I must get to the bottom of it."

Huo Shengnan bit her lip: "Yang Xuan has followed me for many years, she is like a real sister to me; I have never doubted her..." As she spoke these words, her inner anguish reached its peak, not only because of Yang Xuan's betrayal but also from worry for Yang Xuan. Although Huo Shengnan did not want to admit it, for such a sister-in-arms Yang Xuan, she still could not bring herself to be utterly ruthless.

Hu Xiaotian said: "If General Huo sends people to the vicinity of Xingyuan Bridge, they should be able to find three corpses; those three were all killed by me, the leader claiming to be the eunuch Baidesheng of the Directorate of Rituals; they intended to lure me to a remote place to eliminate me, there should also be their accomplices there; fortunately I discovered the flaw along the way, I killed them, only then realizing these three were not eunuchs at all."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If General Huo sends people to the vicinity of Xingyuan Bridge, they should be able to find three corpses; all three were killed by me. The leader claimed to be Eunuch Bai Desheng of the Directorate of Rites. They intended to lure me to a remote, uninhabited place to eliminate me, and there should still be their accomplices there. Fortunately, I discovered a flaw along the way, killed them, and only then realized these three were not eunuchs at all."

Hu Xiaotian said: "It was then that I realized Yang Xuan had a problem; since she let me follow those fake eunuchs away, it proves she acknowledged Baidesheng's identity without doubt."

Huo Shengnan said: "So after you killed them you immediately rushed back here?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "After I returned, Yang Xuan wanted to kill me; I was forced into a corner and had no choice but to strike down hard. When I rushed into the inner court, I happened to see those three assassins attempting to harm my princess; the most hateful part is that the little palace maid Cailan was actually an old woman in disguise; she had infiltrated Qixin Palace for some time, I thought you had taken full precautions, yet I never expected such a huge oversight."

Huo Shengnan remained silent, faced with the facts she had nothing to say; Cailan had lurked in Qixin Palace for so long, she had not detected the flaw; this shows there are many loopholes in her defenses, and she never imagined her own sister-in-arms would betray her. She whispered: "How did those two assassins get in?"

Hu Xiaotian pointed to the fountain; the underground passage had already been exposed, Li Yishui and Peng Yijiang had climbed up from it; just now Zhou Mo had quietly told him that near the entrance of the sewer they had found Liang Yinghao, who had been ambushed, barely escaped, though seriously wounded; they had already properly settled Liang Yinghao, and Hu Xiaotian certainly would not reveal that Liang Yinghao had dug the tunnel.

Huo Shengnan nodded and said: "Sir Hu, rest assured, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation for tonight's affair." Her gaze turned to Princess Anping's chambers, and she whispered: "How is the princess's condition?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "She suffered some fright, and from getting caught in the rain she has a slight fever, her emotions are unstable; now besides me she does not want to see anyone."

Huo Shengnan said: "Please trouble Sir Hu to convey my apologies to the princess."

At this moment a female soldier came before Huo Shengnan, bowed and reported: "Reporting to General Huo, the Grand Princess has arrived."

Huo Shengnan slightly startled; she never expected the events here to have so quickly alarmed the palace.

Grand Princess Xue Lingjun did not come alone; accompanying her was the commander of the Jinlin Guard, Shi Kuan, worried that the gruesome state of the corpses would disturb Princess Lingjun, Huo Shengnan had previously ordered the bodies moved to a room in the front courtyard.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan together welcomed Princess Lingjun into Qixin Palace.

Princess Lingjun originally wanted to see Princess Anping, but hearing Hu Xiaotian say that she had been stimulated and her condition was unstable, she could only abandon that idea; although in private she had long addressed Hu Xiaotian as brother and sister, this time she came representing the Da Yong royal family, so formalities must be observed; Princess Lingjun sighed and said: "Sir Hu, it's truly regrettable that such a thing has happened; rest assured, my side will certainly investigate this to the end and must give your country a satisfactory explanation."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Grand Princess, what we want is not an explanation; we only wish for Princess Anping's safety. To speak bluntly, the princess who has married into Da Yong is now a Da Yong person; in Yongdu, even within Qixin Palace such an incident occurs—how can we possibly feel at ease?" Hu Xiaotian began to deflect responsibility purposefully; clearing himself amounted to pushing all blame onto Da Yong, preparing for his imminent departure.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Elder Princess, we are not seeking an explanation; we only want Princess Anping to be safe and sound. To speak bluntly, once the princess marries into Da Yong, she becomes a person of Da Yong. In Yongdu, within the Rising Dawn Palace, such an incident actually occurs—how can we possibly feel at ease?" Hu Xiaotian began to deliberately shirk his responsibility; clearing himself amounted to pushing all blame onto Da Yong, preparing for his imminent departure.

Hu Xiaotian said: "What does Commander Shi mean? I don't quite understand."

Shi Kuan said: "Sir Hu, please do not misunderstand; I certainly do not mean to shirk responsibility; it's just that this affair is suspicious, the marriage alliance between Da Yong and Dakang will undoubtedly attract many eyes, and likewise many will seek to sabotage this alliance to drive a wedge between the two countries. Therefore, before the matter is clarified, it's hard to say exactly where these assassins originated."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Commander Shi's meaning is, if we cannot find out who is behind these assassins, then we can only consider ourselves unlucky."

Shi Kuan said: "Sir Hu, please have a bit more confidence in us; any matter will leave traces."

Princess Lingjun said: "Commander Shi, you will be responsible for helping to investigate this matter; also, with only five days left until the grand wedding, you must ensure that such an incident does not happen again."

Elder Princess Xue Lingjun said: "Commander Shi, you are responsible for helping to investigate this matter; moreover, with only five days left until the grand wedding, you must ensure that such an incident does not happen again."

Princess Lingjun's eyes glanced at Hu Xiaotian once and she said: "Sir Hu, come out and see me off!"

Hu Xiaotian felt vexed; "Old me has a head full of worries, where would I find the mood to see you off?" But he also understood that Princess Lingjun certainly had something to say to him alone, so he followed her to the outer gate; Princess Lingjun did not head toward the carriage, but walked slowly toward a deserted spot ahead, stopping beneath an ancient pagoda tree.

Hu Xiaotian followed her, speaking softly: "Elder sister Jun, what do you want to ask me?" (To be continued~^~)

Hu Xiaotian followed over and softly said, 'Miss Jun, what do you want to ask me?' (To be continued~^~)