Chapter 765

Xue Shengjing, feeling unafraid, opened his arms wide, waiting for Huo Xiaoru to search his body.

Huo Xiaoru placed both hands on his shoulders, slowly moving toward his armpit; Xue Shengjing stared into Huo Xiaoru's eyes—normally he never had such an opportunity to get close-up with this world-famous beauty—and his small eyes revealed lecherous intent, his scorching gaze roaming over Huo Xiaoru's body without restraint.

Huo Xiaoru bit her cherry lips, her hands reaching his chest; she searched thoroughly. Even her gaze slipped past his collar to look at Xue Shengjing's neck, which bore a bluish birthmark shaped like a leopard's head, looking quite ferocious.

Everyone seeing the scene felt both envy and amusement; the originally solemn and heavy atmosphere visibly eased. Prince Yan truly is cunning, actually coming up with this move to deal with Huo Xiaoru. Although Huo Xiaoru is called a talented lady, from today's scene it's clear that experience still trumps youth—Prince Yan Xue Shengjing merely turned his mind a little and easily defused the awkward situation, instead putting Huo Xiaoru in a dilemma.

From Huo Xiaoru's embarrassed appearance, it was clear that the scene was not really her searching him; it seemed as if Prince Yan was teasing her.

Hu Xiaotian watched from afar, his heart involuntarily tightening for Huo Xiaoru; she had run into Prince Yan this Lao hulí, and she could only suffer a loss. Hu Xiaotian also came to hate Prince Yan, who dared to openly toy with my dream lover—Xue Shengjing, Xue Shengjing, just wait till I finish you off. What's more puzzling to him is Huo Xiaoru; this girl's behavior today is not wise. Offending Prince Yan, what standing does she still have in Yongdu?

Huo Xiaoru searched Xue Shengjing's waist but found no trace of the Night Pearl. Xue Shengjing, full of teasing, said, "Miss Huo, keep searching downward!" Below that would be his trousers.

Such blatant remarks instantly drew laughter from the crowd; even Princess Xue Lingjun blushed a little—her own brother truly is too unrestrained, able to say such things openly, but he must be extremely annoyed by Huo Xiaoru's conduct today, which is why he deliberately humiliated her.

Huo Xiaoru gave Xue Shengjing a cold glance, then went around to his back to continue searching.

Xue Lingjun and her nephew exchanged a glance, secretly sighing that the famed talent of Dakang was undeserved; though legendary for ice‑clear intelligence, she actually fails to grasp the situation, not even understanding the principle of cutting one's losses. Insisting on searching to the end, the result can only be self‑inflicted disgrace.

Prince Yan Xue Shengjing said, "Miss Huo, if you cannot find that Night Pearl on my person, I shall personally examine you." His remarks grew increasingly frivolous, and the surrounding spectators laughed again.

Hu Xiaotian heard the crowd mocking Huo Xiaoru, feeling the same sting, yet even he could not understand why she would make such an unwise choice.

Just as the crowd burst into snickers, Huo Xiaoru raised her arm. A flash of cold light suddenly stabbed toward Prince Yan Xue Shengjing's neck. In an instant, no one would have thought Huo Xiaoru would launch a sudden assassination attempt on Prince Yan.

Prince Yan Xue Shengjing seemed to sense the danger approaching; his bulky body jerked sideways, and Huo Xiaoru's hairpin veered off its original course, missing his neck's blood vessels. Still, the wound was over half an inch deep, pain eliciting an anguished cry from Prince Yan as he fled desperately forward.

Huo Xiaoru bit her cherry lip tightly and lunged forward. She raised the hairpin; its sharp tip fiercely stabbed Prince Yan's back. Although the hairpin struck the spot, it could not penetrate deeper because beneath Xue Shengjing's outer robe he wore a gold‑thread inner armor. Prince Yan always acted cautiously, usually accompanied by several guards when going out. This gold‑thread inner armor was a specially made treasure that ordinary blades could not pierce; today it finally served its protective function.

The scene instantly fell into chaos; surrounding soldiers converged on the center, and some promptly restrained the ten dancing girls, fearing they were Huo Xiaoru's accomplices and might harm Prince Yan.

Prince Yan Xue Shengjing never expected such a situation; he panicked and shouted, "Help! Help!" Blood gushed from his thick short neck, instantly staining half his body red, looking extremely horrifying. Accustomed to a life of comfort, he had never suffered injury before; seeing himself wounded and bleeding naturally filled him with great fear.

Tie Zheng reacted first, striding forward with large steps, roaring angrily, and slashed his blade toward Huo Xiaoru's rear.

Huo Xiaoru had to temporarily spare Prince Yan, turning to clash her hairpin against Tie Zheng's long blade head‑on; her martial skill was merely average, utterly unable to match this first‑rate master, and the impact left half her body numb and sent her hairpin flying aside.

Tie Zheng bellowed, twisted his blade, and swung it at Huo Xiaoru's neck; seeing her about to fall under his sword, a bulky figure lunged in from the side, punched her in the body, and shouted, "Bold assassin, dare to plot against the prince!"

It was Hu Xiaotian who, at the critical moment, rushed forward and punched Huo Xiaoru; his punch looked powerfully strong on the surface, yet when it landed on her it caused no harm. Huo Xiaoru felt a jolt to her shoulder, her body lifted into the air, and Tie Zheng's intended lethal strike fell short.

Before Huo Xiaoru could even get up from the ground, several soldiers drew their blades and placed them at her shoulders and neck. Although Hu Xiaotian wanted to save her, he dared not act openly before so many people; a blind rescue would not only fail to save Huo Xiaoru but might also expose his own identity.

The chaotic situation naturally frightened many guests; quite a few tried to flee the Jewel‑Treasure Palace, but as soon as they reached the gate they were driven back by the prince's mansion guards outside.

Prince Yan Xue Shengjing was escorted to a safe area, one hand pressing a cotton cloth to his still‑bleeding neck, gazing at the scene, still shaken, he said, "Leave a survivor!" Those words not only spared Huo Xiaoru's life but also saved the ten dancing girls who were about to fall under the blades.

After the assassination attempt, no one paid any attention to the lost Night Pearl anymore; every guest wished they could slip away at once, none wanting to be involved in this trouble.

Although Prince Yan Xue Shengjing had lost considerable blood, Huo Xiaoru's hairpin had not struck a vital spot, so it should not be fatal. Xue Daohong came to check his condition and whispered, "Imperial Uncle, should we arrest all these people?"

Xue Shengjing shook his head and said, "No need; let them leave first." All the guests invited to tonight's banquet were his own, yet this assassination was unforeseen. Originally Xue Shengjing had been pleased, thinking he had gained great face from Huo Xiaoru's promise to perform, but he never imagined she harbored the intent to assassinate him. Xue Shengjing truly could not fathom why, since he and Huo Xiaoru had no past grudge nor recent enmity, why would she try to kill him? These guests should have nothing to do with tonight's assassination; if we arrested them all, it would surely damage his reputation as a contemporary Mengchang, so better to let them go—these people all have names, surnames, families, and livelihoods; should any investigation reveal even a slight link between tonight's incident and any of them, he could still act against them later. In this regard Xue Shengjing is certainly not foolish; he is absolutely old and crafty.

Upon hearing that Prince Yan agreed to let them leave, the guests felt a great relief; after the assassination, nobody wanted to linger in the prince's mansion, and they hurried away—but before departing they were told to leave behind the treasures they had brought for inspection, to see if anything was amiss; everyone understood that Prince Yan intended to swallow everything they owned in one gulp.

Besides, the guests never intended to take the treasures they brought for the contest back home anyway; after such an incident, who would care about these trifles? Just being able to leave unharmed was already a cause for gratitude.

Hu Xiaotian stuck out his belly and angrily said, "Where is my Night Pearl?"

Before he finished speaking, a pat landed on his shoulder—it was Xi Yan, disguised as Hai Xiaohong, appearing from nowhere; from her smug, delighted gaze, Hu Xiaotian already knew she had succeeded. He feigned dejection, taking Xi Yan's small hand and saying, "Daughter, our Night Pearl has been stolen."

Xi Yan said, "Father, even if the Night Pearl is lost we can find it again; besides, it was meant as a gift for the prince, so let's not stay here and cause trouble."

Zan Buliu, who happened to be passing by, said, "Brother Hai, you'd better leave quickly." He was also kindly reminding this nouveau riche that the prince's assassination was a major shock to Yongdu, and before long the court would come to investigate; staying here might invite unnecessary trouble.

Hu Xiaotian glanced toward the distant Huo Xiaoru and saw she had been bound; his concern was immense, wishing he could rush out to rescue her from the enemy's hands, yet reason told him such a thought was utterly unrealistic. He put on a show of sighing and said, "Looks like I can only consider myself unlucky."

Having left the Prince Yan's mansion but not yet reached the carriage, rain began to fall; Xi Yan released Hu Xiaotian's arm and hurried toward the carriage, while Hu Xiaotian silently cursed this girl for lacking loyalty, lugging his big belly and staggering behind her, and by the time he got back onto the carriage he was completely soaked.

The carriage slowly started up and merged into the stream of departing vehicles.

Xi Yan, not without pride, lifted a wooden box toward him; inside lay the Black Ice Clam.

At this point Hu Xiaotian had completely lost interest in the Black Ice Clam; he sighed, worry weighing on his heart—Huo Xiaoru had fallen into Prince Yan Xue Shengjing's hands, and he did not know how to rescue her.

Xi Yan had long noticed his odd expression; she raised her pink fist and slammed it hard into his big belly, saying, "Speak—what on earth is going on?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "This is a long story; the Huo Xiaoru who attempted to assassinate Prince Yan tonight is a friend of mine from Kangdu in my past life."

Xi Yan gave him a cold look and chuckled, "You might as well just say she's your old flame."

Hu Xiaotian replied, "It's not what you imagine; after all, we were once friends, and I can't just stand by and watch her suffer without lifting a finger."

Please recommend! (To be continued~^~)