Chapter 133: Oh No!

That night's assassination did not cause much of a stir in the Fifth Prince's Residence.

But it seemed to have changed many things.

For example, the guards patrolling the Guest Courtyard each day had increased.

Almost every time Cheng Chengxuan pushed open the door, he could see one or two guards glancing toward his room, and upon noticing his gaze, they would pretend nothing was happening and look elsewhere.

Their acting was terribly clumsy.

How did An Luo put it?

When Shang Xiaomin goes mad, he really has a disgusting way of not caring whether others live or die.

A strange but exceptionally apt description.

As for these little tricks Shang Xiaomin employed, Cheng Chengxuan was not particularly concerned.

After all, such days would not last much longer.

Meanwhile, these past few days Shang Xiaomin had been busy winning over Imperial Officials, secretly arranging his meeting with Chen Ying, and the most important matter of all…

Forging the Edict of Succession.

He rarely came to discuss affairs with him, and Cheng Chengxuan was happy to have the leisure.

Each day he read books, sipped tea, and whiled away the time.

And video-called Miss An.

Because Shang Xiaomin had sent extra people to watch him, Chu Yuan and the others could no longer appear as freely as before, so all news could only be relayed to him through Miss An.

Thus, every single day, he could see An Luo.

Thinking this, a pleasant notification chime sounded from the Light Screen. Looking at the display, he first straightened his collar before the mirror, a gentle smile on his lips, then pressed the connect button.

"Miss An, we meet again."

……

"Every day it's just reading books, drinking tea, playing chess, and then spacing out?"

Shang Xiaomin placed a few sheets of paper on the table and looked up at Qingzhu beside him.

"Are you certain?"

"Didn't he do anything else?"

Qingzhu presented an envelope.

"He wrote a letter and tried to have a guard pass it out, but as per your instructions, we intercepted it."

Shang Xiaomin took it and glanced at it—it was only an ordinary Family Letter.

"Very well, you may go now. Tell them to keep watching."

"Yes."

Not long after Qingzhu left, a guard walked in.

Shang Xiaomin picked up his brush and continued practicing calligraphy, asking without raising his head.

"Did you hear everything just now?"

The guard hurriedly nodded.

"Y-yes, this one heard everything."

"Imperial Prince, what Lord Qingzhu said is correct—Prince's Son Chengxuan truly has shown nothing unusual these past few days."

The guard glanced at him cautiously.

"Moreover, the men Lord Qingzhu selected are all top hands among the guards—no problems there."

Shang Xiaomin gave a slight nod.

"You may go."

This guard was someone he had picked out a few years ago, essentially one of his eyes within the residence's guard unit. After all, even in his own Prince's Residence, the people here were a mixed lot—one could never tell which one might be someone else's informant.

Over these past few years, that man would regularly come to report minor incidents within the guard unit and the residence.

After finishing another sheet, Shang Xiaomin looked at the characters on it and nodded in satisfaction.

Mm, unless one examined it word by word, stroke by stroke, there should be no way to spot anything amiss.

Even if someone noticed something off, it could be brushed off with the excuse that the Father Emperor was gravely ill, his body unwell, and his wrist lacking strength.

Shang Xiaomin took out all the calligraphy he had practiced these past days and tossed them one by one into the stove to burn.

Watching the paper be devoured by tongues of fire and finally reduced to a pile of ash, he let out a long breath.

"Next, as long as that matter is handled properly, then…"

……

Outside the Study, after pretending to walk away, Qingzhu quietly doubled back and hid in a corner to observe.

Upon seeing that guard's figure, his admiration for Cheng Chengxuan deepened once more.

He had originally thought that after the assassin incident, the Fifth Prince had already dropped his suspicions.

But when he mentioned to Prince's Son Cheng the idea of arranging a few guards who were on good terms with him to watch over the Guest Courtyard, Prince's Son Cheng said no.

He also instructed him to be sure to select guards who were meticulous in their duties—preferably the type who strictly followed rules and were cold and impersonal.

If he could pick men arranged by the Fifth Prince, that would be even better.

At the time he felt Prince's Son Cheng was perhaps being overly cautious, but he still did as he said.

In truth, he had long since noticed that the vice-captain of the guard unit was the Fifth Prince's informant, so this time he deliberately assigned him to watch over the Guest Courtyard.

At this moment he felt immensely fortunate that he had listened to Prince's Son Cheng.

But he had no time to dwell on it, because the Fifth Prince had ordered him to gather the guards and set off tonight for the Thatched Hut beneath Snow Mountain.

He cast a distant glance toward the Guest Courtyard, a hint of worry between his brows.

The Fifth Prince had already laid out a Heaven and Earth Net—hopefully the Cheng Family can escape this calamity.

After all, his life was still tied to the Cheng family's prince's son.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, in Da Yin, at the foot of the mountain outside Beihuang City.

Looking at Cheng Old Madam across from him, Chen Delin's face was full of guilt as he lowered his head to apologize.

"Old Madam, it is our Chen Family that has wronged you."

"The Cheng Family has not held past grudges and is willing to bring out the Divine Medicine to save Yi Jiang. We will remember this great kindness forever."

Cheng Old Madam let out a long sigh.

"Let the past be the past. The most important thing right now is the meeting at the Thatched Hut."

"Has it been arranged properly?"

The Chen father and son nodded.

"Don't worry, we've already had You Ke prepare in advance."

At this point, Chen Delin's jaw tightened, and his face was tinged with anger.

"That Shang Xiaomin is truly despicable. Not only did he arrange guards, he even ordered the County Officials and Yamen Runners from the surrounding commanderies and counties to be at his beck and call at all times."

As he spoke, there was a 'bang'—he slammed his hand heavily on the table and said furiously.

"He has no intention of cooperating with the Chen Family at all—he clearly wants to silence us!"

Cheng Qiuyun at the side pursed her lips.

"It's perfectly normal for him to want to silence us. He's about to Ascend the Throne, and colluding with Foreign Officials is a stain on his record. How could he possibly leave others a chance to criticize him?"

"Enough."

Cheng Old Madam spoke up to interrupt, looking at the Chen father and son.

"When do we set out?"

"Tonight."

In another room, Cheng Qiuluo had one eye closed, holding a Gunther gun in her hands and aiming at a small dot on the wall.

Cheng Qiuruo at the side saw this and shook her head helplessly.

"Be careful, don't have a misfire."

Cheng Qiuluo maintained her aiming posture, her body perfectly still, and softly replied to her.

"Don't worry, Sis. I haven't loaded any shot."

Cheng Qiuruo spoke again.

"Even so, be careful. This is our Secret Weapon—we can't let outsiders know about it yet."

Hearing this, Cheng Qiuluo immediately thought of the Chen father and son who were currently in conference with Grandmother, and nimbly put the Gunther gun away and hid it.

"Sis, do you think the Chen Family can be trusted? Can we still believe them?"

Cheng Qiuruo set down the small part in her hand and looked at her with a serious expression.

"If Grandmother trusts them, then I trust them."

Cheng Qiuluo first scratched the back of her head, then nodded.

"You're right. As long as Grandmother trusts them, we trust them."

Cheng Qiuruo raised her hand and patted her on the head.

"But trust comes in degrees, you know, just like…"

She smiled meaningfully, stood up, and leaned close to her sister's ear.

"Grandmother never intended to tell the Chen father and son and Gu Shang about the Gunther gun and the Gunpowder."

Cheng Qiuluo fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

"Mm, I understand."

……

At dusk, at the Fifth Prince's Residence of Muyuan Kingdom.

Qingzhu happened to notice that several guards who had been absent for many days had reappeared in the residence.

So, some of them had come back?

But he searched for a long time and still did not see any sign of Qingmu.

How strange.

Qingmu actually hadn't come back to personally protect the Fifth Prince?

Suddenly, his brow furrowed tightly, and he felt a vague sense of unease.

No, something is definitely wrong here!

He paced anxiously back and forth in the room, thinking.

Thinking carefully, why would the Fifth Prince, when he was still suspicious of him, send his most trusted Qingmu away from his side?

And today, he hadn't had Qingmu come back either.

Qingmu suddenly stopped in his tracks, clenched one fist, and slammed it hard into his palm.

So the Fifth Prince must have given Qingmu an even more important task!

What could it be?

His eyes suddenly widened.

Oh no!