Chapter 191

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Hearing the voice, An Wangfei beamed and rose to her feet, responding warmly: "Glad you're here, glad you're here, please take your seats quickly. All the dishes on the table today were prepared according to your tastes. After the long journey by boat and carriage, you must be tired. Eat your meal and rest early."

Yan Si hurriedly nodded and replied: "It's not bad, just that after being away from home for many days, I truly miss the delicious dishes at home." Shangguan Xingyan also chimed in: "Yes, the food at An Wangfu can be called exquisite, undoubtedly the most delicious in the world."

After speaking, the two no longer stood on ceremony, both picking up chopsticks and devouring their food like wind sweeping away clouds. For a moment, the dining hall was filled with the constant sound of bowls and chopsticks clashing, very lively.

Shangguan Xingyu sat there, her gaze fixed tightly on Shangguan Xingyan who was eating. When she saw that Shangguan Xingyan was only a bit thinner and had no other injuries, the heart she had been holding in suspense finally relaxed a little.

Although she had already anticipated that this journey would probably not be smooth sailing, in front of so many people, she really couldn't conveniently ask directly, after all she didn't want Wangfei, Qianqian, and Yan Shuang'er to worry too much.

So, those words of concern could only be temporarily swallowed back into her stomach, planning to find a suitable opportunity to tell her Elder Brother in detail later.

Shangguan Xingyu's gaze soon turned to Yan Si, only to see his face haggard and his expression exhausted. After all, Yan Si had been exposed to wind and dew sleeping outdoors all the way, and had also encountered three waves of assassins' attacks, naturally not having eaten a proper meal, let alone being able to sleep soundly.

Looking at Yan Si, Shangguan Xingyu couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, her beautiful big eyes full of pity, just gazing straight at Yan Si like that.

Just then, Yan Si seemed to sense something and suddenly raised his head. In the moment their eyes met, it was as if time had stopped flowing.

Although Yan Si at this moment felt his appearance was rather disheveled and unkempt, deep in his heart his longing for Shangguan Xingyu surged like a tide, impossible to suppress. Just such an inadvertent raising of the head made their gazes happen to meet.

Shangguan Xingyu had not expected such a situation at all, and instantly became flustered. She only felt her cheeks burning like fire, and her heartbeat involuntarily quickened considerably.

In the panic, she subconsciously quickly lowered her head, not daring to meet Yan Si's gaze again, afraid that the other party would see through the shyness and nervousness in her heart.

However, this brief and subtle interaction between them did not escape An Wangfei's eyes. An Wangfei took it all in, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but slightly rise, revealing a barely perceptible smile.

Seeing that these two had been eating for a while, An Wang finally slowly opened his mouth: "After you two rest properly in the afternoon, come to my Shufang."

The words had just fallen when Yan Si immediately responded respectfully: "Your son understands, Father Wang." Shangguan Xingyan beside him also hurriedly nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood.

After lunch, everyone dispersed one after another, returning to their own rooms to rest. And Yan Si, after experiencing the dangerous assassinations along the way, as if relieved of a heavy burden, directly took off his clothes, in the blink of an eye had almost nothing left on his body, then fell headfirst onto the bed, immediately entering dreamland, snoring rising and falling. After all, An Wangfu was heavily guarded and safe, naturally no assassin would dare to rashly intrude.

Time quietly passed, the afternoon sunlight shone into the room through the window lattice. When Yan Si and Shangguan Xingyan slowly woke from sleep, the sun was already slanting west. After Yan Si simply washed up, he headed toward the Guest Room.

Arriving at the door, he raised his hand and gently knocked on the door. Not long after, Shangguan Xingyan's warm and jade-like voice came from inside: "Come in."

Hearing the voice, Yan Si pushed the door open and entered, only to see Shangguan Xingyan standing before a bronze mirror, having just finished dressing in her upper garment, but her hair not yet fully combed, scattered somewhat messily. He held a wooden comb, combing his hair strands. Hearing the sound of Yan Si entering, he slightly turned his head to look at Yan Si. Yan Si then said: "After you finish tidying up, let's go together to pay respects to Father Wang."

Shangguan Xingyan softly replied: "Okay, just wait a moment." After speaking, he hurriedly sped up his hand movements. After Shangguan Xingyan had everything tidied up, she and Yan Si walked side by side, heading together toward An Wang's Shufang. Along the way, both remained silent.

Soon they reached their destination. They stood before the Shufang door, raised their hands and gently knocked on that heavy wooden door. After hearing a response from inside, the two then carefully pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

As soon as they entered, Yan Si respectfully shouted: "Father Wang!" While Shangguan Xingyan slightly bowed in salute and softly said: "Your Highness An Wang."

Seeing this, An Wang smiled and waved his hand, gesturing that they need not be so formal, then gently said: "Please sit down quickly." So the two sat down on that familiar chair as instructed.

An Wang did not intend to beat around the bush, directly asking: "On this trip, how many waves of assassination did you ultimately encounter?" Yan Si replied with a grave expression: "Replying to Father Wang, we encountered three waves in total."

An Wang slightly furrowed his brow and continued to ask: "Did you discover any clues?" Yan Si shook his head and helplessly replied: "Those assassins were all trained dead soldiers. Once the mission failed, they would without hesitation choose suicide, not giving us any chance to investigate at all."

An Wang nodded thoughtfully, then asked again: "Then, can you determine whether these assassins came from the same group or belong to different factions?" Yan Si pondered for a moment, thought it over seriously, and then answered: "Your son feels it should be the work of two groups of people."

A hint of surprise flashed in An Wang's eyes, and he hurriedly asked: "Oh? How do you know?" Yan Si cleared his throat and slowly explained: "Based on your son's observation, the assassins of the first and third waves, whether in terms of agility, weapons, or tactical coordination, are extremely similar, so I speculate they should be from the same group."

"As for the assassins of the second wave, they are clearly different. Their methods of action are more covert, and their moves are chaotic and disorderly. Therefore, your son believes these three waves of assassination were not carried out by the same faction."

An Wang slightly furrowed his brow and fell into a brief contemplation, but soon he shook his head, indicating that he currently could not guess which faction's people they were. Afterwards, he slowly said: "Alright, this king knows. Since that is the case, was your trip to Dongying Guo this time considered smooth?"