Chapter 332

Mu Yuanzhi snorted: "Only the foolish would feel mutual sympathy."

The witch doctor laughed heartily, for the first time laughing so openly, he poured Mu Yuanzhi a cup of tea instead of wine.

Mu Yuanzhi stared at the brimming tea cup, asking the witch doctor: "So what exactly does Mr. Sima want from me by seeking me out?"

"Isn't my meaning clear enough? I want to defect." The witch doctor spread his hands, saying, "Otherwise I might lose everything, not even scraps left, and possibly lose my head."

Mu Yuanzhi raised an eyebrow: "Speak, let's hear how Mr. Sima intends to defect."

Witch doctor chuckled: "Naturally, I've prepared a pile of evidence to prove that the Highness is plotting against the Crown Prince."

"Let me see." Mu Yuanzhi said.

"No rush, first wait for the person and the evidence to be caught." The witch doctor curled his lips, smiling with deep meaning.

Mu Yuanzhi didn't understand: "You mean wait for him to make a move on the... Crown Prince?"

"It's naturally a smokescreen; the Highness means for me to act while he reaps the benefits." The witch doctor said, "Just like when we dealt with Prince Ying."

Mu Yuanzhi: "What are you going to do? What do you want me to do?"

"Princess, please hear me out as I have arrived."

Next, the witch doctor laid out his entire plan to Mu Yuanzhi, adding that it all depended on her decision; if she agreed, they would each get what they needed, but if she refused, nobody would benefit.

Mu Yuanzhi naturally agreed; she had no reason not to.

As she left the tavern, dusk had fallen; upon stepping out, two maidservants came to meet her.

Princess!

Mu Yuanzhi looked at the two bewildered maids and asked: "Where did you go?"

The two maids exchanged a glance, shook their heads, and one said: "Our vision went black, we lost consciousness, and when we came to, we found ourselves fainted outside the tavern's dark alley!"

The other maid nodded vigorously.

Mu Yuanzhi turned back, looked up toward the second floor, where the witch doctor's figure had long disappeared.

"You were just being led away; your bodies aren't abnormal, right? Any discomfort?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

Both maids shook their heads; they felt nothing wrong.

But Mu Yuanzhi still wasn't at ease; she took their pulses, and only after confirming their bodies were fine did she consider the matter settled.

She needed to return and tell Rongjin about this.

When Mu Yuanzhi returned to the princess's residence, Gu Rongjin had already come back; after she finished speaking to him, he said without hesitation: "You've agreed well, my wife; this is all benefit and no harm for us."

"I understand, but I'm afraid of falling into his scheme—could it be that he's just playing mysterious, or does he actually want to harm Xiao Di?"

"It's possible, but unnecessary; wouldn't doing this just scare the snake? Unless he's the type who's swollen with ambition to provoke us, but I don't think he is—he just wants to accomplish something great, or for power, to make a name for himself; such people are the kind who choose their perches wisely, not those who stubbornly butt their heads against a south wall." Gu Rongjin analyzed.

Mu Yuanzhi nodded: "If this succeeds, we can take down the Great Prince and Xiao Yichen in one fell swoop."

"But if we do that, we can't settle our previous score with that witch doctor."

"Of course, Pei Shangling's score isn't in his considerations; Pei Shangling can live or die as he pleases."

Mu Yuanzhi: "Weighing the pros and cons, I'd rather see Xiao Yichen suffer than settle accounts with this witch doctor."

After all, even grudges have degrees of weight.

Gu Rongjin: "Alright, that's true too; where there's gain there must be loss—we must sacrifice a little self for the greater good."

"Besides, this also benefits Xiao Di, which benefits us."

"Exactly, now we just wait to catch the turtle in the jar."

"The show is about to start, though it's a bit unfair to Xiao Di."

"He's not the first to encounter a scare without danger; as the heir apparent, he ought to be able to bear this little mishap." Gu Rongjin said carelessly.

Night fell, the imperial city was utterly silent.

Pei Di slipped out of the imperial city alone; this was his monthly outing, already a habit.

He didn't know why he had such an odd habit; with nothing to do, he just wanted to sneak out of the Eastern Palace, as if this small rebellion could slightly satisfy his heart.

The Lantern Festival had just passed; Mid-Autumn was coming soon, but because people had already celebrated during the Lantern Festival, the nights before Mid-Autumn were actually quieter than usual.

On the street, aside from the night watchmen, it seemed there was no one else, only occasional dog barks.

And Pei Di, upon going out, had no particular destination; he simply wandered the streets idly, or after strolling a few streets would return to the Eastern Palace, or go find a relatively high spot to stand and stare blankly for an hour.

As he approached a dark alley, Pei Di inexplicably recalled that Pei Shangling had been ambushed here before, and absurdly, a rabid tiger had appeared in Jingcheng.

Moreover, that tiger still hasn't been caught.

Frankly, even if caught, what would it matter? It's just a beast; he feels that even executing it to the fullest extent wouldn't appease him, perhaps because beasts lack brains? Still, a life for a life applies to beasts as well.

As Pei Di was lost in thought, he suddenly caught a whiff of danger, and instantly his whole body went on alert.

Someone approaching?!

Before Pei Di could think further, a sudden attack came from behind!

Pei Di startled and dodged; he moved quickly, but his opponent was faster.

What formidable martial arts!

The night was deep; he couldn't see the attacker clearly, only knowing the person meant harm and possibly had superior martial arts.

How dare they attack the heir apparent right under the emperor's feet!

"Who are you?!"

The patrolling soldiers raised their lanterns, drew their swords with the other hand, and cautiously approached.

Seeing two figures grappling, he shouted loudly.

No one answered him; the two figures continued fighting as they entered the dark alley. The patrolling soldiers, usually in squads, immediately called for others to come together and see what was happening.

The dark alley seemed quiet; as they drew near, something suddenly flew out; several men instantly raised their swords to defend and threaten, and upon looking closely, it was a jade pendant.

The leader picked it up, glanced, and gasped in shock: "Is this the Crown Prince's jade pendant?!"

The eight dragons symbolizing the heir apparent are unmistakable; only the current crown prince wears such a jade pendant.

"The jade pendant got blood on it..." someone said, trembling.

"No way..."

Several people looked at each other, their hearts panicked.

Could it be that the Crown Prince was attacked?

A few days ago, Prince Ling was also attacked late at night in Jingcheng.

But Prince Ling is Prince Ling, while the Crown Prince is the heir!

If we punish them for mishandling this, what should we do?

"Hurry up and go check!" someone urged.

Those people's legs went weak, but they still forced themselves forward with legs feeling as heavy as lead, holding their protective weapons as they went into the dark alley to check, "Your Highness? Crown Prince?"