Chapter 279: Karmic Sin

After the four-person wedding ceremony concluded, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face overflowed with joy. He smiled at Zhang Zhang Jiani and said, "Zhang Jiani, you have followed me in campaigns across the four directions and achieved many merits. Today, you and I are like brother and sister; I have nothing else to give you, so I will additionally confer upon you the title of Lady Who Stabilizes the Nation, a rank equal to that of a prince, as a small gift."

Zhang Zhang Jiani was first startled, then immediately thanked him for this bestowal. She was naturally a bold female general who treated swords and arrows as blind forces, so receiving such a heavy reward was truly rare. Tu Tu Kesiluo, seeing his wife receive such generous honors, also beamed with delight.

Amidst the congratulations of the myriad officials, the wedding ceremony lasted nearly half an hour before concluding. Jiang Jiang Mingyu happily announced the start of the banquet, inviting everyone to share in the celebration. Just then, a woman dressed as a palace maid quietly emerged from the corner of the hall, fixing her gaze on Jiang Jiang Mingyu. Seeing that Tu Tu Kesiluo and Zhang Zhang Jiani were not by Jiang Jiang Mingyu's side at that moment, she decided to seize the opportunity to strike.

That woman was the Veiled Assassin. She had disguised herself as a palace maid to infiltrate the palace, preparing to kill Jiang Jiang Mingyu on his wedding day. Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu wearing his joy openly and letting his guard down, she was convinced this was an excellent time to act.

The Veiled Assassin's figure flickered; a slender hidden weapon slid from her sleeve, and she shot it straight at Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart. At the same time, she coldly shouted, "Die!"

This arrow came suddenly, and Jiang Jiang Mingyu was completely unprepared. He silently cried out that things were bad, quickly leaned backward, and his entire body fell onto the dragon throne, barely avoiding the vital spot. However, the tassels on his Peace Crown were still shot off; Jiang Jiang Mingyu barely saved his life, relying entirely on the instinctive reactions honed by days of bathing in blood on the battlefield.

Liu Liu Yifei was greatly alarmed and immediately ran to Jiang Jiang Mingyu's side, asking nervously, "Jiang Lang, are you alright?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook his head and immediately shouted toward the door, "Tu Tu Kesiluo, quickly seal the main hall and capture the assassin!" He had just escaped the gates of hell; he hadn't even seen clearly where the arrow had flown from, but he knew it must be an assassin sent by Fei Hou, intending to kill him.

Upon hearing this, Tu Tu Kesiluo hurriedly ordered the warriors to close and guard all the hall doors, while he personally led people to search, determined not to let the culprit escape. The Veiled Assassin, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, was just preparing to flip out through the eastern window. At the very instant she was about to climb out, suddenly a pair of powerful large hands grabbed her waist and yanked her back with brute force.

"Did you think you could successfully commit murder in the imperial palace and then escape without a trace?" It turned out that Tu Tu Kesiluo had long laid an inescapable net, sending people in advance to guard every exit. The one who had caught the assassin was precisely a fierce general under his command.

The Veiled Assassin was firmly restrained by him; the eyes hidden beneath her veil were filled with despair—she had never expected to fall into the net so quickly, and her hope for revenge in this life was thus shattered. She regretted her carelessness; if she had known earlier that Jiang Jiang Mingyu was so strictly on guard, she would not have acted so rashly...

"Guard her well; I will personally interrogate her for her crimes later," Tu Tu Kesiluo instructed his subordinates, then quickly walked over to where Jiang Jiang Mingyu and Liu Liu Yifei stood.

"Is Your Majesty unharmed?" he said, his face full of shame, "It is all my fault; I was negligent and nearly placed my sovereign in unpredictable danger; I deserve to die ten thousand deaths!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu waved his hand, his complexion already restored to normal: "It is nothing; thank you for capturing the culprit in time; I am not seriously injured. It is just that today's joyful occasion has been disrupted in this way, which is truly somewhat disappointing..." His tone implicitly revealed a chill, showing clearly that he was extremely angry about this assassination attempt.

Liu Liu Yifei gently patted Jiang Jiang Mingyu's hand, comforting him softly: "As long as you are safe, that is what matters. Let us slowly interrogate this woman to uncover the mastermind behind it. However, today is ultimately a wonderful day of double happiness, so let us not remain angry over this matter." Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded, and together with Liu Liu Yifei, he stepped forward to continue celebrating with the officials, temporarily setting this incident aside.

After the myriad officials had withdrawn, only Jiang Jiang Mingyu and his several close-hearted old friends remained in the main hall. Tu Tu Kesiluo looked at Jiang Jiang Mingyu with concern and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, you..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu waved his hand, smiling bitterly: "Don't be so distant with me; just call me Big Brother as before; I am still not quite used to the title 'Your Majesty.' Rest assured, I have suffered no substantial injury; just now, only a tassel was shot off my Peace Crown."

Only then did Tu Tu Kesiluo breathe a sigh of relief, saying, "Fortunately, we have captured the culprit, which can eliminate future troubles forever. From now on, you can be more at ease."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled bitterly: "Who knows if this is the last wave of attacks? Open spears are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against."

At this moment, Zhu Ge Yu spoke up: "Master, we should still strike while the iron is hot and immediately interrogate that woman to ask if she has any accomplices, so we can make preparations in advance. I know you worry that spreading news of this matter will have adverse effects on the court situation, but with so many people talking, I fear it has already spread. At this critical moment, resolving it as quickly as possible is the safest approach."

Li Goudan echoed, "That's right; Mr. Zhu Ge is correct; just waiting idly is not a solution; it is better to strike while the iron is hot and finish her off in one go!"

Seeing that everyone expressed agreement, Jiang Jiang Mingyu weighed the matter repeatedly and finally nodded: "Very well, then let us settle this tonight and go to the great prison to interrogate that woman." In his heart, he still hoped not to make a big fuss of the matter, so he did not summon the assassin who had disguised herself as a palace maid.

Outside the hall in the great prison, the lamplight was dim. The Veiled woman, bound tightly with five-colored ropes, was tied to a pillar, her mouth stuffed tightly solid. Jiang Jiang Mingyu said in a deep voice, "Alright, now let us unveil your true face!"

On the way to the prison, Zhang Zhang Jiani had already told Jiang Jiang Mingyu that the woman was wearing a disguise mask. Although Jiang Jiang Mingyu had only seen this setup in TV dramas before, he had never expected to witness it with his own eyes after traveling to this world.

Tu Tu Kesiluo, without saying another word, stepped forward and slapped the woman's face; with a "Rip!" sound, that layer of facial skin split open, revealing the smooth true face beneath.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was so shocked he was dumbfounded; only after a long while could he speak brokenly: "How... how could it be you?!"

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's abnormal reaction, Tu Tu Kesiluo hurriedly asked, "Big Brother, do you know her?!"

Liu Liu Yifei's face also changed; an ominous premonition subtly rose in her heart. Could it be that this woman shared some unspeakable past with Jiang Jiang Mingyu?

Just then, the woman spoke, her voice filled with resentment and malice: "You saw correctly; it is me. Jiang Jiang Mingyu, have you, this heartless man, already forgotten me?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu barely suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart and asked her in a deep voice: "Ah Rui, how could it be you? I remember we have gone our separate ways for many years; I never expected you to suddenly appear and even attempt such a poisonous act against me. What exactly happened between us, and for what purpose have you come today?"

Ah Rui, bound tightly with five-colored ropes, had flames of resentment burning in her eyes; she spoke word by word: "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, do you still remember that in the year we were seventeen, you promised to take me as your wife, and we agreed to grow old together? Yet later, you left without saying goodbye, ran to Jingcheng to seek your fortune, and never returned to find me!"

"I waited and waited, and finally received the news that you had defeated Fei Hou and proclaimed yourself emperor. I thought that you, now successful and famous, could not possibly remember a country bumpkin like me, and must have found an Empress from a matching family. My heart turned to ash and cold, so I accepted Fei Hou's employment, intending to give you a warning and let you taste the pain of being betrayed by a loved one!"

When Ah Rui spoke to this point, her eyes were already soaked with tears, and her voice carried a sobbing tone: "Who would have known that you would be completely unharmed, while I ended up captured alive? Jiang Jiang Mingyu, have you ever considered how much price I have paid for today?"

After hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt a mix of five flavors in his heart. He finally recalled the pure youthful affection he once shared with Ah Rui, as well as his later departure to a distant place, his betrayal and harm toward Ah Rui. He said painfully: "Ah Rui, I truly have wronged you; please forgive the negligence and selfishness of my youthful recklessness. But hatred cannot solve problems; it will only lead us both into a dead end, and you and I will both regret it bitterly."

Liu Liu Yifei, watching the self-blame and heartache on Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face from the side, felt extremely bitter in her heart. So he and this woman had once shared a relationship; this was the root cause of all today's calamities. She bit her lip, silently retreated to the side, tears swirling in her eye sockets.

At this moment, Ah Rui let out a cold laugh: "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, things have come to this; there is no possibility left between you and me! I only beg you not to hurt more women; let me end your hypocritical and vicious life!" With that said, she suddenly struggled to her feet, pulled out a hidden small knife from her clothes, and lunged at Jiang Jiang Mingyu...