Hong'an Xiangzhuang - 3

Hong'an Xiangzhuang - 3

Morning light filtered through the gaps in the bamboo blinds, cutting out warm golden lines on the food counter.

Yun Yixia scooped up a spoonful of corn porridge and put it in her mouth. The porridge was filled with shredded chicken, tender mushroom pieces, and two bright red goji berries, making it a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

"You seem to be enjoying your meal!"

Zhao Yunkang leaned against the door with his arms crossed, a jade belt cinching his waist under his cloak, which accentuated his slender waist and broad back, making him appear tall and imposing.

"Good morning, Your Highness!"

Yun Yixia placed the spoon on the celadon spoon holder, picked up a snow-white cotton handkerchief to wipe the corner of her lips, and calmly stood up, curtsying.

"Have you finished eating?" Zhao Yunkang took off his cloak. "I want to talk to you about what's happening in the Crown Prince's courtyard!"

He naturally sat down opposite her and saw her wave her hand to signal the maid to remove the food and set out the tea set. He didn't rush to speak but quietly watched her make the tea.

Yun Yixia poured the brown tea into a bowl, placed it in front of Zhao Yunkang with both hands, and waited quietly for him to speak.

"Excellent tea!"

Zhao Yunkang exclaimed in admiration, his fingers lightly tapping the smooth tabletop, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow.

"Your Highness is too kind!"

Yun Yixia remained consistent, calm, composed, and elegant.

Birds chirped outside the window, but the room was eerily quiet.

Only the hot water on the stove was bubbling away.

Do you still remember Granny Chen?

Who is that?

Zhao Yunkang stared intently at Yun Yixia, his expression and movements flawless, as if he truly didn't recognize her.

"The nanny who serves the young master."

"I don't remember it!"

"Granny Chen brought the young master to your courtyard yesterday."

"Oh, her!"

Yun Yixia nodded, raised her eyebrows slightly, and waited for Zhao Yunkang to continue.

"She's dead!" He leaned forward. "Granny Chen lay dead in a pool of blood, facing the courtyard. Her wrist had been severed by an extremely thin and sharp blade, the flesh and bone inside were white and torn apart, her eyes were bulging out, and her mouth was wide open."

Your Highness, you said her death was so gruesome, why didn't she scream?

Zhao Yunkang stared at Yun Yixia's face. The morning light shone through the bamboo curtain onto her beautiful profile. Her long eyelashes were thick, and her slender, fair neck was revealed as she lowered her head slightly. Her posture was respectful and elegant.

"Your tongue was pulled out?"

Her voice was soft and steady, and she held the teacup in both hands, her fingertips lightly touching it, as nimble as a butterfly in flight.

"Aren't you afraid?"

Zhao Yunkang raised an eyebrow, picked up a lotus seed with his slender fingers, and put it in his mouth. The faint bitterness of the lotus heart filled his mouth.

Why be afraid?

Yun Yixia raised her eyes, her gaze clear and open as she looked at the person opposite her.

"Even ordinary women would be afraid!"

"Your Highness, are you afraid?"

"I've fought on the battlefield, my plum blossom spear has been stained with the blood of countless people... Why would I be afraid?"

Zhao Yunkang had a bright, sharp glint in his eyes and brows. He wore no armor, yet he possessed an innate pride and a chilling aura of killing intent.

“Your Highness, I am not afraid!” Yun Yixia took a deep breath. “If you were willing to investigate a few years further back and see what kind of life I lived in the Yun residence, you wouldn’t ask me ‘Are you afraid?’”

In modern corporate life, competition is often cutthroat, but in ancient feudal societies, men could kill each other in their own backyards without shedding blood.

Yun Yixia has experienced too many "accidents" and is the only illegitimate daughter who survived Jiang Xiumei's clutches.

Having personally experienced life and death, one becomes unafraid of life and death.

Zhao Yunkang left dejectedly after getting nothing out of him, and arranged for someone to investigate what kind of life Yun Yixia had lived in the Yun residence in the past.

"Tsk tsk tsk~ What a pitiful little thing!"

Holding the information brought back by the secret guard, Liang Qiu sighed, unable to believe that the harem of a fifth-rank official was more exciting than anything sung in operas.

"The princess has survived in such an environment and hasn't been ruined by the Jiang family... General, peace is preferable to war!"

Ma De gently waved his feather fan. The Princess Consort was easy to investigate in the past, but the murderer of Granny Chen, who died in the Prince's courtyard, has not yet been found.

In just over a month, the young prince was "disciplined" by the princess and became outwardly well-behaved, no longer daring to misbehave.

"General, this document says that the Princess stays in the courtyard every day... She probably doesn't want to fight either!"

Xu Zhihao scratched his head. Compared to the one in front, Yun Yixia was as quiet as an invisible person.

He neither came to the front courtyard to see the general, nor met with the young prince, and politely declined all invitations...

"It's hard to say!" Xue Ning rubbed his beard. "We always keep quiet before we do something big... Why do you all look at me like that?"

His eyes were creepy!

In the golden autumn of October, dusk comes exceptionally early; by 3:45 PM, the sky is already tinged with inky blue.

Bai Wei carried the brocade box in her hand and walked briskly into the back alley of the Kang Prince's Mansion.

The brocade box contained newly made clothes for his wife, made of soft cotton, which were exceptionally comfortable to wear next to the skin.

The back alley is three zhang wide, with high walls on both sides. On the left is the wall of the west courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, and on the right is the back wall of the shops on the adjacent street.

On weekdays, this alley is used for delivering goods, collecting night soil, and for servants to come and go.

Not long after Bai Wei turned into the back alley, three tall men followed her in.

The man in the lead was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a hooked nose and deep-set eyes. He wore a royal blue brocade robe and a fox fur cloak, and walked silently.

"Young lady, please wait!"

"Who are you?"

Bai Wei suddenly heard a noise, jumped forward and turned around in fright. When she saw the face of the man in the lead, her brows furrowed.

She recognized this person!

Yelü Hong, the fourteenth prince of the Khitan delegation, harassed a respectable woman in the street a few days ago, forcing her to jump into the river to prove her innocence.

Bai Wei quietly reached her left hand into her sleeve and touched the short blade she carried close to her body.

We've walked halfway down the alley; another hundred steps ahead is the corner gate of the Prince's Mansion's back courtyard.

Should she call for help?

Calling for help...won't that cause trouble for my wife?

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Bai Wei's forehead as she stared intently at the three men with ill intentions.

"Judging from your appearance, you should recognize who I am." Yelü Hong continued to approach. "There is no river today, and you can't escape."

"I am a maidservant of the Prince Kang's residence. If you dare to touch me, the Prince will not let you off!"

Bai Wei saw one of the men circle around behind her, attacking her from both sides, leaving her with nowhere to escape.

Calling for help at this time could summon the patrolling soldiers inside the palace, but if word got out, rumors would spread, damaging the lady's reputation.

"Prince Kang!" Yelü Hong scoffed, "Would he really wage war against the Khitan for you?"

He reached out to stroke Bai Wei's cheek, but she turned her head away. A short blade slid out from her sleeve, and she raised her hand to stab, but the man grabbed her wrist, preventing her from advancing an inch.

"This king's favorite thing is riding a spirited horse!"

Yelü Hong twisted her wrist forcefully, and the short blade clattered to the ground. The man behind her immediately twisted her wrist behind her back, rendering her completely immobile.

"Prince, this place is not safe to stay any longer. Why don't we take her back to Ban Jing Pavilion?"

When a subordinate stepped forward to offer advice, Yelü Hong glanced at the lantern at the side gate ahead and revealed a malicious smile.

"No! Right here!" He grabbed the woman's chin. "How many Khitan warriors did Zhao Yun Kang kill?"

I played with Daqing women outside his yard, and then hung their names on the back gate.

Guess!

What expression will he have?

"You dare!!!"

Bai Wei's face was ashen, and she only managed to utter the word "help" before her mouth was covered. She watched helplessly as Yelü Hong's large hand reached towards her chest...

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

"What...ho..."

Before Yelü Hong could fully extend his hand, a warm, sticky liquid sprayed onto his face, followed by a chill in his throat, and he fell straight backward.

Three small, tailless, jet-black arrows struck the throats of three men, with small sections of their sharp points protruding from the back of their necks.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three muffled thuds echoed as the corpses fell onto the bluestone slabs in different positions, blood meandering and seeping into the cracks.

All of this happened so fast that Yelü Hong only had time to utter one word.

Bai Wei looked towards the side gate with tears in her eyes. Yun Yixia casually dusted off her sleeves, turned to speak to the maid beside her, and she immediately ran back.

A moment later, a white dove took flight from the backyard, soaring through the night sky into the distance.

"My wife, you should leave this to me!"

One of Yun Yixia's two maids left, while the other kicked Yelü Hong on the ground in a fit of anger. She then removed the handkerchief from Bai Wei's mouth and tidied her slightly disheveled clothes.

"I'll leave some for you?" Yun Yixia walked over. "What if they scream?"

"My lady, hibiscus... peony... thank you!"

Bai Wei, who had just dared to glare and resist the Khitans, now bursts into tears upon seeing her wife and companions, as if she were trying to shed all the fear and grievances in her heart.

"Well!"

"This...I can't appease her!"

She's yours!

Mu Jin shoved the peony she had rushed back into Bai Wei's arms, retreated to her wife's side, crossed her arms, and looked tense, feeling uncomfortable, anxious, and embarrassed.

"What happened?"

Upon receiving the message from his secret guards, Zhao Yunkang rushed to the back gate with three deputy generals and his strategist. When he saw a person lying on the ground, his pupils constricted sharply.

The person in the middle happened to be facing the side gate, allowing everyone to clearly see Yelü Hong's face.

They gasped in shock, and Ma De began to think about how to distance the Kang Prince's Mansion from this matter.

"Reporting to Your Highness!" Bai Wei steadied her voice, "I went out to retrieve the clothes my wife had made, and as I walked into the back alley, I was blocked by these three men... I was almost humiliated, but fortunately, my wife saved me."

She knew better than anyone that her wife didn't want to reveal her identity and would try her best to keep it a secret.

"So...you killed the Khitan envoy?"

Xue Ning lowered her voice and questioned him, successfully attracting everyone's attention.

Don't look at him like that!

It's creepy!

"Otherwise what?" Yun Yixia stood in front of Bai Wei. "Your Highness, are your bodyguards... useless?"

Her gaze drifted to several spots on the wall, her expression haughty and disdainful.

How could you insult them?

Xu Zhihao was the first to jump out, and Xue Ning and Liang Qiu didn't look too good.

The secret guards had to go to the frontier to fight the enemy, and only after returning to Xijing City would their secret guard identities be restored.

"Insult?" Yun Yixia sneered. "They should have discovered the situation in the alley earlier than I did, but they always stayed hidden in the shadows."

"To stand idly by while foreigners humiliate us—what else is that but utter weakness?"

She didn't want to hide it anymore!

If she can't even protect the people who truly care about her... what's the difference between her and a coward?

"My wife..."

Bai Wei pouted and cried again!

The lady has three maids: Peony is good at training birds, Hibiscus is a former assassin, and the only one is mediocre at everything and can only help with chores.

"Yun Yixia, this concerns the diplomatic relations between our two countries!"

"Your Highness, is it acceptable to allow the Khitans to humiliate our women in the street just for the sake of diplomatic relations?"

Why must you guard the frontier?

Wouldn't it be better to simply hand over the Zhao family's empire to the Khitans?

"How dare you!!!"