Chapter 59: Killing (Part One)

Qinglian and Taohong immediately set about packing the luggage for their young mistress.

Yan Xi was lost in thought, her mind drifting into a brief trance.

At present, it had been eighteen days since she left the Military Commissioner's residence and parted ways with Lu Zhi, and twenty-one days since Meng Wenhui's failed attempt to deliver a message for her.

Judging by the timing of Lu Zhi's release, Uncle Xie should have departed from Yangzhou eighteen to twenty-one days ago.

The probability of it being eighteen days was the highest.

From Yangzhou to Chang'an, eighteen days by water route was more than sufficient. If there were no unexpected delays, Uncle Xie should arrive in Chang'an within these couple of days.

As for the letter from that day, she had prepared two copies: one sent openly, and the other in secret.

Openly, she used Meng Wenhui as a decoy to confuse Lu Zhi's vision. In truth, she had long anticipated that Meng Wenhui would most likely turn out to be a dead piece on the board, so from the very beginning, she had never placed her ultimate hope on Meng Wenhui, but rather on...

Around that time, five flower farmers had been hired for the greenhouse.

Upon discovering this, Yan Xi secretly formulated a plan.

One of them was utilized by Taohong, entrusted with delivering a letter to Meng Wenhui outside.

Another of the remaining four flower farmers was heavily bribed by Yan Xi.

All arrangements had been carried out by Qinglian under her instructions.

Her purpose was twofold, and she had handed two items to that flower farmer:

A letter bearing the inscription "To be personally opened by Lu Boling"; and a portrait of Xie Huaixiu.

The tasks assigned to him were likewise only two: wait at the Guazhou ferry crossing to search for the person in the portrait; and deliver the letter to that person.

This was the covert line she had quietly laid down.

So covert was it that she had withheld half of the reward from the flower farmer, and even twenty-one days later, neither she nor any of her people had laid eyes on that flower farmer again.

In other words, the clues leading to this matter were scant to the extreme, entirely incapable of forming a coherent chain of cause and effect.

She refused to believe that Lu Zhi could ever decipher it.

Facts proved that she had indeed managed to conceal it from him.

The matter had largely been accomplished.

The letter had presumably long since reached the hands of Xie Huaixiu.

Perhaps it had even been brought by him into Chang'an...

*******

In April, the night was cool as water, and the sky gradually darkened, seemingly threatening rain.

The candlelight inside the small cottage flickered weakly as two maidservants bustled about.

There was no speech in the room, only the rustling sounds of garments being packed.

After a long while, all the belongings had been stowed away.

Qinglian came to her side, evidently recalling that matter as well, and lowered her voice to almost a silent lip-movement:

"Young mistress, that flower farmer..."

Yan Xi looked toward her, knowing what she was about to say.

At that time, she had only given the flower farmer half of the remuneration, agreeing to pay the other half three months later.

Thus, doing so served two purposes: first, it was standard practice to pay a heavy reward in installments when hiring someone for a task; and second—most crucially—it was to avoid meeting him again.

Lu Zhi was extremely clever.

Any trace of a clue, no matter how intricate or intertwined, could be swiftly unraveled by him.

Three months later, if things proceeded smoothly, she would no longer fear meeting that flower farmer again.

Yan Xi replied in a low voice: "Leave it be for now."

Qinglian acknowledged the instruction, knowing that indeed nothing could be done about it at present.

If they waited until dawn, there was no telling whether the authorities might come looking for them once more.

Taohong also approached at this moment.

"What about Lu Zhi? That scoundrel of an official never truly intended to let the young mistress go; it was all a trap he set! He's caused us to fall into trouble—can we even leave safely?"

Yan Xi said: "We will try to leave. Leaving is best..."

Qinglian chimed in: "Leaving is best. If we cannot leave, we simply wait another two months..."

The three of them exchanged glances.

The maidservant's words were uttered with great obscurity, and her voice was so soft as to be barely audible, yet all three of them understood.

The letter she had entrusted someone to deliver to Xie Huaixiu bore the words "To be personally opened by Lu Boling."

On the outside was a different handwriting, but inside was Lu Zhi's own handwriting and his exact tone.

To call it Lu Zhi's handwriting was merely to say it captured the superficial semblance of his script, enough to fool an outsider; but anyone familiar with Lu Zhi could tell at a glance that it was not written by him. Therefore, Uncle Lu would certainly find it suspicious, and consequently would inevitably discover the hidden letter beneath.

Hence, a maximum of two months...

She only needed to contend with him for two more months.

Yan Xi nodded slightly.

The maidservant put the luggage in place and swept and made the bed for her young mistress.

"Young mistress, get some sleep..."

They would depart at dawn, and since the hour was still early, they could all preserve their energy and sleep for a while.

The young girl murmured assent and walked over.

Yet, no sooner had she sat down than a sudden commotion arose outside—distinct, heavy footsteps echoing sharply.

The brother and sister in the north room were the first to step outside.

"Who are you... May I ask who you are looking for?"

"Go to hell!"

"Ah!"

"...!!"

Inside the room.

The three of them clearly heard the words and the sounds of violence outside. Their hearts violently jolted, and their complexions changed drastically.

Before they had time to ponder further, or even manage to glance out the window to observe the commotion, a crowd had already gathered outside the door of their room, and the door was violently shoved open.

Qinglian and Taohong immediately rushed forward, pressing their weight against it to block the entrance.

"Who are you? What are you trying to do?"

Yan Xi stood behind them, joining the two. The three of them exerted their combined strength to bar the door.

The bearing of the people outside did not resemble government soldiers at all; they looked like bandits!

Yet where would bandits come from in the city of Yangzhou? And how could they have made a beeline for her home?

The incident happened with such startling suddenness. In the mere fraction of a second it took for this thought to flash through her mind, a powerful impact slammed against the barrier. The three of them emitted successive cries of distress as they were violently knocked backward and tumbled to the ground.

The next instant, Yan Xi turned her gaze and saw that the door had been completely pushed open, revealing over twenty men disguised as thugs entering her line of sight.

Yan Xi was greatly alarmed: "Who are you?"

Hardly had her voice faded when a young man clad in luxurious brocade hurried out from behind the crowd.

The moment he appeared, his eyes locked straight onto her.

Yan Xi's heart sank heavily as she recognized him.

He was unexpectedly that "Fifth Young Master" whose carriage her own carriage had brushed against at dusk!

This Fifth Young Master looked quite young, barely in his early twenties. Though he was unremarkable in appearance, his attire was exquisite, making it easy to see that he came from a wealthy background. Wielding a folding fan in his hand, whether through the dissolute demeanor he displayed upon their first meeting or his current tyrannical actions, he proved himself to be a local bully of Yangzhou City.

"You! What do you want?"

Yan Xi asked in alarm, her body already beginning to tremble slightly.

She was naturally timid, and given the present circumstances, even someone of bolder spirit would find it hard not to be terrified.

Ever since he walked over and laid eyes on her face once more, the Fifth Young Master's gaze had become fixed.

The young girl's skin surpassed snow, and her voice was tender and sweet. Even when she wore a show of spirit and scolded someone with a cold, pretty face, her voice remained soft and gentle, sending a tingling numbness through the listener's entire body.

"Where did this celestial fairy come from? How is it that I've never seen her before..."

As he spoke, his feet involuntarily stepped forward, as though his soul had been snatched away, walking straight toward Yan Xi.

In her desperation, the young girl instinctively picked up a cup that had just fallen from the table and hurled it at him.

It struck true, landing squarely on his knee.

The man let out a yelp of pain. This sudden blow shocked him back to his senses; he stopped in his tracks, clutched his knee, and immediately barked at the thugs he had brought along: "What are you dazing about?! Hurry up and carry her back for your master!"

Yan Xi and her maids were instantly struck with even greater panic and dismay.

Qinglian and Taohong immediately threw themselves in front of Yan Xi.

The thugs rudely grabbed and pulled at them. The maidservants' garments were torn, and cries of distress filled the night. In an instant, chaos, helplessness, despair, and tumult blended into one.

After all, Yan Xi was timid and physically frail. Having suffered extreme terror, coupled with the daily exhaustion of trying to scrape by for the past half-month, she was already somewhat worn out. Witnessing the scene before her—desperate, helpless, and overwhelmed by a sudden surge of acute anxiety—she felt herself on the verge of fainting away.

At that critical juncture, several miserable shrieks suddenly rang out.

A dark shadow materialized abruptly.

Followed by an even more chaotic sound of combat, before the crowd in front of her was swiftly beaten back and scattered.

The two maidservants got to their feet and tearfully supported her swaying, unsteady figure.

Before losing consciousness completely, she recognized that dark shadow.

It was unexpectedly one of Lu Zhi's nine female assassins!

Close to where she lived, there had actually been assassins belonging to him stationed all along!