Seeing Zhang Yuehui approaching, Wanyan Jun became extremely irritated. This meddlesome merchant – if he hadn’t sold information to multiple parties, perhaps this matter wouldn’t have become so complicated.

Wanyan Jun impatiently blocked him at the door, saying: “I’d be very happy if Boss Zhang just didn’t help in the wrong way. There’s nothing here that requires you. Please leave.”

Zhang Yuehui brazenly peered inside, glimpsing the blood on the ground, his face showing eagerness: “My lord, is the Princess injured? I happen to have some rare medicinal materials that can immediately relieve even the most severe wounds.”

Wanyan Jun paused. Although he was wary of Zhang Yuehui, he also knew he was just a smooth-talking merchant who only cared about profit. He would stab people in the back but would never tear off the mask on the surface. It was just one medicine – he was simply offering courtesy, after all, he was still the greatest power in Li Du Mansion, so Zhang needed to curry favor with him. This courtesy he could accept, and it would certainly benefit Xu Kouyue’s injuries.

“Then why aren’t you going to get it?” Wanyan Jun frowned.

Nanyi listened nervously from inside the room, feeling that Zhang Yuehui’s arrival wasn’t so simple.

Sure enough, she heard Zhang Yuehui say: “It’s just that this medicine’s dosage must be controlled very precisely, otherwise it becomes deadly poison – if the mansion has a doctor who knows the Princess’s body best, perhaps she could accompany me to get the medicine.”

“You, come here,” Wanyan Jun commanded Nanyi. “Take a trip with Boss Zhang.”

Only then did Zhang Yuehui naturally look toward Nanyi following Wanyan Jun’s words, pretending not to recognize her, calmly meeting her gaze.

Nanyi frantically shook her head slightly at him, pleading with her eyes for help, but Zhang Yuehui acted as if he saw nothing.

Only then did Nanyi understand… Zhang Yuehui wanted to take her away in this chaos. But at this moment she absolutely couldn’t refuse!

If she left with Zhang Yuehui like this, how could she take the Princess away? Wouldn’t the plan fail completely?

Nanyi could only stall for time: “I must first perform acupuncture on the Princess to stabilize her injuries before I can go get medicine with Boss Zhang.”

Wanyan Jun’s time was urgent. He beckoned to a guard: “You follow Boss Zhang and the doctor together later. I’m going to pursue the assassin.”

With that, Wanyan Jun strode away.

Nanyi quickly entered the curtained area and exchanged a glance with Xu Kouyue.

Xu Kouyue tried to press something into Nanyi’s hand, signaling for her to leave directly with the item, but Nanyi pressed down on her hand, silently but firmly shaking her head.

She had said she would rescue her together.

In no time, Nanyi emerged from behind the curtain.

Zhang Yuehui calmly nodded slightly at her, turned and led the way out. The guard followed behind them.

Outside Wanyan’s mansion, the street had already become somewhat chaotic – the assassin incident had obviously spread to the surrounding streets. Horse carriages couldn’t move in the busy market, so they had to travel on foot.

Zhang Yuehui walked somewhat urgently, afraid Nanyi would run away midway. He couldn’t care about anything else and grabbed her wrist in front of the guard, pulling her along the street.

His strides were large, and Nanyi followed somewhat stumblingly.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Yuehui’s footsteps suddenly stopped. His casual gaze became extremely sharp, staring intently at Nanyi.

This “Nanyi” unconsciously stepped back.

Zhang Yuehui had already sensed something was wrong – these were absolutely not the gait and eyes that Nanyi would have. He found it hard to believe, because he had completely let down his guard around Nanyi and never thought she would deceive him.

He couldn’t care about anything anymore and reached out to touch behind her temples, confirming whether there were traces of a human skin mask. Just as his hand reached out, it was suddenly blocked.

A black-clothed figure jumped down from the eaves, standing in front of “Nanyi.” Another person darted out from the alley entrance, silently killing the guard who had followed from behind. Zhang Yuehui’s hidden guards immediately struck, exchanging moves with those two, but they weren’t interested in prolonged battle. They grabbed “Nanyi” and left, disappearing at the end of the dark alley in the blink of an eye.

The hidden guards wanted to pursue, but Zhang Yuehui stopped them.

That wasn’t Nanyi at all.

He had been too careless! If he could obtain human skin masks, the Bingzhu Division could find ways to get them too. Their operation couldn’t possibly lack backup plans.

The person just now must have been Xu Kouyue.

Then the real Nanyi… was still in Wanyan Jun’s mansion!

Zhang Yuehui’s mood was like the gradually darkening sky, unable to stop the setting sun from plunging into the valley. He tried desperately to grasp it but only retained a brilliance that lasted for an instant, then everything was left in the night.

He had wanted to go along with the plan and take Nanyi away from that dangerous place. He didn’t care about the old dynasty’s princess or the new dynasty’s prince. Whether this world was clear or chaotic had nothing to do with him – he only wanted to grasp the last bit of warmth that belonged to him. He thought this was Xie Queshan’s conspiracy, that he had bewitched Nanyi and deliberately placed her in a position to restrain him. He didn’t want his beloved girl to become a pawn in the conflict.

He thought by putting her in that situation, she would have nowhere to escape and would willingly leave with him.

But she was actually willing to exchange herself for Xu Kouyue.

Only at this moment did he discover that she was doing this voluntarily.

“You’ve been apart from her too long – you no longer know what kind of person she is now.”

Xie Queshan’s words were like a persistent curse. Even though he didn’t believe it, even though he scoffed at it, everything was developing in that direction.

This time, he had harmed her again.

He clearly wanted to be closer to her, wanted to save her.

Zhang Yuehui’s hands trembled – he was somewhat at a loss. What should he do?

…

Wanyan Jun led his men in pursuit of the assassin, feeling more and more that something was wrong as they chased. No matter how good someone’s lightness skills were, after running and leaping across rooftops for so long, their stamina should have declined. But that black-clothed person remained consistently agile and fast. Occasionally disappearing between buildings, he would quickly emerge again, leading them on a chase around the entire city while still allowing them to keep close track.

Wanyan Jun realized – this wasn’t one person at all! This was a planned “escape relay,” a diversion tactic! So right now the mansion was empty, and Xu Kouyue…

“Return to the mansion! Return immediately!” Wanyan Jun shouted frantically.

Nanyi, disguised as Xu Kouyue, sat quietly behind the curtain, waiting for time to pass.

She had to wait for Xu Kouyue to be rescued and hear the signal from her companions before she could escape. Otherwise, the mansion guards would react and pursue Zhang Yuehui, and the plan would fail completely.

Finally, she saw a burst of fireworks explode in mid-air outside the window – this was the signal for successful rescue!

Nanyi immediately stood up, climbed out through the window, and used the sleeve arrows on her wrists to silently take down two guards at the door.

She had walked the mansion’s layout countless times daily and could find her way out with her eyes closed.

However, just when everything was going smoothly and dawn seemed near, Wanyan Jun returned with his troops. He discovered Xu Kouyue wasn’t in the room, but the bedding was still warm – the person was definitely still in the mansion and hadn’t been gone long. He immediately had people surround the estate for a large-scale search.

Nanyi was forced to turn back and hide in the garden, but the garden’s layout was simple. If Wanyan Jun conducted a large-scale mansion search, she would quickly be found.

Nanyi had been forced into a dead end. Strangely, at this moment she no longer felt afraid. Instead, she was quite calm. Actually, she was grateful for Zhang Yuehui’s arrival – at least he had safely taken Xu Kouyue out.

Her mission was completed ahead of schedule.

Today she could finally understand Pang Yu’s feelings when he went to his death. Between life and death, people could still choose faith. Nanyi’s faith was simpler – if her death could bring greater value, letting more bad people die and more good people live, it would be worthwhile.

She just felt it was somewhat regrettable. Before departure, Song Muchuan had looked seriously into her eyes and said, “Don’t die.”

When exchanging clothes with Xu Kouyue, she had gripped her hand with cold fingers and tearfully told her, “Don’t die.”

She still had some people she hadn’t properly said goodbye to, people she wanted to see one more time.

Nanyi gripped the dagger in her hand, preparing to fight to the death. Whether life or death, she would give her all.

As if some deity heard the cry in her heart, she – someone who had always been very unlucky – encountered a turning point at this critical moment.

The searching soldiers didn’t arrive as expected. The marching footsteps turned back when they approached the garden.

At the mansion gate, another team of soldiers poured in – Gusha had also brought people! The two groups faced off in the courtyard, neither willing to yield.

Actually, it was just now that Gusha learned from Zhang Yuehui about Xu Kouyue possibly bringing the succession edict. He pondered – Xu Kouyue was someone Wanyan Jun had insisted on bringing to Li Du Mansion, claiming he could use both kindness and authority. Now that his people had problems, he hadn’t made a sound. If the succession edict was found, wouldn’t Wanyan Jun claim the credit?

It must not have been found, so he deliberately suppressed the news, or he was bewitched by beauty and wanted to protect his woman. Either way, this was a good opportunity to bring down Wanyan Jun!

Gusha was thinking about how to escalate this matter when he heard that an assassin had appeared at Wanyan Jun’s mansion. He immediately brought Yajiu, the leader of the Black Crow Battalion, and aggressively came to “help capture the assassin.”

Yajiu and the Black Crow Battalion he commanded were the royal court’s true iron-blooded army. They didn’t take sides with any court faction – they came by royal command, and assisting Gusha was merely a mission. They had only one goal: to pave the way for Daqi’s territorial expansion.

Anything that harmed the royal court’s interests would be eliminated without hesitation by the Black Crow Battalion. So proving Wanyan Jun’s negligence was something Yajiu needed to witness personally to provide powerful testimony when reporting to the court later.

Seeing Yajiu’s arrival, Wanyan Jun’s heart sank halfway. He could only tear off the mask of collegial harmony, willing to cross swords if necessary to have his soldiers guard to the death, absolutely not letting Gusha break in.

Because Xu Kouyue was no longer in the mansion – if Gusha discovered any clues, his official career would be over.

Thus, the two groups were at daggers drawn, the gunpowder atmosphere ready to explode at any moment.

This benefited Nanyi, who was seeking survival in the cracks. She took this opportunity to leap onto the rooftops and flee.

Yajiu had excellent eyesight and caught sight of a figure even in the night.

“Someone’s escaping!” Yajiu’s expression became stern. He immediately leaped gracefully onto the roof and gave chase.

“Quickly pursue the assassin!” At Gusha’s command, the soldiers he brought immediately surged forward.

Wanyan Jun’s men were still in shock and guilt, and were immediately scattered.

Complete rout.

Wanyan Jun knew he was finished. Once Yajiu made his move, nothing could be hidden. In this round, he had lost thoroughly.

…

Nanyi didn’t dare look back as she frantically ran and leaped across the rooftops. She had to quickly leave the Qi army’s defensive territory. Her route choices were limited, and she unavoidably passed through the borders of Wangxue Hollow.

Of course, she didn’t want to enter Wangxue Hollow. First, it would bring trouble to the place, and second… she didn’t want to return to that cage. In Wangxue Hollow, she was an unwelcome, lowly illegitimate daughter, a widow who brought misfortune. She was forced to hide her natural spirit and bind her hands and feet to conform to aristocratic etiquette. She had finally broken free from these shackles – she didn’t want to go back.

However, not far away, Zhang Yuehui’s crossbow arrow was aimed at the girl leaping between rooftops.

He finally saw clearly – she was an eagle that wanted to fly. But under this night sky full of dangers, the higher she flew, the more dangerous it became.

If he couldn’t keep her, then he would find a cage that could confine her.

Rather than completely losing this person in this world, he would rather have her hate him.

He wanted her safe.

Whoosh – an arrow shot through the air, hitting Nanyi’s calf precisely. She felt pain in her leg, lost her balance completely, and fell down.

She happened to fall into the back courtyard of Wangxue Hollow.

This night happened to be leisurely, with Lu Jinxiu leading several female servants in the courtyard tending to potted plants. They heard a bang as a black figure fell from the sky, startling all the female servants in the courtyard.

Everyone was shocked. Someone with sharp eyes recognized Nanyi and said tremblingly: “Young Madam?”