“Who is Luan’er?”

That’s not the point!

Ji Yunshu pressed her lips together, looked at the black-clad figures surrounding them, and said: “Luan’er is my beloved. If I die, she will surely follow me.”

Beloved?

Jingrong’s expression darkened.

The surrounding black-clad figures, seeing the two exchanging words, had their leader step forward twice with a fierce expression, raising his sword.

“The master said—whoever takes the heads of these two will be heavily rewarded.”

“Kill!”

The black-clad figures surrounded them for the kill. Each had bloodshot eyes and fierce urgency—they were determined to obtain these two heads.

As those black-clad figures pressed closer, Jingrong pulled Ji Yunshu in a circle on the spot, incidentally using the long sword in his hand to hook and bind the blade edges of the black-clad figures together, forming a “flower bud” shape.

Just as Jingrong was about to flick these swords away, Ji Yunshu tore off an embroidered pouch hanging at her waist.

“Close your eyes,” she immediately told Jingrong.

Though Jingrong didn’t understand, he still closed his eyes.

The next moment, Ji Yunshu scattered the white powder from the pouch.

When the black-clad figures’ eyes touched that powder, they immediately felt a painful burning. The swords in their hands all fell loose as they covered their eyes and retreated backward. Several even rolled on the ground.

A chorus of miserable cries!

When Jingrong opened his eyes, he saw this wretched scene.

Ji Yunshu immediately pulled at his sleeve.

“Let’s go quickly. I haven’t used that stuff in a long time—I don’t know how long it will last.”

Jingrong nodded, took her hand, and quickly left.

After circling around two streets and confirming those black-clad figures wouldn’t chase them anymore, they stopped.

Ji Yunshu was breathing heavily, looking back several times before feeling relieved.

“What did you scatter?” Jingrong asked her seriously.

“Lime powder mixed with pepper juice. If it gets in the eyes, even if it doesn’t blind them, it will disable them.”

“I didn’t expect you to be quite ruthless.”

Ruthless?

She glanced at the sword in Jingrong’s hand and said: “I only injure people, not kill them. Your Highness’s sword, however, is stained with fresh blood.”

At this moment, Jingrong’s hand still gripped that long sword that had been meant to stab him. A flash of extreme cold light passed through his eyes.

“If I didn’t kill them, this sword would have been stabbing you and me.”

“…”

Ji Yunshu had no response. At this moment, she actually felt he was absolutely right.

Killing! Not necessarily a sinful thought.

Just like how Su Yun and the old steward wanted to kill Miss Zhou—without suppression and suffering, they wouldn’t have walked that path either.

Ji Yunshu’s expression gradually faded. Frowning, she lowered her head slightly and began walking forward.

Jingrong noticed her expression and immediately used his robe to wipe the blood from the sword, tossed it onto a pile of debris, and chased after Ji Yunshu.

“Frightened?” he asked her.

She shook her head: “No.”

Her footsteps suddenly stopped. She turned sideways toward Jingrong, raised her hand, and opened it. In her palm lay a round jade pendant.

“I just casually took this from one of the black-clad figures. Does it look familiar?” Ji Yunshu asked him.

Jingrong took the jade. His brow immediately furrowed: “This…”

“This jade pendant is the same as the ones worn by those black-clad figures who attacked at Yi Zhuang last time. But if they’re the same group, the one they should be assassinating is you, Your Highness. Yet today, they also wanted to take my head. Don’t you find that strange, Your Highness?”

Jingrong’s fingertips carefully rubbed the jade as he pondered in his heart.

Seeing his silence, Ji Yunshu continued: “Lang Bo must have told Your Highness about this jade pendant and the stone-spotted poison. If we can trace the origins of the jade pendant and the stone-spotted poison, we should be able to discover who’s orchestrating things behind the scenes. But there’s one thing I don’t understand—why must I also be killed? If it’s because I was also present during the last assassination attempt and they want to silence me to eliminate future troubles, doing so is too risky and too conspicuous. If that’s not the reason, then what could it be?”

The more precisely she analyzed, the clearer the answer became in Jingrong’s heart!

He gripped the jade pendant tightly. In his eyes appeared a dangerous aura.

Looking at Ji Yunshu, he said: “This prince will naturally resolve what’s behind this matter one by one.”

“So Your Highness… knows who it is?” A woman’s intuition!

He frowned slightly, then returned to an impassive expression and said: “Master Ji, about what just happened—don’t mention it to anyone else. In any case, this prince has already reached a conclusion in his heart.”

“Mm.” She nodded.

Jingrong’s words neither denied nor confirmed.

Who the person orchestrating things behind the scenes was, he was still determining!

“Alright, this prince will still escort you back.”

“No need. I just turn a corner and I’m there. Those black-clad figures shouldn’t chase us now. Your Highness should hurry back to Guangqu Court. If something happens to you, I truly couldn’t bear the responsibility.”

Hearing her words, Jingrong’s originally restrained peach-blossom eyes suddenly flooded with emotion.

He deliberately moved closer to Ji Yunshu, lowering his voice to ask: “Are you worried about this prince?”

“…”

“Are you?” His tone gentle!

His body also moved closer and closer to Ji Yunshu!

The man’s scent attacked. Ji Yunshu’s cool nose tip warmed. She immediately retreated two steps and buried her head even lower.

“I still need to investigate that hermaphrodite corpse case tomorrow, so I’ll head back first.”

Having said this, she turned and quickly left, not waiting for Jingrong to catch up.

Watching that retreating figure, Jingrong’s playful smile held several degrees more worry.

If the five charred corpses and these two assassination attempts were both related to the “Linjing Case,” then who was trying to prevent him from returning to the capital? Prevent him from… bringing Ji Yunshu back to the capital to investigate the case?

Could it really be him?

…

Returning to the Ji family, Ji Yunshu’s thoughts were somewhat dazed.

Life together, death together!

These six characters kept echoing in her mind.

Entering her room and sitting down, she didn’t come to her senses for a long while.

However, when Luan’er saw her, she was greatly startled.

Ji Yunshu’s clothes had bloodstains and white powder on them.

“Miss, what happened to you? Where are you injured? Did the wound on your back split open again? Don’t frighten this servant—let me take a look.”

As she spoke, Luan’er prepared to examine her condition.

But Ji Yunshu looked at her coolly and only said: “I’m fine. This blood got on me from corpses at the yamen.”

“Really?” Luan’er wiped her tears.

“Why would I lie to you? Now quickly bring in some water so I can wash up.”

Luan’er nodded, sniffling, and hurried out to fetch water.

That night, Ji Yunshu couldn’t sleep peacefully no matter what. She tossed and turned in bed for a long time, sighing repeatedly.

Thinking about being pursued by assassins, and also thinking about Jingrong’s words.

It disturbed her peace of mind greatly.

Until daybreak, she got up with dark circles under her eyes, tidied up for a while, ate some pastries, and hurried to the yamen.

Upon arriving at the yamen, she said to the county magistrate: “Magistrate Liu, I’m going to examine those white bones again, but I also need you to help me investigate someone.”

The county magistrate asked: “Who?”

“Madam Jiang’s younger brother. The more detailed, the better.”

“Alright, this official will send someone to investigate immediately.”