Under yet another round of urging from County Magistrate Qin and the others, Yunyi and Wu Laosan successively emerged from the cellar. Countless sharp arrows were aimed at them, ready to pierce their skulls the moment they made any suspicious movement, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Li Shimin stared woodenly at that familiar yet strange face, his hands hanging at his sides already clenched until his knuckles turned white. After the soldiers had restrained the two of them, he slowly walked over and said coldly, “Shen Yunyi, we meet again.”

Yunyi tugged at the corner of her lips and smiled lightly, “It seems the Second Young Master has finally learned of my identity. What a pity, it appears to be somewhat too late!”

Her words reminded Li Shimin of Li Xuanba’s death, causing his cheek to twitch slightly as he said coldly, “Your disguise techniques are indeed superb, fooling everyone completely. Unfortunately, heaven’s net is vast and nothing escapes it. Speak – who exactly sent you to Honghua Prefecture?”

“The victor becomes king, the defeated becomes the bandit. Today, having fallen into your hands, I accept defeat. However, if the Second Young Master wishes to extract anything from my mouth, I’m afraid you’ll be wasting your efforts.”

Before Li Shimin could respond, Wu Laosan said urgently, “Second Young Master, this is all my fault. I was the one who instructed… instructed her to assassinate the Governor. If you want to punish someone, punish me for my crimes. I beg you to spare her, spare Yunyi!”

Li Shimin’s brows furrowed tightly, “Uncle Wu, you already know she is not Meixue, so why do you still protect her like this?”

“Because… because…” Wu Laosan’s body trembled slightly, not knowing how to speak. After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, “I’m not protecting anyone. Everything I said is the truth. Second Young Master, I beg you, please spare Yunyi. Don’t blame her. The Third Young Master and… and Feng Li, I killed them all, it was me who killed them with my own hands. If you want to avenge them, just kill me. Don’t make things difficult for Yunyi!”

Hearing Wu Laosan disregard his own life to shoulder all the blame for her, Yunyi felt moved in her heart, but she knew clearly that these crimes were not something Wu Laosan could bear.

She looked at Li Shimin and said, “Wu Laosan was deceived by me, which is why he helped me escape. He never intended to be an enemy of your Li Family. I hope you can, for the sake of our past connection… and for Meixue’s sake, spare him his life.”

Li Shimin said expressionlessly, “Do you think that at this point, you still have the qualifications to negotiate with me?”

Yunyi shook her head, “I know I don’t have such qualifications, but the Second Young Master has always been fair and just. I believe you will make the right choice.”

Li Shimin remained coldly silent, not knowing what he was thinking. Wu Laosan beside him was extremely anxious, constantly saying that he was the one who killed people, pleading with Li Shimin to spare Yunyi and not harm her life!

County Magistrate Qin said from the side, “Second Young Master, since we have already captured both of them, we should hurry back to the Governor’s Mansion to prevent any complications.”

Li Shimin nodded slightly, walked to Wu Laosan, and said slowly, “I will spare you this once, considering that you were deceived by the assassin and did not act with malicious intent. If there is a next time, I will certainly punish you severely without fail.” As he spoke, he signaled for the soldiers to release Wu Laosan. The latter, as soon as he gained freedom, immediately knelt down, grabbing the azure robe with silver trim at Li Shimin’s hem and pleading, “Second Young Master, all the wrongs, ten thousand wrongs, are this old man’s fault. I am willing to exchange this life for Yunyi’s life. I beg you to spare her, I beg you!”

Li Shimin looked down at him for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Why?”

Wu Laosan understood his meaning and said hoarsely, “Perhaps in the Second Young Master’s eyes, what I’m doing is ridiculous, but… she is all I have left… only her!”

“She is an assassin, not Meixue!” Faced with Li Shimin’s words, Wu Laosan shook his head, “I know, but she is still my daughter. I beg the Second Young Master to show mercy!”

His words caused a flash of incomprehension in Li Shimin’s eyes, then he shook his head, “Her sins are not something you can bear, Uncle Wu.” Having said this, he broke free from Wu Laosan’s grasp and walked forward. The latter wanted to chase after him, but was helplessly held down by two soldiers and couldn’t move. Only after Li Shimin and the others had walked far away were they released. Who knew that as soon as they let go, Wu Laosan would try to chase after them again, so they quickly restrained him again. One of the soldiers said, “How can you be so ungrateful? The Second Young Master’s willingness to spare you is already a great mercy. If it were anyone else, even if they didn’t sentence you to death, they would still exile you to serve in the army. Yet you’re still not satisfied and really want to throw away this life before you’re happy?”

Wu Laosan smiled bitterly, “I’ve lived for so many years anyway. Death is death, but Yunyi…”

“That’s an assassin!” The soldier interrupted him, “You’re really completely confused, actually treating an assassin as your daughter. Who knows, maybe Wu Meixue was killed by her!”

Upon hearing this, Wu Laosan immediately said excitedly, “No! The one who killed Meixue was Chunxiu, it has nothing to do with Yunyi. Don’t falsely accuse her!”

Seeing that he wouldn’t listen, the soldier was too lazy to continue and shook his head, “Forget it, forget it. I won’t discuss this with you. In any case, the female assassin’s crimes are not something you can shoulder. If you’re smart, just go back to your own home and act as if nothing happened.” With these words, they released Wu Laosan once again. This time, the latter didn’t rush out again but stood quietly in place. The soldiers thought he had listened to their words and left with peace of mind.

After they had gone far away, Wu Laosan quickly pursued them via a small path to the side. Having lived here for more than ten years, his familiarity with the terrain far exceeded that of Li Shimin and the others. He quickly caught up, but… below, besides Li Shimin, there were also many soldiers and constables. With just himself alone, he couldn’t possibly rescue Yunyi. Could he really just watch helplessly as they took Yunyi back to the Governor’s Mansion to torture her for information, or even kill her?

No, he had already lost one daughter and absolutely could not lose a second!

Perhaps in the eyes of Li Shimin and the others, Yunyi was an unforgivable assassin, but in his eyes, Yunyi was the daughter who had accompanied him after Meixue, nothing more than this!

There had to be a way, there must be a way to save Yunyi!

Wu Laosan followed Li Shimin’s group while nervously thinking of ways to save Yunyi. Just then, a wild rabbit suddenly darted past him, startling him. After he calmed down, it gave him an idea. If he remembered correctly, the route from Guijing Village back to the Governor’s Mansion would pass through the mountain slope where Feng Chunxiu had previously died. Although that mountain wasn’t large, there were quite a few animals living in it. He used to hunt wild rabbits and foxes there frequently, and sometimes, with good luck, he could catch three or four in a day. Besides rabbits and foxes, as far as he knew, there were also fierce animals like jackals and wolves. If he could drive them all onto the road, it would certainly startle Li Shimin’s group, and then he could take advantage of the chaos to rescue Yunyi.

Thinking of this, Wu Laosan quickly quickened his pace. He had to make preparations before Li Shimin and the others reached that mountain slope.