Shen Moping could certainly be killed, but once this person died, they would completely lose that thread leading to Shen Yunyi, and wouldn’t be able to lure her into the trap anymore!
Seeing that Li Shimin still hadn’t acted, Li Jiancheng shouted harshly, “I told you to kill him! Do you hear me? He’s about to bite through my leg bone! Kill him!”
Li Shimin’s thoughts raced like wheels. How could he not know the situation was critical? But killing Shen Moping was truly the worst strategy. Moreover, looking at Shen Moping’s appearance, he clearly had a death wish—doing this would only fulfill his intentions.
Biting… he had it! He could break Shen Moping’s teeth, then he wouldn’t be able to harm Big Brother anymore. “Someone, break his teeth for me…”
Before he could finish speaking, one of the guards’ knives was suddenly snatched away. Immediately after, a cold flash swept past everyone’s eyes. When the cold light disappeared, the steel blade had already been thrust into Shen Moping’s back, and a slender figure was gripping the knife handle tightly, chest heaving violently!
When the cold blade pierced through his body and into the dirt below, Shen Moping’s face showed a smile. Finally… his wish had been fulfilled.
He released the teeth that had been biting down relentlessly. As soon as Li Jiancheng felt him let go, he immediately pulled back his leg. The guards took the opportunity to drag him aside to prevent further danger.
Blood continuously flowed from his chest, taking away what little life he had left. He struggled to turn his head, looking at Yunyi who was gripping the knife handle tightly and breathing heavily.
Thank you, Master, for giving this servant liberation. Unfortunately… this servant can no longer accompany you on your journey. You must take good care of yourself. It would be best if you could kill Li Yuan, but if not, don’t force it. You must… you must return safely to Luoyang!
From the moment he saw Yunyi, he had resolved to die, because he knew that Yunyi wouldn’t just watch him hang here—she would definitely try to rescue him. But this place had been set up as an inescapable net by Li Jiancheng. If Yunyi made any move, she would end up in the same situation as himself.
The only way to stop Yunyi was through death. Only if he died would Li Jiancheng no longer be able to use him as bait, and only then could Yunyi be kept safe.
So he deliberately lured Li Jiancheng to bring him down, then took the opportunity to get close before biting down on his leg, making him order his own death in unbearable pain.
He just hadn’t expected Li Shimin to be so calm, still refusing to kill him even in such a critical situation, even thinking of breaking his teeth. Fortunately… Master had helped him, but this way, Li Shimin would probably become suspicious of Master.
Master, Li Shimin is meticulous in thought and exceptional in strategy. If you still want to remain in the Governor’s mansion to assassinate Li Yuan, this person will be a great threat. You must be careful! You must be careful!
Shen Moping kept shouting these words in his heart until he breathed his last breath…
Over there, Li Shimin glanced at Yunyi, who was trembling all over, then quickly came to Li Jiancheng’s side. On his right shin was a gaping wound, with blood continuously flowing from it. He said tensely, “Big Brother, how are you?”
Li Jiancheng endured the pain, his face pale green as he said, “It hurts badly. I don’t know if he injured the bone!”
“It’s fine, you’ll recover quickly!” Li Shimin comforted him, then said urgently, “Quick, help the Eldest Young Master back to Qingchun Garden. Also, immediately fetch Physician Xu—he’s best at treating bone injuries. Hurry!”
The guards quickly followed his orders, carrying Li Jiancheng toward Qingchun Garden. Blood continued to drip along the way, a frightening sight.
After seeing Li Jiancheng off, Li Shimin walked to Yunyi’s side, who was still gripping the knife handle tightly, and stared at her, saying, “Why did you do this?”
Yunyi slowly raised her head, looking at him with a blank expression. After a long while, she seemed to come to her senses. Seeing Shen Moping’s corpse and the steel knife in her hand, she quickly let go and kept backing away. Perhaps because she was too nervous and frightened, her steps were unsteady and she fell to the ground, stammering, “I… I don’t know. I just… didn’t want to see him continue hurting the Eldest Young Master, so…” She looked down at her hands, her face full of terror as she said, “At that time, I really just had one thought—not to let him hurt the Eldest Young Master, then… my mind went completely blank and I knew nothing until now… I, I killed someone. What should I do? What should I do?” Speaking of this, she crawled over and gripped Li Shimin’s robe tightly, saying nervously, “Second Young Master, I didn’t do it on purpose. I… I didn’t know what I was doing. Please don’t kill me!”
Jiang Caiping also reacted at this point, quickly running to Li Shimin and kneeling down, saying, “Second Young Master, sister only wanted to save the Eldest Young Master. Please don’t blame her, and especially don’t kill her. She didn’t mean to kill anyone—she just… wholeheartedly wanted to save the Eldest Young Master. Besides, that Shen Moping was an assassin who deserved to die anyway. Please spare sister this once!”
Li Shimin stared intently at Yunyi for a long time, then bent down to help her up, saying, “You saved Big Brother—how could I blame you? Get up.”
Yunyi breathed a sigh of relief and looked at him timidly, saying, “Second Young Master, you… really don’t blame me?”
Li Shimin smiled slightly and said, “Of course not. If you hadn’t acted decisively just now to kill Shen Moping, Big Brother might really have had his leg bone bitten through. Speaking of which, I should thank you. But you really impressed me—in such a critical moment, you were actually calmer than me.”
Yunyi shook her head repeatedly, saying, “No, I… how could I compare to the Second Young Master? I don’t even know what I was thinking at the time. Even now I’m still confused, like… I had a dream. By the way, now that I’ve kil…” When she reached this word, a trace of fear showed in her eyes. She took several deep breaths before continuing, “Now that I’ve killed him, doesn’t that mean there’s no way to capture Shen Yunyi anymore?”
“Don’t worry. As long as she’s in this Governor’s mansion, she’ll be caught sooner or later.” Saying this, Li Shimin continued, “In any case, regarding what just happened, not only were you not wrong, you’ve also earned merit. After I go check on Big Brother, I’ll reward you accordingly.”
Yunyi said with a grateful expression, “Thank you, Second Young Master! Thank you, Second Young Master!”
Li Shimin smiled and said, “Alright, you two go back.” After Yunyi and the other departed, the smile on Li Shimin’s face gradually turned cold. He turned his head and said, “Zhihong, what do you think?”
“Is the Second Young Master referring to Miss Wu’s matter?” Seeing Li Shimin remain silent, he knew he had guessed correctly. After thinking, he said, “Miss Wu’s sudden action to seize the knife and kill Shen Moping was somewhat unexpected, but this subordinate has seen some people who, in critical situations, indeed do some extraordinary things.”
Li Shimin glanced at him and said coolly, “Extraordinary enough to kill someone?”
“That wouldn’t be likely, but…” Before he could finish, Li Shimin had already said, “Do you remember what I said just before she seized the knife?”