Chapter 65: Entering the Palace Part 5

The assassin was eventually subdued, and Li Yun was unharmed, but the blade flew from her hand and stabbed into Yan Xinfeng’s shoulder.

Blood surged from his body, quickly staining his clothes red. In the recording, Yan Xinfeng’s face rapidly paled. He gritted his teeth, yanked out the sword, and tossed it to the ground.

‘…Is there poison on it?’ Wei Tingxia asked.

[No.]

Wei Tingxia stared at the bloodied shortsword, took a deep breath, and did not exit the recording immediately. Instead, he switched angles, freezing the frame on another person’s face.

Prince Chen, Li Ji.

This prince’s face also showed panic, lips slightly parted. But that panic was superficial, thin as cheap paint. Deep in his eyes flashed not fear, but the astonishment and gloom of a plan disrupted.

“Heh…”

Examining his shoddy performance, a cold laugh escaped Wei Tingxia’s throat.

“Why didn’t I smash that wine pot on his head at noon today?” He regretted it deeply, his tone laced with murderous fury. “I should have just stabbed him dead.”

Too late for regrets now. Li Ji was clearly involved in this assassination attempt—whether masterminding it or not, he had definitely let the assassin in. The capital’s defenses had three layers, one controlled by the Five Armies Camp under Li Ji’s command.

Wei Tingxia pushed open the door and found the steward. “Prepare hot water and golden wound medicine. Where’s the medical officer? Have him come!”

The steward was utterly baffled, thinking Wei Tingxia was the one injured. He hurriedly scanned him from head to toe but saw no blood.

He was about to ask when he noticed Wei Tingxia’s exceptionally grim expression, fists clenched tight. At the same time, strange rustling sounds came from the dark shrubs in the distance.

The steward ran off without a word to carry out the orders.

An hour later, with the marquis still not returned, news carrying the scent of blood exploded like thunder in the quiet mansion—

There had been a change in the palace!

The reporting eunuch was pale-faced, his voice trembling uncontrollably. “An assassin! At the banquet… an assassin sneaked in, charging straight at His Majesty!”

The steward’s legs shook so badly he could barely stand. “Is His Majesty alright?”

“His Majesty is blessed by heaven—no harm!”

The eunuch caught his breath, but his next words plunged the steward into an ice pit. “It was Marquis Yan! He was closest to His Majesty and blocked that fatal strike at the critical moment! His Majesty is fine, but Marquis Yan… the marquis has a huge gash, deep to the bone! Blood… blood flowing nonstop!”

“Then why are you here now?!”

The steward panicked, itching to grab the little eunuch by the collar and shake him.

But the little eunuch shook his head. “It wasn’t my idea to come. The marquis sent me. The marquis had me come ask if everything’s prepared at home?”

Prepared? How could the household know to prepare for this?

The steward was about to deny it when a cold flash pierced his mind, instantly recalling Wei Tingxia’s earlier instructions.

In that instant, cold sweat drenched him.

“Prepared… it’s prepared!”

At this, the little eunuch knelt, kowtowed hard, and ran off.

Less than a quarter-hour later, the blood-soaked Yan Xinfeng was carried back.

He was still conscious. Seeing Wei Tingxia’s cold face, he reached out to touch it but saw his hand covered in blood. It froze midair for a moment before he silently withdrew it.

Wei Tingxia was quite annoyed by his appearance. He grabbed his hand and pinched it hard before gritting his teeth and saying, “I’ll question you once you wake up!”

As soon as he finished speaking, without giving Yan Xinfeng time to react, he pulled a dragon-eye-sized pill from his sleeve and pressed it to Yan Xinfeng’s lips, forcing him to swallow it.

The pill melted in his mouth. Yan Xinfeng only felt an intensely bitter medicinal taste instantly fill his mouth and tongue, followed closely by a faint scorching breath, like a spark thrown into dry kindling. It burned down his throat all the way to his internal organs.

He did not even have time to discern the emotion in Wei Tingxia’s eyes before the intense burning sensation seized his remaining consciousness. His vision went black, and he sank completely into boundless darkness.

……

When he regained consciousness again, a bitter medicinal scent lingered in his nose, and the light and shadows around him were blurry and swaying. His eyelids felt as heavy as if they were weighed down by a thousand jin of stone.

Yan Xinfeng struggled to pry open a sliver of a gap. The dim yellow candlelight stabbed at his eyes, creating a hazy glow. Vaguely, he saw a familiar figure sitting by the bed.

He breathed heavily with difficulty, trying to focus his scattered gaze. It took a good while before the scene before him gradually sharpened, as if washed clean by water.

The person sitting by the bed was Wei Tingxia.

It was also at this moment that Yan Xinfeng slowly recalled what had happened earlier.

At the longevity banquet, the dancer had acted strangely, so he paid close attention for a while and indeed spotted the clues.

When the assassin charged with her sword, Yan Xinfeng did not think twice. He kicked away the wooden table, stood up to block her, and as a result, the short sword flew off and stabbed squarely into his shoulder, with blood flowing like a torrent.

His last memory of the banquet was the Empress Dowager’s panicked gaze and Li Yun’s pale face. Yan Xinfeng knew the wound was too severe and that the imperial physicians might not be able to stop the bleeding, so he returned directly to his residence.

Wei Tingxia had saved his life once again.

At that time, the sky was half-dark and half-light, with faint morning light filtering through the window paper.

Yan Xinfeng could see clearly that Wei Tingxia sat on a low stool by his bed, with a bronze candlestick standing at his side.

The dim yellow lamplight flickered, illuminating half of his calm profile and the long sword in his hand, from which cold light flowed.

Wei Tingxia was using the dim yellow light to wipe the sword slowly and meticulously with a piece of plain white soft cloth.

The sword blade was mirror-bright, reflecting the flickering candle flames, as well as his lowered eyelashes and tightly pressed lips. That focused and icy demeanor clashed with the serene dawn, startling to the heart.

“……You saved my life again.”

Yan Xinfeng spoke, his voice hoarse as if it were a single gasp.

Wei Tingxia looked over at his words. There was no joy in his eyes at seeing him awake, as if he had expected it. It was very cold.

“The steward was frightened badly. He knelt trembling at the door, kowtowing once for every basin of blood. By the time the bleeding stopped, he had nearly kowtowed himself unconscious.”

He did not mention his own feelings and instead spoke of others.

The fingers Yan Xinfeng had placed on the bed twitched slightly. He said in a low voice, “He watched me grow up and treats me like an elder.”

“That’s true,” Wei Tingxia nodded, then continued, “The Emperor sent imperial physicians three times. Eunuch Gao said the Empress Dowager cried through several handkerchiefs in the palace. Prince Jin and Prince Chen also sent over medicinal ingredients.”

Some of these were sincere, others mere pretense. Yan Xinfeng coughed lightly, feeling the stabbing pain in his shoulder. After pondering for a moment, he said slowly:

“This assassination used someone from the Shuo Kingdom, but the true mastermind might not be traceable to the Northern Border. The target was too obvious.

“If we investigate, we must check who let her into the city and who arranged for her to be at the longevity banquet. Unfortunately……”

Unfortunately, those who did such things were usually prepared to die without regret. Once the strike failed, all other connections to her would be swiftly severed—the ones who should commit suicide did so, and the ones who should flee did so.

While everyone in the Imperial Palace had their eyes on Yan Xinfeng, any withdrawable ties had already been withdrawn. Nothing could be found.

“Do we even need to investigate something like this?”

Before he finished speaking, he heard Wei Tingxia suddenly retort, each word falling like ice beads.

Yan Xinfeng was slightly stunned and looked up. He saw the cold gleam of the long sword reflected in Wei Tingxia’s eyes, turning his pupils into shards of ice-wrapped blades, brimming with murderous intent.

“The generals on rotation for the capital’s defense recently were old subordinates from Prince Chen’s Five Armies Camp. Moreover, you rejected him at noon today……”

Wei Tingxia’s voice was terribly grim, each syllable ground out from between his teeth, carrying gnashing hatred. “Whether or not he was the mastermind, he can’t escape responsibility!”

He suddenly snatched up the bronze candlestick from the table and slammed it down with a clang on the low table beside Yan Xinfeng’s hand. The candle flames swayed violently, casting flickering shadows on his tense jawline.

“He dared to let someone into the longevity banquet, dared to let you nearly die in the palace……”

The words that followed were choked back by surging killing intent. An arc of extreme coldness suddenly tore across Wei Tingxia’s tightly pressed lips, making that usually handsome face look eerie and terrifying.

He picked up the long sword and headed straight for the door without another word. “I’ll go kill him first.”