Chapter 14: Come Here, Come Here
The attempted assassination of the Princess was a major event, and the news was immediately reported to the Emperor, who was just about to retire for the night.
The Emperor was shocked—and even more so by the assassin’s identity. He flew into a rage. "How outrageous!"
"How is the Princess?" Even then, he didn’t forget to ask after Xiao Li.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the Princess is unharmed, but the assassin was wounded and escaped."
The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief before turning his wrath on the Pingnan Marquis Mansion.
"Someone! Pass down my order! Surround the Pingnan Marquis Mansion and capture Gu Ling alive!"
It was destined to be a sleepless night for the Gu Family.
In truth, Marquis Ping Nan was innocent. He and his family had no idea what Gu Ling had done, and they were nearly frightened to death when the Imperial Army surrounded their home.
Only when the Imperial Army announced they were there to arrest Gu Ling—who was nowhere to be found—did they realize he was the one who had caused this disaster.
The entire family of Marquis Ping Nan was thrown into prison, and a city-wide manhunt for Gu Ling was launched.
----
Xiao Li made a rare trip to the palace on her own initiative. She stopped by the Empress Dowager’s residence—where she was, of course, given the cold shoulder—before turning around and heading for the Emperor’s study.
’Since my brother has helped me so much, it’s only right that I show my gratitude.’
When she arrived, the Emperor was still in a meeting with his ministers, so she couldn’t go in just yet.
Xiao Li’s gaze shifted, landing on Lou Yan, who stood by the entrance.
There was a line of eunuchs and guards, but he was the most conspicuous among them—and, of course, the most terrifying.
"Lou Yan."
Hearing his name, Lou Yan looked up. His cold, placid eyes reflected the charmingly smiling figure in purple.
Xiao Li smiled and beckoned. "Over here, over here!"
Lou Yan watched her, motionless for a long moment. Xiao Li simply watched him back, her smile unwavering.
Finally, Lou Yan stepped forward. "What are the Princess’s orders?"
Xiao Li leaned in, maintaining just enough distance to avoid touching him, and whispered mysteriously, "I heard from Prince Wei that you’re an expert at killing people. Do you take on private jobs?"
Lou Yan’s eyelashes twitched. His placid eyes slowly lowered to glance at her.
’To ask him about something like this... is this princess a genuine fool, or does she have an ulterior motive?’
"The Princess jests. This servant acts only on His Majesty’s orders."
It was a rejection.
Xiao Li understood and looked dejected. "Sigh... That Gu Ling wants to kill me, but I can’t seem to catch him. The infuriating thing is, he’s hiding in my fifth brother’s mansion right now. If I weren’t afraid of making a mistake and offending my brother, I’d go over there and conduct a thorough search myself."
Just as she finished speaking, the ministers emerged from the study. Xiao Li turned and left Lou Yan behind without another word.
Lou Yan stood rooted to the spot, watching her enter. He couldn’t help but dwell on her words.
’Gu Ling is hiding in the Chen Prince Mansion?’
’What is Princess Xuanyang planning?’
Xiao Li waited for two days. She heard nothing, but she wasn’t discouraged. Lou Yan hadn’t seemed easy to fool, so it was only natural that he didn’t take the bait.
Given the lingering ties between Gu Ling and Liu Xueyin, Xiao Li was eighty percent sure he would be hiding at Liu Xueyin’s residence. After all, in the original story, he had hidden there after being injured.
The problem was, she couldn’t just lead a group of men to capture him. Prince Chen wasn’t a pushover, and he hadn’t committed any crime. Why would he allow someone to search his home on a baseless accusation?
Besides, Gu Ling was slippery. Even if he was hiding there now, he’d be long gone by the time anyone organized an official search.
Xiao Li racked her brain, but aside from someone like Lou Yan, who specialized in covert work, she couldn’t think of anyone else who could handle Gu Ling.
When she’d run into him on the street, Xiao Li had merely been annoyed by Gu Ling’s attitude, so she had simply reported him to the Emperor for a warning.
But now that Gu Ling had tried to kill her, she wanted him dead.
The knife slash on her quilt and pillow was real. If she’d been the slightest bit unlucky, she would already be dead.
’Of course, I hadn’t planned on letting him live in the original story either. This just moves the timeline up.’
This Gu Ling was no saint. In the original story, the original Princess Xuanyang, pregnant and unable to end it, came to suspect the relationship between Lu Yanzhi and Liu Xueyin. She retaliated madly against Liu Xueyin, even hiring assassins to kill her.
She had been on the verge of success when Gu Ling saved Liu Xueyin. Upon learning that Princess Xuanyang had sent the assassins, Gu Ling was ready to kill her on the spot, but Liu Xueyin stopped him, pleading that the Princess was pregnant and that even if she was guilty, the child was innocent.
He charged into Princess Xuanyang’s residence that very night, flayed Lan Yue alive right in front of her, and told her, "You should be thankful you’re pregnant. Otherwise, this Princely Heir would be flaying you!"
It was the height of cruelty.
The original princess was so terrified by him that she went into premature labor and ultimately bled to death.
No matter how wicked the original Princess Xuanyang had become, she had been pushed to that point by others. But Gu Ling? He was just pure evil.
He would kill anyone for Liu Xueyin’s sake. He was nothing but a love-struck mad dog.
This assassination attempt hadn’t been part of the original plot. But since Xiao Li had publicly humiliated Liu Xueyin, it was perfectly in character for him to try and kill a princess for the sake of his beloved.
Having someone like that on the loose was enough to make one lose sleep, especially since she had already made a move against him.
’He must die!’
----
"Your Highness, Princess Xuanyang and Prince Wei are here to visit."
The cold, forbidding Chen Prince Mansion rarely had visitors, let alone two at once.
"Brother!" Dressed in a red gown and adorned with golden hairpins, Xiao Li was the picture of noble beauty as she glided forward, her presence adding a splash of vibrant color to the austere Chen Prince Mansion.
Xiao Jingyi followed closely, his tone just as familiar and informal. "Brother, what are you up to?"
Seeing his younger brother and sister, Xiao Jingyu’s perpetually frosty expression softened a fraction.
"What brings you two here?"
Xiao Jingyi grinned. "Imperial Sister came to see Imperial Sister-in-law, and I just tagged along. You’re not going to turn us away, are you, Brother?"
Xiao Jingyu’s gaze darkened slightly, but he still welcomed them inside.
"You two catch up. I have something to discuss with Imperial Sister-in-law, so I’ll head over now."
With that, Xiao Li grabbed a passing maid and had her lead the way to Liu Xueyin’s courtyard.
Funnily enough, despite being the Princess Consort, Liu Xueyin didn’t live with Prince Chen. Instead, she resided in the most remote courtyard of the mansion.
One might say their relationship was poor, yet Prince Chen would still visit her from time to time to sleep with her—and not just to sleep. But one couldn’t say it was good, either. Liu Xueyin’s treatment was no better than that of a common concubine. Prince Chen was completely indifferent to her well-being, to the point that even the servants dared to slight the Princess Consort.
’Then again, it’s thanks to Liu Xueyin’s lack of importance that she can hide someone in her rooms without being discovered, isn’t it?’
"Imperial Sister-in-law! Imperial Sister-in-law, are you in?"
Behaving with none of the propriety of a guest, Xiao Li arrogantly shoved the door open and strode inside.
"Who—who is it?"
A panicked voice cried out from within, followed by the sound of something being knocked over.
Xiao Li barged in with a malicious grin, calling out loudly as she went, "Imperial Sister-in-law, it’s me, the Princess! I came for a chat. Why didn’t you come out to greet me?"
"Princess, you can’t go in! You mustn’t..."
Liu Xueyin’s maid tried to block her path but was firmly held back by Hong Yue and the others. She could only watch helplessly as Xiao Li barged right past.
Finally, Liu Xueyin blocked Xiao Li’s path in front of a folding screen.
Liu Xueyin glared at her, her expression hostile. "What are you doing here?"