"Of course it's okay."
Just like that, the official led the shadow guards to his colleague's mansion. As expected, it was also in a complete mess. The yard was filled with corpses lying haphazardly everywhere.
He stepped forward on his own initiative and looked at his still - trembling colleague inside.
"The situation here is the same as in my place. We both misjudged him. He really wouldn't let us get the things easily."
When the colleague saw him, he seemed to see a savior. His hands trembled as he pointed at the dark figures.
"I don't know when these people appeared in my mansion. As soon as they came, they started searching everywhere for me. If it weren't for a group of chivalrous men who came to protect me, you might be seeing a corpse this time."
The official sighed and tried to soothe his colleague's emotions.
"I came here precisely because of this matter. At first, I was just guessing. Now, seeing that the situation here is the same as in my place, I know it's true."
His words suddenly made his colleague a bit confused. What did he mean exactly?
"Did the same thing happen in your place? I thought only my place was attacked."
"That's right. And if you lift the veils of these people, you'll discover an astonishing secret."
His words left his colleague even more puzzled. "Then tell me what happened in your place first."
"They're dressed the same as the people here. Why don't you try to lift the veil of one of these dark figures at random? Then you'll know what I mean."
Hearing his reminder, his colleague, almost involuntarily, tore off the veil of one of the dark figures. When he saw the figure's appearance, his eyes widened in shock.
"How could this be? I remember this person used to be a guard beside the prince!"
"That's right. Now you should know what's going on. The prince didn't want to give us the antiques, so he wanted these guards to quietly kill us. After we're dead, no one will know about those things."
After the two of them learned the truth, they couldn't calm down for a long time.
The shadow guard on the side finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Why don't you two wait until daytime to talk about this? We don't know if these people will come back."
That made sense. The two of them sat in the room and talked all night. But when they parted ways, they seemed to have made a very important decision.
On the other side, Prince Lian was pacing in his study. He had waited all night and didn't know how the matter was going.
When he saw the butler stumble in, he thought the matter was done and a smile appeared on his face.
"I knew those people were reliable. So, are both of them taken care of?"
The butler shook his head. It took him a while to catch his breath before he could finish his sentence.
"Your Highness, all the people we sent returned without success. A guard who managed to escape said that some very powerful shadow guards suddenly appeared beside those two officials."
Hearing this news, Prince Lian almost split the table beside him. He gritted his teeth and said, "How could there be shadow guards? Those two stingy guys don't even have a servant with them on a normal day. Are you sure your information is correct? How could so many guards fail to kill just two people?"
The butler showed his helplessness. "I've sent people to check. The news should come back soon. Your Highness, please calm down."
Prince Lian had no choice but to wait for the news in his mansion as the butler said. In case anything went wrong, he could respond in time.
Just as he thought of this, a guard knocked on the door.
"Your Highness, I've got some news."
"Quick, quick, quick. What news? Tell me."
"Last night, there were indeed shadow guards in the mansions of those two adults, and they protected them. All the guards were wiped out. The only one who came back to report just died."
Hearing the words "wiped out", Prince Lian couldn't hold back any longer. He kicked out. The guard who came to report didn't even have time to react and was kicked to the ground. At the same time, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
But the butler beside him seemed not to notice. "Get out of here quickly. You're an eyesore."
The guard felt aggrieved in his heart but didn't dare to show it. In the prince's mansion, this wasn't the first time. If they had anywhere else to go, they wouldn't have to suffer like this.
After the guard left, Prince Lian slowly calmed down.
"Even if all those guards failed, I can't admit this. Those guards had already been seen by those two officials before. You go and arrange some other people to come beside me immediately to fill their vacancies."
The butler understood what his prince meant and rushed out to recruit new people in a hurry.
But just as he reached the door, he heard news from the palace.
"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager summons you to the palace."
Prince Lian widened his eyes and looked at the time. Did those two people can't wait to tell the Empress Dowager the truth behind this?
With uneasiness in his heart, he finally followed the palace servant into the palace.
At this moment, inside the Shoukang Palace.
Shi Muyuan had a gloomy face as she looked at the two people below. She wished she could throw them out.
She was a person with a bad temper when woken up. In modern times, she couldn't sleep in. Even in ancient times, with a high position, she still couldn't sleep in. These two people really deserved to die for disturbing her dream.
"You two had better have something important to say. Otherwise, don't blame me for being merciless."
The two of them glanced at each other and looked a bit hesitant. After all, they had refused the Empress Dowager yesterday, and now they changed their minds. It was really a bit embarrassing.
But for their own lives, they still braved themselves to speak.
"Empress Dowager, after much thought, we've decided to help the Emperor and the Empress Dowager share their worries. Moreover, we're willing to tell the Empress Dowager who ordered us to force the Emperor at the door of the imperial study."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan immediately became interested. Gossip was much more interesting than sleeping.
"You should speak with evidence. If you're willing to talk, you must have evidence, right?"
Her calm attitude immediately made the two officials panic.
"Empress Dowager, we have evidence. Those evidences are enough to deal a blow to the prince."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan caught the key point.
"You mean Prince Lian masterminded all this?"
Anyway, Prince Lian had already planned to kill them. Even if they continued to hide, it wouldn't do them any good.
"That's right. It was indeed Prince Lian who wanted us to put pressure on the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Moreover, the rumors that have been spreading in Changjing City recently were also planned by him and the envoy from the very beginning. We still have the letters of their correspondence."
This news was undoubtedly good news for Shi Muyuan.