Alright, now Ye Xi was certain that the target of the assassination was herself.
She really wanted to take back the silver she had just given to the woman. But at that moment, the woman had already changed her mind.
[Forget it. Since you're so insistent on giving it, I'll just take it and leave. If it weren't for that expert beside you, I wouldn't have listened to all your nonsense.]
Thinking like this, she took the silver from Ye Xi and said,
"Fine then. I'm leaving."
Ye Xi watched longingly as the woman took her silver and turned away.
She clutched her chest in pain and whispered,
"Lingyan, follow her. She's related to the mastermind behind the last assassination attempt on your prince."
Lingyan was startled. A flash of sharpness crossed her eyes. In an instant, she darted after the woman.
However, she returned shortly.
"Miss," Lingyan knelt silently beside the carriage, "my duty is to protect you. Since the culprit has shown a flaw, they will surely appear again. I couldn't leave you unprotected to chase the culprit. Please forgive me."
Ye Xi was taken aback by her sudden kneeling and quickly said,
"Get up quickly. If you don't want to chase, then don't. Let's go back to the prince's mansion first and tell your prince about this."
"Yes."
Lingyan responded, jumped onto the carriage, and quickly drove back.
When they arrived at the Prince Yu'an's mansion, Yi Yuan was handling official business in his study.
Ye Xi briefly told Yi Yuan what she had learned from the woman that night.
"The Suiyu Department..."
Yi Yuan frowned slightly and murmured the name softly.
"Yes," Ye Xi replied, "what kind of department is that? I've never heard of it before."
"Because it's not a legitimate department," Yi Yuan said in a deep voice, "but one of the departments under a killer organization called 'Zaishuang'. Zaishuang has four departments, namely Qingyang, Huaixu, Sushang, and Suiyu. 'Zaishuang' is extremely mysterious. No one knows who is behind it until now."
"Last time when you pretended to be Madam Manping and offended Zhao E, the killer she hired was from the Qingyang Department. And the Suiyu Department is the highest - level one among them."
Yi Yuan's cold voice was as calm as ever, but it somehow brought a chilling coldness in the hot summer air:
"It seems that the person who wants to kill you this time is determined to take your life."
"Uh..." Ye Xi was also quite helpless.
She only had one life, yet everyone seemed to be coveting it. She didn't know if her life was too precious or too worthless.
"Your Highness," Lingyan asked carefully, "shall we arrange for the Chongshuang Pavilion to take action?"
"Chongshuang Pavilion?" Ye Xi was extremely curious. "Is this another killer organization?"
"No," Lingyan quickly glanced at Yi Yuan and slightly lowered her head. "This was personally established by the prince to deal with 'Zaishuang' and gather information."
"The so - called 'Chongshuang' means being more powerful than 'Zaishuang', covering it and leaving it with nowhere to go."
Ye Xi secretly glanced at Yi Yuan: It feels like children playing games...
And as a prince, is it really appropriate to privately cultivate such forces?
Feeling Ye Xi's gaze, Yi Yuan coughed lightly and said,
"It's not as exaggerated as Lingyan said. In the court and the Jianghu, there are always some things that the court is not convenient to interfere in, and some Jianghu forces are needed to mediate. So the Chongshuang Pavilion was established, and it also serves the emperor."
Finally, he changed the subject and asked,
"But as for you, the person is willing to spend a fortune to hire the Suiyu Department to get rid of you. Do you have any idea who the mastermind might be?"
"Well..." Ye Xi pondered slightly. "The person specifically named the second legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites. Recently, the only ones who have had conflicts and grudges with me are the Cao family and the Ye family."
"But the Ye family still has use for me, so it couldn't be them. Then it can only be the Cao family..."
"Neither the Grand Tutor Cao nor his son would have such a thought. So the only one left is Zhao E. Currently, the matter between Cao Sheng and Ye Jueyao has been making a lot of noise. The best way should be to get me and Cao Sheng married as soon as possible to solidify the name of an affectionate couple and dispel the rumors. If they got rid of me, wouldn't it be like admitting their guilt?"
"Perhaps," Yi Yuan looked at Ye Xi quietly, "the Cao family knows that you will never marry Cao Sheng again, and they might just be desperate."
"I don't know..." Ye Xi shook her head gently.
"Anyway, I'm currently the child of an official and also serve as the tutor for the heir. If I suddenly have an accident and it's traced back to the Cao family, it will always be unfavorable to them. Currently, this love affair has far less impact on the Cao family than the crime of hiring a killer to kill the child of a court official. Zhao E shouldn't be that stupid."
"Heh~" Yi Yuan sneered. "Zhao E isn't stupid, but there are always stupid people."
"Since we have the upper hand now, if they really dare to make a move, we can just follow the clues."
"However, you don't have enough people around you."
Yi Yuan seemed to be in a dilemma.
"But there are very few women who practice martial arts in this world, and those with skills as good as Lingyan's are even rarer..."
"Fine," Yi Yuan said as if in compromise, "Mianxiao, you go. Summon Yan Xuan and Yan Gui and have them secretly follow Miss Ye. They are twins, always in good harmony, and their kung - fu is good enough."
"After the matter of the Ye family is settled, they will be Miss Ye's personal bodyguards and no longer need to return to the Chongshuang Pavilion."
"Yes." Mianxiao replied respectfully.
After they finished discussing, Ye Xi arranged the matter of "asking the fortune - teller" in the Ye family for the next day. She instructed Jiang Ning on the possible situations and how to deal with them, and told Sai Xing to take good care of things. Then she washed up and went to rest.
Early the next morning -
At the Cao family's mansion.
"Are you crazy? That Madam Manping is not a good person!" Zhao E stared at Qian Fangxue in shock with wide - open eyes. "If you ask her to prove the innocence of Sheng'er and your eldest daughter, it's no different from admitting their affair."
"Sister Cao, don't be so excited," Qian Fangxue slowly sipped her tea and said calmly,
"We really have no other choice. As long as we discuss it with her in advance, with Madam Manping's great reputation recently, as long as she says a word, who would dare to say anything more?"
Zhao E felt like she was having a heart attack.
So it was her fault for not discussing with Qian Fangxue in advance about the matter at the state - uncle's mansion last time.
But this also concerned her son's reputation, and she wouldn't let that Madam Manping come and seal this matter again.
"No way," Zhao E said firmly. "There must be other ways. If we really let that Madam Manping come, neither of our families will have a good time!"
"Madam Cao," Qian Fangxue was unhappy.
Such a romantic scandal would do great harm to a girl's reputation. It could ruin her whole life! It seemed that since their family had a son, they didn't care at all, right?
Moreover, she didn't come here today to discuss with this Madam Cao. She came with her husband to invite the Grand Tutor Cao to be a witness for the "asking the fortune - teller".
Shifting her position slightly, Qian Fangxue continued,
"This matter is a done deal. My husband has already gone to visit the Grand Tutor Cao and invited him to be present as a witness."