"Miss!" Lingyan let out a startled and angry shout. Just as she rushed to the two fallen figures, her legs suddenly went weak, and she knelt down on one knee.
A furtive, masked figure emerged from behind the side hall and tiptoed up to Lingyan.
Seeing that although her eyes were blood - red and her face was ferocious as she glared at him, her body was trembling uncontrollably. It was obvious that she was out of strength and just stubbornly holding on.
Lou Zhiwen was also cautious. Summoning up his courage, he timidly stepped forward and gave Lingyan a push. With a "thud", she was knocked to the ground.
It was clear that she was completely defenseless.
With a lecherous smile, Lou Zhiwen mumbled and headed towards Yun Xi.
"Bold thief! What do you think you're doing?" Lingyan panicked and tried to shout him down.
"If you dare to lay a finger on my miss, the Yu'an Prince's Mansion and the Yun family will surely hunt you down to the ends of the earth."
But because she was completely out of strength, her shout, which should have been like the ringing of a great bell, lacked any imposing manner.
Lou Zhiwen naturally wasn't afraid of her.
He just gave Lingyan a sinister look and then stood in front of Yun Xi.
A look of amazement flashed across his eyes.
Lou Zhiwen was so excited that his face turned red:
"So beautiful, truly beautiful... The rumors are indeed true. The Yu'an Prince really has good taste..."
"Hahaha... I never thought I'd get to have such a beauty."
He leaned close to Yun Xi's neck and took a deep breath. With a look of ecstasy on his face, he reached out to untie Yun Xi's clothes.
Lingyan's eyes were about to burst with rage. Summoning up her last bit of strength, she lunged forward and knocked Lou Zhiwen aside with a loud "ouch".
"Slut!" Caught off guard, Lou Zhiwen was knocked to the side. He cursed loudly and raised his hand to slap Lingyan.
"Second Young Master!" Liuyun rushed over in a hurry and said urgently:
"Don't bother with her for now.
"Let's get this done quickly. Miss is urging us. We're still in the palace. If we're discovered, it'll be all over for us."
Having his good deed interrupted, Lou Zhiwen was so angry that he was blind with rage. How could he listen to a maid like Liuyun?
He spat and retorted:
"What's the rush!? A beauty like this falls into my hands. If I let this chance go, where else can I find another one!
"Everyone's busy enjoying themselves at the banquet. Who's going to care about her? Humph - let this young master have some fun first."
"Oh, Second Young Master," Liuyun stamped her foot anxiously:
"On my way here, I heard that the eldest young master of the Yun family was asking about her whereabouts. If we don't hurry, if she doesn't drown or if someone sees through our ruse of making it look like an accidental fall into the water, all our efforts will be in vain.
"Once we succeed, when Miss marries into the Shen family and stabilizes her position, we can gradually take over the Yun family to support you and help you take the place of the eldest young master of the Yun family. Then you can have as many beautiful women as you want. Why be in such a hurry?"
"This..." Lou Zhiwen clearly hesitated.
After a brief thought, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Fine. Then help me. First, throw this beauty into the well, and then throw that shrew in too!"
"One falls into the water and the other tries to save her. It's more reasonable for both of them to drown."
"Alright." Liuyun replied as she started to move.
One lifting the shoulders and the other the feet, they worked together to heave Yun Xi up to the pitch - black wellhead. Shouting a rhythm, they threw her in. The next moment, they heard a "plop", and after a while, there was no more sound.
It was done!
The two looked at each other. There was no trace of fear or panic after killing someone, only barely - concealed joy.
Moving in tandem to Lingyan's side, they did the same thing. They threw Lingyan, who had fainted after knocking Lou Zhiwen, into the well.
After all this, both of them were out of breath and sweating.
"Huff, huff... This young master is exhausted..." Lou Zhiwen stood with his hands on his hips and cursed:
"She didn't look that heavy, but carrying her was really tiring."
"Alright... Young Master, there's only one left." Liuyun's elbows were also aching. She stretched them out and said:
"As Miss instructed before, we'll throw her into the lake and make it look like she was trying to save someone but accidentally slipped into the water. Then we'll be done."
"I know!" Lou Zhiwen waved his sleeve impatiently and pointed at Liuyun:
"Go and check if those two are dead. If they are, we can throw her in and call for help."
Sighing resignedly, Liuyun caught her breath. She carefully looked around. Seeing no one, she quickly stepped forward and leaned over the wellhead to listen quietly.
The well was pitch - black at night, looking like a wild beast lurking in the ground with its mouth wide open, waiting for prey.
Liuyun held her breath and listened for a long time. She didn't hear a single sound. It seemed that both of them had sunk to the bottom of the well and there was no chance of survival.
Returning to Lou Zhiwen's side, Liuyun confirmed:
"They're both dead, Young Master. We can proceed to the next step."
Nodding, they lifted Saixing and sneaked all the way to the nearest pond. They found a slightly hidden angle. After making sure no one would discover them for a short time, they slid Saixing into the lake along the shore.
After finishing the task, both of them heaved a sigh of relief.
In the distance, there were already faint voices asking about Yun Xi's whereabouts. Both of them felt a jolt of unease. They glanced at each other. Lou Zhiwen turned around and went to find the palace maid who had led Yun Xi before. The maid led him out of the palace.
Liuyun sized up the route. After waiting for a while and seeing that Saixing showed no sign of movement, she imitated Saixing's voice and let out a loud "Ah". After shouting, she took a shortcut to report the result to Yun Qianying. Soon she disappeared.
"There's a sound..."
"Quick, go and check!" The patrolling guards were immediately attracted by the sound and searched in that direction.
At this time, Liuyun had already made her way through twists and turns to the place she had agreed with Yun Qianying.
Yun Qianying was waiting impatiently. Hearing the commotion outside and seeing Liuyun return with a happy look on her face, she immediately knew that the scheme had probably succeeded.
Eager to know the details and also to clear herself of any suspicion with an alibi, Yun Qianying made up an excuse and took Liuyun to a secluded room. Just halfway there, she couldn't wait to ask for details.
Just as they were talking animatedly, they heard a rustling sound at the door.
"Who's there!?" Yun Qianying immediately shut up and asked warily.
"It's me, Sister." Lou Zhiwen replied in a hushed voice. He tiptoed in, followed by Zhang Rui.
"Awen?" Yun Qianying was extremely puzzled. She stepped forward and asked:
"Why are you back? I told you to get out of the palace quickly..."
As she was speaking, she saw Zhang Rui behind him. Her heart skipped a beat:
"Mother!? Why are you here too?"
The two peeked around and closed the door. Zhang Rui was the first to smile and say:
"I received your letter saying that there was something tricky and you needed my help, so I came right away. How about it? Is everything done?"
Lou Zhiwen also said:
"Yeah, I was already at the palace gate. A maid with your token came and said there was a problem with the plan and I had to come back. What's going on? Didn't you send someone to call me?"