Chapter 73: The Suspected Target of the Token

Yan Ziqi waited for the shadow to come closer, then grabbed a dagger and swung it. However, just as he was about to make contact with the person’s neck, he suddenly stopped.

“You’re crazy!”

He leaned back sharply, but the movement jarred his injured arm against the bed.

The other person, still confused and clad in nightclothes with a thick cloak draped over, stared at him in bewilderment.

“What’s wrong?” Li Ning’an climbed in, dragging her injured leg, and reached the bedside.

Before she could say anything to Yan Ziqi, he shouted at her.

Seeing Li Ning’an creeping in the middle of the night made Yan Ziqi feel unwell.

“Did you not know there’s a door to knock?”

He returned the dagger to its place, realizing he was also in his nightclothes, and that the bandaged wound on his arm had bled again from the impact.

Fortunately, he sensed there was no murderous intent and recognized Li Ning’an’s face in time, allowing him to retreat.

Otherwise, he would have been accused of attempting to murder Princess Ning’an.

Li Ning’an finally adjusted to the darkness and heard Yan Ziqi’s voice, “Your leg is still injured, why are you doing this?”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Li Ning’an scratched her head, and the cloak slipped off her shoulders.

It had already been a struggle for her to climb in, and now the cloak brushed against the window, loosening its ties significantly.

As she made her way here, she had felt somewhat cold, and with the cloak on the floor, her thin nightgown did little to warm her.

She had initially thought Yan Ziqi’s attitude was ambiguous, not realizing he truly intended to make her a nominal concubine.

In that case, Li Ning’an would need to employ some tactics.

The best way to do that was to create a situation where things had already progressed between them.

After all, what did the cold frost matter compared to her father, uncle, mother, and the entire Daqi?

Li Ning’an consoled herself for a while, planning to seduce Yan Ziqi with her charm.

Naturally, the dark, windy, and cold winter night was the perfect time to slip into bed and warm him up, which would surely make Yan Ziqi’s heart race.

Yan Ziqi could not discern what Li Ning’an was thinking, but he could see she was shivering from the cold.

Even indoors, she had not yet warmed up.

Just as Yan Ziqi was about to offer her the bed, she slipped under the covers herself.

“You… really are quite presumptuous.”

He tried to move away, but Li Ning’an blocked him, forcing him to take a step back and cover her with the blanket.

With her back turned to him, Li Ning’an couldn’t hide the glint of mischief in her eyes.

She had learned this from the little concubine.

Having had plenty of idle time these past few days, Li Ning’an had asked Hong Xiu to gather information on what the little concubine had done to win over the Emperor.

The little concubine had enjoyed his favor for almost a year now.

Recently, Consort Tong seemed intent on dealing with her.

Several times, when the Emperor attempted to visit Consort Tong, the little concubine had whisked him away.

Li Ning’an chuckled softly to herself, recalling what she had learned.

Putting her plans into action today had indeed produced results.

“Yan Lang, I’m so cold.” Li Ning’an turned around, eyes closed, and nestled against Yan Ziqi’s chest.

Startled, Yan Ziqi pressed against the wall, unable to retreat any further.

With her warm body pressing against him, Yan Ziqi, a young man in the prime of his youth, found himself at a loss.

He helplessly said, “My arm is bleeding again.”

Li Ning’an gasped, her eyes narrowing to slits as she gazed at his broad chest.

She couldn’t help but reach out to touch him, but a strong arm blocked her.

“How did you get hurt?” Li Ning’an opened her eyes and shot up in surprise.

“I need to bandage it again.” She asked Yan Ziqi where the supplies were.

Yan Ziqi told her to light the lamp first.

Hearing the commotion, Qing Yan, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, called out, “Young Master, do you need help?”

Yan Ziqi quickly covered Li Ning’an’s mouth, and she blinked in confusion.

How could he possibly know she wanted to answer?

Yan Ziqi replied, “No need; you rest.”

“Oh, if you need anything, just call for me.”

Qing Yan did not hear any more from Yan Ziqi, but seeing the light still on in the room felt a bit odd.

Mo Fei… is the Young Master being threatened by some high-ranking individual?

Qing Yan thought for a moment, then cautiously crouched by the window. Just as he was about to climb in to save his master, he heard Princess Ning’an’s voice.

“It’s all my fault; I made you bleed.”

Qing Yan gasped in surprise, covering his mouth quickly to avoid making a sound, then quietly retreated.

He had almost ruined his master’s good fortune.

Li Ning’an was completely unaware that someone was eavesdropping outside. After rebandaging Yan Ziqi’s wound, she shamelessly stayed, using her fear of the dark as an excuse.

The next morning, Qing Yan came to wake up the Young Master, and Li Ning’an just happened to open the door from the inside.

Qing Yan was momentarily stunned, then said, “The Princess and the Young Master really are a good match.”

Li Ning’an nodded in satisfaction. “I stayed here last night, and you…” Before she could finish her sentence, Yan Ziqi pulled her behind him and closed the door.

“Go call Hong Xiu and remember to have her bring the Princess’s clothes.”

Qing Yan elongated his tone, “Oh~!”

It seemed that good news was approaching for the Xiangguo Duke’s residence.

Yan Ziqi turned to look at Li Ning’an. “Your clothes are disheveled; what kind of decorum is that?”

“Aren’t you in disarray as well?” Li Ning’an shot back, noticing he was also in nightclothes.

“Qing Yan is still a man; you shouldn’t dress like that.” Yan Ziqi turned his head away, refusing to look at her.

Li Ning’an tilted her head, suddenly realizing, “Yan Ziqi, are you… jealous?”

She hadn’t thought much of it, since she still had a cloak wrapped around her that covered her.

Yan Ziqi changed the subject. “Do you want to go check on Lord Qiu?”

“Sure, Lord Qiu is exceptionally astute in solving cases. There’s something else I wanted to discuss before you returned.”

Li Ning’an shared with Yan Ziqi the incident involving the scholar who had thrown carrots.

The two of them dressed, washed up, and had breakfast before heading to the Dali Temple.

Meanwhile, in the Honglu Hall, the Crimson Gold Prince was kneeling in front of General Tong.

It turned out that this masked man was the real Crimson Gold Prince.

He cautiously appeared under the guise of General Tong, knowing that if Daqi turned against him, he would have an opportunity to escape.

As for the real General Tong, he had been handed over to the hidden players left in Daqi by the Crimson Gold Prince.

Removing the mask from his face, he said, “I didn’t arrange for an assassination; I’m afraid someone might take advantage of this situation.”

Duo Zhi let out a sigh of relief, glad he had saved Young Master Yan at that moment.

Sitting beside the Crimson Gold Prince, Mu Zhan asked, “So what should we do?”

“Even if the Duke of Xiang has passed away, what he taught Yan Ziqi hasn’t diminished at all.”

The Crimson Gold Prince had tested various situations. Although there were dissenters within Daqi, they had always been united externally.

If Beiyue really fought with Daqi, they would suffer.

He had taken a gamble by capturing General Tong, but he might not be able to overpower Yan Ziqi.

Just the fact that Yan Ziqi had played the fool for years without anyone noticing was impressive.

“Let’s wait for the results from the Three Departments’ trial. We’ll address Beiyue’s grievances, gain some benefits, and then return.”

This case involved diplomatic relations between the two countries, so Emperor Mingde had ordered the Three Departments to review it.

Lord Guo listened to Lord Qiu, while the Censorate only cared about whether there was favoritism and injustice.

In the end, it would still be Lord Qiu doing the heavy lifting.

When Li Ning’an and Yan Ziqi arrived at the Dali Temple, everyone was bustling around, leaving no one available to receive them.

After a long wait, someone finally came out—it was Qiu Li.

Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying, and behind her, a maid was holding a food box, likely for delivering breakfast.

Suppressing her tears, Qiu Li stepped outside. One of Lord Qiu’s attendants rushed out and spotted Princess Ning’an and Young Master Yan.

The attendant had no choice but to give up the chase, approaching the princess and the young master to pay their respects. “May I ask why the two of you have come?”

“I’m the victim and would like to inquire about the progress of the case.”

The attendant looked at Princess Ning’an, who replied, “I am the victim’s concubine, as well as another victim in a different case.”

The attendant could only lead them to the Lord. “Lord, Princess Ning’an and Young Master Yan have arrived.”

“Just in time; please have a seat.”

Lord Qiu clasped his hands in salute, his attention focused on examining a token from the Beiyue military.

He had someone in mind whom he suspected.