Feeling embarrassed from the incident earlier, Qin Zheng didn’t dare to speak to the prince until bedtime.

There were plenty of quilts in the large wooden chest in the room. Qin Zheng made herself a bed on the floor and, after turning off the lamp, lay with her back to the prince.

In the darkness of the night, every sound seemed amplified, including the prince’s cold voice: “Why aren’t you sleeping on the bed?”

Still feeling withdrawn, Qin Zheng replied in a muffled voice, “I don’t sleep soundly. I’m afraid I might accidentally touch your wound, my lord.”

After a moment of silence in the dark, the prince’s voice sounded again: “You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Adjusting her position to make the blanket tighter around herself, Qin Zheng said, “My lord, focus on recovering from your injury. Don’t argue with me.”

With that said, silence fell over the room once again.

Qin Zheng had hardly slept a wink the night before, and now, as soon as her head touched the pillow, she drifted off into a deep slumber.

In a half-dream state, she suddenly felt as if she couldn’t breathe, as if a huge stone was pressing down on her.

Gasping for breath, she tried to push away, but her wrists were grabbed and pressed against the top of her head.

This startled Qin Zheng awake.

She realized someone was covering her mouth and nose.

In the dead of night, all she could see was darkness, but the person restraining her wrists and covering her mouth and nose emitted a bitter medicinal scent and a faint smell of pine – undoubtedly the prince.

For some reason, he was burning up with fever again.

Qin Zheng’s first thought, even in this situation, was about the prince’s fever.

She tried to struggle, but the prince tightened his grip on her wrists, increasing the pressure on her mouth and nose.

Even though she was a skilled swimmer and could hold her breath, being suddenly suffocated like this was unbearable.

Qin Zheng had adapted to the darkness in the room and could barely make out the prince’s silhouette.

She glared at him with her wide eyes, her anger evident.

A strand of cool hair brushed against Qin Zheng’s cheek as the prince leaned in closer.

He seemed to be sweating, and the scent of pine, masked by the medicinal smell, became more distinct.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered almost directly into her ear. “There’s someone outside releasing smoke bombs.”

The proximity was too close.

His breath sprayed onto her ear and cheek, making Qin Zheng’s ear and scalp tingle.

Her face was burning hot, but luckily it was nighttime, so nothing could be seen.

She nodded awkwardly, not needing the prince to cover her mouth and nose anymore; she held her breath on her own.

Seeing this, the prince loosened his grip on her hands.

Not sure if it was just Qin Zheng’s imagination, but for a moment, she felt the prince’s gaze on her was deep and inexplicable.

She averted her eyes from him and looked outside the door.

Sure enough, by the moonlight, she saw a thin bamboo pipe extending through the crack in the door, wisps of smoke emanating from its tip.

“Is it ready? This smoke potion is strong enough to knock out an ox!” someone outside urged in a low voice.

“What’s the rush? Slow and steady wins the race! I’ve poisoned the words of Dongzi during the banquet. The man in this room is still formidable, and most of the pirate have died at his hands,” the man outside whispered harshly.

After a moment, they pried open the wooden stopper on the door with a knife.

The wooden door creaked open, and a man with a knife entered. As he stepped in, his figure seemed to sway for a moment, but because it was dark inside the room, the two men following behind didn’t notice anything wrong.

It wasn’t until the smell of blood spread that they felt a cold blade against their necks, followed by the muffled sound of something heavy falling to the ground. It was only then that the two men who had entered later realized they had been tricked.

“P-please spare us, brave sir…” one of the men stuttered, his legs trembling.

Qin Zheng took the knife from the first man who entered the room.

The prince had slit his throat as soon as he entered, then supported him temporarily to prevent him from falling.

Qin Zheng then took the knife from the man’s hand, preventing it from making noise as it hit the ground after his death.

At this moment, she held the knife against one of the big men’s necks.

In the darkness, the prince’s voice was icy and menacing, “Who sent you?”

“It… it was Wu Xiao, the second master’s son. Spare us, brave sir…” the man started to say.

Before he could finish his sentence, he was stabbed in the thigh, and he cried out in pain, veins bulging on his neck.

The prince’s voice was cold, “Tell the truth.”

The big man sobbed, “Everything I said is true. Wu Xiao really sent us!”

The prince sneered, “I have no grievances with him. Why would he harm me?”

The big man hurriedly confessed, “The two factions, East and West, have been at odds for a long time.

When the people from the East returned from robbing the pirates that day, they all said that you, brave sir, are exceptionally skilled, and the leader of the East wanted to recruit you.

Wu… Wu Xiao heard tonight at the banquet that although you were critically injured, you woke up so quickly.

He feared that if you joined the East, they would become even more powerful. So, he ordered us to take advantage of tonight when the people from the East were heavily intoxicated and come to harm you…”

“Is that all?” The prince pressed down with his sword, and blood instantly gushed from the big man’s neck.

The big man shook like a sieve, “The second master’s only daughter admires the head of the East family, but Wu Xiao wants to marry the second master’s daughter to completely control the West Camp.

He said… he said that if you, brave sir, die, the lady of the house will be left as a widow with no support in the camp.

The head of the family and his sister cannot ignore her. If he spreads some rumors to make the second master’s daughter give up on the head of the East family, he can marry her.

The lady of the house is beautiful, and in the future… in the future, when he controls the entire West Camp, he can also use her to win over the influential people in Qingzhou…”

The curve of the prince’s lips chilled to the bone.

With a horizontal swing of his sword, the big man’s entire neck was almost severed, leaving only a layer of skin holding his dangling head.

The blood sprayed on his companion’s face, and Qin Zheng was also splattered with it.

The remaining man was so scared that he wet himself, kneeling and begging for mercy, “Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me…”

The prince raised his foot and ruthlessly stomped on his head.

The man’s nose bled, his nose bone seemed broken, his forehead cracked, and his eyes rolled back as he passed out.

Qin Zheng was also shocked by the prince’s current aggressiveness.

The moonlight shone through the open door, but the prince’s face remained hidden in the darkness, making it impossible to see clearly.

Feeling as if she was being stared at by a ferocious beast, Qin Zheng couldn’t help but stutter, “My lord?”

The prince turned around, staring at Qin Zheng in the darkness, “Are you hurt?”

Qin Zheng felt like she was being hunted by something terrifying.

Even though she couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black darkness, she subconsciously lowered her gaze, “I’m not hurt. Are you okay, my lord?”

“I’m fine.” The prince shook the blood off his sword.

When the sword returned to its sheath, it made a clear, melodious sound.

The prince lit a lamp, and the dim candlelight illuminated two dead bodies on the ground, one barely alive person, and the glaring bloodstains.

Perhaps because she had experienced the palace coup and the massacre of pirates on the merchant ship, seeing dead bodies now made Qin Zheng uncomfortable, but not to the point of feeling nauseous.