NOVPUBYun Jin had already stopped breathing. Faint footsteps sounded behind her, and she abruptly raised her head.
A young eunuch stood at the door with a cold expression. Four or five men dressed in black rushed out from behind a pillar.
Shen Roujia sprang to her feet. “How dare you commit murder in the palace!”
The young eunuch sneered. “You all, kill her.”
Shen Roujia couldn’t believe the audacity of these men. They dared to kill within the palace, even attempting to murder the Crown Princess.
Gritting her teeth, Shen Roujia grabbed a nearby chair and hurled it at the men in black.
She was small and agile, quickly dodging many of their attacks.
However, there were too many of them, and the space was cramped. Fighting in such a confined area was not a sustainable plan.
As Shen Roujia’s energy waned, she knew she would be doomed.
She discreetly removed a hairpin from her hair and clutched it tightly in her palm.
Just as she prepared to charge at the young eunuch, she was careless and a sword slashed her arm.
The pain cleared her mind.
The young eunuch never expected Shen Roujia to weave through the men in black and come straight at him.
Using all her strength, Shen Roujia spun around, feinted, and pressed the hairpin firmly against the young eunuch’s body.
Due to blood loss, Shen Roujia’s face paled, and she didn’t look well.
“Who sent you?”
The young eunuch, unafraid of death, replied, “Even if you kill me now, you will still die.”
Shen Roujia pressed the hairpin harder, and the young eunuch’s neck began to bleed.
He shouted, “Kill her! Forget about me!”
Shen Roujia, gritting her teeth, pushed the young eunuch away and ran towards the courtyard.
But the assassins didn’t give her any chance to escape, surrounding her once more.
Just as she thought she was about to die there, an arrow whizzed past her temple, hitting one of the men in black who fell to the ground with a thud.
Shen Roujia turned her head sharply and heard Xu Zening’s calm voice, “Turn around and run!”
Without thinking, Shen Roujia realized that death might not be such a pleasant thing after all.
The men in black fell one by one, and the young eunuch stood there dumbfounded, not yet comprehending what was happening.
Shen Roujia saw Xu Zening notch another arrow.
She shouted, “Leave one alive!”
But the young eunuch didn’t give him a chance to shoot. He bit down on a poison capsule and committed suicide.
Xu Zening frowned, threw his bow on the ground, and wheeled his chair over to Shen Roujia’s side.
“Do you ever think before you act?”
Shen Roujia looked at Xu Zening, feeling a sense of survival.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her gaze softened, a look Xu Zening had never seen before.
Suddenly feeling guilty, Xu Zening wondered if he had been too harsh with his words.
Shen Roujia bit her lip and stomped her foot. “They’re all dead. How are we supposed to investigate now?”
Xu Zening glanced around. “Since they dared to commit murder in the palace, they never intended to escape unscathed.”
Shen Roujia lowered her head in self-blame. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t investigated those old cases, Aunt Yun Jin wouldn’t have suffered this unnecessary disaster.”
Xu Zening looked at Shen Roujia. He raised his hand, hesitated, then lowered it quietly.
“Cough, cough, we should go back.”
Shen Roujia stared at Xu Zening. He seemed different from how she remembered.
