My husband, please respect yourself. The princess is here to grab the bride.

Sunset.

dark.

The full moon has risen from the east.

All merchants and travelers at Changting Posthouse were cleared out.

Fortunately, it is August. Although autumn has arrived, the autumn atmosphere is still very early.

As a result, many caravans set up camp on the other side of the long pavilion.

Some caravans also traveled overnight. After all, this was in the territory of the King of Zhenxi, so there was no need to worry about encountering bandits at night.

At this moment, Bai Shaoqiu, Eunuch Wei and Zhao Poshan were not in the yard outside the post station.

They were in Eunuch Wei's room.

The doorman He Xiaofeng leaned against the door with his arms folded.

Bai Shaoqiu and the other two sat at a tea table. Bai Shaoqiu made a pot of tea and looked out the window.

"The assassin I'm talking about is outside at the foot of Mount Izumo."

Zhao Poshan was startled again. He stepped to the window. Outside... it was almost pitch black. Even the bushes had become dim, and there was no way to see the assassin's shadow.

Eunuch Wei also widened his eyes and looked at Bai Shaoqiu suspiciously: "How do you know there are assassins outside?"

Bai Shaoqiu chuckled, "What a coincidence! Just now, I went to my room and opened the window, and saw birds startled and taking flight from the bushes outside..."

He took a handful of tea leaves and put them in the pot, then said:

“A weary bird returns to its nest at dusk; it never flies away without a reason.”

"Therefore, I concluded that there must be an assassin hiding in the bushes."

When Bai Shaoqiu said this, the three of them were stunned!

Zhao Poshan walked over and said, "No, just because a few birds took flight, you concluded that there was an assassin hiding in the bushes? If there were any animals passing by, they would also scare the birds away!"

He Xiaofeng also stared at Bai Shaoqiu's back, wondering how he saw the birds flying away in fright?

Eunuch Wei was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. In his heart, he had already regarded this as a joke.

But the words that came out of his mouth were different: "Well...it's better to be safe than sorry. It's always good to be vigilant."

"General Zhao,"

Zhao Poshan bowed and said, "What are your instructions, eunuch?"

"Let's go and make some arrangements."

"If there really are assassins, Mr. Bai, when do you think they will attack?"

Bai Shaoqiu pondered for three breaths, and roughly calculated the time it would take for the assassins to arrive at this place.

Before dark, they moved slowly through the bushes. That was very slow.

But once it gets dark, they will come very quickly.

In Bai Shaoqiu's opinion, those assassins were not ordinary people, but most likely people from the underworld.

"I think it will take about half an hour."

Zhao Poshan looked at Bai Shaoqiu with surprise and suspicion in his eyes.

This is clearly a very unreliable thing, but it sounds so convincing when it comes out of Mr. Bai's mouth, and Eunuch Wei even believes it.

What could he do?

That will only make things harder for the brothers.

"I'll arrange it right away!"

Bai Shaoqiu raised his eyes and looked at Zhao Poshan:

"I was serious!"

Zhao Poshan: “…”

Bai Shaoqiu: "There really is an assassin!"

Zhao Poshan: "...Yes, there is an assassin!"

Bai Shaoqiu: "...You don't believe it?"

Zhao Poshan: "I believe it!"

"That's good. I estimate the assassin's martial arts skills are very high. To dare to come and assassinate me... he must have made thorough preparations. I have a suggestion."

Zhao Poshan: "...What suggestions?"

"Have the archers ambush in the rooms on the second floor. The moonlight is so bright, they will definitely be able to see us coming from across the stream."

"Let the swordsmen ambush in the room on the first floor. Once the assassins are shot by arrows, they will panic knowing they have been exposed."

"In this panic, they will not choose their own path. They will break in through the first-floor window!"

"Do you... understand what I mean?"

Zhao Poshan was stunned. If there really were assassins in the bushes, if they really flew over from the other side of the river, Bai Shaoqiu's arrangement would be perfect.

But, this is just hypothetical.

Looking at Zhao Poshan's hesitant expression, Bai Shaoqiu felt a little powerless.

It’s not a good thing after all if you don’t have your own team!

"As the Ninth Princess's confidant, I solemnly tell you that if I'm wrong, I will never see the Ninth Princess again when I go to Kyoto!"

"If I'm right, I'll definitely say a few good words about you to the Ninth Princess when I see her."

"how?"

Zhao Poshan was a little confused, but since Bai Shaoqiu had brought up the Ninth Princess...

"Okay, I'll do as you say!"

Zhao Poshan rushed out of the door.

Eunuch Wei then leaned forward, looked at Bai Shaoqiu with his old eyes, and asked seriously:

"Is there really an assassin?"

Bai Shaoqiu nodded without hesitation: "It's true!"

Eunuch Wei sat up straight, took a deep breath, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "These people... are really brave!"

Bai Shaoqiu poured tea and said with a smile:

"No ruthlessness, no courage. Whatever they do is not surprising to me."

Eunuch Wei paused for three breaths, "Are you afraid?"

"I'm afraid, but fear won't solve any problems. I still have to face them eventually."

Eunuch Wei suddenly smiled.

"You are very good, young man!"

"Are you afraid, sir?"

"What do I have to be afraid of at my age?"

"So we'll just drink tea and watch the show here?"

"Okay, since I have nothing else to do, I will tell you about the things happening in the harem."

"You," Eunuch Wei said to He Xiaofeng, "go outside."

He Xiaofeng curled his lips, opened the door, walked out and closed the door.

An old man and a young boy sat in front of the tea table, drinking tea and talking.

It was mostly Eunuch Wei who was talking, and Bai Shaoqiu was listening very attentively.

The night is dark.

There is no lamp.

The bright moonlight shines through the window lattice, the light is quite bright, and it has a different artistic conception.

However, the words that Eunuch Wei said were a bit heavy, and Bai Shaoqiu had no intention of appreciating the beautiful moonlight.

"...In short, within the harem, the Queen Mother still has the final say."

"So if you enter the palace and meet the Queen Mother, you must remember not to offend her. Otherwise... it will be difficult for anyone to save you!"

"As for Queen Ye and Concubine Qin, it's best if you don't meet them."

"Or maybe they don't want to see you either."

"But Imperial Concubine Yu must see you. After all, the Ninth Princess often mentions you in front of Imperial Concubine Yu."

"Empress Yufei has a good temper. Although she can't help you, she will never do anything bad to you."

"By the way, there is another lady in the harem who deserves your attention."

"She is Shen Zhaoyi."

"In the harem, this Shen Zhaoyi is the one closest to the emperor."

"She is also the mother of the Sixth Prince, from the Shen family of Hexi Road."

"Of course, as I told you before, the only one who can truly protect you in Kyoto is the Princess!"

After a pause, Eunuch Wei said earnestly:

"The Emperor has nine princes and three princesses, and the only one His Royal Highness the Eldest Princess loves is the Ninth Princess!"

"This is the real reason why Jian Beiyou is unwilling to inherit the title of Marquis Changsheng!"

"There's a saying in Kyoto: 'Whoever gets the Ninth Princess will enjoy wealth and glory for three generations!'"

"Now you should know how to make a choice!"

Eunuch Wei's words really surprised Bai Shaoqiu again.

He had some doubts.

Why does the Ninth Princess receive such great love from the Eldest Princess?

He was about to ask the eldest princess why she had such great abilities.

at this time,

outside the window,

Under the moonlight,

Someone is coming under the moonlight!

then,

Someone shouted: "There is an assassin..."

"shoot……!"

There were screams.

There was an assassin's cry of surprise.

There were also the roars of assassins.

Bai Shaoqiu stood up and stared out the window.

He Xiaofeng opened the door and walked in quickly.

The two of them ran to the window almost at the same time.

Then I saw the cold and bright flash of a knife under the moonlight.

"Kill them all... leave no one alive!"

One knife,

Through the rain of arrows,

It struck the window where they were.