The Killer's Cleansing Manual

Lin Shanjuan wiped her face with her sleeve, which made it even dirtier. She was completely unaware and briefly explained what had just happened:

"She must have been drugged by some kind of incense or something. Now the soldiers are looking for her everywhere. We have to leave first, otherwise we might be caught as thieves."

Bai Shu looked around and said, "But, if something like this happens, the whole city will be under martial law to search for the assassin. We are already guilty, so where can we go?"

Lin Shanjuan was completely unfamiliar with the place, so he could only think of one idea in his haste and grabbed it: "Head towards Kyoto. Luckily, no one in the temple saw us. Let's go! Let's not talk about this for now. Let's leave the temple first!"

Bai Shu nodded vigorously, stood up immediately, and shouted loudly with all his strength: "Catch the assassin! The assassin is here!"

The two of them shouted and ran. Sure enough, a few seconds later a large group of soldiers came, along with the little maid. When they found out that it was the princess there, they hurriedly took the princess back to the carriage and temporarily settled her there.

Lin Shanjuan and Bai Shu left without worry, and quickly rode away from this troubled place...

After a night of noise, the fire was finally put out at dawn. The soldiers, their faces covered with ashes, knelt in front of the carriage to apologize.

Xihe had woken up an hour ago, and the effect of the incense was still there. She rubbed her forehead, looking at the few key words she had quickly copied on the paper when she woke up, thinking carefully, not missing any details.

Tired of forests and mountains.

I have never heard of this name before, and her tone doesn't sound like she is from the capital. The timing of her appearance is so clever, could it be that she is the second move of Grand Tutor Ji Shihan?

When she left the capital to pray for blessings, she anticipated from the beginning that things would be dangerous, so she deliberately brought Yue Liu, the commander of the cabinet guards, with her to prevent Ji Shihan from setting a trap and assassinating her along the way.

Last night, I just asked her to go to Jialiang City to gather information first, but I almost lost my life. If it weren't for those two people of unknown origin who rescued me, I would have been a charred corpse by now.

There was murderous intent in Taohua's eyes. Outside the carriage, Yue Liu rushed back exhausted and was waiting for orders beside him.

"Yue Liu." A cold female voice sounded, and Yue Liu climbed into the car: "Your subordinate is here."

"Get rid of the spies, then call General Xu over."

Yue Liuxin knew who the spy was. Since their departure, only the personal maid Hua'er had left the group under the pretext of a wet handkerchief, so she must have been the one who had delivered the message.

Yue Liu got the order and stood up, but suddenly he caught a glimpse of Xihe's torn coat and was shocked!

"Is Your Highness injured? Do you need a doctor to see him?"

Xihe looked down at his clothes, sneered and shook his head: "It's just the purse that's missing. I guess it was taken by the thieves last night. It's not a big deal."

Yue Liu left relieved after hearing this. A moment later, General Xu's rough voice echoed from the side of the carriage: "Your Highness, what are your instructions?"

Xihe looked at the words on the paper. She was conscious when she was recited last night, but she could not control her body's actions due to the effect of the incense. So the first thing she did when she woke up was to quickly write down the conversation she heard last night.

In an hour, she had already thought of clues and ways to find these two people.

"Send people to search the surrounding towns for a man or woman who has recently escaped and is around twenty years old. Find all the people who meet the requirements and report back to me."

Xu Zhenping wrote down the key points and turned around to assign twenty people, each in groups of two, to search the surroundings.

Xihe rubbed his eyebrows and continued to unravel the mystery in his still somewhat drowsy thoughts.

Ji Shihan was a man of great cunning. Since he had set up an ambush, he wouldn't just strike once. After failing this time, he must have a plan in mind. His original route back to Beijing was no longer viable!

In just a few breaths, she thought of this and continued to instruct: "Also, change the route back to Beijing along the Che River. Ride as fast as you can and make sure you arrive in Beijing within half a month."

Xu Zhenping always obeyed her orders, so he responded and left without saying anything more.

Yue Liu had already dealt with the painting and was walking back with a sullen look on her face when the abbot blocked her way.

"Leader of Yuege, six monk robes were stolen from the temple... six monk robes were stolen from the temple. I'm not sure if this is related to what happened last night. I just learned about this and came to inform you."

Yue Liu nodded slightly and turned to report the matter to Xihe.

Xihe had an idea when she heard this. She vaguely remembered that she had caught a glimpse of the man's outline before the explosion last night. Although the face was not clear, the dark blue monk's robe was very clear.

She took her own purse and wore her monk's robe. She must be short of money and could not run far. Now she is probably wearing the monk's robe, which makes her very conspicuous and easy to find!

"Yue Liu, follow the nearest route to the capital and make sure to find two people wearing monk's robes, one male and one female. Once you find them, keep a close watch and send a message at any time."

Yueliu obeyed the order, mounted his horse and galloped away.

-

Because the route was changed to Chehe, no accidents occurred along the way. After traveling day and night, they finally arrived in the capital safely within half a month.

Xihe's decisive decision made the killers who were lurking around the official road wait in vain. Having missed this opportunity, they would have to wait another year for the next one, so they had no choice but to return home in disappointment.

The late emperor once prayed for the family at Yuanshan Temple, and when he was alive, the family of four would go there to pray every year.

Now that his father has passed away, Yuanshan Temple has become the only place where Xihe can find spiritual home. Therefore, although he knows that the annual prayers are full of dangers, he has to go.

Four years have passed like this, regardless of wind or rain. She is lucky enough to have escaped several assassination attempts under the protection of her subordinates, and this year she has also been able to escape danger without incident.

But every year at this time there are always traitors ready to make a move. If this continues, it will be difficult to avoid getting your feet wet if you walk by the river too often. It seems that we have to think of a way next year.

While she was pondering this matter, Grand Tutor Li Zheng heard that she had returned and came to see her.

He was an old minister of his father's, and was one of those who had strongly opposed Xihe's regency. But as time went on, he saw Xihe's painstaking efforts.

In order to consolidate the emperor's power, she was willing to destroy her reputation again and again. This was enough to prove her sincerity.

Therefore, he continued to stay in the court to help her find out the news from the ministers in the court.

In this court, everyone has their own thoughts and it is difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery. He can only form his own camp and maintain apparent neutrality in order to better help Xi and his siblings.

"Your Highness, over the past month, ministers have successively reported that Your Highness has controlled government affairs for many years and that it is time to return the reins to Your Majesty and stop ruling from behind the curtain."

Xihe had already expected this.

He had been avoiding assassination attempts for the past month, but at the same time someone reported these things to the court. It must have been Ji Shihan's work.

What a good plan, taking a two-pronged approach, are you trying to defeat them one by one?

Unfortunately, he was disappointed. Even if she didn't ask, she could guess how Emperor Qi Yili would handle it.

Sure enough, not long after, Qi Yili came hurriedly to visit with a group of palace servants.

As soon as he entered the room, he dismissed everyone and said anxiously, "My Imperial Sister is finally back. Did you have a safe journey? I will go to pay my respects next year, and you will stay in the capital and wait."

He spoke a great deal, each one a personal one. Xihe's cold expression softened considerably as she helped him straighten his clothes.

"As the emperor, how dare you be so reckless? How disrespectful!"

Qi Yili pulled his sleeves guiltily: "I, I am in a hurry to come and see the imperial sister. If there is no problem for me to see the imperial sister, I will be relieved."

He looked around and realized that one person was missing. He couldn't help but feel curious: "Where is the painting?"

Xihe snorted coldly: "She is Ji Shihan's minion. She told the killer the worship route and asked Yueliu to clean it up."

"What!" Qi Yili was shocked. "He, he actually reached his hand here! Could it be that my sister was injured and didn't tell me?"

It's no wonder that he was worried. After all, Hua'er was a personal maid who had served Xihe for many years. It was heartbreaking to see that even she was being instigated to rebel.

Xihe interrupted his panic and got down to business: "I heard that the old ministers gave you advice, but you rejected it?"

Speaking of this, Qi Yili became even more annoyed. He helped Xihe sit down, and then he sat down angrily:

"Those old ministers are simply stuck in the past! It's obvious that my sister is more capable of governing the country, but they are blinded by traditional ideas. I don't take it to heart. My sister can help me make the decision, and I will definitely listen to her in everything."

Xihe shook his head. "In two years, you'll be an adult too. You'll have to take responsibility for certain things. Otherwise, Ji Shihan will use this as an excuse and will inevitably join forces with the other ministers to criticize you endlessly."

Her eyes looked into the void, her fingertips tickled the thin smoke of sandalwood, and she closed her eyes and murmured:

"It's time to find an ordinary person to block these open attacks."

Qi Yili was startled and stood up suddenly: "Royal sister...Is Royal sister going to..."

Xihe opened his eyes, looked at his distressed expression, sighed inwardly, and touched his face:

"Yili, we've come this far, what else is there to be reluctant about? It's just marrying again, this time to an ordinary citizen, and I won't be at fault, so what do you have to worry about?"

Qi Yili's eyes filled with tears: "Yes, my sister's reputation..."

He couldn't say it, but Xihe understood what he wanted to say and smiled helplessly.

"Yili, what father left behind is too heavy. This kingdom is even more important than our lives... If what I have done can preserve my father's hard work, I will die without regrets, let alone a mere reputation."

Her eyes were as scattered as her thoughts, but her fragile shoulders were more solid and reliable than anyone else in the world.

Qi Yili clenched his fists and swore thousands of times in his heart.

He wanted the best for his imperial sister, wanted her to marry the person she loved, and wanted his sister to live happily with him for the rest of his life.

He also hoped that he would be able to defend the country and clean up the court as soon as possible, so that his sister could travel freely and easily.

He wanted his sister to be the most carefree princess and the most noble woman in the entire Jingguo.

But even though he made these vows a thousand times, they were still so far away from being fulfilled...

Half a month after Xihe returned to Beijing, the soldiers who had gone out to investigate separately also came back with news to meet him.

Among the twenty people, only the information from one group was useful.

Xihe examined the soldiers from top to bottom. "Did a concubine's daughter and her servant kill someone and escape from Lianghe Town? Were they a man and a woman?"

"Yes. I've been investigating for several days, and I've found that Lianghe Town is the only place in the entire southwest where a murder-and-escape incident has occurred. The people of Lianghe Town have all heard of this incident, and many have even witnessed it."

After killing someone, why could he still escape in public? Does he really have no respect for the law?

Another soldier added, "It's said he killed someone in the mansion and broke the finger of the first wife. He was chased by the servants, but he fought them off at the town entrance. That's why many people know about it."

That was the end of the news. Xihe raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking about the face he had seen that night, which was still blurry.

There is no news about Yueliu either, and I don’t know if they have found those two people.

She raised her hand and waved, and the two soldiers retreated respectfully.

Silence returned to the house. Xihe remembered that the woman could jump out of the window with him, carry him away quickly on her back, and leave the temple without alerting anyone.

Her strategy and courage must be superior, which means she is not an ordinary concubine's daughter and may be hiding unknown secrets...