Holding the script, I want to give up.

Inside the hunting grounds, Liu Yunwan and her group, unaware of the lurking dangers, still arrived at the central area.

[Host, it seems we've been here before.]

"? Isn't this the first time?"

[I don't know, maybe my level isn't high enough to find it.]

"Ah Long, are we in danger?"

【unknown.】

"Qikang, you should go back to your father's place quickly."

Liu Yunwan always felt that things were not simple.

"No, I want to stay with my sister."

Liu Qikang found his sister's behavior inexplicable.

"Listen to me, Jinming, escort the Crown Prince back."

"Yes."

The shadow guards, hidden in the shadows, jumped to the ground and led Liu Qikang and his group away.

"Boss, it seems we've been discovered. What do we do?"

"Now we'll charge out, targeting only the women."

A group of assassins lying in ambush in the center of the hunting grounds saw them trying to leave and launched a surprise attack.

Liu Qikang and his group were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.

"Sister, I'm here to save you."

By the time Liu Qikang realized what was happening, a group of assassins had already surrounded Liu Yunwan. He rode back, trying to break through the encirclement and bring his sister back. But the enemy assassins outnumbered him completely.

"Jinming, don't you listen to me? Take the Crown Prince out. If anything happens to him, you will be held responsible."

Liu Yunwan here is already in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

"Yes."

Jinming knocked Liu Qikang unconscious and took him away. Since the assassination target was Liu Yunwan, the group of assassins didn't care when they escaped. They were focused on crippling Liu Yunwan to complete their mission.

"Ah Long, who did this?"

[Mu Rongyi Ke.]

Liu Yunwan was ultimately outnumbered and young, and was defeated. Her peach-colored outfit was torn to shreds and covered in blood. She knelt on the ground, the whip in her hand broken in two.

As the assassins watched this scene, one of them gestured to his leader.

"Boss, the employer said we can't kill him."

"How could I not know? I'll stab her before I leave."

The assassin leader kicked the assassin who had just spoken and walked towards Liu Yunwan.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a beauty in the making."

The assassin leader squatted down in front of Liu Yunwan, plunged his sword into her abdomen, and then pulled it out.

"What a pity, I don't know how to be gentle with women."

"withdraw."

The assassin leader led his group of assassins back to collect the reward from Mu Rongyi's shadow guards.

Liu Yunwan lay on the ground in a pool of blood, barely alive. Through her blurry gray eyes, she seemed to see her younger brother running towards her before she fainted.

Pain shielding has been activated for the host.

"Sister! I'll take you to see the imperial physician right away."

Liu Qikang carefully carried Liu Yunwan on his back, afraid of hurting his sister, and walked towards the outer perimeter. His bright yellow outfit was instantly stained red.

"Your Highness, the Princess's injuries are too severe. You are moving too slowly. Let me do it."

Shadow Guard Jinming took Liu Yunwan and then used his inner strength to fly towards the tents where the imperial physicians were staying.

"As expected, Sister Zitong was right. She has always been the one protecting me. I need to become stronger quickly so that I can protect her too."

Liu Qikang looked in the direction where Jinming had disappeared, then looked at his own hands and thought: So much blood, my sister must be in a lot of pain.

Liu Qikang mounted his horse and led the group that had come to his rescue toward the imperial physicians' tent.

......

Inside the tent, the imperial physicians were extremely busy, while outside, Liu Qikang watched as basin after basin of bloody fluid was sent out, sinking into deep self-reproach.

"Your Highness, what's going on?"

The Western Emperor found the basins of blood particularly jarring and thought: It seems someone is about to lose their composure.

"Father, we encountered assassins in the center of the hunting grounds. My sister was injured while protecting me."

"Do you have any clue who sent the assassin?"

"No, I will investigate and find out."

"No, you wait here. I will investigate personally."

......

Inside the palace, Shangguan Zitong stared into deep thought as she watched the live surveillance footage.

"Mu Rongyi still made a move on my sister. What should I do, system?"

[To influence him.]

"How can you possibly reform someone like this? Why don't you try reforming them yourself?"

Shangguan Zitong paced back and forth in her bedchamber.

"Princess, has something happened?"

The maid Yue Ai, seeing the princess pacing back and forth, assumed that the princess had something on her mind.

"No, Yue Ai, bring me my cloak. I have something to do and need to go out for a while."

Shangguan Zitong took the cloak handed to her by Yue Ai, put it on, and then ran down to the servants' courtyard. But when she reached the courtyard gate, she hesitated.

"What brings you here, Your Highness? Would you please come in and have a seat?"

Mu Rongyi Ke looked at Shangguan Zitong, whose eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot as if he was making a big decision, and thought he was very stupid.

"Why are you always so elusive?"

Looking at the person who suddenly appeared before her, Shangguan Zitong felt that she was about to die.

"Your Highness, you must have done something wrong to be so afraid."

"No way! I'll be frank with you: why did you try to assassinate the Princess?"

Shangguan Zitong carefully examined Mu Rongyi's facial expressions, trying to find a flaw.

"How did the princess know that the eldest princess had been assassinated? Is there some unspeakable secret? Why do you suspect me? I am just a lowly hostage."

Damn, he lies without batting an eye and without even blushing. How can he be so meticulous? His power has grown to such a terrifying extent that the Western Emperor probably won't be able to find the source of the assassination attempt, only a scapegoat. Sigh, being kept in the dark is no pleasant experience at all.

"I naturally received a message from His Highness the Crown Prince outside the palace via carrier pigeon, so is it you?"

Shangguan Zitong walked towards Mu Rongyi Ke step by step, spouting a string of lies. Mu Rongyi Ke frowned in displeasure.

"Ha, it's me again. She treated me like this, shouldn't I take revenge to vent my anger?"

Mu Rongyi's smile was eerie and morbid.

"You've gone mad! If I can't bear to kill you, then let me be the villain."

After Shangguan Zitong finished speaking, she pulled out a dagger from her sleeve and stabbed Mu Rongyi Ke.

Mu Rongyi quickly turned and threw Shangguan Zitong to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw!

Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch. Damn it, I was careless. In the end, the age gap was too big, and I was spoiled and never practiced martial arts. I was at a disadvantage, and the dagger in my hand fell to the ground and was picked up by Mu Rongyi.

"You all want me dead, don't you? I'll make sure you don't get your way."

Mu Rongyi slapped Shangguan Zitong's face twice with the knife in her hand.

Tell me, how do you want to die?

Shangguan Zitong got up and sat on the ground, trembling like a leaf. She still vividly remembered being caught off guard and having her throat slit last time. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and she burst into tears.

"Tsk, troublesome. Don't cry. I won't kill you as long as you don't tell anyone."

Mu Rongyi wanted to go forward and wipe Shangguan Zitong's tears, but Shangguan Zitong kept backing away as soon as he approached. He could only throw the handkerchief to her.

"You're filthy, wipe yourself clean. I've never hurt you, so why are you so afraid of me?"

Young man, what if you slit my throat?

"I had a nightmare in which you killed me. The dream was too real."

"Ha, then just stab me in the back and you won't be afraid anymore."

"???"

Before Shangguan Zitong could react, Mu Rongyi grabbed her hand, gripped the dagger, and stabbed herself.

[Congratulations, host! The assassination mission is complete. Rewards are accumulating.]

"No, Mu Rongyi Ke, are you seriously ill? Why are you stabbing yourself for no reason?"

Shangguan Zitong stared speechlessly at the scene before her. The boy in front of her had lost too much blood and was collapsing backward!

When the princess's maid, Yue Ai, found Shangguan Zitong, she saw the hostage lying in a pool of blood, and the princess holding a dagger, looking bewildered.

"Your Highness, please go back quickly before anyone sees. I will clean up."

"Yue Ai, I really didn't stab her."

Shangguan Zitong wanted to explain, but she fainted from shock!

......