Chapter 31: The Maid's Assassin

  "Your Highness!" Xiang Wei, with a panicked expression, suddenly rushed out and knelt down in front of Qing Xia, her face filled with shock and distress, tears falling like broken pearls as she repeatedly called out: "Your Highness, Your Highness."

  "Xiang Wei, what's going on? Get up and speak." Qing Xia's face was calm, waving away the guards behind him, saying in a low voice.

  "Big sister," Xiang Wei covered her mouth and stuttered: "Xiang Ju big sister, Xiang Ju big sister..."

  Qing Xia's eyebrows rose slightly, and a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. She pushed aside Xiang Wei, who was blocking her way, and strode towards the maid's room.

  "Qing Xia," Chu Li's body suddenly flashed out of Xiang Ju's room, embracing Qing Xia's body, his face gloomy, and said in a low voice: "Don't go in."

  "Let go." Qing Xia struggled in his arms, lifted her head, and a pair of eyes had some slight redness. She used her hand to press against Chu Li's chest, looked at him steadily with both eyes, and said in a low voice.

  Chu Li still didn't let go, tightly hugging Qing Xia and shaking his head as he said: "Xiang Ju has passed away, the imperial physician just left, I've already instructed to give her a grand funeral and compensate her family, you don't need to go in."

  "Let me go," Qing Xia still insisted, her voice slightly choked but without a hint of trembling. She looked at Chu Li and said in a low, measured tone: "She died for me, I want to go in."

  Chu Li looked at Qing Xia's determined face, and for a moment, he felt a daze. He involuntarily loosened his grip, and Qing Xia suddenly rushed in like a gust of wind.

  Even though he had grown accustomed to scenes of murder, and the number of people who had died at his own hands was countless, yet when he saw Xiang Ju, Qing Xia still couldn't help but cover his mouth. The white bandages that covered his entire body had been torn open, revealing gruesome wounds, a charred black face that looked like a malevolent spirit from hell, looking ominous and terrifying. A sharp knife was lodged in his chest, fresh blood flowed all over the bed, everywhere reeked of bloody stench.

  Qing Xia's eyes grew wider and redder, her hands clenched into fists, her fingernails digging deep into her palms, and a faint blue vein appeared on her wrist.

  Chu Li walked up from behind, slowly embracing Qing Xia in his arms, tightly pressing her against his chest. A warm feeling enveloped Qing Xia from all sides as she leaned into Chu Li's embrace, biting her lower lip with her teeth and staring straight at Xiang Ju with a fierce gaze that seemed to be about to spit fire.

  When she arrived in ancient January, Xiangju was her closest person, always accompanying her side by side, clever and lovely. Now, looking at the charred and blurred flesh on the bed, she couldn't connect that thing with the young Xiangju at all.

  If it wasn't for herself, she wouldn't have died. If it wasn't for herself, she would still be living well now.

  "Don't be sad," his arm gradually tightened, Chu Li lowered his head and showed a rare gentle expression, "I'll have someone give her a proper burial, you can rest assured."

  "Let me go." A calm voice suddenly came from his arms, Chu Li's eyebrows raised, a hint of sharpness flashed in his eyes, and he relaxed his hands slightly.

  Qing Xia walked slowly to the bedside of Xiang Ju, looked seriously at Xiang Ju's body, then slowly squatted down, frowned, and pulled out a dagger from Xiang Ju's body.

  "Ah!" A cry of surprise came from outside the door at the same time, Chu Li stood at the entrance, silently watching Qing Xia's movements, his eyebrows gradually furrowed.

  "When was it discovered."

  "Wai Mian Xiang Wei stood up and cried: 'It was me who discovered it first, I went into the room to deliver medicine to Xiang Ju sister, but unexpectedly she had committed suicide, I...'"

  "I'm asking you when?" Qing Xia suddenly turned her head, a sharp-eyed gaze with a cold glint like a knife edge, she stared tightly at Xiang Wei and said in a low voice: "And who told you she was suicidal?"

  A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Qing Xia's voice fell. Suddenly, a huge noise came from outside the house. Xiang Wei was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained: "I saw that the gauze on her face was untied, and there was a mirror next to it, I thought... I thought it was..."

  "Did she think she saw her terrible self and couldn't take it, so she killed herself?"

  "Yes, yes, I thought so too." Xiang Wei's face turned pale as she spoke repeatedly.

  Qing Xia sneered and slowly walked forward, coldly looking at Xiang Wei. In a low voice, he said: "First, let's not talk about whether she can wake up so early. Look at her hands, all five fingers have been burned badly, with medicinal paste applied on them. If it was really her who removed the bandages herself, why is there only medicinal paste on the inside near her face and none on the outside? Moreover, last night she was trapped in the fire for an hour, her eyes were red and swollen, and within half a month, it's impossible for her to see clearly. How did she know that her appearance was completely ruined? Furthermore, where did this dagger come from? She was severely injured, unable to get out of bed, how could she find a dagger to kill herself? And...

  Qing Xia's gaze was cold and stern as he looked at Xiang Wei, who was trembling with fear. In a cold voice, he said: "She is just a small palace maid, how can she have such swift and deadly movements, able to kill with one accurate slash?"

  Xiang Wei was forced by Qing Xia's momentum and fell to the ground with a thud, crying out loudly: "This slave does not know, Your Majesty is wise!"

  "Of course, I'm absolutely right!" Qing Xia shouted, pinching Xiang Wei's thin chin with one hand, and said in a deep voice: "Do you want us to guess the identity of little Xiang Wei? You, a second-class maid from a noble family, have never worked in the slave library before. Why do you have such thick calluses on your hands? Your breathing is calm and your footsteps are steady. I thought you were just a maid who had practiced martial arts, but I didn't expect you to be so ruthless and do something that would bring shame to heaven!"

  "Your Ladyship, what are you saying?" Xiang Wei wailed loudly and knelt down on the ground, embracing Qing Xia's legs, and said in a mournful tone: "Xiang Wei and Xiang Gui entered the palace together, like sisters. How could I possibly harm her? As the eldest daughter, with many younger siblings at home, I often do some rough work. How can my hands be as soft and delicate as yours, Your Ladyship? I've only been in Lan Ting Palace for a day, I know you're not feeling well, so I'm naturally being careful, even afraid to breathe loudly when walking... how could you suspect me of being a bad person because of these things?"

  The little palace maid cried bitterly, and the people outside were also whispering to each other. Qing Xia smiled faintly and said in a cold voice: "Do you know where you slipped up? Ordinary palace maids at this time can't be so eloquent in their excuses and defenses, but you seem like you've been prepared for this all along. You say you're just an ordinary palace maid, who would believe that?"

  Xiang Yu was stunned, and Qing Xia continued: "This dagger is full of the scent of Milan incense from Nanjiang, which was just sent by the palace this afternoon. Except for me, it has only passed through your hands. Are you going to tell me that after you came in and found Xiang Ju dead, you still went forward to touch this dagger and examine it?"

  Xiang Wei's face changed greatly in shock, but she still stubbornly called out: "Your Ladyship, I..."

  "Shut up!" Qing Xia shouted, her eyes suddenly shooting out icy cold glints. "At this time, you still dare to be stubborn? The wound in Xiang Ju's heart is a knife wound, and the blood will definitely splatter out. But the direction of the bloodstains is vertical, with no signs of blood splattering outwards. All that can be seen are the flowing bloodstains. Now, I just need to send someone to search your room, and you'll immediately be exposed. Do you still dare to deceive me?"

  Xiang Wei's face turned pale, and upon hearing this, she immediately stood up and said in a loud voice: "If Your Ladyship doubts Xiang Wei's innocence, then please go to Xiang Wei's room and search it. Let's see if there is any bloody clothing as you claimed. It will be clear at a glance whether Xiang Wei is the murderer or not!"

  "Alright!" Qing Xia snorted, turned around and walked out the door. Just as she passed by Xiang Wei's side, her hand suddenly jerked, instantly pulling Xiang Wei's palace attire.

  With a ripping sound, Xiang Wei's clothes were torn apart, exposing her undergarments, and the crowd gasped in shock.

  All that was visible was Xiang Wei's pink palace attire, but inside, she was actually wearing a pale green palace attire of the same color, with only a few dark bloodstains on the collar, which looked shocking at first glance.

  "Bring someone to take her away and hand her over to the Da Si Fu for disposal." Chu Li's face was gloomy, and he said in a low voice. Xiang Wei seemed to know that all was lost, and she sat on the ground, no longer crying out or resisting. Several guards walked forward, lifted up Xiang Wei, and carried her away.

  At this moment, a strong sense of unease suddenly struck Qing Xia's heart. She couldn't explain the source of this panic, but her years of training on the edge of life and death had saved her many times. So in that instant, she chose to completely trust her intuition, and with a sudden burst of speed, she flew out, a sharp dagger flashing out, standing horizontally in front of her, swiftly defeating the agile figure that suddenly appeared before her eyes with absolute strength and posture. However, before she could even react, Xiang Wei's body suddenly flew towards her like a ghost.

  At this moment, the awakening seems to be a bit too late. Xiang Wei's body was struck by the dagger and flew backwards instantly, but her mouth still revealed a faint evil smile. Qing Xia knew in an instant that the last knife of the strong crossbow had already failed to hit her vital point, and as a top killer, the hidden weapon launched from the best position was enough to kill the enemy!

  This is the true portrayal of a move that puts one in a desperate situation and then brings them back to life!

  Qing Xia never thought that she would encounter such a skilled assassin in this era. She was about to pay the price for her carelessness once again!

  Just as everyone, including Qing Xia herself, thought she was doomed, a blood light suddenly burst into the sky, and the sound of a knife cutting flesh echoed in front of Qing Xia. A short sword with a dark green blade flashed and was instantly stained with fresh blood, falling to the ground. In an instant, even the green tiles underfoot turned into a dull gray.

  Chu Li's one hand was wrapped around Qing Xia's body, the other hand was placed in front of Qing Xia, with a very deep wound on his wrist, at this moment, a large amount of dark red blood was gushing out, and his arm was also rapidly turning a dull gray.

  "Your Highness!" The samurai guards outside the door exclaimed in unison, rushing in. Shaoyi was severely injured and was immediately subdued by the crowd.

  The poison spread extremely quickly, and in just a moment, Chuli's lips had turned purple, and she leaned limply against Qingxia. Qingxia supported Chuli with one hand while loudly shouting: "Don't kill her, leave her alive!"

  However, before she could finish speaking, Xiang Wei's head drooped down, with a streak of dark purple blood at the corner of her mouth, without any sign of life.

  "Princess!" Rong Yuan suddenly pointed at Qing Xia and shouted, Qing Xia was startled and quickly looked down, only to see a black gas rapidly rising to Chu Li's face, looking eerie and terrifying.

  "What kind of poison is this, it's so potent! Qing Xia furrowed her brow tightly, grasped Chu Li's hand and put it to her mouth, aligning it with the wound, and sucked forcefully!"

  "Milady!" All the servants exclaimed in unison at once.

  Others told me that the ones with high collections but few votes are all Mary Sue stories. Is Dong Er's story a Mary Sue? You guys haven't been leaving comments for me lately, I'm not happy about it~~~

  I updated twice today, can everyone encourage me a bit?~~~~