Chapter 39: Suspicion and Trust

  Zhang Zuoyan let out a cold laugh, her right hand grasped the empty air in front of her, slowly tightening into a fist, pulling it away from her neck. "You can't kill me, didn't Mr. tell you that?"

  Fang Xiaolong was taken aback for a moment, then reacted, "I really don't know what agreement you and he reached. But one thing I want you to remember, if I really wanted to kill you, it's not that I couldn't, it's just that you're not worth me paying that price."

  "Hmm, I see. Zhang Zuoyan adjusted his collar and brushed off the nonexistent dust on it, saying slowly, "Little thing, do you know that humans have an old saying - brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes?"

  "... Fang Xiaoling's good temper was already running out, and being provoked like this made her even more speechless. She couldn't kill him, nor could she hit him, it was really infuriating."

  Zhang Zuoyan didn't get a response, and he continued to talk to himself. "People, even if they lose their limbs, can still walk on the street with dignity, and others will only be curious and sympathetic towards them. But if they lose their clothes and run naked in broad daylight... tsk, it's really a sight to behold."

  Fang Xiaoling furrowed her brow, and it took a long time for her to fully digest his shocking words. "You're saying that for the sake of Liu Niang, you'd push Xun Qing out?"

  "That's half right." Zhang Zuoyan said calmly, "I didn't push Xun Qing out, but when those people searched Xun Qing's body, I took advantage of the situation and gave a little push to speed up the process. They didn't find what they wanted on Xun Qing's body, and soon they will investigate again, and the faster speed is enough for us to do some tricks inside."

  "Who is behind Liu Niang? You're not clear?! This time, it was just a single stab wound, and fortunately, she was rescued. What about next time?" Thinking of this, Fang Xiaoling's anger surged up.

  What a joke, just this time is enough for Xun Qing to go back and forth from the Ghost Gate, will there be next time?!

  "The Liuyi officials wouldn't dare to issue a kill order, they need living puppets, dead ones are meaningless to them." Zhang Zuoyan rubbed his nose awkwardly, "But I really didn't expect that in order to obtain evidence, they would directly take drastic measures."

  "Hmph!"

  "Alright... at least they didn't find the Qingyu Order on Xunqing, so he won't be bothered by those people for a while. I suppose that's a blessing in disguise."

  "If you hadn't told Liu Xiaojie about this, I think Xun Qing would be better off!!" Fang Xiaoling still couldn't forgive him, and her tone was also very aggressive.

  "No, no." Zhang Zhaoyan was not annoyed, but rather treated him like a unreasonable child, being extremely patient. "The two instruments have suspected that Qingyu is on Xunqing's body for more than one or two days, but their leader is too cautious and will not take action without definite news. It's too dangerous to put such a time bomb there, it's better if I ignite it myself. Firstly, we can avoid Xunqing's place in advance and minimize the damage; secondly, I also have some personal motives. Yingying will eventually be treated as a disposable sacrifice in that organization, but I... won't let this happen."

  Zhang Zuoyan's words were not finished, and he is now considered half a spy for the Liuyi Temple. For enemy intelligence, his position is the most convenient to intercept, and as soon as there is any change, he will receive news and make the most reasonable plan, but at the same time, risk is inevitable. And this level of danger, he still has confidence that he can handle it well.

  Emotionally and rationally, Fang Xiaoling had no reason to doubt him anymore. Indeed, as he said, everything happened too coincidentally. He had just finished talking to Xun Qing when the people from the Second Instrument Bureau arrived, and in the brief interval in between, Xun Qing had handed over the Qingyu Token to her, causing the assassin to return empty-handed. Every link in the chain of events was timed perfectly, as if there wasn't a pair of hands controlling things from behind the scenes. She could only say that fate was too good at playing tricks on people. And she, who knew everything, couldn't help but feel a chill towards Zhang Zuoyan. Such cunning, if one day he were to become an enemy...

  "If one day, only one of them can live between Liu Gongzhu and Mingting, who would you protect?" This question had been swirling in Fang Xiaoling's mind for a long time, and she finally couldn't help but ask it out loud. She stared at Zhang Zuoyan with an unblinking gaze, her eyes complex.

  Zhang Zuoyan was stunned for a moment, then fell into silence. His narrow and long eyelashes drooped down, covering his eyes, making him look like he had fallen asleep, without saying a word or showing any expression.

  "Liu Niang belongs to Liuyi Bureau, she and Mingting are enemies, sooner or later one day..."

  "I won't let this happen, absolutely not!!" Zhang Zuoyan rarely interrupted, his deep eyes opened again, and a cold light appeared. "I can protect Xun Qing, and so is Yingying!"

  Fang Xiaoling looked at him for a long time, and finally smiled, feeling very relieved. With these words from him, she would never doubt Zhang Suoyan again from now on.

  "That little girl is awake now, go and call the lady and old lady." A maid hastily said to the green-clad young servant girl in front of her. It seemed that she had come out from the inner courtyard.

  Was it that at the time of the assassination, the assassin not only stabbed Xun Qing once but also injured someone else?

  Fang Xiaoling's eyes rolled around, and the maid's gaze was not good. Zhang Zuoyan stretched out a lazy waist, accurately slapped her head with a slap, and said lightly, "Go, take a look."

  "...This guy can't see, right? How did he take such an accurate shot...... Fang Xiaoling slapped his hand away and said in a low voice, "Human, don't use your dirty hands to touch me."

  Zhang Zuoyan pouted, heaven knows how he could be disliked so thoroughly, and couldn't help but feel a bit depressed.

  ……

  Inside the Western Garden Chamber.

  She struggled to open her eyes, and the scene in front of her was blurry for a while before she regained clarity. She couldn't help but secretly lament that the poison on the knife was so potent!! The tips of Tsuwamono's knives were all poisoned, she knew that, but this aftereffect...

  "Uh..." She sat up with a surge of strength, and another wave of dizziness. Enduring the nauseating feeling, she began to take in her surroundings.

  Four white walls, clean and simple, without any extra decorations, it looks like a normal guest room. So, my identity as an assassin should not have been exposed yet, judging from the way I'm dressed, it's likely that they think I'm just an innocent bystander who got caught up in the chaos.

  "You're awake." The little girl pushed open the door, holding a tray of steaming soup. She stood far away, able to smell the pungent medicinal scent, and couldn't help but wrinkle her nose and let out a sneeze.

  "I've sent someone to inform the old lady, you just rest well. The medicine here should be drunk while it's hot, come on, open your mouth..." The little maid saw her looking confused and very consciously brought the bowl of soup to her bedside. With her left hand holding the tray and her right hand scooping a spoonful of dark liquid into her mouth.

  She opened her mouth in shock, then quickly closed it, shaking her head at the little girl. The little girl looked at her stubborn expression and actually laughed, "Xiao Bi, good medicine is bitter, hurry up and drink it. Later when Old Madame comes, seeing you like this, she'll definitely blame me again. Good sister~~~ be obedient, come on, open your mouth~"

  "If it weren't for the fact that her poison hasn't been fully cleared, she would definitely have dumped that bowl of black stuff on that little girl's head." "I can handle it myself. I'm just a small servant girl, how could I trouble you to take action?"

  "Xiao Bi, you can't say that. You've saved my life and the young master is almost awake, this little servant girl will probably be climbing on top of me soon!" The little servant girl smiled and fed her medicine spoon by spoon. She didn't struggle anymore, just swallowing the bitter medicine was almost taking her last breath, how could she still have the energy to quarrel with that little servant girl?

  All right, she is now a small maid named Xiaobi in the Xunfu. She touched the human skin mask on her face, and her mood was particularly anxious. In theory, Xun Qing did not see her face, but she still felt guilty.

  She watched as the little girl put away the bowls and chopsticks, step by step backing out, slowly lowering her eyelids. It won't be long before someone comes to ask questions, now she needs to think carefully about how to play the next act of this drama. If she performs well, she will naturally have a way to contact the organization again; if she doesn't...

  Her gentle eyebrows and eyes suddenly exuded a chilling killing intent, wouldn't it be better to just kill them all? Hehe... She was actually looking forward to it, this way she could avoid a lot of trouble.

  ……

  The faint sound of footsteps came from afar, getting closer and closer, annoying her. She opened her eyes impatiently, a glint of light flashed by, followed by a pitiful expression.

  "Ouch!!"

  The gate was pushed open again, and the people outside couldn't help but pause for a moment, presumably dazed by the strong smell of medicine inside, but soon someone walked in.

  "Cough...cough..." She bowed her head and bent her waist, suddenly bursting into a violent fit of coughing, as if she was going to cough out her lungs.

  An aged voice came from not far away, carrying a few points of irresistible intimidation. "I'll have a word with this girl, all of you go down."

  "Yes, madam." The chorus of "Yingying Yanyan" was extremely pleasant to hear. She smiled secretly for a while, then composed herself and lifted her head, looking like a startled deer with tears in her eyes.

  Until the last maid had withdrawn, the old lady finally spoke up: "As for what happened yesterday, how much do you still remember?"

  "I, a slave..." She had only spoken a few words when she burst into tears. "Old mistress, I deserve to die ten thousand times!"

  The old lady subtly backed away, furrowed her brow, and was slightly impatient. She saw it in her eyes, but she was delighted, to this extent, it should be no problem to muddle through.

  "There's no hurry, take your time." The voice still maintained its good manners, but the contemptuous expression on Old Lady's face had already given her away.

  You just want her gentleness! You old thing, you will regret your attitude today sooner or later!!

  Her head hung low, the corners of her mouth slightly hooked up, and her words became smoother. "Yesterday at noon, I went to the backyard in the name of my husband to call back the young master for dinner. Unexpectedly... unexpectedly... I should die! I should die!!"