Chapter 49: Very Familiar

“Remember, don’t be fooled by the Chancellor’s harmless demeanor. You absolutely cannot let your guard down around her. For my—cough cough—for the Eldest Princess’s sake, she won’t do anything to you. And at least by staying at her side, I can guarantee you won’t get sold off and still help count the profits for the seller.”

“Don’t give me that wide-eyed, dopey look. If you’re not a fool, who is? There’s no issue with your identity, so you don’t need to worry about her investigating that. For anything else you don’t know, just say you don’t know. But there’s one thing you must stick to firmly: you’ve never met me! Even if we meet next time, pretend you don’t know me.”

“You don’t need to worry about slipping up. These words really did come from the Eldest Princess. If the Chancellor presses you for details, just say it was something your master relayed to you, and you were too young at the time to remember clearly, got it?”

“. . . You can do that, right?”

The assassin girl Zhao Yanqi had been feeling jittery inside, but then she heard the senior mutter, “Qingzhu is pretty sharp except when it comes to relationships. Is this disciple really hers?”

Zhao Yanqi had originally been a beggar, but she’d had the good fortune to be taken in as Qingzhu’s disciple and raised with meticulous guidance from a young age.

She was remarkably gifted and trained diligently, so at her young age, she already possessed strength that ranked among the top in the jianghu. Zhao Yanqi didn’t seek fame or fortune; she simply didn’t want to tarnish her master’s reputation.

And Nian Zhi’an’s words had hit her right where it hurt, making her bristle.

“I-I can!”

“Really?”

“Really! But, but I’ve never heard Master mention you before. You and King Su both have your own stories—who am I supposed to believe?”

With her bindings undone, the foolish girl huddled in the corner. After her master passed away, she’d been alone and adrift, living day after day without purpose. Then someone had delivered her master’s token, giving her a goal in life. But now this stranger who claimed to be her master’s friend had appeared out of nowhere, calling the other a fraud. Who was she supposed to believe?

Nian Zhi’an rubbed her forehead. This kid was dim when she needed to be sharp and sharp when she shouldn’t be.

“Your master was brought back to the mountain by your ancestral master when she was still a swaddled infant. At twelve, on her first trip down the mountain with her senior brother and senior sister, she took down a band of bandits plaguing the area, but she got careless and took a serious injury. The scar on her chest dates from that time. At sixteen, during her next excursion down the mountain, she met a woman named Fu Niang on a flower boat. She was duped out of her heart and her money, then drowned her sorrows in drink and fell into the river. A renowned martial artist nearly drowned—a grand martial expert almost drowned! That was when the Eldest Princess saved her, and she left behind the jade pendant.”

“At seventeen, she asked the Eldest Princess to track down that heartless woman, but they never found her. Afterward, she dragged the Eldest Princess to drink with her. In her drunken state, she forced her to spar with swords. That was when your master created her famous sword technique that shook the world.”

“At eighteen, she set out wandering again, eating and drinking her way around, who knows if she ever truly got over Fu Niang. Then at twenty, she suddenly returned obediently to her sect and stayed there. That’s when she took you as her disciple, right?”

After hearing so many of her master’s secrets, Zhao Yanqi was dumbfounded and could only nod. Not even her ancestral master knew all of this, yet this senior even knew the name of that faithless woman—and the scar on her master’s body . . . blood rushed to her face.

“After that, for various reasons, we lost touch. Still don’t believe me? Then I also know that the last time your master wet the bed was at three years old. Oh, right—and back then, because she was so green, Fu Niang teased her until she didn’t know what to do with herself. Then she went off to study erotic manuals—mmph mmph mmph!” Nian Zhi’an’s mouth was suddenly covered.

“I believe you, I believe you! Please don’t say any more!” If she kept going, Zhao Yanqi didn’t know what she might do to protect her master’s reputation!

Nian Zhi’an gestured that she wouldn’t say more, and only then did the other sit back down.

“I also know your master’s unique sword technique. Of course, she knew my saber technique too. I promised her I’d help refine it back then, but fate intervened . . . and I never got the chance.” There was a fleeting note of melancholy in Nian Zhi’an’s tone, so faint that if Zhao Yanqi hadn’t been listening closely, she might not have caught it.

“Have you ever seen your master’s very first sword manual? There’s a line I wrote in it.”

Zhao Yanqi recalled stumbling upon that tattered old sword manual as a child. There had indeed been a line in another hand: “Qingzhu is . . .” followed by foreign script she couldn’t read. She remembered her master looking upset when she saw it and calling it something a promise-breaking bastard had written.

“You’re that promise-breaking bastard?”

“Ha?”

“Sorry! That’s not what I said, it’s . . .” Zhao Yanqi hurriedly tried to explain.

“It’s what your master said, right?” Nian Zhi’an wasn’t angry. The one who ought to be angry was Qingzhu, after all. “Your master was right to call me that. I deserved to be cursed. Now do you believe I’m her friend?”

“I believe you! I’ll-I’ll do exactly as you say!”

Nian Zhi’an grabbed Zhao Yanqi just as she was about to leap out. “You impulsive girl, charging straight out to get mobbed?”

“Don’t worry! These five aren’t a match for me!” Zhao Yanqi even puffed out her chest a bit proudly.

“You think I don’t know your strength? You could trade a serious injury for their five lives, sure. But sense carefully—how many people are waiting farther out!” Nian Zhi’an flicked her forehead.

Farther out? Zhao Yanqi steadied her breathing and focused. Sure enough, beyond the courtyard, she sensed several auras deliberately suppressed, and even farther away, there seemed to be more ambushes.

Zhao Yanqi paled. All this was laid out for her?

Outside waited an inescapable dragnet. If she’d charged out rashly on her own, forget escaping—even the Alliance Leader would struggle to get away unscathed.

If Nian Zhi’an knew her old friend’s disciple was still dreaming of escaping intact, she’d probably smack her upside the head for Qingzhu. Who were those waiting outside? Dark Guards of the former imperial house! They had secret training methods not passed outside, were formidable one-on-one, and unstoppable together. Escaping with all limbs intact would be lucky!

Of course, that was without her.

With Nian Zhi’an there, she would ensure Zhao Yanqi arrived before Meng Congyun safe and sound.

Delivering this foolish girl to Meng Congyun was also part of Nian Zhi’an’s calculations. On one hand, the Male Lead had clearly set his sights on Zhao Yanqi, and she worried this silly child might get used by him if left wandering alone. On the other, with Meng Congyun’s abilities, even if Zhao Yanqi fled, misunderstandings unresolved, she’d end up in the Chancellor’s dungeon within a month. Better to cash in the last favor of her Eldest Princess identity and old ties—

Nian Zhi’an patted Zhao Yanqi’s shoulder. “Don’t get discouraged. With me here, I’ll . . . lend you some power. Just be careful not to overdo it later.”

. . .

“Rustle rustle . . .”

A Dark Guard lurking in the shadows seemed to hear a noise. He raised his weapon on pure instinct to block—and the next instant, blades clashed in a flash of cold light. An immense force sent him crashing into a tree.

His assailant could have silenced him instantly but vanished like a ghost without a glance.

The Dark Guard’s right arm hung limp; he couldn’t lift it. He pulled out a whistle with his left hand—his good arm—and blew it—the signal between Dark Guards.

So strong! Zhao Yanqi looked at her hands. The power surging through her body was several times greater than her usual! She was a prodigy by nature, gifted with her ancestral master’s inner force, making her one of the top experts in the martial world at her young age. Few could match her one-on-one, save some elders.

But this friend of her master’s had effortlessly granted her several times her normal strength! Though the senior said it wouldn’t last long, it was miraculous! She could swear she could pin even the jianghu’s number one elder and give him a thrashing! Cough—not that she disrespected elders, but that’s how it felt.

She couldn’t imagine how strong this senior truly was!

Zhao Yanqi took stock and charged straight for the spot Nian Zhi’an had indicated. Naturally, she encountered many Dark Guards along the way, but none could keep up with her!

True to her promise to Nian Zhi’an not to harm anyone, she focused on evasion and defense, which let her pour everything into speed. In the blink of an eye, she burst into Meng Congyun’s study.

Though it was deep into the night, the Chancellor still had urgent state affairs demanding her attention—even knowing danger lurked nearby. Whether reports of disaster-struck commoners or imminent border conflicts, none could wait.

A Jiu ground ink for Meng Congyun while staying vigilant. She’d heard a martial expert would come to assassinate the Chancellor tonight, and that person had arrived but was still hiding. That was the scariest part.

“A Jiu, no need to be tense. You can stop grinding the ink for now.” Meng Congyun pressed down on A Jiu’s hand, which had started grinding faster by accident.

“Sorry, my lord!” A Jiu realized she’d lost her composure and quickly withdrew her hand.

At that moment, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out from outside. A Jiu instinctively drew her sword and positioned herself in front of Meng Congyun’s desk.

“Be careful, my lord! It must be that assassin!” Moreover, her companions were no match for the intruder, which was why they had sounded the emergency alert.

The clamor of clashing weapons soon echoed from outside. A Jiu held her breath and focused intently. Although she had great confidence in her companions’ strength, she felt inexplicably uneasy tonight for some reason.

Indeed, under normal circumstances, no one in this world could breach the Dark Guards’ blockade. But Zhao Yanqi had encountered a glitch in the form of Nian Zhi’an.

“Bang!” The study door was kicked open with a single foot. A Jiu charged forward with her sword, only to have the opponent easily block her strike and send her flying with a light flick.

“Everyone, stand down!” Meng Congyun, who had remained calm even in the face of assassination, lost her composure the moment she saw the object in the intruder’s hand. She immediately ordered all the Dark Guards to cease their attacks.

“You’re the Prime Minister? You do look quite delicate and frail.” Having grown up in the mountains and wilderness, Zhao Yanqi held less awe for the Prime Minister than she did for Nian Zhi’an.

“I am.” Meng Congyun nodded and signaled for A Jiu not to remain on guard, motioning her to come to her side.

“Do you recognize this?” Zhao Yanqi shook the ancient jade in her hand.

“Of course. This was my fiancée’s personal belonging before her death, and it went missing afterward. How did it end up in your hands, miss?” Meng Congyun made no effort to hide the grief in her voice; it was enough to tug at anyone’s heartstrings.

“This… this was originally my master’s jade pendant. Later, out of gratitude for saving her life, she gave it to the Eldest Princess as a token of a favor owed. But recently, someone brought the jade pendant to my master to call in that favor. My master has since passed away, and I am duty-bound to fulfill her last wish in her stead…” Zhao Yanqi suddenly felt reluctant to deceive a woman who was grieving so profoundly.

“You are… Qingzhu’s disciple?” Meng Congyun gazed at Zhao Yanqi. “So it’s you. I heard your master mention you.”

“Are you and my master close?” Zhao Yanqi was somewhat surprised. Hadn’t the senior said that her master had never met the Prime Minister?

“We’ve crossed paths a few times.”

Of course, they were very familiar.

After all, her fiancée carried another woman’s belonging every single day—and one as symbolically meaningful as a jade pendant. How could someone as small-minded as the Prime Minister not take notice of her?

Naturally, when facing a junior, the Prime Minister framed her nitpicking as nothing more than “cordial chats.”