After listening to the murderous plot all night, Yu Shu didn't have any nightmares that night. She slept until dawn. This was all thanks to Xue Rui's last teasing, but she didn't thank him at all.
Breakfast was simple. The head chef refused to serve, so the proprietress forced him to cook a pot of sweet porridge. Yu Shu asked the guard to go across the street to buy a dozen cages of meat buns.
"Big Brother, what do you think Niu Er will do to get in touch with the people outside?" Yu Shu tore a bun with one hand and sat behind a window in the hall, looking at the market downstairs, trying to distinguish which passers-by looked like the spy of Prince Ning's mansion.
Xue Rui said: "Yesterday, the shopkeeper said that the kitchen was running out of firewood. I promised to send someone to go out and buy firewood today. I asked him to make a list. The people outside will seize this opportunity."
"Oh."
After the two of them had their breakfast, they returned to Xue Rui's room to kill time.
Two guards were ordered to buy firewood on the street. They came back at noon and went upstairs to report.
"Reporting to Daren, after we went out on the street, someone followed us and inquired about the location of the firewood and charcoal sales. After two streets, someone led the way. We followed Daren's instructions and didn't carefully check the things we bought, so we sent them to the back kitchen."
"Good job. Go down and keep an eye on them. When you see Niu Er enter the kitchen, come back and inform me."
"Yes." The guard that answered was precisely the one that led the way for Yu Shu yesterday morning. He was called Lu Hong, and he was a Junior Commander of the Left Guard of the east gate and a seventh-rank military general. He'd received orders from the Emperor to listen to Xue Rui's dispatch this time, and he'd brought along two groups of guards that were experts that were capable of fighting and killing.
This morning, Xue Rui called him to his room before dawn and asked him to choose two of his trusted subordinates. He told the three of them that Niu Er was the murderer, but he hid the part about Prince Ning. In order to make them believe him, he even mentioned Yu Shu's identity —
I've also found his head, it's soaking in a vegetable jar in the cellar. Don't make any noise yet. There's someone else behind this killer. I'm guessing that he received an order and will make a move tonight. At that time, you'll lie in ambush around my room. Once he makes a move, capture him alive. I want to see who would be so daring as to send an assassin to assassinate an imperial envoy right under the Emperor's nose. "
Lu Hong and the other two knew of Xue Rui's reputation as a great detective. Moreover, he was a female fortune teller who could determine life and death. Thus, they trusted him without a doubt and listened to his every word.
Xue Rui had made arrangements and was waiting for Niu Er to walk into the trap.
.....
In the afternoon, Lu Hong hurried upstairs and knocked on the door of Xue Rui's room.
"Master, Niu Er found an excuse to sneak into the woodshed. He stayed inside for a while and then went to the kitchen with a pile of firewood to boil water for cooking."
Xue Rui and Yu Shu looked at each other. The latter sighed with emotion at the former's foresight. Just as he said before, Prince Ning's order arrived in just one night.
"Don't worry about him. When night falls, you arrange for people to be at my command."
Lu Hong took the order and left the room.
Xue Rui stood up and opened the wardrobe by the wall. He picked up the sword he carried with him and unsheathed the scabbard. With two fingers, the blade flashed with cold light and buzzed softly.
Yu Shu saw that it was a sword that could cut through iron like mud. She was a little dazed and thought of the rusty ancient sword she gave to Jing Chen.
She didn't notice before that Xue Rui could also use a sword.
Xue Rui carefully wiped the sword, put it back into the scabbard and hung it at the head of the bed.
Yu Shu looked at his cautious movements, and the uneasiness that flashed by last night resurfaced. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about I do another divination for you?"
Xue Rui turned around, "Hmm?"
"I brought the imitation Taiqing Tripod and the Tihu Incense this time." Yu Shu said, "My godfather has checked it for me. The herbs in the incense pill are not poisonous and can be used."
"I know that Niu Er is going to attack you tonight. I can use the Six Lines Divination to see if you can successfully kill him."
Xue Rui's eyes flashed and he smiled, "Don't waste that thing. I will definitely kill him."
Yu Shu saw that he was full of confidence and didn't say anything more. She thought it was okay. With Lu Hong and others helping him, Xue Rui couldn't be hurt.
.....
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was dark.
The dinner was cooked by Niu Er. There was a table full of good dishes, but Yu Shu didn't take a bite. She was not afraid that Niu Er would poison them, but because Xue Rui was going to take the risk of killing people at night, so she had no appetite.
After dinner, Yu Shu stayed in Xue Rui's room and didn't leave.
It was not until there was a knock on the street outside that Xue Rui said, "Go back to your room. I'll wait for him after turning off the light. Go to bed early and close the door. Don't come out to watch if you hear the sound of fighting."
“.....”
"What, don't you want to go?" Xue Rui looked at her hesitation and joked, "Then don't go. If you are not afraid, just hide in the room and see how I take him down."
Yu Shu's eyes lit up, "Can I?"
She was really reluctant to go, leaving Xue Rui here to wait for a murderer to kill him. If she went back to her room to sleep, how could she sleep?
Xue Rui glanced deeply at her, and he slowly withdrew his smile. He swept his gaze around the room before pointing at a wardrobe that was half the height of a person that was placed at the corner of the room, and he said, "You can, but you have to hide in the wardrobe and hide yourself well. Only then will I be at ease. Can you keep your composure?"
Yu Shu looked at the wardrobe and agreed without much hesitation, "It's nothing. I'll hide it well."
Xue Rui smiled and raised his hand to touch Yu Shu's ear. He said softly, "Then you stay with me."
After the two of them came to an agreement, Xue Rui extinguished all the lights in and out of the room. He pulled Yu Shu to sit at the head of the bed and said in a low voice, "There's no need to rush. After an hour, when Niu Er thinks I'm asleep, you can hide in the wardrobe. Although Niu Er practices external martial arts, he has sharp ears and eyes. He can hear you clearly if you make a little movement. "
"Okay."
He just held her hand and didn't do anything more. They were trapped in the darkness. The moonlight from the west window shone through the gauze paper and a pair of hazy overlapping figures.
In this way, Yu Shu didn't know how long she waited. Just when she felt a little sleepy, Xue Rui beside her stood up.
"Shu, you hide."
She immediately became spirited and was led by Xue Rui to the front of the wardrobe. Xue Rui opened the wardrobe door and entered it. She raised her head and looked at Xue Rui's blurry figure. As the wardrobe door closed tightly, he disappeared.
Outside the wardrobe door came his warning, "Don't come out unless I call you."
Yu Shu responded softly. She leaned her back against the winter pillow and curled up in the stuffy wardrobe. She also covered her mouth with one hand to avoid breathing too loudly.
Xue Rui closed the wardrobe door, turned to the bed, took off his sword, and carried it upside down in his hand. His footsteps were light, and he silently walked out of the bedroom.
He opened the door, made a gesture to the guards lying in ambush on both sides of the corridor, and stepped into the opposite room.
A guard squatting on the beam of the room asked in a low voice, "Boss, why did Lord Xue enter Miss Yu's room?"
"Why ask so much? The prisoner is a martial artist. Be careful that he sneaks in and notices. Keep quiet and hold your breath."
Lu Hong scolded softly and clenched the waist knife. He remembered that Xue Rui had secretly told him during the day to pay attention to whether Niu Er asked the brother who delivered the vegetables which room Yu Shu lived in.
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