The lead man in black made two hand gestures, and those behind him immediately understood.
They split into two teams, one to kill Zhu Yan, and the other to capture Tao Su alive.
Sensing their intentions, Zhu Yan swiftly pulled Tao Su close, while drawing his sword with his other hand. The blade gleamed coldly, exuding a subtle murderous aura.
Before he could speak, the men in black were already on alert.
After he finished speaking, the men in black were utterly speechless.
"Which organization are you from?"
"What's the monthly salary?"
"How much is the reward?"
"Why are you sneaking into a lady's bedroom at night?"
"...Could you be perverts?"
Tao Su was just a little maid with nothing but her beauty.
Zhu Yan quickly imagined a grand scenario: a pampered young master chances upon a little maid, is struck by her beauty, and sends his men to abduct her in the dead of night, only to find a man in the maid's bedroom.
Thus, the men in black wanted to eliminate him and then capture Tao Su to complete their mission.
The more he thought about it, the more amusing he found it.
Seeing his foolish grin, the man in black sneered disdainfully and aimed for his throat, intending to end him with one stroke.
Zhu Yan cried out, "How fierce! I'm so scared!" while deflecting the incoming sword and stabbing towards the man's heart.
"Sorry, I missed. Let me try again!"
In the end, the man in black fell with bulging eyes, his pupils gradually dilating.
The commotion alerted the hidden guards of Qinghuan Court, but Yan Twelve remained motionless in the cleaning maids' room.
Eldest Sister asked, "Should we go?"
Yan Twelve scratched his head and replied naively, "His Highness only told me to protect Miss Qi, not Miss Qi's maid."
"Brother Twelve has a point. What if the enemy is using this as a diversion, and Miss Qi is in danger? Among us, Brother Twelve has the best martial arts skills, so you and Big Sis should stay to protect Miss Qi. I'll go help!"
After Second Sister's calm analysis, she picked up her sword and walked into the night.
She and her elder sister had been arranged by His Highness to work as cleaning maids in Qinghuan Court, not only to sweep but also to secretly protect Miss Qi.
Sweeping was far more tiring than protecting Miss Qi.
After all, assassins didn't come every day, but the ground needed sweeping daily.
Although Tao Su often criticized their cleaning, saying this spot wasn't clean enough or that patch still had snow, she would also share pastries with them and give them gloves to keep warm.
Occasionally, she would even share her mother's words of wisdom with them.
Over time, Second Sister began to see her as a friend.
However, when she rushed into Tao Su's room, the smell of blood assaulted her nostrils, and corpses covered the floor.
Only one chattering man in black remained, proudly explaining to Tao Su how precise his strikes had been, like a peacock displaying its feathers.
Tao Su, looking ill, vomited all over him.
Zhu Yan lowered his gaze to look at the filth on his black robe, then widened his eyes in surprise and said, "You ate quite a lot at night!"
"To be able to vomit so much."
After speaking, he raised his eyes to look at Second Sister, uncertainly asking, "A female pervert?"
"......"
Second Sister gave him a cold look, and after confirming that he had no intention of harming Tao Su, she retreated from the room.
The moonlight stretched her shadow as she was about to return to her room, but she met Qi Huan's inquiring gaze.
Qi Huan stood in the corridor with Yan Qing behind her.
Originally, she had been counting gold ingots in her dream when Yan Qing suddenly woke her up.
Yan Qing said there was something unusual in Qinghuan Court.
Qi Huan instantly became alert, got up and dressed, then poked a hole in the oiled paper on the window frame. She saw Second Sister coming out of the servants' quarters, entering Tao Su's room for a moment, and then coming out again.
Caught by her, Second Sister simply approached and bowed, "County Lady."
Usually, Second Sister and Eldest Sister always kept their heads down, working silently, so Qi Huan didn't have a strong impression of their appearance or voices.
As she came closer, Qi Huan recognized her as one of the cleaning maids in the courtyard.
After a brief consideration, Qi Huan understood that she was one of A Shu's people.
Thinking of A Shu, a smile appeared in Qi Huan's eyes as she softly asked, "Why did you just go to Tao Su's room?"
"In response to the County Lady, this servant heard the sound of fighting and went to check. I found that a talkative man in black had already dealt with the assassins, so I intended to return the way I came."
Qi Huan frowned and asked, "So, there's still a man in black in Tao Su's room?"
"Yes, but he doesn't seem to intend to harm her. The way he protects her is like... a mother hen guarding her chicks."
"......"
For some reason, when she heard the words "talkative," Qi Huan immediately thought of Qingfeng Court.
Harboring doubts, she took a step forward: "Let's go take a look."
Second Sister hurried ahead and pushed open the door again. The corpses on the ground had disappeared, leaving only pools of blood.
Zhu Yan was still boasting proudly: "When it comes to our Misty Rain Pavilion, quality is guaranteed."
"Weren't you worried about how to dispose of the bodies? Luckily, I always carry corpse-dissolving powder with me. Sprinkle it on the bodies, and they instantly turn to blood. How about that? Impressive, right?"
"Eh? Why did you faint?"
Zhu Yan began to press Tao Su's philtrum.
When she woke up in pain, Tao Su looked at him with eyes full of fear. As the door opened, she frantically pushed him away and ran to Qi Huan's side.
Tao Su reached out, wanting to hug Qi Huan for comfort, but fearing she might soil her clothes, she ultimately threw herself at Yan Qing.
Yan Qing: ......
After glancing at them, Qi Huan turned to Zhu Yan: "Are you Cousin Che's servant?"
"...Troubl..." After uttering just two syllables, Zhu Yan quickly covered his mouth, rolled his eyes, and nearly called her "troublemaker" like his master would.
"Troublesome for cousin to move aside, you're blocking my way."
"Explain clearly, and then you can leave."
"It's a long story......"
"Then make it short."
"That's difficult for me." Zhu Yan said with a worried expression: "I can only tell long stories, I don't know how to make them short!"
"If cousin wants to know, I'll tell you. I couldn't sleep at night, so I came to chat with Tao Su......"
"Who knew I'd encounter a group of amateurs? I took them down one by one, then took care of disposing of the bodies......"
Following his words, Qi Huan looked at the blood-stained floor tiles and commented, "You didn't clean up thoroughly enough."
"......"
"Five taels of silver to clean it up completely before dawn, without alarming anyone else. Can you do it?"
"......At least six taels. Six is an auspicious number."
"Deal."
Qi Huan turned to leave. When she reached the courtyard, she looked at Tao Su with complex emotions.
Why would men in black come for her?
Tao Su was also pondering this point: "County Lady, I really don't know them......."
"Can you not send me away?"
Seeing her face pale with fright, yet still looking at her persistently, Qi Huan let out a light sigh.
"Why do you think I would send you away?"
".......Because I seem to have caused trouble."
"Then we'll solve the trouble."
The moonlight fell on Qi Huan, coating her in a soft glow.
"When I first met you, I didn't like you. Even though I had bought you, you wanted to follow A Shu."
"Later I realized you were just a girl blindly following her mother's words."
"In Mo County, you helped me twice, and I've kept that in mind. As long as you remain loyal and hardworking as usual, I will protect you."
"Don't overthink it. Take a hot bath, and tonight you'll sleep with Yan Qing."
As the night deepened, Qi Huan pulled her cloak tighter, eager to return to her warm bed after speaking.
At this moment, Tao Su exclaimed, "I know who sent them!"
