The tight grip around her neck made her uncomfortable. Jiang Yingcheng squirmed slightly, only to hear the man behind her warn in a low voice, "Don't move."
"B-but Chengcheng can hardly breathe." Jiang Yingcheng frowned, trying to reason with the assassin behind her. "If Chengcheng can't breathe, she'll die, and then she won't be any use as a hostage."
The man behind her stiffened for a moment. His grip around her waist tightened a little, but the hand at her neck did loosen. "Like this?"
His hand was barely touching her neck now, and he had tried to position the arm around her waist against her soft flesh. His movements were so careful that he hardly seemed like a cold-blooded assassin.
Jiang Yingcheng couldn't help looking back at him in surprise.
He was an assassin, but he seemed pretty kindly?
"Mm-hmm!" Jiang Yingcheng relaxed a little and nodded. "That's much better!"
Their interaction was so harmonious that the tension among the others came to a strange standstill for a moment.
Jiang Tinghuai opened his mouth several times, but couldn't find his voice.
The little girl was so unruffled in the face of danger that she made him look like a useless adult.
"I am the Crown Prince of Great Rui," Jiang Tinghuai declared. "If you need a hostage, I can take my imperial sister's place."
The assassin wasn't wearing a mask, either. Openly exposed to the air, his face bore unmistakable disdain.
"Your Highness must be joking." He chuckled. "Who in Great Rui doesn't know that the Crown Prince excels in both scholarly strategy and martial arts? If I took you hostage, you and the Shadow Guards nearby would probably join forces to subdue me before I even reached Emperor Mingze."
Jiang Tinghuai knitted his brows in irritation.
Everything about