No matter how Baozhu stamped her feet and hurled abuse, the mysterious killer who had intercepted the assassins never showed themselves.
Huo Qilang inwardly thanked her luck. After using her inner force to keep Li Yuanying alive, her martial prowess had declined considerably, and her vigilance along with it. Had Wei Da not been watching in secret, those five experts would have wiped out both siblings in one fell swoop. She was also secretly relieved she had never truly tried to seduce the Princess; otherwise, Wei Da would have dealt with her before the assassins ever could. The thought left her badly shaken.
The assassination attempt made Madam Li suspect there was a traitor in the Prince's Residence.
Neither sibling agreed, however. Huo Qilang might not be able to take heads and vanish without a trace like the Green-Robed Wanderer, but cutting down five people at once would still be as easy as turning her hand.
The siblings had decided on their late-night drinks on the spur of the moment. If there had been a traitor, it would have been safer to arrange the assassination for Huo Qilang's regular ten-day rest, when she left the Prince's Residence to amuse herself.
But regardless, the assassins' presence meant their enemies could no longer contain themselves. Even without a traitor, there had to be spies stationed within Youzhou City.
"If it were the emperor, he would first try sending a eunuch directly to order my death. When a ruler commands his subject to die, when a father commands his son to perish, I have no grounds to refuse as his son and subject. Or, to be safer, he could summon me back to Chang'an before ordering my death. The Deposed Crown Prince, Li Chengyuan, and Prince Wei, Li Yuanchai, are the likely masterminds.