Who Was the Mastermind?

Xiao Ge said, "Granted. Draw portraits of the dead assassins and have them thoroughly investigated to find out their identities."

His sons were adept at setting traps. The fact that the survivor so easily uttered the words "Crown Prince" made Xiao Ge feel that this wasn't the final answer. Perhaps he could find the real answer by getting information out of the little beggar.

Kang Shilin was also waiting for news and hadn't left.

Seeing that the head of the Imperial Guards had left, he said, "Shouldn't we tell Prince of Qi about this?"

Xiao Ge nodded and gestured to Eunuch Xie.

Not long after Eunuch Xie left, Xiao Lingyan rushed in and knelt before Emperor Xiao Ge: "Please, Father, grant me justice."

"Get up, I will definitely give you an explanation." Xiao Ge's words were more directed at Xiao Lingyan Kang Shilin.

"Your subject wishes to visit Zhao Zhiwei tomorrow," Xiao Lingyan added.

"Go. Take the imperial physician and some good medicine with you, and properly comfort Zhiwei."

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

Seeing that Xiao Lingyan's anxiety and concern just now seemed genuine, Kang Shilin's mood finally improved.

He stood up. "Alright, I'm leaving the palace too."

Xiao Ge said, "Little Five, see your great-uncle off for me."

"Yes."

Xiao Lingyan accompanied Kang Shilin towards the palace gate. Kang Shilin said, "Are you really going to let Zhiwei live like this from now on?"

"No, they won't. This time, Father is angry, so those people definitely won't dare to make any rash moves again," Xiao Lingyan said.

Kang Shilin sighed and said nothing more.

Before 11 a. m. the next morning, the Zhao Residence in Nanyang welcomed a group of people from the capital. In addition to Xiao Lingyan and his men, there were two imperial physicians and half a cart of medicinal herbs.

The imperial physician examined Zhao Ruxi's wound and, seeing that although it was deep, it was healing well without any redness or swelling, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Zhao, you used the wound medicine from the Benevolence and Kindness Hall in the capital, didn't you? It's a good medicine. Luckily you brought it, otherwise the wound wouldn't have healed so well," the imperial physician said.

Zhao Ruxi smiled and said, "When I left the capital, I was worried about bumping into things or having headaches or fevers without good medicine, so I brought a lot of medicine with me. I didn't expect it to come in so handy."

"It's also because Lord Zhao is in good health and young that his wounds heal quickly," another imperial physician said.

They cleaned Zhao Ruxi's wounds and were about to apply the medicine they had brought when the old nanny standing to the side said, "The prince said to use this medicine." As she spoke, she handed over a bottle of medicine.

This old woman, surnamed Lin, was a palace maid brought by Xiao Lingyan. She refused to let the imperial physicians use their medicine, instead using the medicine brought by Xiao Lingyan, clearly showing her distrust of everyone in the palace.

The two imperial physicians looked embarrassed.

Zhao Ruxi hurriedly said, "Your Highness doesn't seem to suspect you two, but rather fears that someone might tamper with the medicine you brought. If someone secretly switches the medicine you brought, it would be entirely your responsibility if anything goes wrong. That's why you're being extra careful."

The two imperial physicians' expressions changed, and they quickly brought their medicines to their noses to smell them.

Nanny Lin ignored them and personally applied medicine and bandaged Zhao Ruxi's wounds with practiced skill.

After bandaging the wound, Nanny Lin said, "His Highness has something to say to Lord Zhao. I wonder if it would be convenient for Lord Zhao to speak with him?"

Zhao Ruxi glanced outside and said, "Please come in, Your Highness."

The two imperial physicians tactfully took their leave, and servants led them to rest in the outer courtyard.

Xiao Lingyan entered the room, first looked at Zhao Ruxi's face, and said in a low voice, "You've suffered."

Zhao Ruxi smiled at him, "It's alright."

At this moment, everyone else in the room withdrew, leaving only Qingfeng and Xiao Liuzi, the two servants. However, this was the inner hall, and the door was open. Zhao Ruxi was injured, and Xiao Lingyan didn't want her to accompany him to the pavilion to talk in the hot sun. Therefore, after exchanging a few words, the two fell silent.

Actually, there's no need to say anything. What needed to be said was already made clear the night Xiao Lingyan came to Nanyang.

This assassination attempt was not actually arranged by the Crown Prince or any other princes or princesses; it was a staged event orchestrated by them. The assassins were actually death row inmates with martial arts skills, recruited from various prisons by Xiao Lingyan's secret guards, who were then forcibly trained and sent to their deaths.

They were already death row inmates, each with their own agendas, so they willingly sacrificed themselves for others. However, these people never knew until their deaths that the one who instigated them was the Prince of Qi. Several men thought it was the Third Prince, while the woman thought that he was ostensibly the Third Prince but actually the Crown Prince.

The reason the survivor was said to be the crown prince was to frame him. The person who bought their lives promised that whoever could flawlessly frame the crown prince before dying would have their family receive a larger reward.

The teapot and teacups thrown from the carriage were not thrown by Lu Yun, but by Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi had taken the Sharpness Pill, which gave her extraordinary eyesight and throwing accuracy. Combined with the power boost from the Great Strength Pill, whatever she threw was not only accurate but also powerful and fast, making it almost impossible for anyone to stop her. Furthermore, since everyone assumed she didn't know anything about weapons, using them unexpectedly was a sure-fire killer move.

The only difference between the plan they discussed and the original plan was the little beggar. He wasn't originally part of the plan.

Although she didn't approve of involving her child in such matters, letting him witness someone die in front of him, Zhao Ruxi had to admit it was a stroke of genius.

Without the child, this assassination might have remained a cold case, since it would be difficult to find conclusive evidence that the Third Prince ordered it—which it wasn't originally. But if the child overheard the assassins' conversation and spoke about it, then there would be evidence.

After all, those people had no connection with the child, and the child's words were highly credible, so there was almost no possibility of framing or slander. This directly sealed the fate of the Third Prince in this matter.

When the Crown Prince learns that the Third Prince has framed him for such an act, he will surely be furious. Even if Xiao Ge is lenient towards his son and doesn't punish them, the two will still fight like dogs. In that case, he won't have time to bother Zhao Ruxi.

This is what they call shifting the blame eastward.

She threw teapots and teacups, trying to avoid making the deaths too bloody, hoping to minimize the impact on the children.

She also believed that Xiao Lingyan would properly settle the child in the future and would not let him wander aimlessly again.

Having figured out the ins and outs of this situation, Zhao Ruxi felt she had nothing more to ask.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Lingyan said, seemingly to reassure her, "Don't worry, this kind of thing shouldn't happen again."

Zhao Ruxi knew he was stating the facts—after this incident, Xiao Ge would keep the princes in check, and the Crown Prince and the Third Prince would be too busy fighting to care about anything else, so they probably wouldn't target her anymore.

She and Xiao Lingyan orchestrated this whole charade for this very purpose.

"Hmm, I hope so," she said.