Intelligence Ultime

Chapitre 96

"That's right, that's right! In a little while... tell Steward Qin to go... squat more often..."

Zhu Huihui felt his expression didn't seem sincere, and after a moment's thought, she realized she had probably made a fool of herself again, and he was just too embarrassed to say it. Thick-skinned and unconcerned, she casually changed the subject: "By the way, Brother Liu Yue, what's the name of the place where the Twelve Zodiac Envoys are buried?"

Liu Yue had said that his subordinates had found all the bodies of the Twelve Zodiac Envoys and buried them. However, she had promised the Snake Envoy that she would visit the Blood Tower to see her daughter, so she needed to make sure she knew the truth to avoid the daughter going to the wrong grave to burn paper money in the future.

“In the Qixingshan Cemetery of Jing’an County, Yingning Prefecture, there are stone tablets in front of the graves.”

Zhu Huihui silently memorized the name.

Liu Yue had recovered from the shock of "the blood-soaked silver spear": "Huihui, why did Madam Wan and the others drive you away?" Although Zhu Huihui had only said it casually at the time, he had always remembered it, and now that he had nothing else to do, he asked.

Zhu Huihui looked frustrated: "I don't know either! I didn't do anything wrong. I even helped them with their work. I didn't slack off or cause any trouble. It's just that the two of them are acting so strangely!"

"Tell me, what's wrong with them?"

“That noon, I was delivering medicine to a village for my wife when I ran into a couple who were called ‘colluding with each other.’ They had conspired with that scoundrel Sang to capture five big guys surnamed Ba. I knew these five men; although they were simple-minded, they were very loyal and had even helped us before. I wanted to save them…”

She told Liu Yue everything, including the shameful thing about drugging someone with aphrodisiacs and how she almost got bitten on the face by the lecherous man. In fact, the whole thing had been bothering her, and she told Liu Yue in the hopes that he could help her figure out what she had done to upset the Madam and the Master, who could turn on her so easily.

Liu Yue frowned: "You mean, Mr. Chen and Mrs. Wan refer to you as Yu Xiaoyao's junior?"

"Yes!" Zhu Huihui felt wronged when the topic came up; she didn't even know that person!

Liu Yue stared intently at her and slowly said, "Do you know who Yu Xiaoyao is?"

Zhu Huihui shook her head, her eyes widening: "Brother Liuyue, who is Yu Xiaoyao? I said I don't know her, but my husband and wife insist I'm lying to them!"

Her eyes were bright, clear, and transparent; one could see right through them. There was no room for scheming in such eyes.

Liu Yue smiled gently: "If you don't know me, that's fine. Yu Xiaoyao is Mr. Chen and Mrs. Wan's enemy. They may have mistaken you for someone else and misunderstood you!"

Zhu Huihui muttered, "Do I look that much like that person? Even with four eyes, the master and madam would mistake me?"

Liu Yue laughed and said, "Not really. The appearance is different, and the temperament... is not quite the same either."

How do you know? Do you know her?

"I've heard of her."

"Is she a good person or a bad person?" Zhu Huihui asked curiously, and then said, "Ah, Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen are good people, and their enemies are of course bad people!" Although she was misunderstood by Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen, she always remembered their kindness in her heart.

Liu Yue gazed at the light, melancholy rain, her eyes lingering: "Although she's not a good person, she can't be considered a bad person either. To be precise, she should be described as... an oddball."

Zhu Huihui tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and clapped her hands, laughing, "Ah! I know, she's a demon who's both righteous and evil."

Liu Yue smiled and nodded: "Pretty much. By the way, tell me again, how did Se Sha die?"

“That’s how he was. He grabbed my hand and tried to bite me, drooling on my face. I got angry and smashed his nose with my head, making it bleed, and then it popped off!” Zhu Huihui finished speaking and added, “Then Mr. Chen and Mrs. Wan wrongly accused me of poisoning him to death!”

Liu Yue pondered for a while but couldn't figure it out. She then said, "Okay, start from the beginning and describe in detail how you drugged Se Sha and the others, and how they died."

Zhu Huihui looked at him, her face full of worry. Was this story really that interesting? She didn't care how the slut died, she didn't care if she was accused of murder, so why was he so interested?

She sighed deeply: "...I put the drug in the pot, pretended to gather firewood, and listened to their conversation. They were bragging and drinking. Later, the drug took effect, and that lecherous fiend was the first to notice something was wrong. He came out through the window and stabbed me here with a long needle!" Zhu Huihui touched her brow. Although the matter was over and the wound had healed, she could still feel a trace of pain.

Liu Yue stared at her; there was indeed a slight blush between her brows, barely noticeable unless you looked closely. "And then?"

"Then I fell there, blood streaming from my forehead! That lecherous bastard, his eyes narrowed to slits, was biting the needle in his mouth, saying how sweet it was. Chen Yilang told him not to kill me, and they argued for a bit. I took the opportunity to escape, but I couldn't get away and that lecherous bastard caught me..."

"So sweet?"

"Cough, that's swearing. If you don't understand, don't ask!" Zhu Huihui said shamelessly. "Actually, although Lu Sha is skilled in martial arts, his ability to swear is less than half as good. If he curses, you won't get angry; if you curse him, you'll be furious..."

Liu Yue's head was throbbing from all that " ": "Alright, alright! Let's continue!"

"Then, he came and bit my face..."

She recounted the events in detail, and Liu Yue relentlessly pressed for answers, asking about every single detail. Finally, Zhu Huihui got annoyed, his face fell, and he turned his back, pretending not to hear her questions no matter what she asked.

Liu Yue still seemed confused. He turned his head, thought for a moment, and sighed with a slight smile.

Zhu Huihui glanced at him out of the corner of her eye: "What are you laughing at?" She was both laughing and sighing. What did that mean?

Liu Yue gazed out the window at the tranquil lake, where a light drizzled in the distance. In the distance, a lamp, its orange glow warmed the surrounding rain and mist.

"I wasn't laughing," Liu Yue said calmly, before suddenly shoving Zhu Huihui to the ground.

Zhu Huihui was furious and jumped up, shouting, "You—" before abruptly stopping.

But Liu Yue was standing where she had just been, with three broken arrows stuck in her apricot-colored wide sleeves, the shafts black and the arrowheads blue.

An uproar erupted on the dragon boat as several Imperial Guards appeared at the bow, each drawing their swords. Chief Steward Qin rushed in, saying, "Young Prince, are you alright? I'll send men to capture the assassin right away."

Liu Yue took the broken arrow off her clothes, examined it, and tossed it to Steward Qin: "Investigate the origin of this arrow! Prepare fast boats, and have the Jiao, Kang, and Shi squads come with me!"

With a swift movement, he was already outside the cabin. The next moment, his voice came from the distant lake: "Grey, go inside the cabin and don't come out! Steward Qin, protect Miss Zhu and go to Xuan Yue Water Island first!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Steward Qin replied, then turned around and said, "Miss Zhu—wait, where is she?"

After a moment's pause, Zhu Huihui peeked out from under the sandalwood table: "Here!"

"..."

Steward Qin was speechless. This girl looks a bit dim-witted, but she's surprisingly quick!

Zhu Huihui crawled out from under the table, grinning sheepishly, "Steward Qin, what happened?"

Steward Qin's face was darker than the sky: "There are assassins! The young prince has gone after the enemy!"