But isn't his luck just too bad? He hadn't even seen Luo Ningshuang off yet, and now Luo Zhiheng has appeared! This is another life-saving grace, how did he end up in the hands of these two sisters?
"Whether you know me or not, since you're alright, I'll be leaving," Luo Zhiheng said, standing up. Her sudden decision to save this man was simply because he hadn't killed her when he could have eliminated any future trouble, and instead had given her silver notes as a reward. A man like that couldn't be all that bad.
She also had her own selfish motives. This man's late-night visit to the Bai family, and the fact that he was so relentlessly pursued by them, showed the depth of their hatred. His very existence was enough to cause the Bai family trouble, and coincidentally, she wanted them to suffer. That's why she wasted time saving him. 17.
"You're just leaving like this? Don't you have any requests of me?" Zang Tianwu asked uncertainly. Back then, Luo Ningshuang used gratitude as a condition, each condition so ingenious. Luo Zhiheng also saved him; was it really just out of kindness?
Luo Zhiheng looked at him strangely, then suddenly laughed and said, "I do have a request. Since you know who I am, just pretend we never met today. Forget about today's events, and consider it my request."
Luo Zhiheng rode away in Zang Tianwu's shocked gaze. She never imagined that the man in front of her was the one who knocked her unconscious in the carriage that day, nor did she know that he had tried every means to kill her in order to get rid of Luo Ningshuang's coercive conditions.
Watching Luo Zhiheng disappear into the forest, Zang Tianwu was overwhelmed with shock and embarrassment. The person he had been plotting to kill had actually saved his life. He knew how serious his injuries were; if he had remained unconscious all night without anyone bandaging and stopping the bleeding, he would have bled to death. Therefore, he owed Luo Zhiheng a life!
However, Luo Zhiheng did not try to negotiate terms based on gratitude like Luo Ningshuang did, leaving Zang Tianwu with nothing but shock and admiration.
No wonder General Loge dotes on Luo Zhiheng so much; the twin sisters have such diametrically opposed personalities. But in Zang Tianwu's heart, the life-saving grace that Luo Zhiheng took for granted was heavier than that of Luo Ningshuang.
With a strange smile, she said, "If Luo Ningshuang asks me to assassinate Luo Zhiheng again, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to commit suicide..."
When Luo Zhiheng returned to the Shiwang Palace, it was already past noon. She had thought that things would get chaotic if she came back late, but she never expected it to be such a mess.
At the entrance of the Shiwang Palace, General Murong stood majestically in front, surrounded by strangely dressed soldiers. The atmosphere was tense, and a battle was about to break out!
Second update! 10,000 words for today! Hua Sha will be updating the stepmother side story today. Love you all, group kisses! Please vote, leave comments, and give monthly tickets!
239 Princess Aman is dead! Coincidence or premeditated?
Updated: 2013-08-08 14:52:53 Word Count: 7775
"I'll ask you one last time, are you going to hand over the person or not?" the strangely dressed, burly man shouted angrily in a strange accent.
General Murong sneered, "If we didn't do it, why should we hand over the people? If you insist that we did it, then produce the evidence. If the evidence can convince me, then I will hand over my head to you without having to hand over Luo Zhiheng and Mu Yunhe."
"That sounds nice! Only you have the motive to kill, and now you dare to deny it? Besides, we haven't considered this a matter between two countries. We've been emphasizing that this is a matter between Princess Aman, Mu Yunhe, and Luo Zhiheng. Now, asking you to hand over the people is just to hand them over. Why do you keep linking this matter to the Mu Dynasty?" the general said angrily.
"That's just sophistry! Mu Yunhe is the esteemed young prince of my Mu Dynasty, and Luo Zhiheng is his legal wife. They are both of noble status. How could someone like you, a lowly scoundrel, just take them as you please? Your Western Barbarian Kingdom is far too arrogant. You truly have no respect for the Mu Dynasty. Do you really think I'm afraid of you?" General Murong roared in fury.
The general from the Western Barbarian Kingdom was taken aback for a moment, then sneered, "I know you are the closest military spirit to the God of War in the entire world, but being close doesn't mean you are. You are not the God of War yet. Don't try to intimidate us with your God of War aura. Victory can command armies throughout the world and slaughter on all sides, but you are not qualified! Let me tell you, I am not afraid of you. If you really don't hand over the person today, then we might have to invade. At that time, we will be in the right, and even the prince of the Silver Moon Kingdom won't be able to say anything."
"What arrogance!" A cold voice suddenly rang out from behind the crowd, speaking before General Murong could react. The voice sneered, "Even if our General Murong isn't a war god, he's still a formidable figure, the soul of the army. Who do you think you are, daring to criticize and speak disrespectfully to our General Murong? This matter has disgraced our Mu Dynasty. I'll have to have a word with your Western Barbarian Kingdom about whether you truly intend to create a new realm outside of war to punish you shameless and arrogant fools!"
"Who goes there?" The general from the Western Barbarian Kingdom turned around abruptly, and the woman riding a tall horse came into view. Her youth made his pupils shrink, and he instinctively asked, "Who are you?"
"Hmph! They want to find me, but they don't even recognize me. The Western Barbarian Kingdom is nothing special." Luo Zhiheng sneered contemptuously. At this moment, she had already discarded her black clothes and bought a simple white dress to wear. Her cold and aloof face was beautiful and refined, making her look like an immortal who did not eat the food of this world.
She paid no heed to the group of soldiers surrounding the King's Gate, and spurred her horse forward. The soldiers instinctively parted to make way for her.
Upon seeing this, the general immediately shouted, "You're Luo Zhiheng?! Seize her now!"
"Who dares?" General Murong roared, ordering General Murong beside him, "Go now!"
General Murong could no longer contain his burning desire. At the ancestor's command, he immediately charged into the encirclement. Although he was over forty years old, he possessed the aura of a dragon and tiger. He leaped in front of Luo Zhiheng's horse, his long sword flashing out sharply. No one dared to approach him within a dozen meters.
With a bang! General Murong planted Guan Yu's broadsword on the ground, standing like a guardian deity in front of Luo Zhiheng's horse. His tiger-like eyes shot out with lightning speed, intimidating the soldiers of the Western Barbarian Kingdom with his ferocity.
Luo Zhiheng looked at the soldiers around her with a calm and indifferent expression, and said coldly, "Don't be too arrogant, Western Barbarian Kingdom. My Mu Dynasty is not a country without people. If you really want to tear up the mask here, the Mu Dynasty will fight to the end. But remember, you will bear the consequences!"
The Western Barbarian general's gaze was grim as he declared righteously, "This matter is one where you have wronged the Western Barbarian Kingdom. If someone had died on the battlefield, or been killed by you, the Western Barbarian Kingdom would have resolved the matter with force on the battlefield. But you and your husband are utterly despicable and shameless! Your duel with the princess was clearly voluntary. Your injury was your fate, but your husband, enraged by your injury, secretly sent people to harm our princess! Is this what you call being a gentleman?"
Luo Zhiheng's expression turned cold: "Princess Aman was ambushed? She's injured?"
The general's eyes were filled with grief, and he gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Stop pretending! Princess Aman died in this ambush, you must know that!"
"She's dead?!" Luo Zhiheng was shocked for a moment, then coldly said, "What does her death have to do with us? What evidence do you have to accuse us of doing this? Produce the evidence. If you can't produce evidence, then don't spout nonsense. You're trying to sow discord between the two countries. Can you bear the serious consequences?"
"Evidence? What other evidence do you want? Is this yours?" The general from the Western Barbarian Kingdom took out a golden leaf and asked angrily.
Luo Zhiheng's pupils constricted!
Because that leaf was exactly the same as the gold leaf that decorated her desert dance that day!
Luo Zhiheng, with her keen intuition, only paused for a moment upon seeing the item before quickly regaining her composure. Princess Aman's death was highly suspicious; she died on her way back to her homeland after leaving the Southern Dynasty, assassinated. A gold leaf was found at the assassination scene. Gold leaves themselves weren't particularly rare, but what was infuriating was that Luo Zhiheng had previously worn numerous gold leaves during dances, a fact known throughout the land!
The reason people came knocking on her door, convinced that Luo Zhiheng was involved in Princess Aman's death, was probably because of this gold leaf. Once they connected it to her, everything seemed to make sense. After all, she had conflicts and hatred with Princess Aman, and it was understandable that she killed someone for revenge.
No wonder the Western Barbarian Kingdom is so convinced that they were responsible for this.
But what exactly happened? A conspiracy? A frame-up? A scheme to kill someone else? Or someone else profiting from the situation? Luo Zhiheng considered all the possibilities. Although she was completely confused, she was certain that someone was deliberately targeting her, otherwise they wouldn't have left such obvious clues.
Does someone want to kill her?
"You're speechless now, aren't you? I advise you to surrender and return to the Western Barbarian Kingdom with us. Killing a princess of another country is a crime that even the monarch of your Mu Dynasty wouldn't dare to easily take the blame for, would he?" the general sneered.
"I'm asking you, when did your princess die?" Luo Zhiheng asked.
"Twelve days ago!"
"Since he's been dead for so many days, why are you only now coming to find the murderer?"
The general replied impatiently, "Of course, we must first transport the princess's body back to the country before we come back to find you two murderers!"
"You'd better not convict me yet. Whether I'm the murderer or not isn't up to you to decide. You were traveling back and forth for more than half a month, and she's been dead for twelve days. That means she was murdered just a few days after you left the Southern Dynasty?" Luo Zhiheng asked, squinting.
The general subconsciously didn't want to answer. He seemed to be being led by the nose by Luo Zhiheng without his knowledge, and he always felt that Luo Zhiheng was very strange.
"Not going to answer? You think you can convict me based on a single gold leaf? You're far too naive. When Princess Aman left, I was already severely injured and unconscious. I'm sure you all knew that. Even if it was a duel between us, she disregarded relations between our two countries and seriously injured me. Shouldn't you have shown some remorse? But you didn't, not even a single apology. I'm not saying anything more, but you still dare to turn around and bite me?" Luo Zhiheng accused without any fear.
She said coldly, "Three days. You left for three days. Do you think I, who was seriously injured and unconscious, had any opportunity or time to arrange an assassination? Or a successful one? The person who assassinated your princess must have been a formidable figure, or you soldiers must have been too stupid. Otherwise, so many of you wouldn't have failed to protect a princess."
The general turned pale at Luo Zhiheng's words, but Luo Zhiheng continued to mock her without any restraint: "I don't know what's wrong with your brains. Don't tell me I didn't have time to commit the crime or plan it. Even if I did, would I be stupid enough to leave such obvious evidence at the crime scene? Do you think I, Luo Zhiheng, am brain-dead, or are you all missing a screw? Don't insult your intelligence, and don't insult my wisdom, okay?"
“Even if you didn’t do it yourself, even if you weren’t involved, don’t you still have a husband? He’s still conscious, and he’s still able to plan all this! You can’t deny it no matter what, you must have done it.” The general treated his sophistry as if it were well-founded.
Luo Zhiheng laughed, a laugh tinged with sarcasm and contempt: "I'll say it again, produce the evidence! Otherwise, I will petition the Mu Dynasty and will definitely send troops to attack your Western Barbarian Kingdom, on the grounds that you dared to slander and frame our young prince! Let me warn you again, produce the evidence if you have it, if it's some idiotic evidence, then you can take your soldiers and immediately go back to your Western Barbarian Kingdom, and stop embarrassing your country in other countries! I don't have the time to waste with you!"
"Now, get out of the way!" She raised the reins, her cold gaze sweeping over the surrounding soldiers as she shouted sharply.
The soldiers were intimidated by Luo Zhiheng's imposing presence and actually took a few steps back. Luo Zhiheng, however, rode forward, clearly not taking them seriously.
The Western Barbarian general was speechless, stumped by Luo Zhiheng's words. Upon reflection, wasn't that exactly right? Could this truly be a premeditated frame-up? But the princess had sacrificed herself, while Luo Zhiheng was alive and well. It was impossible to let Luo Zhiheng off so easily.
"No matter how you try to deny it, this matter must be related to you. Otherwise, why would only gold leaves have been left behind? Moreover, it is very likely that this was the deposit you paid to the hitman for hiring someone to kill you, which he accidentally left at the scene." The general was still trying to deny it.
"Say whatever you want, but every word you utter now is nonsense, because it cannot convict me. Instead of wasting your time arguing with me, you should hurry up and find the real murderer. Oh, and also, I am very saddened by the death of your princess. Please accept my condolences!" Luo Zhiheng said with a sorrowful expression.
As things have developed to this point, just as Luo Zhiheng said, the two countries are evenly matched, but the presence of Mu Yunhe changes everything. Even without Mu Yunhe, the Western Barbarian Kingdom cannot arrest Luo Zhiheng without concrete evidence. Therefore, their commotion today, besides embarrassing the Western Barbarian Kingdom, also serves to warn Luo Zhiheng.
At the very least, Luo Zhiheng realized from this incident that there was a vicious person behind it all, someone who wanted to get rid of her. But who could that person be?
General Murong condescended to lead Luo Zhiheng's horse to the palace gate. As Luo Zhiheng dismounted and stepped down, General Murong couldn't help but beam with delight, and chuckled softly, "Good girl, you've come back just in time. What were you doing last night? Hurry back, the young prince is so anxious he's about to kill someone."
Luo Zhiheng glanced back at the group of people from the Western Barbarian Kingdom, feeling very uneasy.
"Don't worry, I'll handle them. You go in quickly," General Murong urged.
Luo Zhiheng nodded and hurried inside. She had just reached the courtyard where she and Mu Yunhe lived when she heard Mu Yunhe's voice, now distorted, roar: "Release me!"
Xiao Xizi cried out in terror, "Master, I beg you! The little princess will definitely be alright! Didn't she tell Qi Wan that if she didn't return by noon today, they should go to the Bai family to demand her return? General Murong has already sent men to the Bai family! Please wait a little longer. The mistress will do anything for you. You can't let the mistress be distracted at this critical moment!" 17.
"Yes, yes, Miss will be alright, just wait a little longer, just wait a little longer, waaaah..." Qi Wan seemed to be saying these words to comfort herself, but as she spoke, she burst into tears.
"Get out of my way! I'm going to find Aheng myself. Get out of my way!" Mu Yunhe's cold voice was shrouded in gloom. Perhaps because he had been shouting for too long, his already weak voice became even weaker.
A warm current flowed through Luo Zhiheng's heart. In this lonely and unfamiliar world, there was a man who would always do anything for her and care about her at all times. That feeling made her bewildered heart feel warm.
She rushed inside and saw the room in complete disarray. Mu Yunhe was being desperately held back by Xiao Xizi, and his face was flushed with an unnatural redness. Luo Zhiheng called out with concern, "What are you doing? Hurry up and go back to bed!"
Mu Yunhe froze, then abruptly looked up, his long, clear eyes instantly turning bloodshot. He roared through gritted teeth, "Where the hell have you been? You still know how to come back!"
Although she was scolded, Luo Zhiheng was not sad or angry. Instead, she felt warm inside. She quickly went to Mu Yunhe's side and said gently, "I've come back from the dead, haven't I? Don't be angry. Go lie down first."
"You still care if I live or die? You went to such a dangerous place by yourself, do you really still care about me? Don't you know I'll worry? Luo Zhiheng, do you even have a brain? Is that a place you can just go to so easily? What exactly do you want? Do you think you can stop causing trouble by making me live in fear?" Mu Yunhe was extremely angry and terrified, so he completely lost control of his temper and lashed out at Luo Zhiheng!
Mu Yunhe wasn't stupid. The fact that the Bai family dared to openly assassinate them, and even openly use their names, proved that the Bai family had power and didn't take Mu Yunhe or even the Mu Royal Mansion seriously. This arrogant and domineering Bai family was like a ferocious beast. They didn't know the Bai family's background, but the Bai family must have investigated them. Luo Zhiheng's reckless spending of money to investigate would have unimaginable consequences!
Mu Yunhe couldn't even imagine what would happen if Luo Zhiheng failed and was captured. Would she be killed on the spot by the Bai family without any regard for consequences? Or would she be tortured and abused by the Bai family? Mu Yunhe's mind was in complete turmoil. Anxiety, fear, worry, and despair swept over him, almost shattering his reason.
In that instant, a phrase flashed through Mu Yunhe's mind: he absolutely could not lose her!
This was the first time Luo Zhiheng had ever seen Mu Yunhe lose his temper like this, and she was stunned. The gentle and refined Mu Yunhe, although he had a bad temper in private, was innocent and harmless, and had always been a magnanimous man. It seemed that she had really scared him.
Luo Zhiheng's personality is like that of a donkey; if someone says something nice to her, she will listen to it.
"I know it was my fault, don't be angry. I'm back safe and sound, aren't I? Besides, I had a backup plan. Didn't Qiwan already give you the letter?" Her voice was soft as she reached out to help Mu Yunhe, but he slapped her hand away. Luo Zhiheng's expression turned aggrieved in an instant.
"The letter you left behind will only make people more uneasy! Luo Zhiheng, if you dare to act so rashly again, don't blame me for being impolite!" Mu Yunhe's brows were furrowed with fury.
What did that letter say? What did it mean that I should go to the Bai family's house for a stroll, and if I hadn't returned by noon the next day, I should go to the Bai family's house to demand my return?
Take a stroll? Did she think the Bai family was a place anyone could just wander into? The main hall of the Bai Tiger Hall was located right in the middle of the Bai family mansion! If she made a slight mistake, they might kill her before they even knew who she was! Mu Yunhe felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it, filled with lingering fear.
"So what exactly do you want?" Luo Zhiheng asked helplessly.
Mu Yunhe ignored her, turned around and staggered back to the bed, lying down with his eyes closed and completely ignoring her.
"Miss..." Qi Wan carefully checked Luo Zhiheng, afraid that she might get hurt.
Xiao Xizi, fearing that Luo Zhiheng and Mu Yunhe would be angry, quickly said softly, "Your Highness, please don't be angry. The young prince was just too worried about you. He didn't see you when he woke up this morning, so he looked everywhere for you. He just found out that you actually went to the Bai family. His face turned pale on the spot..."
"Get out of here! What use is your nonsense?" Mu Yunhe suddenly interrupted Xiao Xizi angrily.
Xiao Xizi, trembling with fear, quickly left after seven bowls of food.
Luo Zhiheng let out a long sigh, utterly helpless with the awkward Mu Yunhe. She said with a half-smile, "Get out, everyone? Does that include me getting out?"
Mu Yunhe seemed not to hear anything, lying there with his eyes closed. But Luo Zhiheng clearly saw his ears twitching, as if he was carefully listening to the sounds in the room.
Luo Zhiheng pouted and walked over to gently touch him, but Mu Yunhe suddenly turned away, seemingly ignoring her completely.
"Hey, are you really ignoring me? You're making me really sad," Luo Zhiheng asked, clinging to him. But Mu Yunhe remained silent. Luo Zhiheng waited a while, her fingers twirling his hair, but he abruptly pulled it all back to the front.
"Aren't you being childish?" Luo Zhiheng slapped the bed and stood up, saying, "If you're not going to talk to me, I'm leaving."
Still ignoring me!
I'm really leaving!