Chapter 229: Who Shot The Arrow?
Chapter 229: Who Shot The Arrow?
"Who was bold enough to try an assassination attempt on the Crown Prince of the Mortal Realm?" Wei Guang asked out loud as he stared at the bodies of dead assassins lined up in the backyard of the Inn.
"He’s next in line for the throne, I’m sure there are more than enough people out there who would want to eliminate him." Xin Cheng answered while passing a glance in the Crown Prince’s direction who was standing on the opposite side of the courtyard with the Crown Princess.
The Crown Prince did spare a quick look in Xin Cheng’s direction but didn’t say anything in response.
"Your Highness, they have nothing on them. We will need to investigate further to find out who was behind all this." Mo Li, Crown Prince’s right hand man and the chief of Imperial guards, informed the Crown Prince once he was done inspecting the bodies of the dead assassins.
The Crown Prince nodded his head in understanding before ordering, "Take care of them." The guards immediately started moving as they dragged the assassins’ bodies out of the courtyard. Turning his attention toward Xiang Ling and her husbands, he spoke, "My apologies for what happened tonight. I’m also grateful for you saving my life. I owe you all one, especially to Young Lady Chen. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. Since this matter is wrapped up for the time being, you all should head back to your room to get some rest."
He was ready to leave the back courtyard with Su LiangLin, but got stopped by Xiang Ling even before he could have turned his body properly to walk away from there.
"Your Highness."
Turning around to once again face the woman, Wu Tian asked, "You have something to talk about, Lady Chen?"
"Of course, I have." Xiang Ling replied with a little smile curving the corners of her lips. "Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to disturb Your Highness’ rest." She added, causing a frown to form on Wu Tian’s face.
"Lady Chen, if it’s not anything serious, let’s talk about it tomorrow morning. His Highness needs to rest-"
"It is an important matter, Master Mo. Like I just said, I will not dare to disturb His Highness’ rest time if not for this important matter." Xiang Ling didn’t feel the least bit intimidated as she spoke.
"It’s alright, Mo Li. Let Lady Chen speak whatever is on her mind." Wu Tian signaled Mo Li to calm down and stay silent before he turned his full attention back to Lady Chen.
Xiang Ling gave the Crown Prince a small appreciative smile before she finally spoke. "You might need some time to investigate the assassin’s attack tonight. However, there’s another issue that we need to solve, and I’m sure you might be able to solve this issue immediately, Your Highness."
"What issue you are talking about, Ah Xiang?" Su LiangLin asked while looking just as confused as everyone else. The only other person, except for Xiang Ling, who didn’t look confused were Xin Cheng and Zhang Xuan. These two men actually appeared as if they knew exactly what their wife was going to say.
"If Your Highness can recall, the assassins all came from the roof, right?" Xiang Ling asked and both the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess nodded their heads in agreement.
"Then how come none of you are wondering about who shot that arrow as it came from the back of the room? It couldn’t be shot by an assassin. Then who was behind it?" Xiang Ling finally revealed the issue, leaving almost everyone stunned.
Su LiangLin frowned as she observed Xiang Ling for a moment before turning her attention toward Wu Tian only to find him staring at Xiang Ling with a blank look on his face. Feeling suspicious, she asked, "Ah Xiang, why I feel from your words that you already know the person who shot the arrow?"
Xiang Ling smiled at Su LiangLin before she took out the broken pieces of the arrow from her sleeve and showed it to everyone. "Your Highness, I’m sure you can recognize the symbol on this arrow. After all, it’s your Imperial army’s emblem."
Su LiangLin was the first one to grab the arrow from Xiang Ling as she quickly checked the mark. When she looked up at the Crown Prince in question, she found the man turning his sharp gaze at Mo Li.
"Apologies, Your Highness. I should have taken care of this matter on my own instead of letting someone else do it." Mo Li immediately went on his knees as he apologized. The entire army followed him and knelt to ask for forgiveness.
The Crown Prince let out a frustrated sigh before turning his attention back to Xiang Ling. "Lady Chen, since you have already find out about who shot the arrow, I’m sure you must have some ideas as why I used this method."
Xiang Ling smirked at the Crown Prince’s chosen words as she was unable to help it. "It’s pretty obvious that you wanted to test me and my husbands. But whatever happened tonight, you was prepared for none of it. You didn’t really expect me and my husbands to come to your aid because you have been doubting us. Neither did you expect the assassins to attack you out of the blue. Since it has already come to this, I must say it. Your Highness, you can’t follow us to Dongzhi City."
"What?"
"Lady Chen, don’t forget that you are talking to His Highness, the Crown Prince."
Xiang Ling let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know exactly what I’m saying and to whom. Let me repeat my words, the Crown Prince can not accompany us on this journey."
Mo Li seemed really angry and immediately stood up with his sword ready to attack Xiang Ling. But he was immediately stopped by Wu Tian who kept his gaze fixed on Xiang Ling and asked, "Then how can I accompany you on this journey?"