Chapter 45 Chapter 45 The bond will expire soon...

His reminder suddenly reminded Biezhi that Ji Ran still didn't know about this. Although she had mentioned it to him before, he was deaf and naturally couldn't hear her.

But Biezhi felt that he wouldn't refuse her.

They'd already kissed, so there was no reason for Ji Ran to refuse. After a

moment's reflection, Biezhi nodded matter-of-factly, "Of course he's willing."

Hearing this, Fu Huaiqing raised an eyebrow calmly, his voice steady, "Did he say so himself?"

A subtle teasing drifted past Biezhi's ear, and she frowned slightly, then quickly regained her composure. Prince Su's words still stung, as if he were certain Ji Ran would reject her without hesitation.

Biezhi stared at the man quietly, not really wanting to speak to him.

A faint, deathly silence permeated his flickering almond-shaped eyes, as if they could transform into a sharp blade piercing him. Seeing this, Fu Huaiqing's gaze froze for a moment.

He tilted his eyes slightly, sipping his teacup.

Biezhi was struck by the man's calm expression. Perhaps it was his gaze too resolute, or perhaps it was because she had just woken up and was still half-conscious. Under his gaze, she felt a flicker of doubt in her heart.

If Ji Ran truly didn't want to, and she forced him, wouldn't her future be a peaceful one... a far cry from the life she longed for?

Biezhi decided to find Ji Ran later and explain things to him, but Prince Su remained silent, leaving her unable to leave.

Just as she was considering a reason to leave, she heard the sound of quick, steady footsteps, moving swiftly in her direction.

Jiang Yue stepped past the girl's back and approached his own prince, leaning over to whisper.

After hearing his words, Fu Huaiqing gave a faint "hmm." He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Biezhi, who still stood there, immediately seeing through her intention to leave.

After a moment's silence, he said to her, "If you have other matters to attend to, please feel free to do so."

Biezhi's ears were suddenly clear, as if she had heard heavenly music. Without a moment's hesitation, she immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness." She bowed and took a few steps back, then stood under the eaves, waiting for Cheng Jin to leave.

She had come through the side door, so she left through that as well.

Cheng Jin winked at the guards waiting outside for Biezhi and watched the girl disappear beneath the curtains of the carriage as it drove away from the palace streets before turning back.

The moment he turned, he saw Jiang Yue hurrying towards him.

Despite his best efforts, Jiang Yue couldn't catch up. He panted slightly, staring at the empty streets, frowning, "Go find Ling Feng and have him stop Biezhi."

"What?" Cheng Jin was puzzled.

"Biezhi should be going to look for Ji Ran. Once she's made up her mind, she'll find a way to leave, even if someone tries to stop her. The secret guards who left with her won't be able to stop her." Jiang Yue spoke quickly, turning back to glance at the quiet courtyard. "Lord Su came here in a hurry to report something important, and the prince can't leave for the moment."

Cheng Jin understood immediately after hearing this.

If Biezhi went to look for Ji Ran at this time, she would only encounter Ji Ran herself, so she had no choice but to stop him.

Cheng Jin no longer hesitated and summoned the palace's secret guards, ordering them to stop the departing carriage first. He then rushed to where Ling Feng was.

The carriage was about to leave the palace street, and Biezhi hadn't had time to think about how to avoid the driver and leave quietly before her thoughts were suddenly brought back to her by the driver's loud voice.

"It seems someone is following us. Stay seated, young lady."

Biezhi frowned when she heard this.

With a flick of her finger, she lifted the pearl curtains from the carriage window, catching sight of two swiftly approaching figures.

With a sharp eye, she discerned their identities and hurriedly said, "No problem, they're from the palace." The driver was startled. He knew they were colleagues, and had only just been following a signal. He hadn't expected the young woman in the carriage to recognize them so quickly.

Biezhi had seen them before, on her first visit to the palace, and though she hadn't seen them since, she hadn't forgotten them.

The carriage stopped, awaiting their arrival.

She asked them if the prince had any other instructions, but they both shook their heads.

Biezhi couldn't imagine their purpose, except that Prince Su had other matters to attend to. Fortunately, one of them, noticing her confusion, explained, "Today is the day of the Qin family's funeral. Returning to the Hot Spring Villa now would mean you'll run into them. You might wait here for about half an hour before leaving."

Qin family, funeral.

Biezhi was stunned.

The grandiose announcement banquet and the lavish funeral, while logically sound from the Qin family's perspective, were a bit over the top.

To most people in the capital, they were now considered "dead." If they were to appear before anyone, resurrecting, they would surely be terrified.

Biezhi pondered this, no longer rushing to find Jiran, and decided to avoid him.

The carriage pulled toward the deserted, wooded streets, and the silence sank her into deep thought. She pondered the assassins who had appeared a few days earlier, baffled.

She hadn't offended anyone, so how could they have encountered them?

If they were targeting the Qin family, it wasn't just the "Second Miss," but nearly seven days had passed since her murder, and there had been no reports of anyone secretly seeking revenge against other members of the Qin family.

Besides the Qin family, there was only Xu Wenche.

The moment Xu Wenche's name crossed her mind, Biezhi dismissed it.

She hadn't been with Xu Wenche long, but at least for a month or so, and she'd noticed how the high-ranking officials in the capital were watching him covetously. A single move could have consequences, and no one would be stupid enough to attack him now.

Biezhi slowly straightened her back, half leaning against the window of the carriage, lost in thought.

It wasn't the Qin family, it wasn't Xu Wenche...

it was just her.

Her thoughts slowed down, and the blood coursing through Biezhi's body froze. She couldn't help but think of the assassins she'd met outside the city. They'd come for money, but the assassins were different; they wanted her life.

Biezhi couldn't figure out who else would want to take her life.

She caught a glimpse of her master's slow approaching figure from the corner of her eye. She frowned slightly, suppressed her thoughts, got off the carriage and went to meet her master. She couldn't help wondering: "How did the master know I was here?"

"I heard that you left the villa, so I asked them about your whereabouts. I didn't expect that you were faster than me. I just arrived at the palace and heard that you had just left." Ling Feng said calmly, without mentioning that he had heard from Cheng Jin that Biezhi seemed to be in a bad mood and asked him to come and see, so he came over. "Fortunately, the guards told us the direction you left, and we searched for you for several streets before we found you."

Biezhi had no doubts, "We're afraid of running into the Qin family's funeral procession, so we'll wait here for a while."

"Yes, it's inevitable that something will go wrong if we run into them." Ling Feng waved his sleeves and walked under the shade of the tree. His eyes swept over the girl who was in a slightly low mood. It was rare to see her like this, "What are you thinking about? You are so unhappy."

"It's okay." Biezhi looked at his master steadily with his eyes sideways and shook his head.

If ordinary assassins were chasing her, she would have told them. Given her master's temperament, he would have resolutely dealt with her. However, the assassins who came now were assassins, and their target was her. If her master or his colleagues were being hunted because of her, she would find it hard to accept.

"You're so sad when nothing's wrong," Ling Feng said in disbelief, pretending to sigh deeply. "The child has grown up and doesn't want to tell the truth to Master anymore."

"It's not a big deal." Bie Zhi couldn't help but curl her eyes, making up an excuse to avoid his disbelief. "It's because I haven't had any missions lately, so I'm planning to put Ji Ran and I on the agenda."

As the words flowed, a surge of joy slowly rose, gradually taking over and dispelling the gloom from her mind.

"Master, didn't you say earlier that you would ask the master's opinion? And you didn't tell me whether the master agreed." The girl's tone was light and coquettish. "If he doesn't agree, Master will lobby for me, right?"

Ling Feng fell silent.

If he had known she was thinking this, he wouldn't have asked.

Prince Su didn't explicitly refuse, but Ling Feng wasn't so foolish as to assume his silence meant he agreed. Besides, he'd never seen anyone push a woman they loved into another man's arms.

Seeing Biezhi's eyes gleaming, as if she was eagerly anticipating the marriage, Ling Feng was momentarily at a loss for words.

He pondered for a moment, his gaze flickering over her arm. "You're injured right now, so it's best not to exert yourself. It's not too late to discuss this once you've recovered."

Biezhi understood.

As expected, the old man still disagreed.

Biezhi couldn't understand why he wouldn't approve of the marriage. She wasn't marrying him!

Why would he disagree?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt choked up. A lump of anger formed in her throat. If she wasn't worried about him making things difficult for her in the future, Biezhi would definitely go and get an answer from him.

She pouted and muttered, "I don't care about him."

"Even if the king of heaven came today, I'll marry Ji Ran," Biezhi said firmly.

A secret guard, privy to the situation, twitched his eyelids, silently praying for Ji Ran.

Ling Feng couldn't help but laugh, "Aren't you afraid he won't assign you other missions in the future?"

"If not, then so be it," Bie Zhi said firmly.

The bond would expire soon, so what could he do to her?

Besides—

Bie Zhi was quiet for a moment, intending to leave early.

If she stayed in the capital for another day, she might encounter other assassins. Leaving early would mean peace, and it would take them a long time to find her. She

just didn't know if Ji Ran wanted to leave with her.

If he did, they could go together, find a place where birdsong and flowers bloomed, and live a carefree life.

If not...

Bie Zhi wouldn't force him.

After all, leaving with her would inevitably lead to dangers everywhere. Even if he didn't want to, being forced to leave would slowly turn even the best of friendships into hatred.

So why bother?

Seeing that half an hour had already passed, Bie Zhi decided to find Ji Ran and ask him if he was willing to leave with her.

She glanced up at her master, who seemed lost in thought, then at the people behind her. She lowered her voice, "Master, I'm going to find Ji Ran."

"Let's go—"

Ling Feng was covered before he could finish.

Bie Zhi glanced at the guards behind him, and when she saw their attention was no longer there, she breathed a sigh of relief. She put her knuckles to her lips and hushed, "They won't let me see anyone else."

Ling Feng frowned, confused.

"It's a long story, but they certainly won't let me move around freely." Bie Zhi retracted her gaze, then met her master's with an ingratiating smile. She said simply, "Disciple needs Master to stop them for me, okay?"

Ling Feng: "..."

He glanced at the palace guards following behind, thought for a moment, and suddenly understood.

Prince Su must have refused to let her see anyone other than himself.

So petty?

In all their years together, this was the first time Ling Feng had seen Fu Huaiqing like this. He would have to sit down and have a good talk with him someday.

Fair competition is the only way to win. If you can't win, just politely withdraw. Why resort to trickery?

Ling Feng hummed, "I'll take care of it."

Biezhi's eyes narrowed, and he found the right direction and ran without hesitation.

The secret guards hurried to catch up, but they were stopped before they could catch up. Seeing Ling Feng blocking their way, the two of them looked at each other and split up.