The Scheme of the 29th Prince

The soldiers had a hearty dinner. They had been surviving on biscuits for the past few days, so having hot rice and dishes made them very happy. After finishing their early meal, they rested early.

The rooms in the inn were occupied by Leng Yufeng and the others. The soldiers slept outside by the food supply carts. After a while, a few people came out of the inn’s kitchen, and those people were the innkeeper and the waiters.

“Hmph! I thought this Crown Prince was so capable, yet he was so easily outwitted. As expected, he’s just a greenhorn!” The female innkeeper sneered as she looked at the fallen soldiers. Her master had warned them to be cautious, saying the Crown Prince was not to be underestimated, but to her, he was merely a child who had never seen the world.

“Have everyone come out and take the grain away first!” the female innkeeper ordered. With so much grain, if it reached her master’s hands, who knew how much silver they would get. More importantly, since the Crown Prince lost the grain this time, he might be stripped of his title.

After speaking, the female innkeeper led several men disguised as waiters toward the Crown Prince’s room. She kicked the door open, but instead of the unconscious Crown Prince, she saw the two very handsome men she had seen earlier that day. The two men stood at the doorway, coldly watching the female innkeeper.

Sensing something was wrong and realizing she had met her rival, the female innkeeper quickly turned to look at the inn’s courtyard. Sure enough, the soldiers who had been unconscious were now all up, each full of vigor and brimming with murderous intent—hardly the appearance of those drugged.

“Oh no!” the female innkeeper cursed softly, then looked toward the large bed hidden behind the screen. “Haha, so the Crown Prince actually knew all along. What a clever plan! But even if you knew, what does it matter? Today, you will still lose!”

“Oh?” A clear, crisp, and pleasant voice came from behind the screen, followed by the sound of someone rising. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the screen, and Crown Prince Shang Wuxin appeared before their eyes. His graceful figure in this simple room seemed like a deity descending to the mortal world, looking at the innkeeper and the others as if disdainfully gazing down upon the countless mortals beneath his feet.

“Lose? How could I not know that I would lose!” Shang Wuxin sat down at the table, while Leng Yufeng and Huan Mochen stood protectively by her side. Neither of them knew the Crown Prince’s martial arts skills, but they feared someone might harm him.

Soon, several hundred men in black flooded in from outside, surrounding the entire inn. The female innkeeper frowned slightly at the sight of the hundreds of men but immediately ordered, “Kill! Kill the Crown Prince! Destroy the food supplies!” It seemed unlikely they would seize the food tonight, so destroying it would at least trap the Crown Prince.

“It’s really as expected of Prince Qi; to hide so many people in such a small inn!” Shang Wuxin looked at the hundreds of people who appeared without worry. If these few thousand soldiers couldn’t handle such a small matter, then she would truly be a bit troubled.

“Kill!” Shang Wuxin slammed the teacup heavily onto the table, and her entire demeanor suddenly became sharp and fierce. The order that came from her mouth carried an overwhelming intimidation. Bai Shaolin shouted loudly and, leading hundreds of soldiers, tangled with the men in black, while the remaining soldiers protected the food supplies.

The female innkeeper, along with a waiter skilled in martial arts, attacked Prince Shang Wuxin. Unfortunately, before they could get close, they were stopped by Leng Yufeng and Huan Mo Che. Meanwhile, Shang Wuxin seemed oblivious to the chaotic fighting and the nauseating smell of blood, calmly and elegantly sipping the rough tea in her hand.

Although Leng Yufeng and Huan Mochen were fighting these people, their martial arts skills were originally very advanced, and these people were simply insignificant in their eyes. While fighting, the two kept an eye on Shang Wuxin’s condition. When they saw that Shang Wuxin was accustomed to the bloodshed before him, their hearts tightened, inexplicably feeling a pang of sympathy for such a crown prince.

However, before long, the men in black were completely wiped out by everyone, leaving only the female shopkeeper. If it weren’t for Shang Wuxin saying to spare her life, she would have been killed by Leng Yufeng long ago. Now, the female shopkeeper was being held down by two soldiers who had pressed acupuncture points to prevent her from committing suicide.

The female shopkeeper anxiously looked outside, her previously confident expression vanished. She realized something was wrong. Could it be? The female shopkeeper looked at the prince sitting there who had not made a move, her voice filled with terror, “You… you knew everything? It was you who did this?”

The soldiers in the courtyard looked at the female shopkeeper in confusion, not understanding what she was talking about. But Leng Yufeng and Huan Mo Che seemed to have some understanding and both looked at Shang Wuxin. Shang Wuxin did not disappoint and directly said, “Yes, indeed it was me! What a pity for your master’s helpers sent from the capital. I wonder if they are now dead and dismembered or have vanished without a trace?”

When Shang Wuxin set out from the capital, she already knew that there must be a restless prince in the capital who wanted to eliminate her on the road. But even for a prince, it was impossible to arrange many men in such a hurry on the road, so they would definitely send subordinates from the capital. She originally planned to have Wuwei take some of their newly trained subordinates to handle it, but she happened to run into Han Xuanhao. Shang Wuxin was very clear about how powerful the Hanxing Pavilion was, so she entrusted this matter to Han Xuanhao. As expected, Han Xuanhao did not disappoint her.

“You… you actually killed them all!” the female shopkeeper said in disbelief. This time, hundreds of their subordinates outside had all ambushed here, and the master had also sent a few hundred of the highest martial artists from the capital to support them. But unexpectedly, they were dealt with by the crown prince before even leaving the capital. The crown prince was truly terrifying. Such a young man had been quietly hiding for so many years. The female shopkeeper suddenly felt that her master’s chances of seizing that position in the future were too slim.

“Haha, it seems I have lost today. Do whatever you want—kill or mutilate me—but if you want me to betray my master, that’s impossible!” The female shopkeeper raised her head and said loudly. In her view, this prince was sparing her life just to force her to confess about her master, and of course, she would never betray her master!

“I also believe you would not betray your master!” Shang Wuxin stood up and came to the side of the female shopkeeper, his voice as pleasant as mountain stream water, yet soaked with bone-chilling coldness. “So the reason I spare your life is merely to see the look of terror on your face. But your despair and fear truly please me!”

Everyone looked at the prince, who seemed like a demon, and felt a chill rise in their hearts. They had not expected that the prince’s reason for sparing this woman’s life was such a cruel whim. However, Leng Yufeng and Huan Mochen gazed at the prince with a hint of indulgence; they felt that this prince was not only less frightening but also much more real. This kind of prince seemed more visible to them.

Shang Wuxin reached out his pale hand to touch the female shopkeeper’s disbelieving eyes, whispered a few words into her ear, and then returned behind the screen. Yet everyone saw that the female shopkeeper had actually died, and she died with her eyes wide open.

Everyone was puzzled, but Leng Yufeng and Huan Mochen knew that the Crown Prince had just mentioned a person’s name in the ear of the female shopkeeper. When the shopkeeper heard that name, she opened her eyes wide in terror and died. Others might not have noticed, but they saw that the Crown Prince’s hand, while touching the shopkeeper’s eyes, had pressed on her death acupoint, which was why she died with such unrest!

“Clear this place out!” Leng Yufeng ordered, then glanced behind the screen. Seeing no movement, he cleaned the room and closed the door. However, neither he nor Huan Mochen returned to their rooms; instead, they stood outside the door like the most loyal knights guarding their king.