From cute to empress

Chapter 305 The mastermind behind the scenes

"What's wrong?" I asked puzzledly when I saw him stop.

Zhen Youcai did not answer, but walked quickly to the depths of the cave. With the faint light of the fire, I saw a person lying on the ground.

"This is..." I covered my mouth and looked at the scene in disbelief.

Lying on the ground was another assassin, but he was already dead, with a dagger stuck in his chest, which was the weapon Zhen Youcai had used to defend himself.

"He... he committed suicide." Zhen Youcai said in a heavy tone, "After I captured the assassin, he suddenly went crazy and fought back desperately. To protect myself, I..."

I walked over to the corpse, examined it carefully, and found a token on it with the character "甲" engraved on it.

"This is..." I was startled. The word "A" reminded me of a person - Prince A!

Could it be that this matter is related to Prince A?

Without giving it much thought, I immediately ordered, "Youcai, you stay here and handle the situation. I'll be back immediately!"

I rode back to the palace at full speed and immediately summoned all the nobles who were participating in the hunt, including Prince A and Marquis B.

"My dear ministers," I said, sitting on the high throne, my gaze sweeping across everyone with a fierce look. "Today, I was attacked by an assassin in the hunting grounds. This is a serious matter. I have ordered a thorough investigation and will bring the mastermind behind this to justice!"

My gaze lingered on Prince A and Marquis B for a moment. They both had their heads down, so I couldn't see the expressions on their faces.

"Your Highness," I called out, "you are in charge of the defense of the Imperial City. Are you aware of what happened today?"

Prince A raised his head, a look of perfectly balanced surprise and concern on his face. "Your Majesty has been assassinated. We are deeply shocked. Please take care of your health. We will do our utmost to apprehend the assassin!"

"Where is the Marquis?" I looked at Marquis B.

Marquis Yi also quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "I will also fully cooperate to find the murderer and give His Majesty an explanation!"

I looked at them and sneered in my heart. These two old foxes were acting quite convincingly!

"Okay, then I'll be waiting for your good news!" I said in a deep voice, "Come here, bring the assassin up!"

Two guards came in with the captured assassin. The assassin lowered his head and said nothing.

"Look up!" I shouted.

The assassin slowly raised his head, revealing an ordinary face, but I saw a hint of deep-hidden fear in his eyes.

My eyes fell on him, and I said word by word, "I'll give you one last chance. Tell me who's behind this, or else..."

Before I could finish my words, the assassin suddenly raised his head and looked behind me in horror, as if he saw something terrible.

My heart moved, and I turned around suddenly, but I saw... My heart moved, and I turned around suddenly, but I saw that Prince A and Marquis B had quietly stood up at some point, both of them holding shining daggers in their hands, and were about to attack me!

"Bold!" Zhen Youcai beside me reacted very quickly, flew in front of me, and at the same time drew out his sword to block the attacks of the two men.

"You..." I looked at everything in front of me in astonishment, unable to believe that these two royal relatives who usually appeared to be so righteous actually dared to assassinate me in broad daylight!

"The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. Niu Mengmeng, if you want to blame someone, blame it on you for blocking our way!" Prince A's face was ferocious, and he stabbed Zhen Youcai with the dagger in his hand mercilessly.

"How dare you, a bunch of clowns, attempt to usurp the throne?" Zhen Youcai sneered, and with a flash of his sword, he forced back the attacks of Prince A and Marquis B.

"Someone come! Protect the emperor!" I reacted immediately and shouted loudly.

There was a chaotic sound of footsteps outside the hall. My guards rushed over and surrounded Prince A and Marquis B.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?" the commander of the guards asked anxiously.

"I'm fine." I shook my head, looking coldly at the subdued Prince A and Marquis B, "Catch these two traitors!"

"Your Majesty, please spare us! Your Majesty, please spare us!" Prince A and Marquis B panicked when they saw that the game was hopeless, and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

"Spare my life? When you wanted to kill me, did you ever think of sparing me?" I looked at them coldly, anger boiling in my heart.

"Your Majesty, it's unfair! We didn't intend to murder Your Majesty. It was this assassin who framed us!" Prince A was still making his last struggle.

"False accusation?" I sneered and looked at the captured assassin. "Tell me, who ordered you to assassinate me?"

The assassin glanced at Prince A and Marquis B, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Yes...it's His Royal Highness the Prince and the Marquis. They promised that after the mission is accomplished, they will give me wealth and glory, and let me enjoy it for a lifetime..."

The assassin's words exploded in the hall like a thunderclap.

"You are talking nonsense! You are slandering us!" Prince A and Marquis B turned pale and denied it desperately.

"Whether it's a false accusation or not, I can make my own judgment." I pulled out a token from my pocket. It was the one with the character "甲" engraved on it that I had found in the cave earlier. "This token is yours, right, Your Highness?"

When Prince A saw the token, his face turned pale and he knew that he was finished.

"Do you have anything else to say?" I looked at Prince A and Marquis B with a cold tone.

The two were silent for a moment, and finally lowered their heads helplessly and admitted their crimes.

"Okay, very good." I took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in my heart, "Someone..."

"Come here," I said in a sharp tone, with unquestionable majesty, "Prince A and Marquis B have formed a clique for personal gain and attempted to murder me. Their crimes are unforgivable! Immediately throw them both into the Sky Prison and await your punishment!"

The guards obeyed their orders and dragged Prince A and Marquis B, who had collapsed on the ground, away. In the hall, the other nobles were terrified. They had frequent interactions with Prince A and Marquis B, and now, fearing being implicated, they lowered their heads and dared not utter a word.

I glanced at the crowd and said in a cold voice, "I know that some of you were also involved in this conspiracy. Considering your momentary confusion, I can let it go. But if it happens again, don't blame me for not remembering our friendship!"

Upon hearing this, everyone knelt on the ground in unison, "Your Majesty, please be merciful! We will never dare to do this again!"

I waved my hand, signaling them to stand up, "Everyone, please leave. I'm tired."

After everyone dispersed, only Zhen Youcai, Hunter C, and I remained in the hall, along with Hunter C, who had performed such a significant feat. I walked up to Hunter C and said gratefully, "Thanks to you this time, otherwise the consequences would have been disastrous. If you want any reward, just ask."

Hunter C was flattered and knelt down quickly. "I dare not take credit for it. This is what I should do."

"You saved my life, so there's no need to be so modest." I helped him up. "I see you're an expert at hunting. How about you stay in the palace and be in charge of the royal hunting grounds?"

Hunter C was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will do my best to manage the hunting grounds for Your Majesty!"

I nodded and looked at Zhen Youcai. His gaze remained on me, deep and gentle. My heart warmed, and I was about to say something when he stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and pulled out a jade pendant from his bosom, handing it to me.

"Your Majesty," he said in a low voice, yet with an indescribable firmness, "This jade pendant is a family heirloom. I present it to Your Majesty today, and I only ask..."

He paused, not saying anything more, but I knew that some things didn't need to be said; they were already understood in each other's hearts. I looked down at the warm jade pendant, and a warm feeling welled up in my heart.

"Let the hunting tournament continue," I suppressed the turmoil in my heart and turned to walk out of the hall. "I want to be alone."

Zhen Youcai was left alone, still kneeling on one knee, the jade pendant in his hand emitting a bright light in the sunlight.