CHAPTER 629: CHAPTER 410: LADY MASTER (FOUR THOUSAND WORDS CHAPTER)_3

The response was silence.

The sinister voice sneered, "There’s no need to look at me like that. Don’t forget, your precious son is still in my hands. If you don’t kill Xiao Yuezhi and Lady Ran, I wouldn’t mind adding your son’s life to my list."

"Don’t threaten me! I haven’t failed to help you! But with all your great efforts, ambushes, and servant impersonations, have you succeeded?" The person responding was none other than Sun Zhen.

That person spat out hatefully, "That woman is too alert. She managed to see through such a meticulous plan!"

Sun Zhen coldly said, "If you can’t even kill one woman, and Xiao Yuezhi is ten times more astute than her, it’s only me who has slipped up once! Don’t think I’m unaware of the dirty tricks you’re playing. So what if he’s the Crown Prince? If this gets out, he won’t die, but you dogs will be torn to pieces! I warn you, don’t push me to a point of mutual destruction!"

Bang!

It seemed that Sun Zhen had slammed the door as he left.

Everyone held their breath.

Upon hearing that Xiao Song was unharmed, Ran Yan felt as if a great weight had been lifted, and even though still in a dangerous situation, she felt more at ease than before.

"Damned mutt, putting on airs! Someone come!" called out that person.

"Boss!" Someone answered, entering the room.

"Any news from the city?" the boss inquired.

"Yes, it’s said that a young master from the Xiao Family went to see the Crown Prince, and afterwards, the Crown Prince went to see the Emperor. Secret reports say that the young master gave the Crown Prince an important secret document, but no more is known beyond that."

"A young master from the Xiao Family?" The boss pondered for a moment, then asked urgently, "Could it be the son of our female boss? Could it be Shilang Yuezhi?"

Ran Yan was startled and suddenly understood many things – these men were under Lady Dongyang!

After a pause, the informant answered, "The person who brought the message didn’t say."

"Moron!" the boss growled angrily. After taking two heavy breaths, he continued, "Go and call Er Lang here."

Having been in the cellar for a while, Ran Yan increasingly felt the lack of oxygen, but she dared not move, fearing any sound might give them away.

The cellar was well-sealed against people, allowing no light and little air to circulate, but since they could hear the voices from below clearly, it meant those above should be able to hear noises from the cellar as well. Especially the person on the stairs; although the wooden staircase was not rotted, he stood as still as a statue, not daring to move.

A short while later, the sound of conversation resumed above.

"Brother," called the newcomer.

"Second brother, were the golden ball flowers raised by our lady sent to Lanling?" asked the boss.

"We have never neglected the tasks given by our lady; they were delivered long ago," Shilang replied.

After a pause, he added, "Brother, why must we kill Lady Ran, Lady Xiang Wu, and let our lady die at the hands of Li Tai?"

The boss said venomously, "They all deserve to die! I hadn’t originally planned to avenge our lady by killing her, but then I heard that this Ran Shiqi is a disciple of Hua Tuo. She could use Hua Tuo’s Divine Technique to save someone shot by an arrow, yet she watched our lady die without doing anything. Tell me, doesn’t that woman deserve to die?"

"She does!" Shilang’s voice turned spiteful.

After a moment of silence, Shilang said, "But brother, when our lady was here, we never took such jobs. To assassinate a court official is a capital offense!"

"What does life or death matter! We’re all wanted criminals without any household registration. Our lady used to get us jobs, but since she’s gone, we have lost our way of living. We should be glad there’s blood on the knife’s edge for us to lick, yet you complain it’s not sweet enough?" the boss retorted lowly.

The boss then sighed, "The ones responsible for our lady’s death are the princes. Li Ke has control over the military and is surrounded by experts; he himself is no weakling, and Li Tai is also heavily guarded. Last time when we barely had the opportunity to assassinate him, even though he was accompanied by just one man, our effort cost us more than a dozen brothers! Killing them would be like striking a rock with an egg.

So, I made a deal with the Crown Prince. He assured me that as long as we help him eliminate his rivals and execute them, once he ascends the throne, he would get rid of Li Ke and Li Tai for us. That way, we would have fulfilled our duty to our lady."

Shilang wasn’t overly surprised, as if he didn’t care much for his own life but asked instead, "But brother, that’s his own flesh and blood, what if he reneges, wouldn’t we have died in vain?"

The boss suddenly scoffed, "After following our lady for so long, you still haven’t learned anything! Does the current Emperor have clean hands? With Li Ke and Li Tai being so much stronger than the Crown Prince, each holding power in the court, as long as we ensure the Crown Prince’s accession to the throne, wouldn’t he think of ways to get rid of those men?"

Shilang hesitated before saying, "Why not go acknowledge the young master... I think the lady’s son will surely not be lacking..."

The boss scolded angrily, "Nonsense! Have you forgotten our lady’s words? We are not to have designs on the young master! Now that we are almost exposed, wait for the government to come and arrest us, but we can’t implicate the Crown Prince, otherwise all our efforts will be wasted... Are you afraid to die?"

"No! Our lady never dies, so what should we fear! The brothers are all willing to serve our lady loyally!" Shilang declared resolutely.

Ran Yan’s heart tremored slightly. Lady Dongyang actually had such means to subdue a group of desperados willing to work for her, and coupled with her schemes, it was no wonder she managed to kill successive wives of Xiao Song. To her, it must’ve been nothing.

"Go to the next courtyard and collect the bodies. Don’t let someone who’s blind stumble upon them. I want to kill the Ran’s before I die!" the boss said with murderous intent.

Ran Yan thought this was bad, and immediately signaled everyone to get ready to retreat. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)