"Little... miss? Why, why?" Xia Man's mouth was still filled with blood at this time, and her words were still somewhat unclear. But at this moment, Xia Man couldn't care about these things anymore, she just vaguely spat out the words in her throat, and splashed a patch of bright red blood on the corner of her mouth.

  "Why?" Su Jin lowered her head and stared at the candle flame, a pair of phoenix eyes revealing a hint of fatigue.

  After a while, Su Jin finally let out a light sigh and looked up at the pale face, but her expression was still strong and stubborn: "You've been by my side for more than seven years, although we're supposed to be master and servant, but in private, we're like sisters. So what you like, what you hate, what you want, how could I not know?"

  Seeing Xiao Man still with a stubborn expression, Su Jin let out another sigh, and the fatigue on her face deepened.

  "Three days ago, Wang Dong privately looked for you and even gave you a golden phoenix hairpin. Is that true?" As he spoke, Su Jin glanced at Xiao Man's gradually clenched left hand, which was now slightly stained with blood.

  "This afternoon, after we returned from the Wenyuan Pavilion, you secretly went back again, probably to see him...” Su Jin's voice was already choked with sobs as she spoke, as if her sorrow had become too much to bear.

  "No matter if you truly adore that Wang Gongzi, or if you envy the wealth and glory of the Wang Manor, these are all trivial matters. If you really have a heart, I'll consider our past sisterly affection and won't stop you." Su Jin's eyes were filled with tears, her gaze fixed on Xiao Man's trembling body, her tone suddenly turning from gentle to firm, gradually becoming harder.

  "It's a pity that you're being misled, and you actually want to collude with that Prince Wang to harm Tan Gongzi and put him in prison!" Su Jin said this, suddenly calming down again, her tone returning to its usual calmness: "But you don't know, when I was young, someone had taken a look at my face and told me that I would suffer hardships in my youth, but later on, I would get married to a noble husband and live a life of luxury and prosperity, free from any disasters or troubles."

  Half a month ago, when I made a bet with Tan Zong, it was just to avoid losing face in front of those young students. But a few days ago, when I met Tan Zong again, I already felt that I had a connection with him. As for today, the list has not been released yet, but I have already discovered that my red raven star is moving, and Tan Zong will surely get the first place in the imperial examination.

  "After some careful thought, I suddenly recalled a strange encounter from my childhood. I had wanted to tell you about it in detail, so that you could be at ease and wait for the day when we would become sisters. But little did I expect that you would do something like this behind my back! If someone hadn't secretly informed me, I would still have been kept in the dark."

  At this point, Su Jin seemed to remember something and sighed, saying: "Fate? Destiny? Alas, what's the use of me telling you this now? I'm afraid you're already deeply trapped in the mud and can't pull yourself out. If you believe me, take the silver from the side house and leave the city quickly tomorrow to return to your hometown. Otherwise, if you continue to get involved, there will be no turning back, and it's likely that you'll be unable to avoid this bloody disaster, with life and death uncertain."

  "Haha......haha......hahaha!"

  In the midst of loud laughter, Xiao Man's right hand was raised, her index finger pointing directly at Su Jin, and she said sternly: "Miss, miss, I thought you had a good strategy to resolve that madman's disaster today, but I didn't expect it to be based on such absurd and empty words, utterly ridiculous!"

  At this point, Xiao Man seemed to think of something and suddenly floated a few more mocking colors on her face: "It's a waste that I usually look at you with high eyes, thinking that you are a female Zhuge who is not in the world. But unexpectedly, it turns out to be such a person! I see that you are only slightly accomplished in music, how can you bear the name of a great family? Just wait until later when you enter the palace, let the prince see your true face, and naturally he will abandon you like a worn-out shoe!"

  "Ah, indeed as that person said." Su Jin shook her head and smiled wryly, her phoenix eyes gazing vaguely out the window, but refused to say another word to Xiao Man. Su Jin raised her sleeve again, stirring up a gentle breeze that directly extinguished the only candle flame in the room.

  In the darkness, the little savage with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth gradually disappeared into the distance. Only Su Jin's words were carried by the wind: "As long as you don't regret it..."

  Nanjing Prefecture, Wen Yuan Temple. Tan Zong glanced suspiciously at the several wine jars piled up in the corner of the wall, and his heart couldn't help but feel a little strange. Just as he was about to think carefully, a sudden gust of wind came from behind him, and his heart was greatly startled. Tan Zong took an unsteady step forward, but unfortunately, he tripped over the threshold of the door in front of him.

  That fall was really clever, although it couldn't be avoided that he fell into a dog-eat-shit situation, but it also happened to avoid the sneak attack from behind. By the way, Tan Zong's right foot, which was lifted with the momentum, also kicked his opponent in some unknown part.

  All he could hear was a dull thud coming from behind him, as if something like a club had fallen to the ground.

  At this time, Tan Zong was already sweating profusely due to the sudden and unexpected turn of events. However, in the face of life and death, although Tan Zong appeared somewhat flustered and his hands and feet were slightly uncoordinated, he became even calmer in his heart.

  With a lot of movie and TV experience, Tan Zong knew that this was not the right time to turn back, nor was it the time to move forward, so he didn't hesitate, gritted his teeth against the pain on his face, and with great effort, he twisted his waist and rolled around the threshold several times.

  This twist of the waist suddenly saved Tan Zong's life again.

  In the blink of an eye, a man in black appeared, with one foot outside and the other stepping into the house, as if riding on the threshold that was over a foot high. The man's hand held a shiny dagger, which rose and fell, stabbing Tan Zhong's leg three or four times, but unexpectedly, all were dodged by Tan Zhong.

  The man in black was also anxious, seeing Tan Zong rolling further and further away, the dagger stabbed at Tan Zong again but missed, and hurriedly moved a few steps towards Tan Zong.

  This is also a common plot in movies and TV shows. When an assassin fails to kill, they always make some silly moves at critical moments, just like this one - you're holding a sharp weapon, but there's another sharp object on the ground outside the door. Why rush forward so hastily? If you encounter a foolish opponent, it might work, but if you meet a calm and collected one, that would be simply asking for death!

  Tan Zong was not a fool, and he was a university student who relied on his family's power to fight all the time. At this moment, he was also extremely calm, so when he saw the man in black coming over, he didn't think twice and kicked him directly.

  To say nothing of Tan Zong's calmness, this kick was not aimed at the person, but directly at the opponent's foot that was stretched across the room.

  This is another big mistake of Assassin Brother.

  To know the threshold, it's usually very inconspicuous, and everyone is used to it. When they encounter it, they lift their legs and take a step, and naturally pass by. But this time it's different, this assassin has one foot inside and one foot outside, and his body is half-turned, with his buttocks high in the air, making it extremely difficult to maintain balance. Now that Tan Zong has kicked him like this, he can no longer maintain his balance, and suddenly the whole person falls down into the room with a thud.

  Tan Zong is still lying down at this moment, so the strength in his legs is not enough to use. Otherwise, with Tan Zong's current ability to muster up even the energy to drink milk, he would have kicked the assassin's leg off, aiming specifically at the relatively weak shinbone. But now, he can barely manage to kick the person down, and that's still thanks to the help of the doorstep.

  At this moment, the assassin fell down. According to normal people's thinking, it would be better to get up first and then talk about it. After all, getting up is more convenient whether you pick up a knife or a stick, or even make a sneak attack. But in reality, if you really think so, you are wrong!

  You should know that the person in front of you is an assassin, and he also has a real deadly weapon in his hand. If you have the skill to stand up, then naturally the person in front of you will also stand up. At that time, it may seem like you've gained an advantage, but actually the other side has become even more convenient. Can you really win against someone with a deadly weapon using just your bare fists?

  So at this moment, the most important thing is to take advantage of the chaos and rush forward, who knows, maybe you can beat the teacher to death with a few punches.

  Tan Zong was naturally clever, but he might not have thought that much. Anyway, Tan Zong just saw the assassin being kicked to the ground by himself, followed by a somersault, and then pressed down in one motion.

  Just as he was about to ride over the assassin, the assassin also came to his senses and slashed the dagger in his hand towards Tan Zhong's arm without thinking. At this moment, Tan Zhong also had a temper like a donkey, and didn't care about the dagger that the assassin was slashing towards his own arm. He simply lifted his buttocks and sat down again, and the assassin suddenly curled up like a cooked shrimp.

  To put it simply, this move is similar to the Tai Shan Press, but more so, it's actually from Tan Zong's nephew in the later generation. This kid was mischievous and liked to jump on people's backs and kick around a few times, no matter who it was, no one didn't feel pain, whoever tried it would know. Now switching to Tan Zong giving the assassin a try, with all his might, this butt is going down with full force, how could the assassin not be in pain, naturally he's doomed!

  However, at this time, the assassin still had a lot of integrity. The dagger in his right hand was about to fall out of his grasp, and he desperately pulled it towards Tan Zhong, but was suddenly caught by Tan Zhong's wrist. With a sudden twist, there was a crisp sound, and the dagger fell from the assassin's hand to the ground.

  "Is it that easy?" Tan Zong, who felt a bit strange, didn't think much and directly picked up the dagger, shouting: "Do you want to live or die?"

  Tan Zong pressed the dagger against the assassin's neck, and with a slight press, the sharp blade drew a shallow wound on the assassin's neck.

  The feeling of a cold iron pressing against the neck is probably something that not many people have tried, especially when the neck has been easily cut with a knife. Except for movie and TV heroes, no ordinary person can withstand this pressure.

  "This assassin was also an ordinary person, initially quite tough, but after being pressed by the dagger, he suddenly panicked and begged for mercy: "Good man spare my life, good man spare my life! I'll say anything, I'll say anything.""

  Seeing this assassin's cleverness, Tan Zhong also subconsciously let out a soft breath.

  Earlier, when it was mentioned, Tan Zong seemed so brave and powerful, but in reality, only Tan Zong himself knew how dangerous this place was. If he hadn't been able to remain calm at the critical moment, if he hadn't remained sober all along, he might have been knocked unconscious by someone outside the door from the very beginning.

  Moreover, by now, Tan Zong felt that he had not completely escaped danger. Judging from the opponent's tactics, this ambush was only one part of a larger plan, and there might be more tricks up their sleeve; if they couldn't figure it out, it would be even more perilous.

  "Speak, tell me everything you know about tonight!" As he spoke, his hand pulled, and the black scarf covering the assassin's face was pulled down. With the help of the candles in the house, Tan Yong looked vaguely at the assassin's face. When he saw the assassin's appearance, it shocked him greatly.

  This assassin's face was gaunt, with a half-gray and white goat beard tightly attached to his neck. A pair of dead eyes stared at Tan Yong in horror. Moreover, the assassin's hair was disheveled at this moment, and his entire image looked like he wasn't an assassin at all, but rather a worn-out old man who had read a few years' worth of books, probably just some accountant from a wealthy family.

  That assassin's life was now in Tan Zong's hands, he didn't dare say more, and hastily poured out everything he knew like a spilled bean.

  Just as expected, this assassin was not a professional after all. His true identity was the chief accountant of the palace.

  This Li Da Zhang Fang is named Li Xi Lai, he is the family's born son of the Wang Fu, from his grandfather's generation has been serving as an accountant for the Wang Fu, deeply trusted by the current Nanjing Fu Zhifu Wang Da Lao Ye, in this Nanjing Fu Ya, that is truly a role bigger than Shi Ye by three points.

  In his daily life, Li Xi didn't do anything else, apart from helping Wang Zhi to supervise the various accounts of the government office. He was specially responsible for recording things that the accountants in the government office couldn't record. This time, it seemed like something had happened in the Wang household, as if someone in the imperial court had taken notice of them and wanted to investigate the accounts of Nanjing Prefecture over the past few years.

  In terms of the status of Nanjing Prefecture, although it was not a subsidiary capital, due to the fact that many officials over the years came from Nanjing Prefecture, its status was also different from other prefectures and counties. The jurisdiction even far exceeded the general region, directly governing most of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and this area was also known as "one prefecture and two states". Therefore, the annual accounts were extremely detailed, and if one really wanted to investigate carefully, it would not be easy to clarify.

  But this royal mansion is quite powerful, and somehow it knows that the superior is actually here to investigate the accounts of water conservancy projects in Nanjing Prefecture over the past few years. So they plan to find an excuse to burn these annoying things directly with fire - at that time, no matter how they are handled, or whether the account is done beautifully or not, it will be a dead end without evidence.

  If only half of the book could be burned, leaving just a small portion of the remaining volume, it would naturally be even better. Who knows, maybe they could even get a reward for their rescue efforts. However, this account couldn't be so easily burned away, and any slight damage would be a huge matter. Therefore, King Zhi's entourage also tried every means possible, but none of them could come up with a solution. This matter happened to be known by the eldest son of the king, Wang Dong, who then brought up his own plan to frame Tan Zhong. After discussing it together, they found that it was mutually beneficial, and coincidentally, there was a secret passageway between the government office and the Wen Yuan Institute, which led to tonight's events.

  It's just that this matter is relatively confidential, and if it were to be handed over to an outsider, Wang Zhifu would not trust it at all. That's why he wanted Li Xi to come and do it personally. With the guarantee of Xiao Man and the car driver, plus Tan Zong's words and actions along the way, everyone felt that Tan Zong was now a drunkard who couldn't wake up from his personal affairs, so they let Li Xi come alone to handle it.

  But who would have thought that Tan Zong was pretending to be drunk, and his acting skills were extremely high, he actually fooled everyone, and also took down Li Xi, a man in his fifties.

  "Where's the account book?" Tan Zong asked with his mouth, while searching Li Xilai's body. After a few touches, he felt something hard on Li Xilai's chest and reached in to pull out an account book that was two or three centimeters thick.

  Looking at the thickness of this account book, Tan Zong couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his heart. He thought to himself, "Fortunately, you put the account book on your chest. If you had put it on your abdomen, I reckon you wouldn't have even felt anything when I sat down."

  "You can't take this away! No way!"

  Tan Zong took the account book and flipped through it. Although he didn't worry that Tan Zong, who was less than twenty years old, could find anything in a short while, this thing was after all something that would take lives. Li Xi came over and dared not let Tan Zong take it away so easily, suddenly shouting: "Tan Zong, if you don't put down this thing, the worst that will happen is imprisonment! But if you dare to take this thing out of this courtyard, I'm afraid you'll be beheaded on the spot! And in the end, you'll still be known as a coward who took his own life!"

  "Oh?" Tan Zong was startled by Li Xi's words, and immediately pressed the dagger closer to Li Xi's neck: "How many people are hiding outside?"

  Tan Zong seemed to be afraid, Li Xi came over and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. His expression suddenly relaxed: "Hey, don't worry about how many people are involved, this matter is already a dead end. Since you entered this courtyard, no matter what you do, your life is already forfeit. If you obediently take the blame, then that's it. But if you refuse, I'm afraid next year today will be your memorial day. Heh heh, in just one more moment, if the fire here doesn't start, the people outside will rush in to help you light this fire!"

  Tan Zong's heart was irritated by Li He Lai's complacent expression, and he felt an urge to teach him a lesson. However, Tan Zong thought that if he were to stab Li He Lai with his dagger, although it would be satisfying, it would also bring trouble afterwards and might even confirm his guilt. So, he changed his mind and instead grabbed Li He Lai's head and slammed it into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

  At this point, Tan Zong himself knew that things had reached the most critical moment. If he didn't handle it well, it could lead to a situation where there was no turning back. Thinking about how he was still feeling complacent before entering the courtyard, thinking everything was under his control, Tan Zong couldn't help but want to slap himself in the face. But just as his hand was raised, he let out a deep sigh and told himself that it wasn't his fault after all. He had never expected that what was originally a matter of the young master's jealousy would end up involving the entire Wang Fu.

  There's a saying: You can't twist your arm around your thigh!

  Tan Zong has this idea now.

  Thinking of this, Tan Zong couldn't help but think of Xiao Man again. He thought that with today's events, Xiao Man was probably just a tool to be used and discarded, and as soon as his own crime was confirmed, the next one to die would be Xiao Man, and he felt another wave of anxiety. ——Although Xiao Man had wronged Tan Zong, Tan Zong still had some lingering feelings for this little girl in his heart, and had even fantasized about himself flying together with Su Jin and Xiao Man, master and servant.

  He thought of Qinghe, who had appeared uninvited at the tavern and whose words had carried a hidden meaning, clearly warning him to be careful tonight. Moreover, it was precisely because of her reminder that he hadn't gotten truly drunk, allowing him to remain sober until now; otherwise, he would probably have been a confused soul until death.

  Also thinking of Qinghe's words, which implicitly asked him to take her away from the sea of suffering, Tan Zong suddenly came to his senses: "If it's really possible to escape, this favor should be repaid immediately. However, this situation is not easy to resolve!"

  He took a glance at Li He Lai, who was still unconscious in his black clothes on the ground, and thought of the reinforcements that would rush in a moment later. With no other choice, Tan Zong sat down behind the desk, picked up the crispy roasted duck from the plate with the clean snow, and started devouring it.

  Tan Zhong was about to finish the small half jar of wine, when he glanced at the few jars of strong liquor piled up in the corner of the wall. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind: "This is it! This might be the only way to survive!"

  Half a moment later, flames shot up into the sky inside the Nanjing Prefectural Government Office. Only one voice was heard shouting from within: "The water is escaping!"