Chapter 61: The Poisonous Plan Reborn

  Xu Mingjin heard Xuan Yuan Jinglin's voice and hastily lifted his head, just in time to meet Xuan Yuan Ze's gaze. Those eyes were like a deep and quiet ancient well, bottomless, as if they wanted to draw her in deeply. Xu Mingjin felt a sense of having nowhere to hide in front of such eyes. Fortunately, at this moment, Xuan Yuan Jinglin had already jumped down from the carriage and walked in front of Xuan Yuan Ze, blocking his line of sight. Xu Mingjin only then felt a bit better, hastily letting Yu Zhu support him as he slowly got down from the carriage.

  "Second Brother, how did you end up here?" Xuan Yuan Jing Lin asked.

  "It just so happens that I was passing by and heard that the braised beef here is not bad, and it just so happens that I'm hungry and was about to come over for a meal. Today is a joyous day for Xu Shangshu, how could you bring Miss Xu Liu here, won't that cause trouble for them?" Xuan Yuan Ze worriedly asked.

  Xu Mingjin hastily said: "Actually, I told my father before that I was afraid of Hong, so today I've been hiding in my own courtyard, feeling suffocated. Luckily, the princess came to find me, and I couldn't be more grateful. If Father finds out, he won't scold me."

  Xuanyuan Ze heard this and frowned, saying: "Afraid of Hong?"

  Xu Mingjin said awkwardly: "I made it up, I was afraid of my father."

  Xuanyuan Ze stared at Xu Mingjin's right leg for a long time before asking, "How did you get hurt?"

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin heard this and felt a little guilty, lowering her head.

  Xu Mingjin smiled and said: "It's nothing, I was riding a horse by myself and accidentally fell off, it's just a minor injury, it doesn't matter."

  Xuanyuan Ze's sharp eyes immediately shot towards Xuanyuan Jinglin who was pretending to be innocent on the side.

  Xu Mingjin saw the situation and was afraid that they would misunderstand each other, so he quickly explained: "It really has nothing to do with Jinglin, it's Xuan Yuan Qiyue who is causing trouble, I just got angry." He then told them what had happened.

  Xuanyuan Ze's gaze towards his sister softened slightly, but he still said: "If you hadn't run off to play and left Miss Xu Liu alone at that time, how would Qi Yi have had the opportunity?"

  Xuanyuan Jinglin lowered her head.

  Xuanyuan Ze's mouth curled up slightly, and he didn't say anything else. After a long while, Xuanyuan Jinglin spoke up: "Second Brother, are you with us or did you make plans with someone else?"

  Xuanyuan Zedao said: "I've made an appointment with a few colleagues, so I won't be going with you all. Miss Xu Liu's leg is injured, you should take care of her."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin wanted Xuan Yuan Ze to accompany her for dinner, but she was a considerate girl and Xu Mingjin was the guest she had invited today, so after some small talk, they parted ways with Xuan Yuan Ze.

  At this time, Green Shadow had already bought wine and dishes back, Xuan Yuan Jinglin supported Xu Mingjin to slowly return to the horse carriage.

  After eating, Xuan Yuan Jinglin took Xu Mingjin for a walk again, until the sky turned dark before sending Xu Mingjin back. Unlike the usual open and honest way, this time they sneaked out from the back door and could only sneak back in from the back door. The old Li guarding the back door was Xu Mingjin's person, so he didn't disturb anyone in the Xu family, and returned smoothly to Feicui Garden.

  Xu Mingjin returned to the Emerald Garden, and Chun Xiang finally found someone to pour out her words that had been bottled up all day. She grabbed Xu Mingjin's hand and wouldn't let go: "Miss, the new wife that Master married is really beautiful! But the dowry was quite shabby..." Yu Zhu interrupted: "Don't rush to talk, Miss has a leg injury, needs to rest immediately, we can listen later."

  Spring Apricot's eyes widened immediately, and the exchange of words was thrown to the back of her mind. She said tensely: "Miss, where are you hurt?" While speaking, her eyes scanned Xu Mingjin's body, and she quickly discovered the right calf wrapped in white cloth, and hurriedly rushed over to check.

  "It's not a big deal, I've already taken the medicine, you don't have to worry so much." Xu Mingjin said: "However, I'm really tired now, all of you go down and rest, let Yuzhu take the night watch tonight."

  Several people hastily attended to Xu Mingjin's grooming and made his bed. They all withdrew, leaving only Yuzhu behind.

  "Be careful tonight, I'm afraid someone will take advantage of today's joy to cause trouble." Xu Mingjin instructed Yu Zhu carefully.

  Yu Zhu had been blaming himself for Xu Mingjin's leg injury during the day, and upon hearing this, he immediately became highly vigilant. He laid out a bed mat in front of Xu Mingjin's bed, and the two master and servant rested without mentioning anything else.

  Xu Mingjin was sleeping soundly until midnight when she was suddenly awakened by the sound of a fight. Had someone broken in? She quickly sat up and saw that the room was brightly lit, with a stout man with a lewd face being gagged and pinned down by Yuzhu, his hands cuffed behind him.

  Xu Mingjin was about to interrogate the man, but suddenly thought that if this man was sent by Ye Yiniang to ruin her reputation, then Ye Yiniang should be bringing Xu Ruoyi here right now. The priority was to send the man away, not to interrogate him.

  Xu Mingjin immediately whispered a few words in Yu Zhu's ear, and Yu Zhu immediately dragged the man away, jumping out of the window.

  Xu Mingjin was stunned for a moment, she didn't expect Yu Zhu's strength to be so great, that a tall and large man of at least 200 pounds could be lifted like a small chicken. At this time, Chun Xing in the outer room was also awakened by the noise, rubbing her eyes as she walked in. Xu Mingjin hastily instructed her to go call over Qiu Yun who was sleeping in the servant's quarters, and then lay back down on the bed, telling Chun Xing to extinguish the lamp and continue sleeping.

  Xu Mingjin had just arranged everything when the gate of Feicui Garden was knocked. For a moment, all the lights were lit up, Xu Mingjin put on her clothes and sat up, several maids rushed in to help her dress, at this time Xu Mingjin saw Yuzhu, Yuzhu nodded to her, Xu Mingjin was delighted in her heart, Yuzhu had completed the task she had entrusted.

  Xu Mingjin hadn't even finished dressing when he heard Xu Ruoyi's voice at the door: "Jin'er, I heard from Ye Niang that there was an assassin who came in here tonight. Is everything all right?"

  Xu Mingjin sneered, and indeed it was Ye Niang's doing. Her guess was not wrong. She raised her voice and said, "Father, there is no assassin here, daughter is fine."

  Yiye Niang's worried voice said, "If the assassin is hiding in a corner under the cover of darkness and you didn't see him, that's also possible. For now, the only way to ensure your safety is to search everywhere thoroughly. I'm doing this for your own good."

  Xu Mingjin sneered and smiled, it seems that Ye Niangniang won't shed tears until she sees the coffin. Fine, he'll fulfill her wish.

  "Father, wait a moment, daughter will put on her clothes and then open the door."

  Yexi thought to herself that the person was someone she had seen with her own eyes entering Feicui Garden, and no matter how much Xu Mingjin delayed, he wouldn't be able to make that person disappear. Therefore, she waited very patiently. She also comforted Xu Ruoyi: "Master, today is your wedding night, I've disturbed you, it's truly a crime punishable by death."

  Xu Ruoyi waved his hand: "Don't mind your business, Jin'er is in danger, as a father, how can I only care about myself? What do you take me for?"

  Yè Yí Niáng apologized profusely and incessantly.

  Xu Ruoyi looked at the large group of people brought by Ye Niang and frowned, saying: "Why did you bring so many people? Send them all away."

  Yeniang brought so many people, the purpose is to make a big deal out of this matter, how could she agree with Xu Ruoyi's words? She advised: "Master, what if the assassin is really hiding inside, and there are not enough people, wouldn't Sixth Miss be in danger? I'm doing this to protect Liu Miss too!"

  Xu Ruoyi hesitated for a moment, but still withdrew his previous order. Ye Yiniang saw this and secretly felt pleased with herself.

  At this time Xu Mingjin was already dressed up, she ordered Yuzhu to open the door and walked out.

  Xu Shangshu hastily came forward to greet her, sizing her up from head to toe, and said with relief: "You're fine, that's good."

  "Master," said Ye Yiniang, "although the young lady is all right, we must still search thoroughly. What if she's hiding in a secret place at this very moment? Wouldn't that be a huge hidden danger?"

  Xu Mingjin smiled and said, "Aunt is right, it's time to search. However, elder sister, second sister's place should also be searched, what if the assassin escapes there and harms them?"

  Ye Yiniang was stunned, she thought Xu Mingjin would refuse to search, but did not expect her to take advantage of the situation and ask her to search her own daughter's room, which she naturally did not want. But this was a difficult thing to say out loud. She could only look at Xu Ruoyi with pleading eyes.

  Xu Ruoyi thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

  Xu Mingjin smiled.

  Yè Yí Niáng looked at Xú Míng Jǐn's smile, and suddenly felt very regretful about what had happened tonight. She had a faint premonition that something bad was going to happen.

  The servants rushed in and began searching Xu Mingjin's bedroom, rummaging through every nook and cranny. Although Xu Ruoyi was watching, no one dared to damage the precious antiques on the dresser. They searched very carefully, not missing a single spot. Ye Niang took advantage of the opportunity to also search the room while directing the servants. The bedspread was messy and scattered, clearly having just gotten up and not had time to tidy up. A servant lifted up the hanging bedskirt, but underneath was empty. In front of the bed was a servant's bedding, also spread out, probably belonging to one of the night watch maids. The windows in the room were tightly closed. The closet, behind the curtains... everywhere was searched, but nothing was found.

  Yè Yí Niáng was extremely disappointed and perplexed. Because she had personally seen which man enter the Emerald Garden, hadn't she? Could it be that he was hiding in another room? Yè Yí Niáng took a deep breath, put on a worried expression, and said to Xú Ruò Yì: "Master, let's search all the rooms thoroughly, shall we? Only then can we be at ease."

  Xu Ruoyi had originally decided to call it a day and head back home, but after hearing what Ye Niang said, he thought she made sense, so with a wave of his hand, the house servants charged towards every single building in Feicui Garden.

  After a cup of tea, all the servants gathered in the yard, and an attendant-like person stepped forward and said: "Report to your lordship, all rooms have been searched, and no assassins were found."

  Xu Mingjin clearly saw the look of disappointment on Aunt Ye's face.

  Xu Ruoyi was completely unaware and warmly said to the aunt, "Since we've all searched and didn't catch the assassin, let's go and let Jin'er rest well."

  Yè Yí Niáng nodded, feeling relieved that Xú Ruò Yì had forgotten about Xú Míng Jǐn's plan to search the houses of Xú Míng Xiá and others. She pulled Xú Ruò Yì along, wanting to leave, but how could Xú Míng Jǐn let her off so easily?

  "Dad, wait."