Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 99: Assassination

Insane.

Although Yan Qing really wanted to scold her out loud, after his mind turned a few circles, he finally realized that Shang Xinlei’s idea was actually the only solution.

Shang Xinlei’s demand was simple: do not let Qian Gongyu and the Shang Family suffer any losses. Qian Gongyu could be handled easily, but all of the Shang Family’s difficulties stemmed from the Emperor taking over governance. Shang Xuanwen could not stop it, so they could only try to strengthen the family’s foundation as much as possible.

This was precisely what troubled Shang Xinlei the most—the arrangement made by Shang Xuanwen was to make Qian Gongyu completely a part of the Shang Family’s power. If she protected Qian Gongyu, it meant harming the Shang Family’s interests, and vice versa.

The subtlest part was that without the Shang Family, the not-yet-matured Qian Gongyu would be completely unable to protect herself. Although she could borrow the Legendary Token from Qian Gongyu in exchange for shelter under the Shang Family, how was that any different from Shang Xuanwen’s plan? It might even be worse than Shang Xuanwen’s plan—at least he played the villain, and Shang Xinlei could fully take the role of the righteous one.

Shang Xuanwen was also very stubborn. He would never accept such a ‘noble plan’ from Shang Xinlei. He only believed in the method of ruling with both the carrot and the stick.

What was originally an unsolvable deadlock, because of the Thieves' House, Shang Xinlei now had a simple method that could solve all the troubles.

Descend upon the main city, infiltrate the Imperial Palace, and assassinate the Emperor!

If the Emperor died, they would naturally need to support a younger member of the royal clan, purge all the inner palace forces, and the Shang Family could continue controlling the court.

If the Emperor died, a new monarch would ascend the throne, issue a general amnesty across the land, and without Shang Xuanwen’s approval, Qian Gongyu would be absolved of her crimes.

Qian Gongyu and the Shang Family would both benefit. No one would suffer losses. All would be joyous and celebratory.

Except for the Emperor who was the target.

“You’re planning something this huge, and you didn’t think to discuss it with Shang Xuanwen first?” Yan Qing couldn’t understand. Were noblewomen in the south always this fierce? Talking about killing the Emperor like buying a head of cabbage.

“When my father arranged our lives, he never discussed it with us either,” Shang Xinlei said flatly. “He believes he is right. I believe I am right. So let’s see who actually is.”

“If you’re going to help me, then come. If you’re not, then step aside.” She pulled out the Throwing Ring and said seriously, “I don’t have time to waste.”

After speaking, she strode toward the door. Clearly, if Yan Qing insisted on stopping her, she wouldn’t hesitate to punish the man blocking her path with the Throwing Ring.

Yan Qing watched her come closer step by step and finally let out a long sigh, stepping aside.

“Thank you,” Shang Xinlei politely said as she walked out of the storage room.

“You and your father really are the same—always choosing evasion over honest confrontation…” Yan Qing muttered in a low voice behind her.

“Hmm?” Shang Xinlei turned her head and saw Yan Qing following behind, talking to himself. “What did you say? Why are you following me? Are you going to help?”

“Has the Emperor of Great Liang done any deeds, good or bad?” Yan Qing asked in return.

Shang Xinlei shook her head. “No. A young Emperor who has never taken control of the government and is raised by the Empress Dowager—how could he have done anything good or bad?”

“Then I won’t help you,” Yan Qing said. “But I won’t stop you either.”

“I’ll just follow behind and watch the show. If something good drops to the ground, I’ll pick it up.”

Shang Xinlei laughed. “If he were a wise and benevolent ruler who loved the people, would you stop me? But you clearly supported the plan to kidnap the Emperor.”

“I even stole Shang Xuanwen’s Heaven-Reliant Sword,” Yan Qing replied calmly. “Why do you think I tried so hard to avoid fighting him?”

“I don’t deny I’m a profit-driven villain. But does that mean villains like tyrants and treacherous ministers? The worse a person is, the more they hope there are good people in this world.”

Shang Xinlei blinked, seemingly deep in thought. She slowed her steps, occasionally tilting her head to observe Yan Qing. Yan Qing resisted the urge to turn his head and refused to meet her gaze.

With her, a local who often entered the palace, acting as a guide, they encountered no danger. Several times they ran into guards and attendants but managed to avoid them each time. Soon, they reached the outer wall of Chengqian Hall. The two of them climbed over it directly and landed softly, seeing the palace lit as bright as day.

It was expected that the Emperor hadn’t gone to sleep and chose to stay up late—after all, tonight was unusually lively. This meant Shang Xinlei had only one chance. Whether she succeeded or failed, it would surely alarm the entire palace, and then Second-Stage and Third-Stage Messengers would definitely converge. They would only have a very short escape window.

This was the reason Yan Qing followed. He brought a Return Token and was not afraid of being surrounded. He could escape at any moment. While he did want to watch the excitement, his deeper intention was still to help Shang Xinlei—not with the assassination, but with the escape.

She was Jiang Ten’s friend, and also… barely counted as his friend.

The two of them crept along the carved jade balustrades toward the palace and hid below a window. They vaguely heard voices inside.

“…Your Majesty, you’re reading miscellaneous books again. If the Empress Dowager sees this, she’ll scold you,” a slightly hoarse female voice said.

“But Master, it’s hard to read scriptures this late at night. Only books like the ‘Messenger’s Manual’ can help me pass the time.” The young man laughed. “If the Empress Dowager comes, be sure to warn me.”

“Alright. I really can’t do anything about Your Majesty.”

  Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei exchanged a glance. From the voices, they could clearly determine the precise positions of those speaking inside—the youthful voice likely belonged to the Emperor, and the female voice was probably the Disciplinary Matron. They slowly moved along the corner of the wall, aiming to reach the section closest to the Emperor before launching their surprise attack.

An accident occurred.

Just as they turned the corner, Yan Qing collided head-on with a palace maid. A second before she could cry out, Yan Qing covered her mouth, quietly and steadily dragging her away.

Shang Xinlei was visibly displeased and gestured with her eyes for Yan Qing to kill her immediately. Yan Qing acted as if he didn’t see it. But he was also a bit frustrated—while movies often showed a simple hand chop knocking someone out, he wasn’t naïve enough to believe that. If he used full force to chop the maid’s neck, he would most likely just snap it.

“Don’t move. I’ll let you go in a moment,” Yan Qing whispered to the palace maid. “You forget so many things every day. You’ll forget this too, right?”

The palace maid stopped struggling and nodded vigorously.

Yan Qing let out a breath of relief and turned to observe Shang Xinlei’s movements. Just on the other side of the wall in front of her was the young Emperor sitting at a desk reading, and the straight-line distance between them was less than five steps.

Shang Xinlei raised three fingers.

Three?

Then two fingers, then one.

Boom!

Right on cue, an explosion rang out from the other end of the palace city. At that precise moment, when everyone’s attention would be drawn to the noise, Shang Xinlei kicked through the wall and unleashed a Throwing Ring Sweep!

Yan Qing also released the maid and stepped forward, ready to assist.

But just then, a fist formed from gale-force energy blasted out from the palace, instantly shattering the entire wall! Not to mention Shang Xinlei, who took the blow head-on—even Yan Qing, who had just approached, felt like he had been struck by an electric scooter. The mirror surfaces on his body shattered one after another! Shang Xinlei suffered even more—like being slammed by a heavy-duty freight truck, her entire body was hurled over ten meters away and crashed into a wall, leaving a human-shaped dent!

They widened their eyes and looked at the figure stepping out of the palace, their hearts filled with dread.

Heaven-splitting and earth-breaking, altering the very skies—it was like witnessing a divine miracle!

It was a Foundation Messenger!