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Of course, Wei Tingyu wouldn't let these assassins succeed so easily! He clapped his hands, and immediately, the surrounding windows flew open, as a dozen Golden Shadow Guards poured in. Half of the Golden Shadow Guards who entered the banquet hall positioned themselves around Wei Tingyu and the four women, while the other half instantly surrounded the assassins.
The assassins, seeing their target so close, just a few steps away, attempted to resist. However, the Golden Shadow Guards surrounding them gave them no chance. In a swift, practiced motion, they captured all the assassins alive! The entire process flowed smoothly and cleanly, showcasing their masterful skill!
Seeing all the assassins controlled and the situation stabilized, the other frantic guests finally calmed down. Yet, as they looked at Wei Tingyu again, their eyes were filled with an inexpressible meaning. Good heavens! The Marquis's personal guards are truly hidden dragons and crouching tigers! Each one so skilled, it felt as though they merely lifted a hand and captured all these martial arts-proficient assassins!
Moreover, Madam Zhao, the Marquis's concubine, had also demonstrated a bit of her skill, causing the normally sequestered official ladies to stare with starry eyes, filled with admiration! The most impressive, however, was Wei Tingyu himself! The Marquis had remained seated the entire time, using only a pea and chopsticks to neutralize the two assassins targeting him and the Princess. Marquis Jining's residence is indeed a family of military generals! Their foundation is deep!
"Is the Princess well?" Wei Tingyu blinked, ignoring the captured assassins, and instead looked up at Princess Jian opposite him. Her face was finally no longer so panicked; it seemed her earlier fright had subsided.
"I am well!" Princess Jian patted her heaving chest twice with her jade hand, then nodded at Wei Tingyu. "Thank you, Marquis, for saving me!"
"Youzhen! I…" At this moment, Liu Chang shamelessly approached. Seeing the mixture of gratitude and admiration in Princess Jian's eyes as she looked at Wei Tingyu, he immediately felt a pang of jealousy.
"Say no more!" Princess Jian had just experienced the great ups and downs of life and death, and in that instant, she understood many things. She no longer wished to dwell on Liu Chang's blatant disregard for her safety. She simply felt that this "first love" was far from the man she had envisioned. However, for her to now cling to Liu Chang as before, even the Princess herself knew it was impossible!
"Who are you people? Why did you try to assassinate the Princess and me…" Wei Tingyu nodded, then turned his gaze back to the assassins. "Oh! Right! And the young mistress of the Liu Manor!"
At these words, He Weifang was also stunned. She couldn't understand. What did I do? Why did I attract assassins? As the other guests had calmed down, their curiosity was piqued, and Liu Shen and his wife also perked up their ears. Could this daughter-in-law be bringing some terrible disaster upon the Liu residence?
"The Qingzheng Society acts on behalf of Heaven!" However, the captured assassin leader spoke with a defiant expression, as if ready to be cut down or tortured. He lifted his head and declared, "Prince Ning deceives the Son of Heaven! He oppresses the common people! Everyone has the right to kill him!"
"I see!" Wei Tingyu immediately nodded. "You came to kill the Princess! But you hadn't observed her up close…"
"And you heard that the Princess and the Liu Manor's young mistress, Madam He, had exchanged seats, so you feared missing your target and simply included both on your assassination list."
"As for this Marquis… you probably thought I was in cahoots with the Princess since we arrived at the Liu family one after another…" Wei Tingyu continued, speaking his thoughts without waiting for the assassin leader to finish.
"…" As his words fell, all the assassins' eyes widened, for everything was indeed as Wei Tingyu had just described. Could this man have been hiding under the table during our planning? Otherwise, how could he know so much? This was the only thought in the assassins' minds at the moment.
"It was this humble official's oversight! I failed to properly investigate, allowing these scoundrels to infiltrate the banquet!" At this moment, Liu Shen finally scurried out, trembling. He was both the master of the Liu residence and the host of this banquet, so he naturally couldn't escape responsibility.
"Fortunately, no harm came to the Princess's noble person!" Liu Shen and his wife knelt before Princess Jian, their voices trembling. "But we have disturbed the Princess and the Marquis's pleasure! Please, esteemed ones, forgive us!" After all, the assassins themselves had admitted they were there to assassinate Princess Jian! Wei Tingyu and his daughter-in-law He Weifang were merely caught in the crossfire, so Liu Shen directly pleaded for forgiveness from the Princess.
Princess Jian simply pursed her lips in exasperation, glancing at Wei Tingyu beside her. As a woman, facing such a major incident, she truly didn't know how to handle it! If it were merely household servants making mistakes, she could certainly assert her authority and deal with them. But this assassination attempt, she could only wait to see how Wei Tingyu wished to resolve it.
However, the Liu family didn't understand the Princess's meaning. Liu Chang, seeing his first love not forgiving his parents who were kneeling and begging for mercy, frowned and directly walked forward to kneel beside them.
"The Liu residence was negligent! We startled the Princess and the Marquis! Please, esteemed ones, be magnanimous and lenient!" Seeing Liu Chang's heartfelt plea, the four women, including Dou Zhao, collectively scoffed inwardly. Especially He Weifang, facing her nominal husband's current actions, felt even more contempt. So you're not mute after all, nor are you incapable of speaking up for others! It seems that all the suffering and hardship I endured in your home over the past year, which you remained indifferent to, wasn't because you couldn't intercede, but because you simply weren't willing to intercede for me!
Princess Jian looked up at Wei Tingyu, seeing his "do as you please" expression, and immediately understood.
"Zi Shu! What are you doing?" Princess Jian looked at Liu Chang, who was kneeling before her, and nodded. "For your sake… let it be!" At the same time, Princess Jian felt a pang of melancholy. After all, this was her first love! Although she now clearly saw that he was no longer the man she had imagined, not pursuing his family's guilt this time could be considered a farewell to her long-held longing.
Thinking this, Princess Jian walked past Liu Chang, who was still kneeling, and approached Wei Tingyu. She gave a meaningful glance at Dou Zhao and the two other women standing behind him, then quietly bowed to Wei Tingyu, saying, "Thank you, Marquis Wei, for saving my life!"
This stunned not only everyone present but also Wei Tingyu himself. He blinked, wondering, What is this turn of events? When I watched this play before, there was clearly no such scene! But how has Princess Jian become so much more reasonable? After a moment's thought, Wei Tingyu relaxed. After all, Princess Jian was merely somewhat numb from her high position, not caring much for the suffering of others, but that didn't mean she was a willful or ungrateful person. Wei Tingyu had just saved her life, and this had been witnessed by everyone present. Even for the sake of the Prince Ning's reputation, Princess Jian had to show her gratitude now.
"The Princess needn't be so courteous!" Wei Tingyu said. "It was merely a small effort, and besides, these assassins' targets included both me and the young mistress, so of course I had to act!"
As Wei Tingyu's words fell, everyone present widened their eyes again. This was because his statement contained a piece of information that no one had immediately grasped. You could have simply said that the assassins' targets included you, so why mention the young mistress of the Liu residence? Could your intervention also be related to her? The eyes of those present darted around, as they simultaneously pondered whether these words were a slip of the tongue by Marquis Jining or truly intentional.
He Weifang, standing beside Wei Tingyu, naturally understood the meaning of his words, and her face flushed slightly. Princess Jian, raising her head, gave He Weifang a meaningful glance, and after noticing that the woman had indeed blushed, she was also startled. Could it be that Liu Chang's legal wife truly harbors some special affection for Marquis Jining? If so, then this is truly a huge scandal!
However, Princess Jian had no time to delve deeper. She turned to the still-kneeling Liu Shen and his family and said, "Lord Liu! Today's incident was entirely prevented from becoming a catastrophe by Marquis Jining's intervention! If you wish to beg for forgiveness, you should plead with Marquis Jining!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Liu Shen was startled. He scrambled and crawled to Wei Tingyu, knocking his head twice on the ground, then began to beg for mercy. "This humble official was negligent, please punish me, Marquis!" After speaking, Liu Shen's kneeling body began to tremble! After all, the ruthlessness Wei Tingyu had just displayed made him realize that this Marquis was not truly the gentle, refined young master he appeared to be.
However, Wei Tingyu didn't speak immediately. He sat there, eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. His next words would determine the fate of the Liu family. This was something everyone present knew. As time slowly passed, everyone in the hall held their breath, not daring to make a sound. For the lives of nearly a hundred people in the Liu residence now depended on Wei Tingyu's decision.
Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, Wei Tingyu slowly opened his eyes again. He gave a meaningful glance at the trembling Liu Shen, who was kneeling before him, and casually waved his hand. "For the young mistress's sake, I will not hold you accountable. You may all rise!"
…With that simple sentence, Liu Shen's heart was pulled back from hell. After taking a heavy breath, he realized that his back was completely soaked with sweat!
"Thank you, Princess! Thank you, Marquis, for your leniency!" Liu Shen nervously swallowed, then bowed respectfully to Princess Jian and Wei Tingyu before shakily helping his wife to stand.
"Lord Liu, why are you only thanking the Princess and the Marquis?" However, at this moment, Zhao Zhangru, who had been observing the commotion without a word, surprisingly spoke up. "Our Marquis himself said he was lenient for the sake of your residence's young mistress! Why aren't you thanking the young mistress?!"
This statement landed like a thunderclap! Everyone present widened their eyes, many even gasping in surprise. Everyone had heard Wei Tingyu's words, and they were already puzzled, even curious, about the relationship between him and He Weifang, the young mistress of the Liu Manor. After all, such a serious matter as an assassination, and the Marquis forgave the entire Liu family simply for He Weifang's sake? Did that mean there was something between the two of them…?
Of course, the guests present were not foolish. While they enjoyed gossiping about others behind their backs, they knew better than to speak ill of an esteemed person like Marquis Jining to his face. However, Marquis Jining's concubine, Madam Zhao, completely disregarded these unspoken rules, openly raising the question that everyone had tacitly acknowledged. This was undoubtedly a blatant slap in the Liu family's face! Wasn't your family's good fortune in escaping disaster due to the inexplicable relationship between your daughter-in-law He Weifang and Marquis Wei?
Of course, Zhao Zhangru's sudden outburst had no other reason; she simply wanted to get some satisfaction for He Weifang! After all, the scene she had witnessed at Fuyun Temple, where He Weifang was bullied by the Liu residence's servants, still lingered vividly in her memory. At this moment, she couldn't help but step forward to defend this poor woman who was being mistreated by her in-laws!
Meanwhile, Liu Chang stared at Wei Tingyu, his face flushed with shock, his fists clenched, veins bulging. He believed that Wei Tingyu's concubine's sudden remark must have been at Wei Tingyu's instigation! It was meant to publicly confirm, in front of all the officials in Dongdu, that he had been cuckolded! However, despite his anger, Liu Chang's inherent cowardice and timidity prevented him from daring to confront Wei Tingyu. He could only suppress his emotions with all his might. Especially seeing the sympathetic or mocking glances from those around him, his indignation grew even stronger! Yet, even so, he lacked the courage to stand up and demand an explanation.
He Weifang, meanwhile, instantly flushed crimson. Her relationship with Wei Tingyu was, of course, as close as it could be! But seeing the awkward and angry expressions of the Liu family, who dared not speak, He Weifang suddenly felt a surge of gratification! It was as if all the hardships and suffering she had endured in the Liu residence over the past year were being completely alleviated at this moment! Thinking back to how she had previously lived here, tiptoeing around, only wishing for a peaceful life, compared to her current sense of vindication… He Weifang felt that putting her heart entirely on the Marquis was the most correct decision! When choosing a man, one truly had to choose someone like Wei Tingyu! To live so freely and comfortably was simply wonderful!
"Esteemed ones, your magnanimity is truly beyond compare! This humble official is utterly ashamed!" Liu Shen also knew that he absolutely could not fall out with Wei Tingyu at this moment. He quickly gave his son a look, signaling him to suppress his anger, then deeply bowed to Princess Jian and Wei Tingyu, resuming his flattery!
"Guards!" Wei Tingyu ignored Liu Shen's flattery and directly waved to his subordinates. "Take these assassins down and keep them under strict guard. Interrogate them thoroughly! Who exactly wished to assassinate Princess Jian? What other conspiracies lie behind this? We must unearth it all!"
"Yes!" Several Golden Shadow Guards stepped forward, clasping their fists, and then escorted the assassins away. Normally, such individuals should be handed over to the local authorities in Dongdu for interrogation, but no one dared to comment on Wei Tingyu taking the assassins into his private custody.
Princess Jian, at this moment, was scrutinizing Wei Tingyu and He Weifang, seemingly trying to find any clues that would confirm her suspicions about their relationship. Besides, as a woman, she had no desire to deal with the assassin matter anymore! With Wei Tingyu handling the interrogation, she could conveniently enjoy her peace!
"Marquis! These people…" At this moment, Zhao Zhangru stepped forward and quietly asked Wei Tingyu, "Are they to be rigorously interrogated? May I observe?"
Good heavens! This little lady truly has violent tendencies deep down! She was even willing to watch such a cruel and bloody interrogation? Most women would turn pale with fright just hearing about it! Fortunately, Wei Tingyu knew Zhao Zhangru's loyalty was beyond doubt. He simply shook his head and said, "I still have use for these people, so I won't truly cripple or kill them!" These assassins of the Qingzheng Society could be said to have courage, martial skill, and some intelligence; their only lack was bad luck! Of course, their personalities were also a bit naive; such passionate youths could be perfectly used by him! Wei Tingyu felt a fondness for their talent! If he were to accomplish great things in the future, he would naturally need to recruit talented individuals from all walks of life! Relying solely on the system's help was insufficient; Wei Tingyu still needed to find ways to acquire talent from this world itself! And the Qingzheng Society was a good starting point!