SGEIRS -Chapter 405 Assassination at Night

In that instant, Mei Qingyun didn’t know how to react. At the same time, she couldn’t understand how Gu Jingxi had found out about the secret chamber in the study. It couldn’t possibly be because she had mentioned the study so many times to Meng Jinyao that it aroused their suspicion, could it?

If that were the case, then Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao had been acting from the very beginning. His sudden illness had probably been fake as well—just an excuse to delay their departure and stay a few more days. Now that they had obtained the evidence, they were immediately returning to the capital.

Yet no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. Even if her repeated mentions of the study had made Meng Jinyao suspicious, the key had always been with Wei Heng. How had Gu Jingxi discovered and opened the secret chamber? She had never once mentioned the key.

Earlier, her mind had been strangely calm. She had even thought that having Wei Heng dragged down with her wasn’t so bad. She was tired—physically and mentally—and didn’t want to continue living like this anymore. If they were going to fall, they could fall together.

But now that she had truly calmed down, uneasiness crept in.

For officials guilty of corruption and bribery, the punishment depended on the severity. In lighter cases, only the official would be executed. In heavier cases, the entire family could be wiped out. Others might be exiled to bitterly cold or pestilential lands. As for their families, they might be executed, exiled, sent to the Imperial Music Bureau, or even forced into military prostitution. Men were usually sent to the frontier or exiled.

None of these outcomes was something she could accept.

Exile meant surviving, but living a life of unimaginable hardship. Being sent to the Music Bureau was no different from becoming a prostitute. The “luckiest” outcome would be being taken as a concubine by some powerful man—but even that would be a humiliating disgrace to her.

Back then, she had been the most beautiful woman in the capital, talented and admired. Countless sons of noble families had sought her hand in marriage. If she ended up in the Music Bureau, she couldn’t imagine how those women who once envied her would ridicule her. And those men who had once failed to win her—if they went there to seek her out, she would have to bow and scrape to serve them.

She didn’t dare imagine such a life.

Death would be better.

After about half an hour, Magistrate Wei returned. He saw her sitting quietly, brows tightly furrowed, lost in thought, so absorbed that she hadn’t even noticed him come in.

He sneered. “Madam, only now you regret it? Isn’t it a little too late? If you’d known this would happen, why did you tip him off in the first place?”

Mei Qingyun raised her head slightly and replied, “It wasn’t me. I didn’t report anything. I never touched the key. As for why your account books and letters disappeared, I don’t know either.”

Wei looked at her calmly. “Whether it was you or not doesn’t matter anymore. Didn’t you hate me to the bone and want to be ruined together with me? Then let’s be ruined together.”

Hearing this, Mei Qingyun grew anxious. “Wei Heng, are you just going to wait for death?”

“What else can I do?” Wei replied indifferently. His expression was calm, as if he weren’t the same man who had been furious and despairing half an hour earlier.

She stared at him in disbelief. After a while, she asked, “Do you already have some kind of plan?”

“What plan could I possibly have? How could I compete with your beloved?” He shifted his gaze and said lightly, “It’s late, Madam. Let’s bathe and rest.”

With that, he pulled her up without giving her a chance to refuse and dragged her to the bathing room. After bathing, he took her again forcefully, ignoring her resistance.

Afterward, Mei Qingyun turned her head to look at him. For the first time, she felt she couldn’t see through him anymore.

Had he really resigned himself to fate?

The calmer and quieter he was, the more terrified she felt.

She didn’t want exile.

She didn’t want to be sent to the Music Bureau.

She didn’t want to live like a lowly courtesan, degrading herself to serve others.

Meanwhile, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao’s group were traveling north by boat.

The weather was clear, and the canal was calm. After three days of sailing, their food supplies were exhausted. When they reached the next dock, they stopped to restock provisions for the coming days.

Sitting on a boat all day was tiring. The boat owner was a couple with a helper, and they didn’t sail at night. Instead of resting on the boat, it was better to go ashore.

So Gu Jingxi’s group went to find an inn and planned to rest for the night, continuing their journey the next morning. The boat owner, unwilling to spend money, stayed on the boat.

Gu Jingxi booked several superior rooms. The master and servants all stayed on the same floor so they could look after one another if anything happened.

After a simple wash, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao changed clothes and were about to sleep when sounds of fighting suddenly came from next door.

Meng Jinyao’s heart skipped. “Husband, why is it suddenly so noisy outside?”

“A-Yao, we’re in trouble tonight. Get dressed first.”

Gu Jingxi’s expression darkened. He quickly draped her clothes over her and put on his own robe. He had just tied his sash when a masked man in black burst through the door.

The couple looked over.

A black-clad assassin had rushed in.

Seeing Gu Jingxi, the man confirmed his target. The sword in his hand flashed coldly as he lunged forward at lightning speed.

Everything happened too suddenly.

Meng Jinyao’s face turned pale. Before she could react, Gu Jingxi pulled her aside, narrowly avoiding the strike.

When the assassin missed, he immediately attacked again.

Gu Jingxi stepped forward to meet him and said, “A-Yao, don’t move.”

She nodded frantically and hid in the corner, watching the fight.

The assassin moved like a ghost, sword flashing, every move aimed to kill. Gu Jingxi’s skills were no weaker. His movements were swift as lightning, countering every strike. Even without a weapon, he didn’t let the assassin gain the upper hand.

Still, Meng Jinyao was terrified.

She had never seen anything like this before. Staying at an inn and encountering assassins—this wasn’t robbery. This was murder.

She immediately thought of Magistrate Wei.

He must have discovered the missing account books, linked it to them, and sent people to silence them.

Soon, four more skilled assassins rushed into the room.

Gu Jingxi now faced four enemies alone.

He had to protect his frightened wife in the corner and prevent the assassins from approaching her. Unarmed, he was under tremendous pressure.

He finally seized an opportunity and snatched a sword from one of them. Only then did the situation improve slightly.

In the cramped room, blades flashed and clashed. The sound of metal echoed, chilling to the bone.

Meng Jinyao didn’t dare move. She squeezed herself into the narrow space between the bed and the wall, barely wide enough for one person.

Suddenly, she saw an assassin thrust his sword toward Gu Jingxi’s back.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

“Husband, behind you—watch out!”