Hou Ye's palm heart is a black lotus

Chapter 744 A Special Affection (Second Update)
Xiao Chenglin was stunned for a moment, somewhat incredulous.

"Are you crazy?"

Shui Xingqiu remained calm and his tone was firm.

"I need an explanation."

Tuoba Yu was so badly injured that he would probably be half a cripple by now. He was closely involved in this matter, and he had to give the king a satisfactory answer.

Ye Yunfeng is the answer.

Once Ye Yunfeng is dead, this matter will be over.

Xiao Chenglin laughed angrily, "Patriarch Shui, you were also in the Taiji Hall today, you know perfectly well what happened there. Si Kouji merely made a provocation, yet Ye Yunfeng was promoted three ranks in a row, and now you actually want to take his life in the capital?"

Ye Yunfeng's arrow shot Tuoba Yu, which indeed put him in danger, and it was obvious that Tuoba Shan would not let it go.

But that's for later!

Ye Yunfeng is currently the center of attention; who would dare to make a move against him at this time?
"If you really do that, I guarantee you won't be able to leave the capital," Xiao Chenglin warned in a low voice.

A slight ripple finally appeared on Shui Xingqiu's frosty face.

His eyebrows lifted slightly, and a hint of curiosity and interest appeared in his eyes.

"Oh? It seems this Ye Yunfeng is quite extraordinary? You think so highly of him?"

"It's not that I think highly of him, it's that His Majesty and the Prince of Yannan think highly of him," Xiao Chenglin said coldly. "I'll remind you again, this is not the Southern Barbarian lands!"

Seeing that Xiao Chenglin was truly enraged, Shui Xingqiu's already dwindling patience was completely exhausted.

His expression vanished completely, becoming even colder than before.

"I've already said it, I absolutely must take his life."

The reason he came with the delegation this time was to clean up this mess.

He was indeed highly respected in the Southern Hu, and was revered by all, but there was still a ruler above him.

Tuoba Yu is responsible for this defeat.

Therefore, Shui Xingqiu's mind was also very firm.

"There are a million ways to kill someone. If one doesn't work, try another."

Shui Xingqiu's tone was detached and indifferent. If one didn't know better, one would think he was discussing what to eat today, and if one thing didn't work out, he would switch to another, rather than deciding a person's life or death.

It was as if... in his eyes, a human life was no different from the life of an ant.

Xiao Chenglin immediately became alert, sat up straight, and stared intently at him.

"What are you trying to do? Are you perhaps trying to cast a spell on him?"

This was Shui Xingqiu's forte, and he was indeed astonished by it.

Xiao Chenglin had no doubt that if Shui Xingqiu was willing, he had plenty of ways to use a curse on Ye Yunfeng.

Sure enough, Shui Xingqiu nodded slightly, "There were a lot more people in the Taiji Hall today."

It's inconvenient for him to take action.

"No way!" Xiao Chenglin rejected the idea without even thinking.

Shui Xingqiu glanced at him. "What, you doubt my abilities?"

Xiao Chenglin was so angry he almost laughed.

"I think you've really gone mad. Even if you can use a curse on him, then what? If something happens to him, do you think anyone will think of you, or your entire Southern Hu delegation? How will you clean up the mess then?!"

Making the move was easy, and killing Ye Yunfeng wasn't difficult in the first place. The trouble was what happened afterward!

Shui Xingqiu knew, of course, that what he described was highly likely to happen, but...

"I will not leave any evidence," he said proudly. "Even if someone suspects, without evidence, no one can do anything to me." His ability to firmly hold the position of head of the Shui family is the best proof of this.

He certainly has that ability.

Xiao Chenglin pinched the bridge of his nose, and for the first time began to doubt whether cooperating with Shui Xingqiu was a mistake.

He is like a sharp sword, but if you're not careful, he can backfire.

“This method won’t work,” Xiao Chenglin said. “You probably don’t even know who his elder sister is.”

"His older sister?"

Shui Xingqiu was somewhat surprised.

“Yes.” Xiao Chenglin stared at him and slowly said, “His elder sister, Ye Chutang, is extremely skilled in medicine.”

"You mean this..." Shui Xingqiu suddenly realized, "I've heard that she's supposedly more skilled than the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital?"

“It’s not a rumor, it’s a fact.” Xiao Chenglin interrupted him, and seeing that he didn’t seem to understand the meaning of the sentence, he added, “She was in charge of performing autopsies on those few Nanhu assassins who were captured before, and killing the Gu worms in their bodies.”

Shui Xingqiu's pupils contracted slightly.

"So...it was her?"

He had vaguely heard some things when the incident happened, but since they were thousands of miles apart, he didn't know much about it.

Who would have thought that Ye Chutang was actually Ye Yunfeng's older sister?
Shui Xingqiu pondered for a moment.

"This Ye Chutang is indeed quite something. Has she ever been to the Southern Barbarians before? Otherwise, how could she also know about Gu poison techniques?"

The poison in those assassins' bodies was unusual, and Ye Chutang was able to recognize it and resolve it, which was truly remarkable.

Xiao Chenglin shook his head. "No."

He briefly explained Ye Chutang's background and her experiences over the past few years.

"In retrospect, she really didn't have the time or opportunity to go to Nanhu. No one knows where she learned about the art of Gu poison, just like her medical skills—"

Xiao Chenglin paused, then stopped talking.

"In short, if you make a move against Ye Yunfeng, Ye Chutang will probably find out soon. If she catches you red-handed... your situation won't be much better than Tuoba Yu's today."

Shui Xingqiu finally got serious this time.

Putting everything else aside, if Ye Chutang is really as capable as Xiao Chenglin claims, then the risk of him doing this is indeed extremely high.

but……

“Even so, it’s not as serious as you make it out to be, is it?” Shui Xingqiu said. “Didn’t you say that she lost both her parents and raised several younger siblings all by herself? Such an orphan girl, even if she gained the trust of the current emperor through her medical skills, still has no foundation.”

It's just duckweed, why should we be so wary of it?

Xiao Chenglin looked at him with a cold smile.

"It seems you've been living too comfortably in the Southern Barbarian lands, lacking even the most basic sense of crisis. Even if you were far away in the Southern Barbarian lands before, you should have at least done some research before coming to the capital. No connections whatsoever? Do you know that the Princess's residence and the Marquis of Dingbei's residence are her backers?"

The Ye Chutang of today is no longer the orphan girl who was bullied by everyone.

Shui Xingqiu felt a little embarrassed by his words, but he still managed to grasp the key words.

"Leaving aside the Princess's residence for now, how come the Marquis of Dingbei's residence is also related to her?"

Xiao Chenglin lowered his eyelids slightly.

Shui Xingqiu wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Xiao Chenglin was radiating an indescribable displeasure.

Xiao Chenglin finally spoke, but his tone was devoid of emotion.

It seemed like he was laughing, or perhaps it was a hint of mockery, yet a faint chill lingered between his brows.

"Shen Yanchuan of the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion is deeply in love with her, and you didn't know?"