Prime Minister.

Chapter 302, Section 301: [Even late at night, I still trim the lamp wick]

Late at night, at the princess's residence.

The news of Princess Yun'an's assassination attempt at Slender West Lake shocked the entire city of Yangzhou. All officials of the Yangzhou Prefectural Government, Yangzhou Guard, Lianghuai Salt Transport Office, Grain Transport Office, and Patrol Office mobilized and, under the command of Yi Zhong, the commander of the princess's personal guards, imposed martial law throughout the city and searched for suspicious persons.

At such a crucial moment, Xue Huai's absence was clearly abnormal and could easily cause panic, so Jiang Li ultimately asked Yi Zhong to provide a brief explanation.

When everyone heard that Xue Huai had saved Princess Yun'an from the assassin's blade, and that although he was injured, it was not serious, and that the princess took it very seriously and specially brought him back to the imperial residence for treatment by the imperial physician, they couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions. Everyone knew how much the current emperor favored Princess Yun'an, and Xue Huai had once again performed a great service tonight. No wonder His Majesty had always been so fond of him.

Jiang Li had no time to pay attention to these things. She sat on the armchair in the outer room of the bedroom, listening to Su Erniang report on the preliminary investigation into the assassination attempt.

"Your Highness, that three-story pleasure boat belongs to Xiaoyun Tower in Yangzhou. According to the manager, the boat was booked tonight by several powerful young men from Jinling, and the leader is the son of the prefectural magistrate of Jinling."

Su Erniang's expression was slightly strange as she continued, "However, according to the interrogation results, these people are not sons of nobles at all. They and their companions are all outlaws. Someone offered them a thousand taels of gold to assassinate a nobleman. They had already been paid five hundred taels in advance, with an agreement to receive another five hundred taels after the assassination. They did not know the identity of the person in question, only that the leader was a man in his thirties with an extraordinary bearing who claimed to be surnamed Lu."

"Lu?"

Jiang Li frowned slightly; she did not recall any man surnamed Lu who was over thirty years old and of extraordinary status.

"Perhaps it's an alias."

Su Erniang offered her assessment and then said, "Your Highness, I have already had an artist draw a portrait of the man surnamed Lu based on the description given by these bandits. It may come in handy in the future."

Jiang Li nodded slightly, picked up her teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and asked, "What about the three assassins? Were they also accomplices of these bandits?"

"No. According to the bandit leader, the man surnamed Lu initially had them lie in wait in the city without a specific assassination plan. It wasn't until this morning, when he learned that the princess's residence had chartered a pleasure boat, that the man surnamed Lu contacted them in the afternoon and instructed them to use that luxurious pleasure boat to attract the attention of the princess's guards, and then have the three experts he brought seize the opportunity to assassinate His Highness."

Su Erniang paused, then said apologetically, "The situation was urgent at the time, and none of the three assassins were left alive. Please punish me, Your Highness."

"The incident happened suddenly. You have done your duty. What crime have you committed?"

Jiang Li remained calm and asked again, "Can you find any clues from the corpses of the three assassins?"

"Have."

Su Erniang took something out of her sleeve and said, "Your Highness, this is a token found in the inner pocket of the leader assassin's clothes. It may prove his identity."

Jiang Li took it and examined it closely. She saw that it was a warm and smooth black jade token, with intricate cloud patterns engraved on one side and an ancient seal script character on the other.

"mysterious?"

Jiang Li said coldly, "Xuan Yuan Sect?"

"Your Highness, according to our informants in the Jing'an Division, the forces that the Xuan Yuan Sect has cultivated openly in Jiangnan over the years have been almost completely wiped out by Xue Tongzhi. The Jimin Hall developed by the Holy Maiden Liu Ying has now been incorporated and transformed by the government. Their infiltration of the Grand Canal and the Grand Canal Gang has been severed one after another. These traitors' hatred for Xue Tongzhi is naturally as deep as the mountains and the sea."

Su Erniang thought for a moment and said softly, "In that case, it's not surprising that the traitors of the Xuan Yuan Sect went to great lengths to assassinate His Highness and Xue Tongzhi."

Jiang Li remained silent. She raised the token and examined it closely in the candlelight, then shook her head and said, "I feel that things are not so simple."

Su Erniang asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

"According to you, the rebels of the Demonic Cult hate Xue Huai to the bone. Then they shouldn't have made a move when I was there. They should know how many elite guards I have. Moreover, it was purely by chance that Xue Huai and I appeared at the stern of the ship with weak defenses tonight. Under normal circumstances, assassins would not have had any chance to get close to us. That's one point."

Jiang Li placed the token on the table, her eyes growing colder, and slowly said, "Secondly, the assassin was clearly targeting me. The person he really wanted to kill was me, not Xue Huai."

Su Erniang's pupils shrank suddenly, her heart trembled, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

Jiang Li glanced at the token again and sneered, "Finally, these assassins went to great lengths to hide their identities, even spending a fortune to hire a group of bandits to launch a feint, yet they deliberately hid a token that could prove their identity on their person. Don't you find that ridiculous?"

Su Erniang suddenly realized, and said with heartfelt admiration, "Your Highness is wise."

"If it weren't for this token, I might have suspected that this was the work of traitors from the Xuan Yuan Sect, but..."

Jiang Li took a deep breath, her eyes darkening, and whispered, "Second Aunt, who do you think would want to kill me?"

Even though Su Erniang had a very special relationship with Jiang Li, she didn't dare to make wild guesses about such things. She hesitated and said, "Your Highness, it shouldn't be that person."

"Of course it wouldn't be His Majesty. I'm just a tool he uses to demonstrate the emperor's benevolence. I pose no threat to the dragon throne, so why would he kill me?"

Jiang Li gave a self-deprecating laugh, then said softly, "It seems that there are still people who think my life or death can be used, and want to use my death to stir up trouble within the Tian family."

Su Erniang then asked, "So what should we do now?"

Jiang Li said, "It's simple. Find out all the secrets hidden in these assassins' minds, and then hand them over to the Jiangsu Provincial Surveillance Commission, whether they are dead or alive, so that Dou Xian and Shi Daoan can have a headache."

Su Erniang quickly agreed.

Just then, a maid respectfully entered and reported, "Your Highness, Xue Tongzhi has awakened."

Jiang Li's eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up and said, "Second Aunt, I'm leaving the things outside to you."

Su Erniang watched her hurried departure, hesitant to speak, and could only sigh silently in the end.

She knew in her heart that when Xue Huai disregarded his own safety and risked his life to push the princess away from the blade, some things were beyond human control. At that moment, she only hoped that the princess could stay true to herself and not take that step.

……

Xue Huai slowly woke up, and the scene before him had a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had returned to the scene when he first came into this world two years ago.

As his consciousness gradually returned and memories flooded back, he couldn't help but sigh.

For him, this experience was truly agonizing, because in his previous life he had struggled in a raging flood and lost consciousness, only to wake up just moments before being rescued from the brink of drowning. Tonight marked the third time. He didn't know if he would develop hydrophobia, but he was determined to become a proficient swimmer under safe conditions.

Looking around, the exquisitely carved duster came into view. The air was filled with the bitter scent of medicine and a faint fragrance of agarwood. The burning thirst in his throat made him let out a suppressed cough.

The sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet inner room.

Almost the instant the coughing sound rang out, a figure in moon-white strode in.

Jiang Li's hair was no longer as elegant as usual, with a few strands falling softly beside her cheeks. The lingering fear in her eyes had not completely faded, but when she met Xue Huai's open eyes, she was instantly overwhelmed with a huge surprise. She then said softly, "You're awake? How are you feeling? Does your throat hurt?"

She subconsciously reached out, her fingertips slightly curled, as if wanting to touch his forehead to check his temperature, but stopped a few inches away with an almost clumsy hesitation, and finally only gently brushed away a strand of his hair that was scattered on the pillow.

Xue Huai felt weak all over and forced a smile, saying, "Your Highness, I'm fine."

Jiang Li looked at his furrowed brows as he spoke, and her voice softened even more: "Don't talk. The imperial physician said you choked on too much water, which damaged your throat and lungs, and greatly depleted your vital energy. Take a break first, okay?"

Before Xue Huai could answer, she turned to the maid standing beside her and instructed, "Bring the warm medicinal porridge, the softest and most glutinous kind. Also prepare a cup of warm water, just the right temperature, neither too hot nor too cold."

The maid quickly agreed and retreated silently with light footsteps.

Jiang Li sat down on the embroidered stool by the bed and stared intently at Xue Huai.

The candlelight danced across her delicate profile, outlining a soft halo and completely washing away the aloofness and pride that usually clung to her brows.

Xue Huai hesitated slightly before saying, "Your Highness, how can I trouble you..."

"Shhh."

Jiang Li gently pressed her index finger to her lips, then smiled and said, "Xue Huai, you keep saying that I saved your life, but we both know that it was the guards of the princess's residence who did it spontaneously, not on my orders. But tonight you saved my life, and that was a genuine act of saving my life. Right now, I just want to personally take care of someone who almost lost their life for me. Let's put aside all the formalities for now, okay?"

At this moment, a maid walked in lightly carrying a tray. On the tray was a delicate celadon bowl containing rice porridge that emitted a faint medicinal fragrance. Next to it was a cup of warm water and a small jade spoon.

Jiang Li gestured for the maid to place the tray on the small table by the bedside, and said in an unquestionable tone, "You may all leave."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maids left the inner room with soft, gentle steps.

Jiang Li rolled up her slightly oversized sleeves, revealing a section of her fair and slender wrist. She personally picked up the bowl of porridge, gently stirred it with a jade spoon to spread the warmth evenly, then scooped up a small spoonful, tested the temperature with her lips to make sure it was warm and palatable, before carefully offering it to Xue Huai's lips.

A feeling of disbelief welled up in Xue Huai's heart.

Given the emperor and princes' favoritism towards Jiang Li, she probably never did anything to serve others in her life. At most, she would have shown filial piety to the Empress Dowager. How could the royal family have imagined that Jiang Li would do such a thing?

Xue Huai shook his head and said, "Your Highness, I can do it myself."

Jiang Li acted as if she hadn't heard, and continued, "The imperial physician said that you can only eat the softest liquid food right now. This porridge has some lung-nourishing and calming herbs in it, which will be good for your recovery."

Xue Huai looked at the jade spoon so close to him, and at Jiang Li's eyes filled with tenderness and eagerness. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the pain in his throat and the surging emotions in his heart blocked all words. In the end, he could only open his mouth and put the spoonful of warm porridge in his mouth.

The rice porridge melts in your mouth, with a subtle sweetness, and slides down your dry, burning throat, bringing a comforting warmth.

Seeing him swallow, a faint smile immediately appeared in Jiang Li's eyes.

He fed her a small bowl of porridge very slowly.

Jiang Li maintained a slightly forward-leaning posture throughout, her gaze almost never leaving Xue Huai's face, closely observing the subtle expressions on his face as he swallowed.

After feeding him the last spoonful of porridge, Xue Huai felt a little better. Looking at Jiang Li's face, which was full of concern and exhaustion, he couldn't help but mutter to himself with a self-deprecating smile, "It seems that I am naturally incompatible with water."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li couldn't help but recall the scene at Qinglu Villa, their first encounter filled with estrangement and scheming.

At that time, she felt only contempt, exploitation, and a hint of condescension towards Xue Huai, who had narrowly escaped death.

Now, even though Xue Huai has fallen into the water and been rescued, and is still in front of her, their feelings are completely different.

A thin layer of moisture welled up in her eyes, her fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the bowl of porridge, and then she quickly lowered her eyes to suppress the surging emotions in her heart.

When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with tenderness, and she said softly, "Don't overthink it. Tonight you risked your life to save me, which is completely different from that time. How could it be a conflict with water?"

Xue Huai didn't dwell on the issue too much. At the same time, he felt the atmosphere was too romantic, so he changed the subject and asked, "Your Highness, have you found out the identities of those assassins?"

"Lord Xue, your most important task now is to rest well and take good care of your health."

Jiang Li put down the porridge bowl and jade spoon, and smiled, "How about you get a good night's sleep and think about those things when you wake up?"

Looking into her clear eyes, Xue Huai felt a surge of emotions. All her coldness and aloofness had vanished, leaving only pure concern and tenderness.

Overwhelmed by physical exhaustion and the effects of the medicine, Xue Huai could only nod and say, "Alright, thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

Jiang Li stood up, walked slowly to the outer room, and instructed the standing maids: "Keep a close watch on Xue Tongzhi, and inform me immediately if anything goes wrong."

The maids respectfully agreed.

Jiang Li turned her head to look back. The door was slightly closed, blocking out the candlelight that filled the room, but revealing a faint yet firm light in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)