I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

The woman grabbed a wooden ladle from beside the bathtub and threw it at Lu Yuan.

"Look again, and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Lu Yuan turned his head to avoid the wooden ladle, but blood was still flowing from his nose.

He raised his uninjured right hand and wiped it, then looked down and saw his hand was covered in bright red blood. He immediately felt embarrassed.

"Misunderstand."

"I didn't see anything."

The woman hugged her nightgown and shrank into the bathtub, her long, wet hair plastered to her shoulders, revealing only her flushed face.

"Your eyes are practically glued to the screen, and you're still saying you didn't see it?"

That's because...

Just as Lu Yuan was about to explain, several figures appeared outside the courtyard wall.

Two assassins jumped into the courtyard, while several others blocked the front and back doors.

The leader of the men in black looked down at the bloodstains on the ground.

"He was injured and couldn't run far."

"Search separately."

The embarrassment on Lu Yuan's face disappeared. He held the Shangfang sword horizontally in front of him and quickly retreated to the window.

There are people outside the window.

The room had only one door and two windows, and he was already trapped inside.

The woman in the bathtub followed his gaze to the door, her embarrassment and annoyance gradually turning into wariness.

"Who are you?"

Why are you being chased?

"This has nothing to do with you."

Lu Yuan waved to her, "I'll borrow this place to hide for a while. I'll leave as soon as the people outside leave."

The woman glared at him.

"This is my bedroom!"

"You, a grown man, barged in and expect me to pretend nothing happened?"

"Get out of here right now, or I'll call for help!"

She was about to shout after she finished speaking.

Lu Yuan's expression changed, and he rushed to the bathtub, reaching out to cover her mouth.

The woman's eyes widened, and she raised her hand to grab his face.

Lu Yuan dodged to the side, but the wound on his left arm touched the edge of the bathtub, and blood flowed down his wrist into the water.

The woman stopped moving when she saw the wound.

Lu Yuan then took the opportunity to push the person back into the bathtub.

"Don't shout."

"There are more than a dozen assassins outside. If you lure them in, I won't survive, and you'll be silenced too."

The woman twisted her shoulders, trying to break free from his grasp.

Lu Yuan leaned closer, his imperial sword pressed against the edge of the bathtub.

"Say one more word and I'll kill you first."

The woman, seeing the sword so close at hand, finally calmed down.

The two people were standing very close together.

Water droplets from the woman's body landed on the back of Lu Yuan's hand.

Her face grew increasingly red, but the anger in her eyes did not diminish at all.

Lu Yuan waited a few breaths to make sure she wouldn't call out again before letting go of her hand.

The woman immediately shrank to the other side of the bathtub and covered her front with her nightgown.

"lecher!"

"Do you know where this is?"

Lu Yuan listened intently to the sounds outside the courtyard and casually asked, "Where are you?"

"Fuyuan Escort Agency!"

The woman raised her chin. "I am Zhao Mingzhu, the eldest daughter of the Fuyuan Escort Agency."

"My father has hundreds of bodyguards under his command. People give face to Fuyuan Escort Agency on both the water and land routes from the capital to Jiangnan."

"You dare to break into my boudoir and even threaten me with a sword."

"When my dad gets back, he'll definitely break your legs!"

Lu Yuan was about to check the rear window when he heard the words "Fuyuan Escort Agency" and stopped in his tracks.

Fuyuan Escort Agency.

The properties owned by Zhao Guoqiang, the Minister of Rites.

Lu Yuan looked down at Zhao Mingzhu.

"What is your relationship with Zhao Guoqiang, the Minister of Rites?"

"You know my great-uncle?"

Zhao Mingzhu was taken aback at first, but then she became bolder.

She grabbed another piece of clothing next to the bathtub and covered herself up even more completely.

"Since you know each other, why don't you get out of here?"

"As long as you didn't see anything today, I can pretend it never happened."

Lu Yuan looked her up and down.

"You're too late to say that."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw everything I should have seen, and everything I shouldn't have seen."

Zhao Mingzhu picked up the second wooden ladle.

Lu Yuan raised the imperial sword and held it in front of his face.

"Speak your mind, don't resort to violence."

"I kill you!"

Just as Zhao Mingzhu was about to throw the wooden ladle out, there was a knock on the door.

"Mingzhu, what happened just now?"

"Why did I hear you shouting, Mother?"

Zhao Mingzhu's hand froze.

Lu Yuan also turned to look at the door.

If Zhao Mingzhu reveals that there are people in the house, he will definitely be exposed tonight.

Lu Yuan quickly walked to the bathtub and leaned down to look at her.

Tell your mother that nothing happened.

"On what grounds?"

"Because I have a sword in my hand."

Zhao Mingzhu glanced at the door, then looked at Lu Yuan's still bleeding left arm.

"If you dare to hurt my mother, I'll fight you to the death."

Zhao Mingzhu glared at him, neither of them willing to back down.

At this moment, the woman outside the door spoke again.

"Mingzhu?"

Are you alright?

Zhao Mingzhu gritted her teeth and answered the door, "Mother, I'm fine."

"A mouse just ran in and gave me a fright."

When she mentioned rats, she gave Lu Yuan a glare.

Lu Yuan pointed to himself, then to Zhao Mingzhu.

The meaning is quite clear.

Have you ever seen such a big rat?

Zhao Mingzhu cursed silently, then gestured with her chin toward the screen, signaling him to hide quickly.

Lu Yuan walked to the screen and looked at it.

The back was completely empty, without even a cabinet.

There was enough space under the bed to hide someone, but there were already a few drops of blood on the floor.

As soon as Madam Zhao enters the room, she can see it by looking down.

Lu Yuan pointed to the bathtub.

Zhao Mingzhu's expression changed, and she covered her chest with both hands.

"Don't even think about it!"

Lu Yuan raised his injured left arm and waved it in front of her.

The assassins outside could come in at any time, and if he is discovered, Zhao Mingzhu will also be implicated.

Zhao Mingzhu understood what he meant and was so angry that her teeth itched.

"Behind the bed."

"There's a hidden compartment there."

Lu Yuan walked to the bedside and pushed against the wall.

Sure enough, there was a movable wooden plank behind the wall.

But just as he pushed the wooden board aside, the shadow of a man in black swept past the back window.

The secret passage exit is in the backyard.

Going in is like walking into a trap.

Madam Zhao outside the door had lost her patience.

"Mother, come in and take a look."

Zhao Mingzhu hurriedly stopped her.

"Mother, I'm still taking a bath!"

"When you were little, wasn't it always your mother who washed you?"

Madam Zhao pushed the door and found it blocked from the inside by a chair; her tone immediately changed.

"Mingzhu, why are you blocking the door?"

"Open the door."

Lu Yuan looked down at the bed and then at the bathtub.

Zhao Mingzhu hugged her nightgown and shook her head rapidly.

Lu Yuan didn't give her a chance to refuse. He jumped into the bathtub and sank down against the tub wall.

Zhao Mingzhu almost cried out again.

Lu Yuan held the edge of the tub with one hand and pressed down on her waist with the other, signaling her to cooperate in covering herself.

Zhao Mingzhu froze in the water, her ears turning bright red.

"you……"

"Shhh."

Lu Yuan lowered his body, leaving only half of his face above the water.

Zhao Mingzhu grabbed some flower petals and a bath towel and covered his head with them, then spread out her soaking wet hair to block the gap between them.

The door was pushed open.

Madam Zhao entered with two maids, first looking at the chair lying on the side, then surveying the room.

Lu Yuan's imperial sword, which he had placed beside the screen, was not yet properly put away; a corner of its scabbard was still visible.

Zhao Mingzhu saw it and quickly kicked out.

Lu Yuan was submerged underwater by her, and he raised his hand to support her calves.

Zhao Mingzhu's body stiffened, and her face turned bright red.

Mrs. Zhao came to the bathtub and reached out to touch her daughter's forehead.

"It's not hot."

"Why is your face so red?"

Zhao Mingzhu glared at the water and managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"The water is too hot."

Madam Zhao looked at the bathtub.

The water was still rippling, and a faint red tinge had appeared between the petals.

Zhao Mingzhu quickly covered the water with a bath towel.

"Mother, I'm really alright."

"Please go out first."

Madam Zhao's gaze returned to her daughter's face.

"Mingzhu" (明珠).

"Who just came in?"