This time, she truly desired Chen Xuping.
He was sufficiently loyal to her, making him a suitable secret father for her son.
As she imagined her delightful future, her hand slid toward his waist.
When dealing with someone like Chen Xuping, she could easily make him obey her whenever she wished.
However, the next instant, the smile froze on her lips as her eyes bulged and stared at Chen Xuping in disbelief. “You…”
Chen Xuping wrenched the sword from her body. “Lu Yunshuang, I finally got to see you for who you are today. Now die!” He raised his sword to deal her another blow, but Lu Yunshuang avoided it in time.
Chen Xuping was about to give chase, but right then, the closed doors to the room were thrown open forcefully.
Hong Xiu burst in with a group of guards in tow.
When she saw the situation in the room, her expression became horrified. “My lady, are you all right? There’s an assassin! Hurry up and catch him!”
The swarm of guards made Chen Xuping lose his chance to finish the job.
He was a little begrudging, but he knew he no longer stood a chance at this point.
After dispatching a few of the guards, he managed to fight his way to the exit.
However, the commotion had gotten extremely loud, and it quickly drew the attention of the imperial guards.
“Over there, quick!”
Chen Qiyu, who was sleeping, was jolted awake by the disturbance outside.
She sat up and called out, “Mei’er, what’s going on outside?”
Mei’er hastily put on an outer garment and hurried in. “Miss, I was just listening in the courtyard, and it seems that an assassin has broken in.”
Chen Qiyu’s chest tightened when she heard this. “Why is there such a big commotion? Is the assassin headed here?”
“I’m not sure either.” Seeing her apprehension, Mei’er hurriedly reassured her, “The Eastern Palace is a big place. I don’t think the assassin will come here.”
She had barely finished when she saw Chen Qiyu staring at a spot past her shoulder with bulging eyes.
Dread crept into Mei’er heart, and she immediately had an ominous feeling.
Sure enough, before either of them could scream, a sword was already touching Chen Qiyu’s neck.
“If you don’t want to die, keep quiet.” A man’s hostile voice resounded inside the room.
Pale as paper, Chen Qiyu exchanged a glance with Mei’er and said in a trembling voice, “B-brother?”
Instead of answering, Chen Xuping withdrew his sword abruptly and made his way out.
Chen Qiyu exhaled in relief.
At this moment, there was a banging on the courtyard doors, and a servant shouted from outside, “Is Beauty Chen asleep? An assassin has broken in, and we want to enter and do a quick search lest he escapes.”
Mei’er looked at Chen Qiyu. “Miss, what should we do?”
Calling out to the black-clad man leaving the room, Chen Qiyu said, “You have nowhere to run, Big Brother. The guards are right outside.”
Chen Xuping stopped in his tracks.
Chen Qiyu had already gotten out of bed, and she said a little awkwardly, “If you don’t mind, you can hide in my bed first.”
Chen Xuping’s throat went dry when he heard this, and after a long while, he finally said, “I can’t drag you into this.”
Chen Qiyu’s expression softened. “Don’t worry; they won’t barge into my room.” She then said to Mei’er, “Go and open the doors.”
“But…” Mei’er glanced at Chen Xuping hesitantly.
“It’s all right. Just go and open the doors, but don’t let fear show on your face, or they’ll sense that something’s wrong,” Chen Qiyu instructed her gently.
Mei’er had no choice but to go out.
Seeing that Chen Xuping was still standing there, Chen Qiyu walked up to him and pulled him over.
“Hurry up and get into the bed. They won’t be able to find you with me covering for you..”