When Qiann Yan returned, Ashui had already cooked the fragrant food, but only prepared portions for himself and Qiann Yan.

The Wu siblings were long accustomed to leaving the emperor’s rewards of various gold, silver, and silk in Qiann Yan’s room before withdrawing.

Ashui stared at the pile of items in a daze.

Qiann Yan ate the food and, seeing Ashui’s dazed expression, asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Did all the assassins leave survivors?" Ashui asked curiously. He knew that Qiann Yan had limitless means, and if she delivered the living assassins to the emperor’s doorstep, that would be very interesting indeed.

Qiann Yan said matter-of-factly, "Naturally alive; sending the dead serves no purpose."

Chen Country repeatedly stirred up trouble, attempting to disturb the peace of Great Zhou, and unwittingly fell into her hands. How could she possibly let them off easily?

Even though she didn’t think much of the emperor, there was no way she’d let these assassins go if she encountered them.

The emperor might be dissatisfied with her, but given her current reputation, he had to support her fully without any shortfall.

Moreover, delivering these assassins to the emperor could yield some rewards.

Having captured assassins from Chen Country, the emperor couldn’t be too stingy, could he?

Killing assassins is one thing, but it’s better to exchange them for something useful to improve life.

Ashui was shocked by this reasoning yet found it quite sensible.

Perhaps because of this matter, Ashui spent less time maneuvering with those princes and usually stayed by Qiann Yan’s side. Even though he knew she was strong, he still didn’t want to be absent when assassins arrived.

Chen Country’s attempt to assassinate Qiann Yan failed once, but of course, they were unwilling to give up.

Qiann Yan had uncovered two deeply buried spies and caused them significant losses; it was absolutely unacceptable for her to live well and receive the title of Commandery Princess.

Assassination openly didn’t work, so they decided to act covertly.

Initially, Qiann Yan trained at the residence, where they couldn’t find any opportunities, but they were patient, deciding to stake out outside.

Qiann Yan couldn’t possibly stay home all the time and would occasionally go out.

Ashui knew she was going out and quickly rushed to her side, afraid of being left behind.

The Wu siblings were perplexed, as Miss Ashui always accompanied the Commandery Princess when she went out, so why the anxiety? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Ashui didn’t care what others thought, as long as he could stay by Qiann Yan’s side at all times.

Qiann Yan went out sensing there hadn’t been any assassins lately, planning to see if she could draw some out, capture them, and present them to the emperor in exchange for something.

If the assassins knew her plan, they’d undoubtedly be furious.

"Stop!"

"Bitch, don’t run!"

Qiann Yan heard fierce voices from ahead, followed by a disheveled woman rushing through the crowd, her face pale and appearing utterly desperate.

The pursuers were swift; in an instant, they caught up, and the woman, unable to outrun them, was pinned to the ground, letting out a miserable cry, "No—I don’t want to go there."

The woman’s voice was piercing, as if she suffered tremendous grievances, and her two lines of tears evoked sighs from the crowd.

Yet, no one stepped forward.

Qiann Yan stood silent in place, and suddenly, the woman found some hidden strength, pushed away the ones holding her, and rushed toward Qiann Yan. Just as she was about to grab Qiann Yan’s leg, Ashui barred her path, so she ended up holding Ashui’s leg instead.

He looked somewhat disdainful but didn’t kick her away; it was clear she was targeting them.