Zhuo Li sighed in relief when he knew that Yao Ying was going to receive him as his subordinate. He answered politely, "This servant already killed the maid, before that we at the designated place and told her that the mission has been successfully done."

"And then?" Yao Ling asked curiously because he stopped talking all of a sudden. "This servant would like to apologize first because this servant made a sudden decision when handling this matter... as a gift to Young Master and Young Mistress."

"Oh... how so?" Yao Ying started to become more interested in this man. He wanted to hear what this man wanted to say.

"I let her come back to the w.a.n.g Fu first to spread the news of the successful mission to the maid's mistress. After she did that, I killed her the very same night," Zhuo Li said. This was his gamble --- he used his brain as an advisor to gain the couple's trust. He wanted to show them his worth.

"Why did you do that?" Yao Ling furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you find out who is the mistress?" Yao Ling saw that there was no benefit for doing that.

Zhuo Li shook his head. "I don't... We didn't meet at w.a.n.g Fu so there was no chance to meet her mistress." After that, he explained why he wanted the maidservant to spread the news first. The one who sent the a.s.sa.s.sins wouldn't dare to divulge this news right away but would bask in happiness. She would wait for the news to reach w.a.n.g Fu by itself while gloating inside. However, that night... something would change. Her happiness would turn into a nightmare due to her maidservant's death. She must have been guessing who killed the maidservant.

She would start to feel scared because of her maidservant's death --- Zhuo Li didn't intend to cover the way the maidservant's death, he deliberately let the people find out that she was killed and created a little ruckus.

"After that?" Yao Ling smiled. She seemed to know what Zhuo Li intended to do. She liked this man's cleverness. That woman's nightmare should serve her right! Hmph! If she didn't send men to kill them, then none of this would happen too.

"She will live in fear, knowing that her closest maidservant suddenly died. This servant is pretty sure that she won't dare to say to anyone that the maidservant was killed just to avoid the investigation," Zhuo Li explained. "She would certainly afraid that people would find out about her bad deeds and keep her mouth shut for the time being."

Yao Ying nodded.

Zhou Li continued his explanation, "Just imagine what kind of face that she will make when Young Master and Young Mistress return on a later date. I believe both of you will be able to find out which one is the main culprit." Zhuo Li politely explained. He didn't need to explain more how they would find out about it.

The one who lost personal maidservant and was surprised to see them must have been the real culprit.

It seemed like the moment they stepped into w.a.n.g Fu after finished the mission, there would be a lot of fun. They only wondered whether this mistress was also Liu Li's real master or not.

Yao Ling grinned in satisfaction. "You are doing a good job," she praised. It seemed like he could become a good ally as long as he was loyal to them. They arranged for him to go with Xiu so Xiu would be able to keep an eye on him for the time being, after all, they were in the middle of a mission.

Lin Jian's contact already said that Han Xiang would arrive in less than two s.h.i.+chen. They had already prepared a plan and the first part needed Xiao Fang's full cooperation. The latter already listened to Yao Ling's persuasion and think that she should open her mind. If she thought back, Han Xiang indeed behaved differently.

She didn't want to believe that Han Xiang wasn't the same person anymore. Xiao Fang needed to get the bottom of this and prove to everyone that Han Xiang was still Han Xiang...

Yao Ling patted her shoulder, "You should do your part carefully. Don't let Han Xiang feel suspicious! Behave just like usual... If she really is Han Xiang, we will help you to save her..."

Xiao Fang nodded gratefully. Yao Ling sighed when she saw the dimmed look on Xiao Fang's face but she knew that she had to face the truth sooner or later. Yao Ling also needed to know whether Han Xiang was indeed Lin Jian's mother's daughter. They could only rely on the people closest to Han Xiang to know the truth, after all, this princess was actually a stranger to them.

They waited from afar while Xiao Fang waited patiently on the gate of the city. Xiao Fang paced back and forth with a mixture of several negative feelings --- impatient, fear, and worried. It made her become more nervous. Han Yi tried to calm her down several times but to no avail. Han Yi knew that Xiao Fang was an honest person, therefore it would be hard for her to act like usual.

Han Yi whispered to her young miss, "Young Miss... you should stay calm and prove to me that the princess is still the princess... Even if she's not, you have to make her not feeling suspicious. You need to find out who harms the real princess."

Xiao Fang knew that Han Yi was right. She couldn't let Han Xiang know that she started to doubt her. If she was the real Han Xiang, she would be hurt because she doubted her. If she was a fake, she would feel suspicious of her... She took a deep breath and changed her way of thinking --- she would meet her best friend, Han Xiang! Whether she was real or not, she would think about it later.

When Han Xiang finally arrived, Xiao Fang almost cried when she saw her condition. Her red-rimmed eyes were proof of that. She would wail if it wasn't because she wanted to maintain Han Xiang's dignity. Han Xiang didn't look like a dignified princess at all --- her whole appearance was messy and dirt was covering all over her body. She still wore her wedding dress but it was torn in a few parts. Her condition made Xiao Fang's heart softened.

She hurriedly welcomed Han Xiang and asked, "Are you okay?"

Even though her face was full of dirt but Han Xiang was still beautiful. Her phoenix eyes were still sharp as usual even though she looked so tired. It looked like she could faint anytime soon. Her usually rosy lips were pale and dry until they were cracked at several places. She probably needed to take a bath before she could see her real condition.

Han Xiang smiled weakly at Xiao Fang and answered, "I'm okay!"

The general, who was hurt, stood beside Han Xiang. He was helped by two of his subordinates, otherwise, he would fall down because of his heavy wounds. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Xiao Fang Gu Niang, why are you here? Aren't you supposed in the capital?"

Xiao Fang had met the general on one or two occasions, so they knew each other even though not quite well. They just exchanged greetings on those occasions.

Xiao Fang looked at the general in surprise. Why did he seem so vigilant around her, unlike his usual polite behavior? Did she do something wrong? She asked in confusion, "Why am I not supposed to be here? I'm coming here to send the princess off for our final goodbye... Is there something wrong?" She looked at the general with an innocent expression pasted on her face.

The general looked at the woman doubtfully. He was unsure whether what she said was true or not. After all, the news that reached his ears wasn't like this.

Xiao Fang saw the distrust from the general's eyes and her heart started to turn cold. She started to realize that something wasn't right. Did they really target her? If she really rescued Han Xiang, would it really implicate her family?

She wondered what kind of news that General Hu had heard?