Chapter 422: 433

Shen Ninghua’s expression was cold. “Preventing the assassins from escaping? It must be an excuse to stop us from leaving the city during the chaos. Xiao Jingran is indeed a veteran first-rank general. He is merciless in killing and never leaves a way out for anyone!”

Baili Junyi suddenly put on his robe and quickly tidied his clothes. “Qing Que, go bring the children over to Ninghua. Ninghua, you can be at ease while waiting in Huajun Pavilion. Don’t worry. No one can hurt you here.”

Shen Ninghua frowned. “What about you? Are you going to kill Xiao Jingran and the people he brought out there?” Since Xiao Jingran dared to barge in with such great fanfare, it meant he had a backup plan. Maybe Xiao Jingran was enticing Baili Junyi to be defensive so that he would have a reason to kill him!

Baili Junyi reached out to help her put on her clothes but did not answer her question. Instead, he said softly, “It’s cold at night. Be careful not to catch a cold. Take good care of yourself and our children.” As he spoke, he turned around and was about to leave.

Shen Ninghua’s face turned cold and she suddenly shouted, “Baili Junyi! I will take Big Boy and Baby Girl away if you dare to leave us behind. However, once I leave, you can never find me again!”

Baili Junyi suddenly stopped and turned to look at her helplessly. “Ninghua, now is not the time to be stubborn…”

“You are the stubborn one! We have gone through so much together for as long as I can remember. However, you are leaving the children and me and putting yourself in danger. How can there be such an irresponsible father and husband like you in the world?”

“I’m doing this to protect you. You are also aware that the current situation is a critical one…”

“That’s exactly why I can’t let you go alone! Xiao Jingran despises me, and I’m afraid he won’t like you either. Do you think the situation will be better if you face it alone? Without you, our greatest armour will be gone. It will be easier to kill all of us at that time!”

Baili Junyi felt bitter, but warmth surged through his heart. As his heart swelled with emotion, he went forward and hugged Shen Ninghua, wishing to keep her in his embrace. “Ninghua…” His tone was thick with emotions. Shen Ninghua was stunned and could not decipher the complexity of his voice for a moment.

Shen Ninghua hugged his waist and said, “We are husband and wife, and we should stand together through thick and thin. Junyi, I believe in you, so you have to trust me too.”

Baili Junyi nodded and ignored the pang of pain in his chest. “Alright. Let’s go out together then.”

The children who had been brought over obediently leaned by their side. Although they were worried and afraid, they did not cry. They only had stern expressions on their faces. Baili Junyi bent down and hugged them in his arms. “My children, don’t be afraid. Nothing bad will happen.”

When Xiao Jingran barged in with his people and saw Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua sitting on the chairs and feeding their children, he could not help but be stunned. Then, a sneer appeared on his face. “Fifth Prince, Princess Zhaohua, you are both present. How convenient.”

At first, Xiao Jingran thought Baili Junyi would arrange for Shen Ninghua and the children to escape from the capital because he knew how much Baili Junyi cared about her. Therefore, Xiao Jingran had already set up an inescapable trap outside. Once Shen Ninghua brought the children out of the capital, they would be arrested immediately and killed on the spot without leaving any survivors. At that time, Xiao Jingran could push the blame on the assassins and thieves. However, he did not expect that Baili Junyi had not arranged for them to escape. Since that was the case, he would finish them all at once!

Shen Ninghua took some warm water from the side and fed it to Baby Girl to help her swallow the food. Baili Junyi coldly said, “Old General Xiao, you went through a lot of trouble to come to my mansion. You even barged in without notice. How rude!”

Xiao Jingran laughed loudly. “Rude? I am here to arrest the assassins, not to be courteous. Let me ask you now. Do you know what crime you committed when you hid the assassins?”

“Assassins? It must be a serious crime. If these assassins were the ones who killed Father Emperor, it would be reasonable to sentence them to death.”

“Since you are aware of that, I won’t beat around the bush. Somebody, bring over the assassins we caught!”

The guards brought a few people in and threw the black-clothed assassins on the ground. “General, we have brought out the assassins.”

Xiao Jingran swept his gaze over Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua. “Fifth Prince, Princess Zhaohua, these people should not be strangers to you, right?”

One of the assassins on the ground could not help but cry out, “Your Highness! Save me, Your Highness!”

Shen Ninghua’s expression did not change. She even used a silk handkerchief to wipe the crumbs away from Baby Girl’s cheeks. However, Baili Junyi sneered, “I am foolish. I am afraid that no one is more foolish than me in this world.”

Xiao Jingran didn’t know what he was up to. He frowned and asked, “What do you mean, Fifth Prince?”

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“What do I mean?” Baili Junyi asked in an incredulous tone. “Old General Xiao, how can you not understand what I’m saying? I already knew you were looking for the assassin who tried to assassinate Father Emperor. Therefore, I hid these people in my mansion. I didn’t even let them change their clothes from the assassination. Oh, I’m sure you’ve noticed. They even had the azalea flower embroidered on their sleeves. I knew about this emblem before, yet I didn’t ask them to change their clothes.”

Xiao Jingran’s eyes twitched, and he didn’t make a sound.

Baili Junyi continued to sigh, “I’m truly foolish indeed. These people are not the Shadow Guards nor the men of sacrifice. Not to mention their martial arts are so lousy. I can’t believe they could be caught just by a few guards, yet I had sent them to assassinate Father Emperor, who was protected by the Imperial Guards and the Dragon Scale Army!”

Xiao Jingran took a few pieces of paper from his sleeve and said coldly, “These people are not your subordinates, but Princess Zhaohua’s. They have already admitted that it was Princess Zhaohua who sent them to assassinate Madam Xia. Besides, she sent them to assassinate the Emperor. I have their signed confession. Your Highness, don’t intercept with this matter if you don’t know the details.”

Shen Ninghua lowered her eyes slightly and sneered internally. No wonder Xiao Jingran took so long to get here just now. It turned out he went to get their signed confession. He seemed to know it was not easy to deal with Baili Junyi, so he targeted her first. If she were convicted, Junyi would not abandon her no matter what happened and he would defend her till the very end. At that time, Xiao Jingran would have a concrete reason to deal with him. It was a marvellous plan.

The aura around Baili Junyi suddenly became more murderous. “What are you going to do?”

“Princess Zhaohua is the most suspicious one. She should be locked up in prison first to prevent her from escaping. Of course, her status is different from ordinary people. She doesn’t need to be locked in the Heavenly Prison, but I’m afraid she must go to the Imperial Clan Court.”

Baili Junyi slammed the table. “How dare anyone touch her!”

“Fifth Prince, although Princess Zhaohua is your official consort, she is also an important criminal who tried to assassinate the Emperor. It’s no different than treason when you’re protecting her like this,” Xiao Jingran said to Baili Junyi with a murderous look.

“Criminal? We don’t even know if the testimony is real or fake. We don’t know if the identities of these assassins are real or fake, but you dare to call a princess a criminal. You must be gutsy!”

Seeing such an anxious look on Baili Junyi, Xiao Jingran felt ecstatic internally, but he still spoke sternly, “Fifth Prince, we have found witness and evidence. It is just a matter of process to convict her. Everything will be crystal clear when we get to the Imperial Clan Court.”

Baili Junyi did not care about what Xiao Jingran said and stood in front of Shen Ninghua. “No one can take Ninghua away!”

Xiao Jingran shouted coldly, “Fifth Prince, if you continue to resist like this, I’m afraid I must arrest and take you away with me!”

Baili Junyi opened his mouth to speak, but he was stopped by Shen Ninghua, who was at the side. “Junyi, since Old General Xiao insists for me to go, I will go and have a look at his so-called witness and evidence.”

Baili Junyi felt a pang of pain in his heart. He knew that Ninghua was acting according to the plan she mentioned previously. He hated himself a lot. He hated himself for not killing the Xiao Family at the beginning. Why did he hesitate to take over the ruling power from Baili Qingcang? If he had been ruthless earlier, he would not have been in a difficult position like now, to the point where Ninghua was being implicated.

Shen Ninghua glanced at him and put Baby Girl in his arms. “Take good care of our children.”

Xiao Jingran swept his vicious gaze over Big Boy and Baby Girl while his heart was filled with brutal malice. He would let these two little bastards live for two more days. After dealing with Shen Ninghua and Baili Junyi, he would kill them before Huanxi’s grave to comfort her spirit in heaven.

Shen Ninghua stood up and patted down her wrinkled dress. She ignored the guards who were wary of stepping forward and walked straight out of the door.

Baili Junyi clenched his fists tightly. A pungent bloody smell spread across his mouth. If he had not been worried about the children beside him, he would have killed Xiao Jingran and the people he brought with him and escaped with Ninghua!

Qing Que and Hong Ling quietly pulled out their daggers from their sleeves. They were about to attack the guards who were escorting Shen Ninghua. At the critical moment, they were stopped by Shen Ninghua’s gaze. They could only clench their fists tightly as their nails pierced into their palms. However, they did not feel pain at all.

When Shen Ninghua left and her figure disappeared, Baby Girl, who was in Baili Junyi’s arms, was stunned for a while and cried out!

Baili Junyi came back to his senses and hurriedly hugged her to soothe her. Baby Girl cried her heart out, and her face was flushed red. Baili Junyi was at a loss for what to do. The children had been extremely obedient since they were born. Even when they cried, they only pouted and shed tears quietly. Baby Girl had never cried as loud as she was now.

Big Boy, who was at the side, clenched his small fists tightly. His eyes were red, but he forced his tears back. He was already a big child and a grown man. He could not cry like his sister. He had to work hard to become stronger and bring his mother back. Then, no one could bully his mother anymore!

In the Second Prince Mansion, when Baili Jinchuan heard the news of Shen Ninghua being locked up in the Imperial Clan Court, he crushed the wine cup in his hand at once. His palm was stabbed by broken porcelain pieces and became injured badly. “Xiao Jingran! You deserve to die!”

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