It was late at night, and two figures in black quietly ran over to the wall of the Prince’s Mansion.
“Are you insane? Why not just ask your dad for it? Do we really have to steal it?”
Bai Shuangshuang lowered her voice, her face full of disbelief.
“Oh, you wouldn’t get it.”
Zhao Qingyue replied without turning around, skillfully adjusting her gear.
“That stingy dad of mine would probably grill me about the herbs’ purpose. Then wouldn’t all your little secrets come spilling out? I’m doing this for you!”
“And… what if the Prince finds out?”
“Oh, what’s mine is mine, and what’s mine is yours. I never shortchange my own people. Stop worrying so much and just stick with me!”
With that, Zhao Qingyue pushed off the ground, grabbed the top of the wall with both hands, and swung herself up in one smooth motion—clearly not her first time doing this.
In the moonlight, she turned back and waved at Bai Shuangshuang, her eyes crinkling with a hint of smugness.
Bai Shuangshuang took a deep breath and tried to climb up the same way.
This body of hers had no strength.
She struggled hard just to get over the top, and her clothes snagged on a roof tile, nearly sending her tumbling headfirst.
Zhao Qingyue grabbed her collar and hauled her up.
“Little Burning Cat, your body’s not up to snuff~”
“Shut up!”
The two jumped down from the wall, landing in the alley outside.
Zhao Qingyue expertly wove through the Royal City’s streets and alleys, now hugging the walls, now pulling Bai Shuangshuang into the shadows to avoid the night watchmen.
Bai Shuangshuang followed, panting, but felt a strange thrill of adrenaline.
The Commandery Princess of the Jingnan Prince Manor, taking her to steal from the Prince’s own mansion—who would believe it?
“We’re here.”
Zhao Qingyue stopped in front of a tall gray-brick wall, pointing at an inconspicuous side door.
“Inside is Lingcui Garden, where the manor grows its rare medicinal herbs. The night watchwoman on duty tonight should be dozing off by now. We’ll go in through this door. I swiped the key from my dad two years ago.”
She pulled a copper key from her robe and shook it proudly.
Bai Shuangshuang opened her mouth, momentarily speechless.
“You… prepared that two years ago?”
“Better safe than sorry~”
The door opened silently.
They slipped inside.
The Lingcui Garden was filled with the damp scent of soil and a faint medicinal fragrance.
Under the moonlight, rows of herbs were neatly laid out, their leaves shimmering with a faint silver glow—clearly no ordinary plants.
“Which ones did you need again?”
Zhao Qingyue crouched down and whispered.
“Purple Salvia, Jade Dew Mushroom, Three-leaf Green… and one Azure Root.”
Bai Shuangshuang recited the names, scanning the garden.
“Purple Salvia is over there under the shade shed. Jade Dew Mushroom should be near the pond.”
Zhao Qingyue clearly knew the place well.
“Let’s split up. Hurry!”
Like two mischievous kittens, they crept through the garden with their backs hunched.
Bai Shuangshuang ran into trouble when she found the Jade Dew Mushroom.
Its roots went deep; you had to dig up the whole plant for it to be effective, otherwise the potency was greatly reduced.
But she had no tools.
Digging with her hands would be slow and might hurt her.
If she bled, that would be evidence.
Just as she was getting anxious, Zhao Qingyue pulled a small trowel from somewhere and shoved it into her hand.
“Use this. I hid it here last time I stole flowers!”
“…How many times have you stolen things?”
“Can’t remember. Just dig!”
Bai Shuangshuang laughed helplessly, took the trowel, and carefully dug out the Jade Dew Mushroom.
Meanwhile, Zhao Qingyue had already wrapped up the Purple Salvia and Three-leaf Green in a cloth bundle, moving as deftly as a seasoned thief.
The last herb, Azure Root, was tricky—it grew in a crevice between rocks.
Zhao Qingyue tried to reach it, but couldn’t.
“My arms are longer. Let me—”
Bai Shuangshuang volunteered, squeezing sideways into the gap.
She stretched her hand until it felt like it would break, barely grazing the root of the Azure Root.
Holding her breath, she pulled bit by bit, finally tugging it out, root and all.
“Got it—”
Before she could finish, her foot slipped, and she lost her balance.
Zhao Qingyue caught her by the waist and pulled her back.
They collided, knocking over a stack of empty flowerpots with a clatter.
From a distance, the night watchwoman’s voice rang out.
“Who’s there?”
They both froze instantly.
Zhao Qingyue covered Bai Shuangshuang’s mouth, pulling her tight against the wall, not daring to breathe.
Footsteps approached, the lantern light swaying, illuminating the edge of their hiding spot.
Bai Shuangshuang’s heart pounded.
But Zhao Qingyue leaned close to her ear and whispered, barely audible.
“Don’t worry. She’s hard of hearing. I specifically arranged for her to be on duty tonight.”
Bai Shuangshuang was speechless again.
Seriously, you planned this far ahead? Then what was there to say?
If you wanted any herbs, just take them.
Sure enough, the woman held up the lantern, looked around, muttered something about “another wildcat,” and turned back.
Zhao Qingyue let go.
They looked at each other and silently laughed.
Someone who drags you into doing good deeds might not really consider you a friend.
But someone who drags you into mischief—that’s when they truly see you as one of their own.
Crude, but true.
“Hehe, hear that? She called you a little wildcat~”
“Hmph! You too!”
Bai Shuangshuang realized she was still in Zhao Qingyue’s arms and quickly pulled away, her ears burning.
“Let’s go~”
Zhao Qingyue stuffed the herbs into her robe, grabbed Bai Shuangshuang, and slipped out through the side door.
They retraced their steps in silence.
Just as the gate of the Prince’s Mansion came into view across the street, and they were about to climb back over the wall, they heard the sound of urgent horse hooves and shouts in the distance.
A group of riders turned the corner, carrying lanterns and banners that read “Imperial Envoy.”
At the head was a middle-aged man in a crimson official robe, riding a tall horse, his face stern.
“That’s probably the Vice Minister of Revenue, who rushed here from the capital. He’s here on the Emperor’s orders to cause trouble in Jingnan Prince City—”
Zhao Qingyue had heard a bit about this from her father and leaned in to whisper the explanation to Bai Shuangshuang.
“I just didn’t expect him to arrive tonight.”
As the procession reached the mansion’s gate, a sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
A black shadow swooped down from the rooftop, sword light flashing like a ribbon, aiming straight for the envoy’s throat.
Before the envoy’s guards could even draw their blades, the assassin’s sword pierced through the envoy’s chest.
Blood mist exploded in the moonlight.
It all happened in a flash—Bai Shuangshuang didn’t even have time to blink.
The assassin withdrew his sword.
The envoy fell from his horse.
The entire procession erupted into chaos.
“Assassin—!”
“Protect His Excellency—!”
But instead of fleeing, the assassin threw the bloodstained sword straight toward where Bai Shuangshuang and Zhao Qingyue were hiding.
The blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight, carrying the smell of blood as it hurtled toward them.
Bai Shuangshuang’s mind went blank.
The next moment, a figure stood in front of her.
Zhao Qingyue extended her right hand and caught the sword steadily.
A thin layer of spiritual light flickered on her hand—clearly she was using the meager cultivation she had.
After all, she was the Commandery Princess of the Prince’s Mansion; she had some training.
Besides, the attacker didn’t seem to intend to harm them.
The sword was thrown with the hilt facing them.
The moment the hilt touched her palm, her figure swayed slightly, but she quickly steadied herself, holding the sword horizontally in front of her, her eyes coldly scanning the direction the assassin had gone.
The assassin had already vanished into the night.
“The Imperial Envoy has been assassinated! Over there—someone’s holding the murder weapon!”
The envoy’s deputy, a sharp-faced civil official, was pointing at Zhao Qingyue and shouting.
“It’s her! She killed the Imperial Envoy!”
Zhao Qingyue’s face changed.
“Nonsense! I am of the Jingnan Prince’s Mansion. I was stopping the weapon for you!”
“The Commandery Princess? Jingnan Prince’s Mansion?”
The deputy’s voice grew louder, with a deliberately exaggerated tone.
“The Commandery Princess of the Jingnan Prince’s Mansion, out in night clothes in the middle of the night at the scene of the Imperial Envoy’s murder, holding the murder weapon in her hand?!”
“This clearly means you feared the Imperial Court’s audit and took the risk to assassinate the envoy. How dare you! Men, seize her!”
The Imperial Court’s soldiers swarmed forward, blades drawn, cold light flashing.
At the same time, the mansion’s main gate crashed open.
A troop of the Prince’s own guards poured out, facing off against the Imperial soldiers.
The lead guard recognized Zhao Qingyue.
His face darkened, hand on his sword hilt, and he growled.
“Who dares to lay a hand on the Commandery Princess?!”
The two forces squared off in front of the mansion, swords drawn, the air thick enough to cut.
Bai Shuangshuang stood behind Zhao Qingyue, staring blankly at the bloodstained sword, watching the not-yet-dried blood trickle down the blood groove.
She wasn’t scared.
She had seen something unbelievable.
She recognized the assassin’s sword technique.
The angle of the wrist when he struck, the trajectory of the sword’s thrust, even the final flick of the hand as he threw it.
All were moves from the Qingyun Sword Sect!
Bai Shuangshuang’s hand unconsciously grabbed Zhao Qingyue’s clothes, her fingertips ice-cold.