Ning Chen suspected Prince Qing because he'd been attacked on the way back from her residence.

Only she had known when they were leaving, and only she could have worked out which way they'd go back to the Hall of Martial Honor.

Unless someone had tipped them off, how could the killers have known any of that?

Yet deep down he felt it wasn't her. He had no reason for it. It was just a feeling.

Get him attacked at a time like this, and Prince Qing would be the first suspect... and she wasn't that stupid.

But even if it wasn't her, it was someone close to her... which meant her own household wasn't clean.

Still, Ning Chen had survived so many assassination attempts that this one didn't really shake him.

Besides, the attempt hadn't been a total loss... At the very least, he now knew that the jade pendant Feng Qizheng had was very likely the Earthly Yin Pendant.

Ning Chen and Feng Qizheng returned to the Hall of Martial Honor.

Fu Lu had sent people to bring the badly wounded sharpshooter back with them.

Pan Yucheng and Xiao Yanxi had already gone to bed. They came out when they heard the commotion.

"Ning, dear, why are you back at this hour? I thought you'd be staying the night at Prince Qing's residence."

Xiao Yanxi had the cloak the Emperor Emeritus had given her draped around her shoulders, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"I'll tell you in a bit..." Ning Chen turned to Feng Qizheng and pointed at the sharpshooter being carried in behind them by Fu Lu's men. "Old Feng, find him a room first."

Feng Qizheng nodded. "Got it!"

Pan Yucheng asked curiously, "Who's this?"

Ning Chen shrugged. "A killer... He's the reason we're back so late. Otherwise Old Feng and I would've been home ages ago."

Pan Yucheng and Xiao Yanxi were shocked. "What happened?" they asked together.

"Come on, it's cold out here. Let's talk inside."

Back in his room, Ning Chen gulped down two cups of cold tea before slowly telling them the…