Chapter 188: Chapter 188

Lin Yanran instructed quietly, and after listening, the Hidden Guard simply nodded and said deeply, "Yes, Miss."

"Keep this matter discreet, don’t let anyone trace it back to the Minister Mansion."

Lin Yanran gave a chilling smile, her eyes filled with deep-seated hatred.

"Lin Wanyue, even in death you won’t have peace! You’ll die disgraced! With your name ruined and covered in filth when you reincarnate! Hahaha!"

Listening to the increasingly frenzied laughter, the Hidden Guard glanced at her, "Miss, there’s one more thing."

"They... want more money."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yanran immediately frowned in displeasure, "What a joke! How can they raise the price after we’ve agreed? What are those lowly people thinking?"

The Hidden Guard hesitated for a moment, then replied truthfully:

"Somehow they found out about our identity and are using it as leverage. If we don’t pay more, they’ll spread the word and threaten to ruin both you and the Minister Mansion."

Lin Yanran was furious, slapping the Hidden Guard hard across the face, cursing, "Useless fool! How could you expose our identity?!"

The Hidden Guard dropped to his knees immediately, "Miss, please calm down! I deserve to die! I don’t know where that group got the information from..."

Lin Yanran felt a deep sense of rage churning inside her. She was already regretting not being able to witness Lin Wanyue’s miserable state firsthand. Now, their identity was compromised and they were being blackmailed by a bunch of lowlives!

She kicked the Hidden Guard in the chest, "Are you useless? Why didn’t you just kill them all?"

"Miss, I considered silencing them, but their leader arrived in time, and I... I wasn’t a match for him."

Lin Yanran took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger, gritting her teeth, "How much do they want?"

The Hidden Guard: "..."

After a moment of silence, the Hidden Guard reluctantly said, "Originally, they asked for an additional hundred thousand taels, but because I tried to kill them, they’re now asking for two hundred thousand taels."

Two hundred thousand taels?

Why don’t they just resort to robbery?

Whether out of anger or the distress over losing the Silver, Lin Yanran couldn’t speak for a long time, her chest heaving slightly as she tried to calm her emotions.

The Hidden Guard glanced up at her, then lowered his head again, "It’s my incompetence! I deserve to die! I’m willing to atone with death!"

Finishing his words, he drew the sword from his waist, intending to slit his throat to atone.

Lin Yanran kicked his wrist, "Without my permission, you dare to die!"

"Your life belongs to me! Only I can decide what to do with it!"

The Hidden Guard lowered his head, "They are desperate outlaws, completely unreasonable, without any bottom line. Now that they know the identities of you and Madam, if we don’t give them the two hundred thousand taels, they might pose a threat to you and Madam."

Lin Yanran clenched her teeth in hatred, "Then give it to them!"

"A bunch of unethical lowlifes! Bandits!"

The Hidden Guard felt a bit guilty, "Miss..."

Including the initial hundred thousand taels for hiring assassins, the total comes to three hundred taels. Although the Minister Mansion is wealthy, this is no small amount.

Lin Yanran laughed coldly, speaking with a sinister tone, "They might have their lives to take it, but they need their lives to spend it too."

When Lin Haoran returns, we’ll find an excuse to blame them, then lead troops to exterminate these bandits!

By then, they’ll have to cough up all the Silver they swallowed!

"Go, give them the Silver, then find someone to secretly monitor their every move, keeping a close watch on them."

"Remember, be careful this time. If you mess it up again, come see me with your head."

"Yes! Thank you, Miss, for your mercy!"

Lin Yanran waved her hand to dismiss the Hidden Guard. She walked to the window, opened it, and looked at the thunderous night sky outside, her smile somewhat crazed and sinister.

"Lin Wanyue, you’re finally dead! That’s wonderful!"

"You seduced the Crown Prince; you should have died long ago!"

"With this heavy rain, your death must be miserable! Heh... I hope the lightning scatters your soul, so you can’t even be a ghost!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, seeming to graze the window frame, the blinding white light causing one’s heart to race.

Lin Yanran was startled, stumbling back in fright, accidentally stepping on her skirt, and fell heavily to the ground.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she cursed in fury, "Lin Wanyue, stop pretending to be a ghost! No matter how unwilling you are, you can only die! Scattered soul, never to be reborn!"

Due to her wound, Yun Ran didn’t sleep peacefully.

In the cold, rainy night and having lost a lot of blood, her body felt very cold. Even in her sleep, she felt as though she were in an icy wilderness, waves of cold seeping in.

In her drowsy state, she felt a warm breeze blow over her, gently penetrating her skin, warming her limbs and meridians, much like the sun in winter, gentle yet not scorching.

Yun Ran felt very comfortable, instinctively reaching out to tightly grasp that warmth.

Nangong Mo was lying beside her, carefully avoiding the wound on her back, channeling warm True Qi into her body.

One hand held her cool, small hand in his palm, his legs pressed close to her cold, slender legs, trying as much as possible to warm her cold body.

Suddenly, the girl in her sleep snuggled into his embrace, her small face brushing gently against his chest, murmuring softly, "Nangong Mo..."

The man’s body stiffened, thinking she was about to wake up, he looked at her nervously, ready to tap her sleep acupoint at any moment.

But the girl only nestled in his arms for a moment before falling into a deep sleep again.

The man sighed softly in relief, letting go of his tension, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

His little girl missed him, dreaming of him.

Those who hurt her...

The smile on the man’s face vanished instantly, a layer of frost seemed to settle in the night, and his dark eyes filled with frightening killing intent and malicious air.

Yun Ran awoke close to noon. After the rain passed, the sky cleared, and the sun was shining brightly.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she caught the enticing aroma of roasted sweet potatoes.

She was taken aback, recalling the time Nangong Mo roasted sweet potatoes for her.

"Bastard! Denying it to death! It must have been you!"

"When I find proof, I’ll beat you until you crawl around looking for your teeth, begging me for mercy!"

"Waking up shouting threats? Such a violent girl, poor Nangong Mo!"

Yun Ran glanced up, seeing the person approaching her, a bowl in one hand and a roasted sweet potato in the other, the deep, beautiful black eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement.

Yun Ran gave him a cold glare, "What does Nangong Mo’s misery have to do with you? You’re so concerned, could you be his male concubine?"

The man stumbled, nearly dropping the bowl.

He pressed his thin lips, his handsome face stiffening, "You little girl! Don’t talk nonsense! I have three hundred concubines! A genuine, normal man! How could I be a cut-sleeve?"

Yun Ran snorted coldly, mercilessly mocking him, "Maybe you’re a pervert, going both ways."

"Even if you have three hundred concubines, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re Nangong Mo’s male concubine."

When did it become a fact?

What did he do to offend this little girl?

No, it should be what he and Nangong Mo did to offend this little girl!

"Lin Wanyue, did you switch your affections and intend to abandon Nangong Mo, so you deliberately accused him of such a thing?"

"Tell me, which noble young master caught your eye? I’ll go inform Nangong Mo." Thɪs chapter is updated by novel※fire.net