Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 574

At noon, a loud explosion suddenly came from Nuo Da’s large ship docked at the Qinhuai River bank, as if something had been shattered.

Sun Meng, who was waiting on the shore, heard the commotion, and his face changed slightly. He turned back to the group of armored warriors and said, "Follow the General inside."

The guards stationed outside the ship dared not obstruct them.

The scholars and gentlewomen on the shore also turned their gaze, puzzled about what exactly had happened.

Inside the ship, Qin Hao, who was laughing and chatting with friends, heard the noise coming from upstairs and felt a strong wave of innate spiritual qi, and his expression changed suddenly. He hurried upstairs.

When he arrived, the door to the room he’d arranged for Chen Mo had already been blown down by the innate spiritual qi. He then heard a furious shout from inside the room: "Bold fool, you dare attempt to poison and assassinate this official."

"Slap——"

A loud slap was heard, and then Qin Hao saw Zhihua being slapped to the ground.

Qin Hao’s expression changed drastically.

Before he could react, chaos erupted downstairs.

A large number of armored warriors then rushed upstairs, Sun Meng leading at the forefront. Upon reaching the third floor, he saw the shattered room door and the overturned tea table inside, with a woman lying on the ground. Although unaware of exactly what happened, he knew something terrible had occurred.

"Marquis..." He knelt on one knee before Chen Mo, awaiting instructions.

"This woman is an assassin; she just tried to poison the tea. Fortunately, I saw through it," Chen Mo said.

"What..." Sun Meng’s face changed, and he quickly summoned people inside to take her away.

But Chen Mo stopped him, saying, "You take your men and lock down Tingxuan Building. There might be allies on the ship. Also, send people to seal off Flower Fragrance Building; no one is allowed in or out. If there aren’t enough people, take my token and go to the Fish Scale Guard barracks to find Nangong Xian."

Chen Mo removed his token and threw it to Sun Meng.

Outside the room, Qin Hao’s face turned pale.

Attempting to poison Duke An!

Qin Hao felt a chill down his spine. How could someone be so bold?

At the same time, worried about being implicated, he hurriedly stepped forward to dissociate himself from Flower Fragrance Building and Zhihua, hoping to clear his name.

After all, the incident took place at Tingxuan Building.

But Chen Mo had him stand still.

Qin Hao’s face turned ashen, his heart filled with hatred for the assassin Zhihua.

Outside Tingxuan Building, a man dressed as a laborer looked at the large group of armored warriors surrounding the shore, his expression changing dramatically as he quickly left the place.

As he left, a gaze tightly followed his silhouette from the window on the third floor of the ship.

...

Elsewhere.

Upon receiving the order, Sun Meng immediately sent someone with the token to the Fish Scale Guard barracks outside the city to summon Nangong Xian for troops.

A fast horse galloped through the street, and pedestrians quickly avoided it, curious about what had happened as they saw the armored warrior on horseback.

...

At Flower Fragrance Building.

Zhao Ping was enjoying the company of last year’s courtesan.

While serving Zhao Ping, last year’s courtesan whispered, "My Lord, since Zhihua has caught Duke An’s eye, what about the Xiahe Banquet afterward?"

"That’s simple, just have another courtesan fill in," Zhao Ping said, pondering over sending Zhihua’s contract and some of her belongings from Flower Fragrance Building to the Xiao Family later.

In this way, he would establish a connection with Chen Mo.

"Zhihua’s luck is truly remarkable. After a flower appreciation at Guanshan Lake, she caught Duke An’s eye. If she becomes Duke An’s concubine, she would truly rise as a phoenix," last year’s courtesan said enviously.

"It’s not luck, it’s skill..." Zhao Ping took a deep breath, patting the woman sitting on him to slow down.

Last year’s courtesan didn’t understand Zhao Ping’s point, looking at him in confusion.

"That horse pulling the cart was specially trained, particularly gentle, how could it be frightened for no reason? And when I asked the driver, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual."

"So, Lord, you mean it was Zhihua’s doing?"

"Quite possibly."

With this, Zhao Ping suddenly sat up, holding the woman, tilting her chin: "Look at Zhihua, then look at yourselves, none of you can even have your contract redeemed."

"It’s not that I don’t want to leave you, but to serve you, my lord."

"Fine... you have a sweet mouth."

Just as the two were at the height of their intimacy, the room door was knocked on loudly.

Zhao Ping frowned and turned cold; anyone would be annoyed by such interruption at this moment.

"Who is this tactless wretch?" Zhao Ping cursed.

"My Lord, it’s not good, a large group of soldiers suddenly came outside and surrounded our Flower Fragrance Building, not allowing anyone in or out," said the madam.

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ping was shocked and instantly deflated, pushing the woman away. He donned his robe, not even fully secured, and stepped out of the room, coldly asking: "What happened? Where did these soldiers come from?"

Who in Qinhuai City doesn’t know Flower Fragrance Building is connected to the local county government office?

And he had always stayed out of the Xiao Family’s way, who would dare surround Flower Fragrance Building.

"My Lord, I heard from the General outside that today Zhihua attempted to poison Duke An at Tingxuan Pavilion and was caught by Duke An on the spot..." the madam stammered.

"What..."

Hearing this, Zhao Ping felt the world spinning, and the next moment he blacked out, fainting on the spot.

...

In a quiet little tavern in Qinhuai City.

Only a handful of people were drinking inside.

Since the tavern’s wine was cheaper than others, the patrons were mostly ordinary folk.

At this moment, a man dressed as a laborer walked in.

The shopkeeper saw the man and immediately welcomed him: "What would you like to drink, sir? I have..."

Before he could finish, the man interrupted, "Boss, I’ve got a stomachache. Could I use your outhouse?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback, then smiled: "Of course, it’s in the backyard. Let me show you."

The two went to the tavern’s backyard, and the man, without code-switching, directly said: "Flower Shadow’s mission has failed, and now the Tingxuan Building is surrounded by Chen Mo’s people. Although my connection with Flower Shadow was single-line, you must also move immediately for safety."

The shopkeeper’s face changed, "What about Flower Shadow?"

"Most likely won’t survive."

"Alas, I knew it, a lower-grade martial artist couldn’t possibly assassinate Chen Mo. Originally, I planned to see if I could use her brother to have my way with her after the Xiahe Banquet, but it’s a pity." The shopkeeper sighed, looking disappointed, then added mockingly: "If Flower Shadow knew her brother had long been dead..."

"Stop wasting time," the man interrupted, then coldly said, "I’ve given you the message. Now hurry up and act."