When Tang Yazhu finished what she was doing on the site, she immediately made sure to delete any traces of her entering the website of the organization and hide her tracks. It would surely cause a huge problem if they found out that a dead person could still open this account - worse, they manage to trace it back to her.
As soon as Tang Yazhu turned off the laptop, she did some stretches. Her body was aching too much!
Tang Yazhu had forcefully performed those energy-draining techniques of throwing the knives, so she was aching. Since her body was not the same as the one who was at the peak of the number one assassin, such a skill took a toll on this weak and fragile body.
After stretching for a while, Tang Yazhu quickly freshened up and changed into some comfortable clothes. She needed to have a talk to clarify some things with Xia Jiaying.
Although Xia Jiaying was safe, this was only temporary. Of course, even though those cunning bastards were powerful, none of them would dare to enter this villa. However, Tang Yazhu could not hide the princess forever. This means the princess would have to eventually face them sooner or later.
When Tang Yazhu left her room and saw the time on the clock on the wall, she noticed that the time was already past noon. Thus, she called for Butler Xue when she saw him passing by.
"What is your request, Miss Ren?" Butler Xue respectfully greeted her.
"Have the kitchen prepare some lunch for me and send it to the gazebo in the garden. Please also assist the princess in finding the gazebo. I'll be waiting for her there," Tang Yazhu instructed.
More than anything, Tang Yazhu was very thankful to Butler Xue for not asking her too many questions and for not probing her on why she had disappeared for three days. Although, this was only a thought in her head and she never said it out loud as she continued on her way to the garden to wait for Xia Jiaying.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Xia Jiaying was sitting quietly on the bed in the guest room. After entering the room, the maids had given her some clothes to change into and gave her some snacks and refreshments.
As Xia Jiaying continued to sit there, no one knew what she was thinking. However, no one would be wrong if they were to say that she was patiently waiting for Tang Yazhu. Of course, everything single thought was cut off at the moment as she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in," Xia Jiaying said and saw a woman wearing a maid uniform.
"Our Young Lady wants you to go to the garden. Please follow me," the maid politely stated and Xia Jiaying quietly followed her, her thoughts still unknown.
Her savior was indeed someone very mysterious. Xia Jiaying knew that she had guessed right as Tang Yazhu was someone with a big background. Otherwise, how could she be the Young Lady of such a big mansion?
When they were outside of the mansion, Xia Jiaying saw the gazebo come into her sight and a lot of bright tulips surrounding the gazebo beautifully. Then, she saw Tang Yazhu sitting on a rattan chair with two cats by her side: one was black and one was white.
"You called for me?" Xia Jiaying asked while moving to sit on the opposite chair while the maid served her a glass of juice before leaving.
"Yes, I need to talk to you regarding your matters," Tang Yazhu seriously spoke as she stopped stroking the fur of her two cats.
"Did you find out something about my situation?" Xia Jiaying asked, a little anticipation noticeable in her voice.
"Yes, I've found out who's responsible for ambushing you, especially itching to kill you," Tang Yazhu straightforwardly told her in a straight tone and Xia Jiaying almost lost her grip on the glass of juice, so close to causing the cup to drop to the floor.
"W-who was it?" Xia Jiaying silently trembled when she asked back.
Xia Jiaying did not want to ask, nor did she want to know who was responsible. However, this person was not only after her life but also the life of her only full-blooded brother.
"Princess, your heart is too soft. No matter how harsh reality is, you need to face it. When fighting for the throne, it is inevitable that blood will always be spilled. You must harden your heart and show your enemies that you are not easily taken down," Tang Yazhu said while also knowing that Xia Jiaying could already guess who the people were that wanted to kill her and her brother.
"Your cousin, Xia Chen, wants Xia Yong to sit on the throne," Tang Yazhu stated, causing the world of family bonds in Xia Jiaying to crack apart.
"W-what?! But Brother Yong doesn't want the throne!" Xia Jiaying exclaimed.
She knew her cousin very well. Even though she was not close to Xia Chen, she was closer to Xia Yong than with even her own brother.
"Princess, have you ever considered that Xia Chen is a two-faced person, deceiving you for his own selfish reasons?" Tang Yazhu asked.
"No, you're lying! Brother Yong is not like that! He's a kind person, just like me!" Xia Jiaying shouted as she slammed down on the table in her anger and confusion.
Tang Yazhu could only sigh as she knew that this would hard for Xia Jiaying to accept. However, this information was not in the least wrong as her research could never be wrong. The information from the organization was something that others could not access for a reason.
"Tell me, you also told him that you were coming here, right? Aside from your father and brother, he's the only other person who knows this, am I right?" Tang Yazhu asked.
The moment that Xia Jiaying heard those two questions, she felt like she could hear a series of cracks in her world start shattering into pieces.
"N-no, it can't be…" Xia Jiaying muttered under her breath.
Xia Jiaying did not know what to say anymore. She did not want to believe that the only other person that she trusted in this world would also betray her.
"Your cousin Xia Chen is not just an ordinary businessman. He has made many travels and investments with many other powerful people in order to gain a strong backing for the throne. On the other hand, his brother has been keeping an eye on the palace, monitoring the happenings within the palace, especially about the circumstances of the direct line of royalty," Tang Yazhu explained.
"Even though Xia Chen is the one controlling the strings behind the scenes, you can't neglect the fact that Xia Yong betrayed you. I know that you're close to him and that it's hard to accept this, but this is the undeniable truth," Tang Yazhu emphasized once again.
If Tang Yazhu did not force these harsh words on Xia Jiaying, she was afraid that the princess would continue to be softhearted. However, royalty was not for the pure-hearted, nor for the soft people. Only a tough rock can survive in the royal palace, or else they would be washed away.
"For the sake of the throne and power, is it all worth it? When they've gained the upper hand and we're dead, would they truly be happy?" Xia Jiaying subconsciously cried out as tears flowed down her beautiful fair face.
She grew up with him by her side. Whenever she needed her brother to be there during her most difficult times, it was always Xia Yong who was there to cheer her up and make she was happy and well.
She thought she was his little princess… Yet, in the end, everything was simply nothing more than an act. Her heart was aching so much and she could even feel in a figurative way, her heart breaking.
Suddenly, Xia Jiaying began to maniacally laugh. Her laughter was so creepy that Tang Yazhu began to feel goosebumps as she listened.
"Haha… Want the throne? Want to kill me and my family? Let's see how you'll accomplish that!" Xia Jiaying suddenly and darkly rambled.
"If I, Princess Xia Jiaying, doesn't give you a fate worse than death, then I'm not fit to be a princess!" she resolutely promised herself as her demeanor slightly changed into one of determination.
"What are you going to do?" Tang Yazhu asked her.
Tang Yazhu felt that very soon, a very big change would soon happen to Xia Jiaying who was currently sitting in front of her.
"It's not too late to make things right. I'll ensure that Mr. Long signs the contract for our business proposal. When I go back to my kingdom… I'll make sure to thoroughly clean up the palace," Xia Jiaying resolutely answered with a fire burning in her eyes which showed her determination to win this bloody royal battle.
Tang Yazhu did not know what to say to her, so she could only continue to drink her glass of juice. Then, she saw that Butler Xue was heading in their direction.
"Young Lady, Assistant Fu has informed us that Young Master will be coming back tomorrow," Butler Xue informed her.
The moment that Butler Xue finished telling Tang Yazhu the news though, the glass cup in her hand slipped and fell - breaking into an innumerable number of pieces.
"Young Lady!" Butler Xue called out as he hurriedly rushed to her side to see if any of the broken shards had managed to hit her before calling for a maid to clean up the mess.
"W-what? Hubby is going to be home soon!? I thought he was going to come back after a week! There are still four more days until he's supposed to come back!" Tang Yazhu yelled out in surprise.
If Long Ning came home tomorrow, then her plans to help Xia Jiaying would be ruined. Not only that, it would be bad if the princess found out about her relationship with him. What if the princess told him about her actions at the hotel?!
"Sister Bao, what's wrong?" Xia Jiaying asked when she saw the indescribable expression on her face.
The term of address was new, but Xia Jiaying did not find anything wrong with it. Either way, she was younger than Tang Yazhu. Not only that, they had already gone through a life and death situation and knew many secrets of each other.
"Yes, Young Lady. Young Master has already finished dealing with business there. Because Young Lady was gone for three days, Young Master has been rushing to finish everything fast to come back home," Butler Xue stated, not trying to guilt her although his sentences sounded like he was.
"I'm sorry. It's all because of me that she hasn't been home. I can explain it to him," Xia Jiaying suggested.
Xia Jiaying did not want Tang Yazhu to be blamed or punished because of her.
Tang Yazhu completed ignored both of them. Instead, she was thinking of another thing. It would be a big problem if Long Ning did an investigation on everything that has happened since three days ago.
Knowing how much power Long Ning held, Tang Yazhu forgot that maybe he already knew about her circumstances or even that she could have already have miscalculated about the fact that perhaps he has already found out everything about her. However, that should be fine, right?
As long as he did not find out that she killed some bastards, then that would be fine. Well, one more… Please let it be that he has yet to find out anything regarding her previous identity!
She cursed herself many times in her head. This was not yet the right time to tell anyone the truth about her. First, she needed to know about her own origins if she wanted to explain anything to Long Ning.
Well, for now, she will just have to him little white lies and make sure that he does not doubt her too much. Tang Yazhu prayed that tomorrow, he would not find anything unusual about her…