Siege and Creating Their Own Opportunity

Want to hire the Assassin Alliance for the job?

Sure. Serena Feng offered you fifty percent and you thought it was too expensive. But me, Left Shore, I'm feeling generous—I'll give you a family rate: we only want... sixty percent of the spoils.

That sixty percent includes the official silver and grain stolen by the rebels. Of course, prisoners and captured weapons count as spoils too—they want their cut of everything. As for whatever Prince Colin gets from raiding mansions afterward, that's off the table. Sure, that's the big prize, but they're not greedy enough to grab every last thing.

Sixty percent is a family rate?

More like a daylight robbery rate!

Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin nearly coughed up blood. They wanted to bargain, but Left Shore didn't give them a chance at all.

Too expensive?

Then forget it. Assassins put their lives on the line—who gives you room to haggle? If we're feeling generous, maybe we'll kill a few extra for you. Of course, because of Serena Feng, Left Shore is willing to add a bonus: if Prince of Jiangnan takes the deal, while Serena is in Jiangnan, one of our Old Monsters will secretly protect her.

An Assassin Alliance Old Monster—those are god-tier legends in the assassin world. Even if you throw a mountain of silver at them, you couldn't buy their protection. So... even if the Old Monsters are only here for Serena, the Prince of Jiangnan isn't really losing out.

Left Shore laid out the terms and ignored everyone else, giving the Prince of Jiangnan zero chance to negotiate. The Prince tried every trick—family, friendship, you name it—but Left Shore wouldn't budge, biting down on the price and refusing to let go.

These days, revenge killings are everywhere—the Assassin Alliance is never short of business. The bounty for assassinating Serena Feng is still posted with them. Nobody dared touch Serena, but don’t expect them to return the silver.

With that silver in hand, the Assassin Alliance won’t have to worry for decades. Naturally, their price for taking a life has soared.

The Prince of Jiangnan had no choice but to return to Serena Feng. "Let’s go with what we agreed before—half the spoils. That’s settled."

"Hold on—" Serena Feng quickly made a stopping gesture. "What did we agree on? We didn’t agree on anything. You already negotiated with Zuo An. One job, one boss. No matter how your talks go, I won’t interfere, and I won’t overturn Zuo An’s terms."

"Negotiate with Zuo An? Can you even negotiate with that guy?" The Prince of Jiangnan was nearly in tears. Why did he have to shoot himself in the foot? If he’d just accepted Serena Feng’s terms, he wouldn’t have to pay the extra silver now. It hurts.

Does he really have to write "unspecified amount" for the battle losses he reports to the Ministry of Revenue, just to cover this deficit?

"Not being able to negotiate was your choice. Some things, once missed, are missed forever." Serena Feng’s last words were light and casual, but they struck the Prince of Jiangnan with a heavy blow.

Missed chances can’t be recovered just because you want to.

"All right. I understand." The Prince of Jiangnan let out a heavy breath and stopped fussing over the extra ten percent.

Just treat it as the silver spent to hire one of the Seven Old Monsters from the Assassin Alliance.

As Prince of Jiangnan, he had to take responsibility for his choices. When he refused to negotiate with Serena Feng, he should have anticipated this outcome. Just like Prince Nolan, always doing his best but preparing for the worst—whatever happens, he bears it. Even if he regrets it bitterly, he still smiles for others: if he loses, he loses with dignity.

Once the rebellion broke out, Prince Colin sealed the city—no one could leave, and every suspicious person inside was checked. Anyone who had recently come to Jiangnan or had contact with rebel families was locked up first, innocent or not. After the rebellion was settled, they'd sort out who was truly guilty.

This move would certainly disturb the people and cause resentment. Fortunately, those Prince Colin arrested had no roots in Jiangnan—they were outsiders. The locals felt sympathy but wouldn't stand up for them.

Previously, because the Jiangnan Medical Academy was built in the city, many poor students came to study. These kids weren't likely to be traitors, but plenty of spies still hid among them.

The spies disguised as students weren't uncovered by Prince Colin's people, but by the students themselves.

With the rebellion so serious, Victor Yun and Caleb Wang worried about spies among the students. They sealed the Academy and quietly told students to watch out for unfamiliar faces.

Once the students heard, they separated out anyone unfamiliar. Most were from the same villages and had known each other for years, so isolating strangers made the spies stand out.

"The students at Jiangnan Medical Academy are impressive," Prince Colin privately praised. Even Serena Feng had to give Victor Yun and Caleb Wang credit—their students were highly aware and responsible.

She had repeatedly told Victor Yun and Caleb Wang that medical ethics matter more than skill. Students from Jiangnan Medical Academy might not be the best doctors, but their character must be good. She didn’t expect them to be saints, but hoped they’d love their home, learn to give, and contribute. She wanted the Academy to teach them to be good people before teaching medicine.

She hadn’t expected Victor Yun and Caleb Wang to do so well. Now it’s clear that courses in moral education are truly necessary—their influence is obvious.

The rebels used local advantages to plant many spies in Jiangnan, but Prince Colin and Prince of Jiangnan acted so quickly that the spies were caught before they could send out useful information. Of course, after interrogation, what they knew was limited and not much help.

Foreign spies are easy to find, but what about locals? The wealthy families in Jiangnan have deep, tangled roots, and even people who've lived here for a hundred years could be traitors. Serena Feng remarked that if she were a rebel, she'd recruit local Jiangnan people to gather intelligence—they aren't professionals, but they're hard to guard against.

Just think back to how many Han traitors harmed their own people.

It's hard to investigate, and we don't have time—even if we did, we shouldn't. If we keep digging, it will cause too much unrest and panic. If the people start rioting, the city gates could be opened before the rebels even attack. Compared to tens of thousands of civilians, four thousand soldiers are nothing. If a riot breaks out, they might not be able to control it.

"True enough," Serena Feng nodded. "Since that's the case, let's stay alert and strengthen patrols and checks. Keep all information secret—don't let anyone probe our intentions."

"I'll have my men stay vigilant." Having been betrayed once by someone close, Prince Colin was already furious—he wouldn't let it happen again.

Prince Colin went over his defensive arrangements. All Jiangnan troops were under his command and deployed at once. Whether attacking or defending, even without reinforcements, Jiangnan's soldiers could hold out for a while. With luck, they might even defeat the rebels with their own forces.

As for good luck? When it comes, nothing can stop it.

On the fifth day after the Prince of Jiangnan sealed the city—just when Prince Colin estimated the rebels’ supplies would run out—news came from the undercover agents: the rebels were preparing to attack!