NCCnovel Chapter 184 Don't make things worse!
Chapter 184 Don't make things worse!
The imperial concubines bowed again.
Pei Yuanling merely glanced at the glamorous concubines, his gaze lingering on Chu Qingyin for a moment before he spoke, "Let's set off."
"Yes."
"The imperial carriage returns to the capital—"
The procession was extremely long, led by the guards, followed by the emperor and empress's carriages, a grand procession of over a hundred carriages.
Chu Qingyin sat in the carriage, which was quite a distance away from the Emperor and Empress.
She leaned lazily against the cushions, her thoughts drifting away.
For some reason, Lu Zhiheng's face suddenly popped into my mind again.
The tall man pinned her against the artificial hill, his warm palms sealing her lips.
Damn.
Chu Qingyin shook her head, wondering why she would think of him!
That man was the culprit who got my brother imprisoned!
"Your Highness? Are you feeling unwell because of the bumpy carriage ride?" Xianglan sat outside the carriage and peeked inside by lifting the curtain.
Chu Qingyin pursed her lips and shook her head. She rubbed her throbbing head and said softly, "It's alright, I'll be fine after a rest."
The carriage was not small; it could just fit a soft couch.
Upon hearing this, Xianglan went into the carriage and carefully served her by fanning her.
Fortunately, the journey back to the capital was not far, and after a few hours, they arrived at the city gates.
Many officials and commoners had already gathered at the city gate to welcome the emperor. Upon seeing the returning procession, they all knelt down and paid their respects.
"Your Majesty, wake up, we're almost at the palace." Xianglan gently shook her body.
Chu Qingyin then slowly woke up.
Exhausted from the long journey, she actually fell asleep. Fortunately, nothing happened along the way, and she finally returned to the capital.
She lifted one of the curtains and saw many people kneeling in worship on the street. Some looked aweful, some were full of piety, and some were bolder enough to secretly look up at the motorcade.
Chu Qingyin was bored and was about to lower the window curtain when she noticed a sharp object reflecting light on the second-floor teahouse.
Before she could get a better look, the sharp arrow was already hurtling towards the carriage where His Majesty was.
Her pupils contracted slightly as she watched the arrow being shot at her.
The next instant, a sharp arrow shot in from the curtain, embedding itself in the carriage and making a whistling sound.
"Assassins! Protect the emperor!"
Someone shouted loudly, and in the blink of an eye, arrows rained down.
"Xianglan! Yuyan, you two come into the carriage quickly!"
Chu Qingyin immediately realized what was happening and pulled out two short blades from under the soft couch, handing them to the two women.
"Take care of yourself!"
This assassination attempt came too suddenly, catching everyone off guard.
An arrow pierced through the wall of the carriage and shot in. Chu Qingyin's pupils shrank, and she dodged to the side.
The arrow grazed her sleeve and embedded itself in the wall behind her.
Xianglan and Yuyan turned pale with fright, but still stood trembling in front of Chu Qingyin, saying, "Master, be careful!"
Chu Qingyin took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, as panicking would be useless at this moment.
"Don't be afraid, everything will be alright."
She tried to remain calm and comfort the two of them.
With guards protecting her outside the carriage, it would be difficult for the assassin to get close to the vehicle. Furthermore, with Gu Li by her side, it seemed unlikely that he could harm her.
Her eyes were sharp as she pulled the arrow embedded in the wall with her bare hands.
The sounds of battle outside were deafening, and the fight between the guards and the assassins grew increasingly fierce.
Chu Qingyin observed the situation outside through the crack in the carriage window. She saw that although the Imperial Guards reacted quickly, the number of assassins was large and their attack was fierce. For a time, they were unable to hold them off. The Emperor and Empress's carriages were surrounded in the chaos, and the situation was critical.
The surrounding crowd was already in chaos, many of them hacked to death, blood flowing everywhere. The cries of children abruptly ceased, causing Chu Qingyin immense heartache.
Suddenly, she saw several assassins not far away preparing to climb onto a carriage, intending to attack the emperor and empress from a high vantage point.
This action went completely unnoticed by anyone!
Chu Qingyin gritted her teeth, picked up the short blade, and said to Xianglan and Yuyan, "You two guard the carriage, I'll go and draw away those assassins!"
With that, she suddenly pushed open the carriage door and leaped out.
"Miss!"
Xianglan never expected her mistress to rush out of the carriage. She was in a state of panic and was about to run out after her when Yuyan grabbed her.
"Sister Xianglan, are you crazy! There are assassins everywhere outside!" Yu Yan was filled with panic, and even the hand that was pulling her was trembling.
“But Her Majesty…” Xianglan’s eyes reddened, and her voice was trembling with sobs.
Yu Yan held her hand tightly and advised, "Her Majesty instructed us to guard the carriage. We cannot fail her trust, otherwise we will truly be harming Her Majesty!"
She was the Emperor's favorite concubine, and naturally had people protecting her. The two women chasing after her would only be a burden to her.
Xianglan bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. She and Yuyan hid in the carriage, listening anxiously to the sounds outside.
"Damn it."
Gu Li was entangled by a group of assassins. When he saw Chu Qingyin leave the carriage, he cursed inwardly.
Instead of staying put in the carriage, she's running off to her death!
He cleaved the assassin who was entangled with him with a single sword stroke and charged towards Chu Qingyin.
But the next second he realized that Chu Qingyin was running in the direction of the Emperor and Empress's carriage.
Behind the carriage, several assassins had already bypassed the blind spots and reached the rear of the carriage.
Chu Qingyin dodged the assassins' attacks several times, picked up a broken sword from the ground, took a deep breath, and slashed at the assassins who were trying to attack the emperor and empress.
The woman moved with a light and graceful figure, her clothes already stained with blood. Although the broken sword in her hand was missing its blade, it still danced with a sharp arc in her hand.
As the daughter of a military family, how could she not know martial arts?
However, his body was too weak, and he was exhausted after running only a few steps.
However, at that moment, the assassin had already cleaved the emperor and empress's carriage in two with an extremely sharp longsword!
In an instant, the two people in the carriage were exposed to everyone's view.
Empress Wang was already terrified, her face pale and her hair disheveled. She screamed and hurriedly hid behind Pei Yuanling, crying out, "Your Majesty!"
Pei Yuanling gripped his longsword, about to retaliate, but his gaze suddenly froze when it fell upon that familiar figure.
The assassin also noticed the movement behind him and turned around abruptly.
When the assassin saw the woman rushing up at him, he was startled, and then slashed at her with his long sword.
"Yinyin, watch out!"
Pei Yuanling shouted, his heart pounding in his chest.
Chu Qingyin dodged to the side, and her broken sword pierced the assassin's waist.
The assassin was unable to dodge in time and was slashed open. Despite the pain, his attack became even more ferocious.
At this moment, Gu Li was still being held back by the assassins, but Lu Zhiheng broke through the assassins' encirclement first and arrived at Chu Qingyin's side.
He looked at Chu Qingyin's face, which was covered in blood but still beautiful, and felt a mix of emotions: "Are you out of your mind?!"
He pulled the man behind him and dealt with the assassins with two sword strikes.
"An assassin intended to flank and attack the Emperor and Empress's carriage."
Chu Qingyin leaned against a carriage, panting heavily. Her cheeks were covered in bloodstains, and her arm had been slashed with a long gash by the thief, but she seemed to feel no pain.
"His Majesty is naturally protected by guards!"
Lu Zhiheng practically spat out those words through gritted teeth. He shielded the woman beside him and said coldly, "Go back to the carriage and don't cause any more trouble!"