bookrebus Chapter 374
Chapter 374
The few of them glanced at the remaining assassins still standing in the arena, exchanged a look, and, with tacit understanding, gripped their swords and took a few steps forward.Reaching a secluded spot, Bei Ye spoke first, Princess Ronghua, and you two, should I not have come?
He looked at the three of them probing, not missing a single subtle expression on their faces.
Xi Ling chuckled and said, Brother Bei Ye, you worry too much. I merely bumped into the Princess by chance. If anyone shouldn't have come, it is us brothers.
Facing three pairs of eyes all by herself, Gan Tang didn't flinch in the slightest. She curled her lips into a smile and said pointedly, You three brothers don't need to test me. Let me just ask you, are you really willing to miss out on such a golden opportunity?
Seeing the three lower their eyes in thought, she continued, Who knows how many assassins are hiding in this forest. It wouldn't be surprising if we were accidentally injured, or if those people were deliberately coming for us. Afterwards, as long as none of us speaks a word, with the assassins' corpses right here, could the Emperor of Great Yan possibly deny it?
What about those people? Bei Ye didn't turn around, but the others all understood what he meant. As guests, the host would certainly dispatch guards to accompany and protect them.
Therefore, within their group, each person had a ten-man squad of Great Yan's Imperial Feather Guards assigned to protect them. This was also the reason why Bei Ye didn't immediately call for a halt upon noticing something was amiss.
The guards of Great Yan were devoted to their duties and all died in battle to protect our safety. What do you think of this excuse?
Just as Xi Ling was about to speak, Xi Yuanshan said, The sovereign and subjects of Great Yan are no fools. If all their men died while our people suffered no casualties, who would believe it?
Gan Tang shook her head and said, I think Xi Ling is right. As for whether the sovereign and subjects of Great Yan believe it, that's not important. It only matters that it is a fact that we were injured by assassins.
As long as they were injured, their parents could justifiably demand compensation from the Emperor of Great Yan.
A cruel smile appeared on Bei Ye's face. At the right time, it wouldn't be impossible for a few of our own men to suffer casualties. Everything is for our nation; their deaths would be well deserved!
Although his proposal was cold-blooded, the other three agreed with little hesitation. Just as they were preparing for the next step—whether to cut themselves or let the assassins go—they heard rustling in the forest, and a group of people walked out.
The Second, Third, and Fifth Princes rushed over with a group of subordinates, looking disheveled. The moment the two sides met and saw each other's sorry states, they knew the other party had also encountered assassins.
When the Fifth Prince saw the four people standing in a circle, obviously whispering to each other, he had a bad feeling. Before his brothers could speak, he took the lead and said, It's a coincidence that you are all here. It saves us the trouble of looking for you.
With a joyful expression, he said, Please come out with us brothers. Word has come from the Crown Prince that there are too many assassins in the forest right now. It is no longer safe for us to stay here; we need to evacuate immediately.
Hearing their fifth brother say this, Xie Zhimin and Xie Zhixin were stunned at first, then immediately echoed, Yes, it is indeed dangerous here. If it weren't for finding you, we brothers would have left long ago.
Xie Zhixin, for once showing some intelligence, said with a look of relief, It is truly fortunate that none of you were hurt!
Xie Zhimin even waved his hand grandly and praised loudly, Our Great Yan's Imperial Feather Guards have been devoted to their duties. Protecting the delegation today without a single person getting injured is a great merit. You will all be heavily rewarded upon our return.
Thank you, Second Royal Highness! the guards cheered in unison, not just because of the pending rewards, but also because the looming threat to their lives had vanished with the arrival of the three princes.
The three brothers spoke one after another. Bei Ye and the other three showed polite but distant smiles, mounted their horses, and followed the three out of the forest.
The three brothers walking at the very front didn't see the smiles vanish from the faces of the people who had turned their backs, their expressions turning so gloomy that water could practically drip from them.
Meanwhile, the conversation between the system and Yue Fuguang was still ongoing. [Host, rest assured. Before these people could harm themselves, they were coincidentally interrupted by Second Brother Xie and the others. If the three of them had arrived a moment later, the dozens of guards following them would have probably met with disaster.]
The system briefly explained what it saw to Yue Fuguang. Yue Fuguang's hand, holding her teacup, paused in mid-air. Fifth Brother Xie is quite smart.
Her feelings toward him were complicated, especially after discovering that he seemed to have developed feelings for her older sister. It gave her the immediate sensation of a parent watching a wild pig trying to root up their family's fresh, tender cabbage.
She nitpicked his every flaw, able to find a bone in an egg, let alone the fact that he was a member of the royal family, whom she was dissatisfied with in every possible way.
Forget it, let nature take its course. She would neither play matchmaker nor stand in their way; it would all depend on whether they were fated for each other.
She stopped dwelling on this and instead asked about the Crown Prince's situation. Today, aside from the Emperor, the assassins' primary targets were herself and the Crown Prince.
She had willingly gone in as bait to check the situation, while the Crown Prince had been one of the biggest, most tempting baits of this trip from the very beginning.
Her own assassination attempt involved nearly three hundred people; the number attacking the Crown Prince would only be more, not less.
[Host, don't worry. The Crown Prince is not dead, and the number of people assassinating him wasn't even as high as yours.]
What did it mean that he wasn't dead? Did that mean he was injured, and heavily at that?
Is he badly injured? Yue Fuguang was a bit worried. Will it affect the upcoming plans?
The only substantial baits here, aside from the royal father and son, were her. If the Crown Prince really can't do it, then the Emperor will just have to step up!
Hearing her words, the system rolled its eyes so hard they practically reached the sky.
[Host, I thought you were worried about the Crown Prince, but it turns out you're just worried his injury will affect the upcoming plans. Also, does the Emperor know you want to push him out as bait?]
Seeing no one around, Yue Fuguang coughed lightly in embarrassment, forcibly saving face as she said, I'm just worried our plans will fall short at the final hurdle. We are only one step away from completing the mission to eliminate the noble families; we can't give up halfway. Look, the Liu family of Xinzhou has already colluded with Southern Yue. If we strike any later, the fish in our net will slip away.
As for whether the Emperor knew she wanted to push him out as bait... his thoughts weren't important!
Besides, the world belonged to his Xie family. Naturally, they should be the ones doing the dangerous work.
My Lord, His Majesty requests your presence! Before Yue Fuguang could ask for more details, she heard He Jin reporting from outside the tent that the Emperor had summoned her.
Understood! Standing up and ensuring there was nothing inappropriate about her appearance, she slowly walked outside.
Eunuch Qian? Why did you come over personally? As soon as Yue Fuguang exited the main tent, she looked up and saw Qian Gui waiting to the side. There was faint sweat on his face, and his complexion was not very good. Could it be that something had happened to the Emperor?
Unfortunately, she had forgotten to ask the system just now, so she asked directly without any taboo, Did something happen to His Majesty?
Qian Gui also knew his expression had caused Yue Fuguang to overthink, so he quickly stepped forward and whispered, My Lord, His Majesty is perfectly fine. It is the Crown Prince... the Crown Prince has been injured!
Yue Fuguang nodded. Then let us go take a look.
As long as he still had a breath left, she had nothing to worry about. The fact that she possessed miraculous medicine was known to quite a few high-ranking officials over the past two years.
For the Emperor to summon her at this time, there was probably only one purpose: to ask for medicine for the Crown Prince.