Chapter 329: Blocking Arrows

"Your Highness, are you okay?" Bai Miaoyun rushed forward and saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's body was covered in blood in several places. It was shocking. Bai Miaoyun was so scared that her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground.

Zhu Hong, who was standing by, quickly supported Bai Miaoyun.

"Come here, send the concubine back to the yamen first." The prince was busy suppressing bandits, and he didn't have the mood as usual. After giving the order, he stood on the street, looking at the man who died on the float. His eyes were filled with anger. These bandits were really too rampant!

"Zhongyan, Zhongyi, each of you bring your men and capture all these bandits for me. I want to see who is tougher, these bandits or my sword!" The prince had a gloomy face. These bandits who wanted to assassinate him did not even take him, the current prince, seriously.

The prince raised his leg and stepped directly on the chest of the captured bandit, causing him to cry out in pain. The prince then brought his sword down on the bandit's neck and asked, "Tell me, how many of you are left? Why did you want to kill me?"

Xiao Jiuyue was standing upstairs, and saw Bai Miaojun and Qiao Huilan both standing aside. Bai Miaojun was looking at the prince, which was normal, but the look in Qiao Huilan's eyes when she looked at the prince seemed to be filled with a girl's shyness.

"Not good." Xiao Jiuyue's pupils suddenly shrank as he looked at the bandit who was killed. He actually didn't kill him completely and he went towards the prince's back!

The next moment, Xiao Jiuyue saw Qiao Huilan rushing over, arms outstretched, and yelling, "Your Highness, be careful."

The bandit stabbed with his last breath. When he stabbed Qiao Huilan, his eyes were full of unwillingness, and he finally fell straight down.

The prince turned around and saw Qiao Huilan, who had been stabbed by a sword. He immediately reached out to support her waist. Seeing the sword wound on her heart, which instantly stained her pink dress red, he directly picked her up and said, "Doctor!"

The prince carried Qiao Huilan away. Bai Miaoyun's heart skipped a beat. Looking at Qiao Huilan who fainted from the pain, and then at the prince's panicked look, Bai Miaoyun's heart sank little by little!

"This County Magistrate Qiao's daughter is quite... courageous!" Hua Qing praised her from the side, saying, "The girl next to her is a little less courageous. She's obviously closer."

"You are afraid of death and can't bear to give up this wealth and glory!" Xiao Jiuyue looked at Bai Miaojun with interest. Suddenly, Bai Miaojun raised her head and her eyes met hers. Xiao Jiuyue curled her lips slightly.

Bai Miaojun pursed her lips tightly as she chased after him, her skirt lifted. Even if she saved the Crown Prince, what good would it do? With her status as the daughter of a mere county magistrate, she could only be a concubine to the Crown Prince at best.

This was exactly what she had thought at first. Bai Miaoyun ran all the way to the clinic and saw the prince asking the doctor to treat Qiao Huilan. She immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, Miss Qiao has a chest injury. I can take care of her. You have something to do first. Doctor, hurry up and save Miss Qiao."

Bai Miaoyun was so anxious that she was sweating. She grabbed Qiao Huilan's hand and said, "Miss Qiao, don't be afraid. The doctor will definitely cure you."

…

Amidst the chaos, Xiao Jiuyue rushed all the way to where Jin Wu was. After getting on the carriage, Xiao Jiuyue took Jin Wu and prepared to go to the place they had already chosen. As soon as Donggui got on the carriage, Xiao Jiuyue sent her away: "Donggui, you are responsible for finding out and seeing how the Third Prince's injuries are!"

"Yes." Dong Gui responded and turned and left.

The carriage drove all the way to a single-family house. Xiao Jiuyue went straight into the house. When she saw Hou Jianshi with his hands and feet tied and his mouth gagged, she was shocked. As expected, what she heard was completely different from what she saw in person.

Xiao Jiuyue knew that Hou Jian was disfigured and had an injured eye. When she heard this, she didn't think much of it. But when she saw the real Hou Jian, she was still shocked. The Hou Jian in front of her was completely assimilated by the bandits, full of bandit spirit. How could he look like an official at all?

"Hmm." Hou Jian struggled when he saw the person.

Jin Wu stepped forward, put the dagger on his neck, and warned him: "Don't shout, otherwise, my knife will be blind!"

Hou Jian blinked. Jin Wu looked at him warningly. He raised his hand and ripped the cloth from Hou Jian's mouth. Hou Jian's mouth, aching and swollen, couldn't close for a moment. He stared at Xiao Jiuyue blankly and said, "Girl, you look like a fairy. Have we met before somewhere?"

Hou Jian said this with a grin, as if the person with his hands and feet tied was not him.

"Hou Jian." Xiao Jiuyue directly called his name.

Hou Jian was surprised for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Miss, did you catch the wrong person? My name is Pang Hai, not Hou Jian."

"Hou Jian, a fellow Jinshi in the 15th year of Emperor Jing's reign, later became the magistrate of Donglin County. Two years ago, the Jinjiang River dike burst, and you disappeared." With every word Xiao Jiuyue spoke, Hou Jian's eyes grew colder. He shook his head, feigning ignorance, and said, "I don't know Hou Jian, and I'm not Hou Jian."

Jin Wu kicked him directly and said, "Don't play dumb here. Since we are going to arrest you, we have to find out who you are. Do you think that because you have disfigured yourself, become a bandit, and become the bandit's brother-in-law, you have become Pang Hai instead of Hou Jian?"

"Lady Luo, Luo Sanniang, Hou Jian's concubine. You didn't bring anyone else but her. Isn't it because you like her because she is the bandit's sister?" Jin Wu sneered and stabbed the dagger in his hand directly into his leg.

"Ah..." Hou Jian's facial features were squeezed together in pain, and he quickly said, "I, I am Hou Jian."

Jin Wu then pulled out the dagger, looked at Hou Jian with contempt in his eyes, and said, "If you had told me earlier, you wouldn't have to take this stab." He surrendered before he even had to use any strength.

"Two years ago, the Jinjiang River dike burst. What was the reason? And why did the disaster relief money disappear? Did you bandits steal it?" Xiao Jiuyue asked the question directly.

Hou Jian's eyes darted around, and Jin Wu raised the dagger in his hand again. Bright red blood dripped from the dagger. Hou Jian swallowed and said, "The disaster relief money was embezzled by Lord Xiao. It has nothing to do with me. The Jinjiang River dike burst because the flood was too big. It has nothing to do with me."

"It has nothing to do with you, do you want to run away?" Xiao Jiuyue looked at him coldly.

Hou Jian said, "The Jinjiang River dike has broken, and so many people downstream have been injured. If I, the county magistrate, don't run away now, I will be punished by the court!"

"Well, that's a pretty good reason." Xiao Jiuyue's lips curled slightly, and she stared at Hou Jian without saying a word.

Hou Jian's pupils shrank slightly. She was obviously a woman, but her eyes showed that she wanted to eat him alive. She said, "I heard that you have an account book in your hand. What do you want this account book for?"

Xiao Jiuyue saw Hou Jian's expression change, and her voice was full of temptation: "As long as you tell me where the disaster relief money went, I can help you heal your eyes and face. I can even give you enough money. Then, you can bring your beloved beauty and live a life like a paradise on earth."