Escorted by the guards, the three carriages headed in three different directions.

Ye Jingchen stayed behind, giving Xie Chang'an the opportunity to ask the question that had been bothering him.

Why send someone to escort them home?

"Speaking of which, it's all thanks to Young Master Xie. My father is currently fighting with the Jiang family, and I, as the crown prince whom my father dotes on, have naturally become their target," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

Xie Chang'an was startled; he hadn't expected the aristocratic families to be so arrogant.

In his previous life, he benefited from the Little Madman's influence, because the Little Madman had almost wiped out the major families except for the Ji family, leaving him with a country that was devastated yet in dire need of rebuilding.

“Then I will send more soldiers to protect you,” Xie Chang’an said.

After all, Ye Jingchen left the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. If something happens to him, it's hard to guarantee that the emperor won't hold the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion responsible.

Moreover, he and Ye Jingchen were allies; they knew each other's secrets, and Ye Jingchen seemed to have no hostility towards the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Xie Chang'an was willing to gamble on Ye Jingchen's sincerity.

Ye Jingchen declined his offer.

"No need. Treat them the same as the other three. Twenty people are enough. If there are more, I'm afraid the people in the shadows won't dare to make a move."

After all, the emperor wanted to go fishing, and he couldn't ruin the emperor's plan.

Xie Chang'an frowned, "If the Jiang family makes a move, they must be absolutely certain of success. There's no need for you to put yourself in danger!"

"If Young Master Xie is truly worried about me, why not keep a close eye on my movements on my way back to the palace? If I really encounter any misfortune, you can then lead your troops to rescue me," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

"By the way—just send someone to rescue me, don't come yourself, so I don't have to waste my manpower protecting you!" Ye Jingchen thought for a moment and added.

Xie Chang'an, who was initially worried, burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Then Your Highness, may you have good fortune!" He flicked his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and turned his back to Ye Jingchen.

Ye Jingchen boarded the carriage and left the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

If the carriage travels at high speed from the Duke's Mansion to the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace, it might only take half an hour.

Since the streets were empty and deserted, Ye Jingchen instructed the driver to speed up.

Seeing the guards from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion following on both sides of the carriage, he thought for a moment and then told them to keep a distance of at least ten meters from his carriage.

By making the carriage move quickly while keeping those following it at a safe distance, Ye Jingchen's attitude clearly indicated his wariness of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Some of the soldiers immediately turned cold.

"I have my reasons for doing this, it's not that I don't trust you all, and I will explain it to Young Master Xie later." After Ye Jingchen finished speaking, he sat back in the carriage.

“Since you don’t trust them, why not let them go back? They’re not of much use anyway,” Chenxi said.

Ye Jingchen smiled. "It's not that I don't trust Xie Chang'an, but the situation with these guards is another matter. As the saying goes, one should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others."

He suddenly realized that if he were to be assassinated and not harmed by the Jiang family, but instead by the people Xie Chang'an sent to protect him, and then the Jiang family were to frame him, the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion would be in grave danger.

If he were a member of the Jiang family, he would have pulled this stunt: framing the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for the assassination attempt. That way, regardless of whether the assassination succeeded or not, they would have won.

Dayuan seems to be stable now, and has few defeats in its wars with the Northern Barbarians. However, the biggest reliance for all of this is the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and the Xie family army. It is because the Duke of Zhenguo is stationed in the Northern Barbarians that the Northern Barbarians dare not act rashly.

Ye Jingchen had been probing Xie Chang'an's true intentions and was working hard to befriend the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, hoping that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion could peacefully guard the northern border, which was related to whether he could peacefully become emperor in the future.

In the novel, it was because the emperor killed the Duke of Zhenguo and his three sons that the Xie family army was leaderless, and Dayuan had no other capable generals. As a result, they suffered repeated defeats in the battles against the Northern Barbarians, and in the end, they even had to send a princess to marry into the Northern Barbarians!

Ye Jingchen would never allow his sisters to become victims of war. If he became emperor in the future, he would definitely inherit the will of "the emperor guards the country's gates and the monarch dies for the state," and would not make peace through marriage, pay reparations, cede territory, or pay tribute!

Of course, if possible, he hoped that there would never be a day when Dayuan would need him to guard the country's gates and sacrifice to the state. Therefore, he wanted to change the fate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the novel, and he also wanted to cultivate more generals who could go to the battlefield and lead troops into battle.

The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was his best choice for expanding territory and guarding the country's borders, but Dayuan also needed more outstanding generals.

Ye Jingchen was so engrossed in his thoughts that he neglected his own situation until he heard a whooshing sound. An arrow, with the force of a thunderbolt, grazed the coachman's shoulder, pierced the carriage curtain, and headed straight for his face.

Ye Jingchen: !

At the critical moment, Chenxi suddenly pulled him up onto his body. The arrow flew over his head and embedded itself in the carriage wall, its fletching trembling several times.

"An assassin!"

"Protect His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Someone outside shouted loudly, the carriage came to an abrupt stop, and soon the sound of clashing weapons could be heard.

Through the large hole in the carriage curtain, Ye Jingchen saw someone leap onto the carriage and stand in front of it. Although arrows were still being shot down from above, they were all blocked in advance, and no more arrows could enter the carriage.

Through the carriage curtain, one could see heads bobbing on both sides, and hear the piercing sounds of swords clashing.

Outside the carriage, an extremely fierce battle was taking place.

But the carriage was very quiet.

After pulling Ye Jingchen aside to dodge the arrow, Chenxi let go of him and sat down steadily.

Ye Jingchen's face turned deathly pale.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he was going to die.

Having lived for thirty years, he had never seen anything like it.

The gleaming arrow was about to make intimate contact with his face when Chenxi pulled him back in time—

Ye Jingchen silently approached the dawn.

Only being near the dawn can bring him a sense of security.

He dared not utter a sound or make any big movements, only straining his ears to listen to the sounds outside, while his eyes were fixed nervously on the dawn.

Chenxi stared at him for a moment, then chose to close her eyes, out of sight, out of mind.

"How can you close your eyes at a time like this?" Ye Jingchen asked in a low voice.

"Don't speak!" Chenxi only gave him three words.

Ye Jingchen instinctively covered his mouth.

He desperately wanted to know what was happening outside, but he didn't have the courage to lift the carriage curtain.

He had seen too many protagonists in movies, TV series, and novels who, when faced with assassination attempts, were so curious that they looked around and almost lost their lives because of it.

The sounds of the battle were almost touching the carriage walls; the sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh seemed to be right next to their ears, and even suspicious liquid was sprayed on the curtains.

Ye Jingchen tried his best to maintain his composure, but in his heart he was trembling.

Indeed, people who grow up in times of peace and prosperity, no matter how calm and composed they may be, cannot bear to see scenes of bloodshed.

At this moment, Ye Jingchen completely gave up his desire to go to the battlefield and see what it was like.