"My Lord, you have accomplished a great deed this time. I hope you will take good care of me in front of the Emperor in the future!"

The ministers sat together and couldn't help but exchange pleasantries with each other.

Dancing girls in brightly colored clothes swung their sleeves in the center of the room, and as they drank and chatted, their graceful figures danced like willow branches in the wind.

Sitting next to the emperor was the queen, a gentle and dignified woman.

Like Shen Ruoyan before, she was born into a noble family and had learned the rules very well, but she had never learned how to please a man.

Below her was the favored imperial concubine.

Those eyes were like hooks, and they would look towards the emperor from time to time, without any scruples in such occasions.

The Queen Mother's smile froze on her face, and her face, which always had a compassionate expression, now took on an eerie stillness.

Her eyes were like the abyss as she stared at the imperial concubine, hoping that she could restrain herself.

Unfortunately, the imperial concubine relied on the emperor's favor and kept expressing her feelings with her eyes, not taking the warning seriously at all.

Shen Ruoyan slowly raised the cup, put it to his lips and took a sip, but in fact, he didn't even touch the rim of the cup.

Having already lost her life once, she didn't want to have anything to do with the palace again.

"There's an assassin! Catch the assassin!"

"Come, protect the emperor!"

As soon as Shen Ruoyan put down the cup, the front suddenly became chaotic.

In a trance, she only had time to see the leading dancer pull out a soft sword from her sleeve and rush towards the emperor who was drinking!

The guards drew their swords and rushed out. The imperial concubine was closest to them and screamed in fear!

The queen just stood there in a daze, not reacting at all!

"You dog emperor, give me your life!"

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several more dancers drew their swords and everyone was in chaos, running everywhere for their lives!

The emperor hid behind the eunuch, so frightened that he didn't know where to go. When he got down from the chair, he almost tripped over himself and fell flat on his face!

He drank too much!

I can't even walk steadily!

Shen Ruoyan was pushed and squeezed to the side. In a panic, she saw Zhuang Mi who was also being protected and running towards this side.

Because it was too chaotic, the guards and the assassins fought together, blood splattered everywhere, and the noble ladies were so scared that they screamed and didn't care about the occasion. They just wanted to save their lives!

Zhuang Mi was originally protected, but during the fight, the assassin was pushed to her side. The nanny blocked her way and let her go. The eunuchs fell and were injured, and there was no way to take care of them.

The emperor called all the men over to protect him!

At the critical moment of life and death, he actually forgot that his mother and wife were still here!

Shen Ruoyan just felt it was ridiculous. Was she out of her mind at the time?

How could you choose such a thing to be your emperor?

He deserved to die!

Suddenly, a lone assassin saw Zhuang Mi calling out in a loud voice. He was ruthless and didn't say much, so he rushed over with a sword in hand!

"Protect the Queen Mother!"

"Come quickly, protect the Queen Mother!"

The young eunuch shouted until his throat was hoarse, but the place was too far away and he couldn't catch up at all.

The Queen Mother was surrounded by weak and incapable ladies. When they saw the assassin approaching, some burst into tears, some collapsed and ran away, and some were even more timid and fainted from fear...

"Queen Mother, be careful!"

Shen Ruoyan suddenly lunged forward, his entire body pressing down on Zhuang Mi——

She could almost hear the sound of Zhuang Mi's old bones cracking. This was the good thing about being young. Not only was one more agile, but one also didn't have to worry about breaking bones with just a little pressure!

Zhuang Mi was carrying the weight of two people and was speechless.

But Shen Ruoyan acted like he was willing to sacrifice himself for justice:

"You bold assassin, if you want to harm the Queen Mother, you must kill me first!"

Although she was pressing down on Zhuang Mi, she opened her arms and blocked Zhuang Mi behind her like a hen protecting her chicks.

This was in stark contrast to the noble ladies around her who were retreating away.

“This Shen Ruoyan, is she going to die?!”

Princess Shun hid behind and saw Shen Ruoyan's actions. She was almost scared crazy by her!

It’s okay for assassins, but even royal family members are bound to be assassinated.

But what is Shen Ruoyan doing?

You want to curry favor with the Queen Mother. Are you even willing to sacrifice your life?

That's an assassin! Not your guard!

There were bloody corpses lying on the ground. People were really dead!

Princess Shun stepped back in shock. She didn't care about the emperor or the empress dowager, neither was more important than her own life.

These assassins are very skilled in martial arts. The guards have been fighting for so long but still haven't subdued them. She might as well run away first...

Lu Jing was also mixed in the crowd. He couldn't carry anything on his shoulders or kick with his feet, and he got military merit by luck. How could he dare to get close to them at this time?

Don’t you see that some generals are just pretending?

While shouting about protecting the emperor, he ran madly towards the opposite side of the assassin!

In fact, Lu Jing could understand that swords were not allowed at the palace banquet. Even if these generals were great generals, they could not defeat four opponents with bare hands. Who really wanted to risk his life?

Lu Jing bent over and ran outside.

Anyway, the situation is chaotic now and the emperor won't notice him.

Although these assassins are highly skilled in martial arts, they are few in number. The guards outside have arrived, and it is only a matter of time before they are captured.

All he had to do was blend in with the crowd and avoid being accidentally injured. He would wait until the assassin was captured, and then stand up to prove that he had not sneaked away.

Lu Jing had a good plan, but man proposes, God disposes. Just as he was looking for a good place to hide, he suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from behind!

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

A shrill cry pierced the sky. Lu Jing turned around and saw the emperor flying towards him like a sharp arrow!

Yes, fly over here!

He subconsciously reached out to catch it, and was then knocked to the ground. The assassin followed closely behind. Lu Jing's legs were pinned down by the emperor. He turned over and tried to get up, but suddenly felt a pain in his chest.

He was stabbed!

"My Lord! My Lord, you even risked your life to protect the Emperor! I am so proud of you!"

Shen Ruoyan ran over at some point. The assassin had been subdued. She hugged Lu Jing, whose chest was still bleeding, and cried loudly:

"My Lord, you must hold on! The Marquis' Mansion cannot survive without you!"

The situation was too critical. Everyone only saw Chang Ning Hou catch the emperor, and then when the assassin came with his sword raised, he flipped over and blocked the emperor's way.

What loyalty this is!

Even the emperor was moved by Lu Jing's bravery. "Lord Lu, your loyalty is a role model for all officials. Imperial Physician! Quickly summon the Imperial Physician! We must save Lord Lu's life!"

Shen Ruoyan followed behind, wiping away tears from time to time, which made people even more moved.

The wife of the Marquis of Changning had just sacrificed herself to protect the Queen Mother. Fortunately, the guards who arrived had dealt with the assassin before he could make a move, otherwise she would have been in imminent danger.

The loyalty of this couple is admirable!