The sun was already setting, and night was about to fall.

Logically, Jian Yang and his group should have returned in the morning, but he waited from noon until evening and still hadn't seen them return.

Eunuch Zhang immediately sent someone to check, and a moment later the little eunuch ran back.

"Your Majesty, we have not seen the Empress Dowager's carriage."

The emperor indicated that he understood.

However, he still felt uneasy.

Could it be that they plan to stay for a few more days?

Even so, we should still send someone back to deliver a message to him.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Just as he was about to send someone to the temple to pick up the person, someone came to report that a young monk from Huguo Temple was requesting an audience.

The emperor received him.

After respectfully bowing, the young monk said, "This humble monk has come to convey a message from the Empress Dowager and the Empress. They said that the temple has a serene environment and they plan to stay here for a few more days. Please do not worry about it, Your Majesty."

"Does the Empress Dowager and the Empress have anything else for you to convey to me?"

The little monk shook his head. "No more."

The emperor immediately frowned.

This is very unusual.

Just as he was about to ask further questions, a young eunuch came to announce his arrival.

"Your Majesty, Minister Yang of the Ministry of Revenue has come to request an audience."

Seeing that the emperor was about to attend to official business, the young monk tactfully withdrew.

The emperor watched his departing figure and narrowed his eyes.

Inside Huguo Temple, the assassins who had waited all night for Jian Yang and the Empress Dowager to leave finally lost their patience and barged into the serene Buddhist sanctuary, hacking at anyone they saw.

The guards fought desperately, and a small group of them managed to rush off to deliver the message.

Jian Yang was horrified when she learned the news.

Without saying a word, she immediately took the Empress Dowager and carried Zhou Kun out of the temple through the back door.

Under the protection of the guards, they evaded attack after attack.

As they drew ever closer to the imperial city, all the guards perished in the line of duty.

For the last stretch of the journey, Jian Yang had no choice but to lead the Empress Dowager and Zhou Kun onward.

However, two of the three were still suffering from residual poison and were unable to run.

Soon, they were surrounded by assassins.

Jian Yang, who was initially filled with panic, suddenly calmed down at this moment.

She held Zhou Kun tightly in her arms, shielded the Empress Dowager behind her, and coldly looked at the group of more than a dozen assassins in front of her.

"Who sent you to assassinate me and the Empress Dowager?"

The assassins never expected that she, a seemingly frail woman, would remain so calm in the face of such a situation.

After a long while, the leader of the assassin gang said, "We are just doing what we're paid to do, Your Majesty, please don't ask any more questions."

How can we not ask?

Why not ask how to stall for time?

While cursing under her breath, Jian Yang pretended to be calm and said, "Since you've taken our money, if you release the three of us, I promise to give you ten times the price your employer paid you. How about it?"

The assassin leader chuckled and said, "Your Majesty is joking. Every profession has its own rules. Since we have already accepted the gold from the other buyers, we cannot go back on our word."

Wow, it's gold!

I never knew I was so valuable.

Jian Yang, unwilling to give up, said again, "Fine, I respect your industry rules, but we're about to be killed by you. Can you at least let us die knowing who wants to kill us?"

The assassin replied without hesitation, "Your Majesty, please forgive us, but we cannot reveal the identity of our employer."

Jian Yang pursed her lips, her brain racing as she tried to figure out how to buy herself some more time.

At the same time, she silently prayed that the emperor would be quick-witted and realize that they were in danger soon.

Otherwise, he would lose his mother and son immediately!

"Then could you..."

"Your Majesty," the assassin suddenly interrupted her, "you've said too much. Let's send you on your way first."

The group's patience finally ran out, and they decided to kill Jian Yang and his group.

At the leader's command, the assassin closest to Jian Yang raised his sword and thrust it at her.

Without thinking, Jian Yang turned her back to meet him.

Because she was holding Zhou Kun in her arms, if she didn't shield the child with her back to the sword, it would hurt the child.

"Thud!" The cold blade pierced her shoulder, and a sharp pain shot through her. Jian Yang almost let go of Zhou Kun's arms.

"Mother!" Zhou Kun cried out in fright.

The Empress Dowager, seemingly summoning courage from nowhere, embraced Jian Yang and her grandson like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

He shouted to the assassins, "If you want to kill, kill me first!"

"Mother!" "Royal Grandmother!"

Jian Yang and Zhou Kun spoke up in unison.

The assassin leader sneered, "What's the rush? None of you will escape today."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cold arrow suddenly pierced through the air and went straight through his throat.

His eyes were wide with terror, and he made a hissing sound before his body slumped to the ground with a thud, lifeless.

This sudden attack startled the other assassins.

The crowd no longer paid attention to the three women and children, but instead held their swords and looked around warily.

The next moment, a rain of arrows came from all directions, turning all the assassins into pincushions, but avoiding the three people in their encirclement.

At this moment, Jian Yang and the Empress Dowager closed their eyes and squatted on the ground, tightly protecting Zhou Kun in their arms.

Until a familiar voice rang out.

"Mother, Empress, I've come to fetch you."

Jian Yang and the Empress Dowager then released each other's arms and opened their eyes to look at the Emperor.

"My son!" The Empress Dowager's previous imposing manner vanished the moment she saw the Emperor, and she immediately threw herself at his side and burst into tears, disregarding all decorum.

The emperor patted her back reassuringly: "Mother, it is I who am late."

Jian Yang put her arm around Zhou Kun, and the two of them hugged each other tightly.

The Empress Dowager burst into tears, then wiped them away and waved her hand, saying, "Go quickly and see the Empress; she's injured."

The emperor grunted in acknowledgment and ordered his men to escort the Empress Dowager and Zhou Kun back to the palace first, while he himself took Jian Yang to the nearby abandoned City God Temple.

Jian Yang: "???"

Is this the proper attitude to have towards an injured person?

Is this emperor planning to kill her and dump her body in the wilderness?

Jian Yang became increasingly frightened as she thought about it, and she slowed down her pace, starting to think about which direction to run away in.

The emperor seemed to see through her thoughts and said gently, "Don't be afraid. Your sword wound needs to be checked first. If the blade is poisoned, it will be too late to treat it when we return to the palace."

Jian Yang was finally relieved.

Upon arriving at the City God Temple, the emperor carefully removed the clothes from Jian Yang's injured shoulder.

As he watched his fair, jade-like skin being marred by the gruesome sword wound, his gaze grew increasingly cold and unfathomable.

"Luckily it's not poisonous. I'll apply some wound medicine and bandage it up."

Jian Yang hadn't felt it before, but now she was in so much pain that she was convulsing and couldn't say anything. She could only nod haphazardly.

"Empress," the Emperor suddenly called out to her, "would you help me seize this empire?"