Chapter 168 A Stunning Appearance

The blade was pointed directly at Emperor Anqing. Things happened so fast that the royal guards hidden in the shadows didn't even have time to react.

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

Seeing the sword about to pierce the emperor's chest, Young Master Lanting steeled his heart and dodged it.

"Pfft—"

It was the sound of swords piercing flesh.

A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Lanting Gongzi's mouth, staining his veil red. Emperor Anqing stared at this scene in disbelief, his eyes filled with shock.

"Who are you……"

Emperor Anqing asked in confusion, but the next moment, he was pushed behind him by Young Master Lanting.

"Your Majesty, don't ask so many questions yet, quickly hide!"

Emperor Anqing was startled. He looked up and saw a man wielding a sword and stabbing at him.

Taking an unconventional approach.

Emperor Anqing snapped out of his daze and scrambled to the side.

Several men in black grappled with the late-arriving royal guards, the sound of clashing swords filling the entire banquet hall.

The people below panicked and fled at the sight. Su Xuanmao looked at the scene in surprise and thought to himself, "Oh no!"

"Father!"

The most urgent task is to protect my father.

But before he could get close, a sharp sword gleaming with a cold light appeared before him.

Forced to stop, Su Xuanmao stared in disbelief at the man in black before him.

"Who are you, and why did you attempt to assassinate me?"

Ye Lan looked at Su Xuanmao with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, without saying a word.

How ridiculous! Do you need a reason to kill someone?

Seeing that the man in black had revealed his blade without saying a word, Su Xuanmao knew that this person definitely wanted to kill him. Without further ado, he started fighting.

When Emperor Anqing saw the royal guards emerge, he frowned when his personal bodyguard arrived late before him.

Lanting Gongzi thought that the two men in black posed some threat to Emperor Anqing.

His expression instantly turned anxious, but he was wearing a veil, so his expression couldn't be seen. However, his long, narrow, and alluring phoenix eyes were slightly red, filled with worry and concern.

It softened Emperor Anqing's heart, which was as cold as iron, in an instant.

"Bring him along."

Emperor Anqing knew what the young man who had risked his life to save him was thinking, and gave orders to the two guards.

"Your subordinate obeys."

Young Master Lanting was stunned: "You, you mustn't come any closer! Although, although I'm just an ordinary martial arts practitioner..."

Emperor Anqing thought this was a young master from some family in Jiangnan, but he turned out to be just an ordinary person.

A sense of curiosity instantly arose in my heart.

When this young master risked his life to save him, the veil covering his face was slightly lifted by the wind, and he could even see the snow-white skin faintly visible underneath.

His skin is probably even more delicate than a woman's.

Emperor Anqing's eyes darkened slightly. When the guards led the two to a certain place, he saw that Young Master Lanting looked stunned and knew what he was thinking.

“Those were my personal guards, not assassins who tried to kill me.”

Young Master Lanting then came to his senses and shook his head somewhat awkwardly: "Your Majesty, this commoner thought he was an assassin."

Emperor Anqing noticed the wound in his chest: "You just took a sword for me."

"You are the Emperor. For a commoner to shield you from a sword is to sacrifice oneself for the sake of the nation. This is what I, a martial artist, should do!"

Beneath the veil, a faint smile seemed to twitch at the corners of his mouth, appearing and disappearing indistinctly.

Emperor Anqing's eyes were dark and unfathomable: "You took a sword for me because of this?"

The young master of Lanting had pale lips, and his chest had been treated with ointment. "Your Majesty, yes, it's because of this."

Emperor Anqing felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of disappointment.

"Take off your veil; you're covered in blood."

The Emperor spoke coldly.

"Oh, okay."

Lanting Gongzi didn't think much of it, wondering why the emperor was so delicate and afraid of blood.

The moment the veil was removed, a stunningly beautiful face appeared before my eyes.

What kind of face is this?

Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, her skin was as white as snow, making her look even more delicate than a woman. She had a pair of phoenix eyes with upturned corners, a straight nose, and her dark hair was slightly disheveled from the fight, which added to her beauty.

Emperor Anqing was stunned.

He had never seen such a stunning beauty...

Seeing Emperor Anqing's stunned expression, Young Master Lanting was even more shocked. Could it be that his face was also stained with blood?

He was about to speak when he walked toward Emperor Anqing, which aggravated the wound in his chest, causing him to gasp in pain.

Knowing that his reaction was completely unbecoming of an emperor, Emperor Anqing immediately reverted to his original state.

And he noticed the strange behavior of the Orchid Pavilion Prince.

Just as he was about to say something, the bodyguard who had just escorted the two to safety suddenly appeared.

"Your Majesty, the assassins have left. It seems their target was not Your Majesty's life."

Emperor Anqing's attention was instantly diverted.

"If their target isn't my life, then what is it?"

"Your Majesty, when I saw those men in black fighting His Highness the Crown Prince, it seemed that they were not using their full strength."

Emperor Anqing frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

"Your Majesty, I suspect that the assassins might be trying to rescue Minister Chen."

Emperor Anqing pondered, "This possibility is indeed very high."

Seeing their hesitant expressions, Emperor Anqing frowned: "If you have anything else to say, feel free to speak. I will not blame you."

These secret guards were loyal only to Emperor Anqing, who trusted them completely, since if he died, none of them would survive.

The guards looked at each other, and finally spoke up.

"Your Majesty, your subordinates believe that this matter may be related to His Highness the Crown Prince."

As they spoke, the guards took out a stack of blood-stained papers from their hands.

"What's this?"

"Your Majesty might as well take a look for yourself."

Emperor Anqing took the paper with a puzzled look. His eyes had barely swept over the first line when his expression turned so gloomy it seemed as if water was about to drip from his face.

"Where did this come from?"

The two guards didn't dare to breathe loudly, but they couldn't disobey the emperor's orders, so they spoke up:

"This fell off His Highness the Crown Prince. He was fighting with the assassins at the time and did not notice that this thing fell off his body."

Upon hearing that the body had fallen from Su Xuanmao, Emperor Anqing's eyes seemed to be filled with boundless rage.

"I want to ask him myself. By the way, have you investigated the matter I sent you to investigate?"

That day, Emperor Anqing felt that the matter of Chen Jian was not so simple, so he secretly went to reinvestigate the matter without telling anyone.

Sure enough, the matter was not so simple.

Chen Jian was not the only one involved in the smuggling of salt; another person was also involved.

He investigated the man and found that his identity was mysterious; the royal guards he ordered to be sent couldn't find anything out.