Having resolved a major issue, Gu Yuzhi immediately jumped off the chair, hopping and skipping as he headed back to his room for a proper wash and freshen up.

It didn't matter if he was rough around the edges outside, but once he returned to his fiefdom, Gu Yuzhi reverted to being that pampered little prince.

However, the spoiled little prince quickly remembered Chief Secretary Xie's instructions, forcibly stopped jumping, and stood with his hands behind his back like a little adult, his back view looking quite cute.

None of the three spoke, but Gu Yuzhi went out and said excitedly, "I want to take a bath, quickly prepare water for me."

As soon as Gu Yuzhi finished speaking, the people outside stopped what they were doing and greeted him. Gu Yuzhi listened with a smile and occasionally chimed in with a few words.

Chief Secretary Xie listened with a smile for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "It's clearly just that the young prince has returned, but this place seems to have suddenly become much more vibrant."

The group exchanged glances, each seeing a glimmer of benefit in the other's eyes.

Although Imperial Physician Qin found no problems during the pulse diagnosis, and as Gu Yuzhi said, the young prince's body had become much stronger, the group still decided to return to Changzhou as soon as possible and have Granny Xu prepare some medicinal food to nourish the young prince.

After resting for two days in Xinliang, Gu Yuzhi led Huo Qiyuan, Xie Changshi, and a small number of guards toward Changzhou, with Chen Dianyi following behind them with reluctance.

He kept waving his hand until he could no longer see them, then Chen Dianyi let out a long sigh.

With Xie Changshi around for the past month, he had an incredibly easy time, but now, with Xie Changshi's departure, his good days are over.

Sitting in the carriage, hungry Gu Yuzhi had medicine on his hands and bandages wrapped around them. He looked at them over and over, muttering to himself, "Why do my hands look more like radishes now?"

It's white and plump, but it doesn't look very nice when torn open.

The others were both amused and exasperated. Xie Changshi whispered a few words of comfort, then pushed open the carriage window and glanced out: "The weather is a bit gloomy today, there might be a blizzard, we need to hurry to the inn."

Gu Yuzhi clapped his hands, then whispered, "I forgot I had medicine wrapped around my hand."

Instead of applause, my hands were sore from the shock.

Gu Yuzhi looked at his chubby hands over and over again, then suddenly chuckled. His strength had really increased a lot.

Seeing this, Judge Qin coughed lightly, and Gu Yuzhi quickly put his hand down, pursed his lips, looked left and right, his thoughts immediately drifting to the inn, and his expression instantly became cheerful again: "I want to order!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly, and he lost his balance and fell off with a thud.

Fortunately, he was sitting on a soft couch, so the bump didn't hurt him. He looked up, about to ask a question, when he heard Marshal Huo draw his steel sword with a whoosh and shout, "All troops on alert! Enemy attack!"

Gu Yuzhi's big eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly, turning his head to look for his little bow.

Chief Secretary Xie bent down and drew a soft sword from under the bed. With a stern expression, he stood in front of Gu Yuzhi and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, please stay in the carriage. The people outside cannot break in."

This carriage is specially made. It looks like wood on the outside, but the center is made of steel pillars. Ordinary knife tips cannot penetrate this carriage at all. Even if Qi Chenglang shoots an arrow with all his might, he can only deform the carriage.

But the next second, accompanied by the sound of arrows tearing through the air, several horses simultaneously let out painful neighs, and then the carriage began to rush forward wildly. Xie Changshi and Gu Yuzhi were thrown backward violently. Even though the soft couch was covered with thick mattresses, the two of them were still dazzled by the impact.

Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but gasp out, then quickly covered her mouth, looking at Xie Changshi with teary eyes, her body trembling slightly, her eyes filled with fear.

He seemed to understand the feeling Marshal Huo had described—the feeling of being terrified and helpless when he first went to the battlefield.

Despite having trained diligently, spending a month in the wild and even slaying a giant bear alongside Marshal Huo, Gu Yuzhi was still terrified when faced with these masked assassins. His hands and feet went weak, his whole body trembled involuntarily, and he even instinctively wanted to hide.

But he knew very well that he couldn't!

Gu Yuzhi's mouth was slightly open, and tears involuntarily fell down his face. He quickly wiped them away with his hands and held Xie Changshi tightly, the two of them trying to keep their balance.

Huo Qiyuan reacted swiftly, lightly touching the horse's back with his toes, leaping forward, and slashing straight down with his steel blade to sever the reins. Freed from their restraints, the injured horses galloped forward like madmen, quickly disappearing without a trace.

The carriage suddenly tilted forward, and the two of them, caught off guard, were thrown forward again. With a thud, he knelt straight down on the carriage, a sharp pain shooting through him, his little face scrunched up like a bun.

As the carriage landed, the crisp sounds of weapons clashing rang out outside, occasionally interspersed with muffled groans of someone being injured.

Despite it being a very serious moment, Gu Yuzhi still noticed something was off about Wen Shu and the other person. He suddenly couldn't hear them talking anymore; he could only see their mouths opening and closing, their figures flickering in and out of sight.

He called out silently twice, but Wen Shu and the other person still did not answer and quickly disappeared.

This was a situation he had never encountered before. Gu Yuzhi's body stiffened, and he felt a chill in his heart. The next moment, he was pulled up by Xie Changshi.

Chief Secretary Xie looked grim. Apart from the sounds of fighting, no conversation could be heard outside.

This is not right, this is really not right!

The attackers neither registered their names nor stated their demands; they attacked immediately upon meeting. This was no ordinary bandit; it was an assassination attempt specifically targeting the young prince!

Xie Changshi's heart jumped into his throat. He peeked out through the crack in the carriage window and saw that the carriage was surrounded by people. He roughly counted that there were at least a hundred people.

Because they had transferred almost all their guards to Jiangnan, or perhaps because they hadn't expected anyone to ambush the young prince, their group consisted of only about twenty people!

Twenty against a hundred – it was practically a one-sided massacre!

Xie Changshi closed his eyes slightly, his heart feeling as if it had sunk to the bottom of the sea, with almost no hope in sight.

The carriage has been traveling for about two hours since it set off. This place is in the middle of nowhere, so whether we send someone back to Xinliang for help or go to an inn, the journey is just as long and there is simply not enough time!

Xie Changshi's hand holding the soft sword trembled slightly. He turned to look at Gu Yuzhi and saw that Gu Yuzhi had wide eyes, a pale face, but a straight back, and was trying hard to control his trembling body.

Gu Yuzhi also saw it. Outside, there were densely packed people wearing black masks. Marshal Huo stood guard in front of the carriage. His figure was tall and mighty. His killing movements were clean and swift, like a god of war, which gradually calmed the impatient heart.