Chapter 188 Time to Enter the Bridal Chamber

Xie Qi watched helplessly as the man in black carried Jiang Zhi away from the East Palace, and it took all his strength to keep up and avoid being shaken off.

The man in black leaped and bounded, and Xie Qi watched helplessly as he entered a vast and luxuriously decorated courtyard before disappearing without a trace.

Xie Qi was extremely anxious.

He was already quite good at light-footed skills, but he never expected that the man in black, who was carrying a woman, could still escape his pursuit in the end. It was clear that the man's light-footed skills had reached the pinnacle.

However, none of the assassins who made their move in the Eastern Palace had such skill.

Xie Qi searched the courtyard briefly but found no clues. He only felt that the place was very familiar.

His expression suddenly changed as he realized that this was actually the residence of Prince Su!

Was it Xiao Chengjin who kidnapped Jiang Zhi?

Xie Qi was both angry and anxious, but when he turned around, he saw a familiar figure.

"Young Master Xie, has Madam Shen been found?" Lu Yuan lowered his voice, his eyes turning icy cold.

Xie Qi shook his head in frustration. "I disappeared after I followed them into the Prince Su's mansion. They must be hiding somewhere here."

Lu Yuan's breathing remained steady throughout his journey, but upon hearing that the person had not yet been found, his shoulder line tightened like iron, and the cold, hard scabbard made his palms ache.

He slightly bent his knuckles and placed them to his lips, letting out a sharp, long whistle that pierced the night sky.

A moment later, more than a dozen Imperial Guards silently knelt at his feet. "What are your orders, Boss?"

"Surround the Prince Su's residence. Even if you have to turn it upside down tonight, you have to find him."

"Yes, sir!"

The dozen or so Imperial Guards scattered like ghosts.

At this moment, Xie Qi also had a sullen face and used a signal to summon his personal guards.

"Go to the military camp and bring the Imperial Guards to surround the Prince Su's residence. I refuse to believe he can fly away from here with his men!"

There was no smile in Xie Qi's peach blossom eyes, only a chilling murderous intent.

Upon hearing this, the guard hesitated, "General, this is the Prince Su's residence. Without the Emperor's decree..."

Xie Qi coldly interrupted him, "If anything happens, I will take full responsibility. Why aren't you going?"

The guard gritted his teeth and had no choice but to obey.

The once quiet and peaceful Prince Su's mansion was instantly engulfed like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, with angry shouts and cries filling the entire courtyard.

*

The door creaked open, and Jiang Zhi turned her head. When she saw Xiao Xuanyou's handsome and noble face, which exuded elegance and majesty, she suddenly felt a sense of peace and tranquility.

She had many guesses when Xiao Xuanyou came in.

It might be Xiao Chengjin, who wanted to kill her, or it might be Xiao Yunheng, who wanted to kidnap her to threaten Xiao Xuanyou, but deep down she had a subconscious certainty that it was Xiao Xuanyou.

Now that her guess had been confirmed, she couldn't help but smile bitterly, staring at him and asking, "What does Your Highness mean by this?"

The door closed silently, and Xiao Xuanyou stepped in, picked up the wine pot on the table, and poured a cup for both of them.

With her jade-like fingers holding a crystal-clear wine glass, she offered it to her, her voice even carrying a gentle smile, "Today is my wedding day, I just wanted to invite you to have a drink."

"Really? Just drinking?"

Jiang Zhi tilted her head to look at him.

He was still wearing the red imperial robe he had worn at the banquet, with a jade belt cinching his waist to create a sharp silhouette. He had a high nose bridge and strikingly bright phoenix eyes.

Xiao Xuanyou smiled and sat down in front of her. "Today is our wedding day, so naturally we will drink the nuptial wine."

"A grand wedding?" Jiang Zhi sneered. "You are the Crown Prince, and your Crown Princess is Li Jinyan, the second daughter of Prime Minister Li. As for me, I am already married. My husband is Shen Ci'an, the top scholar of this year's imperial examination, who is now a reader in the Hanlin Academy."

Her eyes were full of mockery. "What kind of nuptial wine are you drinking?"

Xiao Xuanyou's eyes darkened. "Zhi'er, today is our wedding day. I won't hold your inappropriate words and actions against you. Look at this bridal chamber, and the wedding dress you're wearing. I carefully selected and arranged them all. Do you like them?"

"Your Highness, is there any point in deceiving yourself like this?" Jiang Zhi remained unmoved.

Xiao Xuanyou still had a smile on his lips, "If Zhi'er doesn't drink, I'll have to feed you like last time."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Jiang Zhi snatched the wine from his hand and drank it all in one gulp, so fast that there was no time to stop her.

It's all just a formality. Now that we're trapped, resisting will only make us suffer.

The best course of action is to go along with him first, lower his guard, and then find an opportunity to escape.

Xiao Xuanyou was very satisfied with her actions and finished his drink.

"Where are we?" Jiang Zhi asked, finding the surroundings unfamiliar and the outside pitch black, unable to discern her location.

Xiao Xuanyou didn't intend to hide it from her, "This is Qingfang Hall in the backyard of the East Palace."

Jiang Zhi was startled.

In her dazed state, she felt as if she had been taken a very far away, but unexpectedly, she ended up back in the Eastern Palace.

On second thought, it makes sense.

The Eastern Palace is heavily guarded, and Xiao Xuanyou is the only master here. Everyone depends on him for their livelihood, and there is no more suitable place than this.

I just don't know what he's planning to do.

"How is Lord Shen? Is he injured?" Jiang Zhi asked again.

In her last glance before being knocked unconscious, she saw Shen Ci'an with a long sword held to his neck, rushing towards her with anxious eyes.

When Jiang Zhi asked about Shen Ci'an, Xiao Xuanyou snorted coldly, but in the end he couldn't bear to make her worry, so he said coldly, "He's not dead, he's fine, he's lively and energetic. Everyone here is alright except for a few who suffered minor injuries."

Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, but there was still something that puzzled her: "I was kidnapped here by assassins. Could it be that these assassins were all arranged by His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Xiao Xuanyou looked at her with a smile, "Of course not, only the one who knocked you out is mine."

"You mean..." Jiang Zhi gasped.

How could he be so crazy?

Xiao Xuanyou casually toyed with the tassels on Jiang Zhixia's robe. "Since Xiao Chengjin wants my life so badly, I should give him a chance."

"Without my permission, how could these people possibly get close to the East Palace? And they even dared to attempt an assassination? How laughable." He scoffed.

His face was cold and stern under the candlelight of the dragon and phoenix candles, and his eyes held a calm and authoritative air, as if everything was under his control.

Jiang Zhi's eyes flickered.

So Xiao Xuanyou knew about Xiao Chengjin's plan in advance. Instead of stopping him, he deliberately led the assassins to the Crown Princess's investiture banquet and had his men kidnap him in the chaos.

"What is the purpose of all these plans, Your Highness?"

Xiao Xuanyou said slowly, "Of course, let tonight be our wedding night."

His gaze was fixed on her, with a suffocating intensity like that of someone scrutinizing prey. "Now that we've drunk the nuptial wine, it's time to go to the bridal chamber."