Chaotic clouds surged and churned, and the moonlight appeared and disappeared intermittently.

Fifty miles outside of Kyoto, Ye Qingxue could see the Lock Dragon Dock across the lake.

Suolongwu is located on an isolated island in the middle of the lake, surrounded by reefs, and accessible only by a hidden waterway.

Suolongwu is backed by Panlong Ridge, with steep cliffs. If one wanted to avoid the sight of the Xuan King and his wife and go around the cliffs, it would be impossible.

The lake is shrouded in mist year-round, making it a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The fact that the Xuan King and his wife chose to hide Xiao Bao here and then lure her or Yun Zhuo here clearly meant that they would never return.

The wind rustled, creating ripples on the lake's surface, and the boats tied to the shore rocked violently.

Dong Bai led several guards forward, untied the ropes, picked up the oars, straightened the bow of the boat, and then invited Ye Qingxue to board.

Ye Qingxue gazed intently at the direction of Suolongwu, noticing the flickering lights above, then gripped the whip at her waist and stepped onto the boat.

Behind her, there were many other people who also boarded the boat. The small boat was packed full, leaving no extra space.

After the ship set sail, the guards took out their shields and covered every gap, ready to guard against any arrows that might fly in.

"Princess Xuan, the Crown Princess's ship is approaching!" Her personal maid, Yunxiang'er, reported. "Just as we gathered earlier, she is accompanied by twenty people. However, there are another hundred people lurking in the shadows, who haven't boarded the ship yet. They will probably only reveal themselves when the Crown Princess gives them a signal!"

Standing on the massive reef, Ji Mingwei could see the firelight slowly approaching on the water. The light appeared incredibly weak in the mist. But because the night was so dark and there was no one around, the firelight was extremely easy to spot.

Ji Mingwei surveyed the archers around her and, without hesitation, gave the order: "Fire!"

The purpose of capturing Xiaobao was to lure Ye Qingxue over. Now that Ye Qingxue had already rowed over, her first priority was naturally to shoot Ye Qingxue!

Arrows rained down on the small boat, but were deflected by the shields the guards had prepared beforehand, and the arrows fell into the water with a splash.

However, a few arrows did pierce the wooden boat, making a dense and lively sound. In a short time, the wooden boat was covered in arrows, like a hedgehog.

The guards responsible for rowing the boat had to hide behind their shields and were temporarily unable to row, so the boat drifted on the lake.

However, it was not far from the shore of Lock Dragon Dock.

However, the arrows showed no sign of stopping. Archers stood densely packed on the Dragon Lock Dock, as if they would not stop until they had riddled the ship with holes and killed everyone on board.

Dong Bai angrily said to Ye Qingxue, "The Xuan Prince and his wife are utterly untrustworthy. They kidnapped the eldest grandson of the emperor, demanding that you and the crown prince come here, but then they killed them on the way!"

Ji Mingwei stood on the shore, and after a while, she heard Dong Bai's voice: "Ji Mingwei, you wicked woman! Since you used the eldest grandson of the emperor to coerce our Crown Princess to come here, at least let our Crown Princess see the eldest grandson of the emperor before you talk! You killed him halfway, which is really a despicable act. How can someone like you ever think of becoming the empress? You will probably become a laughing stock of the world!"

Dong Bai used his internal energy, which is why his voice was able to penetrate the rain of arrows and reach her ears clearly.

Ji Mingwei's eyes darkened slightly, and anger flashed in them, but she didn't care. Killing Ye Qingxue was more important than anything else!

Xiao Bao ran out of the Crown Prince's residence, appeared in front of them, and was captured by them; this was their biggest bargaining chip.

Even if Ye Qingxue goes to Lock Dragon Dock, she will still die. Since she is going to die anyway, what difference does it make where she dies?

Ji Mingwei didn't want to waste time or give Ye Qingxue any chance of survival; killing her directly when possible was her style!

What if Ye Qingxue and Yun Zhuo care about the child, but care about the country even more? Then it's very possible that Ye Qingxue's visit to Suolongwu is just a pretense, and that she actually intends to perish together with her. Wouldn't she be at a huge loss?

"Ignore what they say! Fire!" Ji Mingwei said in a deep voice, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. The arrows flew faster and more densely.

She believed that it wouldn't be long before the ship became riddled with holes, and Ye Qingxue would surely die!

But at that moment, a desperate scream came from inside the small cabin, "Weiwei, don't shoot arrows! Your cousins ​​and I are all here! If you shoot arrows again, we're going to die!"

Was that her aunt's voice? Ji Mingwei trembled. At first, she thought she had misheard, but then her cousin's voice came through.

"Cousin, it's me, Miaomiao!"

"Cousin, please don't kill us! We've grown up with you since we were little, cousin!"

Ji Mingwei pursed her lips. The sound of the arrow was too loud, and she couldn't clearly tell whether it was the voice of Madam Wan and her two children!

However, she did not immediately order the archers to stop. She held onto a sliver of hope: if she could hold out a little longer, Ye Qingxue's ship and the shields in the hands of those guards would not be able to withstand the attack. At that time, it would be easy to kill Ye Qingxue with an arrow. As for the lives of Madam Wan and her two children, it would depend on whether they were lucky enough!

If they were shot to death along with Ye Qingxue, it would just be their bad luck, and she could only reluctantly prepare coffins for them!

However, Dongbai's voice came again: "Ji Mingwei, you have lived in the Marquis's mansion for seven or eight years, and your aunt has always taken care of you! Your cousins ​​have grown up with you, and now they are on the boat. Are you going to shoot your aunt, who treats you like her own daughter, to death? Are you going to kill your cousins, who treat you like their own sister?!"

Ji Mingwei gritted her teeth. If Dong Bai hadn't shouted these words out with his inner strength so that all of her men could hear them, she could have easily pretended not to hear Madam Wan and the others' shouts!

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