Zhao Zhi and Shen Hanshan originally intended to send Zhao Shouzhen to the princess's residence for treatment, but just as they were about to arrive at the princess's residence, Shen Hanshan suddenly changed his mind and decided to send him to the Zhao residence instead.
Zhao Zhi instantly realized—they had a tail behind them!
Startled, she knew she couldn't go directly to the princess's residence now, so she cried out "Ouch!" and pretended to twist her ankle. In that instant of looking down, she quickly pinpointed the location of the person hiding in the shadows who was following them, then swiftly leaped over, channeling her inner energy into the silver needle in her hand, and aimed and shot it in that direction.
The man clearly hadn't expected Zhao Zhi to suddenly attack, and the silver needle struck his Jianjing acupoint with perfect accuracy.
He groaned, his body stiffened, and then he collapsed to the ground. Zhao Zhi quickly stepped forward, ripped off the black veil covering his face, revealing an unfamiliar face.
"Who are you? Why are you following us?" Zhao Zhi's voice was icy cold, a glint of cold light flashing in her eyes. She stared at the man she had subdued, awaiting his answer. However, the man gritted his teeth and refused to speak.
Du Heng, who had arrived a step too late, strode forward, his gaze sharp as a knife as he stared at the man, and said coldly, "Won't talk? Then let me show you the interrogation methods of our Prince! Once you fall into our Prince's hands, you'll wish you were dead..."
A flicker of panic crossed the man's eyes, his lips pressed tightly together, as if he were still hesitating whether to confess. But in the end, fear overcame him, and his lips trembled slightly as he finally spoke: "I...I was entrusted by someone to monitor your movements."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhi frowned and continued to press, "Who entrusted you with this?"
The man hesitated for a moment, his face turning extremely pale, but he still refused to reveal who was behind it all. Just then, he suddenly closed his eyes and his body went limp.
Du Heng stepped forward for a closer examination and discovered that the man had died from poisoning.
Zhao Zhi and Du Heng exchanged a glance, both simultaneously suspecting that Li Liang was likely behind it all. After all, only he had the motive and ability to orchestrate such a thing.
Zhao Zhi didn't have time to think much, and quickly took two steps at a time to catch up with Shen Hanshan, who had already gone far away.
As the two men helped Zhao Shouzhen to the entrance of the Zhao residence, they were suddenly horrified to see a blood-soaked, gruesome figure lying at the gate. Zhao Zhi stared blankly at the stranger, while Shen Hanshan recognized him at a glance.
“Isn’t this Li Afu?” he said softly. He remembered that when Bai Wei and her entourage came to Chaoyang County with the Princess’s carriage, Li Afu had been taking care of the women along the way, and had won the appreciation of Bai Wei and Zhao Yun.
At this moment, Li Afu was breathing very weakly, as if he might die at any moment, clearly indicating that he was seriously injured. Du Heng quickly signaled to the two soldiers beside him, instructing them to carefully help Li Afu up and carry him into the courtyard.
At the same time, a loud cry came from Zhao Yun's room.
It turned out that after a night of hardship and a brush with death, Zhao Yun finally gave birth to a daughter.
Upon hearing the baby's cries, Zhao Shouzhen, who had been unconscious, slightly opened his eyes, mumbled something incoherently, and then fell unconscious again.
Inside the house, Bai Wei saw that Zhao Yun had safely given birth to the child, and her heart, which had been pounding all night, finally eased a little. She held Zhao Yun's hand tightly and said with heartache, "Yun'er, you've worked so hard."
Zhao Yun was exhausted after a long night and had no strength left to speak, but her eyes were full of joy and relief. Her gaze drifted towards the door, and tears unexpectedly fell.
“Miss, Madam has been delayed by some matters. There was a disturbance in the city last night, and it only calmed down this morning. I heard from Li Afu that Master took a long spear to support the guards at the city gate, and I don’t know if he has returned yet.”
Yu Ming looked at Zhao Yun and the child, her heart filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry.
"Quickly—go—to—see—" Zhao Yun shouted in a hoarse voice.
"Alright! This servant will go and find out the news right away." Yu Ming readily agreed, and jogged out of the house, lifting the curtain as she went.
To her surprise, as soon as she stepped out of the door, she saw a blood-soaked figure walk past her. Startled, she screamed "Ah!" and then, remembering that there were other people in the house, she hurriedly covered her mouth.
But it was too late.
Zhao Yun's heart leaped into her throat upon hearing Yu Ming's terrified scream. She exchanged a fearful glance with Bai Wei and pleaded weakly in a low voice, "Please, I'm in this state, I definitely can't escape. You must raise the child."
Bai Wei was much older than her, so she gestured for Bai Lian to go and see what was happening outside.
Bai Lian nodded in agreement, tiptoed out, and quickly returned. She whispered a few words in Bai Wei's ear, and Bai Wei waved her hand, signaling her to go out and help.
Zhao Yun looked at Bai Wei with suspicion, wanting to know what had happened outside.
Bai Wei suppressed her grief and calmly said, "It's just that Li Afu was injured. Yu Ming is just a young girl who has never seen fighting and killing before. It's understandable that she's a little scared after seeing blood. You've been working hard all night, so get some rest. Your father and mother have some things to take care of, and they'll come to see you when they're done."
Hearing Bai Wei say that, Zhao Yun felt a pang of sadness. In her parents' hearts, it seemed that she was always the one who was not valued.
On the other side, Zhao Zhi carefully examined Zhao Shouzhen's body. Fortunately, it was just fainting due to exhaustion. Although he had several superficial wounds, none of them were fatal, and with some careful recuperation, he would gradually recover.
Zhao Zhi sat by the bed, gazing at the unconscious Zhao Shouzhen, pondering to herself: Who exactly is manipulating all of this behind the scenes? She knew that this undercurrent of struggle had only just begun.
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