At the Empress Dowager's banquet, the palace was heavily guarded. Even Prince Ning only brought two guards with him, while Song Xizhi, though vigilant at all times, followed etiquette and only brought three guards at most.
At this moment, none of their guards were carrying any sharpened weapons.
So all the servants each pulled a hairpin from Song Xizhi's head and rushed out.
Swords have no eyes, and fists are no match for swords. Even the highly skilled Siqin and others seemed to be under a spell, their steps becoming increasingly unsteady and their bodies increasingly weak and powerless.
Prince Ning, who had traveled extensively and was skilled in martial arts, noticed the guard's unusual behavior, just like Song Xizhi, and his expression grew increasingly solemn.
He turned and glanced at Song Xizhi, then suddenly pulled the hairpin from Song Xizhi's hair, held it in his hand, and was about to rush outside.
"You stay here and don't move. I'll go out and call the soldiers."
In the pitch-black night, Prince Ning's face was already covered in a thin layer of sweat from anxiety, but his eyes shone with an unusual brightness.
Song Xizhi quickly grabbed his hand and shook his head at him: "Don't go."
The fact that such a loud fight is taking place in the Imperial Garden, yet no one has heard the commotion and rushed over, proves that the soldiers must have been sent away.
Thinking it over, Song Xizhi gritted his teeth and pulled hard with both hands, trying to pull him back.
But at that moment, Prince Ning groaned and fell heavily to the ground again.
The two guards roared, "Your Highness!"
Song Xizhi looked over in a panic and saw that his luxurious robes were stained with scarlet blood.
The Prince of Ning's guards tried to pounce on him, but the assassin seized the opportunity and thrust his sword straight at them, causing the guards to fall to the ground.
Song Xizhi suddenly lunged at Prince Ning, shielding him beneath his body.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw countless long swords gleaming coldly descending from the sky, as if they were about to pierce straight into her heart.
A desperate, mournful cry erupted in her ears: "Master..."
In a daze, Song Xizhi felt that the assassins' movements had slowed down, and his whole body was burning hot.
At that moment, she felt like she was really going to die there.
But in the blink of an eye, several more dark figures descended from the sky.
They wielded long sticks with sharp blades fixed to the tops. With a swift movement, they deflected the sword hanging over Song Xizhi's neck, and with a leaping kick, sent the sword-wielding assassin sprawling to the ground.
Song Xizhi's breathing stopped at that moment.
She stared in shock at the sudden arrival of another group of people. There were dozens of them, petite, agile, and with sharp moves, and they looked like women.
When they surrounded Song Xizhi, Prince Ning, and the wounded guards behind them, Song Xizhi realized that they were holding long sticks, and the tips of the sticks were made of hairpins.
The hairpin was tied to a long stick with red cloth, making the weapon look like a red-tasseled spear.
The women were swift and decisive, using minimal force to easily deflect the assassins' heavy swords to the ground.
After a complex and intense battle, most of the originally menacing assassins were killed or wounded.
The situation changed in an instant, and Song Xizhi finally regained his breath.
She looked up at the woman dressed in black who was protecting her, her voice trembling slightly in the darkness.
"May I ask your honorable name, my benefactor?"
Upon hearing this, the woman in black standing next to Song Xizhi slowly lowered the blood-stained red-tasseled spear in her hand, then turned her head and stared at Song Xizhi for a long time.
The blood from the hairpin flowed down the red cloth onto the wooden stick, and then onto the woman's fair hands.
Looking at the familiar eyes in front of him, Song Xizhi felt his heart pounding.
The woman in black slowly removed her veil, and amidst the sounds of clashing weapons, Song Xizhi saw an incredibly familiar face.
It was her...
It was Zeng Yaxian!
Song Xizhi's pupils dilated suddenly, staring at her face in disbelief: "Zeng Yaxian? How could it be you?"
Zeng Yaxian stood there for a long time, her throat choked with emotion, before she finally managed to reply, "It's me, it's me."
Her voice was trembling.
The sounds of fighting still lingered in their ears, but the agile women's every move was filled with killing intent, creating a vacuum around Zeng Yaxian and Song Xizhi.
Someone was trying to assassinate her, but Zeng Yaxian arrived with reinforcements and saved her life.
Song Xizhi stood there for a long time, clutching the hairpin tightly in his hand, wary and not uttering a single word.
Zeng Yaxian noticed the suspicion and wariness in Song Xizhi's eyes. She swallowed hard, glanced down at the already unconscious Prince Ning, and then spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I know, Song Xizhi, I know the whole truth..."
Song Xizhi pursed his lips: "What did you say?"
Zeng Yaxian closed her eyes, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She moved her lips and smiled, "Hei Yin, she died unjustly."
"Zhao Qingshu and Zhao Qianlan, that adulterous couple, took my parents' money and shamelessly committed adultery. Hei Yin was killed by them... When Hei Yin, clutching the incense from your shop, fell headfirst in front of me, I already knew the truth..."
One drop, two drops, large teardrops fell to the ground as Zeng Yaxian spoke, mixing with the blood.
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