Chapter 436 Qiao Jingyuan's Death
The Crown Prince's Residence.
"Your Highness, the Marquis of Pingyan's residence has sent men to ambush Lady Qinghe on her way."
Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes and ordered in a deep voice, "You personally lead a group to escort them for a while. Make sure Lady Qinghe arrives at the border safely."
"Yes." The guard acknowledged the order and was about to leave.
But Xia Linyuan continued, "And while we're at it, let's give the Marquis of Pingyan a hand."
The guard was puzzled.
Then Xia Linyuan said in a cold tone, "Don't let Qiao Jingyuan go back alive."
The Great Evolution spies must be killed without exception!
***
Min Qiao and her entourage were naturally unaware of the actions taken by the Marquis of Pingyan's residence and the Crown Prince's residence.
They traveled light and with only Min Qiaoshi, Wei Jia, Huan Zhen, Lao Qiao, and the Qiao Jingyuan brothers.
In order to reach the border as soon as possible, the group traveled day and night.
Fortunately, the carriage was specially made and had a large enough interior space.
Min Qiaoshi was able to lie down and rest in the carriage. After Min Qiaoshi had rested enough, Wei Jia and Zhen Huan were able to take turns sleeping.
The hardship was for Lao Qiao and Qiao Jingyuan, who not only had to take turns driving the vehicle but also had to be constantly vigilant about their surroundings to avoid encountering bandits.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful.
They passed through the checkpoints smoothly thanks to the Crown Prince's token given to them by Xia Linyuan.
Yes, Min Qiao's dragon-patterned jade pendant not only saved Qiao Jingyuan's life, but also earned him a pass to the Crown Prince's residence.
Because they traveled at a rapid pace, they had covered more than half the distance in seven days. In two more days, they would reach the border.
But at that moment, they were assassinated.
It was a night when visibility was poor.
As the carriage passed through a grove of trees, Qiao Jingyuan, the driver, suddenly heard the sound of wind breaking.
"Thud thud thud..." Several sounds rang out as darts struck the carriage.
Qiao Jingyuan realized that they had been assassinated.
Fearing that the horses might be startled, causing the carriage to overturn and injuring Min Qiao Shi, Qiao Jingyuan decisively stopped the carriage, untied the reins, and prepared for battle.
Soon, countless darts and arrows rained down on the carriage.
Unfortunately, the carriages were specially built. In addition to comfort, safety was also taken into consideration during their construction.
The carriage walls were divided into three layers, all made of solid wood, making it look no different from an ordinary horse-drawn carriage. However, a thin layer of iron sheet had been added to the unseen middle section.
Neither darts nor arrows could penetrate this layer.
Therefore, no matter how many darts or arrows were thrown, they could not harm Min Qiaoshi in the slightest.
Perhaps realizing that ranged attacks were useless, the assassins charged forward again with their swords and knives.
Old Qiao and Qiao Jingyuan stood guard beside the carriage, fighting desperately against the assassins who rushed up.
Inside the carriage, Madam Min, who had been sleeping, woke up the moment the carriage stopped.
Wei Jia and Zhen Huan stood firmly in front of and behind Min Qiao Shi, protecting her tightly.
"Was this an assassination attempt?"
Hearing the sounds of clashing swords and the shouts of assassins outside the carriage, Min Qiaoshi felt her heart pounding.
"Don't be afraid, Madam, I will protect you!" He actually pulled out a dagger, gripped it tightly in his hand, and stared intently at the car door.
Once the two people outside the car are captured, the assassin will inevitably have to break in through the car door.
Because of the special structure of the carriages, apart from the doors, no other part of the carriages can be breached.
Therefore, all she needs to do is guard the car door.
Wei Jia gripped Min Qiao's hand tightly, her voice trembling as she reassured her, "The carriage was specially made; the assassins can't hurt us."
Sensing Wei Jia's panic, Min Qiao grasped her hand and said firmly, "Yes, they can't break through. Old Qiao and Jing Yuan are both top-notch experts; they will definitely be able to deal with those assassins!"
The atmosphere inside the carriage was tense.
The battle outside the carriage was fierce.
The assassins came fiercely, wave after wave, rushing straight towards the carriage.
After killing more than a dozen people, Lao Qiao and Qiao Jingyuan gradually sustained injuries.
These assassins are planning to kill them with a mountain of lives!
After another cup of tea's time, the two of them killed five or six more people in succession.
But the assassins seemed endless, their attacks unabated.
Old Qiao and Qiao Jingyuan were exhausted, and now they were only able to keep swinging their long swords by a strong will to survive.
Just then, a hidden arrow flew in from nowhere and instantly pierced Qiao Jingyuan's forehead.
Qiao Jingyuan's eyes widened, and he died on the spot.
After the old woodcutter finished off his opponent, he turned around and saw Qiao Jingyuan fall straight down with an arrow between his eyebrows.
"Big Brother!!!" The old woodcutter was almost driven mad.
He frantically approached Qiao Jingyuan, only to be forced back by the assassins who surrounded him.
They left him with scar after scar, but that couldn't stop him from getting closer to Qiao Jingyuan.
Until a knife was plunged into his body.
That's good too; with him and his older brother by his side, his older brother won't be lonely.
Seeing the knives aimed at him, the old woodcutter closed his eyes with a smile on his lips.
But just then, a hail of arrows struck, and the assassins were killed one after another.
The assassins who were about to kill the old woodcutter also fell to the ground, staggering. Two of them even fell on top of the old woodcutter.
Soon, all the dozens of assassins fell to the ground.
As the rain of arrows ceased, a squad of armored soldiers appeared.
As the soldiers commanded their men to search for survivors, the commander dismounted, walked to the carriage, and said respectfully, "Lady Qinghe has been frightened. I am a guard sent by His Highness the Crown Prince to escort you."
He actually turned around and looked at Madam Min.
Min Qiao nodded, and then slowly opened the car door, glancing warily at the situation outside. She saw that all the black-clad, masked assassins were dead, and the few who were still alive had been taken into custody by the soldiers.
Only then did they make way for the car door and help Min Qiaoshi out of the car.
Wei Jia followed behind and got off the car.
"Your Highness, thank you for your trouble. And thank you, General, for saving my life."
After a polite remark, Madam Min Qiao began anxiously searching for the two Qiao brothers. "General, have you seen my two guards?"
The general shook his head awkwardly, "I'm a step too late. I'm afraid the lady's two guards..."
Just then, Wei Jia saw Qiao Jingyuan dead in the pile of corpses.
"Jing Yuan!!!"
Wei Jia rushed over and pulled the person out from the pile of assassins' corpses.
"Jingyuan? Qiao Jingyuan? Wake up! Qiao Jingyuan! Come back to life! I beg you to come back to life!..."
At this moment, Wei Jia was heartbroken.
It was only at this moment that she clearly realized that she truly loved Qiao Jingyuan!
In the past, she always plotted to kill him, and felt that she didn't care about his life or death. She even secretly believed that using his life to protect the old lady's safety was the true way to make the most of him and to die a worthy death.
But now, he is really dead.
But she regretted it.
She regretted how she treated him.
She also regretted not cherishing the days she spent with him.
Min Qiaoshi also walked over with Zhen Huan's help.
When Min Qiaoshi saw Qiao Jingyuan, who was dead with an arrow stuck in his forehead, she felt a pang of sadness.
But what about the old woodcutter?
Qiao Jingyuan is dead. Could Old Qiao be dead too?
"Old Woodcutter? Where is the old woodcutter? It really is him! Quickly, help me find him!"
In a panic, Min Qiao urged Zhen Huan on while she herself stumbled around searching.
Just when Madam Min had given up hope, a faint call came from the pile of corpses not far away: "Aunt!"
Min Qiaoshi couldn't hear clearly and was still looking around blankly, searching for the source of the sound.
But he was already excitedly rushing over to dig up the corpse.
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