Chapter 424 The Oriole
Lin Changning looked around for a week but didn't see Li Mingxiu and the other two. He couldn't help but wonder. Everyone knew that there would be assassins at today's banquet. Surely it hadn't been dealt with yet after so long.
Lin Changning frowned, feeling somewhat worried. The women's side had more guards than this side, so she wasn't too concerned. Qi Rong and the others, who had arrived early, were busy eliminating the spies.
When the prince arrived, everyone had already been executed. Why haven't they returned yet? After exchanging pleasantries with the group, the prince noticed Lin Changning's worried expression and asked after drinking a few cups of wine, "What's wrong? Today is a joyous occasion for your family, why are you frowning?"
Lin Changning hesitated for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist salute to the prince: "When Your Highness arrived, the young master and the others had already sent back a message saying that the matter had been resolved, but even now, the people have not yet taken their seats, which makes me a little worried."
The King of Chu nodded: "Don't worry about me here. There are guards protecting me. Go and see what's going on with them."
As his own son, the Prince of Chu was naturally worried, but since he didn't say anything, Lin Changning naturally had to prioritize his son and stay by his side at all times.
Fortunately, he had a large number of men with him, and the small assassins posed no real threat, so he decided to send them away and see what was going on with the three children.
At this point, Qi Rong and his men were already engaged in a fierce battle.
Because they had received the information earlier, taking care of the assassins wasn't a big problem at first. It just so happened that they had just handed over the safety information to Lin Changning after dealing with the assassins.
Qi Rong noticed several maids acting suspiciously. This house was one that the princess had owned before her marriage, and it was part of her dowry. The maids working there were all veterans who had served her for many years.
After dealing with these people, they were going to help entertain guests at the banquet, but they unexpectedly ran into several female assassins.
The female assassins were well concealed and did not give themselves away at first. However, Li Mingxiu asked a question, asking where they were going.
The female assassin subconsciously replied that a perilla drink had been prepared at the banquet, which was ordered by the princess, and asked them to send it over.
No one in the Prince's Mansion drinks perilla tea, but it is quite popular in other places. There is no such thing in Taiyuan. As for the Prince's Mansion, Shu'er has suffered so much in the capital that she doesn't like to drink perilla tea at all. Hua'er loves cheese in the summer and would never drink such a thing. As for their mother, she usually only drinks tea.
Realizing something was wrong, Qi Rong frowned and stopped the group of maids. He picked up a cup of perilla drink, lifted the lid, and gently smelled it. Before he could discern anything, he saw a group of maids pull out daggers from under the tray and attack the three of them.
Because this place was too close to the courtyard, Qi Rong and the others ordered their guards to slowly drive the group of female assassins toward the edge of the Lin residence. Today was a joyous occasion for Changning, and none of the three wanted to ruin Changning's first grand banquet.
However, to their surprise, this group seemed to have come prepared. They even recognized several familiar maids among them, and immediately realized that something was amiss.
Many of the guards beside them were killed in the fight, and the three of them did not want to make a scene and ruin Lin Changning's banquet, so they could only grab their long swords and engage in a fierce battle.
As more and more assassins arrived, they almost filled the Lin family's small, vacant courtyard. Li Mingde gritted his teeth and said, "If this doesn't work, let's notify Changning to bring more men. The three of us have only brought this many men; we can't hold out for long."
Most of their bodyguards were sent to protect the two princesses and the queen, leaving only a dozen or so by their side, but the number of assassins gradually increased.
From the initial seven or eight female assassins, there are now more than a dozen more, and the three of them suddenly found themselves under pressure.
Qi Rong slashed down an assassin with one stroke and said somewhat disapprovingly, "We have to pass through the inner courtyard. If our people go through, it will inevitably alert my aunt and the others. If we hold out a little longer, Chang Ning will probably come looking for us when she sees that we are not at the banquet."
No sooner had he finished speaking than several guards appeared beside him. Lin Changning, carrying a knife, rushed in from one direction and quickly cut down a maid.
"Your Highness! Are you all alright?"
Li Mingxiu kicked away the maid who was stabbing him with a dagger: "If you had come any later, we would have been in trouble!!!"
Li Mingde dodged an assassin's attack by sidestepping to the side: "Where did this wave come from? Weren't these maids trained by the Princess? How come there wasn't a word of it beforehand?"
Lin Changning frowned and swiftly dealt with most of the assassins for the three of them. After the guards behind him dealt with the group of maids, they clasped their hands in a fist salute to the three of them.
"Your subordinate is late!"
Qi Rong looked unwell. He had just been slashed on the arm by an assassin. He was the one who first checked the perilla drink, and he was close by at the time. The maid was trained, so he couldn't dodge the slash.
Blood is now slowly seeping from my arm.
These people were still unaware of their origins, and they were all puzzled for a moment. How could the people trained by the princess be assassins? They were all completely baffled.
Look at this maid on the ground, who was injured by Lin Changning and is unable to move, but still has a breath left.
Li Mingxiu glanced at his bodyguards: "Take these people back and investigate their backgrounds thoroughly."
Lin Changning looked rather unwell. He never expected that someone would pull a trick like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, at his family's banquet. He frowned and pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.
When she saw blood slowly seeping from Qi Rong's arm, she became a little nervous: "Second Brother, is your arm injured? Let me see."
As she spoke, she tugged at Qi Rong's sleeve, preparing to check Qi Rong's injuries.
Qi Rong shook his head: "It's nothing, just a minor injury. The Prince can't be left alone. You're the host today, so it's not appropriate for you to stay away from the banquet for too long. Go back now."
Lin Changning glanced at the guard beside him: "Take the young master to my room and call Shilang to take a look at him."
Qi Rong shook his head: "No need, you and the others go back to your seats first, I'll go find some clothes to change."
Then he looked at Li Mingxiu and Li Mingde and said, "Uncle has arrived. We can't stay here for too long. You two go first. I'll change my clothes and then I'll be there."
Li Mingde frowned: "Changning, take Mingxiu first. I'll help the second son change his clothes and get bandaged up before we go. Today you are the host, so it's not appropriate for you to be away from the banquet for too long. Mingxiu, your father has also arrived, so it's not appropriate for you to be away for too long either."
After saying that, he looked at the two of them.
Changning glanced at Qi Rong with some concern, nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go over first, but it would be best if you checked on Second Brother's injury."
Qi Rong smiled at Lin Changning: "It's nothing, just a minor injury. Xiao Liu, you go ahead, I'll be there soon."
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