Chapter 546 Ashu, I'm Back
Li Mingshu chuckled as she looked at Ji Chang'an sitting on his warhorse: "If Yue'er is a lowly child, then what are you?"
Ji Chang'an snorted coldly, a hint of bloodthirsty excitement flashing in his eyes as he turned to look at Chang Zhiyuan: "This pretty boy is your lover, right? He's not much to look at."
Li Mingshu looked at her daughter, Yue'er, who was slowly shrinking back behind her, and patted her head comfortingly: "Your eyes are dirty, everything you see is dirty. That's right, not only are your eyes dirty, but your heart is dirty too."
Ji Chang'an cursed sharply, then slowly rode his horse up to Li Mingshu. He then slapped Li Mingshu hard across the face: "If you weren't useful, I would have torn you and this bastard to pieces today!!!"
Li Mingshu was slapped to the ground, her ears rang, and her vision went black again. She lay on the ground motionless for a long time.
Yue'er, clinging to Li Mingshu's arm, suddenly screamed, "Mother! Mother! Are you alright? Mother?"
Seeing her mother being beaten, Yue'er was like an enraged little beast. She suddenly pounced on Ji Chang'an, who was sitting on his warhorse, and used all her strength to pound on Ji Chang'an's legs, but was kicked to the ground by Ji Chang'an.
Yue'er clutched her chest and coughed a few times. Chang Zhiyuan's expression changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward to protect Yue'er in his arms, staring at Ji Chang'an with a cold look in his eyes.
Li Mingshu sat on the ground to catch her breath, slowly moving one hand toward the repeating crossbow in her sleeve. When her vision cleared a bit, she suddenly looked up at Ji Chang'an, who was not far from her.
He raised his hand and pulled the trigger, and a crossbow shot swiftly toward the unsuspecting Ji Chang'an.
Ji Chang'an felt a numbness in his chest near his heart, followed by excruciating pain. He only realized what was happening when he saw the exquisite crossbow in Li Mingshu's hand.
Clutching his chest as he watched the crossbow pierce through him, he suddenly flew into a rage and lashed his whip fiercely at Li Mingshu.
Holding Yue'er, Chang Zhiyuan suddenly lunged at Li Mingshu, using his not-so-broad back to shield her from the horsewhip.
Ji Chang'an lashed the whip five or six times, but still felt unsatisfied, so he used all his strength to lash it out a dozen more times.
Chang Zhiyuan's back was quickly left a bloody mess. Li Mingshu stared wide-eyed at Chang Zhiyuan's forehead, which was slowly beading with cold sweat, and her face gradually turned pale as she trembled and asked, "Brother?"
Chang Zhiyuan lowered his head and shielded the mother and daughter beneath him tightly: "I'm fine. You are Aning's wife. I will protect you."
The sight of Chang Zhiyuan protecting Li Mingshu somehow stung Ji Chang'an, who became enraged once more. This time, he raised his long knife high, ready to stab downwards: "Adulterers, adulterers!!! You deserve to die, you all deserve to die!"
The sharp tip of the knife was aimed directly at Chang Zhiyuan's back, ready to stab straight down in the next instant.
Li Mingshu stared at the sharp glint of the blade, her face drained of all color: "No!!!"
At the critical moment, an arrow swiftly flew over the crowd, whistling through the air, and hurtled towards Ji Chang'an.
The arrow's force carried Ji Chang'an straight off his horse, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. Due to inertia, he even rolled twice on the ground before coming to a stop.
Ji Chang'an stared in disbelief at the arrow that had pierced his heart and chest.
He tried to stand up, touching the wound on his chest. After straightening up, he swayed a couple of times, his eyes wide with resentment, and then he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The guards and cavalrymen beside him were caught off guard by the sudden turn of events. One of them dismounted and checked Ji Chang'an's breathing, only to find that he was already dead.
"The prince is dead!"
"The Crown Prince is dead!!!"
The group suddenly fell into chaos, and the next moment they were killed by Lin Changning, who led his troops to charge up.
Lin Changning slashed down the cavalry surrounding Li Mingshu and his men with a single stroke, then coldly ordered those around him, "Leave no one alive!!"
He then quickly dismounted, wiped the blood from his face, helped Chang Zhiyuan up, and looked at Yue'er and Li Mingshu, who were being protected by Chang Zhiyuan.
"Ah Shu, I'm back!"
A bright red handprint had not yet faded from Li Mingshu's face, and she looked somewhat dazed, as if she couldn't believe it or was not sure.
The next moment, she fell into a warm embrace filled with the scent of blood and magnolia blossoms.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm back, I'm back, Shu."
Yue'er reacted faster than Li Mingshu, grabbing Lin Changning's clothes and bursting into tears: "Daddy, Daddy!! Yue'er is scared, Yue'er is scared!"
The daughter's crying woke her up. Still stunned, Li Mingshu hurriedly stepped out of Lin Changning's arms. When she tried to hug her daughter to comfort her, she saw Lin Changning bend down and hug Yue'er into his arms, gently coaxing her.
"Don't be afraid, Yue'er. Father is back, back to support you."
Li Mingshu seemed to suddenly find an outlet for her emotions. Looking at Lin Changning's face, which was covered in dried blood and looked travel-worn and somewhat haggard, tears welled up in her eyes as well: "Xiao Liu, you're back? What, you're only just getting back..."
Li Mingshu's hands trembled as she traced Lin Changning's eyebrows and eyes. Her tone was tinged with grievance, and the confusion and unease she had felt for many days seemed to disappear suddenly when she saw Lin Changning.
All that's left is feeling wronged.
Large tears slid down Li Mingshu's cheeks. Lin Changning used his blood-stained hands to wipe away the tears, but the dried dark red blood on his hands smeared onto Li Mingshu's face. The more he wiped, the dirtier it became, and Lin Changning became increasingly flustered.
Finally, he could only helplessly hug the mother and daughter together and sigh softly.
"It's alright, it's alright."
Li Mingshu's emotions fluctuated repeatedly. After smelling the magnolia scent mixed with the blood on Lin Changning's body, she suddenly felt her vision go black in waves, and her body went limp and she collapsed.
"Ah Shu!"
Lin Changning put one arm around Li Mingshu's waist, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately put down Yue'er and picked up Li Mingshu, who was limp in his arms.
"Medical officer! Medical officer!! Where's the medical officer?!"
"Mother? Mother?"
Lin Changning's face was filled with worry. Looking at the limp body in her arms, she felt a sudden pang of fear. Chang Zhiyuan, however, seemed to have thought of something: "The Prince's Mansion!! Back to the Prince's Mansion! Physician Liu and the others are hiding there. Aning, come with me!"
As Chang Zhiyuan spoke, he endured the excruciating pain in his back and got into the carriage, whereupon Lin Changning carried Li Mingshu up.
Lin Changning glanced at the bright red stain behind Chang Zhiyuan, pursed his lips, nodded, and quickly put Li Mingshu into the carriage before carrying Yue'er in with him.
After climbing into the carriage, she noticed the wound on Chang Zhiyuan's back, her expression turning grim. Lifting the curtain, she saw her personal guards behind her, her phoenix eyes narrowing, a hint of murderous intent in them, and she gave the order:
"Pass on my order: once the army enters the city, any rebels captured must be killed without exception! Anyone surnamed Ji must be executed by dismemberment and their head displayed at the city gate!!!"
"Yes, sir!"
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