"Don't be afraid."
A deep, resonant voice rang in my ears.
It's Xie Jingyan!
The moment Shen Wan heard Xie Jingyan's voice, her heart, which had been terrified, calmed down.
No one has ever given her such a strong sense of security.
It seems that as long as he is there, there is nothing to fear even if the sky falls.
Xie Jingyan spun around with Shen Wan, dodging the incoming projectiles, but it wasn't over yet; more projectiles kept coming from the shadows.
The guards took down most of them, and as for those that were shot at them, Xie Jingyan and Shen Wan dodged them all without exception. Yin Shuang, the maid, had already been grabbed by the back of her collar and thrown into the pavilion by Chen Feng.
Yinshuang was just a maid, so the assassin wouldn't have the time to kill her. It was safer for her to stay in the pavilion.
Yinshuang hid behind the stone table, peeking out to watch, cursing inwardly. What had her princess done to deserve this? Why was she being threatened with death time and time again? Without the prince by her side, she probably wouldn't even be able to leave the house.
Xie Jingyan led Shen Wan to dodge several hidden weapons, but assassins hiding in the shadows suddenly appeared, their swords gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Perhaps having learned from their failed assassination attempt at the Lantern Festival, the assassins sent this time were far more skilled, their moves fierce and relentless, showing no sign of stopping until they had killed Shen Wan.
Xie Jingyan shielded Shen Wan with his body, but the assassins were coming for her. Xie Jingyan killed one after another, and Shen Wan had no choice but to retreat step by step.
The pavilion was built on the edge of a cliff. Shen Wan retreated again and again until she reached the edge of the cliff. A stone rolled down the cliff, and Shen Wan's heart sank to the bottom of the lake.
Shen Wan forced herself not to look at the cliff behind her, but watched Xie Jingyan fight the assassins. The two assassins attacked from both sides, and Xie Jingyan was fighting two against one, while also having to protect her. Even so, they managed to fight to a draw.
Just as Xie Jingyan slit the throat of one of the assassins with his sword, a pebble shot from the shadows and hit Shen Wan's ankle, causing her to stagger back two steps uncontrollably.
He stepped into thin air.
"ah!"
Shen Wan screamed in fright.
Xie Jingyan turned around upon hearing the sound and saw Shen Wan fall off the cliff.
His face turned deathly pale instantly. Without thinking, he leaped off the cliff after him.
Yinshuang nearly fainted when she saw this scene in the pavilion.
"princess!"
"Master!"
Yinshuang and Chen Feng spoke in unison.
The assassin was stunned, not expecting Xie Jingyan to jump off the cliff as well.
Enraged, Chen Feng and Chen Yu killed the two assassins with a single sword strike.
The assassin leader shouted, "Retreat!"
The mission is accomplished; there's no need to dwell on it any longer.
Chen Feng clenched his fists and shouted like a madman, "I want your lives!"
Several guards gave chase, sparing the lives of two more assassins, and together with their leader, three escaped.
Chen Feng turned and walked towards the edge of the cliff. He was walking too fast and almost couldn't stop when he reached the edge, and he fell off as well.
"Master!"
"princess!"
Chen Feng shouted loudly.
As for Shen Wan, she was knocked off a cliff by a hidden weapon. Just when she thought she was saying goodbye to Xie Jingyan forever, Xie Jingyan jumped down after her, grabbed her waist, and the two of them fell down together.
Shen Wan was both touched and angry, her eyes blurred with tears.
Vines grew on the cliff. Xie Jingyan held her waist with one hand and grabbed a vine with the other, sliding down for a while. His hands were rubbed raw and bleeding from the vines before he finally managed to steady himself.
Xie Jingyan looked down at Shen Wan and said, "It'll be alright, don't cry."
Shen Wan said with red eyes, "Who told you to jump down and save me?!"
Xie Jingyan chuckled, "We'll share the same bed in life and the same grave in death. Do you expect me to just watch you fall off a cliff and die?"
Shen Wan burst into tears, "I don't want you to die for me again..."
Again?
Xie Jingyan keenly caught the word.
Although he saved her several times, this was the only time he risked his life to save her. The other times he didn't pose a danger to his life, so how could he say he died for her?
Just as Xie Jingyan was pondering Shen Wan's words, the vines suddenly loosened, and they plummeted downwards, followed by several falling stones. With nowhere to hide, Xie Jingyan turned to shield Shen Wan in his arms, and a stone struck him squarely on the shoulder, causing him to groan in pain.
Hearing Xie Jingyan's muffled groan, Shen Wan said urgently, "Let me go quickly, the vines can't support the weight of both of us."
She had already died once, and she was content to have been able to live for a few more months. She could die, but Xie Jingyan could not. The lives of her father, her elder brother, and the entire Yun family were all tied to him. If anything happened to Xie Jingyan, regardless of whether the eldest prince or Xie Jingyin came to power in the end, they would take back the military power in her father's hands and the wealth of the Yun family.
Shen Wan was extremely anxious, but Xie Jingyan held her waist tightly, "Don't move!"
Shen Wan immediately dared not move again.
Xie Jingyan asked, "When have I ever died for you?"
What time is it now? Why are you still asking this question?
But Xie Jingyan's intuition told him that this was important.
His eyes were firm, with a look of wanting to get to the bottom of things, but Chen Wan's attention was entirely on his bloodied hands gripping the vines.
It seemed there was no escaping this calamity today. Shen Wan didn't want to leave with guilt towards Xie Jingyan. She choked back tears and said, "You died from being pierced by a thousand arrows while trying to save 'me'..."
Xie Jingyan gritted his teeth and said, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Shen Wan said, "I didn't know that the lotus jade pendant you always wear was a gift from me..."
Xie Jingyan was confused. "You didn't know about the jade pendant you gave me?"
Shen Wan said, "I didn't prepare a birthday gift for you. My older brother was afraid you would be disappointed, so he picked out a gift for you."
Xie Jingyan's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
The vines were being scraped by the rocks and could break at any moment. Shen Wan said urgently, "I am not worth you risking your life to save me again and again. Let me go."
But Xie Jingyan not only didn't let go of her, he hugged her even tighter. "You've played me like a puppet, and now you want to die?"
Xie Jingyan was so angry that his vision went black.
He believed Shen Wan's words that he had a sweetheart he would risk his life for, and for the past two months he had felt guilty for falling in love with someone else. But now she was telling him that the sweetheart he loved was her.
Xie Jingyan was so angry he wanted to strangle Shen Wan.
He tried his best to calm himself down, looked down, and then scanned his surroundings.
Finally, he loosened his grip on the vine slightly and quickly dropped down with Shen Wan.
Finally, they stepped onto a tree trunk growing on the cliff, using its elasticity to propel themselves upwards. Stepping on the rocks and vines on the cliff, they flew up the cliff with Shen Wan on their backs.
Even though her feet touched the ground, Shen Wan was still floating.
I can't believe it.
They're not dead?
They've come up?!
Shen Wan was overjoyed, but when she caught a glimpse of Xie Jingyan's dark face, she immediately regretted mentioning the jade pendant. She knew he would be angry if he found out, and sure enough, he was.
Feeling guilty, Shen Wan dared not look Xie Jingyan in the eye.
Xie Jingyan gritted his teeth and said, "If you hadn't fallen off the cliff, it seems you were planning to keep this from me for the rest of your life?!"
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