The speaker was the same burly man from earlier.
Jian Yang's legs trembled, but she still turned her head to glare at him and angrily rebuked, "Who's the little lady? I'm a real man! And what are you doing in the backyard of our inn at night instead of sleeping?"
The man chuckled softly, "I saw your baggage clearly in your room just now, so stop pretending."
Jian Yang was shocked and hurriedly tried to sprinkle the poison powder she had prepared, but the big man struck her pressure points and she was instantly unable to move.
Her face turned even paler than the moonlight.
"Don't worry, young lady. We brothers are just following orders and will never harm you. Just come with us obediently."
The man's voice was clearly breathless, indicating that the poison had not yet worn off.
Jian Yang could only silently pray that a bolt of lightning would strike down and kill these people, otherwise she dared not even think about what fate awaited her.
"I can give you the antidote," she tried to salvage her situation one last time, "if you let me go."
The burly man laughed loudly after hearing this, saying, "Someone will prepare the antidote for me. Young lady, you'd better behave yourself to avoid suffering."
Jian Yang pursed her lips and said nothing more.
Just as the burly man was about to pick her up, a silver arrow pierced through the air and pierced straight into his back.
He opened his eyes wide in terror, then collapsed to the ground with a look of despair, and then breathed his last.
His other accomplices were also terrified, their faces showing fear as they held up their weapons and watched their surroundings warily.
"Swish swish——"
Several more arrows shot out from all directions, and in an instant, all the men died from their arrows.
At the same moment, four men in black hiding on the rooftop used their light-footed skills to quickly fly to Jian Yang's side.
The leader of the group released Jian Yang's pressure points and said respectfully, "I am the deputy general of the General Who Guards the North, and I have led the elite guards here to protect you, young lady!"
So he was one of Jian Hong's men!
Jian Yang was overwhelmed with the excitement of seeing her biological father. All the fear she had felt earlier was released at this moment. She cried and said, "Waaah, if you had come any later, I would have been dead."
The guard said, "I'm sorry to have startled you, young lady. The general only learned this afternoon that you were being followed."
Jian Yang composed herself and asked, "Will you escort me all the way from here on out?"
She simply didn't have the courage to face the situation of being surrounded by six or seven burly men alone again.
The guard shook his head and said, "The general said that there have been many ambushes along the way. It would be best for you to return to the capital."
Jian Yang was surprised to find herself back in the capital so soon, and was both amused and exasperated.
This time, however, she did not return to the Prime Minister's residence, but was directly taken by the guards to Jian Hong's General's residence.
Jian Hong specially dispatched a large number of troops to protect her.
She arrived at the general's mansion on the afternoon of the second day.
Having traveled for two days and one night, Jian Yang had barely slept. So, as soon as she arrived at the General's Mansion, she ate something quickly, took a bath, and went straight to sleep.
She was still completely unconscious when Jian Hong came to visit her.
Jian Yang slept soundly until the third watch of the night.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw a man in black sitting by the bed.
She instinctively screamed, but the man in black quickly covered her mouth.
"Ayang, it's me."
The emperor's familiar voice came, calming her heart, which was about to become neurotic from fright.
"Why are you dressed like this, and why did you come at this hour?" Jian Yang asked with a hint of reproach.
Anyone would be unhappy to see a man in black when they first wake up.
At this moment, the lights inside the house had been turned on sometime earlier, while it was pitch black outside, so she judged that it must be late at night.
The emperor laughed and said, "I am being watched by too many eyes these days, so I can't come directly to the general's mansion. That's why I have to dress like this."
Jian Yang nodded, indicating her understanding.
She thought yesterday's meeting would be the last, but unexpectedly, they met a second time so soon. She suddenly found herself laughing at her sour feelings from yesterday.
Moreover, it would be a lie to say that the emperor was not moved that he risked leaving the palace in the middle of the night to see her.
The atmosphere was just too awkward, and she couldn't find anything to talk about with him, so they could only stare at each other.
"Are you injured?" the emperor asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Jian Yang shook her head: "No, my brother's guards arrived just in time."
"Then you should rest well. I will find a way to have someone escort you back to Qingquan Town in a few days."
For some reason, Jian Yang felt a little disappointed when she heard those words instead of a plea to stay.
She nodded, forcing a smile, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor was gone, but Jian Yang could no longer sleep.
The next day, Jian Hong went straight to Jian Yang's bedroom as soon as he woke up. After seeing that she was safe and sound, he was finally relieved.
"You stay in the General's Mansion and behave yourself. I'm going back to the Prime Minister's Mansion now to let my father know I'm safe. Remember, don't wander off," Jian Hong instructed incessantly.
Jian Yang said, both amused and exasperated, "Even if you begged me to leave, I wouldn't go!"
She was terrified because there were bad people outside.
Half an hour later, Jian Hong arrived at Prime Minister Jian's study.
"Father, A-Yang is safe and sound. I have settled her in the General's Mansion. You can rest assured."
Prime Minister Jian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. You must take good care of her. If it really comes down to it, keep her confined to her quarters for a while. That girl is really a handful!"
Just as Jian Hong was about to speak, he heard a "click" from outside the door.
"Who?!" He rushed to the door and saw Wang Shi looking at him with a bright smile.
"Hong'er is back," Madam Wang said with a smile, picking up the jade pendant that had accidentally fallen to the ground. "I heard you were here, so I came to ask if you would like to stay at the mansion for dinner before returning to the General's Mansion tonight?"
Jian Hong gave her a cold look and said in a deep voice, "No."
Wang said with a smile, "Alright then, I won't go and inform the kitchen. You two continue chatting, I'll go do my thing."
After saying this, Wang left in a hurry.
Jian Hong walked into the study with a sullen face. Prime Minister Jian had already heard the conversation between the two and his expression was not good either.
"Perhaps she was just passing by," Prime Minister Jian finally spoke up for Lady Wang. "Don't be too nervous."
Jian Hong frowned and said, "Father, please rest first. I'm going back to the General's Mansion."
After Jian Hong returned, Jian Yang noticed that he was sullen and asked him for a confession. She eventually learned from Jian Hong that Wang Shi had been eavesdropping outside the study.
Jian Yang was stunned for a moment, and a guess came to mind.
“Brother,” Jian Yang said with a furrowed brow, “I suddenly have some suspicions that the assassination attempt on me was carried out by the Wang family. Even if she didn’t hire someone to kill me, she at least leaked my whereabouts!”
Jian Hong looked at her and asked, "Why do you say that, A-Yang?"
Jian Yang said with a serious expression, "Because last time I said that I came from Qingquan Town, only you, Father, and Wang were present."
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