Seeing this, Zhou Jingzhi took Jian Yang's hand and walked out, with Jian Hong following closely behind, watching Wei Cong warily.
Jian Yang looked down at her hand that had been taken, her feelings somewhat complicated. She quietly pulled her hand away. Zhou Jingzhi's eyes darkened, and without saying a word, he lifted Jian Yang onto the horse.
"Take A-Yang with you." After saying that, he led the horse to Jian Hong and mounted another horse himself.
Jian Yang remained silent the whole way. She could feel Zhou Jingzhi's gaze on her, but since he didn't say anything, why should she presume to be affectionate?
On the other side, Wei Cong knew that if Zhou Jing'an found out that he had let Jian Yang go, he would not let it go. He hurriedly gave orders to the guards.
"If His Highness asks, we should say that we were no match for the assassins and they kidnapped the people. If His Highness finds out that we let them go on our own, everyone's life will be in danger."
The courtyard was in a mess, with corpses scattered on the ground and arrows everywhere. Wei Cong and a group of guards stood aside, their faces dejected.
When Zhou Jing'an rushed back, that was the scene that greeted him. He looked at the white powder on the ground and understood.
No wonder she was the woman he had his eye on; she had secretly made so many poisons without anyone knowing when, and had colluded with Zhou Jingzhi to completely deceive her.
"Useless! So many people couldn't even keep an eye on one woman! You all deserve to die!" Zhou Jing'an roared angrily.
"Your Highness, the newcomers are highly skilled in martial arts, and their guards are all top-notch experts. In addition, the Empress has obtained poison from who-knows-where. We are simply no match for them..." Wei Cong replied, bowing.
The newcomers were naturally highly skilled in martial arts; who else could they be but Zhou Jingzhi and Jian Hong? As for the secret guards, Zhou Jing'an had always known that the emperor had an elite force, but he hadn't expected that Jian Yang still held such a high position in his heart.
Zhou Jing'an sneered: "Can't beat them? Is it that you can't beat them, or that you don't want to?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Cong broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Your subordinate is guilty."
"Go after them!" Zhou Jing'an glanced at Wei Cong sideways. It seemed that he needed to give his subordinate a good talking-to. But right now, the most important thing was to bring Jian Yang back.
"I'll settle the score with you when I get back," Zhou Jing'an sneered.
Wei Cong hurriedly led his guards and chased after them.
Jian Yang was being protected by Jian Hong as they headed towards the outskirts of the city, with Zhou Jingzhi following closely behind. After some time, they arrived at a small courtyard.
From the outside, the courtyard looked no different from an ordinary farmhouse, except that something seemed to be hidden in the surrounding woods. Jian Yang knew that it was Zhou Jingzhi's secret guards.
Seeing that nothing seemed amiss, the three entered the courtyard and locked the door.
The room was rather simple, with only a table, chairs, and a bed. Jian Yang sat down, feeling quite tired after running all the way and outwitting the guards.
Seeing that she looked dejected, Jian Hong poured Jian Yang a glass of water.
Jian Yang paused for a moment and asked, "Brother, is there anything wrong with what we're doing? And what exactly is your plan? Is it just to rescue me?"
She had many questions, but Zhou Jingzhi wouldn't tell her anything, and Jian Yang didn't like this feeling of being kept in the dark.
Jian Hong looked at Zhou Jingzhi with some difficulty, but seeing that he still didn't say anything, he could only sigh and shake his head at Jian Yang.
Jian Yang was a little angry. If he was going to keep it from her, why not just keep it a secret? Why let her know about the plan but not say anything? Did he think she was so insignificant?
Thinking of this, Jian Yang stared wide-eyed at Zhou Jingzhi: "What's wrong with you?"
Zhou Jingzhi gave Jian Yang a deep look, said nothing, and then instructed Jian Hong, "Jian Jiangjun, please go and monitor Zhou Jing'an's movements, lest he find his way here."
Jian Hong nodded, glanced at Jian Yang and Zhou Jingzhi with a complicated expression, and then left.
The two of them were left alone in the room, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Jian Yang didn't know what to say, and Zhou Jingzhi remained silent as well.
Although she didn't want to admit it, Jian Yang had indeed been waiting for Zhou Jingzhi to explain to her why he married the new empress and why he came to save her.
But her dignity told her that she couldn't ask; she couldn't let others trample on her sincerity again and again.
Jian Yang was fiddling with the ribbons on her clothes when she suddenly noticed a dark red pool of blood on the ground. She quickly looked at Zhou Jingzhi's legs; his black robes were still soaked in blood.
No wonder Zhou Jingzhi looked pale; this man had been injured at some point.
"You're injured!" Jian Yang hurriedly grabbed Zhou Jingzhi.
"Quick! Lie down on the bed, I'll help you treat your wound." Before Zhou Jingzhi could answer, Jian Yang helped him to the bed.
Zhou Jingzhi leaned against the bed and looked at Jian Yang. He saw the worry and concern in Jian Yang's eyes and chuckled softly.
"What are you laughing at!" Jian Yang was annoyed by Zhou Jingzhi's attitude.
“Ah Yang still cares about me, and I’m happy about that,” Zhou Jingzhi said, looking steadily at Jian Yang.
"What kind of time is this to be joking around?" Jian Yang rolled her eyes, took the knife and slashed open Zhou Jingzhi's trouser leg, exposing the wound.
Jian Yang gasped. An arrow was embedded in the wound, and it seemed that Zhou Jingzhi had cut off the arrow's fletching himself. Blood was still oozing out from around it.
Jian Yang hurriedly opened the medicine bag she carried with her and found some wound medicine, but she didn't have any cotton cloth with her. Looking around, she saw that there was only a quilt on the bed, which wasn't very clean.
Jian Yang gritted her teeth and said to Zhou Jingzhi, "Turn your back to me."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingzhi obediently turned his head away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jian Yang unbutton his outer robe, tear off a piece of cotton cloth from his inner garment, and then close the robe again.
"Bear with it," Jian Yang said.
She reached out and grasped the broken arrow fletching, pulling it out little by little. Zhou Jingzhi remained silent, only letting out a muffled groan as he frowned, his face growing even paler.
After pulling out all the arrows, Jian Yang hurriedly sprinkled on some medicinal powder and wrapped it thickly with cotton cloth to stop the bleeding.
“Ayang, don’t worry, I will definitely get you to a safe place and never let you be implicated again,” Zhou Jingzhi suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yang couldn't help but sneer inwardly: "Unaffected? How can I be unaffected? Even if I could leave, would I abandon my brother? Zhou Jingzhi, do you have no heart?"
Jian Yang was really angry. She felt like she considered the other person as one of her own, but the other person just wanted to push her away.
Zhou Jingzhi took Jian Yang's hand and placed it on his chest, letting Jian Yang feel his strong heartbeat. He didn't say anything, just looked at Jian Yang with deep affection.
Jian Yang pulled her hand away. Since Zhou Jingzhi was determined to send her away, why should she make things difficult for herself and humiliate herself here? She really didn't understand what Zhou Jingzhi meant by his actions.
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