Chapter 20 What happened between you and him?
Seventeen sat outside, clutching his sword, while the groom steered the horse at breakneck speed toward Jiangnan.
Based on the current pace, it will probably take more than a month.
The carriage swayed and bumped along rather unevenly, perhaps because the roads outside the city were not as smooth as those inside Yejing.
Unconsciously, Seventeen's thoughts drifted away with the sound of horses' hooves.
I don't know what I'll encounter on my journey to Jiangnan, or when I'll be able to return.
Although he was unwilling, he knew that His Majesty's decisions must have some merit, but he didn't know how he could help.
As he shook the sword, Seventeen's ears perked up. He gripped his longsword tightly without flinching and listened intently to discern the sound.
He then got up and climbed into the carriage. Long Zhaoming was leisurely sitting inside reading a storybook. When he saw Seventeen come in, he immediately turned the storybook upside down on the couch.
Seventeen didn't notice his somewhat guilty expression, and frowned, saying seriously, "Your Highness, someone is following us."
Long Zhaoming raised an eyebrow, just about to speak, when he saw the curtain beside him being pulled open, and a figure flashed in.
With a "whoosh," the longsword was drawn and attacked the dark figure with swift speed, but was suppressed by a faint fragrance as it approached.
The dark figure raised its sword and forcefully blocked the blow.
Long Zhaoming stood there stunned. He wasn't very skilled in martial arts, and he was quite taken aback.
"Brother Yue?"
What shadow? It's clearly the bright moon.
The other person, dressed in black, put the sword back on his side and bowed to Long Zhaoming: "Your Highness, His Majesty has sent me and Seventeen to Jiangnan."
His Majesty had indeed said he would send two people... but he hadn't mentioned it again since, so he thought it was just a casual remark.
Long Zhaoming sat in his seat, his throat tightening. He stared at Mingyue for a long, long time, so long that Seventeen began to worry. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted.
"You, you're really something!"
Mingyue stood calmly in front of Long Zhaoming, accepting the baptism of Long Zhaoming's gaze, and did not forget to pull Seventeen behind her.
"Your Majesty is truly considerate of his younger brother."
For some reason, Seventeen felt that the King of Huainan's tone was a bit strange. He looked at Mingyue and then at the King of Huainan, but he didn't seem to notice anything unusual.
"Your Highness, someone is following us."
Mingyue spoke calmly, and Seventeen was taken aback. He listened intently for a moment and realized that someone was indeed following him. He had thought it was Mingyue, but now that he thought about it, with Brother Yue's skills, he would never let himself be discovered.
Long Zhaoming frowned as well: "There really is someone following us?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a whooshing sound came from the air. Seventeen's expression changed, and he took a few steps forward to pull Long Zhaoming to the side. What followed was a sharp arrow breaking through the door.
The horses outside were startled and let out loud neighs. The coachman was also a little flustered and tightened his grip on the reins, trying his best to calm the horses down.
Amidst a commotion, Long Zhaoming made a decisive decision: "Seventeen, stay in the carriage to protect me. Uh, Mingyue, go and meet the enemy."
After speaking, Long Zhaoming paused, glanced at Mingyue, who showed no other expression, bowed, drew her sword, and disappeared.
Soon, the sound of weapons clashing rang out, and the guards from the Prince's residence drew their swords to defend themselves.
Seventeen lifted one side of the curtain and asked, "Does Your Highness know martial arts?"
"No, Seventeen, you must protect me well."
Long Zhaoming pulled out a fan from somewhere, unfolded it, and fanned himself. He seemed calm, but Seventeen keenly sensed the subtle tension in the other party.
"Your Highness, rest assured, Seventeen will protect you even at the cost of his life."
His voice was calm, but his tone was very firm. Long Zhaoming paused in the fan he was waving, and let out a soft sigh.
I really don't know what my good brother is up to.
Perhaps it was because Mingyue's skills were too good, or perhaps the pursuers did not want to continue the fight, but after a while, the sounds outside gradually disappeared.
Mingyue lifted the curtain and walked in. The sword in his hand was still dripping blood. Seventeen glanced at it and unconsciously frowned.
Although it was the first time he had witnessed such a brutal scene, Seventeen had received similar training in the Dark Guard Camp, so he did not appear flustered at this moment.
"What's the situation outside?"
"Three assassins were killed, and the other five escaped wounded."
Mingyue flicked the blood off his sword. His cheeks were also stained with blood, and there seemed to be some on his chest and shoulders as well, though it was mostly covered by his black clothes.
Seventeen asked worriedly, "Is Brother Yue injured?"
"No, their blood."
Mingyue wiped her face, cleaning the blood from her cheeks, and sheathed her longsword. She then looked at Long Zhaoming and reported, "Your Highness, shall we go and see the dead assassin?"
Long Zhaoming's smile faded, and he put away his folding fan, saying coldly, "Let's go. I want to see who has the audacity to attempt an assassination on the outskirts of Yejing."
He stood up and walked out, with Seventeen and Mingyue following behind him, one on each side.
The three assassins lay sprawled on the ground. Long Zhaoming first checked on the guards he had brought with him: "Is anyone injured?"
"Your Highness, Wu San and Qian Si suffered minor injuries, but are fine."
A head guard stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and then looked at Mingyue behind Long Zhaoming: "Thank you for saving me, Your Excellency."
He knew, of course, that these two were sent by the Emperor, but his master had never introduced them...
"Hmph, Xiao Da, you go with them to see the corpse. I want to see who's so bold!"
"Yes." The man called Xiao Da lowered his head and responded, then walked to Seventeen and Mingyue's side.
Seventeen sized up the man. Xiao Da was quite tall and looked sturdy. Although the sword at his waist wasn't as good as his, it was still clearly of high quality.
"Please come with me, both of you."
Although his master didn't seem to like the two of them, Xiao Da couldn't follow his master's example.
"My name is Xiao Mowen. I was brought from Jiangnan by Your Highness. May I ask how you two are addressed?"
Xiao Mowen's attitude was generous and gentle. Seventeen blinked and replied, "My name is Seventeen, and this is Mingyue."
"Greetings, Your Highness... he is just a bit arrogant and spoiled, he has no ill intentions towards you."
Upon hearing this, Mingyue raised her eyebrows slightly. It seemed that this person thought Long Zhaoming disliked the two guards who had been sent by His Majesty.
“Brother Xiao, you are overthinking it. Brother Yue and I did not think that way.”
Seventeen's smile was faint, making it impossible to tell whether it was genuine or not, but at least she wouldn't break ties with them.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Mowen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The three walked to the assassin's body, and each of them found one. Xiao Mowen carefully searched through it. The assassin was dressed in black, and after removing the mask, there was an ordinary face. He touched his temple and found no skin mask. It seemed that this was his true face.
There was nothing hidden in his chest, but Xiao Mowen continued to carefully feel around, and something hard poked his hand.
His face lit up with joy, and he immediately pulled out the hard object, which turned out to be a token.
The token is carved entirely from black wood, with intricate and beautiful patterns, and a large "Dark" character engraved in the center.
Xiao Mowen didn't know what the token was, so he held it in his hand, intending to show it to His Highness.
"Have you found anything?"
Seventeen and Mingyue looked up and simultaneously showed each other the tokens in their hands.
Xiao Mowen didn't recognize it, but Seventeen did.
This is clearly a token of the Dark Guard Camp, with each Dark Guard possessing one, but this token was abolished last year.
Seventeen glanced at Mingyue, who was also looking at him, and then Xiao Mowen asked, "Do you recognize this?"
Seeing this, Seventeen didn't know how to answer, but Mingyue frankly said, "It's a token from the palace's secret guards."
Xiao Mowen was greatly alarmed and immediately looked warily at the two people who had also come out of the palace.
“Brother Xiao, don’t be nervous. As far as I know, this token was abolished and destroyed by His Majesty last year. Why don’t we give it to His Highness to take a look?”
Xiao Mowen frowned as he looked at the two people in front of him. Seventeen looked sincere, while Mingyue seemed indifferent, lost in thought.
After much deliberation, the three handed over the three tokens to Long Zhaoming, and also informed him of the tokens' invalidation.
Long Zhaoming tapped the fan ribs lightly with his fingers, his eyes narrowed, as if he was thinking about something.
"I understand. Keep this matter quiet for now. We will make other arrangements when we arrive at the post station."
Xiao Mowen accepted the order and left. Seventeen and Mingyue stood in the carriage. Mingyue stood to one side with her eyes downcast, while Seventeen looked at the Prince of Huainan and then at Mingyue, wondering if she should explain.
After all, this was the token of the Dark Guard Camp. If the Prince of Huainan didn't believe it, he might think that His Majesty had sent people to hunt him down...
"What does Little Seventeen want to say?"
Long Zhaoming waved his fan, looked at Seventeen with a conflicted expression, and raised an eyebrow to ask.
Seventeen stared blankly for a long time, unsure of what to say, but Long Zhaoming seemed to understand his meaning and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not stupid, how could I possibly doubt my elder brother?"
Upon hearing this, Mingyue also looked up at Seventeen. His every move was observed by Long Zhaoming, whose eyes flashed with a strange light.
"...It is my overthinking."
"Hey, you're doing this for your brother's sake. He's lucky to have such a loyal servant like you."
Long Zhaoming said with a smile, waving at Seventeen.
Seventeen walked to the other person's side, the cold fan bone pressed against his chin. He hesitated for a moment, but still did not back away.
"Don't worry about my brother, he's doing very well. From now on, when he's by my side, remember to listen to me first."
Seventeen nodded silently. Behind him, Mingyue's gaze fell on Long Zhaoming, so cold that Long Zhaoming felt as if he was about to die, and he awkwardly put away his fan.
"My brother and I cannot reveal our plans to a third party, but Seventeen should also know that my brother and I are in the same boat."
Seventeen knew about this, after all, the Prince of Huainan never avoided discussing matters with His Majesty. Although he didn't know the full plan, he had a general idea.
"Yes, I was being nosy."
"I've already said there's no need for this. My guards were unaware of the situation. If they have offended you in any way, please forgive them, Seventeenth Prince."
Seventeen nodded seriously: "Brother Xiao is very loyal to His Highness."
Long Zhaoming smiled, put away his fan, and said nothing.
......
As evening approached, the group finally arrived at the post station.
After resting in the room for a while, Long Zhaoming heard a knock on the door: "Come in."
The person who pushed open the door was Mingyue. She had a long sword at her waist. Although her features were not outstanding, her eyes seemed to be able to captivate people.
Long Zhaoming sat up with a jolt, looked behind him, and didn't see Seventeen.
"Looking for what?"
"Hey, looking for Little Seventeen."
Mingyue's expression turned cold, but she still didn't say anything to correct him.
"He went out to buy food."
"Oh, why isn't Your Majesty with her? Such a beauty... oh dear!"
Long Zhaoming covered his head and glared angrily at Mingyue. The other party sheathed his sword and looked at him calmly: "Don't talk nonsense."
"I understand. Brother, who do you think sent this assassin?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely to sow discord between us."
Long Zhaoming stroked his chin: "I guessed so. Right now, outsiders only think that I don't get along with you, but it hasn't reached the point where I want to replace you. We need to add fuel to the fire."
"Well, let's wait and see."
Mingyue paused for a moment, then asked, "What's the background of your head guard?"
“I knew my brother would ask me.”
Long Zhaoming chuckled, then remained silent for a moment before saying, "I met him when my mother and I lived in the Jiangnan Imperial Palace."
Mingyue raised an eyebrow. Was it that long ago? If he remembered correctly, Long Zhaoming was only thirteen years old at that time.
The young child accompanied his mother to the imperial palace for recuperation, at the emperor's behest, simply because it was his mother's hometown.
"Xiao Da is eight years older than me. He was chased here by his enemies and fled into the palace in a panic. That's how we met."
Long Zhaoming's words were vague, but Mingyue narrowed her eyes. Being hunted down by an enemy? That Xiao Mowen is a江湖人 (jianghu person, a member of the martial arts world), no wonder he's so skilled...
And then there's my younger brother...
What happened between you and him?
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com