Chapter 174 Are you afraid of death?
Li Yuanzhao looked up at the silent memorial tablet. After a long while, she spoke again, her tone carrying a prophetic certainty.
"Grand Tutor, just watch, the world is about to change. Even though it is a long night now, dawn will eventually come after the cold night."
After saying that, she didn't linger for a moment and turned around abruptly.
Upon exiting the main hall, one is greeted by a high-ranking monk dressed in a crimson robe standing quietly under the corridor, clearly waiting there on purpose.
Upon seeing the princess, he clasped his hands together, lowered his eyes, and bowed, saying, "This humble monk, Kongkong, greets the princess."
Li Yuanzhao dismissed Chen Yanqing.
The two stood there under the eaves, talking about something.
Chen Yanqing looked at him from afar and felt that Master Kongkong seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
The two exchanged only a few words before Li Yuanzhao turned and walked towards him.
Master Kongkong seemed to have an inexplicable respect for Li Yuanzhao, and watched her leave.
It wasn't until Chen Yanqing followed Li Yuanzhao out of the temple that she realized what had happened.
Isn't this the foreign monk who previously stayed at the Princess's residence?
I had assumed he had already returned to Tibet, but I never expected him to come to the Great Ci'en Temple. No wonder I never saw him again.
Is there something Li Yuanzhao wants to say to him privately?
He was a little confused.
After the two left, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows behind the main hall where Li Yuanzhao had just stood.
The man was dressed in plain clothes, his eyes calm as still water. He stood quietly, staring at the memorial tablets enshrined in the main hall for a long time.
On the way down the mountain, Chen Yanqing followed behind Li Yuanzhao, his heart filled with turbulent emotions that lingered for a long time.
He suddenly understood why Li Yuanzhao had killed Grand Tutor Liu and why he had targeted Li Yuanyou.
He has been following Li Yuanzhao for almost a year.
Throughout the year, he witnessed firsthand her studying diligently every day, working tirelessly day and night, never slacking off even in the sweltering heat or freezing cold.
This world is inherently harsh on women. For an ordinary woman to receive the same praise as a man, she has to put in a thousand times more effort.
And she not only did it, she did it better than anyone else.
None of the ministers, princes, or princesses in the court could compare to her.
Others only said that she coveted that position, but they never thought that someone like her should have had that position rightfully hers.
Therefore, those who block her way deserve to die.
As the north wind swept by, Chen Yanqing gazed at the tall figure ahead and finally could not contain himself any longer. He spurred his horse closer, his voice filled with fervent sincerity, "Your Highness, no matter how the weather changes, as long as you are here, things will always get better."
These were not flattery, but his heartfelt words.
He had been a wanderer since childhood, witnessing the coldness and warmth of the world. He felt that the meaning of life was nothing more than gaining power and finding a beautiful woman, and that it would be enough to reach the pinnacle of life.
But only now has he come to understand that people don't necessarily have to live just for themselves.
To encounter a virtuous ruler and assist a wise monarch in bringing peace and stability to the people, allowing them to live in peace, seems to carry greater weight and have greater significance.
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanzhao turned to look at him.
Looking into her unfathomable eyes, Chen Yanqing swallowed hard, his voice tinged with apprehension.
"Your Highness, may I... stay by your side forever?"
Even if it means spending my whole life as a guard, I will not ask for anything else.
Li Yuanzhao paused, his hand holding the reins.
Just as she was about to speak, she seemed to hear something, her eyes sharpened, and she shouted in a low voice, "Lower your head!"
Although Chen Yanqing did not understand what had happened, he instinctively obeyed Li Yuanzhao's instructions and bowed his head.
Almost as soon as the words were spoken, a whooshing sound came from the air.
The next instant, several sharp arrows suddenly flew out from the depths of the dense forest beside the two, heading straight for them!
Li Yuanzhao reacted extremely quickly, drawing his sword from his waist and instantly deflecting two oncoming arrows.
Immediately afterwards, she turned sharply to the side, and several more arrows flew past her temples.
The wind whipped up by the arrow swept across my cheek before it finally embedded itself deeply into the tree trunk behind me, the fletching still humming and vibrating.
Chen Yanqing's heart leaped into his throat, but he reacted instantly and drew his sword to parry.
After severing the two arrows, the hand on my hand was jolted numb for a moment.
He was immediately alarmed; these people were clearly not ordinary bandits.
The first wave of arrows had barely stopped when, in the blink of an eye, even more arrows came raining down from all directions.
The entire dense forest was fraught with danger, with countless people lying in ambush, waiting for them.
The timing was exactly when she had just left the Great Ci'en Temple.
Li Yuanzhao sneered inwardly; they really had come prepared.
The official road was open and unobstructed; if one remained in place, one would only become a sitting duck.
The dense forest, though difficult to traverse, offered a chance to evade arrows and provided a glimmer of hope.
Without hesitation, she deflected the volley of arrows and turned her horse around, galloping into the dense forest behind her.
Chen Yanqing followed closely behind on horseback.
The horse was startled and ran away very fast.
As soon as the two turned and entered the woods, dozens of masked men in black emerged from the official road where they had been standing. Each of them was armed with a crossbow and had a long knife at their waist, and they swiftly chased after them.
It was clearly premeditated; they were determined to kill them here.
The pursuers were hot on their heels, raining arrows down relentlessly, many of which struck tree trunks with a dull thud.
Li Yuanzhao rode forward the entire way, not even sparing a glance at Chen Yanqing and the pursuers behind him.
As Chen Yanqing spurred his horse to catch up, he swung his sword in the backhand, doing his best to cover her retreat.
But the arrows came too densely, and in the blink of an eye, his horse let out a shrill neigh, its front legs buckled, and it collapsed to the ground.
He lost his balance and fell off the horse.
At the critical moment, a strong arm caught his falling body.
He felt a sudden tightening around his waist, a blur before his eyes, and in the blink of an eye, he was pulled onto another horse.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Li Yuanzhao holding the reins with one hand and placing him securely behind him with the other, continuing to gallop at full speed.
Chen Yanqing's violently beating heart suddenly calmed down, and her eyes even felt a little hot.
He never imagined that His Highness would not abandon him at such a critical moment.
"who are they?!"
Chen Yanqing held her waist tightly, his voice trembling.
Whose people are these? How did they know their whereabouts? And they even dared to assassinate the Princess?
Li Yuanzhao said coldly, "The one who wants my life!"
I don't know how long we ran forward, but the woods ahead became denser and denser, and low thorns began to appear on the ground. The mountain became steeper and steeper.
Until the next moment.
"Whoa—!"
The next moment, Li Yuanzhao suddenly tightened the reins, and the horse neighed and reared up, coming to a sudden stop.
Before us lay a steep cliff, with no path in sight!
The cliff face was covered with a thick layer of snow, and looking down, all one could see was swirling clouds and mist, making it impossible to see the bottom.
The pursuers were close behind, and the masked figures could be clearly seen through the shadows of the trees. They could even hear the sound of them nocking their arrows.
Li Yuanzhao immediately jumped off his horse, and as he landed, he pulled Chen Yanqing along with him. The two of them rolled to the edge of the cliff using the momentum.
Almost simultaneously, a dense barrage of arrows fell on the spot where they had just stopped, and Li Yuanzhao's mount collapsed with a mournful cry.
After the two stood up, the masked man behind them had closed to within ten paces, and his bow and arrow were nocked again.
"Your Highness, what should we do now?" Chen Yanqing's voice was trembling noticeably.
Ahead lay a sheer cliff, and behind were deadly pursuers; this was clearly a dead end!
Li Yuanzhao's gaze swept across the cliff, then looked in the direction of the pursuers. Suddenly, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and he smiled faintly.
Are you afraid of dying?
Chen Yanqing was shocked, but before he could answer, Li Yuanzhao suddenly kicked him hard in the back!
"Your Highness—!"
He cried out in alarm, lost his balance, and plummeted toward the cliff!
At that moment, his heart suddenly clenched, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Now that they've reached a dead end, will Your Highness ultimately abandon him?
But the next moment, he saw Li Yuanzhao leap down without hesitation, and then he jumped down as well.
The feeling of weightlessness from falling was still spreading, but Chen Yanqing suddenly felt that everything in front of her seemed to slow down.
The howling wind and falling snowflakes became blurred, but Li Yuanzhao's face became clearer and clearer before his eyes.
Her hair was disheveled by the wind, and her robes were spread out in the air, but she was not in the slightest bit disheveled.
As Chen Yanqing looked at her, his fear of death vanished instantly, leaving only a strange calm.
He thought that if he could die here with Li Yuanzhao today, it would be a worthy death.
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