Chapter 59
Li Fei arrived. Upon hearing of Yi Luoyue's misfortune, he immediately headed for the princess's residence, but was surprised to find her absent. However, he knew she would be there, so he passed through the gate Xiaoyue had chosen and rebuilt, making his way unimpeded to Gong Yuchen's residence. When he entered, Gong Yuchen, Yi Luoyue, and Xiaoyue were enjoying their meal. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of this uninvited guest.
"How come you have time to come here today?" Gong Yuchen said, pointing to the seat to Xiaoyue'er's left.
"Please sit down. Since you came at the right time, let's have dinner together!"
"Uncle Li is so lucky. He came just because he knew we were having dinner." Xiaoyue teased playfully.
"You little brat, you're still teasing your uncle. No, I've already used it."
"Brother Li Fei, why are you here? Aren't you going to the Gong family to propose marriage today?"
"Everything has been arranged. I heard that you fell into the water at the chrysanthemum viewing banquet this afternoon. I came here to see what happened. Also, there is something I need to discuss with Brother Gongyu."
Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door, and a guard came in to report to Gong Yuchen.
"Your Highness, Princess. His Majesty sent someone to visit Your Highness and brought some supplements." The guard bowed and reported.
Everyone looked at each other. These gifts were delivered to Gong Yuchen's residence?
"Please invite them in." Gong Yuchen put down the empty bowl in his hand.
Zhang Liang, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, came in with several eunuchs and palace maids, holding supplements, and bowed to everyone.
Zhang Liang bowed to everyone respectfully.
"Your servants pay their respects to Her Royal Highness, His Royal Highness Gongyu, and Master Li. His Majesty was deeply concerned when he heard that Her Royal Highness had fallen into the water, and he has sent us here to bring you some nourishing remedies. Please rest assured, Her Royal Highness."
"Thank you for your help. Please report to my father and tell him that I am fine and ask him to rest assured." Yi Luoyue replied to him.
"Yes, Your Highness, I'll take my leave." The people who came with him bowed and left.
"Oh, by the way, His Majesty also asked if Xiaoyue could come to the palace to accompany His Majesty tomorrow?"
"Okay, we will bring Xiaoyueer to the palace tomorrow. We also have something to say to His Majesty." Gong Yuchen agreed.
"I will go back and report to His Majesty."
"Let's go to the study and talk." He turned and said to Yi Luoyue.
"Take Xiaoyue'er and rest first. Li Fei and I have something to discuss."
"Okay, go ahead." There are indeed some things that cannot be said in front of children.
Li Fei sat down on the chair and poured herself a glass of water.
"Tell me, it must be Yi Luoyao and the others who did something bad today, right?" Li Fei has always been straightforward, so she asked directly.
"Yes. Since His Majesty knows about this, he will certainly inquire about it tomorrow. We must be extremely cautious in how we respond. Without evidence, the virtuous king will accuse us of seeking personal revenge, causing a huge uproar."
"You're right. This is a sensitive period and we can't afford to make any mistakes. Also, my main reason for coming here is to ask you to go with me."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm here to take you to see someone."
"Who are you? What did you find out?"
"Someone who knows about the epidemic three years ago." Li Fei looked at him seriously.
Gong Yuchen nodded.
"Let's go."
"What is this?" The carriage that Gong Yuchen and Li Fei were riding in arrived at a small courtyard outside the city.
"This is one of our secret bases. My people encountered a looted caravan near the border of the Western Yi people and rescued a woman."
"woman?"
"Yes, that's the one we're looking for, the third-class maid who washes clothes for the Queen, Qin Ying."
"Are you sure it's her?!" the two said as they walked inside.
An unconscious woman lay on the wooden bed in the room. Li Fei walked over and parted the woman's hair, only to see a bean-sized mole on the right cheek of the pale-faced woman, just below her ear.
"Yes, it's her, but she's seriously injured and may not live long. She's relying solely on medication to stay alive."
"Can she speak?"
"Sometimes lucid, sometimes confused."
"I wish she could say something useful!"
"If you have any questions, you can ask him. They are the ones who brought the person back." Li Fei waved her hand and called the spy who brought "Qin Ying" with him.
"You said you found her in the caravan?"
"Your Highness, we encountered them when we were investigating the Wise King. Their people disguised themselves as bandits and attacked the caravan," the spy replied.
"How many people in that merchant team were killed?" Gong Yuchen asked in a deep voice.
"Of the twenty or so people in the caravan, except for this woman who was seriously injured, all the others died."
"They're all dead!" That is to say, Yi Luoyao must have gone to find this woman to silence her.
"Li Fei, what do you think?"
"It must have been the wise king's instruction. This 'Qin Ying' was probably the one who slipped through his net when he failed to silence her."
"When will she wake up?" Gong Yuchen asked.
"This is why I came to you. To wake her up first, I'm afraid we need the medical skills of Doctor Li. After all, Doctor Li is the head of the Imperial Hospital, so he should be able to wake her up. But who was involved in the incident back then? We still don't know, and Doctor Li is King Cheng's father-in-law, so..."
"My Duke Yuchen can guarantee with his life that what happened back then was definitely not what led to King Cheng!"
"That's why I came to you. I wanted to ask you how to hand her over to Doctor Li without Yi Luoyao finding out."
"Take her to my Xiyi Prince's Mansion. Even if Yi Luoyao is very brave, he would not dare to come to my Prince's Mansion and kill someone."
"Okay, then we'll move her to the carriage and take her back."
Gong Yuchen, Li Fei and his group left the courtyard outside the city and ran for a long time. When they passed through a forest, they were suddenly attacked by sharp arrows from all directions.
"There's an ambush! Protect the emperor!" The captain of the guards roared, and a group of people hurriedly protected the carriage that Gong Yuchen and Li Fei were riding in the center, and raised their swords to chop off the arrows flying in the sky.
"Damn it!" Gong Yuchen cursed and rushed out of the carriage with Li Fei. He turned around and drew the long sword from his waist. With a crisp "ding" sound, he blocked an oncoming arrow. Several people waved their swords to block the arrows that kept shooting at them.
A sharp sound suddenly erupted from behind. Li Fei, whose back was turned, didn't see it. Gong Yuchen reacted quickly, shoving Li Fei aside. However, Gong Yuchen couldn't dodge the arrow. Although it avoided a vital point, the tip still grazed his shoulder. He groaned, enduring the pain, and blood instantly stained his moon-white robes.
"Gong Yuchen! Are you okay?" Li Fei steadied herself and rushed to Gong Yuchen.
"How are you?" Looking at Gong Yuchen, he looked around and saw more than ten masked men in black jumping out from the darkness, with long swords in their hands shining with cold light, and instantly surrounded the few people.
Gong Yuchen remained calm, tore off a strip of cloth from the hem of his clothes and casually wrapped it around the wound.
"It's okay. Let's deal with these people first." How could this group of men in black know their itinerary and ambush them on the way back?
"Who are you? How dare you intercept the carriage of the Western Yi Crown Prince?"
The leading man in black held a long sword and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"The one I killed was you, Gong Yuchen."
"Oh? So you're here for me?" They're not here for the woman in the carriage? Then..."
Gong Yuchen pointed the tip of his sword at the ground and sneered.
"You are hiding your head and showing your tail. I guess you don't dare let others know who your master is? Or is Gong Yuxian so foolish as to think that you can kill me with just your own strength?"
"You actually knew that!" Damn it! The man in black shouted angrily after accidentally being tricked into revealing the secret, waving his hands and ordering his subordinates.
"Go! Kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two of the men in black rushed forward, swords brandished, their sharp blades bearing down on Gong Yuchen's face. Gong Yuchen tapped the ground with his toes, his longsword dancing in a flash of silver light, and he dodged the two men's attacks like a swallow. Li Fei, unwilling to be outdone, swept her sword across, forcing her opponent back and engaging the men in black on the other side. Amidst the flashes of swords, the dead branches and leaves on the trees on either side were swept up by the wind, sending them dancing wildly through the air.
Several people fought back and forth to block the attacks. Seeing the cloth on Gong Yuchen's shoulder soaked with blood, the leading man in black sneered and his knife momentum became more fierce.
"Gong Yuchen is injured, kill him quickly."
"You dare? You're courting death!" Gong Yuchen roared, taking a sharp breath. Ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder, he thrust his sword like a meteor, piercing the man in black's chest. The strike was so swift and fierce that the man in black was caught off guard. The tip of the sword slashed his chest, staining his shirt with blood. The man in black was startled and turned to flee, but Gong Yuchen wouldn't give him the chance. The sword pierced his back, sending the man groaning and falling to the ground, dead.
The remaining men in black panicked upon seeing their leader killed, and Li Fei seized the opportunity to chop down three of them in quick succession. The other guards also fought back, and the men in black fell one by one. In just half an incense stick of time, more than ten men in black were dead.
"Brother Gong Yu, hold on!" Li Fei hurriedly supported the staggering Gong Yuchen. She saw that his face was pale and the wound on his shoulder was still oozing blood.
"Let's go back home quickly and ask Doctor Li to come and treat you immediately." Gong Yuchen nodded and returned to the carriage with the help of Li Fei.
"You said... these people were sent by Gong Yuxian to kill us?" Li Fei asked as he hurried on his way, with a serious tone in his voice.
Gong Yuchen leaned against the wall of the carriage, enduring the pain and whispering.
"They set up an ambush outside the city, but they didn't come for this woman. The one who wants me dead is probably Gong Yuxian. Today's chrysanthemum banquet has made him want to kill me. He can't wait for me to return to Xiyi. And judging by the martial arts of these assassins, they are from Xiyi. I just don't know if Yi Luoyao knew about tonight's assassination."
"We all need to be careful recently. Yi Luoyao and Gong Yuxian have been pushed to the limit. Who knows what they might do next. They've mobilized all our men. Something big is about to happen."
Li Fei nodded.
"In the next few days, I will have someone check if there are any unusual movements in the army controlled by the Xianwang's mother's clan."
"Um."
A flash of silver flashed across the sky, followed by rumbling thunder, and the sound of horses' hooves as they galloped towards Yidu. The night grew darker, and a storm was about to come.
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