Chapter 55: The Dagger Stabbed into His Back
When Yu Fei heard this, it was as if five thunders struck his head.
She didn't expect Jing Yi to be so vicious and destroy her reputation in public.
People around her cast all kinds of looks at her, including surprise, understanding, and mockery, as if she were really a slut walking between the Crown Prince and Prince Ning.
Before this, Yu Fei had never felt how important reputation was.
In modern times, she is a well-known female sea queen. Some people once secretly called her a "bus", but she just laughed it off and continued to do her own thing, only caring about her own happiness.
But at this moment, Jing Cang led a large army to rescue her. Jing Yi's words made him look like a fool blinded by lust. He lost all his dignity in front of others. His painstaking negotiations with Jing Yi for her seemed like a joke. She suddenly realized that she not only represented herself, and she could not let the people who loved her be ashamed of her.
She couldn't explain how she found out the secret passage to the palace to prove her innocence. To the ancients, that would be a fantasy or supernatural.
Yu Fei racked his brains and refuted vaguely: "Prince Ning, you tried to coerce and bribe me but failed. Seeing that I wanted to die with you, you deliberately tried to sow discord between us in front of the Crown Prince. Do you think His Highness would believe you? I was able to escape through the secret passage because of the news passed on by the secret guards of the Eastern Palace who were lurking in the palace. Just now, they suffered many casualties in order to protect me. Everyone has seen it."
Yu Fei had never participated in a debate competition in school before, so she really put all her eloquence to use. She mixed the truth and falsehood perfectly, and as long as the master of the secret guard did not come out to expose her.
After Jing Yi finished speaking, she didn't dare to look back at Jing Cang, fearing that he would think, like others, that she had given herself to Jing Yi in order to escape. Her original owner had a scandalous reputation and criminal record of "spending a fortune in prostitute houses and molesting decent men in the street".
But she refuted Jing Yi and needed his support to turn the lies into facts in front of everyone to preserve her reputation and his. She had no choice but to turn her head and look at him.
He was sitting on the horse, his thoughtful eyes looking away as soon as they touched hers, as if he was a little hurt. Seeing her looking at him stubbornly, he looked into her eyes again, pity and confusion flashed across his eyes, and his expression gradually turned firm, as if he was a parent who had to clean up the mess for his mischievous child.
He spoke slowly but loudly: "Yu Fei is right."
Yu Fei winked at him mischievously, and Jing Cang responded with a helpless chuckle.
Jing Yi was furious when he saw their affectionate relationship. He said in great shame, "It turned out that I was careless and let you guys collude from inside and outside! But Yu Fei, you must be buried with me today..." As he spoke, he ready to shoot an arrow.
"Your Highness, you must not do this!" Seeing his behavior, Jing Yi's subordinates advised him, "Please consider the overall situation..."
Seeing this, Yu Fei was not afraid.
Just now Jing Cang said that only if Jing Yi let her go, he and the rest of the gang would have a chance to survive, and Jing Yi tried to frame her innocence, wanting her to die with him without involving his men, but after she revealed his intentions, he might not dare to really take action against her, otherwise he would be pushing himself and Prince Ning's Mansion into an abyss.
She looked at him quietly, without showing any fear.
Jing Yi and his inner guards were still in a stalemate when a horse-drawn carriage suddenly drove up from the other end of the street. The eunuch driving the carriage shouted, "Her Royal Concubine, please ask the three armies to make way for you."
The carriage drove all the way to Jing Yi's side and stopped. Concubine Zhu came down with her sleeves fluttering, holding a long, shiny sword across her neck.
She walked up to Jing Yi's horse and shouted, "You rebellious son, put down your bow and arrow immediately! I usually teach you to be filial to your father and brother, loyal to the emperor and serve the country, but you did the opposite and rebelled. You were trapped in shackles and dared to point your arrow at the concubine of the East Palace and her unborn prince to hold the crown prince. Get off your horse and kneel down, surrender, and take your rebels to wait for the court to punish you."
"Mother." Jing Yi's eyes turned red, and he said harshly, "I can't turn back now. Even if I am shot to death by random arrows, I will not surrender. I don't think there is anything wrong with today's trip. It's just that I was too eager for quick success and made a mistake. Otherwise, I would have succeeded in seizing the throne."
"I have been oppressed by the crown prince for so many years, I have had enough. Seeing you grovelling in front of the queen, my heart is bleeding. I dream of turning over and stepping on them mother and son. Mother, even if I have failed and fallen to this point, you should not stand on the side of the crown prince to scold me and force me to bow to them. I do all this for us and the Zhu family. Everyone can not understand me, but you, you...how can you misunderstand me like this?"
As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes, as if he was a filial son who was hurt physically and mentally by his mother's words and actions.
If Yu Fei didn't know Jing Yi's character, she would probably be moved by his good intentions.
But a gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way, and the prince loves power in the same way. He corrupts the government and brings disaster to the country and the people because of his greed for money. Even if he ascends to the throne, it is not certain that the ruler and his subjects will get along and the world will be at peace.
Fortunately, Concubine Zhu was a sober person. She smiled sadly and said, "Yier, I didn't give birth to you for you to become successful. You were born in the royal family, rich and worry-free, and the best minister. I only hope that you can marry a virtuous wife and give birth to a few children for me to enjoy the joy of having grandchildren. The Zhu family has been prosperous for a hundred years. You must know that prosperity must decline. My greatest wish is for your whole family to be safe and reunited."
"People must learn to accept their fate. From the moment I entered the palace, I was destined to respect the Empress as my mother for the rest of my life. She is wise and resourceful, and she supported your father to ascend the throne. It is not an exaggeration to say that she has made great contributions to the cause of the emperor. The prince she gave birth to is also very talented and admired by the people. We can never compare to her. If you insist on fighting, you will only end up in failure and lose your life..."
"Yier, listen to your mother's advice. It's not too late to turn back. I will do my best to protect you."
"Mother..."
Jing Yi struggled so much that his hands holding the bow and arrow trembled frequently.
"Do you have to wait for your mother to die in front of you before you obey me?"
Concubine Zhu cried sadly, the sword blade cut the skin on her neck, and the bright red blood "dripping" on the ground, as if accusing her son of being unfilial.
Jing Yi was finally moved, like a beast that had been resisting at the corner and suddenly lost all its strength. He lowered his head and put down his bow and arrow.
A general led his men to subdue him and the rest of the party.
Concubine Zhu was dragged by the eunuch into the carriage and her wounds were bandaged.
The moment Jing Cang admitted defeat, he quickly dismounted, half-knelt and picked her up. Yu Fei took into account his old injuries and just half-lay in his arms.
"Does it hurt?" Jing Cang looked at the arrow wound on her left shoulder.
Yu Fei had just confronted Jing Yi, and she felt like a female general wearing armor and holding a spear. Even if she was seriously injured, she could still fight the enemy for several blocks.
At this moment, seeing Jing Cang's gentle eyes and considerate tone, the panic, fear, grievance and longing that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time suddenly burst out of her chest like a torrent and poured out to him. She cried like a child, "It hurts so much, why did you come just now..."
"It's all my fault. This time I underestimated you and that's why I hurt you like this." Jing Cang wiped her tears helplessly and held her waist tightly. "Hold on, there won't be a next time."
Yu Fei just complained a few words, just like when he was a child and fell down, he always needed his mother to comfort him to feel better.
She has the ability to foresee things, but she still fell into the trap of Jing Yi and Yu Shuang. The villains' evil deeds are always strange and bizarre.
Moreover, after hearing Concubine Zhu say that she was pregnant with the heir, Yu Fei guessed that it was a cover for Jing Cang to lead the troops to rescue the emperor and empress. According to common sense, given his status, he did not need to take risks to quell the rebellion, and he had just recovered from his injuries.
Thinking of offspring, she recalled the same root pig who had lied to her in the same way. Although he seemed to dote on her very much, she still wanted to hear him say in person that he would not pursue the past after he learned about the pig's death.
Jing Cang was anxious to find a doctor to treat her injuries, but Yu Fei shook her head to stop her and asked slowly, "Do you know how to cure the disease?"
"Um."
Seeing that he remained calm, Yu Fei pouted: "You said you would let bygones be bygones."
Jing Cang glared at her and whispered, "You lied to me one lie after another, and you still expect me to forgive you." He pinched her waist lightly, "Go back and see how I deal with you."
Yu Fei saw that he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. His attitude was not like that of an enemy, but rather like flirting with a lover. Her slightly raised heart finally settled down peacefully.
She was about to board the carriage led by Huo Dao, when Yu Shuang suddenly rushed over from the crowd and shouted, "Sister, sister, Daddy is dying from the poison!"
Yu Fei was surprised.
Didn't Jing Yi coerce and bribe her into taking the intestinal scavenger powder to kill Jing Cang? Why did he ask someone to poison Yu's father? She didn't agree to work for Jing Yi. If he killed her like this, wouldn't he be destroying his own way out? Yu's father was his support after all.
What went wrong? Considering that Yu Shuang had accidentally saved her life before, Yu Fei waited for her to come over and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Shuang stepped forward, as if wanting to tell her something in detail. As she got closer, she suddenly raised her sleeves and a sharp dagger stabbed straight into her heart.
Jing Cang was instructing his subordinates about the follow-up matters regarding King Ning. He didn't expect that Yu Shuang would dare to assassinate Yu Fei after Jing Yi surrendered. Seeing that the tip of the knife was about to pierce Yu Fei's chest, he flew over and hugged her in his arms, and the dagger stabbed into his back with a "puff".