060 Assassination
Li Yang angrily punched his shoulder: "You still have the mind to joke around."
Song Xi chuckled, raising the corner of her uninjured lips: "Yangyang, look at me, smiling with only half my face like this, doesn't it look quite dashing?"
Li Yang's eyes stung even more. She turned her head and took a breath to suppress the bitterness: "Prince Yu will definitely suspect you. What if Yu Jin reveals your identity again? Will he harm you?"
“No, he won’t,” Song Xi stopped joking with her and said seriously, “As long as he still wants the Song family’s support, he won’t expose me. Besides, I don’t have much contact with the Song family and I have no intention of vying for his position. He’s probably worried about how to win me over and the Song family right now.”
"That's good." Knowing that he was not in mortal danger, Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the inner hall and said, "The Empress Dowager and Granny Fang have been inside for quite some time. We made such a commotion just now, but we didn't manage to wake them up. Could something have happened?"
Song Xi got up and walked inside: "Let's go take a look."
The two entered the inner hall together and saw Granny Fang fast asleep, her head resting on the table. The Empress Dowager, having changed into her nightgown, lay peacefully on the bed. Song Xi examined them separately: "They've been drugged with a sleeping incense, but it's not poisonous. I guess Yu Jin just wanted to put them to sleep."
Li Yang asked, "Should we go and call someone in?"
Song Xi shook his head: "No need. Yu Jin won't just accept her fate and be taken away by Prince Yu. With her making such a fuss, the matter at Shou'an Palace will definitely be exposed. If they say that the Empress Dowager has been drugged, then things will get really serious. Let them sleep. They should wake up in about an hour."
"Okay." Li Yang saw that his clothes were stained with a lot of blood and said, "I'll go back with you to change your clothes. Also, you can't keep covering your wound like this. We need to find a way to bandage it."
Song Xi ordered Cui Yu to stay in the Empress Dowager's bedroom, and then took Li Yang back to the Sixth Princess's bedroom.
He had a medical kit in his palace and usually kept some simple medicines on hand. Song Xi was afraid that Li Yang would cry again if she saw her wounds, so she asked Li Yang to go to the room where she and Xiao Taozi used to live and get the things they had left behind last time.
Song Xize sat alone by the window of the bedroom, practicing how to bandage his wounds in front of the mirror.
A head suddenly appeared on the window, but Song Xi was not startled. He calmly called out, "Fifth Brother."
The Fifth Prince turned around with a grin, leaned against the window, and said, "It seems that you medical students are quite daring."
Song Xi didn't agree with him: "Why are you coming to see me at this time?"
"Of course I have something to discuss with you," the Fifth Prince said, glancing outside. "I heard that Prince Yu came by just now. Did he see that you could stand up?"
Song Xi didn't say anything and continued bandaging her wound in front of the mirror.
The Fifth Prince wasn't angry. Instead, he advised, "You know that Prince Yu is a shrewd man. If he meets with you a couple more times, he'll eventually find out you're a man. Sixth Brother, you should prepare yourself."
Song Xi asked, "What preparations?"
The Fifth Prince immediately replied, "Of course, it's about cooperating with your fifth brother so that Prince Yu can no longer discover your identity."
"Then kill him?"
"Sixth Brother, you're really quick on the uptake," the Fifth Prince gave him a thumbs up. "So, are you in or not?"
"No way. I told you long ago that what happened five years ago was the last time I would help you."
The Fifth Prince sneered, "You think you can absolve yourself of all responsibility? Sixth Brother, let me tell you, wishful thinking. From the moment you agreed to help me with Prince Yu, you and he have been adversaries. You caused the death of his wife, and his daughter was raised by a lowly court official, suffering greatly from a young age. You caused him to lose his right-hand man, and he was confined to Yuzhou for five years to recuperate before returning to the capital. He will definitely seek revenge when he finds out."
Song Xi didn't care: "Then let him report it, I'll wait."
The Fifth Prince gave him a half-smile: "Fine, you've got guts. Since that's the case, Sixth Brother, then don't blame your Fifth Brother for being ruthless."
After he finished speaking, he called out to the palace gate not far away: "Madam Yuan, come out. It's up to you now."
Song Xi's hand trembled, and the gauze wrapped around his face immediately fell off. He leaned on the table with both hands and looked outside. At the main entrance of the bedchamber, Li Yang was standing quietly.
The Fifth Prince shrugged innocently at Song Xi, then turned and left.
Song Xi, left staring at Li Yang's calm gaze, cried out helplessly, "Yangyang, I...I didn't..."
He wanted to say that he didn't mean it.
But I couldn't bring myself to say it.
How could it not be intentional? It was clearly a natural disaster he deliberately designed based on the weather at the time.
It was against his will; he was forced into it.
At that time, the Fifth Prince discovered that he was a man and used this to threaten him. He was still immature then, and after being discovered, he was only afraid and thought only of shutting up the Fifth Prince, so he obeyed his words and plotted to harm Prince Yu and his party on their way to Yuzhou.
Song Xi was too exhausted to offer any further explanations at this moment.
What good would it do to say it? It would only make him look weak and incompetent.
Li Yang asked, "Was it the Fifth Prince who threatened you?"
Song Xi nodded: "You heard everything, didn't you? Will you blame me? Do you think I'm a cruel and heartless person?"
Li Yang was initially angry. But looking at the two bloody holes on his face, she couldn't muster any anger at all. What could she do? Yell at him, or drag him to apologize to Prince Yu? She couldn't do either.
Li Yang shook his head: "Now that you and the Fifth Prince have fallen out to this extent, and the Prince of Yu has discovered your identity, Song Xi, I'm afraid you can no longer remain unscathed in the palace. You have to choose one of them."
Song Xi smiled wryly: "You've all chosen Prince Yu, so do I have any choice but to choose someone else?"
Li Yang lowered her eyes, concealing the turmoil within them. She said, "The wound is bleeding again, let's re-bandage it."
Song Xi sat down weakly and casually covered the wound with medicine powder: "Come on, I'll have Cui Yu take you out of the palace. The Empress Dowager will wake up soon."
Li Yang nodded: "Okay."
Cui Yu's attitude was much more respectful than last time. He kept his head down the whole way when he saw Li Yang off from the palace. Finally, he led her to the palace gate and said, "Madam Yuan, the palace wall is just ahead."
Li Yangchao nodded to her: "Thank you, Aunt Cui."
Cui Yu returned the greeting and waited until Li Yang had completely left the palace before turning to leave.
***
Not far from the palace gate was the main street. Li Yang stood at the gate and heard the noise of the crowd coming from the street. He felt his panicked heart gradually calm down.
The palace was too quiet. It was so quiet that one could only hear their own heartbeat, a feeling that was terrifying. Only by focusing all one's attention on dealing with everyone within sight could one feel at ease and secure.
It's better outside the palace; the lively sounds of fireworks are most comforting.
Li Yang stretched, and once his stiff body relaxed, he lifted his foot to head towards the Yuan residence.
"Yangyang." Yuan Chongjing's voice came from a corner not far away.
Li Yang looked over in confusion and saw Yuan Chongjing sitting in his own carriage, calling to her through the small window: "Come here quickly."
Li Yang jogged over and got into the car. Seeing that he had changed his clothes and his injured leg was draped over a bench, she said, "Why did you come out? Didn't the doctor say you shouldn't move around unnecessarily?"
"You're fine now. I came to pick you up and also to let you move around a bit, which will help your wound heal better," Yuan Chongjing said.
The carriage was dimly lit, but Yuan Chongjing still spotted the bloodstains on Li Yang at a glance. He asked anxiously, "You're injured? Where? Did the Empress Dowager do this?"
Li Yang followed his gaze and saw a drop of blood on her clothes. She shook her head: "It's not mine."
Yuan Chongjing breathed a sigh of relief: "Then what happened?"
Li Yang told him everything about Yu Jin and Song Xi, except for the conversation she overheard between Song Xi and the Fifth Prince. After she finished speaking, she leaned against the carriage and said weakly, "I'm so tired, Brother Jing. I just want a simple and ordinary life. Why am I so tired?"
The carriage wound its way through a secluded alley, the high walls of the courtyard blocking the sunlight from entering, casting the two figures in dappled shadows. Yuan Chongjing's voice seemed to come from a distant mountainside, or perhaps whispered in her ear. He said, "It will be soon, it will be over soon."
Li Yang lowered her eyelids, feeling drowsy from his voice. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, a 'ding' sound rang out, like a sharp arrow striking their carriage.
Yuan Chongjing immediately pulled Li Yang's head over, and the two squatted down in the middle of the carriage. Li Yang was startled and regained her senses. She and Yuan Chongjing exchanged a glance, and a bad feeling rose in their hearts.
At the same time, Bei Hai's voice came from outside: "There's an assassin. Second Young Master, Madam, please sit down!"
Those people were no ordinary assassins. The next moment, Li Yang sensed Bei Hai draw his sword and alight from the carriage.
Li Yang and Yuan Chongjing both studied martial arts at the academy, but they had neglected their training in recent years. They could usually handle thugs or ordinary people, but against a true master assassin, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
Several more arrows rang out, striking their carriage. One even flew through the curtain at the window, over their heads, and out of the opposite window.
The fighting outside the carriage continued. Bei Hai was alone and dared not stray too far, so he could only move back and forth around the entire carriage.
For the first time, Li Yang realized how close death truly was. So close that if she simply raised her head slightly, that sharp arrow could pierce her skull.
Amidst her rapidly beating heartbeat, she clearly heard the sound of swords slicing through flesh, followed by a groan from Beihai.
Li Yang was filled with despair. She held Yuan Chongjing down and was about to speak when she heard the sound of horses' hooves outside, followed by a menacing voice: "You want to kill me to silence me on my own turf? Are you tired of living?"
Swords clash, and life-or-death struggles unfold in an instant.
The arrows that had been aimed at the carriage stopped falling. The situation outside had turned around, and Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief, whispering, "It's Song Hezhou."
After a while, the noise outside stopped. Song Hezhou used his sword to lift the carriage curtain and looked at the two people inside. He said sarcastically, "Oh, isn't this our arrogant Lord Yuan? What, not so arrogant now?"
Yuan Chongjing's expression was somewhat unpleasant, and he thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your help, Lord Song."
The sword in Song Hezhou's hand was still dripping blood. He wiped the blood on the carriage curtain with the sword: "I didn't do this for you."
As he spoke, he walked past Yuan Chongjing and shouted loudly to Li Yang, "Li Yang, we're even now."
Li Yang watched as his sword slashed across the carriage curtain, staining it crimson with blood. Li Yang said, "If you keep rubbing it, it'll be too uneven."
Song Hezhou chuckled dismissively, deftly sheathed his sword, and shouted to the crowd outside, "Take a headcount. We're not going to the west of the city. Let's head back."
The sounds of movement outside the carriage gradually rose and fell, fading away with the sound of their footsteps as they left. Beihai leaned against the carriage, the curtain on the window having fallen down at some point. Beihai said, "Second Young Master."
Yuan Chongjing looked out the car window and saw the bodies of five men in black lying scattered on the ground. He said, "Let Shang come in."
Upon hearing this, Bei Hai whistled into the air, and then Li Yang saw seven or eight people rushing towards him from all directions of the alley. The leader was dressed in coarse cotton and linen clothes, with a thick beard that almost covered half of his face. He walked towards the carriage, looking at the corpses on the ground as he went: "Oh, Bei Hai, you've gotten rusty, haven't you? These few people managed to hurt you?"
Beihai glanced at him, then turned back to bandage his wounds.
Shang Jin walked to the car window, his expression turning serious: "Lord Yuan."
Yuan Chongjing nodded: "Go check if there are any survivors and send them to His Highness."
Shang Jin said, "Yes. Lord Yuan, I've had someone find another carriage. You and your wife can take that one back."
“Okay,” Yuan Chongjing said. Seeing that Li Yang’s face was still a little pale, he then said to Shang Jin, “Clean up the scene first before I go down.”
Shang Jin responded and had his men carry all the men in black away before letting them get off the carriage. Yuan Chongjing's leg wound hadn't healed yet, and Li Yang supported him the whole time. After they got back into another carriage prepared by Shang Jin, Bei Hai, who had also been bandaged, sat on the carriage shaft. Yuan Chongjing was a little worried about his injury, so he let him sit in the carriage as well, and then found someone else to drive them back to the mansion.
After this ordeal, Yuan Chongjing's wound seemed to be on the verge of reopening. Li Yang sat beside him, wiping the cold sweat from his face with a handkerchief: "Is your wound hurting again?"
Yuan Chongjing shook his head: "It's nothing, we can apply the medicine when we get back."
The carriage moved forward smoothly. Just as Li Yang and Bei Hai were relieved, Yuan Chongjing suddenly said, "Let's go to His Highness's place. This matter needs to be decided as soon as possible."
Li Yang immediately stopped her: "No, your body can't take it anymore, you need to go home and rest."
Bei Hai, standing to the side, cautiously added, "Young Madam is right, Second Young Master, Lord Zuo and the others are still over there, no need..."
He had only spoken halfway when Bei Hai felt a chill run down his spine under Yuan Chongjing's cold stare. He immediately changed the subject: "I can't do without you. I think we still need to go over there. His Highness definitely needs you."
Li Yang: "..."
Traitor, go sit outside!
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