Seven days of hunting passed by in the blink of an eye.
That day, as usual, they rode their horses and continued their search for prey.
But on that very day, an unexpected incident occurred.
"Yongqi, brother, that little deer up ahead is mine! You're not allowed to take it from me!" Little Swallow happily rushed forward, taking out her bow and arrow to prepare to shoot.
Yongqi and Xiaojian hadn't intended to compete with her, so they stood guard beside her. However, they both sensed that something was amiss, and Yongqi instinctively shouted, "Little Swallow, be careful!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than several arrows flew towards Little Swallow.
Little Swallow quickly dodged, and Yongqi, Xiao Jian, and the others rushed forward to protect her, shouting, "Everyone, be careful!"
"The master has ordered that this woman be killed, and a great reward will be given!"
The leader of the men in black gave the order, and everyone attacked Xiao Yanzi.
Everyone quickly gathered together, forming a circle back to back.
Yongqi shouted, "Xiao Jian, Erkang and Ertai, protect Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er!"
Little Swallow is his life, and Qing'er is the Empress Dowager's life. If either of them gets into trouble, they will all suffer!
"Xiao Shunzi, Xiao Guizi, Shuangxi, you two hide over there!"
Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Guizi don't know martial arts, and Yongqi doesn't want them to die in vain!
Although Shuangxi learned some kung fu from Qing'er, it was no match for these assassins.
Yongqi asked Shizhu to protect Xiaoshunzi, Xiaoguizi, and Shuangxi, while Xingchen and Jiangying joined them to deal with the men in black!
"Our master said he only wants that woman's life, so if you know what's good for you, leave right now!"
"As long as you leave her here, you will be safe!"
Yongqi glared at the man in black, "You're dreaming!"
"If you want to hurt my little swallow, you'd better ask me first!"
Because they had gone to a remote area, the others did not see what was happening on their side and were unable to provide timely assistance!
If we send Xiao Shunzi, Xiao Guizi, or Shuangxi to the camp to ask for help, we're afraid they'll be killed by their accomplices on the way. The same would be true if we sent someone else with martial arts skills to ask for help.
They can barely hold their own if they are grouped together, but if they are scattered, they will be defeated one by one, and then Little Swallow will be in danger!
Xiao Jian said, "Fifth Prince, it seems these people are after you!"
Although they claimed their target was Xiao Yanzi, they all knew that their main goal was actually Yong Qi!
If Xiao Yanzi dies, Yongqi will definitely go mad. A mad prince can't be emperor.
However, it would be even better if they could work together to eliminate the problem completely. How can the dead fight against the living?
Yongqi then remembered something and whispered, "Xiao Jian, I learned a trick from Imperial Physician Chang before, and I still have some sleeping pills in my bag. Sprinkling them on them will make them weak, but I don't know how many people they can be knocked out by these sleeping pills..."
Upon hearing Yongqi's words, Xiao Jian immediately laughed and said, "That would be perfect. Give me the sleeping potion, and I'll deal with them. You protect Xiaoyanzi and Qing'er!"
Yongqi quickly handed the sleeping pill to Xiao Jian, and after Xiao Jian left, everyone immediately filled the vacancy!
With lightning speed, Xiao Jian sprinkled the sleeping pills on the group of men in black. Immediately afterward, their movements became sluggish!
Seeing that the mission had failed, the man in black immediately bit into the poison hidden in his mouth and committed suicide!
Looking at the dead men in black on the ground, Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er were still a little scared.
Little Swallow asked, "Who could have sent this?"
Fu Erkang and Fu Ertai searched these people but found nothing useful.
Fu Ertai frowned and asked, "Fifth Prince, who do you think it could be?"
Yongqi said in a deep voice, "Right now, the one who is clearly hostile to us is Consort Jia!"
"But we have no evidence, and besides, we don't know how many other people are also trying to get rid of me..."
Fu Erkang sighed, "Then for now, we can only take them back and hand them over to the Emperor for disposal!"
Because there were too many men in black, they couldn't move them all, so they had to send Xiao Jian back to camp as quickly as possible to get help.
The men in black were all carried back, and Yongqi and the others returned to their camp.
Upon receiving the news, Emperor Qianlong and his entourage rushed back. Qianlong hurriedly asked, "Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi, Qing'er, are you all alright?"
Emperor Qianlong looked at the children in front of him with concern, fearing that something might happen to them.
Yongqi quickly said, "Please rest assured, Father Emperor, this time it was a close call, we are all safe and sound. We just don't know who these people are..."
The adults were relieved to see that the children had no injuries.
Emperor Qianlong then turned his attention to the men in black, and heard Yongqi explain, "If I hadn't sparred with Imperial Physician Chang before, I'm afraid I would have been injured before I could have come back today."
Fu Erkang chimed in, "Luckily, the Fifth Prince had some sleeping potion on him, and Xiao Jian was skilled in martial arts, which allowed us to escape danger!"
"But when they realized the mission had failed, they all committed suicide by poisoning themselves."
Xiao Jian glanced at Xiao Yanzi with concern, then looked at Qianlong, "Your Majesty, although they keep saying they came to get rid of Xiao Yanzi, we all know that their real target is the Fifth Prince behind Xiao Yanzi!"
How could Emperor Qianlong not understand this?
He immediately ordered, "Fu Lun, Fu Heng, this matter is entrusted to you. You must investigate it thoroughly!"
"I want to see who is trying to harm my prince and Xiao Yanzi!"
After they returned to their respective tents, Qing'er comforted the Empress Dowager, while Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi comforted Consort Yu.
Finally, when the Empress Dowager and Consort Yu were willing to rest, Yongqi pulled Xiaoyanzi out of the tent and whispered, "Xiaoyanzi, you go and rest first, I'll go find Father Emperor!"
"There's something I'd like to tell Father Emperor; it might be a clue!"
Seeing that Yongqi had no intention of letting her come along, Xiaoyanzi didn't insist. "Alright, then be careful!"
After watching Yongqi leave for Qianlong's tent, Xiaoyanzi turned around and went back to rest.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty."
When Emperor Qianlong saw Yongqi, who had come to see him so late at night, he was somewhat puzzled. "Yongqi, it's so late, why aren't you resting yet?"
"Father, there is something I have thought about and I think I should tell you!"
"However, I am worried that Father Emperor will think I am making a fuss over nothing!"
Upon hearing Yongqi's words, Qianlong's expression instantly turned serious. "You mean you have leads regarding today's assassination attempt?"
"That's one way to put it, but it's just a guess. That's why I came to see Father Emperor late at night."
"Are you referring to Consort Jia?"
Yongqi was shocked. "Father, so you knew?"
Emperor Qianlong sighed, "Although I have many important matters to attend to, it doesn't mean I know nothing!"
"Little Swallow went to Qixiang Palace with you, but she was almost wrongly accused of stealing Consort Jia's bracelet..."
"After this incident, I thought you would come to me with Xiao Yanzi and ask me to stand up for you, but I didn't expect that you would not mention it at all after it happened!"
Yongqi explained, "In the end, there's no evidence for this matter, and if it blows up, it won't be good for anyone!"
"Your Majesty, I was just thinking that I should take better care of Xiao Yanzi from now on, but I never expected what happened today..."
Emperor Qianlong asked meaningfully, "Yongqi, are you afraid?"
Are we afraid of these open and covert attacks?
Is he afraid that these things will hurt the people he cares about?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com