Chapter 781 The Assassin Who Killed the Queen
Just then, Jiang Fenghua also looked towards the distant corridor and saw the eunuchs suddenly bow their heads and pretend to be on patrol. However, the light from the lanterns in their hands shone on the tips of their deerskin boots that were faintly visible under the hem of their gray-blue clothes.
Jiang Fenghua suddenly stopped in her tracks. The eunuchs in the Imperial Wardrobe were not equipped with such high-class deerskin boots.
She instinctively reached out to grab Hongxiu, but Hongxiu had already gone to fetch the sedan chair. She whispered to Aoxue, "Give me a sword."
After returning to the palace, Jiang Fenghua always carried a sword with her. However, as the Empress, her clothes were always either formal or luxurious, making it difficult for her to wield the sword properly. Therefore, she habitually had Ao Xue carry two swords.
Ao Xue also stopped and followed the Empress's gaze. She unconsciously tightened her grip on the long sword at her waist. "Your Majesty, please hide behind me."
“They are clearly coming for me. If I hide behind you, I will only become a burden to you. It would be better if I joined forces with you to fight off the enemy.”
At this moment, the six men dressed as eunuchs seemed to realize that they were not leaving. Their eyes flashed with cold light, and they suddenly attacked them, throwing out six silver beams.
"Guards, protect Her Majesty!" Ao Xue shouted, her hands moving without stopping as she tossed a sword to Jiang Fenghua. "Your Majesty, please protect yourself. This servant will escort you away..."
However, before Aoxue could finish speaking, Jiang Fenghua's sword exploded in mid-air and attacked the assassin. Upon seeing this, Aoxue quickly joined the battle.
Seeing this, Hongxiu said to the palace maid who was hiding to the side, "Go and call for help quickly."
Her eyes were filled with anxiety. Only now did she realize how useless it was to not know martial arts. She hadn't run away to become a burden to the Empress. The Empress always said, "If you can't win, run away. You must learn to protect yourself. As long as you're alive, you can always fight again." But the Empress...
Jiang Fenghua's long skirt swept across the blue bricks on the ground. Her movements were agile, and the flowing skirt did not hinder her from dealing with the assassin's attack. Her eyes were cold, and a thin blade flashed. The sound of weapons clashing rang out.
The six assassins were targeting Jiang Fenghua. They surrounded her, and the meteor hammers attached to the ends of their silver chains fired hidden weapons. The hollow iron balls covered with barbs were thrown at Jiang Fenghua and Ao Xue. The enemy had come prepared, and the two of them were no match for the strength of the six. Fortunately, they were agile and could easily dodge the attacks.
At that moment, torches lit up the dim environment, and the Imperial Guards appeared and joined the battle as soon as Ao Xue shouted "Protect the Emperor!"
With reinforcements arriving, Jiang Fenghua and Ao Xue became even bolder. The assassin's iron ball would eventually run out of hidden weapons. As the iron ball grazed past his ear, Jiang Fenghua seized the opportunity and kicked the assassin in the ear. The assassin lost his balance, and with the iron ball in his hand, he instantly pulled it back. The iron ball, which was originally meant to hit Jiang Fenghua's face, suddenly hit the assassin himself, and also hit both of them, knocking the assassin to the ground. Even when the knife was held to their necks, black blood welled up from the assassin's mouth.
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Don't let them die, leave them alive."
When the last assassin was pinned to the palace wall by a spear, Jiang Fenghua was too late. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, and the veins on the back of her hand bulged.
As she turned to look, she saw Nightshade, who had disappeared for many days, suddenly appear in a guard's uniform and shoot the last assassin.
Ao Xue exclaimed in surprise, "Ye Ying, you're back?"
Ye Ying bowed to Jiang Fenghua and said, "This humble servant is late in coming to Your Majesty's aid. Please forgive me."
Jiang Fenghua looked him up and down. It really was Ye Ying. She asked, "Where have you been these past few days? When did you return to the palace?"
Ye Ying glanced at Ao Xue and said coldly, "It's a long story, I'll tell you and Your Highness slowly."
The Imperial Guard on duty was led by Shangguan Li, who said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty has been frightened. I, Shangguan Li, am late in coming to your rescue."
Jiang Fenghua nodded. "I am fine. You are Captain Shangguan. Commander Shang and I have talked about you. You are indeed young and promising."
Shangguan Li said, "Your Majesty is too kind. I was on patrol by order of Commander Shang when I heard someone shouting for Your Majesty's protection. Fortunately, Your Majesty is unharmed."
From afar, they saw two valiant figures fighting with the assassins. Upon closer inspection, they realized that it was the Empress and her guards.
Shangguan Li noticed a pair of eyes and looked in that direction.
Suddenly, Ao Xue's eyes turned red as she looked in Ye Ying's direction. Shangguan Li immediately understood. It turned out that this girl liked Lord Ye, the leader of the Imperial Guards, and that Lord Ye had been away from the palace for a long time.
At this moment, Jiang Fenghua walked to the assassin's corpse, but Shangguan Li stopped her, saying, "Your Majesty, please do not approach. Let this humble servant examine it!"
Jiang Fenghua did not do it herself, but instructed: "Check what markings they have on their bodies, and whether they have poison hidden in their molars."
Shangguan Li nodded. "Yes."
After Shangguan Li finished his examination, he said in a deep voice, "They all have crescent-shaped whale tattoos on their right chests, and there is indeed poison hidden in their back teeth."
He frowned. "This tattoo looks like..."
“What does it look like?” Jiang Fenghua asked.
"I saw it in a book, it seems to be a very old book." Shangguan Li added, "I can't remember it right now. I'll go home and look it up before I come back to report to Your Majesty."
Jiang Fenghua nodded, "I await Captain Shangguan's reply."
At this moment, Ao Xue walked over and said, "I know. This is the mark of a very mysterious assassin organization. Who ordered them to enter the palace to assassinate the Empress?"
Jiang Fenghua had the answer in her heart, but as before, there were people who had doubts, but no evidence. The other party did not show up, so there was no way to prove it.
An assassin has appeared in the palace, and there's someone with this mark. If she follows this clue, could she catch the assassin hiding in the palace?
These six men wanted to kill her tonight. She unconsciously looked in Ye Ying's direction, took out her sword and held it in front of Ye Ying: "Shangguan Li, take down Ye Ying."
Shangguan Li was stunned for half a second, then had someone step forward and grab Ye Ying.
Nightshade did not resist. He said, "What does Your Majesty mean? Why are you arresting this humble servant?"
Jiang Fenghua said coldly, "On the day you left the palace, someone saw you set fire to Kunning Palace."
Nightshade said, "What fire? Is Kunning Palace on fire? On the night of the Lantern Festival, I was suddenly drugged while on patrol. When I woke up, I found myself outside the palace. I was imprisoned in a secret room and only escaped today. After escaping, I rushed back to the palace overnight. What has happened in the palace these past few days? Why is Your Highness still here so late? Where is the Emperor?"
"Since you've been locked up for so many days, how come your clothes are still so clean?"
"I had just returned to the camp to change my clothes and was about to go to the Emperor to report when I unexpectedly encountered the assassins," he explained.
Ao Xue said, "You said they disappeared on the night of the Lantern Festival, so who were the people who appeared in the palace afterward?"
Nightshade said, "I don't know."
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "Shangguan Li went to check his face."
Aoxue said, "Your Majesty, let me do it!"
Ao Xue approached Ye Ying and carefully examined his face. It wasn't a human skin mask, and even his height was exactly the same. Even the way he stared at Ao Xue's eyes revealed deep affection.
After a moment, Ao Xue said, "When I was fifteen, you gave me a gift. Do you remember?"
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