Chapter 788 Another Assassination in the Rainy Night
Just as the sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, a thunderclap suddenly rang out, followed by lightning and thunder. The thunder shattered the clouds, and a dark cloud seemed to be rolling in from within the clouds, as if it were about to overturn the corners of a palace.
Jiang Fenghua had just dozed off when she was startled awake by the series of thunderclaps. She instinctively reached for the sword hanging by her bedside.
Before she could turn over, the children in the bedchamber were simultaneously awakened by the thunder, and the sound of Princess Xie Lingyue crying could be heard from inside the palace.
Soon the oil lamp in the room was lit, and Hongxiu came out from the side hall to wake up the wet nurse, while Lianye went to light the lamp.
Jiang Fenghua slept with Xie Ziyan, while Xie Hongyou and Xie Hongyuan slept in another bed. All the children climbed up from the bed and sat up, calling out, "Mother, we're scared."
Jiang Fenghua called out to Lianye, "Bring Yuan'er to me."
She then beckoned to the eldest prince, "You'er, come here with your mother too. It's just raining and thundering outside, we're not afraid, your mother is here."
Even after all the children had squeezed onto the bed, the little princess in the wet nurse's arms continued to cry incessantly, and the thunder outside kept rumbling, one after another, as if it were going to break the sky.
The wet nurse was at her wit's end. "I don't know what's wrong, I just can't soothe the little princess."
Lianye went to help soothe it, "Is it hungry, or has it needed to poop? Let's check first."
Lianye has become quite adept at taking care of children; she can generally figure out each child's situation accurately.
The wet nurse said, "I just fed her, and her diaper isn't wet."
Jiang Fenghua protected her three children and calmed them down first. She then asked Xie Hongyou to take her younger siblings with him and said, "Bring Yue'er here with me too! I'll comfort her."
The wet nurse handed the child to Jiang Fenghua, and as soon as Jiang Fenghua held her in her arms, the child suddenly stopped crying.
The wet nurse said, "It's really strange that the little princess doesn't cry every time Her Majesty holds her. This child only recognizes Her Majesty as her mother and doesn't recognize anyone else."
Jiang Fenghua looked at the four children crammed on the bed and smiled. Perhaps Xie Lingyue was destined to be with her!
She said, "It's raining heavily outside, so make sure the doors and windows are tightly closed. It's still early, so you should all get some more sleep!"
Hongxiu said, "Your Highness didn't sleep for long. Let me sleep with the little princess! She won't cry if I take care of her."
Jiang Fenghua looked at Xie Lingyue's rosy cheeks, her little hand still clutching her fingers, "Let me hold her a little longer. The thunder outside is too loud, she's scared. She only feels safe in my arms."
Xie Ziyan clung tightly to her, saying, "Yan'er also wants her mother to hold her, and Yan'er is also afraid of thunder."
Jiang Fenghua patted her back, "With Mother watching over Yan'er, Yan'er isn't afraid!"
Xie Ziyan felt her mother's warm hand and smiled, "Yan'er isn't afraid anymore."
Xie Hongyou obediently protected his younger brother, saying, "Brother, protect Yuan'er."
Xie Hongyou is warm and sensible. Knowing that his mother can't take care of everything, he takes the initiative to stay with his younger brother: "Youyou isn't afraid of thunder." Actually, he is quite afraid of it too.
Xie Hongyuan raised his eyelids slightly to glance at his brother, then went back to sleep, as if the heavy rain and thunder outside couldn't disturb his sleep.
Seeing this, Jiang Fenghua wondered if Yuan'er was too lazy to open his eyes, or if he was just too calm? She was afraid of such a thunderclap.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Your Majesty, something has happened at the Imperial Prison. Someone is trying to break in."
Jiang Fenghua got out of bed again: "Hongxiu, Lianye, take good care of the children."
Hongxiu and Lianye didn't sleep at all; the thunder outside was too loud, and they couldn't sleep either.
Jiang Fenghua began to dress and put on her shoes before going out. Hongxiu quickly grabbed her cloak and said, "Your Highness, please don't go out. Commander Shang is here."
Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou also scrambled to their feet and ran to Jiang Fenghua, saying, "Mother, it's raining outside, don't go."
Jiang Fenghua put down her sword. "Yan'er, You'er, don't be afraid. You must take good care of your younger siblings for your mother. Your mother is not leaving; she just wants to go out and take a look."
Jiang Fenghua was about to leave when Xie Lingyue started crying again. She glanced at Xie Lingyue and said, "You stay with your sister."
The rain outside was pouring down like a bucket, making it impossible to see the road clearly. As soon as the door was opened, the wind rushed into the house. Lianye tried to stop her, saying, "It's dangerous outside, Your Highness, don't go out."
At this moment, Lin Yu also arrived. She said, "Didn't Your Majesty say that the Emperor wouldn't let the palace descend into chaos? Despite the heavy rain, the Imperial Prison was attacked by assassins. Fortunately, we were prepared."
Jiang Fenghua said, "Let's all stay and wait for news! I'm worried about the children."
Lin Yu was also afraid. Even though they had people inside and outside Kunning Palace, she didn't want anything uncontrollable to happen under her nose. When Xie Shang asked her to enter the palace, he must have wanted her to protect Jiang Fenghua's safety.
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Come in too!"
Someone else said, "Miss Aoxue sent me to tell Her Highness and Miss Lin that she went to help."
Lin Yu frowned. "She must have gone to find Ye Ying. I've been keeping an eye on Ao Xue, and in just a short while, she's already run away."
The louder the thunder in the sky, the more flustered Jiang Fenghua became. She walked to the window and glanced at the sky.
Jiang Fenghua was thinking about the list of assassins she had obtained from Cheng Feng. These lists had already been given to Shang Hong. Xie Kang was such a cautious person, would he so easily expose the assassins to the Cheng family?
Could Xiao Shunzi's death have been intentional? The assassins on the list must have been secretly dealt with by Shang Hong, but what about the assassins not on the list?
"Lin Yu, there's danger. Have everyone on alert," Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.
Lin Yu said, "Don't worry, everyone is on high alert. Haven't all the assassins hiding in the palace been captured?"
“I also secretly went to Cining Palace to check, and there were no assassins hiding there. I was just overthinking things about Granny Xi.” She laughed and said, “Granny Xi didn’t sleep last night. I found her hiding something. It was a money box, full of gold and silver jewelry. I didn’t expect Granny Xi to be so rich.”
Lin Yu also wanted to make things easier for Jiang Fenghua.
Jiang Fenghua's mind wasn't on Lin Yu's words. She suddenly muttered to herself, "No, they're only doing it on the surface. What's going on behind the scenes?"
The louder the thunder outside, the more nervous Lin Yu became: "What's going on in the dark?"
“There’s an assassin,” Jiang Fenghua said again.
At this moment, the sounds of fighting rang out outside Kunning Palace. A large number of assassins rushed towards Kunning Palace, while the secret guards and Lin Yu's men who remained in the palace joined the battle.
Hearing the sound, Lin Yu drew her sword from her waist. "You stay in the bedchamber. I'll go out and take a look."
Outside, the area was filled with crossbow bolts, their arrows whistling through the rain. Jiang Fenghua quickly closed the window and went inside, saying, "Don't go either, let's wait and see."
"Each of you take one child and hide," Jiang Fenghua instructed.
Lin Yu had no choice but to give up, hoping that Xie Shang wouldn't disappoint them, as he really did have a plan.
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