Chapter 43 The Dog Emperor's Evil Intentions
The fresh air after the rain seemed unable to suppress the inexplicable uneasiness in Yun Zhao's heart.
At the fork in the road, Xiao Jin chose a path that was completely different from Xiao Heng and the others without hesitation.
Yun Zhao kicked her horse's flank and hurried to catch up, unable to help but reminding: "Your Majesty! This road is more than a mile farther than the one taken by His Royal Highness Prince Jin!" Her voice was wrapped in the wind, sounding a little anxious.
Xiao Jin didn't even turn his head, his voice a little vague in the wind: "You know the suburbs of the imperial city very well."
"When my father was in charge of the Beijing army, I, your servant... ahem, followed him throughout every inch of the capital, so I naturally remember it."
"So," Xiao Jin suddenly slowed down, tilted his head, and a playful smile played on his lips, "Are you afraid of losing?"
Yun Zhao was furious: [You bastard emperor! I'm afraid you'll be put in a sack and thrown into a pond!] But he could only say stiffly, "I'm not afraid!"
Xiao Jin simply reined in his horse and stopped, looking at her tense face with interest: "Then tell me, if you really encountered danger, would you know how to escape?"
Yun Zhao really wanted to hold her forehead with her hands, but unfortunately, her hands were holding the reins. "Your Majesty, I think the safest thing to do right now is to return to the starting point as quickly as possible! If anything happens to you, ten heads of yours wouldn't be enough to chop off!"
Xiao Jin's smile deepened, with a hint of permissiveness: "Yun Zhao, when you are alone, you are allowed to call yourself 'I'."
[Who cares about this 'grace'! Life! The most important thing in this new life is to keep it alive! Yours, and mine!]
Xiao Jin seemed completely oblivious to her anxiety. Instead, he leisurely rode his horse and glanced up at the leaden clouds that had gathered in the sky. "Looks like it's going to rain again."
Yun Zhao also looked at the sky with worry: "Your Majesty, the sky is overcast, I'm afraid it will rain heavily. How about..."
Xiao Jin, however, acted as if he hadn't heard and continued to ask, "I remember there's a manor house nearby? One belonging to the Yunshan Marquis's mansion?"
Alarm bells rang in Yun Zhao's mind! "The Yunshan Marquis's Mansion? Isn't Chen Yingying, the legendary beauty who looks like a small white flower, kept on a farm in the suburbs?! This foolish emperor! Could he be trying to 'understand the people's sentiments' while he's here?! Winning or losing in the horse race doesn't matter; expanding his harem is the real deal?!"
She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and said dryly, "Yes... yes, there is a manor. Your Majesty, why don't we go there another day? If we lose the horse race today..."
[I'm really starting to wonder what this idiot emperor is up to! ]
"I just asked casually, why is Yun Shangshi so impatient?" Xiao Jin raised his eyebrows, his tone accusing with a hint of grievance.
[Well, no patience, but plenty of murderous intent!] The villain in Yun Zhao's heart was sharpening his knife, but he forced a fake smile on his face: "Your Majesty has misunderstood! I am worried that losing to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin will damage Your Majesty's reputation. Should we... run?" She suggested almost through gritted teeth.
"Oh?" Xiao Jin looked at her angry expression, seeming to find it very amusing. He teased her deliberately, "Why, are you afraid that I'll die and want to take you with me?"
[Nonsense! What else?] Yun Zhao nodded frantically inwardly, but her words were cloyingly sweet: "Your Majesty, your blessings are as great as the heavens, and your descendants will surely prosper for thousands of years! I was hoping to follow Your Majesty and enjoy the blessings!"
Before he finished speaking, something strange happened!
“Swish, swish, swish—!”
Several crossbow arrows, gleaming with a cold blue light, tore through the air, shooting out from the dense brush beside the road! Immediately afterwards, dozens of masked men in black swarmed out like ghosts, their blades flashing as they lunged at Xiao Jin! Their murderous intent was sharp, clearly a long-planned ambush!
Yun Zhao's pupils suddenly shrank, and the hairs on his body stood on end!
Xiao Jin's reaction was surprisingly calm. He jerked his horse's head, dodging two deadly crossbow arrows. He shouted at Yun Zhao in a firm voice, "Don't bother me! Follow me, escape!"
[Escape?!] Yun Zhao was stunned. [This isn't like him! Where are the Imperial Guards? Where are Zhou Si's men?! Are all these layers of defense just for nothing?!]
[You bastard emperor! Could it be that your imperial guards have collectively turned against you?!]
A horrified thought flashed through her mind like lightning, but she didn't have time to think about it at the moment.
Seeing that Xiao Jin had already ridden his horse towards Zhuangzi, Yun Zhao did not hesitate. He suddenly kicked the horse's belly, and the crimson figure was like an arrow shot from a bow, chasing after the dark shadow!
The sounds of swords clashing, crossbows breaking through the air, and the assassins' shouts intertwined behind him into a melody of death.
Yun Zhao slumped over his horse, his heart pounding wildly. His mind was filled with a single thought: "Survive! Nothing can happen to Xiao Jin! If he gets hurt, my entire family will be buried with him!"
The two men, one in front and one behind, temporarily left the pursuers behind for a distance, and rushed desperately towards the outline of the manor that was vaguely visible in the distance!
…
At the starting point, the atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed as if water was dripping out.
Xiao Heng and Yan Huichun had already returned, their horses catching their breath. Xiao Guizi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing in circles. "It's already been a cup of tea! Why haven't His Majesty and Yun Shangshi shown up yet?! Oh no! Quick! Go find them! And be quiet! Don't make any noise! If His Majesty loses a single hair, we'll all be beheaded!"
Xiao Heng's face was terribly gloomy. He suddenly jumped onto his horse and ordered sternly, "A few of you, search along that road! The rest of you, follow me back the way you came! Search carefully in every bush and tree!"
The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, and Zhou Si finally arrived with the elite imperial guards, his face darker than the bottom of a pot.
"Zhou Si!" Xiao Heng saw him, his rage rising to his head. "Is this how you deploy your defenses?! If anything were to happen to His Majesty, how many heads would you have left?! Hurry up and go find someone!"
Zhou Si's forehead was covered in sweat, so he didn't dare to argue. He clasped his fists and replied "Yes", then immediately led his men to rush towards the two forks in the road like wolves and tigers.
His heart was chilled. No matter what the outcome of today's incident was, his position as the commander of the Imperial Guards was likely to come to an end.
Without warning, bean-sized raindrops fell, forming a torrential downpour. The dirt in the horse farm was washed away by the rain, quickly becoming muddy. The muddy water splashed by the horses' hooves made the search extremely difficult.
The vision is blurred and the sound of rain is loud.
At this moment, outside the slightly remote farm of Xiushanbo Mansion, in a slightly dilapidated woodshed where miscellaneous items were piled up.
Yun Zhao was soaked all over, his crimson riding suit clung to his body, outlining his slender features. His hair was disheveled, with a few strands of wet hair sticking to his pale cheeks, making him look disheveled.
She stood vigilantly at the door, nervously observing the rain outside through the gap in the door.
Xiao Jin leaned on a pile of hay, his black clothes soaked by the rain, clinging to his strong body.
His face was a little pale, his breathing was a little short, but his eyes were still as sharp as a hawk. He was tearing open the sleeve of his left arm - a knife wound that was not deep but had peeled flesh was clearly visible. It was caused by a stray arrow, and blood mixed with rain water continued to seep out.
"Your Majesty, you..." Yun Zhao turned around and saw the wound on his arm, and his heart sank suddenly.
"It's okay, just a superficial wound." Xiao Jin's voice was a little hoarse. He tore off a relatively clean piece of lining cloth and wanted to bandage it himself.
At this moment, the creaking wooden door of the woodshed was carefully pushed open a crack.
A beautiful face with a timid expression peeked in. The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a plain cloth skirt and a simple bun, but her natural beauty could not be concealed, especially her large, watery eyes, like a frightened deer, pure and untainted by dust.
She was holding a coarse pottery jar in her arms. When she saw the two strangers in the woodshed, especially Xiao Jin's cold aura and the wound on his arm, she was so scared that her face turned pale. She took a step back and almost fell to the ground.
"Who... who are you?" The girl's voice was soft and trembling.
Yun Zhao instantly understood: [That beauty being kept on the farm by the Yunshan Marquis's manor, Chen Yingying! As expected... she lives up to her name, and I find her even more pitiful! Could it be that this bastard emperor has calculated that he'll come here to 'rescue the beauty' and, by the way, 'have the beauty rescue the hero'?!]
She looked at Chen Yingying's face, which was worthy of being called a disaster, and then at Xiao Jin. The villain in her heart was too tired to complain.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
