Chapter Seven: A Plan Against a Plan
According to the divination of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the full moon of this month is an auspicious day, therefore the envoy of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau must arrive in Luoyang, Henan Province, before the full moon. If they miss the auspicious day, it may harm the fate of the nation. Now it is already the ninth day, and the journey involves a lot of supplies, so they need to hurry on their way.
For the first two days, everything proceeded as usual, except that Deputy Commander Sun would send a member of the Imperial Guard to deliver a letter to Chief Justice Mu of the Judicial Office each day. Ye Yuqing was puzzled; now that the die was cast, how could the Military Governor of Henan be so calm?
“Of course not…” Inside the carriage, Mu Lian repeated the same method, testing and removing the poison from the letter tube sent by the fake Imperial Guard.
After helping Mu Lian tidy up the items that had been soaked in the medicinal solution, Meng Yuan nodded: "Yes. Today is the third day, the day the Headmaster was unexpectedly poisoned. Meng Yuan will definitely perform well and strive to be as lifelike as possible..."
"Thank you for your hard work..." Mu Lian patted Meng Yuan's shoulder, a slight smile playing on her lips. Besides the head of the academy being poisoned, she, his attendant, was also going to be poisoned. Looks like there's going to be a good show tonight.
In the evening, the group set up camp for the night. The sky was overcast, thick with clouds, and even the stars hid behind the heavy veil, making the area dim and dark. After several days of travel, both men and horses were exhausted and ready to rest. Only two squads of imperial guards patrolled back and forth with torches, and the camp was quiet.
Around dawn, a sudden gong rang out, shattering the night sky: "Fire! Fire!"
The camp erupted into chaos. Ye Xun, the attendant, was also awakened by the commotion. Stepping out of his tent, he saw a fire burning in the southeast, carried by the wind, and rapidly engulfing the camp. Soon, the camp was filled with an oppressive heat.
"Young Master, retreat quickly..." Ye Xun protected Ye Yuqing as they prepared to move.
Suddenly, a sharp flash of blade light blocked their path.
"Leave your life behind..." More than ten masked men in black robes surrounded them, their knives flashing like the wind, their moves ruthless.
Ye Xun was startled and quickly drew his sword to meet the attack, shielding Ye Yuqing behind him: "Young Master, be careful..."
Ye Yuqing sighed inwardly. Sure enough, the military governor of Henan was after her life. But what good would killing her do? Wouldn't the Empress just send a second envoy? Despite her sigh, Ye Yuqing quickly hid behind Ye Xun and picked up a half-eaten twig that had fallen to the ground.
Ye Xun, his longsword flashing like a rainbow, stood firmly, protecting Ye Yuqing behind him. Normally, the Imperial Guards and the soldiers of the Judicial Office would come to protect their master; if he could hold out for a moment until reinforcements arrived, his master would be safe. Thinking of this, Ye Xun fought with all his might. For a time, the man in black couldn't easily get even a step closer to Ye Yuqing.
"Change formation..." Seeing that the guards in front of him were trying to stall for time, the leader of the men in black gave a cold order. The rabble that had failed to intercept them last time had been executed on the spot, and this time, he could not be careless again.
In an instant, more than ten masked men in black robes split into three groups, working in pairs and threes to tightly bind Ye Xun, preventing him from escaping. The remaining man in black, however, charged towards Ye Yuqing with his knife. The blade scraped against the ground, sparks flying.
"Young master, run!" Ye Xun shouted with all his might, his body already bruised and blood dripping down his arms.
Several blades were unleashed simultaneously, once again knocking Ye Xun down from the air. Ye Xun, Ye Xun, Ye Yuqing felt a pang of pain, but knowing this was her only chance of survival, she quickly turned and ran back into the tent. Using the terrain as cover, she twisted and turned, barely dodging the first wave of attacks from the black-clad man wielding the knife. But before Ye Yuqing could catch her breath, the black-clad man sneered, his blade flashing horizontally, slashing straight at her once more.
"My life is over." Ye Yuqing unconsciously raised the withered branch he had picked up, closing his eyes tightly, unable to bear looking any longer. The thought of the pain of being sliced in half at the waist by the long sword filled him with sorrow. "Poor me, a young and promising talent, in the prime of my life, just the time to realize my ambitions and serve my country. Must I die a miserable death by the sword today, my body left to rot in the wilderness?"
Suddenly, a "clang" was heard, as if a hidden weapon had struck the back of the blade. The man in black, who was holding the knife, screamed in pain, clutched his bleeding right wrist, and fell to the ground, the knife in his hand being knocked away.
Ye Yuqing quietly opened her eyes a crack and saw that the man in black had a butterfly-shaped iron caltrop embedded in his wrist and on the wooden frame beside him, which gleamed coldly in the dim candlelight.
Has Headmaster Mu arrived? Ye Yuqing remembered that the hidden weapon that shattered the eight knives in one fell swoop that day seemed to be of this shape. Feeling a little calmer, she tapped her slightly trembling legs before straightening up and looking around.
madness!
In the shadows, seeing the man in black who had fallen to the ground painfully pull out his hidden weapon and throw it with all his might at the man not far in front of him, Mu Lian had no choice but to swing out another butterfly-shaped iron caltrop.
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out again. The caltrops, though launched later, arrived first, carrying the struck projectile around a bend and embedding themselves in the heavy table.
Ye Yiqing was startled and stopped in her tracks. So that scoundrel wasn't giving up and still wanted to harm her? Enraged, she thrust the half-twig she used for self-defense straight into the scoundrel's mouth. The man in black, whose pressure points had been sealed by Mu Lian with a small pebble, was now immobilized. He tried to bite down on the poison between his teeth, but Ye Yiqing beat him to it. Startled and enraged, his eyes turned bloodshot as he howled like a ferocious beast.
"Quiet..." Ye Yiqing sternly and bluntly ordered, her voice deep and authoritative, carrying the air of a superior. Caught off guard, the man in black froze for a moment and actually quieted down.
She certainly knows how to put on an act. In the shadows, Mu Lian observed everything. Her bright eyes swept over Ye Yiqing, who was leisurely adjusting her clothes, and she scoffed inwardly.
Outside the camp, the fire raged even more fiercely, and the fighting continued. Faintly, shouts of "We've succeeded!" could be heard. As the number of Imperial Guards and Court Soldiers increased, the men in black fought and retreated, eventually disappearing completely.
It seems the show here is coming to an end. Mu Lian lowered her bamboo hat, grabbed the man in black by the collar with one hand, and prepared to leave.
"Thank you again for saving me, Headmaster Mu..." Ye Yuqing, with her sharp eyes, quickly stopped at the tent exit and bowed.
"It's alright..." Mu Lian waved her hand casually, without saying much.
As the two passed each other, a delicate fragrance unique to women wafted over, like a condensed fragrance, subtle and elegant yet with a lingering aftertaste that made one want to savor it. Ye Yuqing couldn't help but raise her eyes to glance at the woman wearing a bamboo hat before her. Although she still couldn't see her face clearly, she instinctively felt that she was a beauty.
Her steps faltered slightly as she caught a glimpse of Ye Yuqing's movements out of the corner of her eye. Mu Lian frowned slightly and quickly walked away. "Ye Tanhua, you'd better not get any funny ideas."
The beauty had long since vanished, and the fragrance of her scent in the air had faded considerably, masked by the thick stench of blood and burning that filled the camp. Ye Yuqing sighed and rubbed her fingers together.
After sitting back down at her desk, Ye Yuqing moved the paperweight aside and lightly tapped the paper with her slender fingertips. Now that she had fooled the thief with the "fake secret letter," the next act of the show was just beginning.
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