"Hold on tight!" the man said in a deep voice, he raised the reins and galloped away!
The sounds of countless horse hooves were chasing behind me. Chu Qiao was held tightly in the man's arms. The biting wind blew from both sides, and the sky was full of wind and rain, but not much of it hit her. She turned her head from his shoulder and saw that the sky was covered by dark clouds, as if it was night. There was the sound of horse hooves in the dense forest and hillside. She didn't know how many enemies were surrounding her, and she couldn't tell which ones were the imperial army and which ones were the black-clad assassins. In the direction from which she had just escaped, birds were circling, swords were clanging, and trees were shaking violently as if they were about to be uprooted.
"It's the young master!"
Suddenly, a short sound was heard in front of them, and the masked men in black clothes passed by them. They exchanged glances and nodded respectfully. Then they drew their weapons. The daggers were cold and the swords were like rainbows. Without hesitation, they stabbed at the bloodthirsty jackals following closely behind them.
"Young Master, straight ahead!"
"Young Master, there are enemies eighty steps to the west!"
"Young Master, someone is coming to pick us up from the South Wing!"
"Young Master, someone from the northwest is here to pick us up!"
"Young Master, someone from the east is here to pick us up!"
Fighting all the way, wave after wave of cover personnel came bravely. The man remained calm, spurring the horse with one hand and holding the girl tightly in his arms with the other, gradually leaving the noisy noise behind him.
The dense forest suddenly disappeared, and the grassland swaying like the waves appeared before our eyes. Chu Qiao's palm was covered in blood. She raised her head and asked nervously, "Are you hurt?"
Yan Xun was still masked, dressed in black, riding a dark-colored divine horse. He lowered his head, his eyes slowly narrowed into a line, and said, "Where is Li Ce?"
Chu Qiao answered honestly: "Escaped."
In the darkness, Yan Xun's eyebrows raised violently. He looked gloomily at the dense forest with blazing flames, and finally turned back, waved his wrist, and said coldly: "Return to the city."
“Wait!” Chu Qiao hurriedly said, “Zhuge Yue is here, and he’s still inside.”
Yan Xun raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "You want me to go back and take his life?"
Chu Qiao was stunned. Her original idea was completely shattered by this sentence. Then she heard Yan Xun continue to say: "We can't reveal our identities. Time is running out. Let's spare him this time."
Horse hooves were flying, Chu Qiao lay in Yan Xun's arms, looking over his broad shoulders at the swaying pine trees. I only felt that the sky was gloomy, as if it was so thick that ink could drip from it. Spring always comes late on the Hongchuan Plateau. At this time, Bian Tang and Huai Song are already full of singing birds and blooming flowers, but the land of Da Xia is still chilly. Occasionally, a cold wind blows from the northwest, bringing with it a pungent fragrance. Yan Xun said, that was the smell of Fire Cloud Flower.
It seems that everything becomes complicated and strange as long as it is related to Prince Bian Tang. Whether she was beaten by Chu Qiao or assassinated, such a major incident was suppressed quietly due to the official's deliberate concealment. If Chu Qiao had not been seriously injured and had to stay in bed for half a month, she would have even thought that everything before was just a nightmare.
Despite Chu Qiao being the first eyewitness, the entire assassination incident remains confusing. After pondering for several days without any result, Yan Xun had no choice but to mobilize all the intelligence forces of the Datong Guild in Beijing. After ten full days, he finally got a seemingly plausible answer. However, looking at this answer, Chu Qiao felt horrified. Both intellectually and emotionally, she was unwilling to believe that this was true.
"Since we can't find the cause, we can only look at the result. The result is that even though the Cavalry Battalion and the Green Battalion Army went out together to capture the more than 3,000 thieves who followed Li Ce all the way west and tried to assassinate him, Daxia still became a target of criticism for its poor protection and had to give Bian Tang a little sweetness in the Tanghuguan tariff proposal. In Bian Tang, a series of investigations were launched because of the assassination of the crown prince. More than a dozen foreign princes who led troops were involved, and there were also The three southwestern princes were most likely stripped of their military power because of this incident. The strangest thing is that even though almost all of Li Ce's men were injured, none of them died. This is incredible. Being ambushed and besieged by enemies ten times their size, he was able to achieve such a record. If I say that Prince Li really got lucky, I can only say that his luck is really good. This is the reasoning. After eliminating all the wrong answers, the last one left, no matter how unlikely it is, is the truth. "
Yan Xun leaned on the cushion in the carriage, lying on his side, his hand supporting his forehead, and said with a faint smile: "A Chu, you are really lucky this time. If you really attacked Li Ce, maybe you would not be here now."
Chu Qiao frowned and carefully recalled all the details of that day, but she still couldn't find even a single flaw. If it is true as Yan Xun said, that all this was arranged by Li Ce, then this man is really terrifying.
Yan Xun was not the only one who was interested in this matter. As soon as the imperial physician left, an order was issued from the palace to summon Chu Qiao. Yan Xun accompanied her all the way to Changping Gate, and could go no further. Chu Qiao got off the carriage and followed the palace servant who came to lead the way. She entered the front corridor and turned nine times towards the front hall.
Maybe it was because it was still early, Shengjin Palace was quiet, white birds were flying across the sky, the sky was blue, the cool breeze blew on clothes, and the long sleeves fluttered like butterflies.
"Eunuch Bai!" A young eunuch suddenly ran over from the direction of the Xiangzhang Palace and said breathlessly to the elderly eunuch who was leading the way, "Eunuch Bai, Qin Shuyi from the Shuyi Bureau is dead!"
"What?" Eunuch Bai was stunned and horrified. The whisk in his hand fell to the ground and he stammered, "What's going on?"
"The people from the Shuyi Bureau said that she suddenly became ill after eating the date paste cake from the West Kitchen. Now people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have entered the palace."
"How could this happen?" The old man frowned.
He turned around and was about to speak when Chu Qiao said, "Eunuch, if you have something to do, just go ahead. I know the way to the front hall."
"Thank you very much." The old man bowed and said to the young eunuch, "Go quickly."
Chu Qiao has lived in the palace for many years and is very familiar with these queens and eunuchs. To be precise, the emperor of Daxia was not lustful, and no woman in the palace was particularly favored or neglected. She vaguely remembered Qin Shuyi from the Shuyi Bureau. Her name was Mingshan. She was a low-key person. Among the eighty singing and dancing ladies in the Shuyi Bureau, she was always the quietest and most peaceful one. She often came to their Shangyifang to pick up books. Who would have thought that such a person who kept himself out of everything could not escape the disaster of losing his life.
She didn't think any more and passed through the Camphor Palace, which was the Baquming Lake. The willow trees on both sides of the lake had sprouted, and were crisp and green. The breeze was blowing gently, and the lake was rippling with green waves. Chu Qiao stood on the Baqu Corridor Bridge, her clothes fluttering in the wind, and she couldn't help feeling a little open-minded.
She walked quickly past Ronghua Pavilion, and then to the front hall's Fu Gate. She took the side road, which was relatively quiet and had few pedestrians. She walked under a row of corridors painted with vermilion and gold tiles. In the distance, there were rockery, clear water, willow trees and flowers. The woman in white clothes and black hair looked very elegant.
However, at this moment, a shrill scream suddenly came, immediately disrupting the girl's pace.
Chu Qiao stopped and looked up, only to see a large snow-white eagle falling from the sky and landing on the ground with a thud. Its chest and abdomen were pierced by a sharp arrow and blood was dripping.
The sound of chaotic footsteps suddenly approached. The girl frowned, stretched out her hand, pushed open a palace door beside the corridor, and hid inside.
However, as soon as the door of the room was closed, a great force suddenly attacked, with wind in the palm and as sharp as a knife.
The opponent was extremely powerful, and Chu Qiao was subdued without realizing it. She reacted extremely quickly. She didn't even have time to see who the other person was. She turned around and grabbed the other person's wrist, then grabbed his throat with a snake-like hand. However, just when she succeeded, a slender but cold hand tightly grasped her snow-white neck.
The attack was as fast as lightning and the two were evenly matched.
The doors and windows were closed, there was no light at all, and the room was dark, so they couldn't see each other's faces clearly. The faces and figures of the two men were hidden in the darkness, with only their sharp eyes flashing with a faint light, like two wild beasts meeting on a narrow road.
Even though he was restrained, he did not use any brutal force. Almost at the same time, both parties opened their fingers tacitly. Seeing the other party making the same move, they continued to let go. Finally, they stood facing each other, but still could not conceal the tension in the air.
"Sister Yun, why do you have to do this?" A gentle voice suddenly sounded in the courtyard. The woman was dressed in a blue brocade court gown with a colorful phoenix, a purple gold carved crown, sleeves like clouds, a slender waist, a face like a peach or plum blossom in spring, and eyes like a blue lake in June. She walked slowly forward, surrounded by a group of palace servants.
"You and I are sisters. How can I bear to see you make such a big mistake?" The servants brought up a nanmu recliner. Concubine Shu brushed her sleeves and sat down slowly. With a faint smile, she took the letter from the white eagle, opened it and took a closer look, and said, "It is a serious crime for a woman in the harem to pass it on to someone outside the palace. Sister has been in charge of the six palaces for many years. Don't you know? Why did you make such a mistake?"
The most noble woman of the former dynasty stood in the courtyard, wearing a dark purple dress with colorful gold patterns, her neck straight, followed by two palace maids. She was still as elegant and graceful as ever, but her face was thin and slightly pale. Muhenayun didn't even look at Concubine Shu, and said in a deep voice to the two palace servants behind him: "Let's go."
"stop."
Muhenayun pretended not to hear and continued walking forward.
Several eunuchs immediately stepped forward, stopped in front of Muhenayun, and said in a deep voice: "Queen, please stay. The Imperial Concubine has something to say."
With a crisp sound, Muhenayun slapped the eunuch hard on the face. The Queen of Daxia raised her eyes and shouted coldly: "Who are you? How dare you block my way?"
The eunuch was stunned and fell to his knees with a thud. Muhenayun had been the queen for ten years, and her accumulated power over the years had frightened these servants into silence.
Concubine Shu's eyes turned cold, and she said calmly: "Sister, your prestige remains undiminished, and your elegance remains the same. This is cause for celebration."
Mu Henayun's face was as cold as ice, and she said in a cold voice: "You and I have never known each other, nor have we ever been friends. I have never been afraid of you before, and I don't intend to take you seriously now. The rise and fall of women in the palace is normal. Since we are enemies, not friends, you don't have to call me sister sweetly."
Concubine Shu smiled and said, "Sister Yun is hot-tempered and outspoken. I really like you more and more."
"I don't deserve it. I have something else to do. I won't accompany you to chat and appreciate the flowers." After saying that, Mu Henayun turned around and wanted to leave.
"Wait!" Concubine Shu's pretty face turned cold. She slowly stood up, holding up the letter in her hand, and said in a deep voice, "Sister, don't you want to explain?"