assassinate
They continued to move towards the palace. Fu Huaiying lifted the curtain and looked up. Lin Yan'an was riding a horse, walking beside her and winking at her quietly.
"Yan An! Why are you riding so fast?"
Lin Yan'an felt somewhat helpless. It was Xu Wenyang again, this grandson. He was so annoying. He pulled the reins a little closer and leaned down. "Sister Huaiying, I'm going to the back. Don't let anyone notice us."
Fu Huaiying smiled and nodded, waving him away.
Seeing him retreat, Xu Wenyang laughed and joked, "What is it that has our young marquis so captivated that he can't bear to leave?"
Lin Yanan walked around the horse and glared at him, "Get lost."
Xu Wenyang just smiled, "Young Marquis Lin's reputation for fierceness is well-known throughout the capital. I thought you would never be able to find a woman in this life. I didn't expect that you have such high standards and good luck. I will go to pay my respects to you someday and find a good marriage partner."
Lin Yan'an said nothing. He looked up at Ji Yuan, who was standing guard beside the carriage on horseback, and narrowed his eyes. "I'm lucky, but there are always some beautiful women around her who are desperate to make a name for themselves."
Xu Wenyang followed his gaze and suddenly laughed, "You get frustrated sometimes, don't you? But she's a close minister to the Emperor, gentle and good-looking, so it's normal for someone to miss her. Look at those young men, if it weren't for His Majesty's decision on her marriage, the Fu family's door would have been thronged with people."
Lin Yanan laughed again. He remembered the kiss Huaiying gave him after their heart-to-heart talk in the carriage that day. "Can they compare to me?"
Xu Wenyang couldn't stand his arrogance and laughed at him, "They can't compare. There are always people who can compare. General Wen, Commander Ji, they are all outstanding. Don't underestimate the enemy."
Lin Yanan touched his face and said, "She said, no one has a face like mine."
When he was young and followed his grandfather to the battlefield, people always laughed at him for not being heroic enough, saying that he was good-looking and might as well be a prostitute. At that time, he hated such a face. Later, he had Huaiying, who liked his face the most. The thing he hated when he was young has become his reliance today.
Xu Wenyang pondered the meaning of this sentence, feeling somewhat confused. He raised his head and looked at Lin Yan'an with a hint of pity in his eyes.
"Yan An, you... these words don't sound like praise to me. This isn't... using your beauty to please someone... Do you want to marry her, or do you want to be her concubine?"
Lin Yanan didn't care. He just praised her. He didn't care what she was praising. "It doesn't matter. Even if I become her lover, I can drive everyone else away."
Xu Wenyang held his forehead and looked at Lin Yan'an with an increasingly strange look, as if it was the first day he met him.
“…I’m getting to know you again, Yan An.”
Lin Yan'an didn't bother to pay attention to him and rode forward.
Although the palace was not far from the capital, it still took three or four days to walk there. Fu Huaiying had been sitting in the car for almost two days, and her waist was a little sore. She lifted the curtain and looked at the person riding a horse in front of her, feeling a little envious.
Ji Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at her as she stuck her head out. "Fu Zhibi, what's wrong? Are you tired?"
Fu Huaiying looked up at him and smiled, "Yes, it would be great if I could ride a horse."
Ji Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "It's okay. If I have time in a few days, I can teach you."
She was about to speak when she heard a sound of air breaking through. Looking down, she saw an arrow fall onto the carriage.
Fu Huaiying realized something was wrong and was about to remind Ji Yuan, but the latter had already run forward to rescue him.
"Help!"
"Help!"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Da Hu turned around and anxiously lifted the car curtain, "Girl! Are you okay?"
Fu Huaiying shook her head and said, "I'm fine, please move to the side."
In an instant, the dull sound of swords and carriages falling could be heard from the front.
The horse was startled and Fu Huaiying was hit so hard that she was in pain. She didn't care about anything else and immediately lifted the curtain and went out to help Dahu pull the reins.
"First... steady your horse..."
There was a loud noise from behind. Fu Huaiying didn't pay attention and just pulled the reins. However, Dahu's face looked very ugly because she had heard it.
"Girl...it's a musket."
Fu Huaiying's face darkened. It was hard not to suspect that Liu Shuang had something to do with it, but how could he possibly have gotten a musket? If it wasn't him, who else could have such a deep grudge against His Majesty? Apart from the former prince's party, she couldn't think of anyone else.
In addition to the officials' families, there were also concubines in these carriages. The Jinyiwei could only protect the emperor and the empress first, and the rest of the people could only save themselves.
Lin Yan'an rode up to catch up, stretched out his hand and pulled Fu Huaiying onto the horse's back, "Huaiying...are you okay?"
Fu Huaiying shook her head. "I'm fine. Wait, Dahu..."
"Xu Wenyang went to pick her up."
He rode very fast, holding the sword in one hand to split the arrows, pulling the reins with the other hand, and having to divide his attention to take care of Fu Huaiying, so he was a little distracted for a while.
Those assassins seemed to be determined to kill them all and were chasing them closely. Fu Huaiying raised his hand and shot an arrow from the small crossbow in his sleeve, which pierced the assassin's throat.
"Yan'an, go to the bamboo forest, quickly!"
She looked back and saw the broken carriages and the officials' families fleeing in all directions, and she felt a little panicked.
No matter how hard they tried to defend themselves, many arrows still hit the horses. Lin Yan'an pulled the reins tightly to control the direction, but the horse felt pain and ran around like a headless fly.
"Huaiying, hold me tight."
Lin Yan'an suddenly turned sideways, held her in his arms, and quickly jumped onto the horse. He used himself as a cushion under Fu Huaiying.
When they got up, Fu Huaiying was fine, just with a few scratches. Lin Yan'an's hands, back and face were all covered with wounds, blood mixed with mud and sand, with a certain bleak beauty.
Lin Yan'an held the sword in one hand and pulled Fu Huaiying in the other as they ran inside. He was accidentally hit by two arrows in the shoulder, and his lips became even paler.
Fu Huaiying knew that going on was not a solution, so she pulled Lin Yan'an around into the bamboo forest, turning left and right, and at least avoided the rain of arrows.
On the other side, Wen Chuyan couldn't find Fu Huaiying, and panicked. He immediately ran forward, dragging the injured Fu Huairou into the bamboo forest.
"Huai Rou, hide here and don't make any noise. Brother will be back soon."
After saying that, he ran out without looking back.
Fu Huaiying followed Lin Yan'an into the depths of the bamboo forest. Fortunately, it was already dark and the assassins over there had not caught up yet. They could finally catch their breath. Lin Yan'an couldn't even speak.
He was leaning against a tree, his body covered with wounds, two arrows in his back, his lips were pale, his eyes were closed, cold sweat was on his head, and he was breathing heavily.
To make matters worse, Lin Yan'an was seriously injured and it started raining again. At first, he didn't notice the raindrops falling, but when he realized it, he was completely soaked.
"Huaiying...run...inside..."
Fu Huaiying tried to open her eyes and shook her head. "If you don't treat your wound, it will get infected. Do you have a knife?"
Lin Yanan opened his eyes and looked at her. The rain was so heavy that he couldn't see her face clearly. He raised his hand and held hers. "Let's go... I'll catch up with you later..."
Fu Huaiying gritted her teeth, took out a pill from her sleeve, and stuffed it into his mouth. "This medicine can keep you alive. Wait for me, I'll go find someone."
Lin Yan'an nodded and raised his hand to signal her to run inside.
Fu Huaiying lowered her eyes and looked at him for a moment, then ran in the opposite direction. She didn't dare to stop, as Lin Yan'an's life was still hanging in the balance.
When she ran to the edge of the bamboo forest, she was almost exhausted, her hands on the tree, gasping for breath.
"Huaiying!"
Wen Chuyan searched for a long time and suddenly saw a familiar figure not far away. He almost didn't dare to let go. He immediately ran forward and hugged her, and the joy of regaining what he had lost filled his heart.
Fu Huaiying pushed him away and took a deep breath, "Brother... come with me..."
Before Wen Chuyan could ask anything, she pulled him inside.
When they arrived, Lin Yan'an was already unconscious. Wen Chuyan used a knife to pull out the arrow for him. Under the rain, blood kept flowing out.
Fu Huaiying squatted down and saw the black arrowhead in the moonlight. She frowned. The arrow was poisonous. Fortunately, she had fed Lin Yan'an medicine. The medicine was precious and she kept it to save her life. But she was fine and didn't want Lin Yan'an to be in trouble.
"We need to move somewhere else, brother. Help me get him up."
Wen Chuyan felt bitter in his heart, but he couldn't just stand by and watch the man die, so he could only pull the man up, put his hand on his shoulder, and walk out.
When they went out, the sound of swords and knives outside had stopped. The Jinyiwei were also very fast. As soon as they came out of the bamboo forest, Fu Huaiying saw Ji Yuan rushing towards them.
She raised her hand, "Commander!"
When Ji Yuan got closer, he realized that the person Wen Chuyan was supporting was Lin Yan'an.
"He was shot by two poisonous arrows. Commander, can you help me find a doctor?"
Ji Yuan nodded, turned around and waved his hand, asking someone to come and carry Lin Yan'an away.
Fu Huaiying breathed a sigh of relief, her legs felt a little weak and she almost couldn't stand, so Wen Chuyan helped her up.
"My aunt and uncle are all fine. The assassin went after the people in front, the ones closer to Your Majesty..."
Da Hu ran over holding an umbrella and pulled Fu Huaiying over. "Girl, would you like to change your clothes?"
Wen Chuyan felt relieved when she saw someone beside her. "Huai Rou is still inside. Go back and change clothes early to avoid catching a cold. I'll go find her."
Fu Huaiying nodded, and when she saw him running away, she turned to look at Dahu and gave her a wink.
Da Hu nodded and said, "I'll take care of it. Girl, go back and change your clothes so you don't catch a cold."
The Embroidered Uniform Guards set up a temporary tent in the open space. Outside the tent were the corpses of the assassins. The emperor sat inside with a gloomy face.
Fu Huaiying changed into his official uniform and immediately went to the main tent.
"His Majesty."
"Get up, no need to salute, are you hurt?"
Fu Huaiying shook his head. "I'm fine. I only suffered some minor injuries."
The rain was still falling outside. Ji Yuan dragged the last survivor in and forced him to kneel on the ground.
"Tell me, who is the mastermind?"
The man was soaked all over, and it was hard to tell whether it was more water or blood. When he opened his mouth, blood flowed out.
"No."
"You're quite tough on the outside. If you've gone through all the punishments in the Imperial Prison, I wonder if you can still be so tough."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Yuan dragged the man out again to execute him outside so as not to dirty the main account.
Fu Huaiying raised her eyes. The emperor was sitting on top with a sullen face. Chen Huanli was sitting beside him, looking frightened and not saying a word.
She lowered her eyes in thought. His Majesty hadn't even met the Crown Prince and Prince Huan. She and Ji Yuan both relied on the Emperor, so naturally they wanted to see him. But what about Huan Li? Was it because of his young age, or was it because of trust?
The crying outside disturbed her thoughts. This assassination must have been planned for a long time and it was very fierce. Many officials' families died outside.
Emperor Huanyu's expression became even uglier. He had originally wanted to use the same trick to lure those people out, but he hadn't expected that they could actually get muskets.
The Minister of Works was kneeling outside the tent, shaking all over. His face was pale and he was sweating coldly. He knew that his life might not be saved.
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