112 It was a false alarm.
The horse's hooves splashed through a puddle, sending up water droplets half a person's height.
"Giddy up!" Qi Gu rode her horse at full speed. Father, you can't be hurt!
In less than half an hour, Qi Gu arrived at the entrance of Sima's villa.
She dismounted and asked the soldiers at the gate, "Has anything unusual happened today?"
The guard replied, "Reporting to the princess, there is nothing unusual."
Qi Gu looked around at the patrolling guards; Sima Hong had strengthened the security today.
With a slight sense of relief, even if the Righteous King's men came, they wouldn't dare to force their way in!
She stepped onto the flooded steps and had just entered the gate when someone inside the courtyard shouted, "Fire! Help! Fire!"
The sound was coming from the direction of his father's courtyard.
Soon, thick smoke rose from the southwest corner of the Sima villa.
The guards noticed something was wrong and rushed toward the direction from which the smoke was rising. Qi Gu didn't hesitate at all and headed toward her father's courtyard.
Fulian, Hongyan, and the eldest prince stopped her, saying, "Sister/Princess, you can't go in." The place was already filled with thick smoke and fire!
Qi Gu said, "Let me go! I need to save my father!"
Flames quickly shot into the sky, and Qi Gu's heart felt as if it were being scorched by the fire. She didn't know where the strength came from, but she managed to break free from Fu Lian and the others' obstruction.
Rushing into her father's courtyard, "Cough cough!" Qi Gu's throat hurt from the smoke, and her eyes squinted.
“Father!” Qi Gu cried out.
"Father, where are you?"
The smoke was so thick that she could barely see the road. She tripped over something, grabbed a wall for support, and her palm bounced back from the scalding heat.
She felt no pain and continued to call out, "Father, where are you?"
A wave of immense fear and despair washed over him. Had his father already been killed by the Righteous King's men?
"Father, don't scare me, come out quickly!" Qi Gu cried as she walked, reaching out her hand to explore the path ahead.
A rickety piece of wood on the roof beam fell down with a "crack".
Just as the log was about to fall from Qi Gu's head, she was pushed forward forcefully.
"Bang!" The beam fell down with a sound, and Qi Gu fell forward, just managing to avoid the falling beam.
"Qi Gu? Is that you?"
Qi Gu collapsed to the ground, and upon hearing the familiar voice, she was overjoyed, "Father, it really is you! Father, you're alright!"
Li Shi, his face covered with a damp cloth, stepped over the beam that had just fallen and, through the swirling smoke, saw Qi Gu lying on the ground.
He helped Aunt Qi up and asked, "Aunt Qi, are you alright?" He then took the wet cloth off his face and gave it to Aunt Qi.
"No! Father, I don't want to! I'm fine, let's get out of here quickly."
Li Shi covered Qi Gu's mouth and nose with a handkerchief without allowing her to refuse. "What are you doing running in here!" Li Shi's face was tense and stern.
"Princess! Princess!"
"Sister!"
The anxious voices of Hongyan, Fulian, and the First Prince could be heard from outside.
"We're here!" Aunt Qi shouted.
Li Shi pulled Qi Gu away and walked outside. When the two were rescued by Fu Lian and others, the Sima villa was engulfed in flames, and they could no longer stay there.
The guards escorted Qi Gu and Li Shi safely out of the Sima villa.
Standing at the entrance of Sima Bieyuan, I looked at the once exquisite courtyard, now filled with thick smoke, and beneath the smoke, terrifying flames spread.
"What a pity, such a beautiful courtyard has been destroyed like this," Li Shi said regretfully.
Qi Gu said, "It's best that everyone is alright. By the way, where did Father go? Why didn't he leave as soon as he saw the fire?"
"Don't say anything. I just went out and heard someone calling me from inside the house. I guessed it was you, so I came back."
A guard reported: "Princess, the fire in the villa is too big to be controlled. I'll escort you and Mr. Li away from here first."
The eldest prince said, "Elder sister, why don't we have Mr. Li come to my residence?"
Given the perilous situation today, and with the assassins sent by the Prince of Yi outside, the fire at Sima's residence was definitely not an accident!
It was getting dark, and it was even less safe at night.
Qi Gu thought for a moment, "That's fine too." She could stay at the First Prince's residence with her father tonight.
Just then, Sima Hong arrived on horseback. He saw that the fire was coming from the direction of his own villa and realized that something might have happened there.
He was a little unsteady on his feet when he dismounted. "Is Aunt Qi alright?" he asked, then turned to Li Shi beside him. "Mr. Li, are you injured?"
The two shook their heads, and Qi Gu asked, "How is it on the street?"
Sima Hong was relieved to see that the two men looked dark and disheveled, but were not injured.
He frowned. "Not good. Those people... are extremely cruel."
Upon hearing these four words from Sima Hong, Qi Gu immediately understood the seriousness of the matter.
"My father and I are staying at my younger brother's residence tonight." The matter is probably not over yet, and it is not advisable to stay here any longer.
Sima Hongdao said, "I'll take you back."
"No need," Qi Gu said. "We have so many people. We should capture all the loyal servants left behind by the Righteous King as soon as possible."
Sima Hong was still uneasy when someone reported, "My lord, something bad has happened! General Zhang says that the Southern Army may mutini."
The Righteous King controlled the Southern Army, and now the news of his execution should have reached the military camps. The soldiers, unaware of the truth, may be exploited by those with ulterior motives.
If this matter is not handled properly, the consequences could be disastrous.
Qi Gu immediately said, "You should go quickly, we should also go to the First Prince's residence before dark."
Sima Hong had no choice but to say, "I'll leave a detachment for you; please be careful on your journey."
After saying that, he selected a group of people to stay and escort Qi Gu, gave her a deep look, and then left with his men.
Watching Sima Hong's figure disappear at the end of the street, Qi Gu said to her father and younger brother, "Let's go too."
It was already getting dark, and it had rained again today. The streets smelled of mud after being washed by the rain.
The guards at Sima Bieyuan somehow found a carriage, and Qi Gu and her father got into it.
Inside the carriage, Qi Gu recounted everything that had happened that day to her father. Li Shi listened with trepidation, "So, the fire at Sima's villa was also set by someone?"
Qi Gu nodded, "Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?"
"But why did the Prince of Yi want to kill me? I had no grudge against him."
“King Yi is a madman. He doesn’t want the Great Jin to be peaceful. You can solve the famine problem, but he doesn’t want the people to be grateful to the court so that he can have a legitimate reason to rebel.”
Looking at his aunt's calm demeanor, Li Shi realized that last year, the two of them were still digging and planting in the fields, but this year, his aunt was able to handle these thrilling and dramatic scenes with composure.
She remained calm and swift in the face of danger, and was also extremely meticulous; otherwise, she would not have learned from the Yi King's advisors that the Yi King had sent someone to assassinate him.
“Aunt Qi, your father is so proud of you.” Li Shi’s eyes were filled with pride.
Fu Lian's voice rang out from outside the carriage: "There's an assassin!"
Qi Gu thought to herself, "Today has been so long, and it's not over yet."
She stood in front of Li Shi, "Father, don't be afraid!"
Li Shi, who was behind her, fell silent. Qi Gu turned around and saw that her father was silently shedding tears.
"Aunt Qi, Father is so touched T.T"
Qi Gu sighed, "Father, this isn't the time to talk about this!"
Qi Gu quickly considered that the King of Yi would not send too many people, and she did not think that the King of Yi's people would gain an advantage in a direct confrontation.
She stepped off the carriage and said to the seven or eight people in front of her, "The Prince of Yi has been killed. If you stop now, I will forgive you for what you have done!"
One of them said, "Even a meritorious official like the King has been killed. The Queen is ruthless. Brothers, we're going to die anyway, so killing the princess before we die is worth it, hahaha!"
"You are not the King of Righteousness's people!" Qi Gu suddenly said.
The leader panicked, "Stop talking nonsense, prepare to die!"
With that, he raised his knife and rushed forward, stabbing at Qi Gu!
"Princess, be careful!" Fu Lian pulled Qi Gu behind her.
Li Shi had witnessed the dangerous scene from the carriage. He jumped off the carriage and pulled Qi Gu, asking, "Qi Gu, are you alright?"
Qi Gu shook her head. She always felt that these people were too strange. They clearly brought so many people, while these people were only seven or eight. Even if they were willing to risk their lives, they should know that seven or eight of them against almost a hundred people had no chance of winning.
It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm, unless they... are fearless and have nothing to fear.
Qi Gu looked around and thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile, "I've been assassinated so many times, I'm quite experienced now."
There's someone on the roof! Her intuition was right!
Watch out for the roof!
Qi Gu shielded her father behind her, and the others, alerted by Qi Gu, noticed the roof.
The eldest prince dismounted and went to Qi Gu's side, wanting to stand in front of her, but Qi Gu pulled him back.
The others formed a circle around Qi Gu, Li Shi, and the eldest prince.
Qi Gu nervously watched the rooftop. Those seven or eight men in black were deliberately trying to distract them; the real force was on the roof!
Arrows pierced the night sky, and sure enough, there were archers on the rooftops!
This damn familiar feeling!
Fortunately, this time it wasn't in the open wilderness; the streets were lined with houses and shops.
As a hail of arrows rained down, Qi Gu was already surrounded and had to hide behind a wall!
Seeing that the arrows were completely ineffective, the man on the ground abandoned his bow and arrows, and drew his longsword from behind.
Most importantly, there are... quite a few people on the roof!
Fu Lian said, "Princess, there are quite a few of them. I will stay behind to hold them off, and the rest of you will escort you away."
Qi Gu calmly said, "A Xiang, send someone to ask Sima Hong and my cousin for help."
Ah Xiang nodded, pointed to one of the thin but agile people, and left from behind to seek help.
Qi Gu looked behind her; one was her father, and the other was her younger brother. She couldn't let anything happen to them.
Qi Gu said, "We cannot split up. Right now, the number of people on both sides is about the same. If we split up, we will be at a disadvantage."
At this time, everyone regarded Qi Gu as the backbone and obeyed her orders.
"Listen up, everyone. What we need to do is stall for time, avoid a direct confrontation, stay here, minimize casualties, and wait for the rescue."
Fu Lian, A Xiang, and the eldest prince's people naturally had no objections.
At that moment, those people rushed up from the rooftops of the American houses.
Fu Lian killed them one by one with a single slash, and so did A Xiang. His sword swirled in the air, blocking a circle of people outside.
A sound of a tile shattering came from behind me.
Qi Gu turned around, and a man in black jumped down from the top!
Qi Gu grabbed Li Shi and her younger brother and ran. The men in black chased after them. Just as a sharp sword was about to pierce Qi Gu, Li Shi and the eldest prince shouted, "Watch out!"
Li Shi pulled Qi Gu away. The man in black missed his attack and continued to attack Qi Gu.
At this moment, Fulian was blocked by several men in black, and Axiang was still entangled in a fight with two men in black and could not break free. Hongyan was also in a precarious situation.
They were all anxious to save Qi Gu, but they were all too busy to do so.
Qi Gu gripped the sword tightly with both hands, "Father, brother, come behind me."
The two men gathered around her, but instead of standing behind her, they stood beside her, and even tried to stand in front of her.
"You two, get out of my way and stand next to me!"
Li Shi and the eldest prince had no choice but to stand beside Qi Gu.
The man in black slowly approached, while Qi Gu and the other two slowly retreated.
Just then, a man in black stepped forward, and Qi Gu brandished her sword.
In the chaos, Qi Gu saw a sword pierce through the chest of the man in black from the air.
Blood spurted from his body, and Qi Gu felt specks of liquid falling onto her face.
Qi Gu looked at the sword in her hand; it was still in her hand.
She turned around, and there was Song Shi!
It was her!
Why is she here?!
"The Song Dynasty?"
Song Shi drew his sword, glanced back at him, and said coldly, "I'm not doing this for you; it's just that my master ordered me to protect you."
Qi Gu thought to herself that it was good that, in such a critical situation, it was helpers who came, not enemies.
[Author's Note]
There are about three more chapters left in the main story. Does anyone have any requests for side stories? [shy]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
