Chapter 226 Blood
Dressed in the robes of a eunuch from Xijiang, Qiu Heng ran to the palace gate. Facing the guards' questioning, she gasped, "Your Majesty, something has happened to Your Majesty—"
As the two guards were shocked by the news of King Xijiang's death, Qiu Heng drew the soft sword wrapped around her waist and swiftly sliced it across their necks.
Blood splattered everywhere, and the two guards instinctively clutched their necks, staggered a couple of steps, and collapsed to the ground.
Without Qiu Heng's prompting, Princess Rongning and a maid immediately bent down and took the long swords that the two guards had not yet drawn.
At this point, further disguise was useless; only a direct confrontation remained. Apart from Qiu Heng, Princess Rong Ning and the others were unarmed; murder and theft were pre-planned.
Therefore, Qiuheng had to be at the forefront.
The palace gates were open. The two guards died suddenly, and Qiu Heng and the others immediately rushed through the gates.
The guards standing watch outside the palace gates rushed over, their uniformly styled long swords held high, gleaming in the sunlight, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.
Qiu Heng showed no fear. Her soft sword moved like a nimble snake, twisting and turning, leaving a bloody line on the neck of the guard closest to her.
All of this is a long story, but in reality it happened in the blink of an eye; four or five guards had already died at Qiu Heng's hands.
"Don't get bogged down, charge forward!"
The maid who had taken the long sword shielded the still empty-handed maid in the middle and ran forward with Qiu Heng.
More guards rushed over from all directions, but their numbers were far fewer than usual, as most of them were busy rescuing the emperor and putting out the fire.
The leading girl, like a sharp knife, seized the opportunity to tear a hole in the imperial city's defenses and moved forward swiftly.
"Your Highness, be careful!" A maidservant used her knife to deflect a long sword aimed at Princess Rongning. Seeing another guard raise his sword to strike, she hurriedly dodged but was still cut on the arm.
"Xiuying!" Princess Rongning, her eyes red, swung her sword at the guard.
Qiu Heng heard the maids' screams, but she couldn't help them all. What she had to do was clear away all the obstacles in her way and reunite with Xue Han as soon as possible.
The maid named Xiuying collapsed after desperately killing two guards. Knowing she had no hope of survival, she clung tightly to the leg of one of the guards.
Her closest companion tried to help, but she roared at him, her eyes bloodshot, "Run! Protect Her Highness! Run!"
The maid didn't even have time to grieve, and didn't even bother to look at Xiuying lying on the ground being slashed by the knife. She swung her knife to meet the approaching guard.
Xiuying smiled at this and tightened her grip on the guard's ankle.
"Let go!" The guard kicked out with his other foot, but the body, though much thinner than the man's, was like a resilient vine, impossible to shake off.
Without hesitation, the guard raised his sword and slashed down, one blow after another...
Blood gushed from the corner of Xiuying's mouth. She seemed to feel no pain and had lost all her strength.
She couldn't let go; the more people she held back, the further the prince and the others could run.
Xiuying opened her mouth and bit down hard on the guard's calf.
Her teeth are still sharp and usable.
Her mouth was filled with the taste of blood. Xiuying didn't know if it was her blood or the other person's. She couldn't even hear the man's curses anymore.
It had been dark for what seemed like a long time, but then suddenly it brightened up again, and what I saw was not a foreign grassland with herds of cattle and sheep.
It is the bustling crowds on the streets, the myriad lights of homes at night, the gardens in the royal palace where butterflies flutter, and the ball soaring high amidst laughter.
Princess, we're home.
Xiuying smiled and closed her eyes.
Princess Rongning had run so far that she didn't know if the road had an end. Her eyes were dry, only red.
That was fresh blood splattered from a person's body.
Amidst the bloodshed and violence, she wasn't even sure if she was injured or if the blood splattered on her clothes was hers.
Numb, calm, mixed with a hint of regret.
If she had known this would happen, she should have focused on martial arts training instead of spending most of her time on Cuju (ancient Chinese football).
As the blade flashed diagonally, Princess Rongning swayed as she dodged, only to be pulled away by Qiu Heng.
"Run forward!"
Upon hearing Qiu Heng's shout, Princess Rong Ning did not hesitate and charged forward with her knife raised.
Chaos reigned ahead, weapons clashing, and the royal city gate, now wide open, lay scattered on the ground.
Xue Han saw Princess Rong Ning, who was covered in blood.
"Protect His Highness and get him out of the city!"
At his command, several men fought with Xi Jiang's guards while heading towards Princess Rongning's side.
The men were all young and strong, and they were wearing the clothes of the Great Xia craftsmen.
Princess Rongning was not surprised.
Aheng told her that from the very beginning, the people who moved into the capital of Xijiang were not the skilled craftsmen who were part of her dowry, but rather guards disguised as artisans. As for those artisans, they had already blended into the group protecting Vice Envoy Zhao and embarked on their journey back to Daxia.
Several hundred guards accompanied her on her marriage alliance; some left with Vice Envoy Zhao, while the majority remained stationed a dozen miles outside the city. Several prominent officials, including Xue Han, stayed at the Imperial Household Department.
The towering flames were a signal; once they saw the flames, Xue Han would lead his guards, disguised as craftsmen, to rush in and meet them.
Knowing that reinforcements were on the way, Princess Rongning and the others held onto hope, which gave them even more courage to move forward.
"Take care, Your Highness." Xue Han said as he passed Princess Rongning, and without hesitation rushed to Qiu Heng's side, slashing away the Xi Jiang guard who was attacking Qiu Heng.
Qiu Heng was dealing with several guards when she exchanged a quick glance with Xue Han before throwing all her attention back into the fight.
With each of them blocking one side, they increased their speed in killing the guards.
This gave Princess Rongning and her maids the opportunity to leave.
"Leave the city!"
The smoke billowed in the air, reminding the Great Xia guards outside the city.
It was still early morning when the chaos caused by the palace fire and the rescue of King Xijiang grew, leaving the Xijiang guards who were chasing Qiuheng and the others in disarray and disorganized.
Qiu Heng and her group had a clear objective and fought swiftly. Although they suffered casualties along the way, they finally broke out of the city.
Hu Si was responsible for receiving Princess Rongning.
Hundreds of Xia guards were encamped outside the city, undoubtedly under close surveillance by the Xijiang army. When they saw the smoke rising in the sky, as planned, most of the guards went to meet them, while the rest blocked the Xijiang soldiers.
With a significant disparity in numbers, our only advantage is to escape as far as possible before the enemy can react.
Hu Si, galloping on his horse, saw Princess Rongning.
"Your Highness, mount your horse!" Hu Si slashed down the pursuing Xi Jiang guards with a single stroke, pulled Princess Rong Ning onto the horse's back, and turned the horse around.
"Aheng and Lord Xue are still behind!" Princess Rongning cried out hoarsely, her throat burning.
Hu Si felt a pang of pain in his heart, but without hesitation, he spurred his horse on, shouting, "Your Highness, hold on tight!"
His family members, including Hongdougao, had to stay behind to hold off the pursuers and couldn't go with him.
(End of this chapter)
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