All the people in Changjing Town were actually dead! All the people were dead, and Haoren was missing. The hairs on Prince Rui's back stood up all of a sudden. He felt as if someone was staring at him from a place he couldn't see. Two words emerged in his mind: trap.

Yes, it must be a trap.

The people of Changjing Town disappeared because they were all massacred, so what about the missing Hao people?

Are they all dead, or is this a trick set up by the Hao people to try to stir up a dispute between Da Qi and Hao? ! The more Prince Rui thought about it, the worse it felt. Everything was possible. He couldn't delay any longer! Prince Rui gritted his teeth and finally made a decision: "Deputy Commander Xu, let's go back to Beijing immediately!"

Deputy Commander Xu thought the same and clasped his fists in agreement.

He walked out quickly and ordered the Jinwu Guards to prepare to set off immediately.

Chu Qianhuang had also been keeping an eye on Prince Rui's movements, so when she saw the Jinwu Guards starting to pack up, she became anxious and came to ask for a meeting with Prince Rui once again.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Andaman has not been found yet, right? Are we going back to Beijing now?" Chu Qianhuang came to persuade again, extremely anxious.

Chu Qianhuang certainly didn't want to return to Beijing.

She had paid so much to go to Hao Kingdom and had gone through so much trouble to get to this point.

Seeing that they had already reached the border between the two countries, she only needed to cross the river to enter Hao Kingdom. Now they wanted her to go back? !

No, she was unwilling! Chu Qianhuang's mind was filled with unwillingness. Even though she was suppressing it, her anxiety still showed through her every move.

This time, Prince Rui looked at Chu Qianhuang with suspicion.

On the way south from the capital, Prince Rui also saw the leniency shown to Chu Qianhuang by the Hao people including Andaman.

Andaman ignored the fake princess Yuan Zhitong, and Prince Rui could understand it. After all, it was the emperor who broke off the engagement at the last minute. It was clearly agreed that the legitimate princess would be married to the crown prince of Hao Kingdom, but in the end, a fake one without royal blood was given to them. It was normal for the people of Hao to be angry.

However, Andaman's kindness to Chu Qianhuang seemed to be without reason, which made people suspicious.

Prince Rui also suspected that they were doing something behind the scenes, but he was too lazy to care about it. Chu Qianhuang had nothing to do with him anyway.

However, in this strange situation, Prince Rui had to take care of it and think more: Chu Qianhuang's insistence on not leaving was equivalent to confirming his previous speculation.

Prince Rui usually always has a smile on his face, and he has the image of a good guy in the royal family. He doesn't care about political affairs and never offends anyone. But at this moment, he could no longer maintain his smile. His lips were pursed into a straight line, and the look he gave Chu Qianhuang suddenly became sharp and majestic.

"I have made up my mind. We will set off for Beijing today. Everyone must go!" Prince Rui said in a stern voice with a fierce aura.

Chu Qianhuang's expression changed slightly, and his thoughts turned in a flash as he considered it.

She couldn't leave, but she also knew that it was impossible for her to keep Prince Rui again with the same excuse.

So, Chu Qianhuang took a step back and said in a gentle voice: "If Your Majesty wants to leave, I dare not stop you, but I want to stay..."

"No!" Prince Rui interrupted Chu Qianhuang directly and rejected her request without hesitation, with a stern look on his face.

Of course, he would never agree to leave Chu Qianhuang alone. If she was so bold as to collude with the Hao people, then she must be allowed to return to the capital. On the contrary, even if that was not the case, she was a noble lady of Da Qi, the niece of Concubine Chu, and the cousin of the second prince. It was impossible for him to leave Chu Qianhuang here.

Prince Rui said in an unquestionable tone: "Hurry up and pack your bags!"

Chu Qianhuang was about to say something else, but Prince Rui didn't want to listen anymore, and said in a light tone, "Miss Chu, I won't spoil you like those Nanhao people."

His words seemed meaningful.

Chu Qianhuang: "..."

Chu Qianhuang stood there, her posture still upright, her lips tightly pursed, negative emotions such as embarrassment, shame, and irritability intertwined in her heart, making her want to turn away.

She had worked so hard for so long, was it really going to be in vain? These past few days, Chu Qianhuang had been struggling for several days, thinking of various ways, and even thinking about running away.

However, she knew that if she ran away she would become an illegal resident.

Even if she went to Hao State alone, she would have no name or status, not even a concubine. An illegal resident in Hao State would inevitably have difficulty taking a single step. Moreover, a weak woman walking outside would inevitably be coveted by people with bad intentions.

She had no help in Hao Kingdom and was alone and weak, so it was even more difficult for her to find Wuhega Tower.

Chu Qianhuang turned around absent-mindedly, and walked out of the room without even greeting Prince Rui.

Baoqin was waiting outside the house for Chu Qianhuang. When she saw her come out, she came over and asked worriedly, "Miss?"

Chu Qianhuang didn't say anything. He gave Baoqin a look, indicating that they should go back and talk.

It was only a few steps away, but Chu Qianhuang had already made up his mind.

Prince Rui's strong attitude finally made her make up her mind. She gritted her teeth and made up her mind.

Go, she has to go! Chu Qianhuang immediately ordered Baoqin to pack her luggage as quickly as possible, especially to put away the banknotes and valuables.

Seeing that other people in the inn were still busy packing up, the master and servant planned to quietly leave through the back door of the inn. However, as soon as she walked out of her room, she was stopped by two tall and strong Jinwu Guards.

One of the Jinwu Guards with a mustache said coldly, "Miss Chu, be careful not to go the wrong way. It's not time to set off yet."

There was a warning in his words and his eyes were cold and ruthless.

Chu Qianhuang: "..."

Chu Qianhuang had no doubt that if necessary, the other party would attack her directly. She could only retreat back to the room, feeling even more annoyed.

She paced back and forth in the room alone, racking her brains, but to no avail.

An hour later, everyone set off. Most of them were looking forward to returning to the capital as soon as possible.

On the way back, the convoy hurried all the way, no longer as leisurely as it had been on the way south.

Chu Qianhuang followed reluctantly with a heavy heart, now that Haoren was no longer there to take care of her, her treatment was not so good, and Prince Rui ordered them to travel as fast as possible, so even though she was riding in a carriage, she had a very hard time along the way.

Chu Qianhuang was still unwilling to give up. She tried to sneak away several times on the way north, but Prince Rui was well prepared and had the Jinwu Guards guarding her day and night, leaving Chu Qianhuang with no chance at all.

On this day, the wedding convoy finally entered Yanzhou from Yuzhou. Everyone was exhausted. They didn't find a post station last night and just set up camp to rest. Today they finally found a post station.

As night fell, the sky became completely dark and filled with stars.

Chu Qianhuang felt sore all over and exhausted. After hastily eating a bowl of noodle soup, he decided to rest early, his mind full of thoughts about how to escape.

When she walked into the inner room, she saw a tall figure standing by the window.

Chu Qianhuang was startled at first, and just as she was about to open her mouth to shout, she felt a chill on her neck, and a blade with a cold glow was placed on her neck.

The man holding the knife whispered a warning: "Don't shout!"

"..." Chu Qianhuang's pupils shrank sharply.

The next moment, the man leaning against the window took two steps towards Chu Qianhuang, walked into the silver moonlight, and his face became clearer.

The King of Andaman.

Chu Qianhuang's eyes widened as he recognized the other person.

Andaman looked a little disheveled, with an untidy beard, and his cheeks were slightly sunken due to his thinness, and his complexion did not look very good.

Chu Qianhuang felt relieved and a look of surprise appeared on her face. She wanted to move, but she felt a sharp pain in her neck and the blade slightly sank into the skin of her neck.

Chu Qianhuang stood still and asked Andaman in a low voice, "Prince Andaman, what happened?"

There was a hint of urgency in Chu Qianhuang's tone, and he was still confused.

Andaman looked at Chu Qianhuang fiercely, her eyes were so cold as if they were poisoned, which made Chu Qianhuang a little scared for a moment, but she still tried to calm down and not show it.

"Miss Chu." Andaman shouted as he took a step closer to Chu Qianhuang, with an imposing manner. There seemed to be something tumbling in his brown eyes, like an enraged beast staring at its prey.

That day, in Changjing Town, he saw the bow in Wuhejialou's hand from afar.

The shape of the bow was strange yet familiar, but slightly different from what he remembered. However, he was sure that the bow was the new type of bow that Chu Qianhuang had used to trade with him.

No, it's different.

The bow in Wuhejialou's hand has a greater range and power than the bow displayed by Chu Qianhuang.

At that moment, Andaman knew he had been tricked.

He was plotted against by the Da Qi people and Wuhejialou.

Andaman suddenly realized and clenched his fists.

All the things that he had been unable to figure out before were like scattered beads strung together by an invisible thread, and everything made sense now.

really!

The Emperor of Daqi was indeed helping Wuhejialou. The intentions of the Emperor of Daqi and Prince Chen were very clear. They were trying to help Wuhejialou usurp the throne! !

As for Chu Qianhuang...

The anger in Andaman's eyes became more violent, like the gushing magma of a volcano.

Chu Qianhuang was just a bait thrown by Da Qi to divert his attention and make him let his guard down.

But he fell into the trap. He thought he had seized an opportunity, but it turned out to be just a trick of Da Qi.

He was wrong, terribly wrong, and turned himself from a hunter into someone else's prey! That day, he finally escaped from Changjing Town under the escort of a few of his confidants.

He was afraid that Wuhejialou would continue to hunt him down, so he had been hiding like a rat in a gutter for the past few days. He didn't even dare to cross the river, fearing that there would be an ambush at the dock. If he went there, he would only walk into a trap.

For safety reasons, Andaman planned to take a detour to Xuzhou and cross the river from the Xuzhou dock to Hao State. Unexpectedly, he met this group of Da Qi people again in northern Henan two days ago.

When Andaman saw Chu Qianhuang, he couldn't hold back his anger anymore, so he followed her quietly.

At first, Andaman planned to kill Chu Qianhuang to vent his anger, but in the past two days, he began to calm down.

His mission to Da Qi this time had such a big mistake that almost all the people accompanying him died. If he returned to Hao Kingdom empty-handed, he would not be able to explain to Emperor Hao at all, and even worse, he would be punished by Emperor Hao! Therefore, he had to at least bring Chu Qianhuang back to Hao Kingdom and let her tell Emperor Hao in person how Da Qi had played tricks on them.

Andaman also thought of the potatoes provided by Chu Qianhuang.

He didn't know whether the potatoes were another bait thrown by Da Qi, but he decided to take a gamble.

"I'm here to take the girl to Hao Country." Andaman's lips curled into an arc that seemed like a smile, and he said sarcastically.

Chu Qianhuang: "..."

Chu Qianhuang was filled with doubt and uncertainty, and her alarm bells were ringing.

Originally, she was happy when she saw Andaman for the first time, but now Andaman's gaze at her and the knife on her neck made her feel scared.

She had not had a good rest on the way from Yuan'an County to Yanzhou. In the past few days, she had nightmares at midnight, in which she was killed again and again.

Every time, it was the despair of being on the verge of death that woke her up from the nightmare.

Andaman's eyes at this moment made Chu Qianhuang think of that nightmare.

Chu Qianhuang felt a dry throat and a little timid, and her heart seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand.

However, in Andaman's eyes, Chu Qianhuang's timidity meant she was guilty.

Andaman said with a fake smile: "Miss Chu, what are you hesitating about? Don't you want to go to Hao Kingdom with me?"

Chu Qianhuang still didn't understand Andaman's meaning, but she could see that the other party had bad intentions.

She took a deep breath, calmed her chaotic emotions, raised her finger and pointed at the blade on her neck, and asked in a cold tone: "Prince, what do you mean by this?"

After a pause, she asked again: "What happened in Changjing Town?"

"What happened, don't you know, young lady?" Andaman smiled faintly, his voice even more mocking, "Didn't you give the bow to the Emperor of Da Qi? Uhagaru took your bow and almost killed us all!"

What?! Chu Qianhuang widened her eyes in disbelief, and couldn't believe her ears.

"Impossible, how is this possible?! You must be mistaken!" She denied in shock, her voice trembling slightly, and she felt as if countless bees were buzzing in her head.

Andaman meant that Wuhejialou was not in Hao Country, but appeared in Changjing Town, and he had a compound bow in his hand. How is this possible? !

"Mistaken?" Andaman sneered. His voice was so cold that it almost dropped ice chips. His speech became slower and slower. "If you made a mistake, all of us Hao people would have died, but you Qi people would be intact and all of you are fine."

"Chu Qianhuang, don't treat me like a fool!"

When Andaman spoke the last sentence, he spoke almost word by word. At this moment, the murderous intent that he had suppressed for a long time surged up again.

He prided himself on being a shrewd and calculating person, yet he was tricked by a girl who had not even reached marriageable age.

"Prince Andaman, it's not like that..." Chu Qianhuang wanted to explain, but Andaman didn't want to listen and raised his hand to gesture.

The pockmarked man holding the knife immediately understood, and quickly stretched out his other hand to cover Chu Qianhuang's mouth, and the hand holding the knife swiftly put the knife back into the sheath.

Chu Qianhuang was flustered and filled with fear.

Since Andaman has already determined this, what good will come of him letting someone take me away now? Chu Qianhuang's heart was beating like a drum, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on the back of his neck, and even his body trembled slightly involuntarily.

She was really scared. Under such circumstances, if she went to Hao Kingdom, she would only end up as a prisoner.

Chu Qianhuang bit the pockmarked man's hand that was covering her mouth and said, "You..."

She thought to herself that she could ask Prince Rui and the Prince of Andaman to explain clearly that both of them must have been framed, and Uhajalou must have been involved in this matter.

Seeing that Chu Qianhuang dared to shout, the pockmarked man's expression changed instantly, and he slapped Chu Qianhuang hard on the back of her neck.

Chu Qianhuang rolled his eyes and felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. His vision went dark and he lost consciousness.

Her body fell limply, and the pockmarked man picked up Chu Qianhuang's slender body. At Andaman's signal, the two climbed down from the second-floor window.

The moon is now above the willow trees, hanging high in the sky, making the night even darker.

The courtyard outside was empty, with only the occasional sound of insects chirping and wind rustling branches, making the surroundings even quieter.

However, as soon as Andaman and the pockmarked man landed on the ground, they felt their scalps tingling and the hair on the back of their necks stood up.

The pockmarked man reacted very quickly. He carried Chu Qianhuang in one hand like a sack, and drew the sword from his waist with the other hand.

Almost at the same time, dozens of tall Jinwu guards holding long swords walked out from the darkness with murderous intent, surrounded Andaman and the pockmarked man, and a dozen Jinwu guards appeared on the walls and trees like ghosts, drawing their bows and arrows.

The long swords and arrows in their hands were all aimed at Andaman. The sharp blades gleamed coldly in the silver moonlight, looking very aggressive.

The last ones to come out were Prince Rui and Deputy Commander Xu.

The spring nights were cool and comfortable. Gusts of evening breeze blew through the crowded courtyard, making the grass and trees in the shadows dance in a hazy manner.

The two sides confronted each other, time seemed to stop for a moment, and the atmosphere was tense.

Andaman's face looked extremely ugly. He looked around the encirclement vigilantly. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar and his heart was in his throat in an instant.

He was panicking and confused, but he knew that he couldn't show his weakness at this time, so he coldly scolded, "You Da Qi are really going too far!"

Andaman raised his voice in a weak voice, his ferocious face distorted with resentment.

Prince Rui looked at Andaman in confusion and frowned.

Before tonight, Prince Rui, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites, and Deputy Commander Xu had considered various possibilities together, but overall they were inclined to believe that Andaman might have met with an accident.

Unexpectedly, Andaman appeared again! Moreover, Andaman wanted to secretly kidnap Chu Qianhuang...

Prince Rui didn't understand why the other party didn't take Chu Qianhuang away in Changjing Town. He felt that something was wrong. However, facing Andaman's rebuke, he still pretended to be the Celestial Empire and retorted unhappily: "Prince Andaman, you are the bad guys who complained first!"

"You Hao people suddenly disappeared mysteriously. We searched for you in Changjing Town for several days but could not find any trace of you. Qi and Hao had already signed a marriage agreement, but you broke the engagement for no reason and left without saying goodbye. Now you suddenly appear again and want to kidnap the noble lady of Qi!"

"You must give me an explanation for this matter!!"

Prince Rui believed that he was in a righteous position, so he spoke passionately and eloquently!

Andaman's face became increasingly gloomy after hearing Prince Rui's words, as if it was stained with ink.

In Andaman's view, Prince Rui is the uncle of Emperor Da Qi. Emperor Da Qi entrusted him with an important task and appointed him as the envoy to escort the emperor to the royal family. It is impossible that Prince Rui was unaware of the conspiracy between Emperor Da Qi, Prince Chen and Uhajaro.

The purpose of the other party saying this now is just to claim to be in the upper hand!

Andaman's anger was about to burst out, but in the end he felt that it would be useless to say more to the other party.

He made a gesture to the pockmarked man next to him, and the pockmarked man pointed the blade in his hand at Chu Qianhuang's neck again.

"Get out of the way!" Andaman threatened Prince Rui in a cold tone, emphasizing each word, "If you don't want her to die here, get out of the way!!"

Andaman believed that Chu Qianhuang was the elder sister of the Princess Chen, and she knew such a big secret. Her life was definitely not comparable to that of the fake princess conferred by the emperor! If Chu Qianhuang died here, it would be difficult for Prince Rui to explain to Prince Chen after he returned to Beijing! Prince Rui frowned.

He had already suspected that Chu Qianhuang was colluding with the Hao people, and now seeing Andaman actually using Chu Qianhuang to threaten him, he just felt amused.

He quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind. Now that all the Hao people were missing, perhaps the Hao people were plotting something. Andaman had to stay so that he could give an explanation to the emperor! Deputy Commander Xu also felt that Chu Qianhuang was nothing, but he did not dare to act on his own. He looked at Prince Rui and asked him what he thought.

Prince Rui calmly ordered: "Capture him for me!"

He didn't say who he wanted to capture, but everyone knew that the person he wanted to capture was the King of Andaman, and he had to capture him alive.

So, a group of Jinwu guards armed with long swords immediately approached Andaman and tightened the encirclement. Andaman and the pockmarked man stood shoulder to shoulder.

The pockmarked man and Andaman both changed their expressions. They didn't expect that they would ignore Chu Qianhuang's safety.

“If you keep…” The pockmarked man pressed the blade in his hand against Chu Qianhuang’s slender white neck. The blade left a thin scar on the skin, and blood dyed the neck and the blade red.

“Whoosh!”

A feather arrow shot rapidly from the top of the wall, streaking across the night sky like a meteor and bringing up a fierce gust of wind.

It's so fast that most people can't react.

The pockmarked man pushed Andaman, and Chu Qianhuang, who was originally on his shoulder, fell to the ground, but it was too late. The feather arrow hit Andaman from behind with great force, piercing through his forehead from the back of his head, and the tip of the arrow was bloody.

Andaman stood there straight, his eyes bulging out of his sockets, and he died with his eyes open.

For a moment, there was deathly silence all around.

“……”Andaman’s mouth was still moving slightly, as if he was saying something, but in the end, no sound came out.

At this moment, he was completely sure of his guess, but it was too late.

He regretted it too.

He shouldn't have come to see Chu Qianhuang again. It would be better to return to Hao Kingdom in disgrace than to risk his life here! However, there is no regret medicine in this world.

Andaman's body fell down, his eyes became dim and lifeless, and the life had already flowed away from his body.

The blood stained the stone floor beneath his body, and the smell of blood spread in the wind.

Seeing Andaman dead, the pockmarked man shouted hysterically: "Prince!"

He shouted in Hao language, and his expression was full of madness.

He swung his sword murderously and stabbed towards Chu Qianhuang on the ground. Today, his two fists were no match for four hands, but he would make the people of Da Qi pay the price!

Unfortunately, he failed to stab him with the knife. The mustached Jinwu Guard closest to him swung his knife without hesitation and stabbed him in the heart.

At the same time, another arrow was shot.

The arrow accurately hit the long sword in the pockmarked man's hand.

“Zheng!”

The long sword fell to the ground with a clang, right next to Chu Qianhuang's cheek.

The mustache-wearing Jinwu Guard swung his sword and drew it again. Blood gushed out rapidly from the chest of the pockmarked man. The warm blood splashed onto the mustache-wearing Jinwu Guard's face, making his face look murderous.

In the blink of an eye, there was another corpse on the ground! (End of this chapter)