Chapter 57 Falling off a cliff
The sound of weapons clashing came from outside the car. Ye Wanning looked up and looked at Su Wenzhen with some fear. Before she could say anything, she saw the leader of the group stick his head into the car.
The man said with a grave expression, "Your Highness and Your Highness, something terrible has happened! These bandits are too powerful, and the brothers may not be able to hold out. Come out quickly, I will lead you to escape first!"
Ye Wanning was startled and quickly got up from Su Wenzhen. She hurriedly took Su Wenzhen's hand and ran out of the car.
As soon as Ye Wanning stepped out of the carriage, she was startled by the scene outside. The number of bandits was more than twice that of the guards. Ye Wanning frowned, it seemed that they were determined to kill them!
Just as Ye Wanning was thinking this, a deep male voice suddenly came to her ear, "Your Highness, what are you still daydreaming about! Come here quickly!"
Ye Wanning looked toward the source of the sound and saw that the leading guard had already stepped out of the melee and was waving at them. Ye Wanning bit her lip. Although she didn't know whose side this person was on, she looked around and decided that it was best to go with him at this time!
Seeing the three of them hurriedly break out of the encirclement, the leader suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Ye Wanning, who was panting, and said, "Your Highness, you take the Prince along this road, and you will reach the market in less than an hour. Then those thieves will not dare to do anything to you."
The man paused for a moment, then said, "Rest in that village tonight, and you can report the case to the authorities tomorrow before returning to Duyang City!"
Hearing this, Ye Wanning didn't react for a moment. She looked at the man in confusion, "What do you mean by that? You want me to take Wenzhen away? Then what are you going to do?"
"I'll go lure those thieves away!" The man patted his chest, looking like a martyr going to his death. "My duty is to protect the Princess and the Prince. If I can't even handle this small matter, how can I go back and explain to the Crown Prince!"
"To get it over with?" Ye Wanning's eyes darkened, and she gritted her teeth in resentment. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened. She paused and asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Li Zheng."
Ye Wanning glanced at him, about to say something, when Li Zheng's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Oh no!"
Before Ye Wanning could react, she was suddenly tackled to the ground with a "whoosh" followed by a muffled groan.
Ye Wanning snapped out of her daze, only to see Su Wenzhen lying pale-faced on top of her, and… an arrow in his left shoulder! Ye Wanning froze, looking at Su Wenzhen in disbelief, “Wenzhen…you…”
"Is Your Highness alright?" Li Zheng anxiously checked the surroundings. Seeing no unusual activity, he quickly squatted down and began to examine Su Wenzhen's wounds.
"How is he?" Ye Wanning bit her lip, looking at Li Zheng with some anxiety.
"It's alright." Li Zheng nodded. "No bones were broken, but the wound still needs to be treated as soon as possible." As he spoke, his expression became serious. "But right now..."
As if she had thought of something, Ye Wanning looked at him and asked, "When you were fighting those people just now, did you notice anything unusual? Were they really bandits?"
Hearing this, Li Zheng was clearly confused and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Of course not, but if it's not bandits, then who else could it be?"
"That's hard to say," Ye Wanning sneered. "Who knows, someone might have written, directed, and acted in this whole thing!"
As if realizing who Ye Wanning was referring to, Li Zheng waved his hands repeatedly to explain, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince really wanted to do something to you, why would he need us to protect you?"
Seeing his fervent defense of Su Wenyi, Ye Wanning immediately understood what was going on. She gave Li Zheng a meaningful look and didn't respond to his words.
The three remained silent for a while. Seeing that there was no further disturbance around them, Li Zheng said, "Your Highness, it seems everything is alright. Let's leave here quickly!"
Ye Wanning nodded. She helped Su Wenzhen up with some difficulty. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves behind her.
Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves, Li Zheng was greatly alarmed. He looked at Ye Wanning with a somewhat embarrassed expression, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened... It seems... the bandits are catching up..."
Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat. "What should we do?"
"This road is probably impassable." He paused, looked around, and then pointed to a side path, saying, "Let's go this way!"
Looking at the path, Ye Wanning suddenly felt uneasy. She looked up at Li Zheng, who was anxious, and then at Su Wenzhen, whose face was growing paler beside her. She couldn't help but feel anxious. "Okay! Let's go quickly!"
They hadn't gone far when the sound of horses' hooves stopped, and Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief. But something still felt off. She stopped and looked at the people behind her. "Let's not go any further. I don't know where this path leads. I feel uneasy."
No sooner had Ye Wanning spoken than Li Zheng's expression suddenly changed, and he burst into a ferocious laugh, "Hahaha, do you really think you can escape from here?"
Ye Wanning's face paled, and she instinctively pulled Su Wenzhen to her side. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" Li Zheng smiled slyly. "You really think I'm helping you?" As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Wanning with contempt. "Before we set off, the Crown Prince told me to keep a close eye on you, saying that the Princess Consort of Jin was clever and that I shouldn't let you see through my disguise. I didn't expect you to be so incompetent!"
Upon hearing him mention Su Wenzhen, Ye Wanning knew something was amiss. She clenched her fist, and after a long while, she snapped, "If you kill me and Wenzhen here, do you think you can escape? Do you think we won't find out who killed us?!"
“That’s natural,” Li Zheng smiled. “But I have no intention of killing you all directly.” As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned fierce, and he drew his longsword. “Keep going! Keep going!”
Ye Wanning paused, then turned and took Su Wenzhen's hand to continue walking forward. After walking for only a few minutes, she was shocked to see that there was no road ahead!
Seeing Ye Wanning stop, Li Zheng smiled, his tone chilling, "Your Highness, I'm sorry to trouble you, but please jump down with the Prince!"
Ye Wanning stepped forward and looked down into the cliff, but she couldn't see the bottom... Ye Wanning's breath caught in her throat. Was she really going to die here today? She turned her head and looked at Li Zheng with some resentment, "What did the Crown Prince give you? I can give you something too!"
Hearing this, Li Zheng was taken aback, then quickly recovered. He smiled, "What the Princess Consort is saying is meaningless now. What the Crown Prince gave me, no one else can give me." As he spoke, his tone suddenly became more serious, "Hurry up! Do you want Prince Jin to have more holes in his body?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Wanning panicked and immediately stepped in front of Su Wenzhen, saying, "Don't do anything rash!"
"Hehe." Li Zheng chuckled, then said somewhat impatiently, "Hurry up and jump, or I really can't guarantee what I might do to make you jump willingly!"
Ye Wanning gritted her teeth, wanting to say something, but saw Li Zheng approaching her with his long sword. Upon seeing this, Ye Wanning reflexively retreated, but before she could take two steps back, her feet suddenly gave way, and Ye Wanning's face turned pale. Her body seemed to fall straight down as if out of her control.
"ah!"
"ah!"
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