After the palace banquet, the emperor kept a few ministers and princes behind for a chat, while the others gradually left the palace.
After saying goodbye to Kong Xihan at the palace gate, Bai Chuxiao boarded the carriage.
"Miss, nothing happened today, right? I was getting really anxious waiting outside," Lanxin asked.
Bai Chuxiao laughed and said, "I was tricked by Prince Qi and took a little aphrodisiac. It's all gone now, so it's nothing serious."
Lan Xin said angrily, "Miss, let me take another look. Prince Qi is truly vicious. You are already engaged to His Highness Prince Yan, why is he still so eager to harass you?"
Bai Chuxiao shook her head, equally puzzled. Prince Qi really seemed to be mentally ill. Thinking about what had happened today, Bai Chuxiao closed her eyes, pondering the underlying intentions.
Lanxin saw that she was resting with her eyes closed and didn't say anything to disturb her.
After a while, Bai Chuxiao felt that the journey had been too quiet, so she suddenly opened her eyes, startling Lanxin. "Miss, what's wrong?"
"Something's wrong, we're on the wrong path," she said. Just then, a long arrow whistled through the carriage and shot in, which Bai Chuxiao immediately deflected.
In a secluded alley in the capital, the Left Prime Minister's carriage sat quietly. Lanxin lifted the curtain and discovered that the coachman was nowhere to be seen. The carriage was now surrounded by people. The man at the head of the group wore inconspicuous gray-white clothes, had a stubble beard, and his long, messy hair covered half of his face. Behind him followed a group of masked men in black.
"You're lucky to be alive. You inside, get out here right now!"
Lan Xin turned around with a livid face and said, "Miss, this..." Bai Chuxiao shook her head at her.
Seeing this, Lanxin could only bite her lip and help her down from the carriage.
"What are you trying to do..." Bai Chuxiao asked weakly, her face pale and bloodstains still visible on her left shoulder.
The leading man sneered, a wicked glint in his eyes. "This is the eldest daughter of the Bai family, the future Princess Consort of Yan? She's pretty, but her martial arts are nothing special..."
Lan Xin stood in front of Bai Chuxiao, "Since you know who we are, why do you dare to block our way in broad daylight? What are you trying to do?"
The leader of the group let out another sinister laugh, "What are the Prince of Yan and the Bai family? Others may be afraid, but I'm not..."
Bai Chuxiao stared at her and said in a deep voice, "So the person behind this has a grudge against me?"
He paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "There's no one behind this. I just want to have some fun with the girl. What can you do about it?"
Bai Chuxiao chuckled lightly, "To dare to put on such a show in the capital, the person behind you must be of high rank and great power. You must have received quite a bit of benefits from someone, right? Let me think... it couldn't be Chu Tianling, could it? Tell me how much he paid you, I'll give you double, how about you let us go?"
Upon hearing this, the man actually began to seriously consider it, seemingly finding it quite reasonable. "What Chu Tianling? I don't know him, but someone did indeed pay 50,000 taels to kill you. Double? Can you afford that?"
"No problem. Release us now, and I'll give you 100,000 taels of silver. I've received quite a few rewards today, so this little bit is nothing."
Aside from the two from the Bai family and Chu Tianling, she had no enemies. Her wedding date with the Prince of Yan was still undecided, so there was no need to use her as a target for his anger. Fifty thousand taels was no small sum, and this group of people seemed quite skilled; it was probably the work of that brain-dead Prince Qi.
She could leave if she wanted to, but Lanxin was only skilled in medicine and poison, and her martial arts were mediocre. If a fight broke out now, she wouldn't be able to take care of Lanxin, and Lanxin would probably die. So it was better to pretend to be nice to them first and then make a plan. When the man and the people behind him heard about the 100,000 taels, their eyes turned green, but they didn't dare to make any rash moves. "If we let you go back, will we have any way to live?"
Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly, "If you really don't believe me, I'll stay here and let this girl beside me go back to get the money. We'll exchange the money for her in the end. You're only here for money, so why fight me? Such a good deal is rare."
"She can go back, but you need to take the muscle-relaxing powder first." Perhaps Chu Tianling had told them she knew martial arts, so they were worried.
Seeing that it was indeed a muscle-relaxing powder and there was nothing fishy about it, Bai Chuxiao took it without any concern.
Upon seeing this, the man laughed loudly, "Good, Miss Bai, you certainly have guts! You, go back and get the money. Don't let me find out you brought people with you. If anyone else finds out, you can expect to be collecting your young lady's corpse."
Lanxin, who was being pointed at, shook her head. "I'm not going back. I'll stay. Miss, you can leave."
The man snapped, "Your life isn't worth much, get lost!"
Before Lan Xin could say anything more, Bai Chuxiao gently said, "Lan Xin, you go first."
Lan Xin could only bite her lip and nod.
Watching Lan Xin leave in a panic, the leading man pointed to the two men behind him and said, "Follow her. Don't let her try anything funny. If she makes any unusual moves, kill her immediately."
Then, turning to Bai Chuxiao, he said, "Miss Bai, please. Would you like to leave on your own, or would you like us to..."
Bai Chuxiao looked at him coldly, "I'll walk myself."
The group quickly left the capital and arrived at a mountain peak about several dozen miles away. In broad daylight, right under the emperor's nose, she was actually kidnapped by a group of bandits. Seeing this, she couldn't help but feel speechless. Were the bandits under the capital really this rampant?
Perhaps because of the 100,000 taels of silver notes, she wasn't treated badly; she was simply locked in a simple room.
Bai Chuxiao sat calmly on the ground. The bloodstains on her shoulder were merely an act to lower their guard; she was not injured at all. Thinking of Lanxin, with only two people with her, Lanxin, knowing the poison, should be able to escape by surprise.
She went to the door and listened to the noise outside. It sounded like the man in the lead and another person had been arguing fiercely.
She thought for a moment and then sat back down. She had previously undergone specialized training with medicines targeting martial arts, making her resistant to common muscle-relaxing drugs. Feeling her martial arts skills slowly recovering, she curled the corners of her lips into a smile.
Since she was already here, there was no rush. She wanted to see just how many tricks Chu Tianling had up his sleeve.
As soon as Chu Tianze stepped out of the palace, Mo Yan rushed up to him anxiously. "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The servants just reported that rumors are spreading throughout the capital that Miss Bai has been kidnapped by a lecherous thief!"
Chu Tianze's expression suddenly changed. Xiao Xiao's skills were beyond the reach of ordinary people. "Send someone to the Bai family to see if Xiao Xiao has returned. Mo Wen, you go to the Murong family yourself and ask if Xiao Xiao is there."
Even Mo Wen, who was usually cold and silent, quickly replied, "Yes, Your subordinate will go right away."
Chu Tianze hurriedly took Mo Yan back to his residence, then instructed, "Notify your men to use all means to quell the rumors. I don't want to hear another word that could tarnish Xiao Xiao's reputation."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A moment later, Mo Wen entered with a distinguished-looking man. "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yan. Xiao Xiao is indeed missing. Have you found anything?"
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