Ye Zhen and Xie Tingzhou had already retreated to the edge of the cliff, the one Ye Zhen had deliberately blocked from rolling down.
It's not a high place; falling from it might not kill you, but it could very well allow you to escape.
The leader of the assassins gestured to his men; they couldn't wait any longer.
But right there, the sound of arrows whistling through the wind came from behind.
The assassins turned around abruptly to see a group of women wielding crossbows. The leader's voice came with the arrows, "You audacious bandits, daring to harm my young lady! The Red Tassel Army will not let you off lightly!"
As she spoke, she nocked another arrow and fired three at once, aiming straight for the assassin's face.
The women behind her were equally swift, raining down arrows; the assassins had no time to kill Ye Zhen and Xie Tingzhou.
Seeing his companions fall one by one, the assassin leader realized that the mission was no longer possible.
He fell and rolled down the cliff. Although he was hit by an arrow, he was lucky to escape. He didn't even dare to turn his head and ran away.
On the cliff.
Of all the assassins, only one survived, and the two men in black removed their face masks.
It's Fu Guang and Xing Ze.
Xing Ze chuckled and walked up to Xie Tingzhou. "Master, please forgive me. I didn't mean to scold you. I just wanted to make them believe me more."
He absolutely refused to admit that he was audacious enough to take advantage of the situation.
Xie Tingzhou glanced at him, straightened up, and no longer looked seriously injured.
The only survivor, upon seeing this, widened his eyes in disbelief. "You were faking it?"
Xing Ze suppressed his smile and forcefully thrust his long sword at the assassin. The assassin cried out in alarm, but the expected pain did not come. He looked down at his chest and saw no blood.
There were no wounds, and looking at the longsword again, only the hilt remained.
It turned out that the sword hilt had a mechanism; when Xing Ze thrust out, he only needed to press the mechanism to retract the sword.
It couldn't harm Xie Tingzhou in the slightest, but it could puncture the blood pack that Xie Tingzhou had hidden in his chest beforehand.
Furthermore, when Xing Ze pretended to draw his sword, he also pinched a blood pack on Xie Tingzhou's chest, making it seem as if Xie Tingzhou was seriously injured.
But back then, as long as the assassin circled around behind Xie Tingzhou, he could see that his back was clean and there was no blood at all.
Therefore, Ye Zhen pretended to be outmatched and retreated with him, successfully deceiving the assassin.
"Zhen'er, that assassin has headed towards the capital."
At the foot of the cliff, Yin Jiuniang used her light-footed skills to come over and check Ye Zhen from head to toe. Seeing that she was alright, she then looked over Xie Tingzhou.
Yes, it's fine.
"Master!"
Ye Zhen was pleasantly surprised, "Why are you back?"
Yin Jiuniang's letter only said that Shegu had returned, without mentioning that she herself would also return.
Yin Jiuniang tapped her apprentice's nose and laughed, "What, don't you want to spend the New Year with your master?"
In reality, she learned that the new emperor of Dongwu had come to the capital and was worried that he would hold Ye Zhen responsible for their grudges and take his anger out on Ye Zhen. That's why she abandoned the affairs of Xuanyin Pavilion and rushed to the capital.
Tse Ting-chou was also very happy.
He orchestrated this scene today to let the world know that the Crown Prince is seriously injured and needs to recuperate in the Eastern Palace, so that he can secretly go to the border city.
With his master back and someone protecting Ye Zhen, he felt relieved.
Although Yin Jiuniang was in the martial arts world, she kept a close eye on the capital. When she learned that the royal family had not made things difficult for Ye Zhen and that the Empress had personally arranged the marriage, she became increasingly satisfied with Xie Tingzhou as her future son-in-law.
Ye Zhen then looked at She Gu.
Upon receiving Ye Zhen's gaze, She Gu put down her bow and knelt down in front of Ye Zhen with a thud.
"Shegu is foolish. She lost the young lady and even mistook Ye Wantang for the young lady, causing you to suffer greatly. Shegu deserves to die."
She had previously been escorted by Xie Tingzhou's men and maids to Canglang to successfully detoxify.
Upon waking up, he immediately rushed back to Da Yuan.
On the way, Xie Tingzhou's men told her that Ye Wantang was a fake, and that Ye Zhen was Ye Jinghong's daughter. She was shocked, but found it hard to believe.
Later, she received messages from Xie Tingzhou, learning about everything that had happened to the Ye family after she left, and that Ye Yunheng and his wet nurse were still alive.
After reflecting on everything that had happened, she had no choice but to believe that after meeting Yin Jiuniang on the road, she learned about Ye Zhen's past from Yin Jiuniang and completely believed that Ye Zhen was Ye Jinghong's daughter.
Ye Zhen is more like Ye Jinghong, but he also feels even more guilty for not protecting his true master.
Ye Zhen lifted her up, "This is not your fault. The border was in dire need of information, and my mother entrusted me to Wang Shi after I was born."
The Wang couple had malicious intentions from the start. They used the excuse that you, an unmarried girl, were clumsy and didn't know how to take care of yourself, and kept me in the house for more than half a month before you were able to meet me. How could you possibly tell who your mother's real daughter was?
Besides, who could have predicted they would switch the children?
Her words might not lessen Shegu's guilt. "Miss, what should Shegu do?"
How can I make amends to the lady?
Yin Jiuniang said, "From now on, listen to Zhen'er's actions and do not act on your own. Also, you must protect her."
Shegu nodded frantically; she dared not be careless again.
As they were talking, Xing Ze and Fu Guang, who had taken the assassin for interrogation, returned.
"My lord, they are from the Prince of Yan's fiefdom. Someone offered them a high price to come to the capital to assassinate the Crown Princess, but only the leader who accepted the order, the one who escaped back to the capital, knows who the other party is."
Xie Tingzhou and Ye Zhen exchanged a glance, and they both knew the answer.
Shegu wanted to know, and wanted to kill the other party, but seeing that Ye Zhen didn't say anything, she didn't dare to ask.
Xie Tingzhou continued to feign serious injury and was carried back to the palace.
The Crown Prince and his future Crown Princess were assassinated in the mountains and nearly lost their lives. Fortunately, the Red Tassel Army arrived in time to save them, and the news spread throughout the capital.
On his way back from the palace, Ye Zhen was stopped by the new Emperor of Dongwu and his advisors...
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