Wei Dongling always had the maids taste her food first. She would only use the tableware after scalding and disinfecting it with boiling tea. At night, she told everyone that there would be thieves coming to steal things that night and asked them to take turns on duty in two shifts, always on the alert for any strangers in Yaoguang Pavilion.
After arranging all this, Wei Dongling took Cheng Hao into the bedroom to rest. The servants were shocked and secretly speculated in their hearts. Was the Fifth Princess going to take Guard Cheng Hao as her male lover?
Wei Dongling didn't bother to care about the strange looks from everyone. She jumped onto the roof and lay on the beam of the side - room.
Surely no one could find her now? Wei Dongling was wearing black night - clothes. She lay on the beam dozing off, but the hard wooden beam made her back ache. Having been used to sleeping on soft and fluffy beds, it was really hard to get used to this for a while. After tossing and turning for a long time, it was not until the second half of the night that Wei Dongling finally fell into a drowsy sleep.
Suddenly, there came a shrill scream from outside the house: "Ah—"
Wei Dongling gave a start and flipped off the beam. She quickly went to the crack of the wooden window in the side - room and looked out.
The one who screamed was the maid Yue'e who was on duty in the yard. Just now, a black - clothed man suddenly broke in and stabbed the maid beside Yue'e to death with a single knife. The still - warm blood spurted all over Yue'e's face. She looked at the tragic scene in front of her in horror and just kept screaming without even thinking about running away. It wasn't until the scream attracted the black - clothed man's attention and he raised his knife at her that she turned around and tried to run.
Wei Dongling was anxious. She took out the small crossbow from her bosom and wanted to rescue Yue'e. But then she thought better of it. The black - clothed man's purpose was clearly to assassinate her. She didn't know if there were any other accomplices. Running out rashly at this moment would be like throwing herself into a trap!
Just as Wei Dongling was in a hurry, she suddenly heard Nanny La Mei at the door shouting at the top of her voice: "Come quickly! Someone is killing people!"
The black - clothed man who was about to attack Yue'e hesitated for a moment, then rushed towards Nanny La Mei at the door in a hurry, fearing that her shouting would attract more people.
At this time, there came the sound of fighting from the princess's bedroom. Wei Dongling was extremely anxious, afraid that Cheng Hao would get hurt, but she didn't dare to rush over rashly and cause more trouble. After thinking for a while, she opened the wooden window and flew out in the direction where Nanny La Mei was running.
Yue'e was greatly startled when she saw Wei Dongling suddenly appear. By the light of the candle in the room, she recognized that the black - clothed man was the Fifth Princess. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed her hand and whispered: "Princess! It's dangerous here! You should hide quickly."
Wei Dongling hugged Yue'e's waist and quickly jumped over the wall. Yue'e's face turned as white as a sheet when she found herself being dragged by the Fifth Princess flying and leaping in the air. She almost screamed again and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Wei Dongling put Yue'e on the ground and ordered: "You go quickly and find the imperial guards to come and rescue us!" After saying that, without thinking twice, she turned around to rescue Nanny La Mei. Although she was panicking inside, she also understood that by dealing with this black - clothed man one by one and stalling him, she was actually helping Cheng Hao.
"Princess! You must be careful!" Yue'e glanced at Wei Dongling and then turned around in a hurry to call for help.
Nanny La Mei had already opened the main gate of Yaoguang Pavilion and was running out. The black - clothed man was closely following her, hot on her heels.
Nanny La Mei, who was short, fat and had short legs, had only run a few steps when the black - clothed man floated over. The bright long knife emitted a cold light under the bright moonlight. Just as the long knife was about to slash down on Nanny La Mei's head, Wei Dongling rushed over like a flying arrow in the moonlight. She grabbed Nanny La Mei's arm, pressed the buckle of the small crossbow, and in an instant, five silver - shining poisonous needles shot out and hit the black - clothed man's neck.
The black - clothed man let out a muffled groan and fell backwards, twitching constantly on the ground.
Nanny La Mei was both shocked and scared. Only then did she realize that the black - clothed man who had saved her was actually the Fifth Princess.
"Go quickly and call someone!" Wei Dongling leaned against the wall. She took out the silver needles from the small pouch in her sleeve and with trembling hands carefully loaded the silver needles into the shooting slot of the small crossbow.
Nanny La Mei whispered: "Fifth Princess! It's not safe to stay here for long! Come with me quickly!"
"You go. I can't leave Cheng Hao behind!" Wei Dongling didn't even look up as she was loading the silver needles. Before nightfall, she had smeared all the silver needles in this pouch with a deadly poison that could kill on contact with blood. If she wasn't careful and accidentally pricked herself at this moment, it would be a big trouble.
Nanny La Mei stamped her feet and muttered: "Isn't he just a male lover? We can find another one! As a princess, you can have any man you want. Why do you have to care about him? Besides, it's his honor if he can die for you!"
Wei Dongling:......
Wei Dongling glanced at Nanny La Mei and sighed: "Auntie, you talk too much! Go and call someone quickly!"
Poor Yaoguang Pavilion was built by the water. It was really quiet and not easily disturbed. But in case of special and dangerous situations, it was also the most difficult place to be noticed by others.
Nanny La Mei was at a loss for words. She had no choice but to bow and then turn around to look for someone.
The sound of fighting was getting closer. Wei Dongling climbed over the wall and hid in a dark corner, peeping out. Cheng Hao was wearing her dress and fighting bare - handed with three masked black - clothed men with long knives. Cheng Hao was injured and had no weapon, so he was gradually losing the upper hand.
Suddenly, Wei Dongling remembered that when she first entered the palace, the Empress Zhao had asked her to go and receive a reward. There were four black - clothed men ambushing in the small dark room where the reward silver was placed, waiting to chop off her head. These were the secret guards privately trained by the Empress Zhao. In the deep palace, the Empress Zhao actually secretly raised secret guards without anyone's knowledge. She was really audacious!
As expected, the Empress Zhao must have been driven to desperation by now. She had probably sent people to break into Yaoguang Pavilion to assassinate and kill without hesitation. If she didn't die today, they probably wouldn't let it go.
The three black - clothed men who were fighting with Cheng Hao finally realized that the person in front of them was not the Fifth Princess. They knew they had been tricked. But there was nothing they could do at the moment. They could only kill this person quickly and then figure out how to deal with the Fifth Princess. However, this man dressed as a woman was really difficult to deal with. It was obvious that he was a good fighter. He could fight them so hard even without a weapon! Fortunately, he was gradually being overwhelmed.
Seeing that Cheng Hao was struggling and was completely unaware of the sneak attack from the black - clothed man behind him, Wei Dongling couldn't help shouting in alarm: "Watch your back!"
This cry made the three masked black - clothed men all look over.
Cheng Hao immediately spun around and kicked. The attacker behind him was kicked flying by him.
Wei Dongling leaped down, rolled on the ground, and quickly crawled to the side of the isolated black - clothed man. She pressed the small crossbow, and swish, swish, swish—five silver needles directly pierced into the man's neck. The black - clothed man on the ground twitched and struggled after being hit by the silver needles. Before long, he tilted his head and died.
The remaining two black - clothed men recognized Wei Dongling and pointed at her, roaring: "She's the Fifth Princess!" As they said this, they both rushed towards Wei Dongling.
Wei Dongling turned around and ran as fast as she could.
Cheng Hao kicked up the long knife that the previous man had dropped on the ground. He grabbed the handle of the knife with his backhand and quickly chased after the two black - clothed men who were frantically chasing Wei Dongling.