Wei Dongling tapped the tips of her feet and scaled the walls with remarkable agility, quickly fleeing.
Two black - clad men rushed after her. Behind them was Cheng Hao, hot on their heels.
From the dark corner, a black - clad man suddenly emerged and grabbed Wei Dongling by the neck. He was slender, but his hands were surprisingly strong. Even though his face was covered, Wei Dongling recognized him at a glance from his cold eyes. It was the tenth prince, Murong Yunqian!
There was no time to reload the silver needles in her small crossbow. Wei Dongling grabbed the iron hairpin from her bun and stabbed it hard at Murong Yunqian's neck.
Murong Yunqian quickly turned his head to avoid the attack. He grabbed Wei Dongling by the neck and threw her hard to the ground, then reached for the long sword at his waist.
Wei Dongling let out a muffled groan from the fall and lay on the ground, struggling to get up for a long time.
Not far away, seeing this, Cheng Hao, who was following the two black - clad men, shouted urgently, "Princess, run!"
Wei Dongling was in excruciating pain all over her body. She felt as if her internal organs had been displaced. She was dizzy and had a throbbing heart. Seeing Murong Yunqian approaching step by step, she gritted her teeth and struggled to stand up, then turned and ran as fast as she could.
Murong Yunqian chased after her relentlessly.
Although Wei Dongling's steps were fast, the fall had made her stagger and unsteady. The sudden heart palpitations made it extremely difficult for her to even breathe.
Under the moonlight, Wei Dongling stumbled and ran with all her might, leaving the people behind far away.
The two black - clad men were entangled by Cheng Hao and had to fight with him.
Wei Dongling's heart palpitations were severe. Her steps began to falter, and her vision became increasingly blurred. But she could clearly hear Murong Yunqian's footsteps closely following behind, which made her tremble with fear.
What was wrong with her? Since taking that top - grade pill from the Empress Dowager, she had been experiencing irregular heart palpitations, and the symptoms were becoming more frequent.
In the distance, someone seemed to be calling, "Wanlin — Murong Wanlin —"
The voice was floating erratically in the night wind. Was it a hallucination? Wei Dongling wanted to turn around to look, but she stumbled and fell. Her elbow hurt badly from the fall. Immediately, she felt a killing intent approaching from behind. She quickly rolled over to avoid it, but it was still a bit late. She felt a sharp pain in her back, and the skin was torn open. The pain made her gasp.
The back of her night - suit was soaked with blood. Wei Dongling knew that the wound on her back must be bleeding profusely. Without daring to look back, she crawled forward desperately on all fours.
"Wanlin —" The heart - rending cry came closer and closer.
The person who rushed over in a hurry was Concubine Shu. She had been feeling extremely uneasy tonight. She had sent her trusted servant to guard outside Yaoguang Pavilion and report any sign of trouble immediately. When the servant reported, she rushed over without delay, but it was still a bit late. Concubine Shu witnessed with her own eyes that Wei Dongling was cut down in a pool of blood.
Concubine Shu was shocked and frightened. Her blood boiled with anger. She stepped forward and kicked hard, sending the long sword that Murong Yunqian was about to swing at Wei Dongling flying. Soon, the two of them started to fight.
On the other side, Cheng Hao was fighting bravely against two opponents. After a long - drawn - out battle, he was covered in wounds of various sizes, and blood was flowing continuously. He was gradually getting into a deadlock.
Wei Dongling's heart palpitations were so severe that her consciousness was gradually fading. She felt that she had groped to the edge of the palace wall. She quickly supported herself against the wall and stood up, then looked back. It was dimly lit, and she could only vaguely see two figures fighting not far away. Both the man and the woman were quite skilled in martial arts, and the dry yellow leaves were flying everywhere.
Concubine Shu recognized from the moves that the masked man in front of her was the tenth prince, Murong Yunqian. The more they fought, the more absorbed they became. After dozens of moves, Concubine Shu felt increasingly nervous. She never expected that the tenth prince, who had always pretended to be crazy and stupid, was so skilled in martial arts! The strong sense of crisis made her gradually feel exhausted.
After more than fifty moves, Concubine Shu finally couldn't hold on. When Murong Yunqian swung his sword at her, she turned her head to avoid it, but her neck was suddenly grabbed tightly by his other hand.
Murong Yunqian sneered. Just as he was about to swing his sword at Concubine Shu's abdomen, Wei Dongling suddenly dashed forward and stabbed the iron hairpin hard into his side waist.
She had once witnessed with her own eyes that Murong Yunqian had easily broken Aunt Minfang's neck. Even though she was seriously injured and her vision was almost blurred, she was still afraid that Concubine Shu, who had come to rescue her, would die in the hands of this crazy man. So, Wei Dongling did her best to dash forward and stab the hairpin into Murong Yunqian's side waist. Unfortunately, she missed the vital point and failed to kill him with one blow.
Murong Yunqian let out a thunderous roar. He threw Concubine Shu away and grabbed Wei Dongling by the neck, roaring angrily.
Concubine Shu was thrown hard to the ground and it took her a long time to struggle to get up. Looking up, under the dim moonlight, she saw Murong Yunqian grabbing Wei Dongling by the neck and lifting her up high. His fingertips were pressing hard, and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging. He held tightly onto Wei Dongling's neck and refused to let go. Seeing Wei Dongling's face getting redder and redder and almost suffocating, Concubine Shu was anxious. She roared and rushed forward, punching and kicking him.
But her punches seemed to hit steel and iron. Murong Yunqian didn't even move an inch. Concubine Shu was so anxious that she opened her mouth and bit his arm hard.
Murong Yunqian was enraged. He kicked Concubine Shu far away.
Wei Dongling could no longer hold on. She rolled her eyes and fainted.
Concubine Shu lay on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Suddenly, there were footsteps in the distance. Concubine Shu quickly looked up. In the distance, a group of people were approaching. It was Lamei and Yue'e leading Commander Fang towards them in a hurry. From afar, one could hear Lamei still chattering non - stop.
Concubine Shu shouted with hot tears in her eyes, "Come and save us quickly!"
Hearing the commotion in the distance, Murong Yunqian grabbed Wei Dongling and fled. The iron hairpin in his side waist was deeply embedded in his flesh, and he didn't dare to pull it out for a moment. Concubine Shu quickly got up and chased after them, shouting all the way to guide the people behind.
It was completely dark all around. Commander Fang heard the commotion and led the crowd to chase after them at full speed.
Concubine Shu was in great pain all over her body, but she still limped after the black - clad man in front. As the distance gradually widened, there was a loud splash by Bixin Lake. A figure disappeared into the grass by the lake.
Concubine Shu stood by Bixin Lake, looking at the ripples on the dark water. She guessed that Murong Yunqian was injured in his side waist and probably couldn't run fast with Wei Dongling, so he had thrown her into the lake. After shouting a few words to the people behind, Concubine Shu resolutely jumped into the cold lake to search.
Commander Fang led the crowd to Bixin Lake and was at a loss. Suddenly, they saw Concubine Shu's head emerge from the water. Her lips were clearly blue from the cold water, but she still quickly shouted to the crowd, "The fifth princess has been thrown into the lake. I can't find her! Hurry up and help look for her!"
Commander Fang looked anxious. He waved his hand at the imperial guards behind him, urging them to jump into the water to search for the princess.