Like a fish waiting to be butchered on the chopping block, Wei Dongling sat numbly in the carriage, tightly clutching Cui Huan's hand. Her heart was filled with desolation. Li Mingyang had fled at a critical moment, and Li Bo and the others had been forced to leave. She and Cui Huan were left without any support.
Unfortunately, her martial arts skills were extremely poor. If they tried to escape, she would only slow Cui Huan down! The only weapon she had was a small crossbow. She could only hope to find an opportunity to kill Zhao Chuanyi with a single shot.
Even if she married the Xiliang prince, Zhao Chuanyi would never let things go as she wished. He would definitely prevent Li Mingyang from leading troops to support Hanzhong City.
Outside the carriage, the leader of the Xiliang envoys came to deliver a food box. He said nervously, "Princess Consort! Please eat something to fill your stomach for now. Our army will resume the journey after a short rest. We aim to reach Jiangcheng by nightfall to take a break."
Wei Dongling nodded.
Cui Huan reached out to take the food box. Looking at the cold and dry steamed buns inside, she was stunned for a moment. Her face turned pale with anger. "Our princess is still ill. How can you give her this? Is this the intention of your Prince Mingyang?" The Xiliang envoys had been treating Wei Dongling well with delicious food and drinks all the way. But as soon as they entered Xiliang territory, they were treated like this. It must be Zhao Chuanyi's doing!
Cui Huan gritted her teeth in anger. Miss Wei had just recovered from a cold. How could she eat cold and raw food?
The leader of the Xiliang envoys bowed his head fearfully. "Please calm down, miss. Our army has been waiting here for many days, and our supplies are in short supply. We really have no other choice." He was truly helpless. Prince Mingyang had told them not to neglect the princess consort. But General Zhao Chuanyi was so tough that he didn't allow them to pamper the princess consort and demanded that she be treated the same as the soldiers. He was caught in the middle and had no other way out!
Wei Dongling lifted the bottom of the food box and saw a small bowl of warm mutton soup hidden inside. She nodded at the leader and said gently with a smile, "It doesn't matter. It's just for filling my stomach. I don't care what I eat. You've really gone through a lot of trouble!"
Only then did the leader bow nervously and retreat.
Seeing Cui Huan puffing up like a pufferfish, Wei Dongling pinched her face and whispered in her ear, "These things are not important. The best strategy is for us to conserve our strength and find a way to get out of here." Zhao Chuanyi had sent Li Bo and the others away. His intention was obvious. How could he allow her to reach the Xiliang capital safely?
Her unlucky husband had also run away, leaving her in Zhao Chuanyi's hands. He didn't care whether she was dead or alive. Just thinking about it made her depressed! But what could she do? She could only find a way to escape quickly.
What was most frustrating was that the contract for the 100,000 Xiliang soldiers to support Hanzhong was probably completely invalid.
Cui Huan thought that what Miss Wei said made sense. She picked up a silver needle to test the food for poison one by one. Then she broke the steamed buns and soaked them in the mutton soup before serving it to Wei Dongling. The two of them ate casually to conserve their strength and then continued their journey.
In the middle of the night, the Xiliang group finally reached Jiangcheng. The shaking carriage finally stopped. Cui Huan woke up the sleeping Wei Dongling and helped her out of the carriage. Then, the two of them were arranged into a dark and gloomy hut. The leader of the Xiliang envoys came again to console them pitifully, hoping that the two girls could make do for one night.
Cui Huan looked at the hut with leaky doors and windows and sighed repeatedly. In the freezing cold, if they shivered in this hut for one night, they might freeze to death. Without hesitation, Cui Huan got up and fetched thick felt from the carriage to spread on the ground. She also took a charcoal brazier to light a fire for warmth. The two of them washed up briefly and huddled together to fall asleep drowsily.
In the second half of the night, the snow outside the house creaked under someone's footsteps. Cui Huan was extremely vigilant. She quietly opened her eyes, quickly got up, and hid under the bed.
Cui Huan's movement woke up Wei Dongling. She silently took out the small crossbow from her bosom and tightly held it in her hand. She squinted her eyes and looked towards the door.
Two tall masked men holding big knives slowly pushed open the door bolt and tiptoed in. The oncoming cold wind made Wei Dongling cough continuously. She asked in a cold voice in panic, "Who are you? What do you want?"
The two big men glanced at each other but didn't answer. The light was dim, and they couldn't see clearly whether there was one person or two on the bed.
Seeing the two men approaching step by step, Wei Dongling trembled and shouted, "Don't come any closer! If you come any closer, I'll call for help!"
The two masked men remained unmoved. One in front and the other behind, they rushed towards Wei Dongling with their long knives in hand.
Just as the strong man in front raised his knife and was about to strike, Wei Dongling suddenly threw off the quilt, aimed at the man's throat, and pulled the trigger of the small crossbow. Five silver needles shot out one after another and all hit the masked man's neck.
"Ah—" The masked man let out a shrill scream and slowly fell to the ground.
The other masked man was shocked and angry when he saw this. He swung his long knife and chopped at Wei Dongling's head without saying a word. Cui Huan took the opportunity to step forward. She shook out the dagger that Luo Xunlong had given her for self - defense and cut the man's throat with one stroke.
The masked man was caught off guard. He didn't even have time to see who had attacked him before his throat was cut. He covered his blood - gushing neck and fell to the side.
"What's going on?" The Xiliang envoy on night patrol heard the shrill scream and rushed in with his men in a hurry. Seeing that the princess consort was safe and sound and two dead bodies lying on the ground with blood flowing everywhere, the Xiliang envoy's face changed greatly. He hurriedly went to report to their leader.
Cui Huan was extremely angry. She quickly packed up the felt and luggage and planned to take Wei Dongling to escape. Although it was freezing cold outside and there was nowhere to take shelter, at least they wouldn't be secretly poisoned! Staying in the Xiliang army was just too dangerous. Sooner or later, they would die!
This time, Wei Dongling was more careful. She quickly rummaged through the handkerchief hidden in her sleeve and found the poisoned silver needles. She carefully loaded the small crossbow. Fortunately, Zhao Chuanyi had only sent two people for the assassination this time. If there had been more, she and Cui Huan would not have been able to resist at all.
The leader of the Xiliang envoys quickly put on his clothes and rushed in. Seeing the dead bodies and the blood on the ground, he asked in horror, "Princess Consort! What's going on?"
Cui Huan scolded angrily, "There are people in your Xiliang territory who dare to harm our Fifth Princess like this? I'd like to ask you! Is this the deliberate act of your Prince Mingyang? Are you going to renege on the contract you signed in our Celestial Dynasty? Someone broke into the room and tried to kill the princess. Is this how you protect your future princess consort?"
The leader said in a flurry, "Please calm down, Princess Consort. I'll have someone investigate this in detail immediately!"
"No need to investigate!" A cold snort came from the door. Then, Zhao Chuanyi swaggered in with his men. He glanced at Wei Dongling sitting calmly on the bed and then at the two dead bodies on the ground. Pointing at Wei Dongling, he waved his hand and said to everyone, "These two are enemy spies! Arrest them all!"
"Yes!" Everyone swarmed forward and pointed their knives at the necks of Wei Dongling and Cui Huan.
The leader of the Xiliang envoys quickly stepped forward to stop them. "General Zhao! Prince Mingyang has instructed us not to be rude to the princess consort!"