Li, the assistant magistrate, had initially only helped out as a favor to the Prince of Huainan. But now, he was more than willing to do so.
Wen Qianyue stopped at just the right point. She left Shu Huan there to help with the treatment and took Yue Heng with her to leave first.
On the street, there were few pedestrians. It seemed that people were reluctant to go out because of the cold weather.
Suddenly, no one knew what had happened, but the neighing of the horses outside resounded through the air. The horses reared up on their hind legs, and the carriage almost overturned.
"Your Highness!" Yue Heng was so anxious that he quickly tried to grab Wen Qianyue.
Unexpectedly, she calmly brushed his hand away. Receiving a disdainful look from his master, Yue Heng awkwardly averted his eyes.
He had forgotten that his Highness was much more skilled in martial arts than he was. In fact, his martial arts skills were even taught by his Highness.
Yue Heng lifted the curtain. The coachman had already disappeared without a trace. He tried to calm the frightened horses, but to no avail.
Wen Qianyue sensed something. She took a deep look in a certain direction outside the window and then reached out to pull Yue Heng back.
The sharp arrowhead grazed his neck and plunged deeply into the wooden board beside him.
Yue Heng felt a lingering fear and almost choked.
He was so ashamed of his oversight that he didn't even dare to look Wen Qianyue in the eye.
Wen Qianyue frowned slightly.
Fortunately, there were not many people on the street. Otherwise, who knew how many innocent civilians would have been injured or even lost their lives.
"Try your best to control the horses and let them run towards places with fewer people," Wen Qianyue ordered.
Yue Heng drew out his sword and handed it to Wen Qianyue. "Your Highness."
Wen Qianyue took it, lifted the curtain, and tensed her whole body, getting into a ready state.
It seemed that someone couldn't hold back and had decided to make a move.
The carriage and horses kept running towards the outside of the city. Yue Heng took out his dagger, stood up, and jumped onto the frightened horse. The reins were pulled taut as the horse suddenly became violent. Only then did he notice that the front of the horse's body had been pierced by an arrow.
He moved with great dexterity. With a single stroke of his dagger, he stabbed the horse's neck fiercely.
The blood vessels on the horse's neck stopped throbbing slowly. The horse let out one last heavy breath from its nostrils, and its once gentle eyes finally closed.
Blood splashed everywhere, making the scar on Yue Heng's face look even more terrifying.
The carriage finally stopped. Black - clothed men followed from behind. Each of them held a sword and pointed it directly at Wen Qianyue.
The cold wind was like a hook, cutting through the flesh like a blade.
These people were actually wearing black clothes in broad daylight. Were they out of their minds?
Wen Qianyue couldn't help but complain in her heart.
Before the black - clothed men could react, her body had darted past like a startled swan, narrowly avoiding the slashing sword.
Her fingertips twirled on the hilt of the sword, and then she directly stabbed it into the back of the black - clothed man, piercing through him.
Wen Qianyue calmly retracted her sword.
Yue Heng drew out his flexible sword from his waist and joined the fight.
These black - clothed men were no match for Wen Qianyue and Yue Heng. After a few rounds, they were defeated.
Wen Qianyue tilted her head to avoid the sword blade, then took advantage of the momentum to leap over and kicked the man to the ground. The edge of her sword didn't stop. She slid it along the opponent's arm meridians with such force that it seemed as if she was going to split the bone in two.
Shrill screams echoed in their ears.
"Who sent you?" Yue Heng was afraid that Wen Qianyue would dirty her hands, so he quickly took the man from her and showed his usefulness as a subordinate.
Wen Qianyue rummaged through all the things on their bodies. All she found were some worthless copper and iron items. There was not a single key piece of information.
Even so, Wen Qianyue already had a suspect in mind.
There was a rustling sound coming from the grass. Wen Qianyue and Yue Heng exchanged a look, then moved towards the sound quietly.
---
Meng Ruxue was waiting absent - mindedly for news in the Bingqing Courtyard.
She almost knocked over the tea that Nanny Li had just served and got scalded by the boiling water.
Meng Ruxue suddenly stood up, sweating from the pain.
"Oh," Nanny Li quickly stepped forward to check. "Are you okay?"
Meng Ruxue shook off her hand impatiently. "Go and get the burn ointment quickly."
"Yes." Nanny Li rummaged through the house and found the ointment. She carefully applied it on Meng Ruxue's hand.
After applying the medicine, Nanny Li packed up the things and said, "Miss, don't worry too much. The heir will definitely help you rescue the Ji family."
Meng Ruxue shook her head. "I'm not worried about the Ji family. I'm just afraid that the people the heir sent won't be able to deal with Wen Qianyue."
Nanny Li sneered disdainfully and comforted her. "Then you don't have to worry even more."
"She still has Yue Heng by her side. Who is Yue Heng? He's the person that Xie Yunxiao brought from the capital. He used to be by the side of the Princess of Changning."
"The heir had already thought of this. So he not only sent out the secret guards he had trained but also invited a ruthless person to deal with them. He will definitely make sure that Wen Qianyue and Yue Heng won't come back alive." She emphasized the last four words.
Meng Ruxue felt a lot more at ease. She thought for a moment. "If Yue Heng wasn't by her side, with Xie Yunxiao being such a good - for - nothing, the military amulet would surely be in the heir's pocket."
As she said this, a smile appeared on her face.
A whistle sounded in the air, long and clear.
"They've been captured!" Nanny Li excitedly looked at the person in front of her.
The big stone in Meng Ruxue's heart finally dropped.
"That's good."
---
Wen Qianyue and Yue Heng looked at each other, and they both saw surprise in each other's eyes.
They turned their heads and looked at the person in the grass. The person was lying there peacefully, as if they had been there for a while.
Yue Heng reached out to feel for a pulse. "There's still a breath."
Wen Qianyue thought for a moment. "Take the person back to the dungeon in the prince's mansion first."
Yue Heng nodded, then simply reached out and slung the person over his shoulder like he was grabbing a chicken.
"Crunch" There was a soft sound on the ground.
Wen Qianyue picked up the thing - it was a jade whistle.
Before Yue Heng could react, Wen Qianyue had already blown the jade whistle.
Seeing Yue Heng looking at her in shock, Wen Qianyue smiled nonchalantly.
"The person behind this assassination may be using this jade whistle to receive information. Later, we'll quietly return to the mansion without attracting attention."
Yue Heng replied in the affirmative and took the unconscious person away with him.
In the main courtyard.
As the sky was getting dark, Xie Yunxiao paced anxiously in the courtyard, looking outside from time to time.
Even Shu Huan, who had stayed at the yamen to treat Li, the assistant magistrate, had returned. Why hadn't his mother come back yet?
The tiles on the wall glowed faintly in the moonlight. With the help of the low stones at the base of the wall, Wen Qianyue nimbly jumped onto the wall. Then she leaped down, landing silently. Only the fallen leaves under her feet rustled.
Xie Yunxiao heard the sound and looked up. He almost let out a scream.
Fortunately, Wen Qianyue was quick - witted and covered his mouth.
Xie Yunxiao looked at her in disbelief, blinking his eyes. He was so scared that he almost hiccupped.
Only then did Wen Qianyue let go of her hand.
Xie Yunxiao looked at the wall, then at his mother. He pointed at the wall and then at his mother, swallowing hard.
"What's going on? Why did you climb over the wall?"
Wen Qianyue motioned for him to follow her into the house.
Xie Yunxiao quickly followed and then closed the door.
Wen Qianyue's clothes were still stained with blood. She hadn't had time to change yet. When she went in, it really gave Xie Yunxiao a scare.
"Are you injured?" he asked anxiously.
Wen Qianyue comforted him. "No, it's not my blood."