However, this only gave Helian Shu a moment to catch her breath. The black-clad men pressed closer. Just as Helian Shu felt the cold chill of the approaching danger, she suddenly heard a crisp "clang". The enemy's sword was instantly deflected by Xiao Hanzhi, who had abruptly appeared before her.
Looking into the distance, the three black-clad men who had been entangling with Xiao Hanzhi earlier had somehow collapsed onto the ground. It seemed they had fainted.
"Fourth Prince," Helian Shu softly called out to Xiao Hanzhi.
Xiao Hanzhi thought Helian Shu was scared, so he immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. He comforted her gently, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Sure enough, after Xiao Hanzhi took care of those black-clad men, the situation began to improve.
Xiao Hanzhi placed Helian Shu to one side and told her to wait quietly there. He was worried that the flying swords might accidentally hurt the princess.
Helian Shu's face was deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
The black-clad men sensed that something was amiss. Their leader waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to retreat quickly.
At the order, everyone immediately backed away, taking their unconscious comrades with them.
They came in a hurry and left just as quickly.
The place was only a bit messy. One could hardly tell that there had been an assassination attempt here just moments ago.
It was truly audacious for someone to launch an attack in broad daylight.
"Princess Shu, are you alright? I'm at fault for letting you be frightened today. It seems our outing plan for today is ruined," Xiao Hanzhi quickly rushed to Helian Shu's side, his face full of regret.
Helian Shu, whose face had been pale with fear, suddenly burst into laughter. She retorted, "Why? Since it was carefully prepared by Prince Han, how could I let your efforts go to waste?"
She showed no sign of the previous panic. The fact that she could even crack a joke meant she wasn't really frightened.
But Xiao Hanzhi was still worried. "Princess Shu, are you really okay? Maybe we should go back to the post station and ask the imperial physician to come and take a look. He can prescribe some calming medicine. It was my oversight. If you had brought your secret guards, this might not have happened."
However, Helian Shu seemed not to care at all.
She directly grabbed Xiao Hanzhi's hand and walked towards the distance. As she walked, she murmured, "Prince Han, don't worry. I'm really fine. I'm still looking forward to seeing what you've prepared today."
Xiao Hanzhi let out a helpless smile and could only follow Helian Shu's steps.
"Princess Shu, you're leading me this way. How can you be so sure that this is the right path to the place I've chosen?" Xiao Hanzhi couldn't help but smile as he looked at Helian Shu's back.
Helian Shu suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her mind raced as she thought about how to answer.
"Um..." Helian Shu hesitated for a moment, her brows slightly furrowed. "I have a sixth sense. Naturally, I guessed it!"
Helian Shu said this quite confidently, but looking at her slightly embarrassed face, Xiao Hanzhi knew she wasn't very sure of herself.
"Let's go this way," Xiao Hanzhi reached out and grabbed Helian Shu's wrist, leading her in another direction.
Xiao Hanzhi made a gesture to the guards behind him, signaling them to leave quickly. He didn't want them to interfere with his further interactions with Helian Shu.
The guards quietly concealed themselves in the shadows to protect Helian Shu and Xiao Hanzhi.
Sure enough, after walking for a short while, a huge lake appeared in front of them. There was a small boat moored by the lake. Its grand and elegant decoration was truly alluring.
Helian Shu couldn't help but exclaim at the beautiful scenery. "Wow, it's so beautiful! I didn't expect there to be such a big lake in the capital!" Then she pointed at the small boat in the distance and asked excitedly, "Is that it? What you've prepared for today, Prince Han?"
Xiao Hanzhi nodded.
Helian Shu then quickly ran towards the boat.
Xiao Hanzhi followed closely behind, afraid that she might fall on the way.
"Slow down..."
There was no one on the boat. Although it was a small boat, the interior space was quite large and could accommodate several people.
Xiao Hanzhi boarded the boat first. He stood by the boat and stretched out his hand, indicating that Helian Shu could hold his hand to get on the boat. "Come on. Don't worry. I'll hold you."
Helian Shu was a bit scared, afraid of falling into the water. So she carefully placed her delicate hand on the back of Xiao Hanzhi's hand and used the support to board the boat.
The boat accidentally swayed, causing Helian Shu to fall directly into Xiao Hanzhi's arms. Their eyes met, and Helian Shu blushed with embarrassment. She quickly broke free from Xiao Hanzhi's embrace.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, Helian Shu asked, "Don't we have a boatman?"
"Of course, I didn't want anyone to disturb us, so there's no boatman. But don't worry, Princess Shu. I'll be your boatman today," Xiao Hanzhi walked to the side, picked up the pole, and pushed the boat away from the shore.
Now, there were truly only the two of them, as all the secret guards had stayed on the shore.
It was at this moment that Helian Shu finally showed her true nature.
She directly sat down on the stool in the boat.
"I wonder what Prince Han's purpose was in staging such a grand show?"
Xiao Hanzhi was stunned and didn't know what Helian Shu was talking about.
"Now that there are only the two of us, let's be honest. Those black-clad men just now were your men, weren't they?" Helian Shu said confidently, as if she had seen through everything.
Xiao Hanzhi was a bit nervous, as he hadn't expected that Helian Shu would discover this. Just as he was about to explain, Helian Shu suddenly stood up, placed a finger in front of his lips, and whispered softly into his ear, "Don't say anything. You don't need to explain either. Once I've made up my mind about something, I won't believe there's any other explanation."
"Princess Shu is truly intelligent and perceptive," Xiao Hanzhi suddenly laughed.
He knew that it was useless to say more. It would be better to admit it generously, which would make him seem more like a gentleman.
However, Xiao Hanzhi himself hadn't expected Helian Shu to be such a person. It seemed that all his previous efforts had been in vain, as she had seen through his scheme. There would be no need to stage such plays in the future.
He was quite surprised to see Helian Shu like this today, as she was so different from her usual self.