This was a real mess. Meng Ruyi hadn't felt so powerless in a long time. Staring at the empty small courtyard, she felt a sense of unease that she hadn't experienced in a while.
"Do you know where he's gone?" Meng Ruyi looked at Li Ergou. Her face was calm, but her hands involuntarily tightened.
"Reply, miss," Li Ergou said respectfully. "The master should have gone to check on the shops. Maybe he'll go to the military camp later."
It seemed that if it were later today, those people wouldn't succeed. Coincidentally, Zheng Yuanqing got up too early, and Song Huaizhi was too busy.
What bad luck!
"Quickly send someone to tell Brother Song," Meng Ruyi gritted her teeth and said. "Tell him that I'm also going to the military camp today, so I'm going there first."
Song Huaizhi would notice something was wrong. Meng Ruyi would always tell him what she was going to do, especially when she was going out.
This time, the situation was sudden, and Meng Ruyi looked in a hurry. Although she couldn't directly tell Song Huaizhi that she had seen the barrage, based on her behavior, he should be able to notice something was off.
After Meng Ruyi finished speaking, she said to Lianqiao, "Take a few servants and also bring Brother Song's men. Let's go to the military camp and have a look."
"Yes."
[Hey? Why is Baby Yu suddenly in such a hurry to go to the military camp? It's so strange.]
[Maybe she hasn't been there for a long time, so she's going today. It's really a coincidence.]
[Amazing! Maybe she can even save Jingzhe. This is just too much of a coincidence!]
Meng Ruyi couldn't show her anxiety on her face. She had to stand there, pretending to be in a daze and waiting.
She hoped Brother Song could notice quickly.
...
The road out of the city was quiet. Many of the servants around Meng Ruyi were personally trained by Song Huaizhi and sent to her, so they were quite skilled.
Noticing something was wrong, a group of them surrounded the carriage, with a hint of vigilance on their faces.
There were about a dozen assassins. Meng Ruyi had brought twelve guards with her this time, which could ensure her absolute safety.
According to the barrage, some of the assassins and Zheng Yuanqing's guards had fallen on the road out of the city, and the bodies hadn't been cleaned up yet. If someone passed by, they should be able to notice.
So she sat in the carriage, waiting for the news from the servants outside.
Sure enough, after traveling for two quarters of an hour, a servant outside said nervously, "Miss! Something's wrong. There seem to be bodies by the roadside. Should we turn back the way we came?"
Meng Ruyi pretended to be surprised. She lifted the curtain and looked outside, then said, "Wait."
Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at the guard, pretending to be shocked and saying, "Turn that man over!"
After seeing the man's face clearly, Meng Ruyi said in shock, "No, this man is Zheng Yuanqing's guard. He's in trouble!"
"Quickly send someone to find Brother Song. The rest of you follow me to look for them!"
After saying that, she lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage, with Lianqiao, who looked nervous, following her.
Meng Ruyi glanced at the barrage and found that it was all filled with comments like "It's such a coincidence." No one seemed to notice that she could see them. She instantly felt relieved.
It seemed that her acting was quite good.
She knew the number of assassins, so she was very confident. She pretended to be worried and led the servants to look for them.
Lianqiao and the others didn't know the specific situation. They looked disapproving. When they reached the place where the assassination had just taken place and saw the people lying on the ground, they gasped in horror.
"Miss! Let's go back quickly!"
"It's okay," Meng Ruyi frowned and said to the servants, "Search. Since Zheng Yuanqing and Jingzhe are missing, they should have escaped. See if there are any marks left."
"Yes!"
Lianqiao was so anxious that she wanted to pick up Meng Ruyi and run away. But seeing her determined face, she couldn't stop her.
Finally, a servant found a mark and shouted to Meng Ruyi, "Miss, we've found the mark left by Master Jingzhe."
"Search! Now lead the men to search!"
Meng Ruyi lifted her skirt and quickly rushed towards the servant who had spoken. She followed him towards the place indicated by the mark.
[So exciting! It's such a coincidence that Yu Yu really found it!]
[Yu Yu is really a little lucky koi. Zheng Yuanqing is really lucky this time.]
[Go, Yu Yu! It's safe ahead. All the people are dead. Hurry up! Jingzhe is injured!]
[The sentence 'It's safe ahead. All the people are dead...' sounds so scary at first glance.]
It seemed that there was no danger for the time being.
Hearing what the barrage said, Meng Ruyi felt a little relieved. She quickened her pace and rushed forward.
After walking for almost an hour, a servant said to Meng Ruyi, "Miss, it should be around here."
She nodded slightly and shouted, "Jingzhe! Jingzhe, Jing..."
She walked forward while shouting. After a while, a response came from behind a hidden cave not far away.
"Over here."
Jingzhe led Zheng Yuanqing out. The moment she saw Meng Ruyi, her expression relaxed. Then she said, "Why is it you, miss! It's not safe here. Hurry up and leave!"
"I was just passing by and found Zheng Yuanqing's guard lying beside the road," Meng Ruyi said. Seeing the bloodstain on Jingzhe's shoulder, she frowned tightly and said to her, "Wait. Don't move. I'll go and get the horses."
There were many small branches in the forest, so Meng Ruyi hadn't ridden a horse just now. But now Jingzhe had a large bloodstain on her shoulder. She must be seriously injured. It would be better to ride a horse.
Zheng Yuanqing was completely ignored. He was still in a state of shock and stood there stupidly. It wasn't until he saw Meng Ruyi come forward to support Jingzhe that he woke up with a start.
"Is His Highness the Third Prince okay?" Meng Ruyi looked at Jingzhe. Since she seemed to be okay in her movements, Meng Ruyi temporarily felt relieved and then looked at Zheng Yuanqing.
"I'm okay. It's just that Jingzhe got injured in order to save me..." The following words seemed to be stuck in his throat. Zheng Yuanqing felt a pang of pain in his heart when he thought that a girl like Jingzhe had gotten injured to save him.
"That's good."
After perfunctorily answering him, Meng Ruyi saw the horses being led over. Then she said to him, "I've sent a message to Brother Song. Now let's go back first. I'll find someone to accompany His Highness the Third Prince to the military camp later."
"...Thank you."
Zheng Yuanqing should be happy that he hadn't missed an important matter today. He originally thought he would have to wait for a long time, but luckily, Meng Ruyi had passed by and saved them.
But looking at the wound on Jingzhe's shoulder, he could only bite his lip, his eyes gloomy.
...
Meng Ruyi took Jingzhe back home in a carriage.
"Is it really not serious?" Meng Ruyi looked at Jingzhe leaning against the carriage and couldn't help asking again. "Should we get some more medicine to treat it?"
"Thank you for your kindness, miss," Jingzhe said. "But I've already treated it just now."
"After this incident, you should go back to my side to recuperate first. There's no need to be in a hurry about Zheng Yuanqing. After such a big assassination, it's unlikely to be so dangerous later."
"Okay. Thank you, miss."
Hearing that she was going to leave Zheng Yuanqing, Jingzhe's expression didn't change much. She nodded slightly to Meng Ruyi.
"Ruyi!"
An anxious shout came from outside the carriage.