I wonder how the Shangguan Family dealt with Shangguan Xue after she returned?
"She's safe for now."
Seeing the irony in Song Huaizhi's eyes, Meng Ruyi smiled and said, "After the Shangguan Family noticed something was wrong with the Crown Prince this time, they even felt lucky that nothing had happened yet. So Shangguan Xue was just put under house arrest."
"However, because of her disobedience, those two old fools felt threatened, so Shangguan Xue will probably suffer a bit."
"As long as she's okay." Meng Ruyi didn't think anything would happen to the female protagonist, so she wasn't worried about her. But since the Fifth Princess was still here, she was waiting for Shangguan Xue to come and pick her up.
"They'll probably be back in about half a month. Then the capital will be in an uproar."
When Song Huaizhi said this with a smile, his smile didn't reach his eyes, and there was a hint of coldness on his face.
...
The Palace.
It had been raining heavily and frequently recently. Although the palace servants had tried their best to keep the inside dry, the Emperor's old illness had flared up again because of the rainy weather. Now he could only lie in bed, listening coldly to the report from the person below.
"Your Majesty."
The person below bowed respectfully with his head down and said, "Now the Crown Prince... His Highness the Crown Prince should be in the Eastern Palace, but it's rumored that he's not there now. Instead, he's been visiting General Gu."
"Damn it!"
The Emperor was extremely angry. He picked up the things beside him and threw them down, shouting angrily, "This unfilial son can't even wait for a moment!"
But what could he do now?
A look of dejection appeared on the Emperor's face.
"Your Majesty, please take care of your dragon body!" The person with his head down suddenly looked up and said sadly to the Emperor, "The imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital are the best doctors in the world. Your Majesty is just not used to the weather. I'm sure you'll recover soon!"
"Lord Wen."
The Emperor sighed and said, "You may step down."
"Your Majesty!"
Lord Wen, Wen Xiuzhi's father, sighed but still said, "Then I'll step down first. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your dragon body."
After leaving the main hall, it was drizzling outside. Lord Wen looked at the rain with an indescribable expression on his face.
The chief eunuch serving the Emperor sent away the attendants on both sides, quickly stuffed a letter into Lord Wen's hand, and then frowned and said, "Lord Wen, I'll never forget your great kindness. Please be careful."
Then he turned around and walked back into the main hall.
"Has Lord Wen left?"
The Emperor watched his chief eunuch walk in. His face no longer showed the exhaustion from before, and even the sickly look had disappeared without a trace.
"Your Majesty." The chief eunuch knelt down respectfully and said to the Emperor, "Lord Wen was standing at the door looking at the rain and sighing for a while. I'm sure he's worried about Your Majesty's health."
"Humph."
The Emperor snorted and said, "Who knows?"
"Your Majesty." The chief eunuch said with a hint of nostalgia on his face, "Lord Wen and Your Majesty have had a deep friendship since childhood. Back then, he..."
"Alas!" The chief eunuch felt the Emperor's gaze on him and suddenly shivered. He pretended to be in a daze for a moment, then quickly slapped himself and bent down.
"Your Majesty! I've said too much!"
"Get out."
The Emperor's expression was unfathomable. He watched the eunuch scramble away, but a crack appeared in his heart.
The Wen Family had accompanied him through all the hardships. Maybe he should trust them more.
...
Half a month passed, and the situation in the disaster - stricken area finally stabilized.
Zheng Yuanqing, Cheng Lang, and the others had worked well together.
Now they had to rush back to the capital immediately. Song Huaizhi had sent a letter a few days ago, urging them to return quickly. The situation in the capital was getting more and more tense.
So Zheng Yuanqing and the others were now halfway there.
"I feel something's wrong." Zheng Yuanqing was riding on his horse and said to the two people beside him, "It can't be this quiet. Zheng Yuanjia is not the kind of person who will give up easily. He always likes to strike first."
"We can only be more careful."
Jiang Lingyun was a civil official, and his physical strength was not as good as Zheng Yuanqing's and Cheng Lang's. After several days of traveling, he had lost weight rapidly and looked haggard.
"Sigh."
With a heavy sigh, seeing an inn finally appear in the distance, Zheng Yuanqing hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's not travel at night for the next few days. It's better to be safe."
The other two agreed.
They were very careful on their way to the capital. So only Zheng Yuanqing had four personal bodyguards with him, Cheng Lang had three good fighters sent by Song Huaizhi, and Jiang Lingyun had a pageboy.
After they checked in, the setting sun was shining golden on the inn.
They sat in the room and began to discuss their itinerary for the next few days.
Everyone was very tired, but they could only grit their teeth and keep going.
Zheng Yuanqing was almost exhausted, but when he glanced at Jiang Lingyun beside him and saw the dark circles under his eyes, he was really worried that Jiang Lingyun would collapse before they reached the capital.
Jiang Lingyun was a rare talent who would surely assist him well in the future.
Zheng Yuanqing felt a sense of pity for this talent, so he couldn't help but sigh and say, "No, we should take turns traveling from now on. Otherwise, our bodies won't be able to take it."
"But..."
"I can't hold on either."
Zheng Yuanqing interrupted Jiang Lingyun's hesitation.
Just as he was about to go back to his room, Zheng Yuanqing suddenly felt a sense of unease in his heart. So he subconsciously stopped and gave a wink to the others.
Could it be that Zheng Yuanjia had really made a move!
Zheng Yuanqing looked at everyone in this room. If the assassins came, they would be sitting ducks. He took a sharp breath and blinked frantically at the others, signaling them to retreat outside.
Sure enough, just as Zheng Yuanqing stepped out of the room, the roof was broken open, and several people jumped into the room and fought with the bodyguards.
"Run! Come here!"
The bodyguards were quite skilled and were no less than the assassins.
Seeing this, Zheng Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief and signaled Jiang Lingyun and Cheng Lang not to worry.
"Who could it be?"
Cheng Lang asked, "Is it the Crown Prince?"
"Yes." Zheng Yuanqing replied. By now, they had already retreated from the inn. "But it could also be someone else who's desperate."
After waiting for the assassins to be killed, they looked at each other and knew they couldn't rest today. They could only sigh.
"Be careful!"
Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
Just as Zheng Yuanqing approached the corpses of the assassins, a long arrow came whistling through the air.
Only Cheng Lang, who had turned around, saw it, but the bodyguards were far away from him, and there was no way they could save him!
Cheng Lang's eyes widened, and he rushed towards Zheng Yuanqing.
It was too late when Zheng Yuanqing realized something was wrong.
Oh no. Cheng Lang was here. He was good at medicine. Maybe he could save his life?
Everyone present had their eyes wide open.
Just as the arrow was about to pierce his heart, another arrow came out of nowhere and hit the first arrow hard, knocking it away.
The arrow grazed Zheng Yuanqing's arm and tore his robe.
Who was it!?
Zheng Yuanqing's eyes widened. His legs felt weak as he looked in the direction from which the other arrow had come. He saw Jingzhe jump down from the eaves, draw an arrow, and shoot without hesitation.
The next moment, a shrill scream pierced the sky.
Jingzhe looked cold and didn't seem to notice the surprise of the people present at all. He walked towards Zheng Yuanqing and said, "Your Highness the Third Prince, Young Master Song sent me to support you."