However, reality often fails to meet expectations.
Just as Jiang Rumin was about to bite into the sugar figurine, her maidservant stopped her. “Miss, have you forgotten the old woman selling poisonous chestnuts the other day? It’s better to test these street vendor foods before eating.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rumin instantly recalled the incident where she was nearly poisoned and felt a lingering fear. Heeding the advice, she retrieved a silver needle from inside her sleeve pocket.
Having studied medicine since childhood, she almost always carried silver needles with her.
She didn’t notice the vendor opposite her slightly change expression, his hand already reaching under the stall to grasp a curved blade.
Not far away, Jun Li Luo wasn’t surprised to see her refrain from eating the sugar figurine. After all, Jiang Rumin was well-versed in medicine. If poisoning wouldn’t work, then blades would have to be used.
He had originally wanted to leave her with an intact corpse.
Meanwhile, the tip of the silver needle Jiang Rumin used to test the sugar figurine had turned black.
“It’s poisoned!” exclaimed the maidservant behind Jiang Rumin. She looked up at the vendor in front, only to see him charging at them with a curved blade.
At the same time, the neighboring vendors selling sugar-coated haws on a stick and sugar cakes also drew weapons from under their stalls, closing in on Jiang Rumin and her two maidservants.
“Miss, step back!”
Jiang Rumin’s two maidservants—one wielding a short knife, the other a long whip—immediately shielded her behind them.
Though Jiang Rumin excelled in medicine, she had no martial arts skills. Seeing five assassins approaching, she grew tense.
Song Yun Chu had just bought a handful of roasted sunflower seeds from a roadside stall. Turning around, she was surprised to find Jiang Rumin and her maidservants in danger.
In the original story, Jiang Rumin had indeed been assassinated several times, but most of the dangers occurred at night or in secluded places.
“Committing murder in broad daylight on the streets—these assassins are far too brazen.”
With these words, Song Yun Chu stepped forward.
Now possessing exceptional martial arts skills, how could she stand by and watch three young girls be cut down by five thugs?
Although this female lead wasn’t very likable and often acted foolishly, she had never committed any evil deeds from start to finish.
Seeing Song Yun Chu attempt to help, Jun Li Luo quickly stopped her. “Yun Chu, you’re going to help them? It’s too dangerous.”
Song Yun Chu turned back in surprise. “Brother Luo, the Phoenix Woman is in trouble, yet you won’t let me help?”
[When the female lead is in danger, shouldn’t the dog emperor seize the chance to play the hero and save the beauty? This would be the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation.]
[Although I don’t want them to actually get involved, it’s just too illogical for the dog emperor to stand by indifferently. Not only is he not saving her himself, but he’s even stopping me.]
“Yun Chu, even if she truly is the Phoenix Woman, she isn’t worth you risking yourself,” Jun Li Luo said to Song Yun Chu with a serious expression. “To me, you are like a limb. If anything were to happen to you, wouldn’t I lose an arm? No matter how beautiful the Phoenix Woman is, she can’t compare to you. There’s no need to bother with her.”
Song Yun Chu: “…”
[How does the dog emperor manage to say such hypocritical things without batting an eye? If I hadn’t read the original story, I might have almost believed this nonsense.]
[Brothers are like limbs? At most, you see me as a convenient tool to be used. You’re only nice to me now because I’m still useful. Once you’ve grown your wings in the future, you’ll be eager to eliminate me.]
Song Yun Chu inwardly cursed, but on the surface, she could only feign gratitude. Just as she was about to respond, she suddenly heard Jiang Rumin’s startled cry behind her.
Turning around swiftly, Song Yun Chu saw the blade of an assailant slash across Jiang Rumin’s arm. Blood instantly welled up, and Jiang Rumin’s face turned deathly pale, filled with terror and helplessness.
At the same moment, Song Yun Chu felt a tremor in her heart and suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
Jun Li Luo also released her arm, clutching his chest instead, so unwell that he could barely stand steady.
In her daze, Song Yun Chu saw a row of glowing red characters appear in the air—”If the protagonist dies, all things perish.”
Song Yun Chu was startled.
That’s right—Jiang Rumin was the protagonist of this world. The original plot revolved entirely around her. If Jiang Rumin died, this world would cease to exist.
Most of the time, Jiang Rumin enjoyed the halo of a female lead. Even in dire situations, she always managed to escape death.
These six words were a reminder that, at this moment, she must serve Jiang Rumin’s protagonist halo and help her escape danger.
Suddenly, a thud sounded beside her. Song Yun Chu looked down and saw that Jun Li Luo had actually fainted.
Was this dog emperor having a sudden episode? After all, his character was that of a frail, sickly madman.
Right now, saving the female lead was the top priority. She had no time to spare for Jun Li Luo. Biting her lip hard to force herself to stay alert, she rushed to a nearby stall in two or three steps, grabbed a handful of bamboo skewers, channeled her inner energy to her fingertips, and hurled the skewers at the two assassins behind Jiang Rumin!
The skewers pierced deeply into the thighs and shoulders of the two men, causing them intense pain and greatly diminishing their strength.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Rumin’s two maids swiftly kicked the assailants away.
To their greater delight, the person who had come to their aid swept over like a wisp of smoke. In the blink of an eye, she kicked another assassin, sending him flying onto a street-side barbecue stall, where he scrambled away, scalded and rolling in pain.
The two maids thought, “This person must be a chivalrous hero who fights injustice wherever they see it.”
Indeed, there were still many good people in this world. And this hero not only possessed a righteous heart but also had a strikingly handsome appearance.
“Protect your young lady,” Song Yun Chu said to the two maids. “Leave the assailants to me.”
With only two uninjured assassins left, dealing with them was no trouble for her.
Song Yun Chu’s appearance naturally shocked the assassins. The two unharmed men instinctively retreated a few steps under her gaze.
They dared not confront Song Yun Chu, nor could they defeat her.
They had been ordered by Commander Shen to assassinate Miss Jiang under Your Majesty’s directive. Yet now, Song Yun Chu, Your Majesty’s favored minister, was obstructing them. Could it be that Your Majesty had changed his mind at the last moment?
They instinctively glanced toward Jun Li Luo’s location, only to see His Majesty unconscious by the roadside, which left them even more bewildered.
What had happened to Your Majesty? What was Minister Song doing?
With Your Majesty unconscious, he should have stayed by his side, tending to him carefully. Yet he had abandoned Your Majesty and rushed to rescue the very woman Your Majesty wanted dead?
This was nothing short of treasonous and a blatant disregard for the monarch!