Even so, several black-clad assassins managed to close in on Xuan Zhan and Jian Junyao.
Xuan Zhan shouted, “Stay behind me!” and immediately drew the soft sword from his waist to engage.
Despite being confined to a wheelchair, his martial skills were in no way inferior to those who could walk freely.
Soon, the few assassins who had broken through began losing ground.
Xuan Zhan pressed his advantage, unwilling to let any escape, his movements growing faster and faster.
Jian Junyao dared not relax for a moment, remaining vigilant against any attack directed at her.
Yet, the more she feared something, the more likely it seemed to happen.
Just as Xuan Zhan had dispatched two assassins, over a dozen more charged forward.
The Ling brothers were also completely surrounded, unable to break free and assist.
Even with Xuan Zhan’s formidable prowess, his paralyzed lower body meant he could only rely on his arms to fight.
Against fewer opponents, he managed well enough, but with the increasing number of assassins, he clearly struggled—especially while protecting the woman behind him from harm. Under such circumstances, achieving a complete victory was indeed a significant challenge.
As Xuan Zhan dealt with three assassins approaching from the front, another suddenly rushed from his left, heading straight for Jian Junyao.
Without a second thought, Xuan Zhan swung his sword toward the assassin.
In this critical moment, Jian Junyao had already tightly gripped her anesthetic gun.
Seeing Xuan Zhan coming to her rescue, she noticed his other side was completely exposed to the enemy. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger in that direction.
A muffled “bang” sounded, and the assassin hit by the anesthetic bullet instantly collapsed, unconscious.
Simultaneously, the assassin Xuan Zhan was dealing with fell into a pool of blood.
Now that she had acted, Jian Junyao saw no reason to hold back. She raised the anesthetic gun, aiming at the assassins’ bodies, and fired several consecutive shots—”bang, bang, bang!”
Assassins fell one after another, and Xuan Zhan swiftly dealt with the last one.
Worried that those hit by her anesthetic gun might wake up, Jian Junyao quickly purchased several ropes and bound them tightly.
Xuan Zhan looked puzzled.
“These people aren’t dead?”
“They’re only temporarily anesthetized. They’ll wake up soon enough. This works out perfectly—you can interrogate them as live captives.”
As she spoke, her hands never stopped moving.
Picking up a small wooden stick from the ground, she pried open one of the assassin’s mouths and fished out a tiny Poison Capsule.
Even Xuan Zhan couldn’t help but look at her with newfound respect for this series of actions.
This woman truly knew a lot—she was even aware of the Poison Capsules hidden in their mouths.
Moreover, he had seen the black iron lump she held earlier.
That iron object was truly miraculous; whoever it was aimed at would instantly fall.
If it had been pointed at him, he likely wouldn’t have been able to evade it either.
It seemed this woman wasn’t entirely bad—at the very least, she hadn’t used it against him when he had choked her.
If Jian Junyao knew what Xuan Zhan was thinking, she would have scoffed internally.
If I’d had any silver back then, would I have let you bully me like that?
However, now that they had reached a mutual agreement to use each other, Jian Junyao wouldn’t attack him without cause.
With some of the assassins dealt with by Xuan Zhan and Jian Junyao, the Ling brothers gradually turned the tide in their own fight. Seeing the situation turning against them, the remaining few assassins quickly fled.
Only corpses were left scattered across the ground.
Among them, besides those men in black, there were also over a dozen personal guards sent by the Emperor.
Ling Ye directed people to clean up the battlefield. Seeing them about to carry away the corpses, Jian Junyao grew anxious.
“Wait, wait…”
She hurried over with quick, small steps, stretching out her arms to block Ling Ye’s path.
Ling Ye was somewhat bewildered. Was the Princess Consort’s courage not a bit too great?
Shouldn’t a woman be hiding at the sight of so many corpses?
“What are your orders, Princess Consort?”
“With so many people, they must have silver on them. Search them first.”
Ling Ye…
In the past, they would have done the same, but at this time of scarcity, what use would finding silver be?
Could they buy food and water with it?
Therefore, he thought it better to avoid extra trouble, disposing of these corpses early to conserve some energy.
Just as he was about to explain, Xuan Zhan spoke up.
“Do as the Princess Consort says.”
Ling Ye…
Your Highness, have you taken the wrong medicine?
In the past, you never bothered with such trivial matters. Why today, as soon as the Princess Consort speaks, do you agree?
Despite his inner grumbling, Ling Ye had to comply.
Ling Bei, somewhat indignant, glared fiercely at Jian Junyao and reluctantly reached into the robes of the men in black.
Jian Junyao also joined the search, causing Nanny Song, standing nearby, to grimace.
As an old woman who had lived most of her life, even she felt a chill at the sight of these corpses. Yet the Princess Consort, a young girl in her teens, showed no fear…
Jian Junyao gleefully searched the corpses for silver. Surprisingly, after a thorough search, including what the Ling brothers and the old steward had, they found three hundred and sixty taels.
That was over thirty-six thousand Space Coins…
Delighted, she carried the silver into the Abandoned Temple, waiting for the moment when no one could see her to store it all in her Space.
Ling Ye led people to dispose of the corpses, while Xuan Zhan called for Nanny Song to prepare a meal.
Assuming she would cook what Ling Feng and the old steward had brought back, Nanny Song acknowledged and went out to prepare, only to be stopped by Xuan Zhan.
“Nanny, today we’ll have something better.”
“Something better?” Nanny Song was puzzled. With only roots and tree bark, no matter how skilled she was, she couldn’t improve much.
Xuan Zhan pointed to where he had been resting. “There are ingredients there. Just prepare some food as you see fit.”
Growing more confused, Nanny Song walked to the spot Xuan Zhan indicated. When she saw the ingredients, she was stunned.
“Your… Your Highness, what is this?”
Xuan Zhan replied calmly, “This Prince has his ways to obtain these.”
Nanny Song knew best that there was a large chest in the Prince’s carriage. Could it be that the chest was filled with food?
She could think of no other reason.
Yet, how had the Prince moved the contents of the chest here?
Though curious, Nanny Song restrained herself from asking. The Prince disliked meddlesome people, and she was long accustomed to that.
Nanny Song took enough ingredients for several people and went outside.
Before long, the aroma of rice and the scent of stir-fried scallions wafted in from outside.
Jian Junyao sniffed the air, looking thoroughly pleased.
She had finally awaited this long-missed fragrance.
Xuan Zhan felt the same. Though he was accustomed to delicacies in the past, after starving for so long, he couldn’t resist the allure of this meal’s aroma.
The old butler, who was helping Nanny Song with the cooking, swallowed hard a few times and spoke to her with an expression of admiration.
“I told you, following the Prince would never leave us hungry, but you didn’t believe me.”
“The Prince’s abilities are our good fortune. Otherwise, in these lean times, whether we were on the road or even back in the capital, life would be extremely difficult.”
The two of them praised Xuan Zhan’s virtues there, making no mention of how he had managed to bring so much food into the room.
The reason Xuan Zhan kept them with him was partly due to their loyalty, and partly because Nanny Song and the old butler had always been sensible—they never asked or wondered about things they shouldn’t.
This was also the biggest reason he could allow these provisions to be seen in the open.
Outside, the personal guards wore expressions of misery.
The aroma was simply too enticing. Today, they had lost so many brothers protecting the Prince—they wondered if the Prince might grant them a bite to eat.