Soon, a large troop of men rushed over.
Xia Jianxi was slumped over Song Taifei, and she could vaguely hear her own blood gushing out.
She was roughly shoved aside by a pair of large hands. Before she could even see who it was, she was grabbed by the neck and dragged away.
She was quickly hauled into a corner. The guard who had dragged her merely glanced at her before rushing toward the commotion.
Under the pale white moonlight, the crisp clang of colliding blades sounded like the drums of a death summons, beating into her heart one strike at a time.
“Quick, save her! Quick!”
In a daze, Xia Jianxi saw a pair of slender hands press down on her wound.
But the scene was too chaotic; no one could spare them any attention.
The men Yi Zichuan had brought were well-trained, and the team of several dozen quickly cut down the assassins.
“Your Highness!”
“Any of them alive?”
“No, it’s the same as before. These assassins all had poison hidden in their teeth!” The guard’s brow was tightly furrowed, clearly ill at ease.
“These people came prepared. How could they possibly let us find evidence so easily!” Yi Zichuan snorted, his eyes filled with fury.
“Zichuan!” Song Taifei, dressed in simple clothes, ran toward Yi Zichuan. “Quickly, you must save this young lady! If you don’t save her now, she won’t make it!”
Yi Zichuan tossed his sword to a guard and strode quickly toward Song Taifei.
He caught Song Taifei as she ran to him and said, “Men, help the Taifei into the carriage!”
“Zichuan, you have to save that young lady. If it weren’t for her, I would have been dead long ago. You must save her!” Song Taifei clutched Yi Zichuan’s hand tightly.
“Mother, rest assured!” Yi Zichuan patted Song Taifei’s hand, then gestured for the others to help her into the carriage.
Xia Jianxi leaned against the wall, watching the man send Song Taifei off before striding over to her.
Blood blurred her vision. She couldn’t make out the man’s features, but based on his silhouette, she could vaguely discern that this was the Prince Regent, whose power overshadowed the entire imperial court.
Yi Zichuan looked at the pale-faced Xia Jianxi, his gaze slightly cold.
He had just returned from Jiangnan a few days ago. Along the way, he had survived two waves of ambushes, escaping unscathed each time. He had finally reached Bianjing, only to be intercepted for drinks before he could even enter the city.
His trip to Jiangnan had been to investigate the whereabouts of the flood relief silver. Just as he was getting close to some shady dealings, his witness was assassinated. The trip had nearly been for nothing. In desperation, he had to arrange for someone to pose as the witness and travel back to the capital via the official roads, all to lure out the true mastermind.
Assassination attempts had been relentless on the journey. Several times, he had almost managed to follow the trail to the culprit, but the person was cunning, managing to hide at the last moment each time.
In all his years in the imperial court, this was the first time Yi Zichuan had been toyed with like this.
He was feeling stifled and frustrated, and just when he had nowhere to vent, the person behind the scenes had actually invited him to be a guest at Ni Chang Fang.
Ni Chang Fang was originally a brothel, but there he saw Buddhist nuns in monastic robes. He knew something was wrong, fearing he had fallen into the person’s ambush. He turned to leave, only to find he was already trapped.
After fighting his way out of the encirclement, he received news that his mother was being assassinated.
Only then did Yi Zichuan understand. The so-called invitation was a murderous diversion. Only by trapping him could the mastermind make a move on his mother.
Yi Zichuan stared at Xia Jianxi for a long time before asking coldly, “Who are you?”
“Your Highness, is this how you treat your mother’s savior?” Xia Jianxi’s mouth was filled with the taste of blood, but she forced herself to look at the blurry figure before her.
Yi Zichuan frowned slightly. “If you don’t want to die, you’d best tell the truth!”
“I am the daughter of Huguo Jiangjun Xia Maoshan. My name is Xia Jianxi!” Xia Jianxi propped herself up, forcing the words out one by one. “At my waist, there is a jade token engraved with the character ‘Xia.’ It can prove my identity!”
Yi Zichuan glanced at the maidservant pressing on her wound. The maidservant immediately understood, freeing one hand to find the jade token at her waist.
Yi Zichuan took the token, his thumb rubbing over the character ‘Xia’ on its surface. After a long moment, he spoke again. “A young lady of the Xia family? Instead of staying home, what are you doing out here so late at night?”
“I was kidnapped!” Xia Jianxi said through gritted teeth, enduring the pain.
Yi Zichuan leaned closer to Xia Jianxi, looking into her eyes. “You’re saying you were kidnapped? The one and only legitimate daughter of the Huguo Jiangjun’s Mansion, the future Heir’s consort of Yong’an Wangfu. Who would have the audacity to kidnap Miss Xia!”
Xia Jianxi’s eyes were red as she retorted, “Then who would dare to assassinate our Prince Regent’s mother?”
Yi Zichuan raised an eyebrow. “Miss Xia, are you not afraid of death?”
“I am afraid. I’m only human, how could I not be afraid of death!” Xia Jianxi gave a bitter laugh. “If I had known that saving the Taifei with my life would lead to this kind of interrogation from you, I absolutely would not have done it!”
Yi Zichuan stared into Xia Jianxi’s eyes for a long time, then said coldly, “You say you were kidnapped. Then how did you end up here, and so coincidentally save my mother? Who knows if this isn’t some scheme of yours?”
“I escaped from the villains’ hands. In the alley up ahead, there should still be traces of my escape. I… when I escaped, I heard them plotting to assassinate the Taifei. I originally wanted to come and warn Her Ladyship, but I didn’t expect to be a step too late!” As Xia Jianxi spoke, the taste of blood in her mouth grew stronger, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her lips.
Seeing that Yi Zichuan still didn’t believe her, Xia Jianxi suddenly laughed. “If I had known Your Highness was so ungrateful, I would have stood by and watched coldly instead of risking my life to save the Taifei!”
“Glib-tongued!” Yi Zichuan was incensed.
Just as he was about to lash out, Xia Jianxi could no longer hold on. She suddenly coughed, followed by a mouthful of blood. The next moment, she collapsed like a broken doll, utterly lifeless.
“Miss, Miss, you can’t sleep, Miss!” the maidservant beside her cried out anxiously.
Yi Zichuan looked at the lifeless Xia Jianxi lying in a pool of blood and immediately stood up. “Men!”
A physician who had been waiting at the side rushed forward. A few silver needles were immediately inserted. Xia Jianxi, who had stopped breathing, suddenly opened her eyes, let out a turbid breath, and fainted once more.
“She must be treated at once, there can be no more delay!” the physician said anxiously.
“Save her!” Yi Zichuan turned away indifferently, then mounted his horse. “Back to the mansion!”
A guard who had been following Yi Zichuan hurried over. After receiving a nod from the physician, he scooped up Xia Jianxi and rushed quickly in the direction of the Prince Regent’s Mansion.