“I always thought that Brother Yanqing was just like those pedantic scholars who liked to nitpick over words. But after what just happened, I realized that I had misunderstood Brother Yanqing all along! He is truly a man of honor!”
Jiang Zhenzhou became more and more excited as he spoke, clenching one fist and slamming it hard into the palm of his other hand.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Zhiyu asked curiously, “And then?”
“What then?”
“You praise him so highly, don’t you want to rescue him?”
“Why would I rescue him?” Jiang Zhenzhou looked at Jiang Zhiyu contemptuously. “You’ve just arrived in the capital, you don’t know anything, so don’t talk nonsense and make yourself a laughingstock. I admire Brother Yanqing for being a righteous person, I didn’t say I wanted to rescue him!
Do you even know what the Embroidered Uniform Guard is?
Good people who enter the Embroidered Uniform Guard usually come out missing limbs. Even if he’s the only son of Grand Tutor Xu, having committed such a serious crime, don’t expect him to leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard unscathed. Me, go and rescue him? What’s the difference between that and treason! I’m not stupid!”
These words actually… had a certain logic to them!
Jiang Zhenzhou’s brain is quite peculiar!
Jiang Zhiyu thought he didn’t understand anything, but she never expected him to understand so much.
Yet, even understanding so much, he still praised Xu Yanqing so highly.
If Xiao Yanchen had overheard his words, he’d probably be invited to the Imperial Guard for a scolding.
Yet, he seemed to be enjoying himself, smug and self-satisfied.
Just as Jiang Zhiyu was about to speak, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Jiang Zhenzhou, not settling in properly, lurched forward, nearly leaping out of the carriage door.
“What’s going on!” Jiang Zhenzhou asked irritably.
“Young Master! Something terrible has happened! Someone’s blocking the road!”
Jiang Zhenzhou wasn’t afraid; instead, his eyes blazed with anger. “Which dares to block my way?”
he exclaimed, lifting the curtain to look out. He saw dozens of men in black standing not far ahead.
It was broad daylight, and although there weren’t many people on the road, were they really out of their minds to be blocking the way in their night clothes?
Jiang Zhiyu also looked out through the curtain. The moment she saw the men in black, she knew they were coming for her.
If she wasn’t mistaken, it was probably Jiang Jingshu’s doing.
But Jiang Zhenzhou clearly didn’t think so.
Jiang Zhenzhou’s eyes widened in fury. “In broad daylight, they dare to rob us! These people are too arrogant!”
He charged forward, standing atop the carriage shaft, looking down at the men in black. “Do you know whose carriage you’ve stopped? This is the carriage of the Marquis of Zhongyong! Surrender now if you don’t want to die!”
The man in black in the center spoke in a deep voice, “Spare his life, kill the rest!”
“Yes!”
Dozens of men responded in unison.
The next moment, they charged forward with swords in hand.
“How dare you disregard the Marquis of Zhongyong’s estate! Today I’ll show you what’s what!”
Jiang Zhenzhou leaped off the carriage and rushed towards his horse.
His sword was still hanging on it.
But before he could reach it, the men in black bypassed him and charged directly towards the carriage.
Jiang Zhenzhou was shocked and bewildered, frozen in place.
Wangyou and Rendong were already on high alert, about to rush out, when they heard a whooshing sound from behind.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh ! *
A dense rain of arrows flew in.
The men in black were caught completely off guard and scrambled to dodge, but it was too late.
In the blink of an eye, half of them lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
“An ambush!” someone shouted.
“Retreat!”
The men in black retreated, using their swords to deflect the arrows.
In the end, only a third of the men in black managed to escape in a sorry state.
But immediately afterward, more than twenty well-trained Imperial Guards gave chase.
At this moment, Ling Shuang appeared beside the carriage.
“Miss Jiang, His Highness has ordered me to secretly escort you back to your residence. You’ve been frightened!”
Jiang Zhiyu raised an eyebrow.
She had thought that Xiao Yanchen was already eager to take Pei Wenxuan and Xu Yanqing back for interrogation.
She hadn’t expected him to arrange for Ling Shuang to secretly escort her.
Everyone knew that Ling Shuang was Xiao Yanchen’s right-hand woman and rarely left his side.
It seems Xiao Yanchen still has some conscience!
He didn’t just use her and then discard her!
“It’s alright, let’s go back to the manor!” Jiang Zhiyu said softly.
Jiang Zhenzhou looked at the corpses of the men in black scattered on the ground. “What should we do with these people?”
“Don’t worry, Young Master Jiang, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will collect these bodies and thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Jiang Zhenzhou nodded, looking puzzled as he boarded the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Jiang Zhenzhou frequently glanced at Jiang Zhiyu.
His gaze was so intense that Jiang Zhiyu couldn’t pretend not to see it.
“What are you looking at?” Jiang Zhiyu asked helplessly.
“These men in black seem to be after you!”
Although he said that, Jiang Zhenzhou still found it unbelievable.
Jiang Zhiyu was a village girl raised in the countryside, and she had only been in the capital for a few days. Who would send someone to kill her?
“Are they after me?” Jiang Zhiyu looked completely bewildered. “Why would they come after me? I don’t know them!”
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Zhiyu covered her mouth. “Could it be that they’re after my beauty, so they—”
Jiang Zhenzhou, who had been seriously considering this matter, instantly dismissed his previous guess upon hearing Jiang Zhiyu’s words.
He could believe that those people wanted to kill Jiang Zhiyu to silence her because she had spoken too offensively.
But he simply couldn’t believe that they were after her beauty and wanted to kidnap her.
With such a mouth, no matter how beautiful her face was, it would be greatly diminished.
With Ling Shuang leading the Imperial Guards to escort them, the carriage returned safely to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s residence.
Although Jiang Zhenzhou wasn’t very bright, he still knew how to express his gratitude.
“Thank you, Guard Ling, for bringing us back!”
Ling Shuang said expressionlessly. “I was just following the Prince’s orders. Now that you two have returned safely to the manor, we’ll be leaving now!”
“Take care!”
Watching Ling Shuang and the others walk away, Jiang Zhenzhou reluctantly turned his gaze away.
Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a bad reputation, they did look really cool!
However!
In his heart!
The Three Thousand Battalion was still the best!
“Let’s go! Back to the manor!”
Jiang Zhenzhou entered the Marquis’s manor first, and Jiang Zhiyu followed slowly.
The two went directly to the main courtyard.
When they arrived, Jiang Zhong was also there.
Jiang Zhong and Fan Suwan sat facing each other, but both of them were silent, looking preoccupied.
“Father, Mother, we’re back!” Jiang Zhenzhou smiled and stepped forward.
Fan Suwan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Finally back! How are you? Were you scared?”
Jiang Zhenzhou shook his head. “No! Mother, don’t worry! It was just some petty scoundrels trying to assassinate someone in the street. Before I even drew my sword, they were either dead or fled, completely routed—”
“Assassinated in the street?” Fan Suwan’s voice rose considerably, her face filled with worry.
“Huh?” Jiang Zhenzhou looked puzzled. “Mother, weren’t you asking about the assassination?”
“I was asking about the Prince of Xu’s arrest! That’s not important! Tell me quickly, did you encounter an assassination attempt on your way back?”
“Mother, don’t worry. We encountered a group of men in black, but before they could make a move, the Imperial Guards sent by Prince Chen killed more than half of them. The Imperial Guards have already gone to hunt down the rest, and they should be caught soon!” Jiang
Zhong frowned. “Prince Chen sent the Imperial Guards to escort you back to the manor?”
He had no personal relationship with Prince Chen, so why would Prince Chen be so kind?
Jiang Zhenzhou shook his head. “Prince Chen didn’t say it explicitly, but instead instructed Ling Shuang to secretly escort her, saying…”
He glanced at Jiang Zhiyu before continuing,
“Ling Shuang said that Prince Chen asked him to escort my cousin back to the manor.”
Jiang Zhong and Fan Suwan’s gazes simultaneously fell on Jiang Zhiyu.
Fan Suwan was filled with mixed emotions.
Jiang Zhiyu and Prince Chen had only met three times so far, yet he had already arranged for someone to secretly escort her. It seemed he truly valued her.
Jiang Zhong, however, frowned deeply.
Based on his understanding of Prince Chen, he wasn’t someone who craved beauty.
And Jiang Zhiyu, from head to toe, apart from her appearance, he couldn’t see anything particularly special
about her. How had she managed to capture Prince Chen’s attention?
Despite being stared at by the two, Jiang Zhiyu remained composed.
She even raised her hand and touched her face.
“Being too good-looking is a sin!”
Jiang Zhenzhou, “…”
Jiang Zhong, “…”
Fan Suwan, “…”
She knew it, Jiang Zhiyu’s mouth was just superfluous!
Jiang Zhong coughed lightly, “I’ll ask Prince Chen about the assassin. Don’t take it too seriously. Don’t go out casually lately. The capital isn’t peaceful.”
Although Pei Jingzhi had been imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard for over two months, he hadn’t said a word.
Now that Prince Chen had captured his son, Pei Jingzhi was probably going to break down.
Pei Jingzhi’s mouth could easily stir up a bloodbath in the capital if he just uttered a few names!
Jiang Zhenzhou loved going out the most, and his face immediately fell when he heard he couldn’t go out casually.
But he was also afraid of Jiang Zhong and didn’t dare to object, so he lowered his head and agreed.
But in a corner where no one could see, his eyes were darting around.
Jiang Zhong left quickly, and Jiang Zhenzhou was also chased away by Fan Suwan.
Only Fan Suwan and Jiang Zhiyu remained in the room.
Fan Suwan smiled gently, “Zhiyu, it seems that Prince Chen is truly fond of you now. You must seize this opportunity.”
“Opportunity? What opportunity?”
“How can you be so silly!” Fan Suwan scolded, “You’re seventeen already, of marriageable age. What opportunity are you talking about? Although you can’t enter the palace for the imperial concubine selection, entering Prince Chen’s residence would be excellent!”
Jiang Zhiyu, “…”
She couldn’t let Jiang Zhenzhou continue to slack off like this!
She had to get the family heirloom jade pendant quickly!
Then she had to run away!
Jiang Zhiyu lowered her head and remained silent, which Fan Suwan interpreted as shyness.
Fan Suwan gently patted Jiang Zhiyu’s hand, “Don’t be shy. Girls grow up and eventually get married! To marry a prince, to enter the royal family, is a blessing many people would kill for!”