Everything happened too suddenly.
Before Lianxiang could react, an arrow shot through the air and struck the exact spot where she had been standing moments earlier.
“Assassins! Protect the prince and the little prince!”
The hidden guards immediately appeared from the shadows.
Then another arrow flew toward Lianxiang.
It was clearly aimed at taking the little prince’s life.
Lianxiang’s face turned pale with fear as she tightly hugged the baby in her arms.
Yun Suiwu stood proudly where he was, like a great general commanding thousands of soldiers on a battlefield.
His eyes narrowed coldly, filled with killing intent.
Before the arrow could reach them, a swift guard cut it in half with his sword.
More guards quickly surrounded Yun Suiwu.
“Do not shout and scare Shi’an,” Yun Suiwu said coldly.
Shi’an was the little prince’s name.
Lianxiang nodded repeatedly, desperately holding back the scream that almost escaped her throat.
She lowered her head and checked on the little prince.
The baby had no idea what had happened.
Instead, he thought they were playing a game and laughed happily at Lianxiang.
Yun Suiwu placed one arm around Lianxiang’s shoulders and guided her off the wooden bridge while the other guards chased after the assassins.
A short while later, she heard the sounds of weapons clashing somewhere in the distant valley.
Then a terrible scream echoed through the mountains.
Soon afterward, the leader of the guards knelt before Yun Suiwu.
“Your Highness, please forgive us. The assassin disguised himself as a monk from Lingyan Temple and sneaked in.
“Before we could learn who sent him, he took poison and killed himself.
“This failure is my responsibility. Please punish me.”
Yun Suiwu answered coldly,
“You know what to do.”
After saying those words, he led Lianxiang away.
His voice remained calm and emotionless.
Yet it made people feel chilled to the bone.
Someone was willing to kill a three-month-old baby.
Without investigating, Yun Suiwu already knew who was behind it.
The Emperor and Empress had given birth to five children.
In the end, only Yun Suiwu and his older brother survived.
Growing up, they had faced countless assassination attempts.
Now both brothers possessed great power and influence.
Naturally, they would protect Shi’an with everything they had.
As long as he lived, Yun Suiwu would never allow anyone to harm even a single hair on the little prince’s head.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The guard accepted the order and left.
Walking behind them, Aunt Pei glanced back at the beautiful lotus pond.
What a pity about that rare two-colored lotus.
Very few people knew the prince’s schedule today.
Other than the temple abbot, there could hardly be anyone else.
Soon, the century-old Lingyan Temple would undergo a thorough investigation and purge.
Only after returning to the temple courtyard did Yun Suiwu remove the arm resting on Lianxiang’s shoulders.
By then, a large area of clothing across her chest was soaked.
It was unclear whether it was from sweat or something else.
Her eyelashes trembled constantly.
She still had not recovered from the shock of the assassination attempt.
When Lianxiang finally noticed her condition, she immediately bent over in embarrassment.
She raised the little prince higher to cover the wet area on her chest.
Her face turned bright red.
She looked completely helpless and embarrassed.
Yun Suiwu’s gaze lingered there thoughtfully for a moment.
A faint scent of milk floated through the air.
Smelling it, the little prince reacted much like an adult smelling delicious food.
He instinctively turned his face toward the source.
His little mouth opened and closed repeatedly.
His soft pink lips looked especially cute.
When Lianxiang realized the prince was looking at her, she wanted to disappear from embarrassment.
At the same time, she was still shaken by the attack on the little prince.
Even her lowered neck trembled.
A bead of sweat slid down her long white neck and disappeared beneath her collar.
The damp area on her clothing seemed to spread even further.
Why did this young widow sweat so much?
The rest of her clothing was not wet, yet…
“Your… Your Highness, the little prince… should be hungry,” Lianxiang said, her face burning red.
She wished she could pull her head into her shoulders like a turtle hiding in its shell.
At that moment, the senior nanny arrived with Nurse Zhao and several maids.
Before the prince could answer, Lianxiang, surrounded by stern-looking guards, felt too embarrassed to remain there another second.
“This servant will go feed the little prince.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she hurried away with the baby toward the senior nanny.
By the time Yun Suiwu reacted, the young widow had already handed the little prince to Nurse Zhao and followed her into a room.
“Nanny, I heard there was an assassin at the lotus pond,” the senior nanny asked as she approached the prince.
Her eyes were filled with concern.
She had once served the Empress and had been left in charge of caring for the little prince, together with many palace maids.
“There is no need to worry. Prepare everything immediately. We are returning to the prince’s residence,” Yun Suiwu replied.
To prevent further attacks on the journey home, the little prince was placed in the prince’s carriage after he had been fed.
When Yun Suiwu saw that Nurse Zhao was carrying the little prince, with two maids named Xiyu and Xixue following behind, he quietly lowered his gaze to the baby.
“Hmm… hmm…”
For some reason, the little prince seemed unhappy.
Whether it was because he disliked the carriage or something else, he was far less calm in Nurse Zhao’s arms than he was in Lianxiang’s.
He made unhappy noises and looked around with his large black eyes, as though searching for something.
Sitting beside the prince, Aunt Pei noticed his expression and asked,
“Why didn’t Nurse Shen come?”
Xiyu answered,
“Reporting to Aunt Pei, Nurse Shen is feeling a little uncomfortable and is unable to serve at the moment.”
Lianxiang had come to the temple unexpectedly and had not brought any spare clothes.
The assassination attempt had frightened her badly.
Her milk had come in heavily, soaking the front of her clothes.
Naturally, she could not appear before others in that condition.
Aunt Pei thought this made sense.
Then she glanced at the prince.
His face remained cold as snow, and his lips were pressed together.
He seemed slightly displeased.
Clearly, he did not realize that Lianxiang’s clothing was soaked for more reasons than simple sweat.
Although Yun Suiwu was nearly thirty years old, his attitude toward women had been extremely distant ever since an incident ten years ago.
His enormous residence did not even have an official princess-consort or secondary consort.
The only concubine he had was Lady Song.
No matter how beautiful or elegant a woman was, he would hardly spare her a second glance.
As for women who deliberately tried to seduce him or gain his favor, he despised them even more.
At times, he seemed like a monk who had never taken formal vows.
Free from worldly desires and attachments.
Over the years, he had broken the hearts of countless noble young ladies who admired him.
As for what had happened ten years ago, Aunt Pei did not know.
Everyone who knew about that event had been replaced by the prince.
That was precisely why she had come to serve at his side.