The imperial guards finally reacted, realizing the roar belonged to a tiger. They shouted loudly, “Protect the imperial consort!” Shou Quan’s expression changed in alarm as he supported Jing Xin and rushed forward.
“My lady, be careful! Follow closely!”
Behind them, the forest rustled violently. The tiger leapt through the trees. Jing Xin only glanced back once before her legs went weak with fear. She was not afraid of Qi Shen, that tyrannical ruler, but she was terrified of a tiger.
Some guards escorted her in retreat while others stayed behind to draw their bows and prepare to shoot. But the fierce king of the forest did not wait for them to aim. With several powerful bounds, it opened its bloodied jaws and lunged.
Screams rang out behind her. Jing Xin did not dare look back, but the thick scent of blood in the air told her everything. They were dead.
Tears of panic welled up in her eyes. Why had she chosen to read this damned novel in the first place?
The guards protecting her were forced to stop and shouted for her to run while drawing their bows again. Yet more screams followed one after another as the guards fell.
Jing Xin was already using all the strength from both her lives to run. Her stomach churned violently, nausea rising, but she did not dare stop.
Shou Quan’s voice trembled. “My lady, please go! Give me the slingshot, I will protect you!”
Jing Xin grabbed his wrist and refused to let go. Staying behind meant death. A slingshot would be useless against a tiger.
She was not even the protagonist of this story, yet in this moment she could not help but think, was there not supposed to be a hero who saved the damsel in distress?
Where was that damn Qi Shen?
She truly could not run anymore. Just as her strength faltered, a dark shadow swept overhead like a falling star. She looked up through her veil, and through the gauze, she saw a tall figure on horseback drawing a second arrow.
Finally, someone had come to save her.
Behind her, the tiger had already collapsed, yet its ferocity had not faded as it struggled to rise again. Another arrow struck its neck with perfect precision. This time, the beast let out a final earthshaking roar before crashing heavily to the ground.
Jing Xin clutched Shou Quan’s arm tightly, nearly collapsing.
The rider dismounted swiftly. Only then did she realize it was not Qi Shen.
“My lady, are you injured?” Shou Quan asked anxiously, still struggling to catch his breath.
Jing Xin shook her head while panting. Her veil hat had already fallen away. The man before her wore a brown robe with a dragon-patterned official garment. In the Liang Dynasty, only feudal lords were permitted to wear brown.
“Imperial Consort Jing, are you injured? I arrived late,” he said.
She had imagined feudal lords to be men in their thirties or forties like Prince Zhou, but this man was the same age as Qi Shen. His face was as refined as jade, his temperament gentle and composed. His eyes were a soft brown, and after one worried glance at her, he immediately lowered his gaze, maintaining proper etiquette without looking again.
“I have already sent men to inform the Son of Heaven. Should I summon a physician for Imperial Consort Jing?” he asked.
Jing Xin shook her head. She turned back and saw the tiger lying in a pool of blood. Of the eight guards who had escorted her, six were dead. Corpses lay scattered with blood everywhere, some with severed limbs in horrifying condition.
She quickly looked away.
A pair of well-defined hands appeared in front of her. The man who had saved her picked up her fallen veil hat and handed it back.
“Imperial Consort Jing should not look further. I will handle the scene.”
“Do not touch anything yet,” Jing Xin said quickly. She could not explain that someone was trying to harm her. She looked at the man. “Thank you for your assistance, my lord. We should wait for His Majesty before handling the scene. I believe I have not met you before. May I ask your name?”
“I am Lu Fuji of the State of Lu. I once met you briefly, so it is normal that you do not remember.”
Jing Xin studied him again through her veil. “So it is Lord Lu. Thank you.”
So this was the feudal lord Prince Zhou had mentioned before his death, one who was also involved in plotting rebellion?
He did not look like it at all.
His brows were warm and gentle, his appearance honest and righteous. Everything about him radiated politeness and restraint. If such a man was capable of rebellion, then he hid it too well.
Yet in the original story, this person had never appeared at all. The deaths of Prince Zhou and the Xia Kingdom feudal lord had crushed the remaining lords, and Qi Shen’s overwhelming victory had already shown the world that no one could shake his tyranny.
Perhaps Lu Fuji had abandoned the idea of rebellion altogether.
She did not dwell on him further. Just then, urgent hoofbeats echoed through the forest. Qi Shen arrived on horseback, rushing down with a group of ministers and guards.
Jing Xin’s eyes turned red almost instantly.
The tall, powerful man on horseback came straight toward her under the setting light. His tightly pressed lips formed a cold straight line. When he saw the bloody scene behind her, his eyes turned sharp with anger, and he pulled his horse to a stop.
Only he could save her.
Jing Xin wanted to cry, and she knew she had to play the part of a victim.
The moment Qi Shen dismounted, she threw herself into his arms.
Her veil hat was knocked loose against his chest. She choked out, “Your Majesty, I nearly never saw you again.”
Qi Shen looked down at her. Her face was pale with fear, her delicate peach-blossom eyes shimmering with tears. She looked like a frightened deer, tightly clutching his waist.
Qi Shen barked coldly, “What happened here? How did you protect Imperial Consort Jing?”
The surviving guards dropped to their knees. “Your Majesty, we deserve death.” They quickly explained that because Jing Xin could not ride, she had entered the forest on foot. Halfway through, they encountered the tiger and fought desperately to protect her.
Jing Xin buried her face against Qi Shen’s chest. The scent of blood still lingered in her nose, making her feel nauseated.
Wait!
She could not ride a horse, so why had no one prepared one for her? If they had placed her on horseback earlier, she might have escaped the tiger entirely.
The guards continued to kowtow. “We deserve death. Please punish us, Your Majesty and Imperial Consort.”
Lu Fuji spoke calmly. “When I arrived, this was indeed the scene I witnessed. The tiger was extremely ferocious. I was slightly late in my shot and still frightened Imperial Consort Jing.”
Jing Xin trembled again at the mention of the tiger.
Qi Shen patted her shoulder in reassurance. Before he could speak, Qin Wuheng stepped forward.
“This is not Lord Lu’s fault. It is these servants who failed to protect Imperial Consort Jing.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his sword was already drawn.
In a flash, he slit the throats of the two guards.
The words “don’t” caught in Jing Xin’s throat.
Only then did she fully understand. Qin Wuheng had silenced them without hesitation.
The bloodied blade was withdrawn calmly back into its sheath. The two guards collapsed nearby, their blood staining the grass red.
It was terrifying.
Everyone here was terrifying.
Qi Shen stood at the peak of imperial power, controlling life and death.
Qin Wuheng was an ambitious man with clear intentions to seize authority.
Shen Qingyue, who seemed moved by chance encounters, could calmly send a tiger to kill her.
She had lived in a civilized world. Even after accepting transmigration, she could not accept life being so cheaply discarded.
“Your Majesty, please take Imperial Consort Jing back down the mountain to rest. I will handle things here,” Lu Fuji said.
Qi Shen glanced at Qin Wuheng. “You should also be careful of tigers.”
Back in the room, Qi Shen called for a physician to examine Jing Xin. She was not injured, but Shou Quan had been cut by branches while protecting her, so she asked for him to be treated first.
Qi Shen was not good at comforting people. Seeing her still clinging to him, he said, “Those who failed to protect you have already been killed. Are you still not relieved?”
Relieved your sister.
The more he spoke, the more afraid she became.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, “why was Lord Lu coincidentally going down the mountain? Fortunately, he saved me today.”
“I ordered him to fetch wine.”
So Lu Fuji had not been part of the scheme. Otherwise, he would not have saved her.
“Your Majesty, I cannot ride a horse, but why was no horse prepared by the guards? They knew this mountain was full of dangerous beasts.”
She looked up at him.
Qi Shen paused briefly in thought. He seemed to realize her words had merit.
But only for a moment.
“People are already dead. What more do you want to investigate?”
Jing Xin’s eyes reddened. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against him, sobbing. “Then… Can you assign hidden guards to protect me? I am scared.”
Her breath was hot against his skin.
Qi Shen answered, “Mm.”