The servants working at the Eldest Princess’s Residence were all well-trained—obedient, tight-lipped, highly efficient, swift, and astonishingly fast in their execution.
Upon receiving the order, Xie Xuan asked no questions and immediately went to summon the guards.
In an instant, three hundred soldiers of the princess’s residence assembled at the main gate, awaiting Su Fengyi’s command.
Xie Xuan led a pure white Ferghana horse forward and said:
“Your Highness, please mount.”
Su Fengyi, who had been looking for a carriage at the gate, was instantly dumbfounded.
She did not know how to ride a horse.
In the book, the Eldest Princess was described as having been taught archery and horsemanship from a young age by the Grand Ancestor himself. She always wore riding attire, carried a bow and arrows, and preferred riding horses over taking carriages.
Thus, she should not only be an expert rider but also a master archer, skilled in mounted archery.
But as for archery, the transmigrated Su Fengyi knew even less about it.
Her persona was about to crumble.
In the brief moment Su Fengyi hesitated, Xie Xuan had already presented the reins to her.
Meanwhile, her maid Dangui swiftly helped her equip her waist knife and bow and arrows, following the same routine as whenever the Eldest Princess went out before.
Was she forced to ride this horse now?
Su Fengyi found herself in a dilemma and had no choice but to take the reins.
Unexpectedly, the moment the reins touched her hands, a mysterious force surged through her entire body. Before she could even process it, she instinctively swung herself onto the horse.
The movement was natural and fluid, and no one noticed anything unusual.
Was it the muscle memory of the original body at work? Or was it the book’s setting taking effect?
Please, let it not be the book’s setting!
As the villain in this book, Su Fengyi dared not compare herself to the protagonist in terms of the book’s settings.
In the book’s settings, what was the most powerful, the most unstoppable, something even the most formidable villain had to bow down to?
Naturally, it was the protagonist’s halo.
If the male lead, the feudal prince, possessed such a formidable weapon as the protagonist’s halo, anyone who crossed him would meet their end.
As the villain, facing off against the male lead with his protagonist’s halo would be extremely disadvantageous for Su Fengyi.
For now, the best strategy was to quickly rescue General Shen, nip the male lead’s rebellion in the bud, and deny the protagonist any chance to appear.
A protagonist who couldn’t even make an appearance was no protagonist at all—just an extra. And extras didn’t have any protagonist’s halo.
The logic was sound, perfect.
With this in mind, Su Fengyi spurred her horse forward, galloping at full speed. Surrounded by her guards, the hundreds-strong procession charged toward the execution ground in a grand display.
The Eldest Princess riding through the streets was always flamboyant and domineering, creating quite a commotion. The capital’s residents were accustomed to it.
As soon as there was any disturbance on the street near the Eldest Princess’s Residence, pedestrians and vendors scattered in fear, avoiding any encounter with this demoness. Otherwise, if they were injured, maimed, or even killed, they could only blame their own misfortune.
The journey was smooth and unobstructed until they neared the execution ground. Suddenly, a panicked crowd of commoners fled toward them, screaming as they ran:
“Murder! Murder!”
From the execution ground came the shrill, sharp shouts of the supervising eunuch:
“What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the prisoner to be rescued? Execute the prisoner now! I said, execute him!”
Several masked black-clad figures were locked in combat with the execution ground guards. Under the supervising eunuch’s furious shouts, the executioner raised his blade.
Clearly, someone else had also come to rescue the prisoner, beating Su Fengyi to it.
Both the black-clad figures and the guards suffered casualties. With people dying, the spectators who had gathered to watch the execution fled in panic, pushing and shoving, screaming as they surged toward Su Fengyi’s procession.
Along with the crowd, wine, dishes, and various food and drinks were scattered all over the ground, trampled into a chaotic mess by the fleeing masses.
These were all brought by the common people, who had come of their own accord to see General Shen off.
Before a condemned prisoner is beheaded, the executioner usually allows the family to bring some food and drink. After eating the last meal, one can become a well-fed ghost and be reincarnated.
The Shen family had been guarding Xuanfu since the time of the Grand Ancestor. For three generations, they had defended the border for the nation, earning immense prestige among the people.
Justice resides in the hearts of the people. Since the Shen family had been wronged, it was only natural for the common folk to voluntarily bring food and drink to bid farewell to General Shen.
Precisely because of this, although the supervising eunuch kept shouting at the executioner to carry out the sentence, the executioner’s blade was raised and lowered, lowered and raised, hesitating and dawdling, just not striking.
The executioner was clearly stalling, unwilling to become the sinner who killed a loyal and righteous man. By delaying, perhaps the prisoner would be rescued, and then it wouldn’t be his fault anymore.
Of course, the executioner didn’t dare to stall too obviously, so he pretended to be clueless and evaded:
“Eunuch Gao, it won’t do. The hour of noon has not yet arrived. If we execute him now, wouldn’t we be defying the imperial decree? Why not wait a little longer…”
Eunuch Gao, in order to avoid a pair of black-clad assailants and the execution ground guards who were fighting, had already hurriedly hidden under the table.
Hearing the executioner’s words, Eunuch Gao was so angry he nearly ascended to heaven on the spot.
His godfather, the Factory Overseer of the Eastern Depot, the Nine-Thousand-Year-Old, had said that today, General Shen’s head must be taken.
If the prisoner were really rescued alive, the Factory Overseer might very well demand Eunuch Gao’s own head.
Eunuch Gao risked poking half his head out from under the table, threw the execution token to the ground, and said viciously:
“Once the token hits the ground, carry out the execution immediately. If you dare to make excuses, delay, or hesitate again, I’ll have you beheaded along with him!”
The executioner had no choice. He could only clasp his hands toward the condemned prisoner, General Shen:
“General, I apologize. This humble one will see you off on your journey…”
While the scene was in chaos, General Shen, Shen Quan, seemed completely unaware of the surrounding turmoil.
Shen Quan, styled Hongxian, twenty-eight years old, formerly a second-rank Assistant General of the Nation, now a commoner and prisoner.
Though dressed in prison garb and shackled, disheveled in appearance, his expression was calm, his back straight, and he leisurely drank from a jar of fine wine held to his lips by a white-haired old man.
He was as composed as if he were not at an execution ground but in his own home.
After downing the entire jar of fine wine, quenching his long-suppressed craving for alcohol, Shen Quan felt utterly exhilarated and laughed heartily:
“Good wine! How splendid!”
Then, to the trembling executioner, he said:
“Come, young brother, I trouble you. Hold the blade steady and make it quick.”
The executioner, heartbroken and sorrowful, raised the executioner’s blade once more. Just as he was about to carry out the sentence, he heard a whistling sound in his ear, and an arrow shot through the air, embedding itself in his topknot.
The executioner instinctively touched the arrow on his head. At first, he was slightly stunned, but then he thought to himself, even though it only injured his hair, wasn’t it still an injury?
It’s not that we’re not following orders; it’s that we’ve been wounded by stray arrows and can’t do it anymore!
With sufficient justification, the executioner immediately began to wail loudly:
“Ouch, ouch, ouch-ouch-ouch! I’m injured! I’m bleeding! I’m dead!”
With the first “ouch,” he threw down the blade.
With the second “ouch,” he closed his eyes.
With the third “ouch-ouch-ouch,” he fell to the ground, pretending to be dead.
Seeing the executioner so useless, Eunuch Gao gritted his teeth in hatred but had no other option. He could only lie under the table, rolling his eyes around, looking east and west, and finally pointed at a young eunuch:
“You, go and finish off General Shen!”
“Huh? Me, me?”
The little eunuch who had been singled out was on the verge of tears. He picked up the sword from the ground, dragging it along the floor, but hesitated, unable to bring himself to act.
Eunuch Gao urged him impatiently, and the little eunuch mustered his courage. As he approached and raised the sword, General Shen glanced at him and even smiled faintly.
General Shen’s reputation was awe-inspiring. His smile, though seemingly ordinary, terrified the little eunuch who met his gaze. Trembling with fear, his legs went weak, and his entire body shook like a sieve. How could he possibly strike?
To kill General Shen—even a General Shen bound hand and foot with shackles—was something he dared not do.
Su Fengyi, galloping on horseback, saw the little eunuch raise the sword and swiftly fired another arrow, striking the eunuch’s wrist.
The little eunuch screamed and collapsed to the ground. Not only did he drop the sword, but the heavy blade also fell on him, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
Through these two arrows, Su Fengyi confirmed that her accuracy was no coincidence—the Grand Princess’s legendary skill of hitting a target from a hundred paces away was indeed taking effect.
Eunuch Gao, however, was infuriated by the arrows. Hiding under a table, he peered around and shouted angrily:
“Rebellion! Rebellion! Where did these traitors come from?”
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the Grand Princess herself, accompanied by several hundred supporters. Overwhelmed with joy, he thought:
“Heaven has not abandoned me! With the Grand Princess here, Shen Quan is doomed today! Victory is assured!”
Like a drowning man clutching at a straw, Eunuch Gao scrambled out from under the table, stumbling and crawling, weeping and laughing hysterically:
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Save me! Save me!”