“Master, why not let this subordinate change into your clothes and ride the horse to draw their attention away?”
Inside the carriage, Tianxuan knelt on one knee, pleading as he looked at the elegant young nobleman before him.
“I didn’t expect that even after I had already yielded this far, he still refuses to let go. In that case, why not simply issue an imperial decree—why go through all this trouble?”
The young man’s expression remained calm, as if he did not even realize the black-clad assassins outside were targeting him.
He was the imperial uncle of the new emperor, the younger brother of the late Emperor Jiaseng—the current Venerable Prince of the Court, Wei Jingyuan.
When he was born, his imperial brother was already married and had children. To please the old emperor, the then-crown prince treated him with great care. In the eyes of outsiders, he was even more cherished than the crown prince’s own son at times.
Later, when the old emperor passed away and left a decree naming him successor, the crown prince ascended the throne as Emperor Jiaseng and conferred upon Wei Jingyuan the title of Venerable Prince.
“Xian” in “Xianwang” also means “idle.” Perhaps the emperor’s intention at the time was simply to let him remain an idle royal.
To avoid suspicion from the emperor, Wei Jingyuan had never participated in court affairs over the years, nor had he associated with officials. He spent his days listening to music and watching performances, rarely leaving his residence. Over time, many people had even forgotten such a prince existed.
Until this time, when Emperor Jiaseng died and Crown Prince Wei Renxuan ascended the throne as Emperor Rende, he assigned the barren and plague-ridden Lingnan region as Wei Jingyuan’s fief and ordered him to depart immediately, forbidding his return to the capital without imperial summons.
They even said it kindly—that the prince had been cooped up in the capital too long and should go out to enjoy the scenery of the world.
Wei Jingyuan, having long since developed a detached temperament, did not resist even such treatment. To him, matters of power and authority had never mattered.
As Wei Renxuan said, traveling outside the capital might not be a bad thing.
“Master, our men outside are still fighting desperately. If they heard you say this, they might just stick their necks out and let themselves be beheaded instead.”
Tianxuan was anxious. Though his master was indifferent to most things, he treated his subordinates well and never punished them harshly.
Wei Jingyuan lifted a corner of the curtain and saw Yao Guang’s arm being slashed by a sword, blood instantly pouring out.
“They came prepared. Even if we escape this time, there will be another.”
He frowned deeply. He had thought being exiled to Lingnan would bring peace, but his nephew had already revealed his true nature so quickly after ascending the throne.
Outnumbered as they were, if they split up, they would be picked off one by one.
“You all go. Fight with them. If anyone rushes the carriage, I am not helpless.”
Tianxuan hesitated, just as Xiao Linzi tremblingly spoke up.
“Stop arguing… just listen to the master. If it comes to it, I’ll risk my life to stand in front of him!”
“Go.”
Wei Jingyuan said this and took out two daggers from a hidden compartment in the carriage, casually playing with one.
Tianxuan gritted his teeth and jumped down.
The four guards by the carriage also immediately rushed into battle.
“Why are you here? What about the master?”
Tianshu pierced a black-clad man through the chest and looked toward Tianxuan.
“The master said to deal with them first with full force.”
Tianxuan replied calmly, though his eyes were filled with killing intent.
“Very well.”
Tianshu nodded—and then suddenly noticed a figure that should not have been there.
“Qi Sha?”
“It’s me.”
The two exchanged glances. In that instant, Tianshu understood—Miss Ren of the Ren family was likely nearby as well.
Thinking of her swift and decisive killing method from the previous day, he felt uneasy.
She must have been drawn here by the sounds of battle. Whether she would intervene or not was uncertain.
He only hoped she would not help their enemies.
“Miss Ren seems to have taken an interest in Black Wind,” Tianshu said.
Black Wind was the prince’s most beloved black horse. Earlier, when that girl had nearly drooled over it, he had seen it clearly from the tree.
“If we can gain her help, the prince might be willing to part with it,” he thought.
As expected, not far away, he saw a slender female figure standing by the horse.
She and the horse were facing each other.
“Be good. I’ll take you for a short ride and bring you back tomorrow…”
Ren Jingshu spoke softly, reaching toward the horse.
Black Wind, usually pampered and only obedient to Wei Jingyuan and a few others, immediately became alert.
Its large eyes carried obvious hostility. It stamped its hooves anxiously and snorted repeatedly, warning her to stay away.
“Stay away from me, don’t touch me.”
Ren Jingshu tried several times but could not get close. Finally, she gave up and shifted her attention to the other horses behind it.
Those didn’t seem bad either.
Just as she was about to grab one, Black Wind suddenly kicked out violently.
“Holy—are you a human in disguise?!”
Ren Jingshu barely dodged, shocked as she retreated.
The shout drew attention from both fighting sides.
“Black Wind, go with her. Staying here means certain death.”
Wei Jingyuan, watching from the carriage window for a long time, curved his lips slightly.
Black Wind snorted loudly, as if understanding or refusing, and kicked again.
This time, Ren Jingshu was prepared and quickly retreated.
“Forget it, forget it. Since you don’t want to, I won’t force you. I’m leaving.”
She nodded toward Wei Jingyuan in the carriage as thanks, preparing to leave.
She had no memory of the conflict and did not want to interfere.
Her only goal was to reach the capital and save her family.
But someone clearly did not want her to leave.
“Heh heh… since you’re already here, why leave? Why not stay and let big brothers take you somewhere nice instead?”