Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C084

The guard finished his report and went out to stand watch.

Wushuang glanced around. Only twenty or so guards stood outside. Because no lanterns were lit in the courtyard, only the light of the snow illuminated the scene, making everything appear shadowy and indistinct. However, all the palace staff and chamberlains of Zhilan Pavilion had gathered, holding their breaths and standing quietly under the eaves, each holding a large wooden stick.

Clearly, what was happening outside was not as simple as an assassination. The guard likely said that to prevent them from being afraid.

Princess Changhe said to her maidservant, "Help Princess Consort Wei and Eighth Prince's Consort to rest first." Then, she said to Mei Wushuang and Wan Chun'er, "You should all go to sleep. When you wake up, this will all be over."

Having said that, she truly went to sleep, leaving Mei Wushuang and Wan Chun'er to stare at each other in dismay.

"Since they only mentioned that there were assassins in Yuhua Hall and Yuxiang Pavilion, Eighth Imperial Brother should be fine," Mei Wushuang said, comforting Wan Chun'er, who seemed slightly worried.

"Third Sister-in-law, you shouldn't worry too much either. Look, even Imperial Aunt isn't worried, so everything must be alright."

That was what she said, but no one could truly relax until the matter was settled.

Mei Wushuang recalled how, before leaving, Prince Wei had straightened the brim of her cloak and told her to return early.

Even knowing that he had made arrangements and was surely confident, she couldn't help but worry. What if something unexpected happened?

She thought of the words Ji Yang had spoken after returning from his trip, prompted by her own meddling that day.

The guards in the detached palace were limited. If someone truly wanted to cause trouble, the more people from various families and mansions were present, the more difficult it would be, because one would never know how many people the enemy had hidden in the shadows. This meant that even if one knew beforehand that someone might cause trouble, one could only wait.

Was that why he sent her out?

Because he remained there as bait.

In fact, Wushuang's thoughts were correct. Even if Prince Wei had calculated everything meticulously, everything was unknown until the enemy revealed themselves.

However, Ji Yang had accurately predicted one thing: the enemy would strike at incidental targets.

Uh, he was the incidental grass, and Emperor Taihe was the main rabbit.

Just as Yuhua Hall was attacked, with the Imperial Guards shouting about assassins and converging towards it, a group of people dressed in black infiltrated Yuxiang Pavilion.

In reality, looking back, it would be clear that the person behind it all had precisely exploited the paramount importance of Emperor Taihe's safety in everyone's minds. They used a feigned advance to conceal their true intentions. Attacking Yuhua Hall was a diversion; the true target was Yuxiang Pavilion.

Only a dozen or so people attacked Yuhua Hall, but the number heading towards Yuxiang Pavilion was several times greater, and they were armed with crossbows. Prince Wei had not anticipated this, and as a result, when the main force of the Imperial Guards arrived, the battle at Yuxiang Pavilion was extremely fierce.

Most of Prince Wei's guards were injured, and Prince Wei himself had taken two arrows.

No matter how valiant one was, two fists could hardly fight four hands, especially since the crossbow was extremely fast. It lacked the range for battlefield warfare, but it was most suitable for dealing with highly skilled martial artists. A rain of arrows fired at close range rendered even the best acrobatic skills useless.

Clearly, the attackers had calculated Prince Wei's martial prowess, and these crossbows were intended to deal with him. It was just a pity that they hadn't anticipated Prince Wei's preparedness, and had also misjudged his strength. Not only did they fail to kill Prince Wei, but they were instead counter-attacked. Seeing that they were losing, they abandoned dozens of corpses and fled in haste.

Bao Qian, the Deputy Commander of the Jinwu Guards, immediately sent men to pursue them, while also ordering others to report the matter to Emperor Taihe. At the same time, the entire detached palace instantly lit up, and the guards searched every corner for any remaining enemies.

Emperor Taihe was furious.

He had foreseen that someone would cause trouble tonight, and had made many arrangements to lure the snake out of its hole. However, he never expected that the target would not be him, but Prince Wei.

Crossbows!

These weapons were strictly controlled military equipment by the Imperial Court, and were rarely seen even in the army. Yet here, right under his nose, someone had brazenly obtained dozens of crossbows, just to kill his son!

"Investigate this for me! I want to know where these crossbows came from!"

The Yuhua Hall was brightly lit. As the commotion in the detached palace grew too loud, it also alarmed the princes and ministers who resided outside the detached palace.

The ministers requested an audience outside the detached palace. Emperor Taihe allowed them to enter, but they could only enter alone, without any attendants. Even their movements were watched by guards.

This clearly showed that Emperor Taihe trusted no one!

Several old ministers felt somewhat displeased, but standing outside the hall and hearing His Majesty mention crossbows, they knew that this matter was likely to escalate.

It was no wonder Emperor Taihe was furious. The Imperial Court had always strictly controlled the private possession of weapons. Bows could not be banned, so there was a specific number of bows one could possess before violating the law.

But armor and crossbows were different, especially crossbows. Because they were easy to operate and extremely lethal, even a ten-year-old child could use a crossbow to kill an ordinary person. Therefore, the common people were absolutely forbidden from possessing them privately.

Once private possession was discovered, the minimum punishment was imprisonment with hard labor.

And the capital, a strategically important area, was even more strictly controlled and inspected.

To put it this way, there were only a few places in the capital that could acquire dozens of crossbows at once. Investigating any of these places would cause a huge uproar, and one could only imagine how many people would be implicated.

"Who is so audacious! To actually use crossbows, they are trying to pierce a hole in the sky!" An old minister shook his head and sighed.

Unlike the civil officials who were only sighing and stomping their feet, but were not actually panicked, the several military officers present were very flustered, because the places in the capital that could acquire so many crossbows at once were all related to the military.

***

Yuxiang Pavilion

Prince Wei no longer needed to concern himself with the aftermath. He had initially wondered how he would add fuel to the fire if the other party revealed no clues, but who would have thought that they valued his life so much as to use a crossbow?

[One couldn't tell if he was genuinely foolish, or if he was being set up.]

[Your performance of this self-inflicted injury was quite the show, nearly killing this old man in the process.]

[Where does this talk of acting come from?] He had merely been reminding Emperor Taihe, while deliberately concealing that the other party might be targeting him, in order to lure them into making a move against him. In truth, he had made considerable arrangements.

[Whether it was acting or not, you know it in your heart. If I hadn't cooperated with you, would I have taken two arrows? I want control.]

Having spoken, Ji Yang didn't wait for Prince Wei's agreement before taking over the body. However, he didn't confine the other, after all, in times like these, unexpected situations might arise, and Prince Wei might still be of use.

To an outsider, it would appear that the imperial physician was examining Prince Wei's injuries when he suddenly stood up.

"Your Highness, what is it?"

"Some superficial wounds, no need for such trouble. Isn't it already bandaged?"

"But Your Highness has suffered arrow wounds, it's best not to move rashly, and to rest in bed for a while, to avoid the wound..." The old imperial physician was still methodically giving his medical advice, but Ji Yang had already left.

***

Although Princess Changhe had told them to sleep, how could they possibly sleep in this situation?

Mei Wushuang and Wan Chun'er were both awake, lying on the couch fully clothed.

Suddenly, a great commotion erupted outside. At first, Wushuang thought someone had broken in, but soon someone came in to report that Prince Wei had arrived.

Wushuang didn't even put on her shoes before running outside.

As soon as she reached the doorway, she was swept up into someone's arms.

"Why aren't you wearing shoes?"

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

They spoke almost in unison.

"What could possibly be wrong?" Ji Yang looked at her feet, his brow already furrowed in displeasure. Only when Linglong came chasing after them with the shoes did his expression soften slightly.

He came to sit beside her, not releasing Wushuang, allowing her to sit on his lap. Linglong knelt down to put on Mei Wushuang's shoes. At this moment, Wan Chun'er also emerged. She first gave a bow to Ji Yang, then asked with trepidation, "Your Highness, Prince Wei, may I inquire if my Prince is well?"

"No one intruded into Jingcui Yard." Jingcui Yard was the residence of the Eighth Prince and his wife.

Seeing this, Wan Chun'er breathed a sigh of relief.

Afterwards, Ji Yang left with Wushuang.

Because there was much snow on the road, he did not allow her to walk, wrapping her in his cloak and carrying her all the way back. She encircled his neck, her whole being pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Only then did her heart truly settle.

"Your Highness, why did you send me away? You don't know that I heard at Zhilan Pavilion that Yuxiang Pavilion was attacked by villains, and I was worried to death."

Sending her away was not his doing, but Ji Yang knew Prince Wei's character. In Prince Wei's own words, he was thorough in all matters; in Ji Yang's words, he was overly cautious. However, at this moment, Ji Yang was also grateful that Wushuang had been sent away, because no one had expected the attackers to use crossbows.

However, he could not explicitly say these words to Wushuang, so he roughly described the dangerous extent of the evening, explaining why he had sent her away.

Regardless of who acted tonight, they were either targeting him or Emperor Taihe. Princess Changhe's status was noble, but she was merely a princess. Even if the other party were to create chaos, they would not bother attacking Princess Changhe's residence. This was why Prince Wei had sent her to Zhilan Pavilion.

Who knew that it would have been better if he hadn't spoken? Upon hearing how dangerous it was, that the other party had even brought crossbows, Wushuang hurriedly asked if he was injured.

He was indeed injured. Now, being anxiously touched in his embrace by her, Ji Yang somewhat regretted cooperating with that old schemer in staging a 'bitter plan'.

If they went back like this, how could he possibly hide it? She would probably cry her eyes red again.

It was impossible to hide it at all, because before even entering Yuxiang Pavilion, Mei Wushuang saw the ground outside Yuxiang Pavilion soaked with blood.

It should have been a field of pure white, but now it was a scene of utter devastation. There were even corpses that had not been dragged away yet. She was so frightened that her heart trembled, and she couldn't help but clutch his lapels tightly.

"Don't look."

Ji Yang pressed her head into his chest, while subtly drawing a breath himself.

After the two entered, the dutiful old imperial physician had not yet left, and was still waiting to give 'Prince Wei' medical instructions. Now there was no need to hide it. After the physician was dismissed, Mei Wushuang hurriedly reached out to unfasten his clothes.

In truth, Ji Yang's injuries were not deep. In his words, they were just flesh wounds. The arrow had been caught by his muscles as it was shot, and had not injured any bones or tendons. It was just that the wound looked somewhat frightening.

Moreover, because he couldn't sit still and ran out to meet Mei Wushuang, and even carried her back, the originally bandaged wound had been soaked with blood again, leaving patches of blood on the white cloth.

"Why didn't you say you were injured? Why did you run out when you were injured, and even carry me…"

The words of reproach lacked any force, tears falling faster than her words. It was precisely this that made Ji Yang feel a genuine sense of unease.

"It's really nothing, just a flesh wound."

"You still say it's nothing! I must have bumped your wound just now."

She wanted to touch it but didn't dare, her fingers trembling, her eyes red from crying.

Ji Yang truly didn't know what to do. He had lived for so long, and had been injured countless times in battle, but had never been treated like this.

If it were someone as fussy as Fusheng, he would have simply scolded them and been done with it. But this was her, and before he could even become impatient, she was already crying like this, her small hands trembling so much, not daring to touch him, afraid of hurting him.

This gave Ji Yang, who was usually so casual and rough, a peculiar feeling, his heart swelling intensely.

Forgetting everything else, he pulled her onto his lap, wanting to embrace her, but she wouldn't let him, afraid of touching his wound. He said he was fine, but she didn't believe him.

Thus, Fusheng's entrance was inevitable.

Fusheng was actually quite embarrassed. To think that His Highness and the Princess Consort were being so affectionate, what was he supposed to do? His Highness was so vigorous and robust, what did this little injury even count as?

But facing someone whose eyes were red with heartache and tears, could you say that?

No.

So Fusheng displayed his silver tongue, saying something along the lines of, although the wound looked serious, it actually wasn't that serious. As long as he took good care of himself, it would be fine in a few days.

As for why the wound was bleeding, it was because His Highness was moving around too much. If he lay still, the wound would heal quickly.

It was precisely this sentence that landed Ji Yang in deep trouble. Afterwards, Wushuang strictly ordered him to stay in bed and not move. If he refused, she would tear up with red eyes, and in the end, he could only lie there, watching her bustling about, even personally washing his face and wiping his body.

Afterwards, after eating something and drinking medicine, the two finally rested.

Wushuang lay down beside Ji Yang, afraid of touching his wound, keeping far away from him. This made the man, who was used to holding her while he slept, extremely annoyed.

Naturally, his annoyance wasn't directed at Wushuang, but at the person who had devised this scheme of feigned injury.