Chapter 7: The Prince's Aura Is Overwhelming
While playing the zither, her gaze only occasionally lingered on Yu Guhan, but Yu Guhan never looked at her, which left Le Linglong somewhat distracted.
The Second Prince was away on a southern tour with the Emperor and had yet to return. The Third Prince had been sent out for training since childhood and seldom came back to the capital. The Fourth Prince, son of the Virtuous Consort, was after all only fourth in line. If she wanted to soar to new heights, she needed Yu Guhan to notice her!
During this time, Yu Guhan mulled things over and finally gave an order: “Invite an imperial physician to the General’s Manor to check on Miss Le.”
Zhan Lianjing overheard and remarked coolly, “The Crown Prince seems to care for her quite a lot.”
Yet, wasn’t there a rumor outside that Le Qianxue fancied the Fourth Prince?
Yu Guhan smiled lightly and replied, “It’s merely concern. We grew up together, so naturally, our relationship is close.”
But in truth, this was only Yu Guhan’s perspective; in Le Qianxue’s eyes, it was far from so simple.
At this moment, Haoyue returned from outside and whispered into Zhan Lianjing’s ear, “Deputy General Qin has arrived and requests an audience with urgent news.”
Le Linglong had not yet finished her song when Zhan Lianjing and Haoyue excused themselves and left.
Yu Guhan, having seen many talented women, felt no interest in Le Linglong whatsoever. Only Yu Nanfeng gazed at her, entranced; the moment she finished her performance, he showered her with praise, as if afraid the world might not know of his infatuation.
But Le Linglong’s heart’s desire went unfulfilled—Yu Guhan had not spared her so much as a glance.
Yu Guhan soon left for another place, and Le Linglong hurried after him, hoping to ingratiate herself.
Meanwhile, Yu Nanfeng searched everywhere for her in vain, growing anxious—he had hoped to speak with Le Linglong today. Instead, he came face to face with Le Qianxue!
“Le Qianxue, weren’t you resting in the General’s Manor, sick and retching? Why have you come to make a scene?” At the sight of her, Yu Nanfeng’s expression darkened instantly.
Le Qianxue’s own expression soured. She truly couldn’t understand how the original owner of this body could have ever liked Yu Nanfeng.
“Do you know where Prince Zhan is? If not, then get out of my way!” she demanded.
Yu Nanfeng was taken aback. Had he heard correctly? Le Qianxue was actually shouting at him! She dared to shout at him!
His face grew stormy. “Le Qianxue, how dare you address your prince in such a manner?!”
“Move! I have no time to waste on you!”
Le Qianxue cast him a dismissive glance. Clearly, Yu Nanfeng had no idea where Prince Zhan was, and time was running short—she couldn’t afford to waste another moment on his nonsense.
Without another word, Le Qianxue turned and left. Yu Nanfeng, outraged by her disregard, seethed as she hurried away.
After inquiring further, Le Qianxue learned that Zhan Lianjing was in the rear courtyard.
From a distance, she saw Zhan Lianjing seated in a pavilion, Haoyue standing beside him, while Deputy General Qin bent low, reporting something in hushed tones.
Zhan Lianjing’s brow was furrowed, as though he had just heard troubling news.
“My lord, every word I speak is the absolute truth,” the deputy said, falling to his knees in an effort to win Zhan Lianjing’s trust.
Zhan Lianjing’s gaze turned icy and indifferent.
A chill ran through the deputy; he could feel the cold aura emanating from Zhan Lianjing.
With a low voice, Zhan Lianjing said, “With so many people lurking in ambush here, you expect me to believe you?”
The deputy cursed inwardly—sure enough, the wily prince had seen through his ploy!
In a flash, the deputy flicked his wrist, and a dart hidden in his sleeve shot straight at Zhan Lianjing!
Zhan Lianjing had never revealed his martial prowess in public; the deputy assumed he was all strategy and no skill in self-defense.
He was gravely mistaken.
With a mere wave of his hand, Zhan Lianjing swatted the dart aside.
The deputy was startled but quickly flipped backward to retreat.
At that moment, several black-clad assassins burst from all sides, their crossbows firing bolts in rapid succession!
Haoyue unsheathed her sword and deflected two bolts, but even with his inner strength, Zhan Lianjing could not fend off so many at once—especially as he dared not reveal his true abilities in public.
A bolt was about to strike him!
Le Qianxue had anticipated this—would he truly risk his life just to protect his secret?
She pulled a hairpin from her coiffure and hurled it, using deft strength to send it flying and knock the bolt aside.
Zhan Lianjing started, turning to see Le Qianxue running toward him, her voice sharp with anger: “Are you still pretending at a time like this? Are you so eager to die?!”
He was momentarily stunned by her words; there seemed to be another meaning behind them.
Meanwhile, Haoyue had already sent a signal for reinforcements.
“Miss Le!” Haoyue called, “Protect the prince!”
With that, Haoyue rushed out to confront several of the assailants.
Deputy General Qin lunged again, but Le Qianxue sidestepped, seized his wrist, and struck several acupoints. The deputy, caught off guard by her strength despite her slight build, found his entire body paralyzed and immobile.
With a flick of Zhan Lianjing’s hand, a hidden weapon ended the deputy’s life.
Le Qianxue froze. She had almost forgotten this was Zhan Lianjing’s signature move. To think she’d rushed to help—what a waste of effort.
But now, the rear courtyard was swarming with assassins; clearly, the ambush had been meticulously planned.
Haoyue tossed her a long sword, which Le Qianxue caught. She would have to rely on it to survive.
Zhan Lianjing pushed his wheelchair, dispatching several assassins with effortless ease. “Get out of the way!” he ordered.
He could see that Le Qianxue had little inner strength, though her technique was solid. But against such adversaries, it would do her no good; working together, the assassins could kill her in an instant.
Le Qianxue frowned. “I won’t leave!”
She must be mad, getting involved in this mess.
Though Zhan Lianjing was immobile, his hands moved with blinding speed; every assassin who approached met their end.
Le Qianxue was momentarily dazed—Zhan Lianjing’s strength was unfathomable. Why did he pretend to be crippled?
In that moment’s distraction, Zhan Lianjing grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. In the same motion, he used her sword to kill an assassin.
“Don’t daydream!” he snapped coldly.
Did she not realize how dire the situation was? How could she afford to be distracted now?
Le Qianxue glanced at him, her heart pounding. Still dazed, she was abruptly pushed aside by Zhan Lianjing.
Just then, Haoyue shouted from outside, “My lord! Look out!”
Le Qianxue turned to see several assassins rush forward, throwing something from their hands.
It was—
She immediately held her breath and, in one swift move, covered Zhan Lianjing’s mouth as well.
He let her do as she pleased. The objects shattered, releasing a poisonous vapor that spread rapidly.
But just then, reinforcements arrived. With most of the assassins already dead or wounded, the remaining few were quickly dispatched.
Haoyue, bloodied and battered, turned to see the poison cloud still lingering around the pavilion and panicked. “The prince is still inside!”
She tried to rush in, but Zhuixing grabbed her arm. “The poison hasn’t cleared—don’t go in.”
Haoyue panted, “Let me go! I must save the prince!”
As the poison slowly dispersed, Haoyue caught sight of two figures within the haze.
“My lord!” she cried in surprise, covering her nose and rushing inside.
Zhan Lianjing was perfectly unharmed, with no sign of poisoning.
Le Qianxue watched Haoyue rush in—now that was truly reckless.
She took out a medicinal pill and said, “If you charge in like that, you’ll be poisoned for sure. Take this.”
Haoyue hesitated, but then remembered that Le Qianxue was skilled in detoxification and likely carried such remedies with her.
By now, the poison had fully dissipated. Word of the attack had already reached Yu Guhan, who arrived with the Imperial Guard.
The chaos from the attack had thrown the entire banquet into disorder, with many guests injured.
But Yu Guhan’s greatest fear was that something might have happened to Zhan Lianjing; without him, Yu Guhan would lose his strongest ally.
“Prince Zhan!” Yu Guhan hurried over. “Are you all right?”
Zhan Lianjing remained as calm and unruffled as ever, as if nothing had happened.
“I am unharmed,” he replied.
Yu Guhan glanced up to see Le Qianxue there as well, and was slightly surprised. “Qianxue, what are you doing here?”
Even Zhan Lianjing looked at her, intrigued.
The Crown Prince was known to fancy Le Qianxue, yet here she was, saving him.
“Did you come all this way just to rescue me?” Zhan Lianjing teased.
Le Qianxue’s lips twitched; she had nearly lost her life, all thanks to him—and her own meddling.
She glared at Zhan Lianjing. “You’re overthinking things, my lord. I was looking for my father and just happened to run into you—nothing good ever comes of that…”
Yu Guhan looked around; General Le Yongcheng was not among the group. “General Le seems to be missing. For now, you should go to the main hall with Prince Zhan—there are plenty of Imperial Guards there, it’ll be safe.”
It was supposed to be his birthday banquet, yet assassins had disrupted everything—he’d lost all face.
Haoyue began pushing Zhan Lianjing’s wheelchair toward the main hall, but with her injured hand, she struggled to manage.
Le Qianxue, knowing Zhan Lianjing’s pretense, could barely stand to watch him make an injured person push him.
She shot him several annoyed glances, and Zhan Lianjing turned back. “You—come here.”
Le Qianxue looked around; she was the only one nearby.
She frowned. “Are you speaking to me, my lord?”
He nodded, as if resigned to her ways.
But Le Qianxue didn’t move. Instead, she said, “You have such a menacing aura, my lord—I’m not going anywhere near you.”
Haoyue glanced at the two of them. Why did it feel like they were a pair of quarreling adversaries?
Le Qianxue strode ahead, ignoring Zhan Lianjing entirely.
He tapped his fingers on the armrest and said quietly, “Le Qianxue, have you forgotten how you behaved so outrageously toward me in the palace?”
The people trailing behind pricked up their ears. That incident had been the talk of the capital for days—today, at last, they might hear the real story!