Chapter 72

Chapter 72

“Look out!” Wei Heng saw the flash of a sword coming at them and yanked Sheng Zhaoning hard. The blade skimmed past their bodies.

Faced with one attack after another, a fierce glint flashed through Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes. Wei Heng had her shielded in his arms, and her hands were clenched tight into fists, but she could not fight back. All she could do was let him drag her this way and that, dodging in every direction.

Sheng Zhaoning had never been in such a wretched state.

A fire smoldered in her chest. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Wei Heng’s arm, still bleeding nonstop, and irritation surged even higher within her. With arrows shooting in from time to time and assassins closing in around them, the hostility between Sheng Zhaoning’s brows deepened until it was almost spilling over.

Just then, someone at her side cried out in panic, “Crown Prince!”

Sheng Zhaoning snapped her head up and saw a figure dart out behind Wei Heng, raising a blade and chopping straight down at him.

Almost on instinct, she grabbed him by the waist, twisted around, and pulled him into her arms instead. The blade came down at that exact moment, about to cleave into her back.

Whoosh.

In midair, a short crossbow bolt cut through the air with a sharp hiss and drove straight into the assassin’s chest.

The long saber clattered to the ground. Sheng Zhaoning’s tightly shut eyes flew open.

Following the direction the bolt had come from, her body suddenly went rigid.

On a distant roof eave stood a masked man dressed in black. From the rooftop, he looked down at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

Sheng Zhaoning recognized him at a glance.

It was… Han Xu.

Han Xu lowered the crossbow in his hand. He looked at Sheng Zhaoning and the man she was holding tightly, his gaze complicated.

Sheng Zhaoning had actually risked her life to protect someone other than Your Highness the Heir?

If this had happened in the past, he would never have believed it.

But the truth was right before his eyes, and Han Xu could not deny it.

He looked deeply at Sheng Zhaoning, his sharp gaze seeming as though it could see straight through her.

That look made Sheng Zhaoning’s heart jolt.

The situation in the grounds had gradually begun to turn. The Jinwu Guard was starting to gain the upper hand. Seeing this, Han Xu did not linger. He pulled a firework from his sleeve and lit it, summoning everyone to retreat.

Brilliant sparks burst across the sky.

When the assassins saw his signal, they stopped fighting. As one, they swiftly sheathed their blades and scattered in every direction.

The death warriors who remained trapped inside the altar, seeing no hope of escape, bit through the deadly poison hidden in their mouths without the slightest hesitation. In an instant, their breath was gone.

Sheng Zhaoning stood frozen in place.

She turned to look at the chaotic, bloody scene around her. Han Xu’s eyes as he left kept flashing through her mind, throwing her thoughts into disorder.

Why was Han Xu here?

Was Prince Zhenbei already moving against the emperor so soon…?

Before she could think it through, the Deputy Commander of the Jinwu Guard finally arrived late from behind her.

At a glance, he saw Wei Heng’s injured arm. Faced with that glaring red, his heart instantly went cold. Terror filled his face as he dropped to his knees to beg forgiveness.

“This general has failed in his duty. Crown Prince, please punish me!”

Only then did Sheng Zhaoning come back to herself.

Her gaze fell on the blood staining the man before her. She pressed her lips together and said nothing, only staring at Wei Heng’s arm.

That was the arm an arrow had pierced through in order to save her.

The arrow was still lodged firmly in his flesh, and blood ran down his sleeve, splattering all over the ground.

Wei Heng released the arm he had around her. His body swayed slightly from the blood loss. “It’s all right.”

His voice carried an obvious weakness. He turned his head and swept his gaze over Sheng Zhaoning from head to toe, then looked in the emperor’s direction. Only after seeing that everything was fine did he say, “Go check whether any of the assassins are still alive.”

This was clearly a premeditated assassination.

The assassins’ target had been clear as well: kill the Emperor of Wei first, and if they failed to kill the Emperor of Wei, then kill the Crown Prince.

However, these people had not come with the resolve to die at all costs in order to succeed.

If anything, it seemed more like a threat.

Or rather… a provocation.

Seeing that he truly had no intention of blaming him, the Deputy Commander of the Jinwu Guard felt both remorse and gratitude swell in his chest. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed deeply, then rose and hurried to arrange the carriages and horses for the return to the palace before running over to check on the assassins.

The smell of blood drifted through the air.

Those who had accompanied the imperial party to the memorial ceremony were all court officials. There were pitifully few palace maids and eunuchs present, let alone any Imperial Physicians in attendance.

Sheng Zhaoning looked at Wei Heng’s wound and knew the arrow could not be pulled out immediately. Otherwise, the bleeding would not stop, and the situation would become even more dangerous.

“Your Highness, forgive this humble official’s impropriety.” Sheng Zhaoning glanced at him.

With that, without waiting for his response, she lifted the sacrificial robe she was wearing, tore a strip of cloth from her inner garment, carefully avoided the exposed tail of the arrow, and wound it tightly around the area near his wound.

Wei Heng clenched his teeth as a violent burst of pain shot through the injury.

Fortunately, Sheng Zhaoning moved with remarkable efficiency. From wrapping the cloth to tying the knot, her movements carried an almost unbelievable practiced ease. In moments, she had bandaged the wound, and because the pressure was applied just right, the speed of the bleeding visibly slowed.

He stared at the crown of Sheng Zhaoning’s head. Cold sweat seeped across his forehead, and his voice carried a faint, nearly imperceptible tremor. “Thank you…”

That thanks was not for the wound she had so carefully bandaged on his arm.

It was for the way she had turned around, risking her life.

Wei Heng might never forget the sight of Sheng Zhaoning turning without the slightest hesitation and standing in front of him when that broad blade came cleaving down.

He had never imagined that, at the edge of life and death, someone would be willing to give up their life for him.

So decisively, without the slightest trace of hesitation.

“Investigate this. We want it investigated thoroughly!”

Not far away, the Emperor of Wei stood at the center of the altar, his face livid as he roared.

He had suffered only a few scrapes all over his body. The wounds were small and not serious. But he had been assassinated in front of the entire court, civil and military officials alike, and before the people of the Capital. His dignity as Emperor had been gravely challenged. How could the Emperor of Wei not be furious?

Moreover, this was the Capital, the Imperial City. For such a brazen assassination, who else could be responsible besides that person far away in Liangzhou, soon to return to the capital?

The Emperor of Wei stared at the lifeless deathsworn on the ground, his gaze filling inch by inch with rage. Only three words remained in his mind.

“Wei. Cheng. Jun.” He gave a cold laugh and ground out the name through clenched teeth.

…

The line of carriages and horses raced hurriedly back toward the imperial palace.

After the Imperial Medical Institute received word that the Crown Prince had been injured, the entire place fell into chaos.

The arrow had sunk in very deep, and removing it took considerable effort.

Imperial Physician Guo stared at the bloodied arrowhead that had been placed on the tray, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, “Fortunately, the wound was bandaged in time. That prevented excessive blood loss and a far greater disaster.”

When Wei Heng heard this, his tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxed.

His mind was filled entirely with the moment Sheng Zhaoning had turned and embraced him, using her own back to shield him from the blade.

A trace of softness unconsciously appeared in his eyes.

Sheng Zhaoning was someone who seemed cool and distant on the outside, as though she took nothing to heart. Yet when faced with life and death, she had shown no fear at all, willing to throw herself in front of him without regard for her own safety.

Wei Heng did not want to define their relationship simply as ruler and subject. If he could, he hoped the two of them were…

Friends who would entrust their lives to each other.