Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After the torrential rain, the official road was free of dirt and sand, the air crisp and clear.

The Western Region warhorse ridden by Ying Changchuan was pitch black, standing a full half-height taller than the other horses, extremely conspicuous.

The assassins quickly gathered around, shouting loudly:

"Cut down Emperor Ying Changchuan and Jiang Yuxun together—"

These desperate assassins, utterly indifferent to their own lives, relentlessly pushed their opponents to the brink.

"To the right!"

As the descendant of a military general, Jiang Yuxun had some physical training.

Ying Changchuan's voice came from beside him, and he reflexively raised his hand to block to the right.

The next second, a sword collided with his arm.

Jiang Yuxun's arm went numb from the impact, uncontrollably starting to tremble.

The ring-headed saber, forged from copper and iron, was extremely heavy, yet he chose not to lay down the weapon. Instead, he bit his teeth and tightly bound his hand to the saber's ring with a rope.

By this time, the black warhorse had been driven into the woods, while the Xuan Yin Monitor and the imperial guards were blocked outside.

The assassins, with ferocious expressions, advanced step by step.

The warhorse, unsettled, stamped its feet, letting out a neigh.

The assassins clenched their long blades and roared in unison, "Kill!!!" as they charged forward together.

However, just as they were about to triumph, a flurry of horse hooves suddenly sounded from another part of the dense forest.

Jiang Yuxun instinctively looked back: "Is that the Imperial Seal Inspector?!"

—The upper division of the Imperial Seal Inspector's forces had unexpectedly charged from behind, swiftly turning the tide of the battle.

Weren't they stationed at the retreat palace? How did they appear here?

A light chuckle came from behind the young man: "Correct."

Ying Changchuan's tone was leisurely, showing no sign of surprise.

He then lightly tugged the reins, heading into the forest: "Leave this to them, let’s return to the retreat palace."

The warhorse raised its hooves and moved forward, not turning back to the official road but heading towards Xianyou Palace through the dense forest.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuxun involuntarily clenched the horse's mane with his free hand: "...I understand now."

"What does my loyal subject understand?"

Having just survived a fierce battle, Jiang Yuxun's voice still trembled: "Your Majesty had foreseen the assassination attempt, even arranging the upper division of the Imperial Seal Inspector in advance here."

He could have bitten down and broken through the encirclement earlier, but he kept retreating... Now thinking back, it was all a deliberate ploy to lure the assassins into the dense forest!

"Indeed, my loyal subject is astute," Ying Changchuan did not deny.

His lazy, deep voice came from behind, bringing a tingling sensation.

At that moment, the young man caught a faint whiff of dragon's breath incense.

The galloping horse continued, and during the tumultuous ride, his shoulder inadvertently collided with the other’s sturdy chest.

The distance between himself and Ying Changchuan seemed too close.

It was almost like being half-embraced in his arms.

Jiang Yuxun instantly sat up straight, instinctively maintaining distance from the other, and said somewhat unnaturally, "Your Majesty, perhaps you could set me down first."

Ying Changchuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does My Minister wish to walk back to the palace?"

In the dense forest, with towering trees all around, it was impossible to distinguish directions.

Jiang Yuxun immediately snapped back to reality: "...I don't want to!"

At the same time, as if afraid Ying Changchuan would change his mind, he silently tightened his grip on the horse's mane with his left hand.

Ying Changchuan gave a soft laugh and then fell silent.

For a moment, all Jiang Yuxun could hear beside the sound of horse hooves was the beating of his own heart.

As he calmed down, the scene from before uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.

The stench of blood on his clothes became increasingly pungent.

The sensation of a long blade piercing through flesh and skin seemed to still linger on his fingertips.

...Jiang Yuxun had never imagined that one day he would take a life.

His fingers trembled involuntarily.

"Bang—"

Just as Jiang Yuxun was lost in thought, a flash of cold light suddenly streaked in front of him.

By the time he came to his senses, Ying Changchuan had already drawn his sword and cut the rope around his wrist.

The unbound ring-pommel sword fell heavily to the ground with a crisp sound, pulling the young man's thoughts back to reality.

Jiang Yuxun then realized he had forgotten about the long sword in his hand.

He was about to express his gratitude when Ying Changchuan suddenly said, "Hold onto the saddle."

"What?"

Before Jiang Yuxun could react, the warhorse neighed loudly and accelerated forward.

！！！

The young man instinctively grasped the saddle tightly.

The wind, sharp as a knife, whistled past his face, blurring his vision.

Jiang Yuxun's mind went blank, the recent fight, the pungent smell of blood, and the sensation of the sword piercing flesh were all left behind in the rush of the galloping horse.

He slowly clenched his still-numb right hand, and a singular thought emerged amidst the haze — it was time for him to forge a weapon that suited him.

-

Several days later, the water level of the Yi River gradually receded.

The first group of villagers, living farther from the river and less affected by the disaster, finally left the estate.

Surviving a natural disaster should have been a cause for relief, but at this moment, their faces were filled with worry.

A couple, leading their daughter, walked along the official road.

The man couldn't help but sigh, "…We haven't been home for so many days, I wonder how our chickens are doing."

The woman gently shook her head, "As long as we are alive, that's what matters. Let's not worry too much about the rest."

"Ah, it's easy to say, but those were all our belongings..."

The estate's space was limited; naturally, they couldn't take their poultry and livestock with them.

They knew very well— even if not flooded, their chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep probably starved to death after days without being fed.

They were uncertain about what the future held...

The little girl, though not fully understanding the situation, quietly sensed the mood and became quiet.

Almost every villager they passed on the road was like this, the atmosphere heavy with despair.

This continued until they reached the entrance of the village.

Soldiers guarding the area suddenly came forward to verify their identities.

The man handed over his identification slip, asking cautiously, "Sir, we're just returning home, why such strict procedures?"

After the verification, the soldier didn't directly answer his question but handed back the slip with a smile, saying, "Please, follow me for a moment."

The family exchanged glances, following apprehensively.

The soldier led them to a newly built shed. As they approached, they heard a familiar "cluck cluck" sound.

"This... This is...!" The man's eyes widened in disbelief.

While speaking, the soldier climbed over the fence and brought out three hens.

Tied to their claws were cloth strips with the man’s name written on them!

The man, trembling, took the hens into his arms, on the verge of tears.

"Don't hurry," the soldier said, handing a plate of eggs to his wife, "These are the eggs they've laid in the past few days, each dated."

"Yes, yes, yes! Three a day, not one more or less!" The woman immediately handed a few eggs to the soldier, "We can't repay your kindness. This is all we have of value. Please don't laugh at us."

As she spoke, the man was about to kneel in gratitude.

"That won’t be necessary!" the soldier quickly helped him up, "This was all Lord Jiang's idea. After you were relocated, he arranged for the poultry and livestock to be herded to the mountains for collective care."

He then smiled at the woman: "Lord Jiang also said not to accept any gifts of thanks."

By this time, the woman was sobbing uncontrollably: "I never imagined Lord Jiang would remember these things..."

The little girl also secretly wiped away tears.

More and more people gathered outside the shed.

The cacophony of chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep was unusually loud, yet no one found it annoying.

To them, these were not mere noises but sounds of hope for a better life!

In the crowd, someone began chanting Jiang Yuxun's name, and others joined in.

The once quiet village suddenly burst into lively commotion.

Even on the official road, the cheers reached—

Riding in a carriage, Zhuang Yue slowly pulled back the curtain, feeling both immensely relieved and slightly anxious: "Ah Xun has really grown up!"

His subordinate immediately laughed, "The people of both banks of the Yi River are all praising Lord Jiang."

Zhuang Yue smiled as he lowered the carriage curtain, turning to his subordinate to ask, "Has Ah Xun been in charge of the disaster relief these past few days?"

"Yes, Lord Zhuang."

Zhuang Yue couldn't help but purse his lips.

The news of the emperor's assassination attempt on his way back to the palace had spread secretly throughout the court.

Beyond that, a more disturbing rumor was rampant: the emperor had been gravely injured in the assassination attempt, and the situation looked grim.

Ying Changchuan usually insists on handling everything himself... but this time, he delegated all the disaster relief work to Jiang Yuxun and refused to meet with any court officials.

——This seemed to inadvertently confirm those circulating rumors.

-

In the evening, Zhuang Yue returned to the temporary palace on time, handing over the urgent report detailing the latest statistics on the agricultural disaster to Jiang Yuxun.

Seeing the young man take the report and leave, a sense of alarm struck his heart.

Something's wrong! The Emperor usually consults me immediately upon receiving urgent news... Why not today?

"Wait, Ah Xun!" Zhuang Yue called out to Jiang Yuxun, and once assured they were alone, he couldn't help but lower his voice to ask, "Is His Majesty still doing well? I heard that he might have been injured in the assassination attempt..."

Jiang Yuxun gripped the urgent report tightly in response.

He averted his gaze, pausing for a few seconds before shaking his head gently, "Rest assured, there is no need to worry about His Majesty."

Despite saying this, Jiang Yuxun’s tone and expression were far from relaxed, even carrying a hint of consolation.

Most importantly, he didn’t deny it…

Zhuang Yue nodded with a somewhat heavy heart: "...I understand."

No, you don’t.

——Jiang Yuxun silently retorted in his mind.

He shifted his gaze away, pausing momentarily before saying, "It's getting late, Uncle Zhuang should head back to rest."

"Alright, you should go back too," Zhuang Yue sighed heavily, patting Jiang Yuxun's shoulder, "If you encounter any difficulties or are overwhelmed, make sure to tell me immediately."

"Don't worry, Uncle," Jiang Yuxun smiled at him, finally taking the urgent report and returning to Liuyun Hall under Zhuang Yue's watchful eye.

It wasn't a long journey, yet the young man found it exceptionally arduous.

Not until he entered did he finally let out a long breath—

I must have deceived Lord Zhuang, right?

After the assassination attempt, Ying Changchuan didn’t rush to deal with the mastermind behind the scenes, but instead deliberately spread rumors of "the Emperor being gravely injured or not long for this world," waiting for the enemy's next move.

The truth of the matter was known only to the upper division of the Imperial Seal Inspector and himself, who rode the same horse...

Thinking of this, the young man sighed deeply.

Jiang Yuxun, you've fallen!

Ying Changchuan had been feigning illness to the end, staying in the back palace these past few days.

Jiang Yuxun was about to take the urgent report to him, but when he looked up, he saw... Ying Changchuan, unexpectedly, had arrived in the front hall.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" he asked instinctively.

Ying Changchuan did not answer but raised his eyebrows and looked towards the wall.

A map of both banks of the Yi River was hanging there... naturally, he needed to check it against the report of the disaster-affected farmlands.

Jiang Yuxun: !!!

How did I forget about this?

"Why does my loyal subject suddenly sigh?" Ying Changchuan's voice traveled across the hall, reaching the young man's ears.

Jiang Yuxun felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

"Lord Zhuang has always treated me like his own son, yet I just deceived him," Jiang Yuxun gripped the urgent report tightly, speaking with heavy sorrow, "I never thought that I would stoop to deceit like Your Majesty, and thus feel utterly degraded."