Chapter 300: If It Isn't Our Prince Wei

Cen An was dragged over by the Silver Armor Guards. The rough journey almost broke his recently healed leg again.

They’d said the Empress was on her last breath, desperately rushing him along the road. And now that he’d finally arrived…

He looked at the Empress, who was leisurely washing her hands, then at Rong Qing, who was covered in blood. ‘Is… is she really the one who needs saving?’

Xiao Li dried her hands and shot him an annoyed glare. “What are you gawking at? Save him.”

Cen An hadn’t even caught his breath, but he didn’t dare argue. He obediently went to treat the man. However, when he tore open Rong Qing’s clothes, the wounds he found were more shocking the more he looked.

It wasn’t that the injuries were particularly gruesome—he’d seen worse, after all. The main thing was that every single stab had clearly come from the front, and each one had nearly pierced straight through the man’s body.

This looked like the scene of a violent assault. And judging by the Empress’s attitude, she was clearly the one who’d done it.

‘I told you the Empress was terrifying!’

Of course, Rong Qing was terrifying in his own right. He was so calm he didn’t even furrow his brow, as if he weren’t the one with several large holes stabbed into his body.

‘One is calmer than the next. It’s like I’m the only abnormal one here.’

After all the commotion, the sky was nearly bright without him having gotten any sleep.

Everyone packed up and got back on the road. An Emperor was never safe outside the capital, and they wanted only to escort the Empress back to Yanping State as quickly as possible.

However, they hadn’t gone far—less than a hundred meters from yesterday’s ruined temple—when they encountered someone unexpected.

“Xiao Jingyi, you stop right there!”

“Did you hear me? Stop!”

A woman wearing a grass wreath and exuding the air of a bandit was chasing from behind with a stick. Ahead of her, a man in commoner’s clothes was running for his life, as if fleeing a flood or a ferocious beast.

‘Xiao Jingyi? That name sounds so familiar.’

Taking a closer look, wasn’t that Prince Wei, who had been missing for over two months?

Xiao Jingyi was dumbstruck when he saw the procession. He never dreamed he would run into his beloved Imperial Sister, whom he missed so dearly.

He was so shocked he forgot to speak. As a result, he was caught off guard when the female bandit behind him caught up, kicked him, and sent him sprawling face-first into the dirt.

“Ha… ha…”

Having finally landed a kick, Niu Jiahua was about to laugh triumphantly, but the sight of the group before her was so startling that the smile froze on her face.

‘They look so imposing… much scarier than the bandits in our own stockade.’

Niu Jiahua patted herself down. She had no weapons, just the stick in her hand.

“Xiao… Xiao Jingyi, are these… your enemies?”

Seeing the person in the lead slowly draw a sword, Niu Jiahua didn’t hesitate for a second. She yanked Xiao Jingyi up and started running.

“Ahhh, I hate you! You’re such a troublemaker! Why do so many people want to kill you?”

Being dragged along so unexpectedly almost killed Xiao Jingyi.

But he quickly recovered, twisting out of Niu Jiahua’s grip with a deft movement and turning to run back the way they came.

Niu Jiahua was stunned by his action. “Come back! What are you doing?”

Xiao Jingyi ran back without a second glance. Even as he saw Xiao Li’s sword swinging down, he didn’t so much as blink, dropping to both knees. “Your subject, Xiao Jingyi, pays his respects to Your Majesty!”

Niu Jiahua was bewildered. She stared at the kneeling Xiao Jingyi. ‘He’s a Prince… does he have to kneel to someone?’

The tip of Xiao Li’s sword rested on Xiao Jingyi’s shoulder. She smiled. “Well, if it isn’t our dear Prince Wei. What a coincidence.”

Xiao Jingyi knelt upright. “Your subject is guilty. My misjudgment led to the convoy being ambushed without time to react, causing heavy casualties among the Silver Armor Guards. That is my first crime. Losing the artillery is my second. Failing to report my status for many days is my third. Forcing Your Majesty to search for me personally is my fourth.”

“Your subject’s sins are heavy. I ask Your Majesty to pass judgment.”

His apology was sincere, and he knelt with deep respect, but this was not the answer Xiao Li wanted.

“Prince Wei, your previous crimes are all excusable. We do not blame you. But you… should not have appeared here.”

Xiao Jingyi’s heart skipped a beat. He felt he couldn’t even begin to protest his innocence. “Your subject was wounded in an assassination attempt and was saved by Miss Niu. To evade the assassins, I have been hiding in the mountains. Not long ago, I learned that Your Majesty had appeared in Yanping State, so I have been following the mountain paths. I was just coming down the mountain now to head to the next town, hoping to find a quick way to get to Yanping State.”

“Your subject does not know what is wrong with being here at this moment. I beg Your Majesty to enlighten me.”

Xiao Li crouched down, her cold eyes fixed on him. “Last night, We pursued King Xian’s strategist, Xu Nianqing, to this very place. Less than a hundred meters from here, he was rescued by people from the Southern Domain, who killed twenty of my Silver Armor Guards.”

“So how is it that Prince Wei so coincidentally happens to appear right here?”

‘Xu Nianqing? King Xian’s strategist?’

Xiao Jingyi could have coughed up blood. “Your Majesty, isn’t that Xu Nianqing your…”

Xiao Li’s blade shifted. “He is my what?”

Xiao Jingyi immediately swallowed his words. He looked pleadingly at Xiao Li, on the verge of tears. “Imperial Sister, I know him, I’ve met him before, but I swear I have nothing to do with him! I swear, it’s just a coincidence that I’m here, Imperial Sister.”

Xiao Jingyi reached out and tugged on Xiao Li’s sleeve, his eyes gazing at her face with deep affection. “Imperial Sister, it’s been two years. I haven’t seen you in two years.”

“I was out inspecting the cities and wasn’t allowed to return to court. You fell ill and were in a coma, but I still wasn’t allowed to come back. For these two years, I’ve longed to see you again every single moment.”

Overcome with emotion as he spoke, he plunged headfirst into Xiao Li’s arms. “Imperial Sister!”

Xiao Li was weak and was nearly knocked over by his impact. Rong Qing strode forward and lifted Xiao Jingyi up. “Prince Wei, Her Majesty’s health is delicate. Please control yourself.”

Xiao Li sheathed her sword and didn’t mention her suspicions again. Xiao Jingyi rode on horseback beside Xiao Li, grinning so wide his eyes disappeared.

He had just been wondering how he would get to Yanping State to see his Imperial Sister, and now here she was, right in front of him. The wonderful surprise felt like a dream.

‘As for the fact that my Imperial Sister looked like she was about to kill me… that wasn’t important. She wouldn’t really kill me, anyway. And of course, if she really did want to kill me, I couldn’t escape, so there was even less reason to worry about it.’

Niu Jiahua was also given a horse, but she didn’t dare approach the Empress to speak. The surrounding guards looked ferocious, too.

In the end, all she could do was glare resentfully at Xiao Jingyi’s back. ‘That man is so hateful! The moment he saw his sister, he completely forgot about me.’

Xiao Li was unwell and in an extremely foul mood. Everything and everyone irritated her, so she had no patience to deal with Niu Jiahua.

The group continued toward Yanping State. When noon approached, they stopped in a town to have lunch.

Since Niu Jiahua was a woman, the guards felt it was inappropriate to have her at their table, so they set up a separate spot for her nearby with a couple of dishes. But as Niu Jiahua watched Prince Wei, who was dining with the Empress without giving her so much as a glance, her anger boiled over. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she slammed her hand on the table and stormed out.

Never mind how displeased Rong Qing and the Silver Armor Guards were; even Cen An, who had always thought the Empress was a terrible person, couldn’t help but frown.

Behaving so rudely in front of the Empress—the crime of disrespecting the Emperor was enough to cost her her life.

Cen An had always considered the Empress to be cruel, but at times, he also felt she had a surprisingly good temper. For instance, right now.

She hadn’t flown into a rage over the woman’s rudeness. She merely cast a faint glance in her direction, showing no sign of anger.

Of course, one could also call it arrogance. She was of such a high station that she couldn’t be bothered to squabble with a commoner.