NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 88 - I
In the Li Dynasty, the most valuable individuals were those connected to the royal family.
The youngest disciple was under the same teacher as the Holy Emperor. Could he be an ordinary person?
The captain of the guard smirked and touched his nose, his tone filled with disbelief. “Little eunuch, isn’t the Holy Emperor’s junior brother a scholar?”
“Don’t lie to me, little eunuch. I have my own sources of information,” the captain retorted, after catching a skeptical glance from the young eunuch.
“Young Master Jing… doesn’t he look like a scholar?” The young eunuch asked him back.
“Yes,” the captain of the guard admitted, “But…”
“Are you looking down on scholars? Young Master Jing is not just any scholar. He is the number one in Hanbei Prefecture!” The young eunuch’s dissatisfaction on the captain guard was evident as he defended Jing Xingzhi.
Jing Xingzhi and Li Jiafu rode together on the same horse. Upon hearing their escalating argument, Jing Xingzhi turned around and interjected, “Lower your voices. The fourth prince is already frightened, and you’re still bickering.”
The two fell silent immediately.
Directly in front of Jing Xingzhi, Li Jiafu’s eyes still showed traces of fear. Nestled in Jing Xingzhi’s arms, he muttered, “I-I was so scared. Almost… almost…”
Jing Xingzhi gently stroked his head. “The danger has passed. I’m here with you; don’t be afraid.”
Seemingly comforted by Jing Xingzhi’s reassurance, Li Jiafu turned his head, grabbing onto Jing Xingzhi’s clothes with one hand while poking his face with the other.
Jing Xingzhi chuckled softly.
The chubby little hand playfully poked Jing Xingzhi’s face, and Li Jiafu giggled, “Poke, poke!”
Jing Xingzhi’s face reddened slightly. “Don’t poke my face like that in the future.”
After surviving such a close call with an arrow, Li Jiafu found solace in the word “poke.” It seemed that poking someone’s face might actually be useful.
After making this half-hearted promise, Jing Xingzhi adjusted Li Jiafu’s position and continued to soothe him, “You’re so cute, I’d let you poke me all you want.”
“Third brother is cute too!” Li Jiafu observed, looking ahead at Li Jiading.
Jing Xingzhi smiled. “Not as cute as the fourth prince. Third prince is like an ice cube, no fun at all. Look, he doesn’t even talk.”
“Mmm,” Li Jiafu agreed.
Their conversation caught the attention of those ahead. Li Jiading, with his handsome and expressionless face, turned to face them. “Junior uncle, gossiping behind my back isn’t very honorable.”
Jing Xingzhi hugged Li Jiafu close and replied calmly, “That’s not gossiping; you’re right in front of us.”
Lowering his head to look at Li Jiafu, Jing Xingzhi asked, “See, isn’t he boring?”
Li Jiafu pondered for a moment, then giggled, covering his mouth with his hand as he looked toward Li Jiading.
Li Jiading remarked dryly at his attempt to hide his smile, “Even with your hand over your mouth, I can tell you’re laughing, silly.”
Their banter was interrupted by the sound of fighting from the woods to their right.
Immediately, Li Jiading and Li Jiafu dismounted. Li Jiading did so gracefully on his own, while Li Jiafu was lifted off like a ball.
The captain of the guard perked up, listening intently. “There’s a skirmish in the woods to the right, not many combatants.”
Li Jiading glanced in that direction, knowing all the ministers were out hunting. He commanded decisively, “Take ten men and investigate.”
Upon receiving the order, the captain of the guard swiftly selected ten men to accompany him for the investigation.
With help coming in, the captain of the guard and the others soon helped solve the trouble there, returning home with blood on their armor.
However, what the captain of the guard and his people reported when they returned shocked Jing Xingzhi.
“Over there was the little marquis of Marquis Zhenyuan’s Mansion. Two people with evil intentions had sneaked into the team and attacked the little marquis. The little marquis was stabbed, and they were rushing to send him back.”
Jing Xingzhi was a little confused: Was Ning Yongyuan also injured?
Could it be that he had guessed wrong, and that this time the assassination targeted not only the royal family but also the families of other ministers? However, the ministers and young masters he had encountered on the road today seemed to show no signs of gray energy on their faces.
It was very strange.
.
Something had happened where Li Jiading and Li Jiafu were, and Li Yunxi and Li Jialin was not spared either.
Li Yunxi and Li Jialin led many people, but they were also attacked by many assailants.
Li Yunxi did not lost a hair, but Li Jialin was unluckier. He received an arrow wound to his arm.
Upon returning to the palace, Li Yunxi learned about what had happened to him and his three sons. It could be said that the whole family had suffered, and he became furious.
The thieves were captured alive and taken to the dungeon of the palace. They were inspected by the guards and execution experts to prevent suicide. Then, they were sentenced to severe punishment and put on trial, with a stern attitude that they would be tortured to death if they did not confess.
At the same time, many ministers began to panic upon discovering that there were fewer people in their teams.
Something had happened to the Holy Emperor and the princes, and few people in their family escaped. Where did those people go? They must have been among those fools who were caught!
In such a situation, if one did not wish to rebel but still wanted to continue supporting the Li family, who would believe them?
‘Report it! Take the initiative first, don’t wait for the death to arrive.’
Li Yunxi’s soldiers received the reported news and immediately took control of the entire traveling team and conducted a thorough investigation.
.
Wu Shuangxi had been waiting outside the imperial hospital at that moment.
She did not go on the hunt, but when Ning Yongyuan went, he took the two people she had let in with him.
Ning Yongyuan was injured. He was lying in the room inside the imperial hospital while his family members were waiting outside.
In a room filled with the scent of medicine.
Lying on the bed covered with a white cloth, Ning Yongyuan thought of everything he had experienced that day, and a wry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The two warriors he used as bodyguards were diligently controlling the route today; and in the morning, his mother gave him two martial maids, who had been secretly cooperating with those two people.
At first, the movements of the two men were not obvious, and they kept going into the woods under the guise of catching more prey.
In previous years, Ning Yongyuan hunted just like this time, just following along. After all, he was not the one hunting; he was there to practice his arrows.
Therefore, Ning Yongyuan was not on guard at that time, nor had he noticed anything amiss in the cooperation of the two maids.
It was not until a white rabbit had run out. Ning Yongyuan wanted to shoot it, but the rabbit was killed with an arrow, making him realize that something was wrong.
The area they were passing through was not an area with particularly abundant prey at all! This kind of white rabbit usually only appeared in the safest hunting areas!
Ning Yongyuan realized something was wrong, but it was a little too late.
As soon as he reacted, there was a faint sound of weapons clashing in the distance.
When the warriors in the team heard the noise in the distance, they suddenly launched a surprise attack and succeeded.
Ning Yongyuan was stabbed.
After the two men took action, several people ran out of the forest and attacked the warrior together.
The warriors were tired of dealing with it, and Ning Yongyuan felt that he was almost dead.