The concealed weapons came abruptly, making her unprepared. Qin Yunuan stepped back without noticing till her back was already against the cold wall. Suddenly, a purple-dressed woman jumped over the blue brick walls of the maze. With a bright flash, Leng Shuang took the soft sword out of the sheath on her waist. The tip of the sword collided with the dart and blocked it.
“Third Young Madam.” Leng Shuang guarded in front of Qin Yunuan. At the same time, with three swishes came three people in black. They were all trim and petite. Qin Yunuan narrowed her eyes and noticed that all three of them had slightly uplifted breasts. They were women?
“Please leave first, Third Young Madam.” Leng Shuang was protecting Qin Yunuan on her side. Qin Yunuan raised her eyes and looked at Sima Ruo who was in the pavilion. Nobody could see here from the stand, but Sima Ruo was so close. Why didn’t he move, but closed his eyes and ignored everything?
The three women in black have light footsteps, and their skills were absolutely extraordinary. Qin Yunuan was worried whether Leng Shuang could compete with three of them. Then she suddenly remembered Shang Chunxiu she had just met. Although Shang Chunxiu was not as good as Leng Shuang, it was good to stall for a while. When Qin Yunuan’s helpers came, these three women wouldn’t be her opponents.
But they seemed to have seen through Qin Yunuan’s mind, aiming for a quick fight. Each resorted to fatal blows, and Leng Shuang barely managed to deal with the three people. Qin Yunuan could not escape, frequently looking at the Grand Prince in the small pavilion. Sima Ruo remained still, the last glimmer of hope seemed to be shattered.
It was a tremendous maze with high walls. No one had passed by this dead end, even after several rounds of fighting between Leng Shuang and the three women. Qin Yunuan traced the route that Shang Chunxiu took as she left. Based on the memory, she drew a map of the maze in her mind.
On the other side, Shang Chunxiu took down the yellow flower on another lady’s head. She was very proud of getting her forth silk flowers. It wouldn’t hurt her much, as she played by rules.
Just looking at the silk flowers in her hand with satisfaction, a new yellow silk flower suddenly floated down from the wall. Shang Chunxiu subconsciously reached out and caught it. After carefully examining the flower for a moment, she suddenly understood. She jumped over the wall with light skills. Crossing two walls, she happened to see Leng Shuang who was pushed to the corner. Qin Yunuan hid on the side but could not escape.
Shang Chunxiu squinted at Qin Yunuan coldly. Unconsciously, she took down the attack for Leng Shuang. Shang Chunxiu was skilled at close combat. After a few rounds, the advantage of Leng Shuang’s side increased significantly.
In her spare time, Shang Chunxiu said to Qin Yunuan in a low and indifferent voice, “You are, after all, a waste. If I could, I would never help you.”
Qin Yunuan knew why they came to her in the maze. On the one hand, they were at a dead-end where no one would come. On the other hand, it was also difficult for foreign aid to come in. The helpers could not find the right direction. In Shang Chunxiu’s view, Qin Yunuan was wasting her time repeatedly showing the way for foreign aid, using the reflection of the ruby hairpin on her head.
Leng Shuang was struck back again by the strongest martial artists among the three women in black. A dark blue figure suddenly appeared in the air. In the blink of an eye, he pressed two women firmly against the wall. They could only hear the breaking sound of muscles and bones. After two cracking sounds, the women’s neck was broken. He had unimaginable speed and unduplicated accuracy and strength.
“Changxi.” Qin Yunuan recognized the master who came to rescue her.
Leng Changxi’s eyes were full of violence. His arms were tight, making the necks of the two women seem fragile to hold in his palm. He took a close look at everything surrounding, feeling sorry for his little hedgehog. He was angry that someone would have sent such a first-class master to sneak attack when he was away. They aimed for Qin Yunuan’s life.
Two less skilled of three women in black had died under Leng Changxi’s hands. Seeing an unfavorable situation, the master turned and escaped.
“Leng Shuang, go after her!” Leng Changxi ordered. After a little gasp, Leng Shuang chased after her decisively.
“Nuan, are you alright?” Leng Changxi was distressed, holding Qin Yunuan in his arm. He looked at Qin Yunuan from head to toe carefully, holding her tightly after confirming that she was unscathed, “It is my fault. I am late. I came as soon as I received the news. But I didn’t expect that they would have started so early.”
Yes, killing in the maze was unnoticeable for a while. As time went by, people would see through the scheme. Qin Yunuan glanced at Sima Ruo. He was still sitting in the small pavilion with closed eyes as if he stood outside the world of mortals.
Qin Yunuan was doubtful, but her thoughts were cut off by a muffled noise. Shang Chunxiu was seriously injured in the fight. A palm-length cut was on his arm. The wound was black and dripping out blood. It seemed that the daggers of those assassins were poisoned.
Shang Chunxiu was pale and fainted to the ground. She seemed to be muttering something.
“Miss Shang.” Qin Yunuan was about to step forward and check the situation. After all, Shang Chunxiu was also trying to help her. She knew it from the beginning that Shang Chunxiu had a good heart, and it was because that Qin Yunuan took advantage of her kind heart that Shang Chunxiu was hurt.
“Don’t.” Leng Changxi suddenly dragged Qin Yunuan back into his arms, rebuking arrogantly, “From now on, you are not allowed to leave me farther than three feet away.” But a seriously injured person couldn’t just be left here. Leng Changxi waved, and a shadow guard leaped off the fence lightly. He was about to lift the semi-conscious Shang Chunxiu and leave as a sudden scream broke the bloody atmosphere.
Around the corner, a young lady watched as she covered her mouth. It was likely the first time that she had seen such a bloody scene. The walls and the blue-brick floor are covered with blood and traces of fighting. The young lady backed again. Leng Changxi was afraid that she would scream again, kicking a stone on the ground and striking it on her dumb acupoint to make her silent.
“He’s dead!”
Suddenly, a sharper yell spread throughout the huge Yellow Flower Maze. The voice did not come from the lady who had been stroke on the dumb acupoint. Qin Yunuan followed the voice and found it in the small pavilion. A lady who arrived first was covering her mouth with her eyes wide open, looking terrified. She stepped back, almost fell on the steps. In front of her was Sima Ruo who seemed to be relaxing with closed eyes all the time. Sima Ruo had collapsed to the ground, his legs still bent stiffly, maintaining the sitting posture he had always been.
Imperial Concubine Yun on the stand leaned out her body, “Ruo, my Ruo.” She rushed down the stairs like crazy. It was the first time that she lost her elegance. Her son, the first son of the Royal Family, was her everything.
Leng Changxi gave a look, and the shadow guard took Shang Chunxiu out of the Yellow Flower Maze. Qin Yunuan stepped forward and said to the dumb young lady, “If you want to live, shut your mouth up. You’d better be clear what you should say and what you should not. If you agree with that, blink your eyes.”
The young lady blinked as hard as she could. Seeing that Imperial Concubine Yun was coming under the guidance of the eunuch and the fork in which Qin Yunuan was located happened to be the nearest road. Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan looked at each other. Leng Changxi left with light skills, and the lady who had just been acupunctured dumb was desperate and unable to speak. Noises came from the corner. Qin Yunuan knew that Concubine Yun was approaching, and hurriedly pulled the lady beside her to salute.
Sure enough, Imperial Concubine Yun hurried over after a short while, lifting her skirt and was about to go out. But then she saw Qin Yunuan who was squatting in the corner. She paused and turned towards Qin Yunuan, saying, “You? You again? Huh, Qin Yunuan, every time Ruo has an accident, you are always around. Come and arrest her. Now I don’t care about it. I would rather catch three thousand innocents instead of letting go of one criminal.”
“He who has a mind to beat his dog will easily find his stick.” Qin Yunuan said seriously, “You are absurd, Imperial Concubine. I have been finding a way out together with this Miss Qiao. We happened to be approaching the pavilion. You should be more worried about the Grand Prince than us being here.”
The flinching girl Qiao could no longer speak. Seeing Qin Yunuan’s sharp, suggestive gaze, she could only nod with approval. Imperial Concubine Yun refused to let go of them easily. She gave orders to the servants to take Qin Yunuan and Qiao back while she hurried up to check the situation in the pavilion.
The first lady who got to the pavilion and discovered Sima Ruo’s abnormal condition had been helped down by the palace servants. Her legs were weak, and she repeated a sentence tremblingly, “I don’t know, I don’t know anything. The body of the Grand Prince is so cold, colder than the dead body. It’s like a ghost, like a ghost from hell.”
The lady walked by Qin Yunuan, still repeating these words. Qin Yunuan leaned her body forward slightly, thinking carefully. The servant beside her had already politely urged, “Infanta Ping, I take orders from Imperial Concubine. She is now in charge of the palace, and she would like you to have a trip to Qingping Palace, so don’t let me be embarrassed.”
“I won’t.” Qin Yunuan had just finished her words than she heard Imperial Concubine Yun crying in the pavilion. “Imperial doctor, send for an imperial doctor. I don’t care if you say he’s hopeless. If he couldn’t live, you would all be buried with him.”
Imperial Concubine Yun had enjoyed the honor and love for her whole life. It was her first time to cry with a wrenching heart.
Miss Qiao gradually recovered and followed Qin Yunuan along the palace road to Qingping Palace, the palace of Imperial Concubine Yun. The eunuch who led the way probably knew that Qin Yunuan had high social status, and it was just because that Imperial Concubine Yun was in great anger. They walked deliberately far away to give the two girls plenty of space.
“How did the Grand, the Grand Prince died?” Miss Qiao seemed timid, didn’t dare to look at Qin Yunuan. Yet she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Who is it, who can kill him so easily? Gosh, would it be Sister Su? She was the first person to reach the pavilion.”
“Who said that the Grand Prince was killed?” Qin Yunuan glanced at her and said.
