Princess Consort Lu had originally returned with the resolve to die.
After all, he was well aware that now, Lu Minghui was at the peak of his power, and so was Duke Chu’s household.
Even though he had been living in a small mountain village far away in Jiangxi, he still knew that the most favored in the capital now were the young Noble Consort Liu and Qi Wang born of her.
For most princes, when they are sent to their fiefs, a personal guard of thirty thousand would already be the upper limit.
But what about Qi Wang?
He was made a prince at just a few years old, given a fertile and wealthy fief, and his personal guard was specially increased to fifty thousand.
Princess Consort Lu was not an ordinary man. Precisely because he knew so much, he understood that returning this time would mean facing immense difficulties.
But what he did not expect was that the curtain of revenge would be drawn open in this way.
And perhaps it was because he had been away from court for too long — had he fallen behind the way young people did things nowadays?
How come when Xiao Yunting and Qi Yuan talked about killing, it was as casual as slicing melons and chopping vegetables?
He coughed lightly, “I’m afraid returning to the capital won’t be so simple. They won’t give us the chance to get back there.”
He understood Lu Minghui’s character better than anyone.
Either he would not act, or he would act to the extreme.
If he entered the capital, with the Eldest Princess risking her life to protect him, it would undoubtedly bring a great deal of trouble to Lu Minghui and Duke Chu’s household.
Lu Minghui would certainly go all out to stop him.
So, although he had witnessed the skills of Qi Yuan and Xiao Yunting, Princess Consort Lu still did not hold much hope.
He let out a bitter laugh, “If the three of us just enter the capital like this, it would be no different than an egg smashing into a rock.”
Qi Yuan sneered and tugged at the corner of her mouth, “Princess Consort Lu, how many men can they really deploy?”
Although Lu Mingan had been away from court for many years, he naturally still understood the rules. Troops stationed at garrisons or in the capital could not be mobilized at will. Unless Lu Minghui wanted to be accused of treason, he would never dare to use them.
So what Lu Minghui could actually use were his own family’s private soldiers within the army — the commanders he had personally raised.
Such men were limited in number, because they were the ones who would do his dirty work, and not everyone had the guts for that.
After a quick calculation, Lu Mingan raised his brows and said, “Thirty to fifty men at most.”
But even thirty to fifty was already quite a terrifying number.
Qi Yuan let out a casual “Oh,” then turned to glance at Princess Consort Lu, “If you’re scared, you can hide with my father’s guards and let His Highness wear your clothes instead.”
…
What kind of person was this Young Lady Qi?
Lu Mingan thought she was much more formidable than Qi Zhen.
Even Qi Zhen wouldn’t have spoken like that!
But a man’s pride made him instinctively shake his head, “How could I possibly do that? Don’t worry, Young Lady Qi. You two just make sure to take care of yourselves!”
Qi Yuan gave a light “Mm,” put away her dagger, and in one smooth motion leaped onto her horse.
Xiao Yunting followed closely behind. The two of them looked toward Princess Consort Lu.
…
What was with these two kids? Acting like he really wouldn’t dare to keep up!
Lu Mingan raised his brows, lifted his robe, and with a few quick steps flew onto his horse, calling to Xiao Yunting and Qi Yuan, “Let’s go!”
The three of them did not take any back roads, but instead openly rode onto the official highway.
The sky was pitch black, the world silent, the lamps of all the homes along the road already extinguished. The road itself was equally dark and quiet.
They had only just left the village when they ran headfirst into a group of people.
In this kind of pitch-dark night, ordinary people would absolutely not be out riding horses.
And the people sent by the Yongchang Emperor could not have possibly arrived at the village so quickly either.
They definitely wouldn’t have made it until tomorrow.
The ones coming were not friendly.
Qi Yuan drew the soft sword from her waist and charged into the crowd without the slightest hesitation.
Lu Mingan had truly witnessed Qi Yuan’s riding skills now. She moved, leaped, slashed, and hacked atop the horse with such smooth, fluid motions—it was as if she were born in the saddle.
One man went all out in desperation, swinging his long blade recklessly at Qi Yuan. Lu Mingan couldn’t help but cry out, “Watch out!”
If that strike landed, Qi Yuan would likely lose an arm.
But if she dodged, she would surely fall, and with so many horses around, she could easily be trampled to death.
Yet Qi Yuan suddenly dropped to the other side, slipping beneath the horse’s belly, then reappeared on the opposite side, slicing off that man’s right hand with a single stroke.
…
Lu Mingan was utterly dumbfounded.
Xiao Yunting had already seen this move before, so he didn’t even flinch. He merely sped up his own killing.
There were only about a dozen enemies in this group, and the three of them, working together, quickly wiped them all out.
Only then did Lu Mingan finally turn to look at Qi Yuan, unable to hold back his question: “Young Lady, you are…?”
A death soldier from some family?
She really didn’t seem like an ordinary person—she carried the same ruthless edge as the secret guards once raised by the former imperial court.
Qi Yuan had already dismounted and was searching the bodies. Soon, she pulled out several strands of extremely fine fishing wire.
These things were used for killing.
And specifically for setting traps.
Lu Mingan’s expression changed. “It’s this stuff again!”
Back when he escorted Liu Wangfei, these people had used the same trick against him.
This time, it was thanks to Qi Yuan’s decisiveness—charging in without even asking—otherwise, if these things had been properly set up, they all would’ve been in grave danger.
Qi Yuan’s expression remained calm as she lightly raised her eyebrows. She weighed the fishing wire in her hand for a moment, then smiled. “Perfect, we can send them a lovely gift too.”
As she spoke, she observed the path leading into the village for a while, then tied the fishing wire across two stone posts.
She wound the wire back and forth several times and adjusted the height before finally clapping her hands. “Alright, now we wait.”
Lu Mingan quickly realized what she was waiting for.
Not long after, the second wave of assassins galloped toward them.
Xiao Yunting and the others were already lying in wait, pressed flat against the rooftop.
As the riders drew closer, Lu Mingan couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Then, he heard the horses scream.
The night was pitch black, and the fishing wire tied to the stone posts was utterly invisible to the naked eye.
The horses charged forward, but as the riders reached the stone posts, their necks slammed directly into the fishing wire.
At such high speed, the wire was no different from a reaper’s blade—nearly all of their throats were slit clean through.
Only the horses dashed ahead, shrieking and stamping in place.
One after another, seven or eight people crashed into the wire and fell from their horses. This strange and horrifying sight sent the remaining assassins into a panic. They yanked their reins in terror, staring wide-eyed at the corpses on the ground, their hearts pounding like drums.
What on earth just happened?!
Their morale shattered. Nearly half of them were dead already—the moment had come.
Qi Yuan gave Xiao Yunting a hand signal and pounced from the rooftop.
Xiao Yunting and Lu Mingan leapt down almost at the same time, charging straight at the remaining assassins.
By the time those men realized what was happening, it was already too late. In the end, only two managed to escape. The rest lost their lives on the spot.
Lu Mingan stood frozen, his heart pounding so hard he could barely handle it.
He had to admit—after being suppressed for so many years, this fierce, satisfying slaughter finally let him vent the rage he had bottled up for so long.
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