Her guards

Chapter 88 Young Master and Young Lady

The mountains and forests were brighter than usual after the heavy snow, but also felt colder.

A man wrapped in animal fur climbed up the cliff. The snow did not slow him down. He quickly climbed to a crevice in the rocks, squeezed in, and found himself in a spacious cave.

Inside the cave, three men were talking, a campfire was burning, and meat was roasting, the air filled with steam and a delicious aroma.

"Master Hong," the man said, "Ji Ying is imprisoned in the back mountain. Because of the constant noise, we've gagged him."

"Saving his life is already quite an achievement, do you expect us to treat him with more courtesy?" Hong Lin said, with a hint of sighing. "Young Master was truly prescient in having someone keep an eye on Ji Ying, saying that he would be silenced."

“The matter of Miss Yang in Baima Town is not simple,” a man said in a deep voice. “Not only has almost the entire town perished, but the high-ranking officials involved are also to be assassinated.”

"The surviving soldier said that Ji Ying suddenly decided to return to the capital after receiving a letter from home," the visitor continued. "But we just searched Ji Ying's place thoroughly and couldn't find the letter. It must have been destroyed. When we asked Ji Ying, he wouldn't say anything."

“If it’s destroyed, it definitely wasn’t a letter from home,” another man said. “Those assassins were able to ambush him on the road, which clearly shows they knew Ji Ying would travel at night. That letter might have been a deliberate attempt to lure him out…”

"He still won't say anything? He's even protecting this person who might be the one to kill him?" someone else scoffed.

Hong Lin waved his hand: "Don't jump to conclusions yet." He then walked to a table to the side. "I'll tell you about Ji Ying, and wait for her instructions on what to do next."

The three of them stopped talking about it and sat around the table watching Hong Lin write a letter, but they didn't stop talking either.

"It's too dangerous for you, young master, in the capital."

"Those people have sent another letter, saying they want to talk to the young master."

"Is this what you call negotiation? Every time it's a deadly attack."

"We want to force the young master into a corner, so he can be used as their pawn!"

"It's a pity we still can't find out who it is! It's clear they're even more cunning than the previous ones. Sigh."

"Young master is no longer just a young master, but also has to face the attack brought by Miss Yang."

"Being attacked from both sides, no, now we are attacked from three sides."

"Young master, it's safer to come back and hide in the mountains with everyone."

Hearing this, Hong Lin, who was writing the letter, also felt heavy-hearted, and his face was full of worry. But he looked at everyone and shook his head: "You all know that we are already surrounded by enemies. How long can we hide in the mountains and forests? Sooner or later, we will either be forced to become puppets or be strangled by the government. In the end, we will all perish together."

Given the young master's identity, he was destined to be unable to escape. They concealed their tracks in order to delay that day from coming.

"It's just death." One of them laughed. "We remnants of the previous dynasty should have died long ago. Every extra day we live is a bonus."

Others agreed.

“We are naturally not afraid of death, but if we can avoid death, we should.” Hong Lin nodded and looked down at the letter on the table. “Young Master said earlier that being attacked from both sides means death, but being attacked from three sides might actually save us from death.”

After saying this, he saw the others laugh.

“This time was a test. Not only did those people fail to coerce the young master, but they were also killed by him, even in front of the government officials.”

At this point, Hong Lin laughed even louder.

"For so many years, young master has lived a life of humiliation and swallowed his anger, and could only take revenge in secret. This is the first time he has so blatantly retaliated!"

"Happy! So happy!"

Everyone else laughed along, looking in the direction of the capital with expectant expressions.

I wonder what important thing the young master is doing right now.

Although the violent acts committed by the remnants of the rebellion in the capital made the people nervous, they returned to normal life after a few days.

The princess and her companions also returned to school.

As the instructor announced the end of get out of class, the ladies who had been sitting all morning began to stretch their tense bodies.

Yang Hui rolled her eyes, pressed her hand on the table, and then, as she stood up, shoved her "cousin" next to her.

"male"

She called out, but before she could utter the word "princess," it turned into a soft "ah."

The table wouldn't budge, and his half-standing body slumped forward.

A gust of wind seemed to blow past behind me, and someone walked over.

No one touched her body, but the table that had been pushed aside bumped into her calf, causing her to fall face down onto the table.

"Oops." Mo Zheng walked past her, chuckling softly, "You didn't bump into me. Good luck next time, cousin."

Yang Hui gritted her teeth. This wretched maid! She looks frail, yet she has some strength!

"Miss Liu."

A sound came from the side.

Upon hearing this address, Yang Luo looked up, while Liu Chan, sitting on the other side, showed no reaction, focusing intently on the book in front of her.

Although Liu Chan's previous behavior had alienated the other girls, they were still in the same school and would inevitably have to interact with each other.

Yang Luo recognized Miss Shen as the one who had helped Qin Ying deliver the invitation last time, accompanied by two other young ladies. "Miss Qin would like to invite you for tea during her vacation," Miss Shen said, handing over an invitation.

Yang Luo chuckled: "She still dares to invite me?"

As she spoke, she looked ahead and saw that Jiang Rui was not going to Princess Heicheng's side, nor was she chatting and laughing with the other young ladies. Instead, she was sitting quietly reading a book.

Hearing this, and remembering what happened last time, Miss Shen and the others looked somewhat awkward.

“No, this isn’t a private conversation with everyone,” the woman next to her quickly said. “Miss Qin was worried about you and asked you to talk to her alone.”

After saying that, she glanced at Miss A Luo, the companion of Princess Wu Yang of the Yang family, who was smiling at them.

The young lady of the Ding'an Duke's Mansion was attacked because she went to visit Liu Chan, who was also studying at the Imperial Academy.

“Then just ask me,” Mo Zheng said, “After all, I was the one who was attacked.”

Actually, what everyone came here to ask was her.

Although these two tutors didn't declare they wouldn't associate with others like "Liu Chan," since arriving at the school, they either served Princess Wuyang and Princess Nangong, or sat in their seats, bickering and arguing with Yang Hui...

Given her humble origins and such behavior, the other female companions had no interest in befriending her.

However, since she had spoken, the two young ladies hurriedly inquired.

Did you see the assailant at the time?

"I've heard that many people have died. Did you see it with your own eyes?"

More young women gathered around; it was the most curious age of youth.

“We were sitting in the car, but we saw it with our own eyes.”

"Many people did die; we could see severed limbs and dismembered bodies in the cars..."

As the woman's voice rose and fell in cadence, the young ladies exclaimed in surprise, gasped in astonishment, and asked even more questions.

Standing next to Princess Heisei, Yang Hui clenched her fingers, looking annoyed. How annoying! Why did everyone have to talk to these three?

"Princess, they're talking about the murder in the capital that night." She whispered to Princess Heisei, "That case involves remnants of treason, it's not good to discuss it in public."

Princess Heisei glanced at her.

This attendant is truly spoiled by the Duke and Duchess of Ding'an. She dares to say anything. Is she, a princess, just someone to be used as a pawn?

She asked with a laugh, "Were you terrified?"

A companion girl standing nearby, noticing Yang Hui's expression, immediately said, "Yang Hui, you weren't even there, what are you afraid of?"

Another companion girl said with a half-smile, "Yang Hui, you're not as good as your sisters from the countryside."

Yang Hui's face flushed red. She stamped her foot and strode over, saying, "Yang Luo, stop saying such shameful things..."

She was only halfway through her sentence when Mo Zheng's voice came out, "...at that moment, Wei Jiao appeared."

The two voices collided and both stopped.

Mo Zheng looked at Yang Hui who was walking over, her expression slightly uneasy: "My sister is right, I shouldn't have mentioned Wei Jiao."

There's even Wei Jiao here!

Even if Xiu Yi had a terrible reputation, no young girl could ignore Wei Jiao. The ladies surrounding Mo Zheng immediately asked, "Was Wei Jiao also present?" "Did he kill the murderer?"

Mo Zheng's voice was hesitant, "My cousin said..."

"Mind your own business! She's just making a fuss over nothing!"

“What does she know? Who said we can’t talk about it? Those thugs intend to wreak havoc in the capital. Everyone knows this better and can also assist the government.”

"How can Wei Jiao killing a thug be considered shameful!"

The hot-tempered ladies stopped being polite and began to refute Yang Hui.

Yang Hui blushed; she was unaware that Wei Jiao was present.

Her father didn't say anything about the details of that day, and she didn't bother to ask, since she wasn't the one who was frightened.

Was Wei Jiao also there at the time?

The noise was loud enough that Princess Heisei heard it too, and she was slightly surprised.

Judging from what Miss Yang said, it was he who killed the culprit.

Wei Jiao didn't mention it to her.

"Then, Miss Yang, isn't Wei Jiao your savior?"

"I can't believe it," one of the young women said excitedly.

Mo Zheng nodded shyly: "Yes, Commandant Wei is my savior."

(End of this chapter)