Marrying the Crown Prince

A long arrow pierced through the clouds and struck the assassin directly in the shoulder.

Zhou Zhou was a woman, so she didn't have much strength, but her aim was too good, making it impossible for the assassin to defend against her attacks.

Li Ziyan looked at the person beside him. She moved with fluid grace and sharp eyes, like an eagle circling in the air searching for the ground, determined and full of vigor.

Another sword shot out, and the assassin, clutching the wound in his throat, vomited bright red blood bubbles and collapsed.

Finally, the battle ended.

Zhou Zhou's body went limp, and she almost fell over, but Li Ziyan pulled her into his arms.

Her body trembled, and her hands and feet were ice cold.

Li Ziyan put his arm around her shoulder, took off his coat, and wrapped it around her whole body.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

In times of crisis, people's will to survive is boundless, but once the crisis is over, those vibrant lives and bright red blood were not fake.

So, after resolving all the problems, Zhou Zhou instantly lost all her strength and her body went limp.

At the same time, Commander Wei finally arrived, leading a large group of men to kneel down and beg forgiveness, "This humble general has arrived late to save Your Majesty, please forgive me."

The guards around Li Ziyan muttered to themselves: "You only came after the assassins were all dealt with. Are you here to steal the credit?"

It's no wonder they thought that way; every time Li Ziyan was assassinated, the patrolmen arrived late seven out of ten times.

This really frustrated Commander Wei. Why did he have to travel such a long distance to find the assassin every time?

The assassin retorted: "Nonsense, do you really think I'm stupid enough to come here without doing my homework?"

Li Ziyan glanced indifferently at the people present and instructed Commander Wei, "Escort the wounded guards back to recuperate, and bring in the prisoners alive. Make sure to extract any useful information, or you will be held responsible."

"I will obey my orders."

After saying this, Li Ziyan rode away from the battlefield with Zhou Zhou on horseback.

Although Zhou Zhou's horse did not receive any instructions, it still followed its master and ran behind.

Li Ziyan's guards were all injured to varying degrees, so they did not follow.

Commander Wei made a gesture, and his men quickly split into a small squad of about a dozen people, who followed Li Ziyan at a leisurely pace.

Li Ziyan led Zhou Zhou on a run for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before they stopped.

Zhou Zhou had already recovered to normal by this time, but the man behind her kept his arm around her, so she quietly closed her eyes and let him lead her on horseback through the woods.

Once a person loses their sight, their other senses become much more acute.

Zhou Zhou could feel the wind whistling past his ears, smell the fragrance of flowers on the grass, and hear the sound of horses splashing water as they stepped into puddles.

I don't know how much time passed, but it didn't seem like much either, before the horse stopped.

At the same time, the clothes covering his head were lowered, and for a moment, the sunlight was dazzling. Zhou Zhou squinted and it took him a while to see the scenery in front of him clearly.

This is a flat, open mountain area. The bright early autumn sun shines on the deep green leaves of the dandelions, giving them a mysterious glow.

Large patches of dandelions stretched out, their snow-white umbrellas unfurling in clusters, like twinkling stars in the summer night sky, adorning the lush green landscape.

A gust of wind blew, and the umbrellas scattered, lingering in the air like sprites on an endless grassland, agile and free.

Under the sunlight, these snow-white umbrellas, like bright pearls, emit a soft glow, carrying hope as they dance in the wind and sprinkle the earth.

"It's so beautiful," Zhou Zhou exclaimed involuntarily.

Li Ziyan, already dressed, stood beside her. Then, he carefully reached out and hooked his hand with Zhou Zhou's. Seeing that Zhou Zhou did not react, he gradually brought his palms closer together, and finally, their fingers intertwined.

A tender longing, a delicate sentiment; the wind stirs, flowers dance, and catkins fill the sky.

Li Ziyan sat with her under the shade of a tree, looking at the swarms of dandelions in the distance, and talked about the past with Zhou Zhou.

"I was first attacked when I was very, very young, probably five years old."

Five years old...

What was she doing when she was so young?

Zhou Zhou thought about it. He was five years old when he started learning to read. He had to get up before dawn every day and spend the whole day in the study of the old Marquis of Yongjing, learning to read and recognize characters.

It seems that neither of them had much fun growing up.

Li Ziyan let out a heavy sigh; clearly, the memory of being five years old was not pleasant.

During that assassination attempt, his elder brother, the eldest prince of Emperor Chenze and the first child of Empress Chu, was killed; and he was hidden in a water vat by the eldest prince. The water in late autumn was not frozen, but it was cold enough to chill one to the bone. Li Ziyan lost half his life there.

People say that His Highness the Crown Prince is good in every way, except that he is a little weak. He has been weak since childhood, probably because of a congenital illness.

There was no such thing as being born weak; it was clearly a lingering illness caused by that assassination attempt.

Zhou Zhou noticed the annoyance in his heart, raised her eyes, and gently looked at Li Ziyan's face.

“It’s all in the past,” she said.

Li Ziyan's eyelids trembled, and he turned his head to look over. He saw a pair of clear eyes, as calm and gentle as lake water, reflecting his own image.

He reached out and stroked Zhou Zhou's hair, gazing at each other quietly, as if they could hear each other's heartbeats.

The wind blew by, breaking the stillness of time and space, and the two quickly separated, their faces flushed.

Zhou Zhou clutched her chest, feeling her heart pounding inside her. Her lowered eyes trembled slightly, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

Finally, the sun moved westward, and the evening glow was bright. Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan each rode a horse and headed towards the base camp.

Zhou Zhou, who was hurrying along, finally realized something was wrong and asked the person next to him, "That rabbit?"

Zhou Zhou was too nervous and didn't have much attention. Later, she got so caught up in having fun that she forgot about it.

When the assassination attempt occurred, Li Ziyan was indeed nervous, but he was mainly worried about Zhou Zhou. After the assassins were apprehended and Zhou Zhou was not in good condition, he forgot about the rabbit.

“This…” Li Ziyan hesitated before answering, after all, this was the first thing Zhou Zhou had given him, “Should I send someone to look for it?”

“No need. It was born in this forest, and it’s just right to return to the mountains.” Zhou Zhou shook his head, looked at the sky burning red in the distance, and smiled.

Upon returning to the main camp, Li Ziyan and Zhou Zhou were summoned to Emperor Chenze's tent, where the imperial physicians who were waiting nearby quickly stepped forward to take their pulses.

Seeing their nonchalant attitude, Emperor Chenze's already darkened face grew even more sullen. He scolded them, "You were attacked but didn't come back immediately. Instead, you went out to play. This is utter nonsense!"

Upon hearing the reprimand, the imperial physician's hand trembled, and he lowered his head in silence.

Li Ziyan was not afraid of Emperor Chenze, saying, "I am not injured, Father, there is no need to worry."

"I heard from your guards that the assassins this time are from Qixi Kingdom?" Emperor Chenze took a deep breath, resisting his anger and trying to keep his tone normal.

The imperial physician's hands trembled again, and he lowered his head, pretending to be deaf—why am I on duty today? Why am I being made to hear these secrets?

Indeed, in order not to cause panic or alert the enemy, Emperor Chenze did not announce that an assassin had attempted to kill His Highness the Crown Prince.

For this reason, Li Ziyan did not want to return to the main camp, so Emperor Chenze did not send anyone to summon him; for the same reason, Emperor Chenze did not have two people take his pulse in public.

“Indeed, but I believe there are doubts about this matter.” Li Ziyan’s deep eyes gleamed with a cold light, bright and sharp.

If you can get information out of someone so easily, who would believe you?

Moreover, the King of Qixi was still in Chen Kingdom, yet he sent people to assassinate the Crown Prince of Chen Kingdom...

Ah!

They were afraid we wouldn't sacrifice his king to the flag.

Just then, the guard commander at the door reported, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, Prince Suhe has returned and is waiting at the door."