Chapter 111: Assassination! A Forced Miscarriage?

Xie Yao couldn’t make sense of it and didn’t dare guess blindly. After all, it was the Emperor so how many people could truly know the details of his fainting? Since Xiao Ji hadn’t summoned her, she stayed put and decided to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with the Zhao family.

After dinner, everyone set out fruits and mooncakes in the courtyard to admire the moon together.

Yet Xiao Ji still hadn’t returned.

As the night grew late, Xie Yao politely refused the Zhao family’s attempts to keep her and chose to return to the Crown Prince’s residence.

The streets were already dark, though the bright moon hung high, and lanterns still glowed from house to house.

Supported by Zhuqing, Xie Yao climbed into the carriage.

The moment she sat inside, she leaned against the cushioned wall to nap. Ever since becoming pregnant, she had been more prone to drowsiness; completely normal.

But she had barely dozed when she suddenly snapped awake!

“Ambush!”

The Crown Prince’s guards outside immediately shouted the alarm.

Xie Yao lifted the curtain and saw black-clad men leaping from rooftops on both sides. Arrows glinted coldly in their hands, aimed straight at her carriage.

The guards’ first instinct was naturally to shield the carriage, but outnumbered and caught off guard, they were quickly pressed hard.

Just then, Xie Yao felt the carriage lurch violently. The horses bolted, dragging the carriage madly forward—

Whoosh!

An arrow shot from ahead, piercing the driver’s chest. The man tumbled down as the panicked horses thundered down the street.

Zhuqing and Zhuxin immediately held onto Xie Yao, terrified she might be injured.

Luckily, the carriage had been specially reinforced, lined with thick layers of silk padding. Despite the jolts, it protected her from bruises.

Lin Xia flung open the carriage door, intending to grab the reins.

But arrows rained down again, one after another, swift and deadly accurate, forcing her to dodge instead. She had no choice but to swat away the incoming shafts, while the horses only sped up further.

“Cut the ropes!” Xie Yao’s voice rang out from inside.

The carriage frame was bound to the horses not just by wood but by thick straps. That was what she meant.

“Yes!” Lin Xia answered at once.

Controlling crazed horses was far harder than severing the straps. But once cut, the carriage would inevitably crash about… she worried for the Crown Princess.

Even so, Lin Xia chose without hesitation. Taking an arrow to the arm, she still swung her blade and sliced through the ropes.

The horses bolted off. The freed carriage skidded forward from sheer momentum before slamming to a halt.

Lin Xia was thrown clear.

Zhuxin and Zhuqing shielded Xie Yao front and back. Gripping the carriage window, she barely kept herself from being flung out.

When they finally stopped, everyone felt dizzy and shaken.

Thwip!

Another arrow came whistling in.

It lodged itself between Xie Yao’s fingers.

“Crown Princess!” Zhuqing cried in alarm, her voice thick with fear.

“I’m fine,” Xie Yao whispered, withdrawing her hand. The arrow had grazed her left hand, splitting the skin between her middle and ring fingers.

The wound was shallow as her training hadn’t been for nothing but it still bled.

Suddenly, the night fell eerily silent. Then came the sound of hooves pounding.

At the head of the riders, Xiao Ji galloped up. He hadn’t even reined in when he leapt from his horse, yanking open the carriage door.

The interior was dim, but his eyes went straight to her.

She sat, pale and shaken, flanked by Zhuqing and Zhuxin. Her face was drained of color, her bright eyes shimmering with grievance. “Your Highness.”

Xiao Ji let out a long breath of relief. His heart, pounding till now, finally eased.

She was safe.

He rushed forward, scooping her into his arms. His scarlet eyes brimmed with terror at how close he had come to losing her.

“I was late,” he murmured hoarsely.

His arms locked around her, desperate to bury her into his chest. Only the last shreds of restraint kept his grip gentle, lest he hurt her.

Her face remained pale as she shook her head faintly. “These people were prepared. They drew away all our guards first.”

So the ambush had been meticulously planned.

Xiao Ji already smelled the blood. Noticing the wound on her hand, his fury exploded. His killing intent burned uncontrollably.

His gaze fixed sharply on the arrow embedded in the carriage wall, eyes flashing cold as steel.

Daring to harm my princess… Very well.

Xie Yao tugged his sleeve with her uninjured hand, her voice soft. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt.”

If not for the tears trembling in her eyes, he might have believed her.

Her understanding only stoked his rage further. He longed to tear the mastermind into pieces.

Zhuxin and Zhuqing stumbled out of the carriage, both vomiting by the roadside. The jolting had nearly made them faint; only sheer will to protect Xie Yao had kept them upright.

Just then, Pei Chen and more guards of the Crown Prince’s household arrived.

“Your Highness!” Pei Chen called, leading the men.

Xiao Ji’s presence radiated murderous chill. “Find out who’s behind this.”

He wrapped his cloak tightly around Xie Yao, carried her back to the Crown Prince’s residence, and summoned the court physician at once.

“The Crown Princess is only mildly shaken. The pregnancy remains stable,” the physician reported, astonished.

Given how the carriage had jolted, even one’s organs might shift. That the fetus held firm was remarkable.

In fact, the Crown Princess, a pregnant woman was faring better than her maids!

As for the cut on her hand, ointment would suffice.

Leaving medicine behind, the physician withdrew.

Xiao Ji pressed her onto the bed, kneeling at the side as he gently applied the ointment himself.

Xie Yao lowered her gaze. His face was tense with concentration, lips pressed tight, the anger still visible beneath.

Her heart gave a trembling flutter. She raised her hand to her chest.

“Yao-yao?” Xiao Ji looked up at once. “Are you unwell?”

She lowered her hand, voice rough. “No. But these people were targeting me and the child.”

The arrows had been aimed less at her life, more at the carriage itself, so that the jolting might harm the baby. For an ordinary pregnant woman, today’s ordeal would have been disastrous, if not fatal.

Whoever planned this had taken a brutal but calculated approach. She rarely left home, and the Crown Prince’s residence was too heavily guarded for subtle schemes. This chance had been their best shot.

A darker thought flitted through her mind: the Emperor’s collapse earlier… was tonight’s ambush carried out with his tacit approval?

The suspicion chilled her, but she pushed it aside.

“This was my failure to protect you,” Xiao Ji said grimly.

“Yao-yao, I swear I’ll see justice done for you.” His hand clasped hers in a vow.

She let her doubts fade, looking at him with complete trust. Her voice was soft. “I believe you.”

Just then, Si-nan’s voice came from outside, “Your Highness, the Marquis has arrived.”