Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 268 Killer

These words nearly made the three people present faint with anger. Especially the Duke of Ningguo, who was utterly bewildered. Hadn't his wife always loved and cherished him? She had even raised his illegitimate children without a single complaint, yet she was the epitome of a virtuous woman in the capital. How could she suddenly become so stubborn and insist on a divorce? Could she have been bewitched by that scoundrel?

Judge Lu was indifferent to the farce unfolding before him. After all, his task was simply to ensure the safety of the Duchess of Ningguo. As for where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do, as long as it didn't endanger her life or health, he had no right to interfere.

Without hesitation, the Duchess of Ningguo acted immediately. She had her own private property before her marriage. Having decided not to stay in the Duke's mansion, what was she waiting for? Was she waiting for another bowl of poison?

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, both the Duke of Ningguo and the old Duke of Ningguo thought it best to let her leave first, since it was unseemly to keep making such a scene. Unexpectedly, the old lady simply refused. It was strange, considering her already strained relationship with her daughter-in-law, that she insisted on keeping her there. Judge Lu wouldn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on.

"No, you can't leave! You are the Duchess of Ningguo, this is your home. You are weak now, if you leave at this time, wouldn't you just become a laughing stock?"

The old lady not only verbally prevented her from leaving, but even began to tear at the arms of the Duchess of Ningguo, insisting on keeping her there. The young prince of Ningguo frowned. He was young and strong, and had plenty of energy, so he simply grabbed his grandmother, whom he was not close to at all, and pulled her away.

"If Grandmother insists on going her own way, then don't blame your grandson for being ruthless."

He was already tired of being a gentle and respectful grandson, and now that things had turned sour, he didn't mind if his reputation got even worse.

However, the old lady grabbed Ning Shizi's hand, her eyes filled with pleading.

"Child, I'm begging you, please, your grandmother, you must not let your mother leave. Do you know that if you let her leave, a terrible disaster will befall you? The entire Duke's mansion will cease to exist! You are the heir of the Duke's mansion, the undisputed next successor. Do you really want to watch the Duke's mansion vanish into thin air?"

Prince Ning frowned. He didn't understand what the old lady was talking about, that she would make such alarmist claims. However, if this matter got out, the Duke's mansion would indeed lose face in the capital.

But what did any of this matter to him? He had already decided to abandon everything here. He simply carried his mother on his back and, together with Physician Lu, Imperial Physician Liu, and the eunuchs and guards they had brought, quickly left this cannibalistic den of demons.

Seeing that there was no way to turn the situation around, the old lady suddenly blacked out and fainted in front of the Duke's mansion. However, she didn't stay unconscious for long. She woke up when her husband pinched her philtrum hard. Gritting her teeth, she gestured to return to the mansion. Soon after, an ordinary-looking servant quietly slipped out of the back gate of the Duke's mansion and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

The Duchess of Ningguo, sitting in the carriage, was pale-faced. After much deliberation, she finally confessed to Judge Lu, seeing her son's worried expression.

"Actually, I had suspected my mother-in-law was going to kill me, but it wasn't until she actually did it that I realized I had overheard a terrible secret..."

Upon hearing this secret, Imperial Physician Liu, the Chief Physician, wished he had never left this room. But there was nothing they could do; now that they had heard it, they were in the same boat. This matter couldn't be ignored; they had to tell His Majesty!
Having made up his mind, Judge Lu signaled the guards driving the carriage to turn around. They needed to get straight into the palace before the other party could react. If they had time, they might still be able to capture the most important witness.

Even though they were moving quickly enough, someone beat them to it. As they turned the corner of the alley and arrived at Xuan Niao Street, the last bustling street before the palace gates, the people in the carriage couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. With so many people watching, the real culprit wouldn't dare to act in the street. But unexpectedly, in the instant everyone relaxed, a sharp arrow whistled through the air and struck the opposite carriage.

Physician Liu cried out in pain as the arrow grazed his arm, causing his left arm to bleed profusely!
After a brief pause, the surrounding crowd of onlookers suddenly realized that someone was committing a crime in the street. Some of the bolder, more righteous individuals turned to look and even shouted warnings.

"How dare you! This is right under the emperor's nose, not far from the imperial palace. Who would dare to commit violence here? Truly..."

However, the next moment, another arrow shot directly at him, and the man fell to the ground without even uttering a sound, and blood quickly seeped out beneath him.

The surrounding crowd screamed and fled in panic. The guards driving the carriage also tried to take advantage of the chaos to escape with the officials inside, but the hidden men showed no mercy. A dense rain of swords kept the carriage firmly in place. In that short time, even with the guards' desperate resistance, several arrows still managed to embed themselves in the carriage.

Blood flowed from the gaps in the carriage, pooling into small puddles on the ground. The once bustling Xuan Niao Street had now become a killing field.

The assassins, who had been lurking in the shadows, suddenly appeared and engaged the guards in a fierce battle. However, outnumbered and outmatched, and with the guards also tasked with protecting the defenseless officials inside the carriage, they were quickly wounded. Just as the guards were falling one by one and the carriage was about to be riddled with arrows, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from nearby, followed by an angry shout.

"Take them all down!"

Jiuque drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The black iron arrowhead shot out with tremendous force, carrying the assassin who had already used his knife to lift the carriage curtain out of the carriage. The arrowhead pierced through the assassin's chest and embedded itself firmly in the floor tile!
At her voice, Wei Yuan and the others rushed forward, their swords transforming into a blur of light, enveloping the assassins who had initially seemed certain of victory, thus temporarily relieving the carriage from danger.

The assassins, lurking in the shadows, gritted their teeth. This time, their master had given a death order: success or death. They could no longer hide; a hundred arrows rained down on the lone carriage. Jiu Que, who happened to witness this, could not allow the people in the carriage to be killed.

"Senior Cui!"

call--

A gust of wind blew by, and the overwhelming number of arrows suddenly lost their momentum, swirling haphazardly in the air before crashing to the ground with a series of crackling sounds.

The sound of footsteps quickly rose up. By the time the assassins reacted, an army appeared out of nowhere—yes, an army, at least a hundred strong—and formed a complete formation, a shield wall that firmly protected the carriage and the suddenly appearing Ying Jiuque and his group!

(End of this chapter)