Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 52 Assistance from a Master
Jiu Que led the children on a wild ride through the streets, buying a huge pile of things. In the end, they couldn't carry them all, and the two guards behind them had to help them carry them. Yuan Dao and the others had never experienced such a carefree life, where they didn't care about the price or the cost, but only about how to spend money, and they were starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

It turns out that being a pampered child is so joyful.

"Egg pancakes, freshly baked egg pancakes, so crispy, soft, and fragrant—"

Hearing the drawn-out hawking and smelling a rich aroma, Jiu Que quickly led the children to the food stall. Seeing them, the old man selling egg pancakes beamed with joy and gave them two extra. The group happily ate the soft egg pancakes. Just as Jiu Que and the children were about to cross the street, she suddenly felt something touch her, and again, a faintly familiar, fresh scent reached her nose.

What was that smell? She felt like she'd smelled it somewhere before. She immediately turned around, but apart from the people coming and going on the street, there was nothing unusual.

Looking down, I saw a thumb-sized foreign object stuck in the soft egg pancake in my hand.

The two guards behind her remained oblivious. Jiu Que knew their identities perfectly well; they were guards personally appointed by the Jingtai Emperor, and their skills were undoubtedly top-notch. Yet, they noticed nothing amiss. If the person who left the note intended to kill her, she would likely be beheaded by now. So, were they friends?

He carefully unfolded the note, and the three simple words on it made Jiu Que's pupils shrink. He immediately called the children to head home.

The two guards were puzzled as to why Lord Ying had suddenly changed his mind. They had originally planned to go to Zuixianlou for a banquet, but returning home would make it more convenient to protect Lord Ying.

As they drew closer to home, Jiu Que's anxiety grew heavier. The children seemed to sense her worry and quickened their pace. However, even though they were moving quickly and carefully, an arrow coming straight at them as they rounded a corner still made Jiu Que frown.

"Crack!"

One of the guards leaped forward, throwing his candied hawthorns and other odds and ends, knocking the arrow to the ground. Simultaneously, he drew his blade and charged forward without hesitation. The old man selling sachets around the corner changed his expression, pulling a long knife from under his cart. The two fought to a standstill.

The remaining guard tightly protected Jiu Que and the others, vigilantly observing their surroundings. They weren't far from the Ying residence; logically, the brothers stationed inside should have come to their rescue long ago upon hearing such commotion. Why hadn't they made a move yet? Had something happened at home?

Sure enough, a large group of people dressed in various styles surged in from all directions the next moment. They included men, women, and children. It was unclear whether they were disguised or not, but their martial arts skills were quite superb, and they fought swiftly and decisively. Moreover, their target was very unified: Ying Jiuque.

At this moment, however, they didn't seem to have any murderous intent towards Ying Jiuque; rather, they seemed to want to snatch her away from the two guards. While protecting the children and retreating, Jiuque took the opportunity to think about what charm she possessed that could make this group of people go to such lengths to take action.

The guards protecting the Nine Palaces were secret agents carefully trained by Emperor Jingtai. They had no names, only code names; one was Jia Twenty-Three, and the other was Yi Eleven.

Emperor Jingtai had ten secret guards, each meticulously trained. Although it seemed like a lot, they were not only responsible for Emperor Jingtai's safety but also had to go out on missions, so manpower was quite scarce. Under such circumstances, Emperor Jingtai was willing to allocate two of them to Jiuque, which shows how much he valued her.

Therefore, even under the siege of so many people, the two guards were still able to protect Jiu Que and the others. The longer the siege lasted, the greater the chance of being discovered by outsiders. Those random people seemed to be getting anxious at this moment. They exchanged glances, changed their moves, and became murderous.

"The master has ordered that if they cannot be taken away, they should be killed on the spot!"

Jiu Que frowned and drew a palm-length dagger from her waist. Her involvement in the Wuyou Cave case a few days ago hadn't been entirely fruitless; at least the dagger given to her by the Marquis of Weiyuan was proving useful now. Before those people made their move, the two guards could protect Jiu Que and the children, but the key issue was that Jiu Que and her companions were too conspicuous, and the opposing side had too many people. A few casually thrown hidden weapons were enough to force even the heavily poisoned Jia Ershisan to deflect them with all his might.

Gradually, Jia Twenty-Three found himself in dire financial straits.

They couldn't just stand by and watch the other person get hurt. Jiu Que was very anxious and wanted to help, but he was worried that he would be a hindrance.

"Pfft!"

Just then, a small plum blossom dart bypassed Jia Twenty-Three's defense and pierced his forearm. Almost instantly, his forearm turned black and purple.

His movements were inevitably slowed by his injury, and in the blink of an eye, countless poisoned hidden weapons rained down on Jiu Que and the children. Jia Twenty-Three and Yi Eleven's expressions changed drastically, and they rushed forward to block them. But it was too late. Jiu Que could only manage to tuck the children behind him, trying to use his back to shield them from the rapidly approaching weapons.

"master!"

In Ying Yuandao's wide-eyed gaze, those hidden weapons, like deadly traps, flew towards him at an unbelievable speed. Just as Ying Yuandao's soul was shattered, as if a god had descended to earth, those diverse and densely packed hidden weapons suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Yes, they just stopped there.

It was like a farce.

"Huh, huh..."

Ying Jiuque also sensed something was wrong, turned around, and discovered this scene that seemed like a magic trick. "Wow, who came to my aid?"

The next moment, a fiery red figure descended from the sky. It was a petite woman with her back to Jiu Que. Her hair was braided into small braids, decorated with exquisite ornaments that sparkled in the sunlight.

Before Jiu Que could react, he heard the other party's angry curses.

"A bunch of shameless old geezers! So many of you bullying a few kids, you really make us martial arts heroes proud! Have you all eaten your own youthful looks? If word gets out, we'll be laughed at by the whole world. If I were you, I'd just cover my face, I'm too ashamed to show my face anyway!"

Jiu Que, who had initially intended to express his gratitude, silently shrank back, protecting the children tightly. Hmm, he felt that going up now would disrupt this senior's performance…

But how come they're so good with words?

(End of this chapter)