The Crazy Emperor's Pampered Cousin

A whooshing sound suddenly arose, and countless dark figures flew out from the shadows of the trees like ghosts, their weapons gleaming coldly, heading straight for the core!

"Protect the Emperor!" Jing Cang shouted, and he and Yuan Chi sprang up at the same time.

Several guards instantly formed a circle around Xie Yanzhao and Shen Tinghe, and their swords flashed as they clashed with the attacking men in black!

These black-clad guards were not ordinary guards; they were the Xuan Ce Guards under Xie Yanzhao.

Jing Cang and Yuan Chi came from this.

Each person moved ruthlessly and swiftly, their moves concise and efficient, managing to withstand the first wave of fierce attacks.

Xie Yanzhao adjusted her position and hugged her from the front.

He pressed Shen Tinghe's head against his chest with one hand, while catching the long sword that Yuan Chi threw to him with the other.

With a flick of his wrist, a bluish light shimmered, and several men in black nearby suddenly bled from their throats, collapsing to the ground without uttering a sound.

The first wave of assassins were killed in the blink of an eye, and the forest fell into a brief silence, with only the heavy smell of blood lingering in the air.

The surviving Xuan Ce guards quickly adjusted their positions, remaining vigilant in all directions.

Shen Tinghe slightly raised her head from Xie Yanzhao's embrace, her face pale and her fingertips icy cold.

However, before everyone could rest—

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!" Even denser arrows shot out from all directions, followed by more men in black surging out like a tide, seemingly endless!

Although Xuan Ce's guards were brave, their numbers were far outnumbered, and they also had to be distracted by the rain of arrows. In an instant, several gaps were broken in their circular formation.

Xie Yanzhao held Shen Tinghe tightly, leaped off his horse, and used his sword to deflect several stray arrows, which fell to the ground.

The horse neighed loudly, was struck by several arrows, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Xie Yanzhao frowned.

No, with Xie Xuancheng's abilities, there's absolutely no way he could secretly mobilize so many assassins to infiltrate the hunting grounds! There's more to this than meets the eye…

Arrows rained down like locusts, and the men in black closed in layer upon layer, with the Xuan Ce guards they brought with them falling one after another.

Jing Cang and Yuan Chi were already wounded in several places, and the signal flares had been fired long ago, but it would still take time for reinforcements to arrive.

Shen Tinghe hugged Xie Yanzhao tightly around the waist, buried her face in his chest, her body trembling slightly, but she gritted her teeth to keep herself from screaming.

She knew that any misstep she made at this moment could distract Xie Yanzhao.

Just as Xie Yanzhao swung his sword and cut down an enemy on the left, a man in black quietly drew his bow from the bushes behind Shen Tinghe, aiming it at Shen Tinghe's back!

Xie Yanzhao caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, and was shocked. He quickly pulled her away.

But he was hit by another arrow from behind Xie Yanzhao.

"puff!"

The sound of an arrow piercing flesh was dull yet clear.

Xie Yanzhao's body trembled violently. The moment the excruciating pain struck, a strange numbness and coldness spread rapidly, and everything went black before his eyes.

In his last remaining consciousness, only one thought swept over him like a raging storm—

What to do about his Yuan Yuan?

"Xie Yanzhao!" Shen Tinghe felt the arms holding her suddenly lose their strength, and then Xie Yanzhao's entire weight pressed down on her.

She staggered and barely managed to support him. Looking down, she saw his bloodless face and the menacing, trembling arrow on his back.

My mind went completely blank.

"Xie Yanzhao...Xie Yanzhao...don't scare me..."

Her voice trembled uncontrollably. She tried in vain to cover the wound, yet dared not touch the arrow shaft. The warm liquid quickly stained her fingertips red.

"Your Highness!!!" Jing Cang and Yuan Chi's eyes were bloodshot.

The two fought with a life-or-death style, instantly cutting down more people, but more men in black surrounded them.

The remaining two guards, their eyes bloodshot, roared as they charged forward, desperately resisting the relentless onslaught of the black tide.

Shen Tinghe felt ice-cold all over; immense fear almost consumed her.

Don't panic...don't panic! She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She reached out her trembling hand, groping to feel Xie Yanzhao's wrist.

There's still a pulse... though it's weak and erratic, it's still beating!

At the critical moment.

The sound of rapid, orderly hoofbeats and shouts rang out from outside the woods!

"Reinforcements have arrived! Traitor, prepare to die!"

Gu He took the lead, leading a large number of brightly armored imperial guards as they charged in with terrifying force.

Seeing this, the leader of the men in black decisively whistled a sharp cry: "Retreat!"

The remaining men in black retreated like the tide.

Gu He's eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Yu Lan, you lead your men to track and capture him, dead or alive!"

He then leaped off his horse, knelt on one knee, and rushed to Xie Yanzhao's side.

"Your Highness! I am late, and deserve to die!"

He reached out to check Xie Yanzhao's injuries, preparing to carry him on his back.

"Don't touch him!" Shen Tinghe shouted sharply.

"The arrow is poisoned; moving rashly could cause the poison to attack your heart!"

Her face was pale as she looked at Yuan Chi: "Where is the nearest cliff?"

Yuan Chi, covered in blood, answered without hesitation: "The hunting cliff on the west side is nearby."

"Okay!" Shen Tinghe made a quick decision. She took a deep look at Xie Yanzhao, who was pale as a ghost, and then looked at Jing Cang.

"Jing Cang, help His Highness steady. Keep him in this position and don't move him. Wait for me to return!"

Having said that, she gave no one time to dissuade her: "Yuan Chi, mount your horse! Lead the way!"

The two mounted their horses and galloped off towards the western hunting cliff.

Gu He was stunned by Shen Tinghe's imposing manner and looked at Jing Cang, "What is the Crown Princess doing...?"

Jing Cang carefully maintained Xie Yanzhao's posture.

"General Gu, the Crown Princess is exceptionally skilled in medicine. Back in Lingzhou, I personally witnessed her pull a wounded person back from the brink of death. At this moment... no one cares more about His Highness's safety than the Crown Princess! Listen to her!"

Gu He looked at the Crown Prince, whose breath was weak, and then glanced in the direction where Shen Tinghe had disappeared. Although he was extremely anxious, he knew that there was no other way at the moment.

"good!"

He gritted his teeth and quickly assigned tasks.

"You few, immediately follow the Crown Princess and obey her orders. Protect her at all costs! You, return to the main camp immediately and have all the imperial physicians bring the best medicines to us! The rest of you, use this place as the center of the perimeter and maintain a perimeter security perimeter. Don't let a single bird escape!"

Shen Tinghe and Xie Yanzhao arrived at the Hunting Cliff. It was a steep, grayish-white rock face, bottomless, with a biting wind blowing at the edge, making their clothes flutter.

"Quick, find some sturdy vines!" Shen Tinghe ordered as she began pulling at the old vines growing nearby.

The accompanying guards quickly helped, gathering the ingredients and twisting them into a long vine.

Shen Tinghe tightly tied one end of the vine around her waist in a knot, and handed the other end to Yuan Chi and a strong guard who had come with her.

"Hurry up! I'm going down to gather herbs. Pull me back up when you hear me shouting!"

"Your Highness, you mustn't! Let me go!" Yuan Chi said urgently.

Shen Tinghe continued to move.

"No. Green Rock Moss is extremely similar to ordinary moss. If you can't distinguish it and collect the wrong one or miss it, Your Highness won't have enough time! I'll go myself!"

She said no more and turned to face the cliff.

Yuan Chi looked at her slender yet upright back and knew that any attempt to dissuade her at this moment would be futile. He could only hold on tightly to the other end of the vine with his companion.