Film and Television: The Collector Who Rampages Across the Heavens

"I'm tired. Disperse, all of you!"

"yes--"

As everyone left the palace, Su Li made no attempt to exchange pleasantries with them, preparing to leave the palace alone.

After a brief conversation, Princess Nihuang and Prince Yu quickened their pace and caught up.

"I hope that only the two of us know about what happened today."

The woman spoke softly, glancing at the young man in front of her out of the corner of her eye, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Princess, rest assured, no third person will ever know about this."

After Su Li finished speaking, he strode away, leaving Ni Huang standing there in a daze.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

Prince Jing, who was walking up behind, noticed that Princess Nihuang's expression was off and stepped forward to ask her a question.

"It's alright. Does His Highness Prince Jing know anything about your eighth brother?" Nihuang suppressed her worries and asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Prince Jing recalled the image of his eighth brother and shook his head: "I don't know much about Jing Lin either. I've only met him occasionally in recent years when I travel to and from Jinling, but I've heard that he has a high reputation in the Northern Army."

"Is that so?" Nihuang murmured softly.

A month passed, and apart from drinking and making merry at the palace, watching dancers, and hunting in the snow, Zuli had nothing else to do.

Only after new intelligence arrived did he lead a group of royal guards out.

"Giddy up, giddy up..."

One after another, tall horses galloped through the streets, heading directly out of the city. The guards on horseback were armed with swords and knives, and carried crossbows on their left and right.

"Your Highness, according to the information we have received, Xia Dong has already entered the territory of Jinling. The assassins arranged by Marquis Ningguo ten miles west of the city are already in place, and their target is clearly Xia Dong."

Half an hour later, Xia Dong will fall into the trap…

"Then let's go join the fun!"

Zuli laughed loudly, squeezed his legs together, and sped out of the city. Winter had just ended, and the land outside was still desolate.

Dozens of cavalrymen galloped past like thunder, and when they reached the vicinity of the woods outside the west city, the sounds of clashing swords and fighting could already be heard.

More than twenty assassins in black were attacking two men and one woman. The injured woman was in grave danger, but despite her injuries, she was still holding her own.

The other two men also fought desperately against the assassin, but because they were unarmed, they had to constantly evade him.

shhhhhh!

Arrow after arrow streaked through the air, striking the man in black with precision and speed, followed by the thunderous roar of hooves echoing through the woods.

A group of cavalrymen drew their bows and shot arrows, targeting nearby black-clad assassins, before charging forward with their swords when they were close enough to engage them.

The attacking men in black were taken aback, clearly not expecting to encounter cavalry here. The leader of the men in black shouted, "Retreat..."

But how could two legs outrun four? These cavalrymen were clearly extremely experienced in combat, using wolf pack tactics to hunt them down in less than a few breaths.

One assassin after another died either from a sword wound to the back or from being trampled to death by iron hooves, demonstrating the ferocity of these black-armored cavalry.

Yu Jin and Xiao Jingrui stared in disbelief, while Xia Dong's face also showed a solemn expression. The thing that martial arts practitioners fear most is the army. No matter how strong their martial arts are, they will still be defeated when facing such a well-organized cavalry force.

After all the assassins were dealt with, Su Li, surrounded by several riders, slowly made her entrance.

"What a coincidence, you three..." He waved and greeted them from his horse.

The three immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Ling!"

"No need!"

Su Li waved her hand, looked at Xia Dong, and smiled, "It seems someone doesn't want Lord Xia to return. They've already entered Jinling's territory and even set up an ambush."

Xia Dong smiled and said, "Your Highness is right, but they didn't expect... I would be so lucky to meet Yu Jin and Jing Rui, and even Your Highness."

"I'll see you off on your way back to Jinling..."

Su Li gestured for the black-armored knights to give up their three horses.

Xia Dong and the other two didn't stand on ceremony and mounted their horses, returning to Jinling together under the escort of many cavalrymen.

On the way, Su Li said, "The three of you, I hope I won't be involved in what happened today..."

Just as Yu Jin was about to ask why, Xiao Jingrui grabbed his hand and said with a smile, "Your Highness, don't worry. We were the ones who saved Sister Dong today. Your Highness just happened to be passing by."

"That's good."

The two groups separated upon entering the gates of Jinling City. Watching Prince Ling lead his men away, Yu Jin asked, somewhat puzzled, "What does Prince Ling mean?"

Xia Dong understood perfectly, and said softly, "He was trying to show that he had no intention of getting involved. Could it be... really just a coincidence?"

Xiao Jingrui nodded: "Perhaps."

A guard, who was also somewhat puzzled, asked about it. Su Li smiled and said, "I'm just interested in Xia Dong..."

"Huh?" A guard who knew the prince well muttered, "But...she seems to be a widow."

"What kind of widow is she if she hasn't consummated the marriage? She's just a widow in name only. Getting involved with this capable woman through a small matter is quite a profitable deal."

Su Li said nonchalantly that in the eyes of outsiders, Xia Dong was obviously an old woman, but from the perspective of modern people, the latter was just a ripe peach, just right.

The news of Xia Dong's abduction and murder quickly spread to all parties through some channel. The appearance of Su Li, the Prince of Ling, was met with surprise, fear, or confusion. However, the case of the Duke of Qing's encroachment on Binzhou was still put on the agenda.

Prince Yu was extremely anxious about this. The Duke of Qing was his only pillar in the military, and losing him would be a huge loss.

He sought advice from the brilliant strategist, but the answer he received was to let go.

The case was a foregone conclusion, and anyone who came would have to hold the Duke of Qing accountable. He had already argued with the Crown Prince about this many times in court.

Finally, the emperor, growing impatient, directly appointed Prince Ling and Prince Jing to preside over the trial. He was unfamiliar with the former, but the temperament of the latter was well known to all the princes and nobles in Jinling.

"Given Prince Jing's uprightness, Duke Qing has absolutely no chance of surviving, but Prince Ling is a different story."

Inside the study of Prince Yu's mansion, Qin Banruo, dressed in a plain blue dress and exuding beauty, parted her thin lips slightly: "Therefore, if we want the Duke to have a way out, we must find a breakthrough from Prince Ling."

Prince Yu leaned back in his chair, tapping his temples, and said in a deep voice, "I am not very familiar with Xiao Jinglin. This man has been in the army for many years and has accumulated numerous military achievements. If it weren't for the Crown Prince suppressing me, he wouldn't have any intention of vying for the throne for the time being. This man might be my rival."

"So our common enemy now is the Crown Prince. He won't just watch Your Highness lose an arm out of nowhere. I can test him on Your Highness's behalf first."

What are his conditions?

Qin Banruo revealed a confident smile and spoke slowly.

Prince Yu nodded, closed his eyes, and said, "That's good. We must never give up as long as there is an opportunity."

The Duke of Qing was far too important to him...