Marrying a treacherous official

Xi Kui rushed out from the side, grabbed Cui Shuhua's arm, and desperately dragged her away.

"Second Miss, hurry! The men in black are rushing over. If we don't leave now, it will be too late."

"Save my mother! Someone, please save my mother!"

Cui Shuhua struggled forward with all her might, gripping the scorched earth with her hands, determined to rush over and extinguish the fire on Aunt Du's body.

Xi Kui tried her best but couldn't pull the second girl away. As the black-clad assassin charged towards her with a knife, she had only one thought left.

"Madam, hurry and leave!"

In the darkness, Yunji saw one, two, or three men in black rushing out of the raging flames, and an unprecedented despair instantly engulfed her.

There's no escaping it now.

Suddenly filled with a surge of courage, she picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground, dragged it past Xi Kui and Cui Shuhua, and stood in front of Aunt Du.

A scorching heat wave hit us.

Yun Ji tightened her grip on the wooden stick, staring intently at the black-clad man who was leaping towards her amidst the dazzling light and shadow. As the long sword slashed down with a whoosh, she swung her hand to deliver a critical strike right in the assassin's face!

—He's already died once, so he can't just sit there and wait to be hacked to a pulp.—

The long knife cleaved through the wooden stick, forcefully splitting it in two.

Yun Ji waited in vain for the sharp pain of the blade slicing across her neck. She opened her eyes in horror and saw two sharp arrows piercing the black-clad man's throat and right arm, with blood gushing out.

The long sword fell to the ground, and the assassin in black fell heavily backward.

Two arrows were fired simultaneously, striking the assassin who fell to the ground dead. Could it be that reinforcements have arrived?

Yunji heard the sound of iron hooves thundering behind her. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw Cui Zemin riding towards her with a longbow in his hand. Black smoke billowed as he rode his horse, and sparks flew everywhere. He quickly reined in his horse and stopped abruptly in front of her.

She completely broke down, and could no longer hold on as she cried out:

"Save my aunt!"

Seeing the two men in black rushing towards him, Cui Zeming shouted "Save them!" to the guards behind him, then spurred his horse forward and charged into the enemy's heartland with deadly attacks.

Yunji and Cui Shuhua used their outer garments to extinguish the flames on Aunt Du's body.

The three guards lifted the pillar of fire with all their might, and Xi Kui took the opportunity to drag Aunt Du out from under the tree.

"Mother—, it's alright now, eldest brother has come to save us, you'll get better."

Looking at Aunt Du's bloodied and mangled body, Cui Shuhua cried her heart out. Even though she knew Aunt Du was not going to survive, she was still deceiving herself and lying.

With her last breath, Aunt Du called out weakly:

"Madam... Madam..."

"Auntie, with me here, no one can bully the Second Miss. I will fulfill your expectations and marry the Second Miss into a noble family. I will take care of the Second Miss for the rest of my life so that she may live a peaceful and prosperous life."

Yunji held Aunt Du's hand tightly and readily agreed to the request that Aunt Du hadn't had time to say.

Aunt Du pointed weakly at her hand, her mouth still churning with blood and froth.

Yunji quickly pulled her into his arms, lowered his head to her lips, and heard her whisper, "..."

“Okay… okay…”

The last two sentences Aunt Du uttered before her death were, when put together, a wish for her to live well.

Seeing that Aunt Du's gaze had become unfocused and her lips had slumped down, Yunji listened to Cui Shuhua calling out "Mother" in heart-wrenching pain beside her. She hugged Aunt Du tightly, trying to warm her chilled body.

The scene was so similar to the one she had witnessed, making her feel as if she had been transported back to the night her mother passed away.

She hugged her mother like that, using all her remaining warmth to keep her warm.

But her mother's body gradually grew cold, and then became so stiff that she could not move. No matter how much she cried and shouted, her mother did not respond.

For a long time, she was in so much pain that she couldn't go on living.

After eliminating all the assassins in black, Cui Zemin turned around without hesitation and saw Cui Shuhua crying and fainting in her maid's arms, while Yun Ji was holding Aunt Du's corpse tightly in a daze.

The guard stepped forward and reported, "General, the First Madam is holding onto Concubine Du tightly, and no matter how I try to persuade her, she refuses to let go."

Cui Zemin pressed on, "Where are the other two maids?"

"The black smoke in the woods was still lingering, and Guard Huo had already settled them outside the fire area."

The guards said helplessly, "The First Madam and the Second Miss insisted on staying by Aunt Du's body and refused to leave no matter what."

Cui Zemin dismounted, took off his brocade robe with its sleeves tied, and draped it over Yunji. Then he grabbed her and forcibly pulled her away from Aunt Du's side.

Yunji's tears fell uncontrollably.

She had no strength left to struggle, and could only call out again and again, "Mother, Mother..."

Cui Zemin tightened his grip on her waist, lifting her mid-air and placing her on the horse's back. He then mounted the horse and gave orders to the surrounding guards:

"Back to camp."

Chunxuan and Huachao arrived at the Tiger Wing Army's camp first.

They stood outside the tent, eagerly awaiting the return of the First Madam. After the Master reined in his horse, they quickly went over to help the First Madam down from her horse.

"Serve the lady by bathing and changing her clothes, examine her wounds one by one, and apply medicine to her carefully."

"Yes, ma'am."

Chunxuan and Huachao both accepted the order and said yes.

Cui Zemin watched Yun Ji enter the main tent, then turned to Xi Kui, who was still sitting on her horse, and said:

"Take good care of the second young lady. If anything happens to her, you will be held responsible."

Xi Kui nimbly jumped off Li Xiuji's horse and timidly replied, "This servant will definitely take good care of the Second Miss and will not let her be too heartbroken again."

Cui Zemin led the generals and guards behind him straight to the main tent.

He turned and sat down in the armchair, where a group of people knelt down in front of him.

How many were killed or injured?

"Reporting to the general, of the six guards protecting the First Lady, one is dead and three are seriously injured."

Shi Ling knelt on the ground, covered in blood, ashamed to face the general and even more ashamed of his dead brothers. He lowered his head, wishing he were the one who had died.

Cui Zemin stared at him coldly. "Why are the men in black chasing after Madam?"

Shi Ling took out the bloodstained register from his pocket and presented it with both hands.

"The First Madam snatched the book from the Abbot, and the men in black, wanting to silence her, chased her all the way into the pine forest."

Cui Zemin flipped through the names in the booklet and immediately recognized them as the sons of prominent families who had entered officialdom through cheating in the imperial examinations in the past decade and had been taken in as protégés by Vice Minister Wei.

Although there aren't many names on the register, each one represents a family with considerable influence.

He flipped to the last page and was shocked to see Gu Jingyu's name. His fingers tightened, and his gaze swept over the name three times.

"What were the circumstances surrounding the last time the First Madam saw the Abbot before the incident?"

Shi Ling dared not hide anything and truthfully recounted the conversation from that day.

Cui Zemin closed the notebook and spoke in a sinister tone.

"Where is the man in black we caught?"

"My subordinates ordered the guards to detain the man in the military tent and keep him under strict watch."

Cui Zemin immediately instructed Li Xiuji, "Bring the man in; I will interrogate him personally."