Phoenix Cries Return to Court

"Besides, why wasn't anyone sent to inform them beforehand?"

Wang Wu frowned and stared intently at Lin Xihe, his eyes full of suspicion.

Lin Xihe's heart tightened suddenly, but she remained calm on the surface. "I am the wife of the Minister of War. I have come here today to pick up the goods on the Minister's orders."

Upon hearing this, Wang Wu stepped forward and whispered, "A storm is brewing, and clouds are rising from all directions."

Lin Xihe feigned anger, "Manager Wang, do you not believe me? Could it be that the Minister brought other women here, and you've confused them? Since you and he are old acquaintances, how could you not recognize me?"

"Please forgive me, Madam," Wang Wu said respectfully. "Of course I recognize you, but all those who obtain Eastern Pearls must use this code word. It's the rule, so please forgive me."

"Rules?" Lin Xihe sneered. "The Minister left in a hurry this morning, only instructing me to find you, and didn't have time to say anything about coded messages." Lin Xihe paused, then her voice suddenly rose. "If we delay the Minister's important business, Manager Wang, can you bear the responsibility?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Wu hesitated for a moment, "If that's the case, has the Minister instructed where the Eastern Pearl should be sent?"

Lin Xihe frowned subconsciously, and said impatiently, "I will personally take it back to the Minister's residence and hand it over to the Minister. As for how he intends to arrange it, how could a mere woman like me know?"

"Then please give me the key, Madam," Wang Wu said respectfully, his expression changing.

key?

Lin Xihe's heart skipped a beat, "The Minister left in such a hurry..."

Before he could finish speaking, the suspicion in Wang Wu's eyes instantly turned into a chilling murderous intent. He shouted, "You audacious woman! How dare you impersonate Madam He and steal the Eastern Pearl! Speak! Who are you?!"

Wang Wu frowned as he looked at the woman in front of him, then waved his hand dismissively, "Take her down!"

As soon as she finished speaking, four burly men sprang out from the shadows in the four corners of the room. Their eyes were cold, and they held gleaming short knives in their hands as they pounced on Lin Xi.

Lin Xihe didn't have time to think and instinctively dodged to the side, barely avoiding the big man's fist that was aimed straight at his face.

Before she could even regain her footing, another short knife came stabbing at her from her left.

Lin Xi deftly dodged, her hem grazing the blade. She then swept her right leg across, delivering a heavy kick to the burly man's shoulder. With a soft "crack," the man suddenly collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

"I never expected him to be a trained fighter!"

Looking at the chaos before him, Wang Wu's eyes flashed with surprise. His voice suddenly rose, "All of you, attack! Leave one alive; I want to interrogate her myself!"

The remaining three burly men exchanged a glance, rushed forward, and surrounded Lin Xi.

But she remained completely calm, nimbly dodging while secretly observing the weaknesses in the three burly men's moves.

A burly man lunged at her, trying to grab her wrist and subdue her. Lin Xihe saw through his plan immediately, and with a sudden burst of strength, slammed her elbow into his chest.

With a loud "thud," the burly man groaned, staggered back a few steps, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

In a short while, two of the four burly men fell to the ground, and the remaining two were also injured.

Lin Xihe was also in bad shape, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. The fight had exhausted most of her strength, and her arm had been cut by the blade, with blood slowly seeping out.

Seeing that she seemed to be struggling, the two burly men were overjoyed and pounced on her from the left and right.

Lin Xi took a deep breath and, taking advantage of their lunge, suddenly dodged to the side. At the same time, she kicked the knee of the big man on the left and grabbed the wrist of the big man on the right, twisting it with the help of the force. With a "crack", the two big men fell to the ground at the same time.

Lin Xihe glanced at Wang Wu, who was trembling in the corner, and her eyes sharpened.

But the next second, a series of neat hoofbeats and the clanging of metal came from the alley entrance.

Her heart sank; she knew something was wrong.

Hearing the commotion, Wang Wu rushed towards the source of the sound as if he had seen a savior, shouting, "Quick! Grab that woman! She's impersonating the Minister of War's wife and plotting something!"

The group of soldiers numbered about twenty or thirty. Upon hearing Wang Wu's shout, they immediately spurred their horses and charged over, quickly surrounding Lin Xi and Tuan Tuan.

The sharp spear gleamed with a cold light.

Lin Xihe's face remained calm, but her heart was pounding like thunder.

She was a woman, and the fierce battle had already exhausted most of her strength. She also had an injury on her arm. Surrounded by so many soldiers, she had no chance of winning.

She quickly scanned her surroundings, trying to find a way to break through.

She noticed that the alleyway was narrow not far away, and although there were many soldiers, they could not launch an attack at the same time. This was probably her only chance.

A soldier launched the first attack, thrusting his spear straight at her chest. Lin Xihe barely managed to dodge to the side, but felt a tightness in her chest and nearly collapsed to the ground.

She gritted her teeth, using the momentum of her retreat to muster her last bit of strength, and with her agile movements, she weaved through the gaps in the spears.

At the critical moment, a dark figure darted out from the shadows like a ghost, and then a large, warm arm suddenly pulled her into a protective embrace, the faint scent of agarwood instantly enveloping her.

Lin Xi froze, instinctively looking up to see Shen Jueyan!

Her heart inexplicably calmed down.

Shen Jueyan glanced at the surrounding soldiers with a somber expression, raised his hand to shield the woman behind him, and whispered, "Protect the lady, let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, four guards dressed in black appeared from the shadows, holding long swords, and stood in front of Shen Jueyan and Lin Xihe, engaging in a fierce battle with the soldiers who surrounded them.

The guards in black were extremely skilled. With each swing of their longswords, a cold light flashed, and the soldiers were no match for them. One by one, they were thrown from their horses, their weapons taken away, and they were left in a sorry state.

Shen Jueyan protected Lin Xihe, dodging both open and hidden attacks. His arms were tightly wrapped around her waist, not with much force, but protecting her completely.

Lin Xi could clearly feel his body temperature and heartbeat.

"Hold on tight." The man's breath was warm as it brushed against her ear, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

The two quickly ran out of the alley, the sounds of fighting behind them gradually fading into the distance.

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, a strong wind arose, and large raindrops began to fall without warning, instantly turning into a torrential downpour, blurring visibility.

Shen Jueyan frowned slightly, pulled Lin Xihe, and quickly ran to a corridor not far away.

The two men, panting heavily, looked outside and saw rain dripping from the eaves, forming a long curtain of water that isolated the corridor from the torrential rain outside.

Both of them were soaked through by the rain.

Shen Jueyan looked at the person beside him and saw that her dress clung tightly to her body, outlining her exquisite figure, and her skin was as white as jade, glistening with water droplets.

His face flushed, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and his heart tightened when he caught a glimpse of the bleeding wound on her arm.

He took off his outer robe and gently draped it over her body.

"Thank you, Young Master," Lin Xihe said softly, her eyes lowered.

The man's voice was deep and hoarse, "With the Minister of War's mansion fallen, what benefits can you, as the matriarch, possibly gain?"