Chapter 211: Chapter 211: "Quick, Save Her!

For the several Princes who were rubbing their hands in glee, ready to make a run for the throne, how was this any different from the sky falling?

Weren’t they just being toyed with?

It was almost pitiful.

Chen Minrou was starting to feel sorry for those Princes. She asked with a laugh, "The Capital City has been anything but peaceful lately. With such a grand display today, he isn’t planning something else, is he?"

"Of course not," Cui Lingyao said, shaking her head. "Today’s event was just something I came up with on the spot."

But she did agree with Chen Minrou. She’d also heard whispers of just how chaotic the Capital City had become lately.

They hated Xie Jinbai but had no way to strike at him, so all they could do was wish for her to die again. They hoped he would sink back into despair, or better yet, follow her to the grave.

Xie Jinbai had been so busy these past few days he hadn’t had a moment’s rest, all for the sake of sealing the fates of the Empress and three of the Princes.

Colluding with the enemy and committing treason. Even if it didn’t warrant a death sentence, it would mean lifetime imprisonment.

They would never be able to stir up trouble again.

Unfortunately, this time, not even the Emperor was on his side.

It was hard to say if this was the Emperor’s way of balancing power—unwilling to punish all his other sons and let Xie Jinbai become the sole power—or if a genuine rift had formed with this favored son because of the Hundred Diseases Pill.

In any case, even with conclusive evidence in hand, Xie Jinbai still faced immense resistance.

The imperial court could produce countless arguments to cast doubt on his evidence.

Even Cui Lingyao, within the confines of her residence, had heard faint rumors. They said that news had somehow leaked from the palace, revealing that Xie Jinbai was not the Empress’s biological, legitimate son.

The rumor claimed that his desire to convict his own mother, the Empress, wasn’t some righteous act for the sake of justice, but rather that he suspected foul play in his birth mother’s death and wanted revenge.

This narrative would not only clear the Empress of all charges but also completely overturn Xie Jinbai’s legitimate status.

For some reason, whatever he was plotting, Xie Jinbai had yet to make a move to stop these rumors.

But no matter how great the storm raged outside, no matter how panic and suspicion flowed through the Capital City’s dark nights, none of it could touch Cui Lingyao.

As long as she didn’t seek death herself, no one could harm her.

Her fall into the water three years ago had been the system’s doing; it wasn’t a true life-or-death crisis.

And that time in Pingzhou, she had been the one who insisted on jumping off the bridge with Shen Tingyu.

Otherwise, with Xie Jinbai’s power, he could have rescued her from Li Lu in less than a day.

She might have suffered some humiliation, but her life would have been in no danger.

Xie Jinbai never said anything, but who knew how he truly felt about the life she had needlessly thrown away.

Chen Minrou had naturally heard the rumors from the palace as well. As the conversation turned to this, she lowered her voice and asked, "Do you think Xie Jinbai can win?"

She didn’t ask whether the questions about his birth were true—only whether he could win.

Cui Lingyao didn’t even have to think about the question. "He’s not one to lose," she said instantly.

The trust in her voice was unmistakable.

Chen Minrou chuckled. "Sometimes I think you love him so much it’s almost blind devotion. Other times, I think you’re quite heartless toward him."

She was about to say a few more words of persuasion, to get her friend to abandon the foolish notion of finding her husband a concubine, when she suddenly heard the urgent thundering of hooves in the distance.

Mingled with the sound was the faint, shrill cry of a woman.

Cui Lingyao froze, thinking the voice sounded familiar.

As the hoofbeats drew nearer, a look of realization dawned, and her expression changed drastically. "That’s my sister-in-law!"

With that, she shot to her feet. A brown horse appeared on the forest path, charging straight toward them as if it had gone mad. The woman on its back was none other than Cui Mingrui’s wife, Xie Anning.

She was being jostled so violently she was completely disoriented, desperately trying to keep from being thrown off. At that speed, even if the fall didn’t kill her, she would suffer severe internal injuries.

Seeing Cui Lingyao, Xie Anning cried out in desperation, "Yaoyao! Quick, get your brother to come save me!"

The situation was urgent. By the time Cui Mingrui could get here from the training grounds, it would be far too late.

Frantic with worry, Cui Lingyao scanned her surroundings and yelled, "Is anyone there? Get out here and save her!"

As she finished speaking, several towering trees deep within the forest stirred.

Four shadows flashed into view, bolting straight for the crazed horse.

Cui Lingyao had just started to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard several whistling sounds cutting through the air.

Three hidden arrows were flying straight toward her.

The Shadow Guards instantly changed direction, intercepting the arrows.

The next moment, more than ten men in black appeared out of thin air. They were masked, brandished longswords, and advanced on them.

Without a word, they attacked.

Every move was ruthless.

They were aiming to kill Cui Lingyao.

A sense of dread and chaos instantly filled the forest clearing.

Fortunately, the four Shadow Guards Xie Jinbai had assigned were all extraordinarily skilled. Holding their own against multiple opponents was no issue for them.

However, protecting both Cui Lingyao and Chen Minrou left them somewhat overstretched.

Two engaged the attackers while the other two stayed by their side, fending off the occasional volley of hidden arrows.

Seizing a moment after forcing an enemy back, one Hidden Guard fired a signal flare from his sleeve. The sky instantly lit up with a blood-red light.

"Get out of the way!"

A piercing shriek rang out.

The crazed horse carrying Xie Anning suddenly wheeled around and charged uncontrollably toward them.

Its speed was so great it caught everyone off guard.

Cui Lingyao was in the middle of pulling Chen Minrou away from the flash of a sword when she looked up to see the mad horse bearing down on them.

The color drained from her face.

"Princess Consort, get back!"

The Hidden Guard to her right snatched a longsword from an assassin and swung it in a wide arc.

The single strike sliced clean through the mad horse’s neck, severing its head.

Warm liquid sprayed across her face.

The horse had been moving so fast that when its head was suddenly gone, the force of the abrupt stop was immense. Xie Anning, who had been clinging to the horse’s back, was forced to let go of the reins. Losing her hold, she was flung uncontrollably into the air before plummeting back down.

She was falling directly toward the stone boulder where Cui Lingyao had been sitting moments before. A fall like that meant certain death.

"Sister-in-law!"

"Save her!"

Cui Lingyao screamed, and without a second thought for anything else, she lunged toward her.

She was the only daughter in the Cui Family. When Xie Anning had married into the family, Cui Lingyao hadn’t even come of age yet. Xie Anning had doted on her and treated her with all the love of an older sister.

’Besides, Cui Mingrui loves his wife deeply. If anything happens to An Ning, my brother...’

Cui Lingyao could not just stand by and watch Xie Anning die!

Two of the Hidden Guards also rushed over to help.

In the chaos, their ironclad defensive formation was broken.

Just then, three more hidden arrows sliced through the air.

Ignoring Chen Minrou, who was left to the side, and ignoring the falling Xie Anning, they flew straight toward Cui Lingyao.

This was the scene that greeted Xie Jinbai when he arrived.

His eyes widened in fury. Letting go of his reins, he leaped from his horse, snapped a branch from a nearby tree, and hurled it through the air.

With a soft CLANG, he managed to deflect two of the arrows. The last one... was dodged by Cui Lingyao herself.

In that desperate, split-second moment, her only thought was to save her sister-in-law. She didn’t know where the burst of strength came from, but she threw herself directly onto the boulder, successfully covering its two sharpest corners with her own body.

The next instant, a heavy impact slammed into her shoulder.

Xie Anning’s body came crashing down.

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