Li Fengqi and Ye Yunting had to go to the city to welcome the elder Wangfei in person upon her return to the capital
Ji Lian brought in the wheelchair that had been prepared long ago for Li Fengqi. This time, Li Fengqi moved to the wheelchair by himself without any outside assistance. After he sat down, Ye Yunting pushed him out of the main room.
This would be the first time Li Fengqi stepped out of the main room since he ‘d been poisoned and bedridden.
It was a sunny day, and the too-bright sunlight made him squint. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His expression gradually calmed down, and he slowly turned the wheelchair and said, “Let’s go.”
The three of them walked out together.
The guards hidden in the courtyard froze when they saw them coming out. When they saw Li Fengqi’s hands slowly turning the wheelchair’s wheels, their expressions were as if they had seen a ghost. They looked at each other for a long time, realized that something was wrong, and one of them quickly left the palace to report the news.
The rest of them appeared and stood in front of the three of them. “Wangye and Wangfei should stay here.”
“You want to stop me?” Li Fengqi abruptly raised his eyes and stared at them expressionlessly. His superior aura stopped the guards from even daring to raise their heads.
These guards had all been transferred from the Shence Army, which was originally composed of elite soldiers from the border guards. All soldiers always had some respect for Prince Yong’an.
In the past, Prince Yong’an was just a bedridden invalid, and there wasn't anyone around, so it didn’t matter if they were afraid or not.
But at this moment, Li Fengqi looked straight at these people. Even though he currently could only sit in a wheelchair and look up at them, his cold gaze slowly swept over them with indescribable pressure.
The guard’s backs unknowingly bowed a little more. They exchanged glances. One of the most senior guards stepped out stiffly and said, “Wangye, please forgive me. His Majesty said that your body has not yet healed, so please remain in the mansion and recuperate. It would not be inappropriate to …… go out.”
“Heh.” Li Fengqi sneered. He suddenly took out a long red whip from his sleeve and whipped the guard mercilessly. “Not even Li Zong dares to interfere if this Prince stays or goes, let alone you.”
The force of his whip was so great and the guard was unprepared. He staggered and fell to the ground in distress. When he raised his head, he saw a bloody gash from the right side of his face to his neck, which quickly became engorged and swollen, looking very alarming.
The other guards were startled, subconsciously stepped back and drew their swords, looking at the three of them warily.
Li Fengqi nonchantly stroked the whip on his hand and looked sideways at Ji Lian. “Can you handle it?”
Ji Lian nodded, his fists pumping as he jumped into action.
They had discussed it before they left: Ye Yunting and Li Fengqi would go out first, and Ji Lian would hold off the guards afterwards. Wu Geng and others had already been at the side door to receive them. As long as they got to to the side door, they would be able to get away smoothly.
As for what happened after they got away, it would be out of Li Zong’s control.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.” Li Fengqi said.
Hearing this, Ye Yunting pushed the wheelchair forward, looking unafraid. He only only gave Ji Lian a sideways glance that said uneasily: “Be careful.”
Ji Lian responded loudly, picked up the stone bench in the courtyard and threw it at the guards who had not yet recovered. He unleashed his frustrations as he said, “I haven't liked you for a long tine!”
They had bullied his young master. In the past, when he was living in the Duke’s Mansion, he just didn’t stand up for his young master in order to avoid causing trouble for him.
Now that he had the Prince’s banking, it was a great opportunity for him to avenge himself. Naturally, he wanted to make up for the grievances he suffered during this period.
He shouted loudly, lifted a stone bench with each hand, and like a turning wheel, he rushed towards the guards who were trying to stop him with their swords drawn. The guards didn’t expect that he was so strong when he looked so harmless. The stone benches placed in the yard were solid and difficult to lift with one hand. They didn’t expect him to carry one in each hand and attack them with such ease.
The two heavy stone benches were like two stone hammers in his hands. The guards did not dare to meet them head-on and made way while dodging.
Ye Yunting took the opportunity to push Li Fengqi out of the courtyard.
The two maids who arrived when they heard the noise stopped upon seeing this scene, and when they saw the red-colored whip in Li Fengqi’s hand, their faces became alarmed. They hesitated for a moment, lifted the hems of their skirts, turned around, and ran towards the imperial palace, looking like they were going to deliver a message.
Li Fengqi snorted and leisurely coiled the long red whip around his arm, covering it with a wide sleeves.
His legs may have wasted away, he might nit be able to draw his sword.
But Prince Yongan’s skills lay in more than just swords.
There were quite a few guards in the darkness of the palace, and in the short distance from the main courtyard to the side door, they encountered three sets of people. Ji Lian held off most of them one against ten, and the remaining fish that slipped through the net were whipped to the ground by Li Fengqi’s long whip.
And Ye Yunting stood behind Li Fengqi without the slightest wavering from beginning to end, pushing him forward with firm footsteps.
In just half a the time to drink a cup of tea, the three of them had already approached the side door.
Most of the palace guards had fallen. There were still a few remnants of the army left, holding their swords, surrounding them from a short distance. There was hidden fear in their eyes, and they dared not move forward.
When Li Fengqi saw their defeated appearance, he coldly opened his lips. “A bunch of trash. Is this what’s left of the elite border guards?”
The guards listened with somewhat ashamed expressions on their faces.
Li Fengqi looked at them emotionlessly. “Get out of the way. This Prince will spare your lives.”
Several guards looked at each other, but no one dared to give way. Although they didn’t know much about the fight between their superiors, they also knew that if they allowed Prince Yong’an to leave today, they might lose their heads.
No one wanted to die. They suppressed the fear in their bones and raised their swords to surround them.
“Don’t overestimate your own capabilities.” Li Fengqi smiled suddenly, and a cold light shot out from his fingertips, hitting the throat of the person in front of him.
His movements were so fast that when the guard fell, he still held the sword in both hands with his eyes wide open.
Blood gushed out from his throat and gradually stained the light gray floor tiles with red.
Dark red blood, silver flying blades: the contrast of cold blades with the hot blood was particularly striking.
It shocked everyone present for a moment.
Li Fengqi twirled a thin flying knife on his fingertips and looked at them with a smile, as if making small talk. “Who else wants to try this Prince’s flying knife?”
The remaining guards looked frightened. Although their hands were still holding their swords, their legs were trembling as they stepped back.
Li Fengqi nodded with satisfaction. “Let’s go. Wu Geng should’ve taken care of the people outside.”
Ye Yunting glanced at the fresh corpse, suppressed his heart palpitations, and walked out steadily.
The three of them had just reached the side door when it opened wide.
Wu Geng led two men to kneel on both sides, his right hand clenched against his left chest. “This subordinate is late. Apologies to Wangye.”
“Is everything settled?” Li Fengqi asked.
“Yes, a total of eight people, all have been dealt with.” Wu Geng said.
While they were talking, Ye Yunting swept his gaze across the deep alleys of the side gate and saw the two beggars he had seen once before–or rather, the Shence army members disguised as beggars. Their limbs were twisted and collapsed on each other in the corner of the alley, obviously lifeless.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Li Fengqi, recalling the ruthless and decisive action he had just taken. The profile of Prince Yong’an became clearer in his mind.
When they first met, Prince Yong’an had been weak and hostile. After getting along with him for a few days, Ye Yunting found that he was actually not bad-tempered and easy to get along with. Today, he felt that the rumors were actually true: A single look from Beizhao War God was enough to strike fear into the hearts of people.
However, at this time, this ruthless and decisive person was his ally.
Ye Yunting pursed his lips, full of confidence in this sure-fire deal between him and Prince Yong'an.
On the contrary, Ji Lian, who had a good fight earlier, saw the bodies outside and quietly leaned towards Ye Yunting’s side.
“Li Zong’s people should almost be here.” Li Fengqi pondered for a moment, then said, “Yunting and I will go out of the city to greet mother, and send Li Zong a big gift on the way.”
Wu Geng said, “It is inconvenient for Wangye to travel. My subordinates have prepared a carriage…”
“No need.” Li Fengqi curled his lips and said, “The Young Master will push me towards Zhaohe Main Street.”
Surprise flashed in Ye Yunting’s eyes. After thinking for a moment, he vaguely understood his intention: “Wangye wants to let the people in the city know… This way, everyone will know that Prince Yong’an’s life isn't in danger. The Emperor’s men wouldn’t dare to do anything once they arrive.”
After all, everyone in the capital knew that the emperor was so worried about Prince Yong’an’s condition to the point of losing sleep. Naturally, now that Prince Yong’an had recovered, the emperor would be happy.
Even if he was not happy, he’d have to put up with it and pretend to be happy.
“The Young Master is indeed smart.” Li Fengqi nodded, glanced at Wu Geng again, and said coldly: “You still need to learn more.”
Saying this, he patted the armrest, and Ye Yunting pushed him towards Zhaohe Main Street.
Wu Geng, left behind: “???”
He scratched his head and looked at Ji Lian in confusion. “What does that mean?”
Ji Lian stared wide-eyed at him. “How would I know?” After saying this, he quickly caught up with Ye Yunting and followed in the same footsteps.
The alley was deep and long, and there were several dead people piled up. It was gloomy and scary.
At this time, Cui Xi was leading people to Prince Yong’an’s palace.
Selected palace maids and chamberlains followed behind the carriage like quails, and behind them were the rewards given by the emperor as a sign of honor.
Since we were going to do put on a show, they naturally had to go all the way.
Cui Xi’s carriage drove slowly towards the palace. When they were halfway, however, the driver stopped and reported back: “There are too many people in front of us blocking the road.”
“Just send someone to drive them away.” Cui Xi was lying in the car, playing with a jade scepter1 in his hand.
The coachman went down to drive away the people blocking the street as instructed, and amidst the noises, Cui Xi vaguely heard words such as “Prince Yong’an”, “Wangfei”, and “well”.
With a frown, he sat up, and was about to lift the curtain to see what was going on outside, when he heard an urgent horse whinny stopping by the carriage, and an urgent voice said, “Cui-Changshi, my subordinates have something urgent to report.”
Cui Xi had no choice but to give up exploring the situation outside. “What is it?”
The person hurriedly dismounted his horse. He was originally headed to the palace, but he suddenly saw Cui Xi’s carriage from a distance on the way and hurriedly turned to it instead. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, got into the carriage, and with a pale face, reported back truthfully what had just happened.
“What did you say?! Prince Yong’an recovered from his illness? And he and Wangfei fought their way out of the palace?!”
Cui Xi was startled, and the jade scepter in his hand hit the hard yellow pear coffee table with a loud thud, resembling a hypnotic drumbeat that smashed on the guard’s heart.
The guard’ limbs trembled and cold sweat fell from his forehead. He barely suppressed the panic in his voice and said, “Yes. My subordinates tried their best, but they didn’t stop–”
Before he finished speaking, the jade scepter slammed into him head-on, hitting him squarely in the mouth and nose.
The guard covered his mouth in pain and spat out a few broken teeth, but he did not dare to cry out in pain or beg for mercy. He could only tremble and kneel where he was.
Cui Xi glanced at him grimly, kicked him away, and bent down to get out of the carriage.
He remembered the words he overheard just now, and after leaving the carriage, he looked towards the center of the crowd, where he saw the backs of two young men.
One was tall and elegant, with a gentle bearing; the other was sitting in a wheelchair, but this did not hide the coldness of his aura.
They were clearly Ye Yunting and Li Fengqi, who should be in the palace!
===Author’s Notes===
Wu Geng:? Why did you cue me suddenly? ? ?
===Translator’s Notes===
- Ruyi (如意) – according to here, a Chinese curved decorative object that serves as either a ceremonial scepter in Chinese Buddhism or a talisman symbolizing power and good fortune in Chinese folklore. ↩︎
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