The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 147

Chapter 147: Taken Home by the Princess Part 35

Prince Yong’s rebellion was a serious matter. As a member of the imperial family, he couldn’t be casually punished and had to be escorted back to the capital to await the emperor’s judgment.

A few days later, they prepared to depart. Qin Yang had arrived with a small entourage, but her return journey was accompanied by many more people.

Prince Yong’s residence had numerous wives, concubines, and children, as well as many advisors involved in the rebellion, all requiring escort.

The responsibility of escorting the rebels and the Princess Regent fell upon General Qi.

Having been stationed at the border for years, he finally had a chance to return to the capital, and with the possibility of a promotion, he was overjoyed.

However, what arrived faster than the emperor’s edict was a group of assassins.

Qin Yang, to secretly meet with General Qi and discuss Prince Yong’s rebellion, had inadvertently revealed the existence of the Wu Residence.

On the eve of their departure, the residence was attacked.

It was still daylight when the assassins struck.

They had chosen their timing carefully, assuming Li Ji and her subordinates were away, leaving only the princess and a few old servants, an easy target.

At most, the Junior Minister, skilled in martial arts, would be a slight obstacle, easily dealt with by their combined forces.

However, the assassins hadn’t anticipated that even outnumbered, Tao Ning was a formidable opponent, their attacks barely scratching her, and they found themselves trapped, unable to escape.

The sounds of fighting alerted Qi Jing in the other courtyard, and she immediately sent a message to Li Ji using a wooden messenger bird.

By the time Li Ji and her men arrived, they only found corpses, some having committed suicide by poison.

Tao Ning sat to the side, her sleeve rolled up, revealing a sword wound on her arm, which Qin Yang was carefully tending to.

Qi Jing and the old servants stood in the courtyard, their faces pale with fright.

Li Ji, also shaken, knelt down and apologized: “I failed to protect you, Your Highness, please punish me!”

“Look at these people,” Qin Yang said, her eyes fixed on the wound, as if trying to see through it. She asked, “Does it hurt?”

Tao Ning wasn’t in much pain. Normally, she would exaggerate, asking Qin Yang to blow on it, kiss it, not letting her go until she was thoroughly pampered.

But now, she simply said softly, “It doesn’t hurt, just a small wound, it’ll heal in a few days.”

Qin Yang silently tied the bandage, her movements not as skilled as a physician’s, but steady and careful.

“Yes!” Li Ji replied, and together with her subordinates, she began examining the bodies, her frown deepening with each one.

Tao Ning knew there wouldn’t be any useful information, having said earlier, “All unfamiliar faces, no markings, their techniques a mix of various schools, difficult to identify their origin.”

Qin Yang simply said, “Is that so?”

Soon, Li Ji stood up, confirming Tao Ning’s assessment, even she couldn’t identify their origins.

Qin Yang asked, “You can’t tell which school they belong to?”

Li Ji thought for a moment, then shook her head: “I’ve defeated countless opponents from various sects in the Jianghu, there’s no sect that teaches such a diverse range of techniques.”

Qin Yang suddenly pointed: “Turn his face over, let me see.”

Tao Ning, sensing something amiss, stood up and walked over, looking at the corpse with Qin Yang.

The man’s appearance was ordinary, his features plain, easily lost in a crowd, nothing remarkable.

She turned to Qin Yang.

Qin Yang closed her eyes, then opened them, her voice cold: “I was right, they’re assassins from His Majesty’s personal guard.”

“What?” Li Ji was shocked, looking at the corpses again.

The imperial assassins rarely appeared in public, and in her years serving the princess, she had never encountered them, so it was normal for her not to recognize their techniques.

Qin Yang looked at the bodies, her expression grim: “Such extravagance, they really don’t want me to return to the capital.”

“Your Highness! Princess Regent! It’s bad!”

Just then, an old servant rushed in, his voice panicked: “Your Highness, Gatekeeper Zhang said there are many people approaching the Wu Residence, on horseback, seemingly General Qi’s men, but they don’t look like they’re here to pay their respects.”

Qin Yang finally understood, they weren’t here to pay their respects, but to arrest her.

When the sound of hooves reached the Wu Residence, they found it empty, its occupants long gone.

The commoners on the street watched in confusion as the soldiers searched everywhere. Prince Yong’s rebellion had just been exposed a few days ago, what was happening now?

“Reporting, General, nothing here!”

“Reporting—we’ve searched the East Market, nothing!”

“General, nothing in the West Market either!”

“General! The lieutenant reports that there are no secret tunnels in the Wu Residence!”

General Qi, usually jovial, now had a stern expression: “Nothing here, nothing there, nowhere to be found, where could they be hiding?”

His lieutenant looked at him anxiously, and General Qi said, “Seal off the city gates.”

The lieutenant mounted his horse, flicked his whip, and shouted, “Seal the city gates!”

“Princess Regent Qin Yang has colluded with Prince Yong and plotted a rebellion! Seal the gates, don’t let the traitors escape!”

Someone shouted, “A handsome reward for anyone who provides information about the princess’s whereabouts!”

The call was echoed by others, the message spreading throughout the city.

“A handsome reward for anyone who provides information about the princess’s whereabouts!!”

Not everyone in Yongzhou lived within the city walls, and many vendors and those living nearby rushed towards the gates.

Unaware of what was happening, and afraid of what might happen next, they chose to flee.

The guards at the gates couldn’t contain the crowd. The general had ordered the gates sealed, but for every person they pushed back, ten more squeezed through the gaps, the scene chaotic.

Cries of pain from those injured in the crush, children’s frightened wails, curses from those whose goods were damaged, all kinds of sounds mingled together.

But the loudest was this: “Ten taels of silver for anyone who provides information about a person with a red mole between their eyebrows!”

Ten taels of silver wasn’t a small sum for commoners, and everyone looked around, checking for red moles.

Some even pulled off women’s veils, looking for the mark, and the chaos intensified as more and more people imitated them.

Finally, the chaos subsided slightly, and everyone leaving the city, regardless of age or gender, had their foreheads checked for the red mole.

In a nearby alley, a few figures observed the scene.

Qin Yang had changed into simple clothes, her hair loosened, the red mole between her eyebrows concealed, but this hasty disguise wouldn’t withstand close scrutiny.

The situation had changed abruptly, the old servants dismissed, and as they rushed towards the city gates, they found them sealed, it was too late.

Li Ji, landing from a rooftop, her face grim, said, “They’re everywhere, searching for us, what do we do?”

Qin Yang: “We can’t travel together, it would attract too much attention, we have to separate.”

There was no other choice now.

Li Ji nodded: “Then we’ll stay behind, Your Highness and Junior Minister can go first, don’t worry, we’ll find a way to meet up later.”

But there was still one question. Li Ji asked, “We can create a diversion, but how do you plan to escape?”

Tao Ning pointed at the moat, a white ribbon winding through the city, leading to the outside: “Since the land route is blocked, we’ll take the water route. Can you swim, Changyi?”

Qin Yang: “A little.”

Tao Ning: “Then you’ll have to learn.”

With a splash, someone shouted, “Stop pushing! Someone fell into the water!” But Qin Yang and Tao Ning were already swimming away.

Li Ji turned to Qi Jing: “Let’s go, Miss Qi, I’ll protect you.”

As decisive as ever, without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Qi Jing and ran.

Qi Jing, like a white cat dangling from Li Ji’s arm, was resigned.

Wherever, whatever, as long as I’m alive.

The autumn water was cold, and Qin Yang shivered as she entered.

Swimming was indeed a challenge for her. Her dive was clumsy, and she swallowed a mouthful of water.

She felt herself sinking, a hand reaching out to pull her up.

Tao Ning’s arm wrapped around Qin Yang’s waist, her lips pressing against hers, sharing a breath, small bubbles rising from between their lips, floating around them.

She was pulled further away, vaguely hearing shouts of “someone fell into the water!”

Then she couldn’t hear anything else, only the sound of their own movements as they swam towards an unknown destination.

After swimming for an unknown amount of time, Qin Yang’s limbs felt numb, her hand instinctively loosening its grip on Tao Ning’s, but it was quickly caught and pulled back.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, they finally surfaced, it was dusk.

The setting sun hung low in the sky, the fiery red sunset reflected on the water’s surface, a dazzling, blood-red river.

Tao Ning spotted a dilapidated building in the distance, her own strength also waning, unable to see clearly what it was.

There was no time to waste, and she pulled Qin Yang towards it, both shivering from the cold, their lips pale.

Qin Yang’s teeth chattered: “Where… where are we?”

Tao Ning: “I don’t know, we’ll have to stay here tonight.”

As they approached, the last rays of sunlight faded, just enough light for them to see the inscription on the dilapidated plaque.

Four characters: Li County Mortuary.

The mortuary, long abandoned, was covered in dust, weeds growing between the cracks of the stone-paved courtyard, already turning yellow from the approaching winter.

It wasn’t large, a main hall for storing corpses, with a few coffins and stools for placing them on, a kitchen on the left, a room for the caretaker on the right, and a well in the courtyard.

It was already dark, but it was shelter, and they cleaned a spot to rest.

Tao Ning dragged over a broken stool, easily dismantling it into planks with a few kicks and pulls, then crouched down, pulling out a fire starter from a hidden pocket and lighting it.

The flickering flame illuminated Qin Yang’s face, bringing a bit of warmth to the night as they removed their wet clothes to dry them by the fire.

They would be staying here tonight, and perhaps for the next few days.