lcionline Chapter 299 The Plan Has Changed
Chapter 299 The Plan Has Changed
Immediately, a guard stepped forward to check the person's breathing. After finding that the person was still alive, he signaled another guard to go and carry the person away for treatment.
The ministers all clearly heard the words "His Highness the King of Chu has been assassinated," and their expressions changed accordingly.
Su Mowan glanced around again and discovered that not only had the Prince of Chu and Su Huayue not returned, but even the eldest princess and Song Chuwen were nowhere to be seen. She remembered that at the beginning, the eldest princess and Song Chuwen had stayed here, showing no intention of going hunting.
Murong Jing's eyes darkened, and he said to Feng Yue, "Send the signal to send more men."
It refers to 'sending more manpower,' not 'going to rescue the King of Chu.'
Su Mowan sensed something unusual about this, and recalling what Su Mobai had once said about the King of Chu, she immediately frowned. Could this be related to the King of Chu?
Although she had her suspicions, she wouldn't ask Murong Jing in front of so many people, so she simply said, "Wasn't the eldest princess and Song Chuwen staying here before? Where did they go?"
Murong Jing, unaware of the situation, turned to the head of the guards and asked in a cold voice, "Where have the eldest princess and Minister Song gone?"
The head guard said, "The eldest princess is not feeling well, so Vice Minister Song sent her back to the palace."
Su Mowan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. She noticed that Su Mobai hadn't returned, and knowing that the eldest princess was Su Mobai's person, she was afraid that the eldest princess had gotten involved in today's events.
Just then, Consort Shen, who was sitting a little further away, called out loudly, "Has His Highness Prince Qin seen Mu Yue?"
Upon hearing this, Su Mowan was stunned for a moment, and when she looked over, she realized that Shen Muyue was not there either!
Are they all just there to join in the fun?
Su Mowan immediately said to Consort Shen, "Wasn't Consort Shen waiting here the whole time? How did we end up seeing her?"
Upon hearing this, Consort Shen stood up, her face filled with panic. She took a few steps closer and said, "A little over an hour ago, she said she was going to find His Highness Prince Qin, and she rode off on horseback with a few people!"
This time it was Murong Jing who spoke up. He coldly stared at Consort Shen and said, "How could Consort Shen allow her to come to me alone? Doesn't Consort Shen know that the hunting grounds are fraught with danger?"
Consort Shen took a half step back under Murong Jing's gaze, her panic and worry genuine. "I thought with so many people following us, nothing would go wrong..."
Su Mowan immediately replied, "Consort Shen, don't worry. Just because someone hasn't returned doesn't mean something has happened. After all, the hunting grounds are so big, it's possible they got lost. Your Highness, please send a few people to look for them."
The last sentence was addressed to Murong Jing, who remained indifferent and said to the head of the guards, "Send someone to search."
The head of the guards, having received orders, had no choice but to send out twenty men on horseback into the woods.
Consort Shen breathed a slight sigh of relief, thanked Murong Jing, and then turned back to her chair, though she was still restless.
Su Mowan rubbed her hands together, signaling Feng Yue to push the person aside, and then asked Yinshuang to find firewood to start a fire.
The guards tied up their prey and loaded it onto the horses. Feng Yue also helped Yinshuang gather firewood, and soon a fire was lit. The Seventh Princess had someone bring her a cushion and sat down by the fire.
Murong Jing glanced at her and frowned, saying, "Don't get too close."
The Seventh Princess pouted upon hearing this. Others might have assumed her Third Brother was worried about her getting burned by the flames, but only she knew that her Third Brother was actually concerned about the fox fur coat she was wearing!
So the Seventh Princess took off her fox fur coat and handed it to Su Mowan, saying, "Alright, now that there's fire, it's not cold anymore. Here you go!"
Su Mowan felt that with a fire, she shouldn't be cold anymore, so she reached out and took the fire. Then she took off her crane cloak and handed it to Murong Jing, saying, "Put this on."
At this moment, Feng Yue had disappeared, and only Yin Shuang was by his side. Su Mowan thought for a moment, then helped Murong Jing put it on and tied it herself.
The Seventh Princess held the little rabbit in her arms, but her eyes were fixed on Su Mowan's movements. Then she saw the tenderness in Murong Jing's eyes and suddenly felt that she should also find someone to make some lovey-dovey moments.
After Su Mowan tied the rope, she pushed him a little closer to the fire. With her eyes lowered slightly, she saw Murong Jing's profile, which was so captivating in the flickering firelight that it was hard to look away.
Just as he was using great force to look away, Murong Jing turned his head slightly and looked over.
Caught peeping, Su Mowan's face flushed. She coughed and waved her hand at Murong Jing's head. "You have some dry grass on your head. I was just wondering whether to remove it or not. Since you've caught me, I've decided to remove it."
As he spoke, he waved his hand behind Murong Jing's back, indicating that he had thrown away the withered grass.
Then, for the first time, Su Mowan saw a genuine smile in Murong Jing's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curved into a beautiful arc.
Su Mowan stared blankly for a moment, then her hand was grabbed, followed by Murong Jing's deep voice: "Why hide it? I didn't say you couldn't see it."
"..."
screw you!
When Su Mowan noticed that people were glancing at her from time to time, she pulled her hand away and whispered in Murong Jing's ear, "I'm serious, are the Emperor and the others really alright?"
This includes Su Mobai, Tang Minzhi, Su Ruofeng, and many others—people she cares about.
Murong Jing naturally understood the meaning behind her words. The smile disappeared from his eyes, and his voice carried a hint of arrogance, "You don't believe me?"
Su Mowan quickly explained, "It's not a matter of whether you believe it or not, but after all, it's dark, and there are places you might not be able to see clearly."
By this time, dusk had fallen and the sky was completely dark. The sounds of insects chirping in the mountains and fields filled the air, and a cold wind blew by from time to time. The conversations grew fainter and fainter as they waited, eventually turning into whispers.
Su Mowan glanced at Consort Xiao discreetly. Although the Prince of Chu had been assassinated, Consort Xiao did not seem overly worried. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were lowered, as if she was thinking about something.
If it were as she suspected, then Consort Xiao should be feeling nervous right now, but Su Mowan stared at her for a while and couldn't see anything amiss.
Seeing her frowning and focused, Murong Jing took her hand in his and said in a low voice, "You don't need to think so much. I'll take care of everything."
Su Mowan felt a warmth in her hands and her heart followed suit. She turned to look at Murong Jing and said, "Well, I was just bored and wanted to come and have some fun."
Murong Jing suddenly raised his hand and brushed the stray hairs that had been falling around her ear behind her ear. Su Mowan felt that her face was burning hot, probably because she was too close to the fire!
She didn't look into Murong Jing's eyes; she was lowering her gaze when she heard Murong Jing say in a low voice, "If there are assassins later, you don't need to take action. Just find an opportunity to pretend to fall."
Su Mowan blinked, and then it was over?
Didn't we say before that this plan could only be implemented if Shen Muyue was present?
Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Murong Jing said, "The plan has changed."
Su Mowan nodded. In Murong Jing's plan, Shen Muyue should have been present at this time. Now that Shen Muyue was not there, the plan had to be changed.
Moreover, judging from Murong Jing's words, assassins will be coming here soon.
Thinking of this, Su Mowan glanced at everyone in the room. They were all civil officials who did not know martial arts. There were only seventy or eighty guards left. There were also Consort Shen and Consort Xiao who needed special protection. Could she handle it?
Just as Su Mowan was thinking this, she saw a cluster of fireworks light up the night sky in the distance, disappearing in an instant.
Then Feng Yue, who had been missing, returned and stood beside Murong Jing, whispering, "Master, it's over there."
Murong Jing looked in the direction where the fireworks had faded, gave a faint "hmm," and then asked, "How's it going in Chaoyang?"
"Everything is ready, I'll be there soon."
Upon hearing this, Su Mowan knew that Murong Jing had a backup plan, so she stopped worrying. Knowing that Chaoyang would be arriving soon, she deliberately glanced at Yinshuang.
Clearly, Yinshuang had known that Chaoyang would arrive soon. When she looked over, Yinshuang was also looking at her, a hint of shyness flashing across her face, and she immediately lowered her head.
A gust of wind blew by, and the fire crackled softly.
Feeling a bit cold, Su Mowan put on her fox fur coat. As she was tying the belt, she heard a soft rustling sound coming from the surrounding woods. After quickly finishing tying it, she took Murong Jing's hand in hers.
She was about to whisper to Murong Jing that someone was there when she turned around and realized that Murong Jing had already noticed. Murong Jing looked into her eyes and said, "Remember to pretend to fall, but don't hurt yourself."
"Ok, I know."
Su Mowan held Murong Jing's hand tightly. Although she knew no one could get close to Murong Jing, she couldn't help but say, "You too, don't get hurt."
Murong Jing looked at her and gave a faint "hmm." Su Mowan glanced at him again, then let go of his hand and went to the Seventh Princess's side.
The Seventh Princess is such a worry; she'd better keep a close eye on Murong Jing.
Almost as soon as she reached the Seventh Princess's side, a dense swarm of masked men in black, each carrying a knife, suddenly appeared from all sides.
The blade gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the moonlight.
The guards surrounding the area reacted immediately.
"There is an assassin—"
"Everyone, be careful!"
"Protect His Highness the Prince of Qin!"
When the civil officials saw so many assassins, the timid ones were so frightened that their legs went weak and they were paralyzed on the spot, unable to move.
Fortunately, some brave men helped to pull them up, and dozens of ministers huddled together in the middle.
Consort Shen had seen quite a bit of the world, and although she was quite frightened, her legs didn't give way. She ran quickly, leaving the serving maids far behind.
The scene became somewhat chaotic for a moment.
The Seventh Princess was also stunned by the scene. She hugged the little rabbit in her hand tightly with one hand and pulled on Su Mowan's arm with the other, her voice tinged with fear.
"An assassin again?!"
Su Mowan knew that the previous assassination attempt had left a deep scar on the Seventh Princess, so she patted the Seventh Princess's hand and said, "It's alright, your Third Brother will have a way."
After saying this, Su Mowan turned to Yinshuang behind her and instructed her, "You are responsible for protecting the Seventh Princess in a while."
"Yes," Yinshuang said calmly.
Su Mowan glanced at them briefly; there weren't too many assassins, probably around three to five hundred.
However, half of the guards had to stay behind to protect the ministers, so they were not able to keep an eye on everything.
Turning his head, he saw that the seven or eight guards who had been following behind carrying the prey had also joined the battle, leaving only Feng Yue by Murong Jing's side.