Chapter 1195: Chapter 1195: Assassin Attack

In the darkness.

Over twenty shadows flew toward the courtyard from all directions like poisoned swords.

In the blink of an eye, the small courtyard was completely surrounded.

By the time Zhao Junyao came out to see.

The two guards he had brought along were already entangled with the assassins.

Although these two Imperial Bodyguards were top experts handpicked from thousands.

But there were more than twenty assassins; no matter how skilled they were, two hands couldn’t fend off that many.

Seeing this situation.

Zhao Junyao quickly launched several signal flares into the sky and then instructed Xia Ruqing.

"Shut the doors and windows tightly, and no matter what you hear, don’t come out!"

Then, he leaped forward, sword in hand, and joined the fight against the assassins.

Xia Ruqing was so scared she froze for a moment before she snapped back to reality.

Without hesitating, she quickly ran a lap around the house, shutting the doors and windows and extinguishing all the candles inside.

Once she was sure everything was secure.

She sought out a window and peeked outside through a crack.

The outside was pitch black, obscuring everything from view.

She could only faintly see a group of black-clad figures darting about like bats in the night.

Occasionally, she could catch a glimpse of Zhao Junyao’s sleeve.

His martial arts were exceptional, so quick and elusive that all she could see was a flutter of his garment.

Xia Ruqing turned her head and sat on the ground, dazed.

"They really are... assassins!"

"Of all times, they chose to attack on my first night out!"

"Could it be... they’re actually after me?!"

For some reason, a wave of fear washed over her.

Back then, she had so confidently vowed to come out and face this with him.

Yet now, before anything even began, she found herself terrified, feeling ashamed of herself!

The sounds of fighting outside suddenly grew louder.

Frightened even more, Xia Ruqing thought.

"My goodness, what if more people come?!"

"Could His Majesty be in danger?!"

On instinct, she grabbed a nearby chair, readying herself with a defensive stance.

She made a silent vow.

If anyone were to break in, she would fight to take one down with her, refusing to die in vain (The timid resolve to self-rescue~).

In the darkness.

With her heart pounding, she moved closer to the window to listen carefully.

Amidst the muffled sounds of combat, she caught a phrase.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, for arriving late to your rescue!"

Xia Ruqing let out a sigh of relief.

She put down the chair and massaged her legs, weak and trembling like noodles, muttering.

"Thank goodness, the reinforcements have arrived!"

"I really am such a coward!"

...

Outside, Zhao Junyao’s eyes were sharp, his lips tightly pressed, exuding an icy aura.

With his sword, he executed the most precise and ruthless maneuvers, swiftly killing with each stroke. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

All the frustration he felt from the fruitless search for Zhao Junqi over this period was unleashed upon these unfortunate assassins.

In less than half a stick of incense time, Zhao Junyao had killed half of the assassins himself.

When the Imperial Forest Army, alerted by the signal flares, hurried to kneel and apologize for their delay.

Zhao Junyao appeared to have been overtaken by a berserk state.

With a loud shout, he commanded.

"No one move, I will handle this personally!"

Having been played for so long and wasted so much time, if he didn’t properly vent, it would truly suffocate him.

An emperor is never known for having a gentle disposition.

The Imperial Forest Army knelt there, bewildered, not daring to make a move.

’What is this situation? Did the Emperor call us here just to have us watch him kill?!’

’Seems like that might indeed be the case!’

’...’

The assassins that night amounted to twenty-six in total.

Zhao Junyao had personally slain twenty, with the remaining six captured alive.

In the blink of an eye.

Commander Xu had these six assassins tied up and thrown onto the open ground before Zhao Junyao.

"Awaiting Your Majesty’s orders!"

Zhao Junyao looked down at the assassins, tied tightly, and ordered.

"Conduct a thorough interrogation!"

"Ensure we find out exactly who is behind this!"

Commander Xu bowed in compliance.

Just then.

Not far away, Imperial Censor Zhou suddenly rose, rushed in front of Zhao Junyao, and quickly twisted the jaws of the assassins.

In the blink of an eye, the jaws of several assassins were dislocated.

"Pardon my recklessness, Your Majesty!" said Imperial Censor Zhou.

Zhao Junyao looked at the assassins who were just about to bite poison to end themselves but had their jaws dislocated in time, and coldly sneered.

"With just you, thinking you can escape that way?!"

"Take them away!"

"Yes!"

Commander Xu, still fearful, quickly ordered his men to remove them.

The others followed suit and dispersed.

Zhao Junyao glanced around once more, issuing further orders to ’clean and investigate thoroughly’ as he too departed.

...

Back inside.

He found Xia Ruqing standing by the door.

Her clothing was thin, her face was pale, and though clearly still scared, she was trying hard to hold herself together, making Zhao Junyao feel heartache.

"Are you alright, did it scare you?"

Xia Ruqing shook her head.

"I was scared at first, but not anymore!"

Zhao Junyao gave a faint smile.

"So you’re braver now than before?"

Xia Ruqing forced a slight smile.

"Perhaps!"

Hearing this, Zhao Junyao said no more.

He sheathed his sword and walked inside, with Xia Ruqing silently following.

It was at this moment.

Li Shengan and Zi Su, along with a group of servants, rushed in, faces pale, collapsing to their knees before their masters.

"Forgive us, Your Majesty, forgive us, Empress!"

Zhao Junyao lifted his eyes slightly.

"Rise all of you!"

Li Shengan’s legs were too weak to rise, and he dared not, only sobbing.

"Your Majesty, I deserve death!"

"When the assassins attacked, I didn’t charge out first thing!"

Zi Su also lay prostrate, tears streaming down her face.

With the Emperor knowing martial arts, it was less of a concern if Eunuch Li went or not.

But their mistress, knowing nothing and trapped inside, must have been terrified and lonely!

Thankfully, nothing happened to her mistress.

If something had, how could she live with that?!

Zhao Junyao and Xia Ruqing exchanged glances.

Zhao Junyao spoke sharply with contempt.

"The assassins were in the rear courtyard, your quarters weren’t far, were you rushing to your death?"

In such circumstances, Li Shengan might not have even made it out the door before being killed.

"Though I dislike cowards, if you die, it’s hard to find someone else satisfactory!"

"So live for now! But let this not happen again!"

Li Shengan, drenched in cold sweat, quickly knelt.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life!"

Xia Ruqing also quickly instructed Zi Su.

"Stand up quickly, it’s not your fault!"

Survival is instinct, wasn’t she also terrified out of her mind?

She valued loyalty, sure, but didn’t want them to show loyalty by rushing to their deaths.

That’s not loyalty; that’s stupidity!

"If there’s nothing else, you may leave!" Xia Ruqing ordered.

"Yes!"

"This humble servant shall retire!" Both nodded and retreated with bowed heads.

...

By the time everything was tidied up, it was almost midnight.

Zhao Junyao and Xia Ruqing lay on the bed, but neither could sleep a wink.