Chapter 18: As Expected

A cold glint flashed in the dark eyes of Xiao Che.

His expression remained indifferent. Leaping into the air, he seemed to have perfectly calculated the trajectory of the flying darts, skillfully dodging every single one of them.

Perhaps it was because none of the darts hit him that, just then, dozens of men in black suddenly sprang out from the grass.

Each wielded a longsword, and though their fighting styles varied, all of them rushed straight toward Xiao Che.

Naturally, Xiao Che alone could not match the strength of dozens.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance. He had ordered Zhong Zihan to lie in ambush nearby with a team of shadow guards.

At the sound of combat, Zhong Zihan immediately led the shadow guards to emerge and engaged the black-clad men in battle.

As they fought, both Xiao Che and Zhong Zihan quickly realized that the disorganized techniques of these black-clad men were identical to the ones used during the previous attack at Lengfeng Pavilion.

The two exchanged glances, deciding not to drag the fight out and instead unleash their full strength.

Had the black-clad men been facing Xiao Che alone, they might have stood a chance. But with Zhong Zihan and the shadow guards now involved, they were clearly outmatched.

In just a few moves, they were either injured or dead—almost all of them were quickly taken down.

But just then, a chaotic rustling suddenly erupted from the thickets behind them.

Xiao Che and Zhong Zihan instinctively looked back, but saw nothing.

Yet when they turned back around, a thick cloud of smoke suddenly burst out before them.

The smoke was dense. They immediately covered their noses and mouths. When it finally cleared, the black-clad men who had fallen to the ground had vanished without a trace.

Zhong Zihan wanted to give chase, but Xiao Che abruptly stopped him. “No need.”

These assassins had clearly planned their escape beforehand. It would be impossible to catch them now.

Zhong Zihan stopped in his tracks.

Then, as if recalling something, he turned to Xiao Che and bowed respectfully. “Your Highness, during the battle just now, I noticed a willow leaf-shaped tattoo on their wrists.”

Xiao Che was silent for a moment.

He told Zhong Zihan that he too had seen the tattoo marks on the black-clad men.

He also instructed him not to speak of what happened today at the hunting grounds to anyone.

Though Zhong Zihan didn’t understand why, he didn’t question further.

The shadow guards were soon dismissed.

Just as Xiao Che was about to leave, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his foot.

Looking down, he realized his shoe had been cut at some point during the fight.

A deep gash had opened up on his foot.

“Your Highness!” Zhong Zihan exclaimed with concern.

Xiao Che replied calmly, “It’s nothing.”

…

The hunt soon came to an end.

Today, the Second Prince had caught the most game, earning him high praise from the Emperor.

That evening, a banquet was held outside the hunting grounds. Xiao Che was seated with Consort Jing.

After a round of flattery from the princes and ministers toward the Emperor and Empress, the feast officially began.

Consort Jing eagerly kept placing dishes on the Crown Prince’s plate.

Although he didn’t really want to eat, when he looked across the table and saw her father—Jing Boyang, the Minister of Revenue—smiling at him, he reluctantly accepted a few bites.

Jing Boyang was a seasoned official, an old fox in the court.

When Xiao Che was newly made Crown Prince, Jing Boyang had offered his daughter in marriage in order to secure the Jing family’s power and glory.

Xiao Che was well aware of all this.

Still, he needed the support of the Ministry of Revenue, so it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

After the banquet, the Emperor said a few words before preparing to leave.

All the princes and officials rose in unison to respectfully see him off.

Just as they were bowing, a long arrow silently shot toward Xiao Che’s back.

Xiao Che immediately sensed the cold wind stirred by the arrow behind him. Reacting instinctively, he turned just as the arrow was about to hit Consort Jing.

He pulled her to the side.

At the same time, he tilted his body slightly and leapt up, his movements graceful and steady, landing with the arrow pinned beneath his foot.

But the impact tore open the wound on his foot again, sending a wave of searing pain through him.

He forced himself to remain standing, but cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Eventually, he could no longer bear it and collapsed to the ground.

Consort Jing, who had yet to calm down from the earlier scare, turned pale upon seeing him fall.

She immediately rushed forward to help him up.

The Emperor and the officials were all shocked.

The imperial physician hurried over to treat Xiao Che.

The Emperor, furious that someone had dared to attempt an assassination under his very nose, ordered the guards to immediately capture the assassin and instructed the Ministry of Justice to launch a full investigation.

And so the banquet ended in chaos.

On the way back—

Consort Jing tried to share a horse carriage with the Crown Prince, saying she wanted to look after him, but he firmly refused.

Thus, by the time they returned to the Eastern Palace, she hadn’t seen him again.

She wanted to go to the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, but was stopped by Eunuch Lin.

In the end, she had no choice but to return to Liuli Hall.

Lying on her side on the soft couch, her mind was filled with the image of the Crown Prince pulling her aside and saving her at the end of the banquet.

She lightly pressed her lips together.

The Crown Prince must like her.

Otherwise, why would he have brought her to the hunt, and risked his life to save her?

She called in Qiu Yue and instructed her to spread the story of how the Crown Prince had saved her tonight.

She wanted all the consorts in the palace to know that she was the one the Crown Prince cherished most.

…

(End of Chapter)