“Miss, are you alright?” The young eunuch saw Rong Rong swaying and quickly reached out to support her.

Rong Rong steadied herself with his help, cleared her mind a bit, and immediately started asking questions in a rush: “Injured? Who is injured? Is it Yuan Bao? How serious is the injury?”

“Miss, I’m not sure. I asked that person for a long time but couldn’t get any clear information. He probably just saw the commotion from a distance and doesn’t know the real situation. Should we go back to the Eastern Palace first?”

The Crown Prince and Yuan Bao usually traveled with minimal attendants.

If there was an assassination attempt…

The Crown Prince is highly skilled and practices hard martial arts, so who could hurt him?

Only Yuan Bao…

The Crown Prince’s only non-martial arts person is him.

Please, let it not be him!

Rong Rong’s heart was racing, and she gripped the young eunuch’s hand desperately: “Let’s go back to the Eastern Palace immediately.”

The young eunuch nodded quickly, helped Rong Rong into the carriage, and they rushed towards the Eastern Palace.

However, when they reached Front Street, the road was completely blocked by the crowd, and the carriage couldn’t pass through.

“Miss, I’ll take a detour through the alleys, but it will take a bit longer.”

Rong Rong was about to agree when she suddenly had an idea. “Wait.”

The young eunuch was startled and turned around just in time to see Rong Rong getting out of the carriage.

“Turn the carriage around and wait for me at the alley behind. I’ll go check the situation up front.” Rong Rong jumped out of the carriage and struggled through the crowd.

An event like an assassination attempt on the Crown Prince was rare even in the capital, and the city’s residents, despite their experience, found it unusual.

People who were drinking tea, walking their birds, shopping, or watching plays all gathered, making the street impassable.

Rong Rong struggled to advance a little through the crowd.

When she considered turning back to find the carriage, she found that more people had crowded in behind her, blocking her way out.

The noise and chatter of the crowd filled her ears.

“I heard there was only one assassin. He must be very brave to attempt such a thing!”

“Daring to assassinate the Crown Prince alone, he’s as legendary as Jing Ke from ancient times.”

“Tsk tsk, we’re witnessing history.”

Rong Rong, hearing the crowd praise the assassin, felt frustrated and shouted, “Look at you all praising him. This person is clearly a traitor trying to cause chaos, yet you talk about him like he’s a hero saving the people.”

A person nearby retorted, “How do you know he’s not a hero?”

“A hero? This assassin clearly wants to cause disorder. The Crown Prince has done so many good things. Remember the flood on the Yellow River? The Crown Prince personally oversaw the repairs and fixed the dam in ten days, saving countless people. What has this assassin done that’s so heroic?”

A year before Rong Rong entered the Eastern Palace, there was a flood in the Yellow River region, destroying crops and causing a severe famine.

The officials responsible for the dam took bribes and cut corners, leading to a dam breach that flooded three cities overnight.

The Crown Prince was urgently assigned to handle the disaster, bringing water control experts with him.

With clever methods, he fixed the breach in ten days and saved more than ten cities’ worth of people.

The men talking to Rong Rong were idle fellows who liked to gossip about the high society.

They were easily cowed by Rong Rong’s sharp retort and fell silent, exchanging glances.

One of them, not knowing better, muttered, “With how protective you are, you’d think you’re defending your own man!”

Rong Rong’s face turned pale at the remark.

She was about to see who said it when several of the men nearby burst into laughter.

One of them, who was closest to Rong Rong, even pointed at her and said, “She’s just dreaming…” Before he could finish, someone punched him in the face.

The punch was fierce and swift, creating a noticeable dent in the man’s face.

He fell down without even making a sound.

The men who were laughing just a moment ago fell silent, turning their attention to Rong Rong.

A man had appeared next to Rong Rong without her noticing.

He ignored the curious stares from the others and spoke softly to Rong Rong, “Rong Rong, let’s leave here and talk.”

Rong Rong was astonished to see that it was Xie Yuanchu, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

She felt a sense of relief seeing him handle the situation so effectively.

“Are you alright?” Xie Yuanchu asked with concern.

Rong Rong shook her head.

She was more angry than hurt.

Seeing Xie Yuanchu appear, she immediately wanted to ask about the prince and Yuanbao.

Sensing her anxiety, Xie Yuanchu quickly said, “Let’s get out of here first.”

Strangely, although Rong Rong had been struggling to move through the crowd earlier, Xie Yuanchu carved a path through it, protecting her as they left.

“Why are you here instead of at the Eastern Palace?” Once they were away from the crowd, Xie Yuanchu asked.

Rong Rong, anxious, grabbed his sleeve and asked, “How is Yuanbao?”

Xie Yuanchu smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, little Yuanbao is fine…” Hearing this, Rong Rong immediately felt a huge relief.

Seeing her reaction, Xie Yuanchu asked, “Aren’t you worried about him?”

Rong Rong knew Xie Yuanchu was referring to the ctown prince and replied, “He knows martial arts, so he won’t be hurt. He’s so capable, who could hurt him?”

“No, he’s injured.”

Injured?

The crown prince is injured?

Rong Rong’s heart, which had just settled, was immediately thrown into turmoil by Xie Yuanchu’s revelation.

She didn’t even realize that tears had formed in her eyes.

The two were standing very close.

Xie Yuanchu noticed the tears welling up in her beautiful eyes, which were like clear mountain springs, and he momentarily lost his composure.

“Yuanchu, is his injury serious?”

Hearing Rong Rong’s anxious voice, Xie Yuanchu turned away quickly and replied, “It’s not severe, but it’s not light either. The assassin targeted Yuanbao, and the prince got injured while protecting Yuanbao.”

Hearing that there were no serious injuries, Rong Rong felt slightly relieved.

“Did they catch the assassin?”

“Yes, they did, and he’s alive.”

Seeing how concerned Rong Rong was about the Crown Prince, Xie Yuanchu’s feelings were a bit mixed.

He handed her his handkerchief, indicating she should wipe her tears.

It was only then that Rong Rong realized she had been crying in her panic.

As she wiped her tears, she felt ashamed, thinking that she didn’t even cry when Jing Rong died.

“You still haven’t told me why you were out on the street?”

Rong Rong dried her tears and explained, “Since they weren’t at the Eastern Palace today, they allowed me to visit my grandmother.

I planned to return to the Eastern Palace according to the time, but on the way, I heard they were attacked.

The carriage couldn’t get through here, so I decided to get out and see if there were any updates. If everything was fine, I’d feel more at ease.”

“I’ll take you. Riding a horse is faster than a carriage,” Xie Yuanchu said.

Rong Rong wanted to see Yuan Bao as soon as possible.

She quickly told the young eunuch driving the carriage and then mounted Xie Yuanchu’s horse.

Riding a horse was indeed much faster than a carriage.

Rong Rong initially thought Xie Yuanchu would take a detour through a nearby alley to return to the Eastern Palace, but instead, he headed in a completely different direction.

Rong Rong bounced around on the horse and wanted to speak, but the wind made it impossible for Xie Yuanchu to hear her.

She decided to stay silent and watched as Xie Yuanchu rode the horse out of the city.

After leaving the city, they traveled several miles along the official road until they reached a manor.

Xie Yuanchu dismounted first and then helped Rong Rong down.

Just as Rong Rong was about to ask where they were, she saw Fu Quan walking out of the manor and immediately felt relieved.

Since Fu Quan was here, the Crown Prince must be here too.

“Thank you, Lord Xie,” Rong Rong said, bowing in gratitude.

“Why are you here together? The Crown Prince is waiting,” Fu Quan said, ushering Xie Yuanchu inside.

Rong Rong watched Xie Yuanchu go in and thought to herself that he must be here on official business, while she was…

“Fu Quan, I thought Lord Xie was taking me to the Eastern Palace. Is it inconvenient for me to be here?”

Indeed… it might be inconvenient…

Initially, Rong Rong thought the Crown Prince would handle the situation here and she would stay at the Eastern Palace to accompany Yuan Bao for the night.

However, since she was already here, it was clear that Lord Xie meant well.

Fuqian stepped forward and said, “We’re short on people to serve the little prince right now. The cook here isn’t very good, so the little prince hasn’t had any dinner yet. Since you’re here, Miss Rong, could you prepare a meal for him?”

“I’m just a maid from the Eastern Palace; cooking is part of my duties.” Rong Rong was already worried when Xie Yuanchu mentioned the prince’s injuries earlier.

She lowered her head and asked, “Fuqian, where is he injured?”

“He injured his right arm, and the physician says it’ll be immobilized for a month. His other hand is also hurt, but it’s not severe, just a cut from a sword blade.”

Both hands are injured?

“So he needs…”

“Exactly, he needs someone to attend to him. Miss Rong, I’ll take you to the kitchen now.” Fuqian led Rong Rong down a corridor and around to the back.

The exterior of the residence looked plain, but the interior decorations were quite exquisite, clearly not a temporary setup.

As they walked, Rong Rong followed a step behind and asked, “Fuqian, since the crown prince is injured, why isn’t he recovering in the Eastern Palace? Why come all the way out here to the city outskirts?”

Fuqian knew the answer but couldn’t reveal it to her.

The assassin who dared to attack the Crown prince and Yuanbao made the Empress furious.

She ordered that the assassin be tortured to death. However, the key issue wasn’t just the assassin but also his testimony.

The testimony had to be extracted by the Crown prince himself; if it fell into the hands of certain people in the palace first, it might bring up old matters from four years ago.

“I don’t understand why the Crown prince arranged things this way. I’m just following orders,” Fuqian said as he led Rong Rong into the kitchen.

There was only a unfamiliar guard washing dishes. “Miss, if you need any heavy or tedious tasks done, just ask him. Once the meal is ready, have him call me. It doesn’t need to be complicated; a few simple dishes will do. The prince isn’t particular about things outside, so keep it simple.”

“Got it.” Rong Rong’s heart ached deeply when she heard about the extent of his injuries.