Chapter 122: Qi Yanzhou’s Secret

The rain was heavy and dense, and Ye Chutang couldn’t see Qi Yanzhou’s face, but she recognized his voice.

She grabbed his pale, slender hand and, using his strength, pulled herself up to the deck.

Qi Yanzhou immediately moved the umbrella to cover her head and led her into the cabin.

He handed her a dry set of clothes.

“Wipe your face.”

Afterward, he poured her a cup of hot tea to warm her up.

There were several men in the cabin, all of them no longer young.

When they saw Qi Yanzhou expose himself to danger to help Ye Chutang, their eyes exchanged knowing glances.

It seemed that the young prince had developed feelings for this girl!

Ye Chutang quickly wiped her face with the clothes and then took the hot tea to drink.

The summer rain and lake water weren’t cold; she drank the tea just to avoid disappointing Qi Yanzhou’s kind gesture.

After drinking, she asked, “Was it the prince who shot the arrows to help me earlier?”

Qi Yanzhou was about to respond when he coughed up blood.

His internal injuries hadn’t healed, and when he shot the arrows just now, he had forcefully used his internal energy, causing the injuries to worsen.

Ye Chutang quickly took out a medicine pill for internal injuries from her space and handed it to Qi Yanzhou.

Qi Yanzhou looked at the black pill in her palm, a look of confusion crossing his face.

When they first met, she had suddenly taken out a pill to suppress fire poison.

Now, she just happened to be carrying a medicine to treat his internal injuries.

What a coincidence.

Ye Chutang noticed Qi Yanzhou’s suspicion and took out a bottle of medicine from her soaking wet sleeve.

“I originally planned to give this to you after spending the birthday with Jun’er, but here it is.”

Qi Yanzhou took the pill from her palm, swallowed it, and then stored the bottle.

“Thank you.”

Although Ye Chutang’s explanation seemed fine, something still didn’t sit right with him.

Ye Chutang asked, “When did the prince arrive at Yunyin Lake? How much did you see? Do you know where my younger brother has been taken?”

Qi Yanzhou had arrived much earlier than Ye Chutang.

The men in the cabin were all former generals of the Qi family army.

Back in the day, after the Qi family lost its military power to the late emperor, these generals were demoted by the late emperor under various pretexts, even falsely accused of crimes.

Some didn’t want to endure the humiliation and resigned.

Some just muddled through in the bureaucracy, getting by.

The Qi family maintained secret connections with these generals not to form factions for personal gain but because of nostalgic ties.

Of course, it was also to prepare for any eventualities.

For example, now, with the emperor being incompetent, eunuchs ruining the country, and the people suffering, a change of dynasty was inevitable.

To prevent neighboring countries from taking advantage of the chaos and to keep the people and army from becoming sacrifices, Qi Yanzhou had long been preparing.

However, after being in the southern border for two years and secretly regaining control of the Qi family army to prevent civil war, his plans had to be temporarily put on hold.

After returning to the capital, the emperor kept a close watch on him, so it wasn’t until today that he had the opportunity to meet with the Qi family’s old soldiers.

As soon as he arrived at Yunyin Lake, Ye Chutang followed, and trouble arose.

Since he couldn’t make a public appearance, if it hadn’t been for Ye Chutang’s danger, he wouldn’t have shot those two arrows.

Fortunately, the heavy rain came in time, covering all his traces.

Qi Yanzhou knew that out of the three questions Ye Chutang had, she was most concerned about the whereabouts of her younger brother.

He said, “I had Nan Xiao follow them. Once he reaches the shore, he will signal.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a signal flare exploded in the rain.

When Ye Chutang saw it, she anxiously grabbed Qi Yanzhou’s arm.

“Prince, please take me to the shore.”

Compared to rowing, swimming was too slow.

Qi Yanzhou glanced at the sky outside the cabin and knew the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon. He nodded.

“Okay, but I can’t take you directly to the location where the signal was sent; it will be slightly off. Please understand.”

Ye Chutang knew that Qi Yanzhou, who should be resting, was here for some unknown secret.

“Thank you, Prince. I haven’t seen you today.”

The flower boat quickly rowed toward the shore.

As the boat was nearing the shore, Qi Yanzhou, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Miss Ye, there is no such thing as an absolute situation in this world. Using oneself as bait is a very unwise thing to do.”

He knew very well that with Ye Chutang’s ability, if she had fought back to kill those people without leaving any survivors, she wouldn’t have been surrounded so helplessly.

Ye Chutang understood that Qi Yanzhou meant well and nodded.

“I know. Taking the initiative to strike is better than being forced to defend.”

Qi Yanzhou continued, “When danger comes, leaving no survivors isn’t as important as preserving your life.”

“Prince, today, by entering the fray myself, I’m trying to leave survivors to uncover the person behind it and eliminate the hidden dangers once and for all.”

After saying this, Ye Chutang exited the cabin, using the tip of her foot to push off the deck, flying onto the shore.

Though she knew who had sent those people.

However, wanting to destroy the Kong family and the Prince An’s Manor, relying solely on her words wouldn’t be enough—she needed evidence!

Once on the shore, she quickly ran toward the location where the signal was sent.

After the heavy rain, there was no one around Yunyin Lake.

The tourists who had come to enjoy the lake and boating had all gone to the merchants’ restaurants to take shelter.

Ye Chutang hid behind a massive boulder and found Jun’er, who was being held by a martial arts expert.

With the boulder’s cover, the violent wind weakened, and her vision cleared a lot.

At this moment, Nan Xiao had blocked the martial arts expert.

He wore a black cloth to cover his face, leaving only a pair of eagle-like eyes exposed.

When he saw Ye Chutang chasing after them, he immediately left.

Ye Chutang stood at Nan Xiao’s position and coldly stared at the injured man.

He had one hand gripping Jun’er’s head and the other holding a dagger at Jun’er’s neck.

One wrong move could cost Jun’er his life.

Ye Chutang wasn’t sure she could rescue Jun’er without him getting hurt.

“Let go of Jun’er and tell me who’s behind this. I will spare your life.”

The man looked at Ye Chutang, who was drenched and still stunning, and revealed an evil smile.

He kicked a ceramic bottle at Ye Chutang’s feet.

“If you want to save this brat, Miss Ye, you’ll first have to take the medicine and walk around the restaurant in your underwear.”

The first part was the hired thugs’ demand, and the second part was his own addition.

With such beauty, even if he couldn’t enjoy it, he could still feast his eyes on it!

Jun’er trembled with rage upon hearing this.

“Elder sister, don’t worry about me! Please leave!”

The sharp dagger cut into his delicate neck, and the blood was washed into a pinkish hue by the rain.

Seeing Jun’er injured, Ye Chutang’s eyes filled with murderous intent.

“I’m giving you one last chance—let Jun’er go.”

The man sneered, “I’m giving Miss Ye one last chance. I’ll count to three. If you don’t take the medicine and strip, don’t blame me for not being merciful!”

With that, the dagger pressed harder, and the wound widened, causing more blood to flow.

Ye Chutang sensed something was wrong.

She was certain that if she didn’t comply, the man would really kill Jun’er.

Kong Ru was worse than an animal—she didn’t even want her own son!

“Three… two…”

Hearing the countdown, Ye Chutang quickly said, “Don’t hurt Jun’er. I’ll take it. I’ll strip.”

With that, she picked up the bottle on the ground and poured out the pills inside.

“How many pills?”

The man didn’t expect that Ye Chutang would risk everything for a half-brother, but he was pleased.

“One is enough.”

Jun’er struggled violently, crying uncontrollably.

“Elder sister, don’t worry about me. Please, go!”

“Jun’er, don’t be afraid. Elder sister won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t be in danger either.”

Ye Chutang said this and took one pill, pretending to swallow it, but it actually went into the space.

The man, seeing his mission complete, relaxed.

His eyes glinted with lust as he urged, “Hurry up and strip. This kid is bleeding a lot and won’t last much longer.”

Ye Chutang met the man’s lecherous gaze, her lips curling into a captivating smile.

“Alright, I’ll strip.”