What the child said was true. Zhao Pei ran to the sidewalk and looked around but saw no one coming. She waited anxiously for a long time before she saw a blue and purple carriage slowly passing by. Without saying a word, Zhao Pei stepped forward and grabbed the edge of the carriage and shouted, "Stop! Stop!" The carriage stopped immediately, which was smoother than she expected.
“Princess?! What are you doing…” Only then did she see clearly that the person driving the car was Qiao Yu, who was staring at her with wide eyes, and hadn’t reacted yet why the Seventh Princess appeared in the middle of the road
Zhao Pei breathed a sigh of relief and lay on the edge of the car, gasping for breath. The curtain of the car was opened, revealing Xiao Yi's calm face. He looked at Zhao Pei and frowned, "What's wrong with you?"
Zhao Pei hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and forced him to lean forward: "Seventh brother! Oh no! Oh no! The princess she! No, it's the emperor! The emperor he!" She couldn't say a complete sentence. She stomped her feet and scratched her head in annoyance, her movements were really funny.
Xiao Yi didn't twist the Chinese character "川" into "川", and said, "Don't be in a hurry, take your time."
"No time to waste! No time to waste! It's getting dark! The emperor is going to..." He stopped talking halfway. Seeing Xiao Yuyao coming forward surrounded by people from afar, Zhao Pei stamped her feet in anger and bit her lips, swallowing the rest of the words back into her stomach.
Xiao Yuyao was startled when she saw Zhao Pei and Xiao Yi together, and looked at her worriedly: "Seventh sister, when did you get here?"
Zhao Pei took a breath and smiled lightly: "Peipei came out of the garden alone and met the seventh brother." Hearing her emphasize one person, Xiao Yuyao breathed a sigh of relief. She seemed to be afraid that her affairs would be discovered by others.
Xiao Yi silently watched Zhao Pei's expression change so quickly, and from time to time he winked at him without leaving any trace, which made his suspicions deepen. But he never asked, he got out of the car and stood with Zhao Pei, chatting with Xiao Yuyao. Zhao Pei was very disappointed to see that he ignored her expression.
Xiao Yuyao enthusiastically took Xiao Yi and Zhao Pei to sit in Le'an Palace. Zhao Pei was thinking about what she had just heard, and wanted to withdraw with Xiao Yi under the pretext of going to pay respects to Empress Ruan. But Xiao Yi was extremely uncooperative and refused to listen to her. Finally, he told Qiao Yu to accompany Zhao Pei to Empress Ruan first, and he would go later. It was really hard to withdraw now.
Zhao Pei stared at him with hatred. This self-righteous guy, he didn't even know what was going on! He bit his lip, snorted, and walked away. It's better to beg yourself than to beg you! Zhao Pei has always been so self-conscious, she always overestimates herself. This time is no exception.
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As the sky darkened, Zhao Pei told Qiao Yu to drive to Empress Ruan's place for a stroll, and she secretly got out of the car and ran towards the imperial study.
She panted as she stopped at the long steps outside the study, holding up her long skirt. The hairpins on her head shook and collided with each other, making crisp sounds. She looked up at the majestic palace. The dark shadows covered her and overwhelmed her. The oppression came from the ruthlessness of the palace and the fear in her heart. She didn't make any plans for herself, because she was afraid that if she did, she wouldn't have the courage.
The maid standing by stepped forward and saluted: "Greetings to the Seventh Princess."
Zhao Pei waved her hands and asked anxiously, "Where is the emperor?"
"Princess, the Emperor and the Crown Prince are in the study," the maid replied.
Zhao Pei was slightly stunned: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... is here too?"
"yes."
"Is there anyone else?" Zhao Pei stepped forward and hurried up the stairs. The maid followed behind her, a little out of breath: "Princess, there is no one."
While they were talking, Zhao Pei had already gone up to the palace corridor. She looked around and saw the guards stationed in every corner. She felt relieved and immediately said, "I want to see the emperor!"
The maid nodded and replied, "Princess, wait a moment. I will go and report first." At this time, the sound of the palace servants' gongs at the hour of You came from afar, each sound clear and crisp. The words "start at the hour of You" flashed through my mind. I looked around and saw two maids walking up the stairs with black and red lacquer food boxes in their hands.
Zhao Pei's heart trembled, and she looked at the people carefully. The two people were wearing ordinary palace clothes, and their heads were bowed very low. But they walked with big steps, and each step was steady and agile. She saw that their figures did not meet the selection criteria for palace maids. The hands holding the food box were a pair of hands that had been holding knives and swords for many years, and were exposed to the wind and sun. They were definitely not the hands of palace maids or even women.
Zhao Pei was in a state of panic, knowing that it was too late. The maids around her had already stepped forward and looked at her in confusion: "Eh? Which palace are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?" As soon as she said this, one of them drew a blade from her sleeve and slashed at her, and the maid fell to the ground.
Zhao Pei's eyes widened as she watched them standing a few steps away and looking at her. She turned around and ran, trembling, grabbing the sleeve of the nearest guard and shouting, "Catch them! They are assassins!" But he didn't move. Zhao Pei stared at his pale face angrily and shook him hard, "Hey! Catch them quickly!" But he fell to the ground with a bang.
She was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that such a quiet and depressing palace had been tampered with. The assassin looked at her mockingly and ran over with a sword. Zhao Pei did not hesitate any longer, and while running away, she untied her skirt and waved her hand to cover their faces, then rushed into the palace quickly.
She pushed the door open heavily, ignoring the surprised expressions of the people in the hall, and quickly turned around to bolt it. Then she held the door bolt and panted uncontrollably, feeling the spicy and piercing coldness in her throat, and her whole body trembled and she could hardly move.
The two people playing chess on the mat looked at Zhao Pei, who was dressed and behaved like this, and looked at each other. The emperor frowned and asked, "Girl, what are you doing?"
She turned around and said in a sobbing voice: "Your Majesty, there is an assassin!"
Xiao Tong stood up in surprise and tried to support her. However, the door was about to open under the violent impact. Zhao Pei had been holding the door with her body, but was bounced to the side of the entrance, and the colorful glazed screen was smashed to pieces.
"Someone come!" the emperor called out immediately, but there was no movement. The palace was quiet, and so was the outside.
"Your Majesty, the whole palace is..." Zhao Pei hadn't finished speaking when the palace door was blown open. Two assassins leaped forward and attacked with swords. Even though the emperor was a martial artist, he quickly dodged without panic and pulled out the sword from the wall. The emperor snorted coldly, "They are just two young boys. I used to be able to kill dozens of enemies with my bare hands."
One of the assassins said angrily, "That was the courage of the past!" Then he slashed with his sword, but was blocked by the emperor's sword. So he became more fierce, and the two of them set up a formation to trap him in the center. While the emperor was resisting, he winked at Xiao Tong.
Xiao Tong nodded, pulled Zhao Pei up and wanted to send her out, and said: "Peipei, you go first. Find someone." His voice was calm and he gave the order concisely.
“But…” Her eyes were already sore. Who should I look for? It’s not like I haven’t tried before.
"No one can go out." A frosty blade slashed towards Zhao Pei horizontally. Xiao Tong tried to block it but was restrained by the people around him.
She stared blankly at the blade that rolled up the frost and attacked her, and she had no power to defend herself. Time seemed to slow down, and she could only watch it approaching her little by little. She looked up at the pale-faced Xiao Tong, and a far-fetched smile slowly appeared on her lips. Then she closed her eyes, lamenting that she had indeed overestimated herself.
However, there was no sound of the cold sword piercing the flesh. There was a crisp sound, and another sword came across to block it and then knocked it to the ground with a force. Before Zhao Pei could come to her senses, she saw that the assassin had died under the sword that suddenly appeared.
She slowly looked up and saw that it was him.
That was the first time she saw him like this. His tall figure gave people a sense of oppression and urging. He was full of coldness and threatened people from three feet away. There was a thin layer of ice in his eyes, and his cold face was faintly murderous, as if he had a bloodthirsty impulse. She didn't understand his eyes, but her heart began to ache.
It was not until many years later, when she, who had experienced so much, recalled his expression at that time, that she finally understood it: panic and calmness, anger and indifference, bloodthirstiness and suppression, loneliness and questioning.
Zhao Pei looked at him and felt an inexplicable sense of peace. She let out a long sigh and relaxed. (To be continued)