Shen Xining wanted to refuse without even thinking about it, but Jiang Wei was standing aside, staring at Xie Zhaoan with a probing and warning look in his eyes.
"Fourth Prince, Xining is a weak woman, you must ensure her safety."
Xie Zhaoan smiled faintly.
"nature."
During their brief exchange, the two of them decided on Shen Xining's return, but no one asked for her opinion.
On the way back to the military camp to pack up, Shen Xining looked unhappy. Jiang Wei sighed and explained.
"Nowadays, even outside the military camp, we can encounter such dirty things. The border situation is uncertain, and my return date is uncertain. Xie Zhaoan will accompany you back, which will make me feel more at ease."
No matter what, Xie Zhaoan is a prince, and the guards around him are not vegetarians. If the rumors are true, Xie Zhaoan may have more than just these guards around him. However, Jiang Wei does not intend to let Shen Xining know this. In his eyes, Shen Xining has always been a child running behind him.
As for Xie Zhaoan's invitation today, it was probably just to make Jiang Wei owe him a favor. In the hands of people like them, I don't know what Jiang Wei will use in return for a favor in the future.
Oh.
It sounds very reasonable, Shen Xining said angrily.
"How do you know that this person doesn't have other thoughts?"
However, she also felt that this plan was the best.
Jiang Wei looked at her helplessly, wanting to reach out and touch her head, but then he realized that she was no longer the little girl she was back then, but a woman who was about to get married. He withdrew his hand, and his eyes dimmed.
"Ningning, be careful on the road."
"knew."
Shen Xining lowered her head and finally suppressed the emotions in her eyes. No one knew Jiang Wei's character better than her. Even if she said more now, Jiang Wei would not let her stay here, even though she was worried about him.
The next day.
Shen Xining followed Xie Zhaoan on the road. She sat on the outside of the carriage, looking at the man sitting in the main seat with his eyes closed and resting. She curled her lips. He looked like a decent human being, but it was a pity that he was a beast in human form.
Xie Zhaoan closed his eyes, but it was as if he had grown an extra pair of eyes, and he suddenly spoke.
"It's not the behavior of a young lady from a noble family to speculate about others behind their backs."
"The royal family will never force others to compromise."
Xie Zhaoan suddenly opened his eyes, and Shen Xining's appearance was reflected in his amber pupils. He pursed his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes. Shen Xining frowned and sighed inwardly, thinking that this man might not have anything good to say again.
Sure enough, the next second, the man pointed out the car window.
"It's only a few dozen miles away from the military camp. Miss Shen, if you don't want to go on the road, you can just jump out of the car and walk back. Let your General Jiang send you another car."
He is really a man who cannot afford to suffer a loss. Shen Xining is not a fool. Just as she was about to say something, the carriage shook violently and the hurried voice of the guards came from outside.
"Mr. Xie, there's an assassin!"
Xie Zhaoan pulled Shen Xining over, and the next second, someone cut a line on Xie Zhaoan's arm, making his dark robe darker. He kicked away the assassin who was about to rush in, and pulled Shen Xining out of the car.
Seeing another assassin coming with a knife, Shen Xining narrowed her eyes slightly, loosened her hand that was holding Xie Zhaoan, turned her body slightly, took down the dagger from Xie Zhaoan's waist with her feet, and slashed the assassin's throat with one step. The moment the assassin fell, she grabbed Xie Zhaoan and said in a cold voice.
"Walk."
The two were hiding on a small hill. The people under Xie Zhaoan were not useless. The mistake just now was only because of the sneak attack by this group of assassins. Shen Xining signaled Xie Zhaoan to hand over his arm.
"Your injury was caused by me, so I should be responsible."
Xie Zhaoan leaned against the top of the mountain, feeling a little powerless, and simply let Shen Xining fiddle with him. Shen Xining opened his arms, crying in his heart, "Sorry for disturbing you, sorry for disturbing you", and then looked at the wound which had become festered in just a few minutes, and his guess was completely confirmed.
This group of assassins were probably not ordinary people. If she guessed correctly, they were sent by the prince.
It is widely rumored that the prince has a group of personal soldiers who are good at weapons and poisons. The prince ordered them to smear poison on their weapons to improve their combat effectiveness. It seems that the current emperor is really dying. Shen Xining narrowed his eyes and quickly applied the pill in his hand on his arm.
However, in just a quarter of an hour, Xie Zhaoan's men had already repelled the assassin.
"Mr. Xie, let's find a clinic nearby for your injury."
Xie Zhaoan glanced at Shen Xining indifferently, and said without question: "No need, just hurry on your way. Miss Shen's medicine can heal my wounds. The sooner we return to the capital, the sooner we can ensure our safety."
Although the guard wanted to say something, he could only clench his fists.
"yes!"
The journey that was originally supposed to take half a month actually took only 10 days to reach the capital. Shen Xining jumped out of the car, still looking like a well-behaved girl.
"Thank you for your help, Your Highness the Fourth Prince. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have died along the way."
Xie Zhaoan raised his wrist.
"Speaking of which, I should thank Miss Shen for saving my life."
Shen Xining smiled and said nothing much, but she knew that the medicine in her hand could only relieve pain and inflammation, and had no effect on this poison. Xie Zhaoan showed no signs of poisoning for so many days, which either meant that he had already been severely poisoned, or that he had the antidote for this poison. If it was the latter, then the adjectives used in the capital about the sickly Fourth Prince were probably all lies.
But all this has nothing to do with Shen Xining. She has now returned to the capital safely. All she has to do is wait for her marriage and the imperial decree to grant marriage from the capital. As for the Fourth Prince, they will have no more contact.
Therefore, Shen Xining walked into the gate of the Shen family without looking back, and did not notice that Xie Zhaoan's pupils became slightly darker when he saw her step into the Shen family.
Shen Xining had just returned home when his father's face looked a little ugly.
"After this trip, do you feel better? You are obviously about to get married, but you are busy all day long and have not thought about the face of our Shen family!"
Stepmother Shen came over in a hurry.
"Master, Ningning just came home, so why don't you say less? I think Ningning has the young general Jiang taking care of her, so nothing will happen to her. I'm afraid Ningning's willingness to venture out into the world is inherited from you, but she just hates that she's not a man! Now that the child has returned safely, don't be too harsh on her."
It was the same thing again, soft on the surface, but actually like a venomous snake, every word hit the nerves of Shen's father. Sure enough, the next second, Shen's father's face became even uglier.
"You are going to be married soon. Stay away from Jiang's kid. You two are not destined to be together in this life. As for the so-called ambition, it is exactly the same when applied to your brother."