Too high to reach

Chapter 378 Seeking Skin from a Tiger
Inside the secret room, candlelight flickered.

The women of the Prince's mansion were dressed in everyday clothes, wrapped in large cloaks.

Her hair was loose behind her, and she had no makeup or jewelry, so she had obviously gone to sleep and had rushed over after putting on her clothes.

A fire broke out near the front gate of the Prince's Mansion, and someone reported it.

Mo Yi immediately realized something was wrong, quickly got up, and told everyone to hide in the secret room.

Fortunately, everyone had made preparations beforehand, so although they were very nervous, they didn't panic.

Xiangxiang was suddenly woken up and came over on her own. Qianqian and Shaoge'er were asleep, being held by their nanny. There was a small bed in the secret room where they continued to sleep.

The door opened with a loud rumble.

Qianqian and Shaoge'er were woken up by the noise and were startled. They pouted and were about to cry, so the nanny quickly comforted them in a low voice.

Xiangxiang turned pale with fright, and Moyi held her tightly.

He was surrounded by eight or nine guards, both men and women.

When the door opened, they all blocked Mo Yi's way.

This door wasn't opened with an ordinary lock and key. Since it was opened so easily... Mo Yi knew that Feng Liniang was among the people who came.

He sighed inwardly: This woman has finally come to this.

The secret room was brightly lit. The leader in black stood outside the door, surveying the people inside. Inside, there were dozens of people, including masters, maids, wet nurses, and so on.

These men in black didn't recognize Mo Yi to begin with, and now they couldn't identify her by her attire either. They turned to Feng Liniang and asked, "Which one is Princess Qi?"

Feng Liniang pointed at Mo Yi with trembling hands, but did not utter a sound.

"Feng Liniang, do you know what you're doing?" Mo Yi asked calmly.

She remained calm, but those around her stirred in commotion… Feng Liniang? Was it her? Thinking of the usually gentle, quiet, and methodical Consort Feng… how could she do such a thing? Her son was still here!

Feng Liniang's eyes flickered, but she remained silent.

"In this way, you will have completely forgotten the Prince's kindness and become a traitor to the Prince's mansion. No matter what my fate is, you will never be able to return to the Qi Prince's mansion. The Prince will kill you with his own hands. You will have no way to survive, and you will also implicate Shao-ge'er..."

These words seemed to be directed at Zhou Dong, who lowered his head in shame.

"You entered the manor without any intention of giving me a way out, did you?" Feng Liniang ripped off the veil covering her face and said bitterly.

His eyes were fixed on Mo Yi's belly.

The leader in black spoke: "Princess Consort Qi, I am here on the orders of my patriarch to request your presence. My patriarch intends to use you to exchange for some benefits with His Highness Prince Qi. It will not be detrimental to you. If he truly only wanted to harm you... you would probably be dead long ago, having left home so many times."

Furthermore, we've heard you're pregnant. Even thieves have their code of honor; we won't harm a pregnant woman. Besides, my master isn't a bloodthirsty person. As long as you obediently come with us, I guarantee the rest of you will be unharmed.

Mo Yi smiled faintly: "Since you've already come all this way, there's no point in saying anything more. Let's see who has the best skills!"

"As expected of a princess, what a dignified bearing!" said the leader of the black-clad women. "Then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

He raised his hand...

"Concubine?"

Just then, a child's voice rang out, and a small figure rushed out, barefoot and wearing only pajamas.

"Shao-ge'er? Stop right there!" Mo Yi shouted. Consort Tian beside her also called out...

"Mother is back..." Shaoge shouted excitedly.

Feng Liniang was overjoyed, "Shao'er, come quickly!"

Li Shaofeng was so excited that he didn't even notice Mo Yi calling him...

At this moment, the man in black had already lowered his hand.

The man beside him raised his arm and released a crossbow bolt. It whistled through the air and headed towards the guards beside Mo Yi.

Meanwhile, Mo Yi's guards reacted even faster. They lifted a protective wooden plank, taller than a person, from the ground, and the flying crossbows and small arrows were pinned to it.

But Shao Ge'er had already broken out of the protective range.

"Shao-ge'er..." Mo Yi cried out anxiously, this was too unexpected!
Beside Mo Yi, a guard flew over the wooden plank, trying to pull Shao Ge'er away.

But then several more crossbow bolts flew over, and the guards quickly blocked them with their swords. Two more guards jumped out from behind... and also started shooting something into the group of men in black.

The scene was a bit chaotic, but we still saw a crossbow bolt hit Shao Ge'er squarely...

That small body, as if it had been hit by something, fell backward.

"No!" Feng Liniang was just reaching out her arms to hug her son.

But seeing him fall injured, she screamed and rushed over... She had only run a few steps when a crossbow bolt silently pierced her back.

Feng Liniang felt as if she had been slapped hard, and she fell forward.

She didn't feel any pain and tried to get up to pull her son up, but she couldn't get up even with a strong effort...

I felt water flowing down my back; my clothes were wet and stuck to my body.

She couldn't get up at all; even if Shao-ge'er collapsed not far from her, she couldn't reach him...

"No! It shouldn't be like this!"

"She's fine, so how come you and Shao-ge'er had an accident first?"

"Shao'er..." She struggled to lift her head. That small body was just a little in front of her; with just a little effort, she could pull him up. But she just couldn't move...

He lay there, motionless, his fate unknown.

"No... Shao'er..." Feng Liniang thought she was screaming, but in fact, she was just moaning softly...

Mo Yi's side managed to dodge the first wave of attacks. Some of the guards who jumped out were injured, and of course, some of the men in black fell to the ground.

The leader in black drew his sword from his waist and engaged in combat with the guards who jumped out from inside...

Zhou Dong witnessed the whole thing. He shook his head helplessly, turned around, and ran away.

Mo Yi had no idea how Shao Ge'er was doing. She was panicking and yelled at the wet nurse, "How could you be watching over people like that?!"

The wet nurse held Shao Ge'er's little cloak in her hands: "This servant deserves to die, the boy broke free in an instant..."

At this moment, Mo Yi had only two female guards by her side; everyone else had gone out.

All that could be heard from the outside were clanging and clattering sounds, and the cries of the injured…

Zhou Dong had already run into the yard, where it was also quite lively—a group fight...

He didn't want to fight, he just wanted to hide, to run... He knew the Prince's mansion well; in a flash, he found a deserted path. He ran with all his might...

To be honest, the Prince of Yong'an's men were much more skilled than the guards of the Prince's mansion.

Because the main force of the Qi Prince's mansion was taken away by the prince. Only three experts were left for Mo Yi, and she was asked to send them out.

Liang You sent some elite troops a few days ago, but those people mostly stayed by Mo Yi's side.

Right now, the men fighting the men in black in the courtyard are just ordinary guards; they're only fighting because they outnumber each other.

Although some players were injured, there was no clear defeat yet.

On Mo Yi's side, the leader in black surveyed the situation: with the stalemate continuing like this, he would definitely suffer losses in the long run.

Although his master forbade him to kill Mo Yi, given the current situation, it seems he won't be able to take him with him.

We can't come here for nothing!

He slashed down a guard from the prince's palace, took a breath, and stepped over the wooden plank...

Unexpectedly, he was shot down by a crossbow as soon as he went up...

"Your Highness?!" Footsteps sounded, and someone shouted.

Liang You?!
"I'm inside!" Mo Yi shouted, immediately relieved: the reinforcements had arrived.

The leader in black was very annoyed...

Ugh, what a mess! Where did I go wrong? Hmm, they were prepared...

I stopped thinking about it, gritted my teeth, and bit through the poison pill.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless and they could not be captured alive, the others also committed suicide by biting poison.

Zhou Dong ran to a rockery; if he continued forward, he could exit through the small side gate he had just passed. Suddenly, something came down from the rockery and crashed down on him.

He collapsed in an instant.

"He's falling! He's falling! Catch him!" someone shouted excitedly.

"I smashed it! I smashed it!" another person exclaimed happily.

"Quickly check if there's any poison in his mouth!"

Two people jumped down from above. One ripped off his mask and tried to pry his mouth open, while the other held a torch and came closer...

Zhou Dong recognized the voice the moment the first person spoke... it was one of his friends...

At this moment, he truly wished that the prince hadn't saved him back then, and that he had died then.
"what……"

really……

"Dong, Brother Dong?"

Zhou Dong closed his eyes... He must have had poison in his mouth too.

Liang You spoke to Mo Yi through the wooden board, "Your Majesty, please don't move yet. Let me take some people to check again. Once it's confirmed that you're alright, you can come out."

"Take a look at Shao-ge'er first," Mo Yi said anxiously.

"Your Majesty, I am here!" The one who spoke was the royal physician.

Beneath Feng Liniang lay a large pool of blood. She couldn't move, but she wasn't dead yet.

Shao-ge'er didn't move for a long time.

"Zhou Dong, how could it be you?" The speaker was Zhou Dong's friend. His situation was similar to Zhou Dong's; he was an orphan who was brought back by the prince and is now married and settled down.

"I need one thing from you two... kill me, and then strip me of my clothes..."

"What on earth happened?! Zhou Dong, you were saved by the Prince, raised by the Prince, we are all people of the Qi Prince's Mansion!" His friend said in anguish.

The other person was more composed: "Who let you in? Who is your master now?"

Zhou Dong named two or three people, "As for who sent me... I don't know."

"But why are you doing this?!" Another friend cried.

Feng Liniang was unconscious for a while. When she woke up, she felt cold all over... cold from the inside out.

It was even colder than the day we came down from the mountain last time.

Someone said, "Your Majesty, Shao-ge'er has been hit in the shoulder... with barbs attached. We can only move him to a safe and clean place, cut open the wound with a knife, and remove the crossbow. It's hard to say what the outcome will be."

"Then take him there."

"No... I, I want to see..." Feng Liniang cried out anxiously, but no one could hear her...