Golden Branch

Chapter 374 Fear
"Little Dalang!"

"Xiao Langjun!"

"Your Highness!"

When the eunuchs saw this shocking change, they were all shocked and angry, with their eyes bloodshot.

They wished they could fly over and sacrifice themselves in his place.

However, they were all riding horses and were not skilled in martial arts. They were afraid that if they acted rashly, not only would they fail to save the young master, but they would also most likely make the situation worse.

Moreover, this huge change happened too quickly. When they were terrified, the half-grown figure had already flown away.

Xiao Dalang, Yang Cheng, the eldest son of the Eastern Palace, felt a flash before his eyes, his body lost weight, and he was thrown into the air.

In this critical moment, all his senses seemed to be magnified and slowed down.

He saw his vision suddenly rise, heard the eunuchs' shrill cries, and saw the terrified looks of the people rushing out from the opposite side... In a trance, there seemed to be a few black shadows rushing towards him.

Then, his body began to fall out of control, with the sound of whistling wind and the sound of his sleeves fluttering in the air in his ears.

He also vaguely felt that something seemed to be hugging his waist and abdomen.

thump! thump!
Just in front of him, there was the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

Then, he also fell down. He subconsciously closed his eyes, not wanting to see his miserable appearance of falling heavily and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

However, when Yang Cheng closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the fate to decide, he did not feel the violent collision and severe pain he had imagined...

With just a bang, he landed on a soft spot.

This is not a bluestone floor, but, but——

Yang Cheng's ears twitched, and he seemed to hear two suppressed groans.

"Little Dalang!"

"Secret guards! They are the secret guards sent by Lord Lou!"

"That's wonderful! They've saved the young prince!"

The horses under the crotch of several eunuchs were still galloping, and they almost rushed over Yang Cheng and others.

When they encountered the fallen soldiers and horses, the horses of several people instinctively raised their hooves and jumped over them.

The eunuchs rushed through the intersection and then dared to tighten the reins and turn the horses' heads.

When they turned around, they happened to see the scene that made them extremely happy—

After the young man Yang Cheng collided with someone, the horse raised its front hooves high and threw the person on its back away.

The moment Yang Cheng took to the air, three or four black shadows appeared from both sides.

They split into two groups, one group rushed directly towards Yang Cheng himself and protected his small body in their arms.

The other group of people was very decisive. They spotted Yang Cheng's position, estimated the direction he might fall, and rushed forward. They rolled to the ground and lay on the ground with their bodies as a cushion.

These people are well-trained and their predictions are accurate.

They successfully hugged Yang Cheng in mid-air, and the two people, one big and one small, also successfully landed on the mat laid by two or three people.

Yang Cheng was saved and did not break his neck from falling off the horse.

The eunuchs were surprised and happy, and couldn't help cheering.

However, before they could finish their joy, there was a slight "click" sound when Yang Cheng landed.

Yang Cheng experienced a life-threatening crisis, and his soul was still chasing his body, and had not yet completely returned to its place.

He was a little dazed and didn't even feel the severe pain in his right calf.

He fell steadily on the pad in a daze and numbly, without coming to his senses immediately.

...The whole process, although complicated, actually happens in an instant.

The slow motion ended, and the intersection that almost caused a major accident became quiet in an instant.

Several eunuchs finally controlled the horses, climbed down in a panic, and rushed forward, rolling and crawling.

There was also another group of people who had caused a big disaster, and they all gathered around.

Zhou Jiming followed the crowd, no longer having the high spirits he had when he discovered the thieves' den and chased the fugitives.

His stern face was grim and his heart was beating violently.

"Damn it! As expected of a spoiled servant from a wealthy family, not only did he dare to resist arrest, but he also injured someone while running away recklessly!"

"...I think I should be alright! I wonder which noble person I bumped into?"

In ancient times, horses were strategic materials and luxury goods.

Ordinary families may not be able to afford a horse, and those who can afford several horses are basically prominent families and powerful people.

A group of people, with four or five horses, dared to gallop through the capital. Their family and their power should not be underestimated.

Zhou Jiming was indeed favored by the emperor and became a royal minion.

However, Zhou Jiming understands the value of the word "power and nobility" better.

To be frank, he dared not to provoke even the knock-offs like Wang Mian, let alone the real nobles standing at the pinnacle of power.

As the saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss." Only by truly entering the top circle and seeing what power is can one become more sober and better able to recognize reality.

Zhou Jiming's madness is only relative.

When facing a true noble person, he can only feel fear and awe.

Zhou Jiming walked quickly, terrified, yet desperately trying to comfort himself: "What are you afraid of? I'm handling the case impartially, and I'm not riding my horse for no reason."

"Even if I really offended you, it's not my fault!"

The blame lies with the powerful servants of Princess Rong'an, who resisted arrest first and then fled.

These audacious thugs had directly offended the important person. Zhou Jiming reassured himself, quickly rushed to the accident scene, pushed through the crowd, and saw the injured lying on the ground.

Among them, there were some slaves who rushed out without any regard for the consequences. They bumped into the galloping horses and fell to the ground. They were trampled by the out-of-control horses and several horses that rushed over afterwards.

One by one, some had injured arms, some had broken legs, all were covered in blood and wailed incessantly.

"Serves you right! You dared to cause trouble, and this is what you deserve."

Zhou Jiming secretly felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief: the person who was most seriously injured was just the suspect who escaped, not the noble man.

His gaze moved away from the bloody servants and fell on a few people not far away.

Three or four adult men, wearing black Hu clothing, surrounded a small boy and protected him.

When Zhou Jiming arrived, the two people on top had already turned over, revealing the young man—

He looked to be about ten years old, with black hair, fair skin, red lips and white teeth. At first glance, he was a spoiled young man from a noble family.

In the two years since Zhou Jiming joined the Baiqi Division, he has been handling cases on a daily basis and frequently interacting with important people, and has developed a pair of "eyes for wealth and nobility".

He glanced at the boy briefly and was able to roughly guess his identity based on his appearance, clothing, demeanor, etc.

Especially the small items hanging around the boy's waist.

Zhou Jiming's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is this a white jade dragon pendant? A jade pendant unique to the Dayu royal family?"

Could it be that this young man is from the Yang royal family?
Zhou Jiming's heart was in turmoil and he pinched his palms hard.

The slight pain reminded him to stay calm.

He looked at the young man again and secretly compared him with the most prominent members of the Yang royal family in the capital.

Age, appearance, and eunuchs.

Could it be——

Zhou Jiming's heart began to fall into an endless abyss.

At this moment, the eunuchs had already rushed to the young man:

"Little Dalang!"

"Your Highness, how are you? Is there anything wrong?"

"...Thank you all, gentlemen! You saved little Dalang!"

The eunuchs were worried, surprised, grateful, and relieved to have survived the disaster.

Fortunately, there was Lou Langjun who secretly protected him and saved Xiao Dalang at the critical moment.

Otherwise, Xiao Dalang would be in danger of falling off his horse, and these palace slaves would be severely punished for failing to protect their master.

If one thing is not handled properly, it will affect the whole family or even the entire clan.

The Lou family's secret guards not only saved Xiao Dalang, but also saved these slaves!
The eunuchs were surprised and grateful, and their eyes were looking at the four or five secret guards with extremely fiery expressions.

The secret guards were not so optimistic. They even ignored the eunuchs.

They all focused their attention on the half-grown boy.

They were all martial artists with sharp senses. Even at that critical moment with chaos all around them, they still heard that slight "click" sound.

The secret guard holding Yang Cheng didn't care about hierarchy. He turned over and sat up, then reached out and tore open the boy's trouser legs.

Then, he discovered that the boy's right calf was indeed bent at an abnormal angle.

The little prince's leg is broken!

They tried their best to protect him, but they only saved him from death, but failed to keep him unscathed!
……

Donggong, you are destined to be sleepless tonight.

The prince's face was as gloomy as water, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. Only his hands hidden in his sleeves were trembling slightly.

His eldest son, the heir he had carefully nurtured, was fine when he left the palace, but when he came back, he was...

"Check! Check it out for me thoroughly!"

"Why did Ah Cheng go to Qujiang? Who ordered those assassins? And why did the people from the Hundred Cavalry Division appear there?"

When the prince saw that his son was being treated by the imperial physicians who were best at orthopedics in the Imperial Hospital, he stopped staying by his son's bedside.

He came to the main room outside and issued orders in a cold voice.

The prince suspected that there was a traitor in the Eastern Palace.

The reason is simple. In Dayu, there are many ways to pray.

Why did Yang Cheng, a teenager raised in the deep palace, choose to release river lanterns?

It would be fine to release river lanterns, but why did you go to Qujiang?

And what a coincidence! No sooner had he arrived in Qujiang than assassins lay in ambush, along with the Hundred Cavalry officers chasing the fugitive...

As a high-ranking official who is good at conspiracy, the prince never believes in the word "coincidence".

All coincidences are just deliberate plans by someone with ulterior motives.

The prince has always been very confident that his East Palace is like an iron barrel.

But reality slapped the prince hard in the face.

There is a traitor in the East Palace.

First he poisoned the Crown Princess, and now he caused the little grandson of the Emperor to fall off his horse and break his leg!

This is still under the close protection of people sent by Lou Yu.

Otherwise, the little prince would have either died by the Qujiang Lake or fallen off a horse and broken his neck.

The usually gentle prince finally lost control, and waves of murderous aura surged out of his body.