Love Lock

Chapter 359 Crimson Shadow

This arrow was executed with ruthless precision in timing, angle, and cunning! It perfectly exploited the close-range chaos created by Princess Chang Le, and took advantage of the momentary lapse in Zhao Zun's attention and the slight gap in his body movement while he was protecting Han Lei and making every effort to capture the assassin.

This was a true game-winning shot!

"An assassin!" Zhao Zun's heart almost stopped beating for a moment! Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a cold glint flashing past him, its target the person he cherished most in his life!

An unprecedented, almost overwhelming panic, like a cold current surging from a bottomless abyss, instantly engulfed him!
He tried to turn around and block, but his body leaned forward slightly due to the momentum of his forward grab, and his arm was already outstretched, so he didn't have time to make the perfect block!
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely, and the piercing whistling of the arrows amplified in his ears into the most desperate death knell!
"Ding!"

A slightly muffled and peculiar impact sounded as the crossbow bolt struck Han Lei precisely in the chest.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Zun's heart, which had been pounding in his throat, suddenly went limp. However, his outstretched arm, which was reaching for Princess Chang Le, paused slightly due to this sudden and earth-shattering turn of events. He then moved forward even faster, his five fingers gripping Princess Chang Le's thin shoulder blades firmly like iron clamps.

"Crack!"

"Well--!"

A soft cracking sound rang out, and the excruciating pain caused Chang Le to let out a shrill groan. All her strength was instantly drained, and she could no longer break free.

"Protect His Majesty! Protect the Empress!" Ma Zi reacted as swiftly as a cheetah, already alert the moment Zhao Zun shouted "Assassin!" and drew his gun.

At this moment, while shouting loudly and directing the guards who had rushed into the shop to quickly shrink back and form an impenetrable human wall to tightly protect Zhao Zun and Han Lei in the center, his eyes swept across the room like lightning and instantly locked onto the source of the cold arrow—a dark figure was rapidly disappearing on the roof of the building across the street!
"On that rooftop over there! Chase them! Kill them on sight!"

Ma Zi gave the order in a stern voice, his tone filled with murderous intent. Damn it, he had just become the commander of the palace guards, and someone dared to provoke him, trying to ruin his job. They were simply courting death.

Several guards and hidden bodyguards immediately shot out like arrows, heading straight for the roof of the shop opposite.

"Stand still!" Ma Zi looked at the stunned people in the shop, then pulled out his walkie-talkie and gave a rapid, cold order: "Imperial Guards, listen up! The 'Weaving Feather Pavilion' on the main street in the west of the city has been attacked. His Majesty and the Empress are here! Seal off all street entrances! Arrest all suspicious persons. Better to arrest the innocent than let the guilty go free!"

Zhao Zun restrained Princess Chang Le, whose face was ashen and who was curled up in excruciating pain, with one hand as firm as an iron band. He immediately turned around, his voice trembling without him even realizing it: "Girl! How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Han Lei stared wide-eyed, clutching her chest, her face filled with shock and disbelief. She stood there, her breathing rapid, but there seemed to be no obvious external injuries.

"I'm fine..." Leilei gasped for breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart, which felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, and shook her head.

Seeing that she was alright, Zhao Zun turned to deal with the woman he had restrained.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zun only confirmed whether Han Lei had been injured by the arrow before turning his head away. He did not immediately notice Han Lei's subsequent actions, nor the fleeting look of confusion and bewilderment on her face that did not stem from fright.

The arrow pierced through Han Lei's clothes, but failed to penetrate her flesh and bone as the assassin had hoped. Instead, it made a crisp sound as the arrowhead seemed to hit an indestructible barrier, its force instantly neutralized and exhausted. The iron arrowhead was even slightly twisted and deformed due to the huge impact, and finally hung limply on her tea-soaked clothes.

Han Lei released her hand from her chest and slowly looked down at the small crossbow bolt hanging on her lapel, its fletching still trembling slightly. A strange, subtle dizziness, like a chilling current surging underground, crept into her mind, causing her vision to blur for a moment.

At this moment, Zhao Zun forcefully pulled the limp Princess Chang Le in front of him, and with his other hand roughly tore off the veil from her face.

The veil fluttered down, revealing a weathered face. But at that moment, those eyes were filled with fear, resentment, and utter despair.

"Changle?!"

It was Princess Chang Le?
A hint of unexpected ferocity flashed in Zhao Zun's eyes, but it was quickly covered by an even deeper killing intent, as cold as ten thousand years of ice.

Zhao Zun recalled the incident where Princess Chang Le conspired with Wei Chengchao to kidnap Han Lei. At the time, considering that Han Lei had not been seriously injured, he did not take her life, but only gave her a minor punishment and imprisoned her on the mountain for more than two months.

Unexpectedly, she went even further and attempted to assassinate someone in such a setting!

Zhao Zun was furious.

With new grudges and old hatreds compounded, especially during this critical period of instability in the court, he must thoroughly and ruthlessly eliminate any threat that dares to challenge imperial power or endanger Han Lei's safety! There will be no leniency!
Princess Chang Le was terrified when she realized that her identity had been completely exposed.

She struggled and pleaded, desperately trying to get away with it: "Zhao Zun! Your Majesty! It's me, it's me, Chang Le! You...you listen to me..."

She tried to move him with her so-called "old feelings" that had long since faded and were never even on Zhao Zun's mind, seeking a glimmer of hope.

"Shut up!"

Zhao Zun had no interest in, and utterly loathed, listening to her nauseating explanations. He angrily snapped at her, his voice as cold as iron, devoid of any emotion.

In his eyes, this person had repeatedly broken the law, harbored malicious intentions, and repeatedly endangered Han Lei's life; he was utterly wicked.

Zhao Zun didn't even bother to interrogate Princess Chang Le about whether she had any accomplices. He suddenly released his grip on her hands and swiftly and decisively drew a pistol from his waist.

Without hesitation, the cold metal muzzle of the gun was pointed at Chang Le's heart, and the trigger was pulled!

"boom!"

The sudden gunshot sounded particularly jarring and terrifying in the relatively quiet shop! The people present were already in shock, and upon hearing the gunshot, they screamed in extreme fear again, crouching down with their heads in their hands, trembling and unable to look any longer.

Princess Chang Le's body jolted violently, and a burst of dazzling blood erupted from her chest.

She looked down in disbelief at the rapidly expanding crimson stain on her chest, then looked up at Zhao Zun, her eyes filled with endless resentment and unwillingness, as well as a trace of utter despair.

She opened her mouth, as if to utter a final curse, but no more syllables came out. Her body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, and blood meandered beneath her.

Oh my god! Someone's dead!

Aunt Li covered her mouth in shock, her eyes wide open, and her whole body drenched in cold sweat. Princess Chang Le was someone she had recruited, and now that an assassination attempt had occurred, although she had escaped unharmed, she was still culpable.

"Your Majesty, spare me! I...I didn't know she was an assassin...Your Majesty, spare me!" Aunt Li knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy.

Zhao Zun glanced at her and gestured to the guards beside him to deal with Princess Chang Le's body.

A guard immediately stepped forward, expressionless, and quickly covered the body with a piece of cloth.

The heavy stench of blood began to mingle with the aroma of tea and the fresh scent of fabric, spreading through the air and making people nauseous.

Just as the stench of blood filled the air, Han Lei, standing behind Zhao Zun, felt her dizziness suddenly intensify, sweeping over her consciousness like a tsunami.

She seemed to hear a clear "crack" sound as something on her body shattered, and everything in front of her—Zhao Zun's tall back, the panicked crowd, and the colorful fabrics on the shelves—began to spin and transform into overlapping, swaying, bizarre and illusory images.

In my mind, it was as if a forbidden gate had been forcibly opened, and countless faces and fragments of memories surged uncontrollably, intertwined, and shattered...

Zhao Zun's affectionate gaze, Xiao Zhengfei's honest and simple smile, Pingchuan's steady and reliable figure, Old He's kind and warm wrinkles, Tao Qing leading the way, and the way Gou Sheng got a good beating from her...

Since she traveled to this time and space, every person she has met and every event she has experienced, whether heartwarming and sweet or thrilling, has been rushing and roaring through her mind in a wild and chaotic way...

She felt the ground beneath her feet become soft like a swamp, and all her strength was being rapidly drained by some invisible force, leaving her with a cold, utterly exhausted feeling.

She tried to steady herself and instinctively reached out to grab the sturdy shelf next to her, but her wobbly fingertips knocked over a roll of blue cloth placed on the outermost side.

The sound of the rolled-up cloth hitting the ground wasn't loud, but it clearly struck Zhao Zun's ears as he was about to turn around to check on Han Lei's condition.

He turned back sharply.

Han Lei's face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color, her eyes were unfocused and empty, and her body was like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, swaying and collapsing backward with a heartbreaking sense of powerlessness!
"Girl!!!"

Zhao Zun was terrified, and his scream was heart-wrenching.

He rushed forward and, just as Han Lei's body was about to hit the ground hard, he narrowly caught her delicate body in his arms!
Upon touching it, one feels a chilling coldness and a limp, lifeless sensation, as if the vitality of life is rapidly draining away from this body!
"Girl! Girl, what's wrong?" Zhao Zun held the limp Han Lei, his heart filled with grief.

Upon seeing Han Lei faint, the guards standing watch in the shop turned pale with fright. As palace guards, their duty was to protect their master's safety, and now that their master was in trouble, their heads were likely in danger.

"Return to the palace! Return to the palace immediately! Quickly!!!"

Zhao Zun scooped Han Lei up in his arms and held her tightly against his chest, trying to warm her cold body with his own warm chest. His voice was hoarse and distorted due to extreme fear and heartache, and his eyes were already bloodshot.

He carried Han Lei and rushed out of the chaotic and bustling shop at top speed, like a madman. He didn't even wait for the guards to clear the road completely before smashing through the debris blocking the way and taking a few steps to the carriage on the side of the street.

The two guards reacted quickly, leaping onto the carriage shaft to protect it from the left and right.

As soon as Zhao Zun carried Han Lei onto the carriage, the driver, without waiting for instructions, cracked the whip, and the horse, in pain, neighed loudly, pulling the blue cloth carriage wildly through the streets that were already under martial law and where pedestrians were fleeing in panic.

Inside the carriage, Zhao Zun held Han Lei tightly in his arms, first running his hand over her chest to look for the arrow wound. But there was no blood flowing from the spot where the arrow had pierced her clothes.

There were no visible injuries, but Han Lei's face was pale, her body was cold and lifeless. Zhao Zun panicked even more. He grabbed his thick cloak and wrapped it tightly around her, patting her cold cheeks repeatedly, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

He called out to Han Lei again and again, his voice filled with endless panic and pleading: "Girl! Girl! Wake up! Look at me! What's wrong with you? Don't scare me, don't scare Brother Zun..."

No matter how he called out to her, Han Lei's eyes remained closed and her body was ice cold.

As the carriage jolted along, Zhao Zun would occasionally lift a corner of the curtain, his eyes bloodshot as he vigilantly observed the rapidly receding street scenes and rooftops outside, fearing a second wave of ambushing arrows.

At the same time, he kept urging the driver on, his voice like the roar of a wounded beast: "Faster! Faster! Go as fast as you can!"

Outside the carriage, guards were frantically shooing away passersby: "Make way! Make way, everyone!"

The carriage sped by, the sound of the wind, the rapid clatter of the horses' hooves, and the rumble of the wheels grinding wildly over the bluestone slabs, all intertwining into a chaotic and agonizingly urgent whistle.

Inside the carriage, Zhao Zun suddenly remembered something and frantically pulled out the walkie-talkie from his waist. His fingers even trembled uncontrollably due to extreme fear.

He slammed down the call button, practically roaring the order, his voice carrying across the space to the depths of the palace, "Ling'er! Listen! Zhao Ling'er! Immediately summon all the imperial physicians! All of them! All of them, to Weiyang Palace! Immediately! Right now! Something has happened to the Empress! Hurry!"

A panicked voice immediately came from the other end of the walkie-talkie: "Royal brother!? What happened to sister-in-law? I...I'm coming right now! Imperial physician! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

Zhao Zun almost roughly threw away the walkie-talkie, then tightly grasped Han Lei's cold, soft, yet lifeless hands in his warm palms. He looked down at her pale, paper-white face, and a fear more helpless and suffocating than facing a thousand troops or court inquiries engulfed him like an endless abyss of darkness.

No matter how anxious and helpless he was, all he could do was hold Han Lei tightly in vain, feeling the faint breath of her life, his heart breaking.

"Girl... hang in there... you must hold on... we're going back to the palace soon." He murmured, pressing his forehead against her cold forehead, his voice filled with an unprecedented vulnerability and despair.

In the cold winter, the carriage sped like an arrow towards the majestic imperial city, leaving behind a chaotic, law-bound street, a gradually cooling and stiffening corpse, a newly opened "Weaving Feather Pavilion" shrouded in heavy blood and shadow, and the crossbow bolt of "attempted murder."

In a very short time, the entire Imperial Guard was mobilized, braving the cold wind to search and arrest people in the streets and alleys.

Ma Zi ordered the Imperial Guards to temporarily seal off the "Weaving Feather Pavilion," the site of the crime, and all the female textile workers were taken back to the Dali Temple for questioning.

The atmosphere in the entire capital city immediately became tense.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I'll be taking a break on the 25th and won't be updating for a day!