Her guards

Chapter 161 Do Not Harm Others
Wang Zaitian and several scholars were not in the hunting grounds.

Instead, they were discussing philosophy in the mountains, which clearly indicates that they rushed over after receiving the news.

The Empress thought to herself with a cold laugh, "They received the news quite quickly."

He brought Yang Luo to this martial arts banquet; he truly went to great lengths for this disciple.

Last night at the banquet, they even wanted to invite Yang Luo over.

Isn't it because Yang Luo got first place in the exam?
What a waste of Princess Heisei's high regard for him! He has no respect for the princess at all!
Wang Zaitian walked very fast, but his disciple Ling Yu was even faster, rushing past him towards the frightened horse, but was stopped by the soldiers.

He seemed about to shout something, but then, fearing he might startle the horse even more, the words he uttered turned into a single "Ah!"

"Your Majesty, you must not harm anyone," Wang Zaitian said again, standing firmly in front of the Empress.

The civil officials and scholars behind him also advised against using crossbowmen.

The Empress looked at Wang Zaitian and said, "Chancellor, I did this precisely to avoid harming anyone."

She pointed around and behind her.

"With so many people here, including His Majesty, a mad horse could easily injure someone."

After saying that, he looked at the archers.

"These soldiers are handpicked from among the best, with exceptional archery skills, and they will not harm anyone."

"Don't worry, Grand Master. You worry about your disciple, and I worry about my niece."

Wang Zaitian looked at her, his eyes deep: "Empress, can you say such things without feeling guilty?"

The Empress was instantly enraged. She had no conscience? What did she have to be guilty of!

Since they had already left, why did they come back? They and their daughter are courting death!
The empress opened her mouth to give an order, and a horse rushed out like lightning, bypassing the soldiers surrounding it and heading straight for the runaway horse. In the winter, its black coat fluttered, revealing a red lining, like a blooming flower.

As the black clothes fluttered, a rope was thrown out and firmly lassoed a horse. At the same time, the person jumped off the horse and leaped to the other side of the frightened horse.

The rope in his hand was actually two ropes. One was tied to the horse he was riding, and the other was held in his hand. When the man and the horse exerted force at the same time, the startled horse reared up and neighed, raising a cloud of dust, and then stopped.

Chai Wan'er, who was too weak to scream on horseback, also tumbled off at this moment.

Fortunately, the startled horse had stopped moving and there was no severe fall or trampling.

The soldiers around immediately rushed over and carried Chai Wan'er away from the horse.

"Wan'er——"

"Imperial physician! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"

The women of the Chai family shouted excitedly.

The Empress's eyes narrowed. Wan'er was rescued, so there was no more to worry about. She was about to give the order again when the figure in black, who was flying around, threw out a rope again and freed another frightened horse.

However, the startled horse could not be pulled to a stop and instead galloped even further forward.

The figure did not loosen the rope, but instead used the momentum to flip up and hug the girl on the horse's back.

The horse neighed and galloped even more frantically in another direction, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

The soldiers on horseback hurriedly took ropes and chased after them.

At this moment, Princess Heisei arrived with a group of young ladies, and they were all horrified when they saw this scene.

"Mother!" Princess Heicheng jumped off her horse and rushed to the Empress, her face pale. "I...I didn't do a good job..."

The empress watched the horses disappear into the distance, then loosened her clenched fists and did not call for the archers again.

He used a crossbow to kill someone in front of his daughter, and she will be traumatized for the rest of her life.

“It’s none of your business,” she said, then asked with concern, “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

……

……

"Miss--"

Yang Luo jumped off Jiang Rui's horse and looked anxiously at the runaway horse.

The incident happened suddenly, and Princess Heisei rode after her, followed by her companions and other women present.

As a maid, she didn't have a horse, but luckily Jiang Rui saw her and carried her on a ride.

But when they caught up, they only saw "Miss Yang" disappear into the distance once again.

Jiang Rui hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the reins, wondering if she should take her along to chase after them again...

"Miss Asheng."

A male voice came from inside.

Jiang Rui shouted "Yunxiao" happily without even looking up, and then the sound of hooves rang out, and Zhu Yunxiao stopped riding his horse.

He looked at the maid and reached out his hand.

"Come up."

Yang Luo immediately grabbed him, used the momentum to flip onto the horse's back, and Zhu Yunxiao spurred the horse to chase after Wei Jiao and Miss Yang in the direction they had gone.

"...Be careful." Jiang Rui only had time to say one word.

That's fine. Yunxiao's riding skills are much better than hers, so it will be safer to carry Asheng's maid to chase the runaway horse.

Yunxiao is such a kind-hearted person.

He was so focused on saving lives that he didn't even glance at her.

Jiang Rui watched the two figures disappear into the distance, her expression tense and worried.

Hopefully, we can save Miss Yang.

…… ……

"Will you stop the horse yourself, or should I do it?"

The horses gallop as if in a frenzy, but when you ride on their backs, you can feel that their breathing is actually steady and their hooves are firm.

The horse was running so wildly because the woman on its back was controlling it.

Wei Jiao gripped the reins tightly, and because the horse was going too fast, he had to stay close to the person in front of him, speaking right next to her ear.

Although Mo Zheng kept screaming, there was no fear on her face, but rather a smile.

Upon hearing Wei Jiao's words, she turned her head slightly.

“That depends on whether the captain wants to stop me, or whether you want to help me, senior brother,” she said.

She said this with a smile, and Wei Jiao could see her white, fine, and pointed teeth.

She raised her head slightly to speak, almost touching his chin.

Wei Jiao always felt that she was about to bite him at any moment.

Is he a captain or a senior apprentice?
funny.

Did she really think that by calling him "senior brother," they would become siblings? And that he would dote on her and obey her every word?
Wei Jiao doesn't do things for others to see!

He suddenly reached out and grabbed the horse's neck, while simultaneously pulling the person in front of him closer.

The horse neighed, raised its head and front hooves, and then landed on its feet in a different direction. The horse stood there somewhat dazed.

"Saying it doesn't matter whether you acknowledge it or not," Wei Jiao sneered. "Isn't this a case of wanting to see you, wanting you to acknowledge me, even if it means dying?"

After saying that, he spurred the horse on its belly.

"Then I'll send you to see him now, and see what you can do after you see him."

The horse, which had been dazed, neighed again and galloped forward. Rounding a hillside, they saw the faint outline of the forest and dozens of soldiers, their armor and bows and crossbows gleaming in the air...

They were surrounded by seven or eight men dressed in hunting attire, the leader of whom wore a bright yellow turban and was none other than the emperor.

Upon seeing a horse suddenly galloping towards them, the officers and soldiers immediately lined up and raised their bows and crossbows.

"Your Majesty—Wei Jiao has successfully captured the runaway horse—" Wei Jiao shouted.

Upon hearing Wei Jiao's name, the soldiers paused, and the emperor, who had been kept at the back, spurred his horse forward.

“Wei Jiao,” he said, squinting as he looked over and saw Wei Jiao’s figure on horseback, as well as another petite figure in front of him. Was she the daughter of the Chai family?

"Your Majesty, step back! The Empress has sent word to protect you—" a guard suddenly shouted.

With a shout, he gripped his crossbow and aimed it at the approaching horse and the girl on it. With a whoosh, the crossbow bolt flew away with a sharp whistling sound.

……

……

Mo Zheng's body tensed instantly.

She realized that defense and offense were different things when the soldier raised his crossbow.

But the distance was too close, and the speed of the crossbow bolts was too great for her to dodge.

It wouldn't be fatal.

Injuries are inevitable.

This was expected, as the emperor was heavily guarded.

Moreover, the Empress was there to stop them.

Yes, there's also Consort Li, who hasn't appeared yet but may also be plotting something.

This time, she didn't expect to achieve her goal intact.

Mo Zheng arched her body, watching the arrow getting closer and closer in her line of sight. If she just leaned to the left, just a little bit would be enough to avoid a fatal blow to her heart...

But the next moment she spun around.

With all her attention focused ahead, she was lifted up by Wei Jiao from behind, and the world spun around her as she heard the sound of crossbow bolts piercing flesh.

This was the sound she had expected, but not the pain she had anticipated. The next moment, she was thrown heavily to the ground while her body covered her completely.

"Your Majesty—" Wei Jiao's shrill laughter rang out, "I've captured the runaway horse and the rider—"

……

.......
Has the person been caught?

The emperor felt his heart pounding.

There were two people whose horses were startled: a young lady from the Chai family and a young lady from the Yang family.

Now, if there's a horse and a person, which one could it be?

He shouted at the soldiers to leave, and strode over. The girl on the ground was completely covered by Wei Jiao, and only her scattered hair could be seen.

Perhaps sensing the emperor's approach, Wei Jiao slightly raised himself up.

"Your Majesty, look!" he boasted excitedly.

The emperor looked over and saw a pale-faced girl on the ground with delicate features...

However, the girl's eyes were not on him, but on Wei Jiao above.

Blood dripped down, hitting her face like blooming flowers.

Mo Zheng looked at the crossbow bolt that had pierced Wei Jiao's shoulder with surprise.