The Elite Tiger Guards were all surprised. At such a critical moment, Qin Yining could still think of such a method, making them feel both deeply admiring and having a sense of “as expected.”
How could a woman so beloved by the Prince possibly be an ordinary woman who could be manipulated at will?
Just as Qin Yining had anticipated, the first to catch up were about ten men on swift horses.
The Elite Tiger Guards were all military men by origin. The more tense the situation, the more excited they became. They showed no fear whatsoever and charged forward with fierce momentum.
Those who had pursued them on horseback were all Qiu Yuanqing’s most capable martial artists and guards, naturally possessing considerable skill. When the Elite Tiger Guards moved forward to intercept them, only Jingzhe and a few others remained to protect Qin Yining. Since they had to enter Sword River City together, they naturally couldn’t separate. Moreover, even if Qin Yining left first, without an exit pass, she wouldn’t be able to leave the city.
Therefore, Qin Yining ordered them to slow down and wait for the Elite Tiger Guards to rejoin the group.
However, those men’s martial arts were much stronger than they had anticipated. From the carriage, Qin Yining looked back and saw that the people Qiu Yuanqing had brought were also successively about to catch up.
“Princess Consort, what should we do? Let’s leave first!” Ji Yun frowned and said, “If this continues, that group will soon surround us.”
“Even if we leave first, we can’t escape and would only sacrifice everyone in vain. It’s fine, I want to see what else they plan to do.” Qin Yining’s voice showed not a trace of timidity, instead speaking with bold spirit, “At worst, I’ll give them another one.”
Everyone knew she was referring to the thunder-fire bombs. Not knowing exactly how many she had brought, they assumed she still had quite a few, giving them a bit more confidence.
The pursuers drew near. The first batch who had pursued them on horseback had already been dealt with by the Elite Tiger Guards. When the Elite Tiger Guards returned to Qin Yining’s side, they could already clearly see Qiu Yuanqing’s forces arriving.
They came in vast numbers, the bright gleaming weapons in their hands flashing with cold light in the sunlight, clearly not intending to end things peacefully.
Qiu Yuanqing called out loudly, “Princess Consort, please stop and return with us. Otherwise, I truly cannot guarantee the Princess Consort’s safety. Even if we killed you today, no one would know who did it! In this Sword River City, there’s nothing the Qiu family cannot accomplish!”
As he spoke, in the direction of Qin Yining’s escape route, the sound of footsteps suddenly arose. Looking back, Qin Yining saw a team of people wielding weapons flanking them.
They were unfamiliar with the terrain, but their opponents had a clear advantage in this regard, having already set up an ambush along Qin Yining’s escape route.
Now with attacks from both sides, both Qin Yining’s forward and backward paths were blocked.
Qiu Yuanqing laughed triumphantly, “Why struggle? In Sword River City, one must follow Sword River City’s rules. Wasn’t the Qiu family’s treatment good enough that you insisted on escaping? This time, once we capture you and bring you back, it might not be the same treatment as before. Don’t regret it then!”
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Qin Yining was already calculating countermeasures in her reviving mind.
To force their way through wasn’t impossible, but there would definitely be casualties among those around her. Moreover, even if they broke through, without an exit pass, she still couldn’t leave the city. There was no need to let those around her sacrifice themselves in vain.
Although Qiu Yuanqing had murderous intentions, before she could be “used to her full potential,” he probably wouldn’t really kill her. He would definitely keep her to continue exploiting her, so she could at least preserve her life.
At this moment, it wasn’t the time to play the hero or be stubborn. Only by preserving her life could she leave Sword River and see Pang Xiao and the two children.
Thinking of this, Qin Yining was considering what to say.
But just then, behind everyone, the sound of urgent and chaotic horse hooves suddenly arose. Just from the sound, they could tell many people were coming.
Looking back, they indeed saw a force of about a hundred men riding toward them. All mounted were men dressed in deep blue short robes, each holding clubs, knives, and swords.
Leading these men was a white horse, upon which sat a handsome young man in blue robes.
As they drew closer, the view became clearer – the leader was actually Qiu Feishan!
Qin Yining narrowed her eyes. Although trapped within a snare, she calmed down at this moment, very curious to see what Qiu Feishan was really up to.
“Everyone stop!” Qiu Feishan sat upright on his horse with heroic bearing, his voice carrying powerful authority.
Over a hundred cavalry arrived in the blink of an eye, like two curved blades inserting into both sides of the formation, protecting Qin Yining and confronting Qiu Yuanqing’s men on both sides.
Qiu Feishan leaped down from his horse, casually tossing the reins aside, and called out questioningly, “Second Uncle, what is the meaning of this? Why do you treat my honored guest so poorly!”
Qiu Yuanqing hadn’t expected that Qiu Feishan, who hadn’t returned home for over two years, would suddenly appear at this moment.
Most importantly, he didn’t know when exactly Qiu Feishan had entered the city. He had his own informants at Sword River Pass, and by rights, everything he wanted to know couldn’t escape his eyes.
Qiu Feishan’s sudden appearance made Qiu Yuanqing’s expression tighten, his heart also rising with concern.
Qiu Yuanqing sneered coldly, “Ridiculous! How have I mistreated your guest? Recently, Sword River has had arsonists running rampant. To protect your guest, I even invited their entire party back to the mansion, arranged clean guest quarters, and provided them with good food and drink. Now they want to leave in the blink of an eye and pin a big accusation on our Qiu family – how can I not intervene in this matter!”
Qiu Feishan said coolly, “Second Uncle, why resort to sophistry? What exactly have you done – do you think everyone else is a fool?”
Taking a calm step forward, Qiu Feishan called out loudly, “The honored guest I invited back is for our family’s long-term interests – I wanted to discuss a major cooperation with Prince Consort Zhongshun’s Princess. Second Uncle disregards the family and instead instructs people to openly offend her. What are Second Uncle’s intentions? Do you want to place the Qiu family in an unrighteous position and make everyone laugh at the Qiu family?”
“You! Feishan, I never expected that after all these years of absence, you’ve become even more sharp-tongued, immediately putting accusations on people! On what basis do you say I instructed people to offend the Princess Consort!”
“If you hadn’t instigated it, why would Qiu Feizhen be so bold as to molest the Princess Consort? Since you knew Qiu Feizhen committed such a grave error, why didn’t you intervene or punish him according to family law as a warning to others? Not only did you cover for him, you wanted to turn around and bite back, even placing the victimized party under house arrest in the mansion!
“I’ve been busy with business outside and indeed haven’t been home for long, but just because Grandfather doesn’t come out to handle major affairs, is this how Second Uncle manages the Qiu family? If this continues, what rules will the Qiu family have left!”
“Stop your slanderous accusations!” Qiu Yuanqing was so angry he was breathing heavily.
Qiu Feishan said, “It seems that without laying out the evidence, Second Uncle doesn’t intend to admit his wrongs.”
As Qiu Feishan spoke, he beckoned to those behind him.
Two men sitting on horseback immediately threw two sacks that had been loaded on the horses’ backs to the ground.
The two sacks hit the ground with thumping sounds, followed by muffled groans.
Someone stepped forward to untie the sacks and pulled out the people inside.
Looking carefully, Qin Yining saw they were actually Qiu Feizhen and Qiu Feicong. It had been these two who came to invite her that day. Although Qiu Feicong hadn’t offended her, his suggestive looks and verbal instigation had been quite obvious at the time.
Qin Yining narrowed her eyes as she looked toward Qiu Feishan, some speculations vaguely forming in her mind.
Qiu Feishan then stepped forward and pointed at the two on the ground, saying, “Whether Second Uncle did anything, asking them would be clearest.”
Qiu Feicong sat up groggily at this moment, clutching his bruised shoulder and back, crying “ow, ow” in pain several times. When he looked up and saw such a large scene before him, then saw both Qiu Feishan and Qiu Yuanqing were there, he immediately said anxiously:
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me! Feishan, you have to believe cousin, cousin isn’t that kind of person. Although I’m a bit foolish, I wouldn’t dare randomly instigate Feizhen to be disrespectful to the Princess Consort. This matter, it was all, it was all…” Qiu Feicong was like a condemned prisoner seeking a way out, his eyes darting around looking for escape routes. Suddenly he turned and pointed at Qiu Yuanqing, shouting, “It was Second Uncle, he’s the one who told me to instigate Feizhen. Feizhen was already lustful by nature, so when I said that, he fell right into the trap. It was all Second Uncle!”
Qiu Feizhen had originally been kicked so badly he was left sterile and had barely preserved his life. After being tied to a horse’s back and jostled like cargo all the way, then thrown directly to the ground, the fall nearly made him pass out. Hearing Qiu Feicong’s words, he immediately began cursing in anger.
“You’re not human! Are you even a brother? You actually listened to Second Uncle’s instigation and harmed me. If I had known it would come to this, I would have… I would have beaten you to death rather than listen to you!”
“Feizhen, don’t be angry, I was forced into it too. Second Uncle made me do it…”
Both Qiu Feicong and Qiu Feizhen began crying.
Qiu Yuanqing’s face had already turned iron-blue. “Shut up! You two stop talking nonsense and slandering me!”
Qiu Feishan said coldly, “Whether it’s slander or not, Second Uncle knows in his heart. Even if you continue to argue, the fact remains that your actions caused harm to the Princess Consort. You placed the Princess Consort under house arrest in the mansion and gathered so many people to pursue and kill the Princess Consort – these are also facts!”
“Qiu Feishan, don’t forget that you’re surnamed Qiu!”
“Precisely because I’m surnamed Qiu, I must consider the Qiu family’s interests and clean up after Second Uncle’s foolish actions!”
“Clean up? Clean up what!” Qiu Yuanqing roared angrily, “Is there anywhere in this Sword River City that our Qiu family doesn’t have the final say? So what if Qiu Feizhen really molested the Princess Consort? So what if we killed her! Qiu Feishan, you’re now splitting the Qiu family internally for the sake of outsiders! Affecting the unity of the Qiu clan!”
Qiu Feishan ignored Qiu Yuanqing’s shouting and pointed at Qiu Feizhen on the ground, “Regardless of who instigated it, Qiu Feizhen’s molestation of the Princess Consort is an established fact and should be punished according to family law. Guards!”
“Yes, Young Miss!” Immediately, attendants responded.
Qiu Feishan said, “According to family law, give Qiu Feizhen forty strokes and expel him from the family!”
“Yes!” Immediately, loyal servants responded and began dragging Qiu Feizhen away.
Qiu Feizhen’s eyes went wide as he was held by both arms and dragged backward, his weak cries seeming to emerge from his lungs, “Qiu Feishan, you dare! Who do you think you are to invoke family law? Qiu Feishan!”
Qiu Feishan remained unmoved, “Molesting Prince Zhongshun’s Princess Consort – not taking your life on the spot was already the Princess Consort’s mercy. You people keep passing the blame around and pushing your mistakes onto others. Do you have any shame left? You’ve completely disgraced the Qiu family’s reputation!”