A gust of wind passed, and she lifted the man again to face the bow and the great river. At this moment, the waves were high and urgent, crashing down upon them.
With a splash, both she and the soldier were soaked from head to waist.
Everyone stared at her in bewilderment, not understanding her intention.
Had she gone mad with anger?
A moment later, Tie Ci turned around holding the man.
Everyone gasped in shock.
Somehow, both she and the soldier now had deep red stains on their clothes that looked like blood, with red water droplets falling from their faces.
It appeared as if they had suddenly been stabbed, yet there were no wounds.
Most people were still confused, but some had already understood, quietly exchanging glances in the crowd.
Tie Ci said: “The culprit has been found.”
Everyone stirred, asking in unison: “Where?”
Tie Ci pointed at the empty air.
Everyone was astonished. After a moment, someone angrily said: “Crown Princess! Even with your noble status, you cannot speak nonsense and insult us!”
Tie Ci’s expression remained unchanged as she shook the red droplets from her clothes and pointed at her feet.
Beneath her feet was where the wine and food had been placed earlier.
Now that spot was wet again, with a faint red shadow.
It was where the waves had just crashed.
“Did you see? The poison was in the waves—the culprit is these waves, this wind.”
Everyone stared at her in shock. Some sneered, some changed color, some stood up abruptly.
“Today’s waves are high, some can surge over the bow. When large waves come, someone clinging to the ship’s side used the opportunity to spray poison through a tube with the waves. That wave became poisoned water, then splashed onto the wine and food placed at the bow. So when the wine and food were brought out, they had no poison, but by the time someone drank them, they were poisoned.” Tie Ci pointed to her own clothes. “So I just invited this brother to do an experiment with me. This red color is red dye sprayed through a tube, washing over the bow with the waves. If dye can do it, poison certainly can too.”
Everyone stared wide-eyed, seeming unable to imagine such an incredible poisoning method.
“If you don’t believe it, we can demonstrate it specifically to see if this would cause poisoning.” Tie Ci pushed the soldier down and beckoned to an officer in the crowd.
That man was suddenly singled out, his face rigid with tension.
If he said he didn’t believe it, he might be dragged to the bow and sprayed with poison—what if he died? But if he said he believed it… would he just accept this explanation? Wouldn’t his comrades curse him to death later?
In a dilemma, he simply lowered his head, pretending not to see.
Tie Ci pointed to another person, who turned his face away.
Tie Ci’s finger slowly moved through the crowd, but no one dared respond.
The Crown Princess’s guards began laughing.
“I don’t believe it!” However, one person pushed through the crowd. “Who poisons people like this! You say this, but there’s no proof. You can just say you can’t find the culprit, and the culprit certainly can’t still be beside the ship now. This is absurd—when you can’t find the culprit, you blame it on the waves…”
Before he finished speaking, a figure suddenly flew through the air.
Cutting off his questioning.
That person sailed over the bow and landed on the deck with a thud. Everyone scattered to see it was someone wearing black water gear.
“Make way!”
Everyone looked up to see black figures leaping through the waves one after another, falling onto the deck like dead fish.
They landed right between the naval forces and the Crown Princess’s guards, naturally separating both sides.
The last to come up was Murong Yi. Before he even climbed up, he pointed at Tie Ci saying: “Move aside, move aside, don’t block my way.”
Tie Ci smiled and stepped aside.
Everyone looked at him, then at Tie Ci. Earlier when Tie Ci had been locked in her room refusing to come out, everyone had inevitably made some unpleasant speculations. Now seeing their calm expressions and intimate yet unguarded conversation, it really didn’t look like they needed to hide in rooms for daytime pleasure. Those who had planned to make an issue of this suddenly found themselves unable to speak.
Murong Yi walked around Tie Ci from a distance, pointing at the pile of black-clothed people like dead fish: “It’s this group. They’ve been hiding near our ship, following us the whole time. When those young masters tried to escape in the chaos, these people planned to kidnap them, but I intercepted them.” He kicked one of them in the waist, and a small spray tube rolled out. Murong Yi opened the tube and called the military doctor over: “Take a look—is this the same poison they were affected by?”
The doctor examined the poison liquid and nodded after a moment.
A silence fell over the crowd, with someone muttering: “How do we know these aren’t your people, thrown out to take the blame when things looked bad…”
Tie Ci crouched down and tore off one person’s mask: “Our people?”
Under the mask was a strange face with dark skin, high cheekbones, and flat, soft features—clearly the facial characteristics of people from the Qianzhou and Yannan regions. Only fishermen exposed to sun and wind for long periods would have such skin.
The Crown Princess came from the capital and was visiting Yannan for the first time. Her guards were all selected from the capital’s youth—they wouldn’t have local natives.
Someone came forward to look and wondered if these were remnants of water bandits seeking revenge. Others suspected they were garrison soldiers under Qi Lingyuan’s command seeking revenge, because although these people carried no standard weapons, some had calluses from long-term practice with swords and bows—controlled weapons that only military units could possess.
Murong Yi smiled: “There’s one more proof.”
He pulled open one person’s clothing. The man’s water gear and hair were greasy, gleaming blue-green in the sunlight. “When Xiao Xueya was drinking at the bow earlier, he didn’t like the food and flipped the dishes overboard. Those dishes happened to land on this fellow. The food was washed away by water, but oil can’t be washed off.” He sniffed the hair and smiled broadly: “Spicy shredded chicken flavor.”
The crowd immediately fell silent.
This was truly irrefutable evidence.
People had seen what wine and food were brought earlier—there was indeed spicy shredded chicken. Everyone had also seen the dishes being flipped over. At that time, the only one staying under the ship who got doused with food was the person doing the poisoning.
All their previous righteous indignation and confident justification vanished. People looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
Only the deputy general who had been crouching beside Xiao Xueya the whole time now looked up: “Your Highness said it wasn’t you, and now it appears the evidence is conclusive. We’re willing to believe you. But please, Your Highness, you must save our commander no matter what. Only when the commander awakens will Your Highness’s innocence be completely cleared, and only then will the Nanyue naval forces be truly convinced and never harbor doubts about Your Highness again!”
He was Xiao Xueya’s most trusted officer and held considerable prestige among the Nanyue naval forces. His words amounted to accepting Tie Ci’s explanation and reasoning. Everyone’s expressions gradually softened, and they echoed his words. Some officers pushed urgently through the crowd, reaching to pull at Tie Ci’s sleeve, saying anxiously: “Your Highness, Your Highness, we were rash and misunderstood you earlier. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against us rough folk. The urgent matter now is to quickly detoxify our commander…” He pulled at Tie Ci’s sleeve as if to kneel.
Tie Ci reached out to support him.
But at that moment, cold light flashed from the officer’s sleeve, shooting straight toward Tie Ci’s heart.
With so many people around making various movements and sounds, only the few closest people saw it. They instinctively widened their eyes, even forgetting to breathe or cry out.
Tie Ci’s hand supporting the man suddenly yanked forward.
She forcibly pulled his large frame forward into a collision, then pressed down hard.
With a thud, the man’s body crashed onto the deck and didn’t move.
Moments later, blood slowly flowed from beneath him.
Some people rushed forward, others stepped back, some cried out as they turned him over, discovering that the thin dagger that had shot from his sleeve was now embedded in his chest and abdomen.
“Your Highness!”
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
Tie Ci’s guards rushed up, separating the crowd and shielding Tie Ci behind them. Some drew swords, some supported her, some kept asking questions.
Murong Yi pushed through the crowd rushing toward her.
Tie Ci gestured for him not to approach, to prevent his poison from worsening due to proximity to her. A guard stood in front of her—by his uniform, one of the Nine Guards—blocking half her body with his sword drawn facing the Nanyue naval forces, backing away while saying: “Your Highness, please don’t come forward anymore. These Nanyue turtles are despicably treacherous and will ambush—not one of them is any good!”
Tie Ci, forced to retreat by his blocking, said helplessly while backing away: “It’s fine… nothing happened… don’t be nervous… don’t provoke them…”
Suddenly a point of black light silently thrust out from behind the guard in front of her! Swift as lightning!
At the same time, her back felt tight, as if blocked by something—she couldn’t retreat any further!
A coordinated assassination plot!
The second assassin was actually hidden among her guards!
Taking advantage of the most relaxed moment after the first assassination failed when people came to rescue her!
Tie Ci looked up, catching sight of Chi Qingbo’s suddenly changed expression from the corner of her eye.
Dan Shuang, who had been pushed away by the crowd and was still half a zhang away but whose gaze had been on her the whole time, screamed and charged over like a mad tiger!
Tie Ci’s hand was already reaching out.
But just then, someone violently crashed into her. Tie Ci instinctively reached out to push, but changing her movement inevitably made her slower. With a soft thud accompanied by a loud cry.
This cry alerted the others, who looked over with sudden alarm and rushed toward them.
Chi Xue reacted quickly, pulling Dan Shuang over to block the front, saying: “No one is allowed to approach! Stand back! Or you’ll be treated as suspects in assassinating the Crown Heir!”
With several whistling sounds, a row of arrows was planted in the ground. People silently retreated behind the arrow line, moving further and further from Tie Ci.
Tie Ci supported the person who had collapsed in front of her with one hand while reaching over this person’s shoulder with the other to grab the assassin blocking her. She had no way to attend to the person blocking her from behind.
But she saw someone leap over, a black whip flashing in his hand, wrapping around the neck of the person behind her.
It seemed to be one of Murong Yi’s men.
Tie Ci had just breathed a sigh of relief when her palm tightened as she was about to lift the assassin in front of her, then she realized something was wrong.
The body under her palm collapsed softly at the slightest touch.
Behind her came a thud of a body hitting the ground, accompanied by a curse from Murong Yi’s subordinate.
Tie Ci sighed inwardly.
So fast.
She released her grip on the assassin and steadied the person who had crashed over trying to save her, sighing: “Young Master Chi!”
Chi Qingbo, clutching his side, looked up. His handsome face was now deathly pale, with deep red blood continuously seeping through his fingers.
With a sharp scream, A’li Fu stumbled over, crying: “Husband! Husband!”
She was about to step on the row of warning arrows.
Dan Shuang’s expression turned cold as she grimly drew her sword.
In other times, she might have hesitated, considering A’li Fu’s urgent distress seemed so genuine.
But just now, before her very eyes, the Crown Princess had suffered two assassination attempts, the second one even involving someone who had infiltrated the Crown Princess’s guards.
She was furious and now viewed everyone with suspicion.
Tie Ci’s voice came: “Let her through.”
Only then did Dan Shuang silently step aside. A’li Fu didn’t thank her or acknowledge her, lifting her skirt and stumbling forward. She nearly got stabbed by the arrow shafts, but Chi Xue pulled her back.
She knelt beside Chi Qingbo, looking at the gradually expanding shocking red stain on his clothing, asking in panic: “Husband, how are you? Husband, why did you suddenly…”
“It’s nothing… nothing…” Chi Qingbo reached out his other unbloodied hand to stroke her hair, saying gently: “I was pushed by the crowd near the Crown Princess, saw that person suddenly attack the Crown Princess, and in the heat of the moment charged forward…”
A’li Fu sobbed: “Are you badly hurt? Are you badly hurt…”
“It’s nothing… just a flesh wound… The Crown Princess pulled me back, otherwise it wouldn’t have been just my side that was injured…” Chi Qingbo’s face flushed slightly as he turned back with difficulty, saying somewhat apologetically: “The Crown Princess was prepared, wasn’t she? But I rashly charged out and probably interfered with the Crown Princess’s plans. I was too impulsive…”
“Young Master Chi speaks too seriously,” Tie Ci said. “Your heroic rescue—I am very grateful.”
She had indeed been prepared.
Although the enemy’s move was extremely clever and hard to guard against, when she had stood at the bow earlier, she had heard vague sounds carried by the wind.
“…quickly change…”
“No one will notice at this time…”
At the time, she couldn’t understand what she heard, but it remained in her mind. When the situation arose, she could react a bit faster.
That was enough.
She hadn’t expected Chi Qingbo to charge over—his position was basically throwing himself onto the blade. She had no choice but to pull him back, and because there was a person between them, her control of the opponent was a step slower.
Now…
The person in front had collapsed softly—no need to look, already dead by suicide.
The person behind who had blocked her retreat—from Murong Yi’s subordinate’s cursing, presumably also dead.
These were death warriors.
If one strike failed, they would atone with their lives—well-trained.
Her gaze fell on Chi Qingbo’s wound. It was dangerous—if she hadn’t pushed him, the blade tip of that hidden blade rod would have pierced through his body, certainly fatal.
In any case, Chi Qingbo had indeed risked his life to save her.
The assassins’ bodies were turned over, revealing two unfamiliar faces. Both appeared to be young men, with lean but solid builds showing the efficiency and strength of those long trained.
They both had thick calluses on their hands, especially on the tiger’s mouth and thumbs, with many small, mottled scars on their palms.
They had practiced with standard weapons for a long time.
Tie Ci’s gaze fell on their boots. Clothes could be changed, but not shoes—others’ shoes wouldn’t fit, and not changing them wouldn’t attract attention.
But these were just ordinary leather boots with some dirt stuck to the soles, and the dirt didn’t look particularly special either.
Chi Xue had already arranged cabins. The wounded were carried into one room. Tie Ci ordered Xiao Xueya and Wan Ji to be carried in as well. When someone tried to stop this, Tie Ci said flatly: “The doctor is injured. If he’s not staying with the doctor, can you handle it yourselves?”
Chi Qingbo’s face showed a faint smile: “I didn’t have time to say earlier… I can try to cure the Wanxiang Grass poison…”
Deputy General Zhu immediately made the final decision: “Carry them in, carry them in!”
Another room was used to confine the assassins Murong Yi had pulled from the water. Murong Yi, experienced in such matters, had immediately stuffed gags in their mouths and bound them so they couldn’t move, preventing even suicide attempts.
A third room was for displaying the corpses of the two assassins who had disguised themselves as Crown Princess Nine Guards to assassinate Tie Ci. Tie Ci went in alone to look for a while before coming out, ordering that when they reached Wuling, the assassins’ bodies should be handed to local authorities with a reward for information.
As for the Nanyue naval officer who had assassinated Tie Ci, he was a deputy commander of the Shunning Army in the naval forces. His family were hereditary servants of the Xiao family, and he had joined the military through the martial examination route, following Xiao Xueya from Yongping to Jiusui to Nanyue. He was Xiao Xueya’s man and also the Xiao family’s man.
By rights, assassinating the Crown Heir meant he had to be handed over for punishment, but the Nanyue naval forces firmly refused. Deputy General Zhu told Tie Ci that the Nanyue naval personnel should be dealt with by the commander, and asked her to rest assured that he would carefully guard the criminal. As soon as the commander awakened, he would definitely handle it impartially.
Tie Ci didn’t insist. It was natural for someone loyal to the Xiao family to want to take the opportunity to kill her. If she insisted on dealing with this person now, it would only re-inflame the situation that had been calmed with such difficulty. How this assassination would ultimately be handled and which direction the Nanyue naval forces would ultimately take still depended on Xiao Xueya’s choice.
She glanced at the adjacent room where Murong Yi’s people seemed to be interrogating the water assassins. The room was pitch black, with occasional sizzling sounds and muffled groans along with uncontrollable excited low, strange laughter. It sounded exactly like a group of perverts celebrating, so much so that even the proud Nanyue naval soldiers didn’t dare approach, taking detours around it.
Tie Ci didn’t go look either, entering the room where the wounded were. The military doctor had already bandaged Chi Qingbo’s wound—he was injured at his side, fortunately just a flesh wound.
Moreover, he was also poisoned. The blade tip of that rod had poison on it, but Chi Qingbo said he could cure this poison himself. Only a few medicines were troublesome and needed to be freshly dug from the mountains.
He said that there were many poisons in the Southwest region, with many poisonous grasses and flowers and various poisoning methods. Often the poisoners would use local materials, and slightly changing one herb could alter the toxicity and cure method. In such situations, having ready-made antidotes was almost impossible.
This made the poisons here both difficult and easy to cure. For outsiders, it was as difficult as climbing to heaven, but for locals, as long as they knew enough poisonous grasses and flowers and could identify what components they contained, then find the places where those poisonous flowers and grasses grew—since all things have natural enemies, wherever poisonous plants grew, there would inevitably be herbs that could counter them. Gathering these could mostly provide relief. However, if the opponent’s poison used many different types of poisonous plants, the mutual interaction of different poisonous plants would cause comprehensive changes in medicinal properties, and it would no longer be a problem that could be solved by finding all the counteracting herbs.
Chi Qingbo was relatively lucky—the poison he was affected by had relatively simple components. Xiao Xueya was the latter type.
Chi Qingbo said that whether Wanxiang Grass or Hehuan Butterfly, they needed to find antidotes in the mountains, following the Lishan mountain range that crossed Qianzhou all the way, there were specific places to search.
After the doctor left, Chi Qingbo saw no one else was in the room and gestured for A’li Fu to guard the door. Then he hesitantly took out a pill and asked Tie Ci: “Your Highness, I happen to have prepared a pill a few days ago that should cure part of the Wanxiang Grass poison, but I only have one. Please quickly take it secretly and use it for General Wan…”
Tie Ci was startled and instinctively glanced at Xiao Xueya.