Before anyone could react, there was suddenly the creaking, muffled sound of wooden mechanisms being triggered. Qin Yining quickly dodged to the side, but Jingzhe was even faster than her, instantly shielding her behind him in the blink of an eye, with Xiao Xue and others following closely.
The hundred guards similarly reacted swiftly to protect everyone in their midst.
Only a “whoosh” was heard as a rain of arrows whistled toward them. The guards immediately displayed their well-trained skills, wielding their weapons to block the attack.
After the first wave of arrows, within a breath’s time there was another “whoosh.”
Hundreds of arrows came from all directions. The prince’s mansion guards swung their blades to block them, and the severed arrows clattered to the ground everywhere.
Ishikawa Sanao and his attendants hid behind a thick tree. Seeing the other party easily resolve their ambush, his heart was instantly flooded with despair.
It’s over, this is really bad!
If he hadn’t acted, proceeding peacefully all the way to the cemetery, Ishikawa Sanao could have kowtowed and been done with it, at least ensuring his life would be safe and he’d have a chance to make a comeback later. But now that their ambush had failed, how could Mizusawa Kingdom’s two hundred-plus troops contend against the other party’s thousand-plus men?
If he fled, where could he even go?
For a moment, Ishikawa Sanao didn’t know what to do. In his anxiety, from the corner of his eye he saw the samurai and ninja closely following beside him. With a flash of inspiration, he suddenly grabbed one person and ruthlessly shoved him out.
“Bastard! How dare you act on your own! Having done such a thing, how can I explain this!”
The one he knocked to the ground was none other than Hirasawa Nai, who wore an expression of shock.
Who would have thought that the events of years past would replay before his eyes!
Hirasawa Nai was outstanding in ninjutsu but hadn’t been on guard and thus fell for the trick. Recovering from his shock, he rolled on the ground to dodge the blade, crouching halfway and glaring back at Ishikawa Sanao in fury.
In this instant, Hirasawa Nai finally understood what kind of feelings Sakurai Hideaki must have had that day.
No, perhaps his understanding still wasn’t thorough enough.
Because he knew how Sakurai Hideaki had been betrayed back then, he had some mental preparation in his heart. At least after the momentary shock, he felt a sense of “as expected.”
But Sakurai Hideaki back then had been stabbed viciously in the back while completely unprepared.
He finally understood why Sakurai Hideaki had ultimately given up and willingly lived as a beggar for so many years.
This feeling of being betrayed by one’s lord was truly difficult to accept. Moreover, Sakurai had originally served Ishikawa Sanao with genuine loyalty.
Seeing Ishikawa Sanao actually attack Hirasawa Nai, Qin Yining immediately asked Gao Delai beside her, “What are they saying?”
Gao Delai hadn’t heard clearly either, only catching the general idea, “Roughly that Lord Ishikawa is saying Hirasawa Nai betrayed him, and that all the traps here were set up by Hirasawa Nai.”
Qin Yining sneered, “I see, so he’s using the same old trick. When encountering danger, he pushes his subordinates out to take the blame.”
Xie Yue said mockingly, “Having such a lord, it’s really…”
Xie Yue and the others couldn’t help but think they were much more fortunate than Sakurai and Hirasawa Nai, because the person they followed would never do such despicable things.
Hirasawa Nai kept dodging at this moment, his movements agile like a monkey, one hand already unconsciously gripping his sword hilt.
Qin Yining quickly said, “Don’t let him draw his weapon. Otherwise the blame really will fall on him.”
“Yes.”
Ji Dashun nodded heavily and immediately led the Elite Tiger Guards to surround them, trapping Ishikawa Sanao in their midst.
Hirasawa Nai was blocked outside the fighting group. He slowly released his grip on the sword, his brow tightly furrowed as he gazed toward Ishikawa Sanao’s direction.
Under everyone’s protection, Qin Yining approached.
“Having done such things, do you still want to cover for him?”
Gao Delai translated these words to Hirasawa Nai.
Hirasawa Nai’s eyes showed deep thought. For a long time he said nothing, his thumb rubbing back and forth on the sword hilt.
Over there, Ji Dashun led everyone to capture Ishikawa Sanao along with his subordinates, pressing on their shoulders and bringing them toward Qin Yining’s direction.
The common people who had come along waited for a long time without seeing any movement, so they all circled around from the side to take a look.
Seeing arrows scattered all over the ground and a chaotic fight, the people were extremely alarmed and kept backing away. Finally seeing Ishikawa Sanao’s group being captured, the people lifted their legs wanting to leave.
Hirasawa Nai suddenly rushed before Ishikawa Sanao and said sorrowfully, “Why do you want to frame me! Do you also want to use me as a shield, just like you did to Sakurai back then!”
This sudden outcry, and in their familiar language, immediately piqued the people’s curiosity. They couldn’t help but stop and look into the forest.
Ishikawa Sanao’s face turned the color of pig’s liver as he mustered all his strength to roar, “Bastard! You’re talking nonsense!”
“Back then, Sakurai took the blame for you. Today you broke your promise—outwardly agreeing to give Sakurai a proper burial, but secretly setting up an ambush along the way to attack Sakurai’s final master. This woman crossed oceans and came from afar, seeking only to give Sakurai a proper funeral so he wouldn’t be left wandering in foreign lands, forever bearing false accusations!
“Even a woman from another country can be so righteous and trustworthy, yet you, as a daimyo, repeatedly push your subordinates out as shields! Acting this way, who would dare trust you!”
Hirasawa Nai roared in Japanese, and in the quiet path and forest, the people heard every word clearly.
At the seaside earlier, some of them hadn’t dared get close, so not everyone had heard Ishikawa Sanao’s words clearly then. Now at such close distance, even those who didn’t want to listen could hear.
Everyone couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.
Ishikawa Sanao was practically seeing red at this point, tilting his head back to glare maliciously at Hirasawa Nai, “Slandering me like this—isn’t that betrayal!”
Gao Delai conveyed Ishikawa Sanao’s words to Qin Yining.
Qin Yining laughed with a “puchi,” “Could this person be any more shameless?”
Xie Yue smiled, “This is Mizusawa Kingdom’s internal political matter. It’s not appropriate for us to interfere.”
“Indeed.” Qin Yining said, “I only want to bury Sakurai. For the sake of the people, I also hope their daimyo could be someone who thinks of the people, but we shouldn’t interfere after all. However, Hirasawa Nai being able to make such a decision is truly unexpected.”
Xu Weizhi shook his head and analyzed, “What the princess said that day had already affected him somewhat, but constrained by his beliefs and status, he had been hesitating. Now that he’s truly the one being pushed out by Lord Ishikawa, he can finally understand.”
Qin Yining had told the two men everything that had happened when Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue weren’t present, down to the smallest detail.
Xie Yue also said, “Right now we should first resolve the matter here and quickly return. This is a foreign land after all. We still don’t know how the prince’s situation is.”
Thinking of affairs in the capital, Qin Yining’s mood became somewhat heavy. She instructed everyone to escort Ishikawa Sanao and set off.
Ishikawa Sanao’s face was ashen. Under the escort of Qin Yining’s guards and the watchful eyes of Mizusawa Kingdom’s people, he made his way to the chosen burial site, where everything was now ready.
Qin Yining knew that customs differed from place to place, and funeral ceremonies were also different, so she said little. She simply had her troops form ranks and stand to the side, casually instructing, “Release Ishikawa Sanao and let him handle it.”