“Yes!” Everyone immediately responded loudly, tensing their nerves and standing ready in formation.

When the group of “disaster victims” approached, they swarmed forward, but bypassed the horse carriages loaded with luggage and baggage at the rear, instead charging straight toward Qin Yining’s direction.

At this point, what was there left to misunderstand?

Jingzhe, Ji Dashun, and several others shouted loudly, “Protect our master!” They grabbed their weapons and led the charge forward.

Qin Yining was closely protected by Ji Yun and Xiao Xue, while Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi also had elite Tiger Guards protecting them in the center. For the moment, the assassins couldn’t get close.

However, nearly a hundred assassins came with fierce momentum and had obviously thoroughly scouted the terrain around them. For a time, it was extremely difficult for Qin Yining to escape.

The scene fell into a stalemate.

Protected by Ji Yun and Xiao Xue, Qin Yining dodged left and right, sometimes this way, sometimes that. Though her vision was obstructed under the night sky, Qin Yining remained relatively calm. Over the years, she had encountered countless crises large and small. Perhaps having experienced so much, she had become numb to it?

“Princess Consort, this servant will first escort you to a corner,” Ji Yun said, wielding her soft sword to wound someone before quickly pulling Qin Yining back in retreat.

Qin Yining said nothing, only nodding and following Ji Yun and Xiao Xue’s pace as they gradually fought their way out of the encirclement and away from the battle.

The sounds of fighting and the clashing of weapons made Qin Yining experience what a battlefield was like. She couldn’t help but think that Pang Xiao had spent years campaigning on battlefields, and the scenes he had witnessed could only be more tragic than this, never less so.

Xiao Xue and Ji Yun finally fought their way through, carving a bloody path to escort Qin Yining near the woods. All three temporarily breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi were also escorted over afterward, but before they could catch their breath, there was suddenly movement in the forest.

“Princess Consort! Be careful!” Xiao Xue reacted fastest. Hearing a “whoosh” sound from overhead, she immediately threw herself forward, shielding Qin Yining beneath her.

A large net fell from the sky, tying up Qin Yining and Xiao Xue securely and dragging them into the forest!

Ji Yun and the elite Tiger Guards beside Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi reacted quickly, shouting and giving chase. The others who had been held back by the assassins disguised as disaster victims also realized they had fallen for a diversionary tactic and abandoned their opponents to pursue in Qin Yining’s direction.

The rope net was tied tightly, forcing Qin Yining and Xiao Xue to be pressed closely together. The two couldn’t even move their hands, let alone open their eyes properly.

There were bushes and shrubs in the forest, and as they were dragged along, they were scraped and scratched repeatedly.

Xiao Xue was furious, trying with all her might to protect Qin Yining from injury, but was still powerless. She could only shout, “You coward! Setting ambushes to capture people and harming women—what kind of skill is that! If you have the ability, come out and fight us one-on-one!”

The only response to Xiao Xue was silence.

Qin Yining was dragged further, her clothes torn through the net by tree branches, and she felt a sharp pain across her shoulder blade.

Xiao Xue’s senses were acute, and she immediately smelled blood.

“Master! You’re injured!”

Trapped in the net in an awkward position, Qin Yining said with difficulty, “It’s nothing.”

Before Qin Yining could say another word, the dragging stopped abruptly. She felt dizzy and disoriented as she and Xiao Xue were thrown onto a horse carriage. Someone drove the carriage rapidly onto the main road at breakneck speed, with several mounted riders closely following around the carriage as they sped away.

Although Ji Yun’s group tried desperately to pursue, human feet naturally couldn’t match a horse’s speed, especially after the chaotic battle that had exhausted everyone’s stamina.

Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi, being older, were panting heavily and had expended great effort to catch up.

“Where is the Princess Consort!”

Ji Yun’s eyes were splitting with rage, “The Princess Consort and Xiao Xue were captured and taken away in the carriage!”

Xu Weizhi stamped his foot, “Aiya! How can we explain this to His Highness? We were so close to reaching the capital!”

“Those who captured the Princess Consort must have been following us the entire way, waiting until we relaxed slightly with the capital in sight tomorrow before making their move,” Xie Yue analyzed.

Xu Weizhi also said, “Yes, and the opponents clearly intended to capture the Princess Consort alive. At this moment, this old man can think of quite a few who might kidnap the Princess Consort. There are really too many suspects.”

“Right now, we can only split up. Some will track the carriage’s direction, while others will go inform His Highness as soon as the city gates open tomorrow morning.”

“The carriage tracks are easy to follow, but we can’t match their speed!” Jingzhe’s mouth immediately developed blisters from anxiety. He said through gritted teeth, “We can only hope the opponents won’t harm the Princess Consort. Otherwise, if they truly have that intention, there’s no way we can catch up!”

Everyone’s mood was extremely heavy. Following Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi’s suggestion, they split up to take action.

At this time, Qin Yining and Xiao Xue were lifted down from the carriage and directly carried by people on foot.

Qin Yining had gradually recovered from her initial panic and calmed down to analyze the current situation.

Since she had already been captured alive, panicking would be useless. Thinking of countermeasures was the proper course of action.

She and Pang Xiao had many enemies. There were also many people who might target her.

But this time, the people didn’t assassinate her; instead, they captured her alive.

Since it was a live capture, they must be keeping her alive for some purpose. In the current situation, the only thing Qin Yining could think of was the treasure matter.

What Li Qitian knew was that the treasure had been hidden by Lu Heng. So if Li Qitian wanted to kidnap her, it would definitely be to threaten Pang Xiao for some other purpose. She had been away from the capital for so long that she didn’t know the deeper circumstances.

Therefore, Qin Yining suspected that those who had kidnapped her this time were very likely Lu Heng’s people.

When Lu Heng’s transported treasure had been switched, not only had His Majesty failed to find it, but Lu Heng had simultaneously lost everything.

The Lu family had been a prominent clan for a hundred years, but once targeted by Li Qitian, their downfall was inevitable.

With such a major incident occurring, how could Lu Heng not hate her and Pang Xiao?

After much speculation, Qin Yining concluded that the opponents were definitely people sent by Lu Heng. She thought that perhaps when necessary, she would need to try to build rapport with them.

Neither Qin Yining nor Xiao Xue could see the surrounding scenery clearly; they could only see vegetation around them. She struggled to grab at her skirt hem, but at this moment, she had no space or opportunity to move her arms at all.

The men carrying Qin Yining and Xiao Xue had walked for a long time and were already very tired, but before long, their pace slowed down, and they set the large net on the ground.

“Master, mission accomplished,” the men stepped forward and bowed in unison.

Then Qin Yining heard a voice that made her incredulous. “Release the Princess Consort.”

“Lord Lu?” Qin Yining’s voice came out with difficulty.

As the ropes were loosened, Qin Yining’s nerves became even more taut. “Lord Lu, what exactly do you want to do?”

Lu Heng wore a azure robe, dressed as an ordinary scholar, but this couldn’t hide the noble bearing emanating from his entire person.

Lu Heng used his gaze to trace Qin Yining’s every expression and movement almost greedily. After a long while, as if coming back to his senses, he said, “What am I doing? What capital do I have to do anything? I just want to know whether you’ve been living well during this time.”

Qin Yining frowned tightly. She didn’t believe a single word of Lu Heng’s statement!