Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 92

In Zhang Wan Yi’s eyes, a trace of ruthlessness and despair flashed.

Was she going to reveal Yun Ke’s name? No! With her pride, how could she expose that Yun Ke had ruthlessly abandoned her here? No, absolutely not. She would find an opportunity to slowly retaliate against Yun Ke, but she would never admit in front of Yun Yi that the person she was waiting for was Yun Ke.

She could not let Yun Yi know that she had been rejected by Yun Ke! She had already lost face once, and she absolutely could not afford to lose face twice in the same night!

Women’s thoughts were so strange sometimes.

Thinking of this, she curtsied to Yun Yi, restoring her usual composure and poise, “Your Highness Prince Jing, please just let tonight’s events pass. I, Zhang Wan Yi, swear to the heavens that I will wholeheartedly assist Prince Jing in the future. I also promise that I haven’t done anything improper. My body is untouched. If Prince Jing doesn’t believe it, Prince Jing can wait until tomorrow to find out the truth.” After she finished speaking, she lifted her face and looked at Yun Yi with her large, clear eyes, “I also promise not to make the same mistake again and will serve Prince Jing with all my heart in the future.”

Untouched? She met someone for half the night on a boat and she claimed to be untouched? Perhaps her body was still untouched, but her heart was no longer innocent.

Yun Yi sneered coldly, “You’re quite good at defending your lover.” He looked at Zhang Wan Yi up and down with a contemplative gaze.

“If Your Highness doesn’t believe me and insists on pressuring me, Wan Yi will jump into the lake now to prove my innocence,” Zhang Wan Yi took a deep breath and continued, “Zhang Wan Yi’s fate is poor and cannot help Prince Jing. Please Prince Jing, allow me to atone.”

After saying this, she stood up as if she was about to jump into the lake. The moment she jumped, Zhang Wan Yi felt a chilling sensation. If Yun Yi did not stop her, she would truly die here tonight. She was gambling with her life, betting that Yun Yi would not want to lose the support of the powerful Zhang family behind her.

Sure enough, just as she felt her body falling downward, a tremendous force lifted her and pulled her back onto the boat.

In her heart, Zhang Wanyi silently breathed a sigh of relief and she could not help but have a faint sneer on her face.

This was the so-called dignity of a man, unable to resist the temptation of power. Yun Yi, you are quite something. If it were not for the Zhang family standing behind her, she might have really died here tonight. Either way, it did not matter. After all, Yun Yi was not the one she liked. Their marriage would just be a transaction of mutual benefits.

“Cousin, you’re really overthinking things,” Yun Yi laughed. Honestly, he had felt a twinge of fear when Zhang Wan Yi jumped just now.

With Zhang Wan Yi’s jump, he would have lost everything. He could not allow such a thing to happen, so he had reached out his hand just in time.

“Alright, since Cousin is a sensible person, I won’t pursue this any further,” Yun Yi said, taking Zhang Wan Yi’s hand and draping an arm around her waist. “I will send Cousin back home. Remember to dress beautifully tomorrow. Cousin is waiting for you, and remember what you said tonight.”

“Thank you, Cousin.” Zhang Wan Yi smiled sweetly at Yun Yi. Yun Yi felt a slight tremor in his heart at her smile. Regardless of everything else and while his cousin was usually dignified, that smile just now had a hint of charm. Since she insisted on being untouched, he would see if she was truly untouched tomorrow. Anyway, it would not be him who suffered.

Thinking of this, Yun Yi took Zhang Wan Yi back to the shore, then carried her on his horse towards the Zhang residence.

Inside the Zhang residence, chaos had erupted. The hairstyling nanny had waited outside Zhang Wan Yi’s chamber for a long time, but the maid inside refused to let her in. Seeing that the auspicious hour would pass if she waited any longer, she went to find Madam. When Madam opened the door, she discovered her daughter was missing. This made her extremely anxious. She ordered people to search and interrogated the maids. The unfortunate maid truly had no idea where Zhang Wan Yi had gone. Despite being slapped into unconsciousness several times, she continued to cry and shake her head, begging for mercy.

When Yun Yi escorted Zhang Wan Yi back to the Zhang residence, he felt as if he had just handed a fly into Prime Minister Zhang’s mouth. He did not even know how to express his feelings at that moment… He wished he could strangle his daughter who had embarrassed him so much. Yun Yi’s seemingly lighthearted words felt like hammer blows to his heart, making him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

After Yun Yi left, he went to interrogate his daughter about what had happened, but Zhang Wan Yi remained tight-lipped and refused to speak.

She was stubborn, but time waited for no one. Unable to extract any information from his daughter, Prime Minister Zhang was left seething with anger. He angrily flicked his sleeves as he left Zhang Wan Yi’s room and ordered her to be bathed, dressed, and made up to look presentable. He almost could not get through this whole ordeal.

Meanwhile on the Crown Prince’s side after receiving the news, the spy was unable to locate Yun Yi’s whereabouts and so he resorted to the most straightforward method to wait at the Zhang residence. His waiting was rewarded and he saw Yun Yi carrying someone into the Zhang residence. He promptly rushed back to report to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was ecstatic and slammed the table as he stood up. He did not need to guess who that person was. Even if he thought with his toes, he knew it had to be his dear cousin! The news was actually true! In the future, he would definitely use this incident to his advantage.

Beneath the bustling atmosphere in the capital, hidden currents were stirring. In the distant Northern Region, Gu Yu Qi also faced imminent danger.

Since being attacked, they had become extremely cautious. Even when buying horses, they no longer purchased them all in one place but spread out the purchases across several towns to prevent anyone from tampering with the horses. They were extra careful about food, and Dai Mei personally took charge of everything without assistance from anyone else.

Observing the journey, they had covered about 80 percent of the distance. In two or three more days, they would reach Kuizhou.

The sacrificial soldiers had only appeared once and had not been seen since.

On a sunny noon, Gu Yu Qi led her group to a mountain pass. Looking at the terrain, Gu Yu Qi did not know whether to laugh or cry. The terrain was clearly a copy of the one outside Jiangxia City, though the road was not as narrow. This valley was wide enough to allow several horses through side by side. Gu Yu Qi discussed it with Liang Huai Yu and Zhao Wu. They all agreed that this place was different from the previous one and they could swiftly ride through here as the valley was relatively wide. If there were any ambushes above, they would not be able to block the road effectively.

Unlike last time, this time Gu Yu Qi arranged for those who did not know martial arts to sit in the carriages. Zhang Lan’s men drove the carriages, trailing at the end of the procession. Zhang Lan and his men would only need to protect these carriages. Wang Yan silently followed Gu Yu Qi. His mission was to protect Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu so at this time, he naturally had to stay close to them.

Zhao Wu led the way and the group passed through the valley very carefully and quickly. Just when everyone thought they were almost through the valley, a drumbeat sounded followed by a group of people and horses rushing out from the end of the valley. There were about 20 people or so, wearing all kinds of colourful things.

“I opened this road and planted these trees. If you want to pass through, leave behind some money,” a big man at the front shouted, swinging the big knife in his hand towards Gu Yu Qi.

Gu Yu Qi felt instantly dumbfounded, there really were robbers like this!

“I wonder how much you want?” Gu Yu Qi smiled atop her horse, holding a spear in one hand. She dropped her other hand and gestured to Chun Xing who was following her. Chun Xing passed the gesture to Xia He, who then transmitted it to others.

The big man only looked at Gu Yu Qi’s face and did not notice her small movements. How could there be such a beautiful girl?! If he could snatch her back to be his wife and the Madam of his stronghold, even if he was given the position of the emperor, he would not take it!

“Haha, little girl, as long as you stay, the others can naturally pass,” the big man laughed on horseback. As soon as he finished speaking, his subordinates burst into laughter.

Zhang Lan and his men found it both embarrassing and amusing. The embarrassing part was that they had once been bandits themselves. The amusing part was that these bandits were probably about to suffer a loss, yet they remained oblivious and continued to tease Gu Yu Qi blindly. Little did they know that in this group, the person they should avoid offending the most was Gu Yu Qi. She might not have the highest level of martial arts skills, but she was the leader.

Seeing her daughter being teased, Liang Huai Yu became angry and rode forward, “Thieves, you’ll likely lose your lives!”

When the leader of the bandits saw another delicate beauty, his eyes brightened even more. Where did these girls come from? He glanced behind Liang Huai Yu and saw that all the girls on horseback were all so lovely. It was like a jackpot!

“I say, all of you should just stay. We won’t treat you badly,” the big man laughed, pointing his knife and speaking loudly. These young ladies were all holding weapons, but they looked delicate and well-dressed. It seemed like they were just putting on a show.

“That depends on whether you have the ability to keep us all here,” Zhao Wu smiled coldly. He shook his sword and charged towards them on horseback.

Seeing Zhao Wu taking action, Chun Xing immediately urged her horse to flank the enemy. She and Xia He swiftly moved to surround the group of bandits from both sides, quickly charging into their ranks. Both of them brandished bows and arrows, shooting down two bandits directly.

The leader instantly saw that they were in trouble. He immediately called his men to attack, but no sooner than he had spoken, their ranks were struck by two more arrows from Xia He and Chun Xing. In the blink of an eye, they had lost four men.

Zhao Wu also led his men to charge and they clashed with the bandits, fighting in close combat. The leader realised he had picked the wrong day to go out. These were no ordinary delicate girls, they were all vicious. Apart from the combat prowess of the guards, there was also that beautiful girl from earlier. Her hands were surprisingly firm and she wielded a silver spear as if it were alive. Also, the man accompanying her who looked like a guard, was extremely agile like a ghost. In just a few moves, he struck down a bandit who had silently approached the girl.

“The wind’s getting tight, disperse!” The leader saw that they were completely outmatched and immediately turned his horse, shouting and preparing to run.

As he turned his horse, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a black feathered arrow lodged in his heart. Before he could say another word, he fell off his horse, convulsed a few times, and died in agony.

The arrow was poisoned! Gu Yu Qi was close by and saw it clearly. The blood spewing from the big man’s chest was black. Her thoughts moved, and she shouted, “Careful!”

Just as Gu Yu Qi’s voice sounded, a dense volley of black arrows shot out from the grass on the other side. Since Gu Yu Qi had already issued a warning, her people had already raised their weapons. Li Da, Zhang Lan, and the others even took out shields.

These were their new equipment after the last attack. Since their martial arts were not very good, it was better to use shields in such a battle. Little did they expect to have to use them now.

Seeing the increasing pressure ahead, Zhang Lan jumped off his horse. Holding a shield in front of him, he ran to the vicinity of the carriage and grabbed all the spare shields from the carriage.

When Li Da saw this, he followed suit and ran over. He threw the shields towards the front.

“Young Miss, Brother Zhao, catch!” Zhang Lan shouted.

Quicker than words could tell, Zhao Wu and Gu Yu Qi, who were being suppressed by a rain of arrows, saw the flying shields. Their eyes lit up and Zhao Wu leaped into the air, catching the first two shields that came over and holding them in front of his chest. Then with a kick, he sent the other two approaching shields towards Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu. Then he flicked his left hand, throwing a shield to Bai Fu who was closest to him. “Go find your master,” he said to Bai Fu.

Chun Xing and Xia He were currently closest to the barrage of arrows and were finding it strenuous to cope. Bai Fu immediately rode over, dismounted, and stood in front of Chun Xing. Ran Mo also caught a shield and rushed forward, shielding her master, Xia He.

Both Chun Xing and Xia He saw where the arrows were coming from, but due to their constant defence, they could not spare a hand to deal with the assassins hiding in the grass. However, with the arrival of Bai Fu and Ran Mo instantly easing the pressure. Chun Xing and Xia He exchanged glances, their perfect tacit understanding evident. Taking advantage of when the arrow barrage weakened momentarily, they raised their hands and shot two arrows each. Two muffled screams came from the grass and the rain of arrows seemed to reduce slightly.

At this time, Zhao Wu led over a few guards and Gu Yu Qi and Liang Huai Yu also rode to the front of the grass. Their spears were drawn straight. With two popping sounds, Gu Yu Qi pierced two men in a row.

Once engaged in close combat, the effectiveness of the long range archers was greatly reduced. They all threw down their bows and arrows, drawing knives from their waists.

Only then did Gu Yu Qi see that more than fifty people were lying in ambush in the grass. No wonder the arrows had been continuous, even though there had been times when the barrage had weakened. They had been shooting in batches. It was fortunate that the attacks were divided as it reduced the overall impact. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult to handle.

Judging from their attire, they looked like sacrificial soldiers who were actually waiting for them here.

The bandits on horseback who had attacked them earlier were all shot to death by them. Gu Yu Qi was secretly grateful that those horse bandits had unintentionally acted as a shield for them, preventing their side from suffering greater losses.