The clear wine slid down her throat.
The light in Yun Shu's eyes, hidden by long lashes, suddenly turned frigid.
Princess Ningde and Zhen Lin also noticed something amiss. They both looked towards the direction of the shore, and their expressions remained unchanged.
It had already been arranged.
It was all for a later heroic rescue.
Even at this moment, Zhen Lin still felt this move was too aggressive, too cunning. However, faced with the reality of Ning Ruan's impending departure, this tactic, even if underhanded, could still be used.
"What is that?!"
With Princess Ningde's startled cry, a volley of arrows flew towards them.
They landed on the boat, in the lake.
Even on the calm surface of the lake, several figures in black suddenly appeared.
The men in black exploded from the water and attacked those on the boat.
"Damn it!"
Qin Yiqing, who was about to bring over the roasted meat, widened her eyes at the sight of the figures in black and the arrows.
What was happening?
Were they just encountering assassins?
Why would these assassins come here to assassinate someone!
She quickly threw down the roasted meat and ran to Yun Shu's side, not to protect Yun Shu, but because it was safer near Yun Shu!
Just as Zhen Lin was about to look at Yun Shu and reassure her not to be afraid, he saw her slowly eating the grilled fish. There was no trace of panic in her calm, detached expression.
Only a sense of composure.
He froze, the words on the tip of his tongue unable to be spoken.
Princess Ningde, determined to make this "fake play real" and not reveal any flaws, appeared very anxious. She continuously swung her whip, but her martial arts were not high, so she could only shout, "Help!"
"Brother, you protect Miss Ning!"
At this moment, the servants who had accompanied them onto the boat also arrived.
Everyone worked together to fend off the assassins.
As Zhen Lin stood there stunned, Yun Shu, having finished the fish, threw the fishbone towards Zhen Lin's back.
Her gaze was icy cold.
It was inexplicably heart-shaking.
Zhen Lin looked behind him.
He saw the fishbone piercing the assassin's eye!
Blood gushed from the assassin's eye, and his screams were incessant, "Ahhh!"
He inwardly trembled.
Princess Ningde, who had been observing Yun Shu's actions, also saw her move at this moment and was astonished.
"What's going on with these assassins? Young Master, Princess, who did you two offend?" Qin Yiqing first kicked a killer away, then asked the siblings.
To be targeted by assassins while simply enjoying a lake outing was no small matter; it meant these assassins were constantly watching their every move!
Wasn't this endangering her and Yun Shu?
Although these assassins didn't seem very skilled, the roasted meat they had just prepared was a waste!
As Qin Yiqing questioned them, Yun Shu also looked up at them.
Though unspoken, the question in her eyes was clear.
The siblings saw that their seemingly delicate master and disciple appeared completely unperturbed.
When dealing with the assassins, they handled it with ease.
The siblings were only momentarily stunned before they both understood what was happening. They had calculated everything, but overlooked that the two of them actually knew martial arts!
Since they had never mentioned it, the siblings had assumed they didn't know martial arts, or at best, only knew some basic combat skills.
But the scene of the fishbone destroying the assassin's eye clearly told them they were skilled in martial arts!
They could protect themselves as they traveled the martial world.
"We're not sure yet, be careful! We were negligent today!" Zhen Lin's thoughts flashed through his mind, but he quickly replied.
Princess Ningde apologized to them, "I'm sorry, please be careful! We have many people, these assassins are no threat!"
Yun Shu's gaze swept lightly over the group of assassins, then at the quickly appearing servants and guards.
The situation quickly reversed.
Several assassins were wounded and fled.
A killer's body floated on the lake.
It was the assassin whose eye Yun Shu had pierced with a fishbone.
He now stared with eyes that seemed to have died with grievances.
Princess Ningde glanced at the assassin, her red lips pursed.
Zhen Lin's expression also darkened.
The siblings exchanged a look.
Half an hour later.
The group boarded the carriages and headed back to Pingyang Prince's Mansion.
Yun Shu and Qin Yiqing were in the same carriage.
With only the two of them in the carriage, they could finally speak freely.
Qin Yiqing lowered her voice and said, "I never thought we'd encounter assassins on a simple lake outing. Young Master Zhen and Princess Ningde don't seem like people with many enemies, do they? Yun Shu, do you think it was assassins sent by Yun Yueyin and Zhen Xu? Zhen Xu lost so much face at the hunt, perhaps fearing he'd have no more competition with Young Master Zhen, he decided to kill him?"
Many large families were like this.
For power and profit, there were countless schemes.
Wasn't it the same in Ruan Xi's family? His own family secretly poisoned him.
Yun Shu's eyes held doubt. She narrowed them and shook her head, "It shouldn't be people sent by their enemies."
"Ah? If not their enemies, then who?" Qin Yiqing blinked, suddenly confused.
Yun Shu looked out the carriage window, "They might have been guarding against me all along, trying to guess my identity. Today's assassination might have been a test."
"What? You mean they're guessing your identity? Even if they know you're Yun Shu, what benefit would that bring them?" Qin Yiqing couldn't understand.
"People from the palace, Li De's men, and the Emperor's men, they want to find you, so it's understandable they'd guess your identity. But Princess Ningde and them, you don't have much conflict. And at Pingyang Prince's Mansion, you genuinely healed Young Master Zhen. To them, you're a benefactor, not an enemy. Why would they need to test you?"
Qin Yiqing's mind wasn't the most convoluted, but she could still ponder the surface-level implications.
"No, perhaps it's people from the Emperor of Western Xia." Yun Shu said in a low voice. She hadn't forgotten the look the Emperor of Western Xia gave her during the hunt.
It was filled with suspicion.
Given the Emperor of Western Xia's modus operandi, he wouldn't miss any possibility, so today's assassination was likely at the Emperor's behest.
Qin Yiqing was immediately shocked, "This Emperor of Western Xia is too formidable! You're not in your original appearance, it's a disguise, and he can still suspect you? Then what should we do? Today it was these underhanded assassins, but tomorrow will there be more skilled assassins? Then we won't be able to guard against them! You must be extremely careful."
Seeing Qin Yiqing's shocked expression, Yun Shu chuckled, "There's no need to be overly cautious. This is just my guess, and perhaps I'm overthinking it. Maybe it was just a group of assassins hired to assassinate Young Master Zhen and Princess Ningde."