"Monks from Putuo Temple?"
Lin Qingge pondered, thinking it must have been Murong Bai's father, Bai Yichen, who helped.
However, while Murong Bai held the title of Crown Prince, he wasn't so noble as to require protection from hidden experts.
Furthermore, that fellow was unrivaled in medicine and poison; if anything, he was the one who dealt with others. Who would be foolish enough to provoke him?
So, those experts weren't protecting Murong Bai, but rather Lian Cheng Yi, whom Murong Bai had treated?
In the entire capital, the person most concerned about Lian Cheng Yi's life was likely none other than King Wu Cheng.
In other words, those experts were sent by King Wu Cheng to protect Lian Cheng Yi?
Reaching this conclusion, Lin Qingge followed behind Lu Huaiying.
It had to be said, Lu Huaiying, having served as a Forward Scout Commander, was truly professional. Before long, he led Lin Qingge and the other person to reunite with the main force.
"My lord, you truly made it difficult for this student to find you~ For so long, there was no news. This student thought we were separated by heaven and earth, and I would never see you again~"
Lin Qingge shot a glance at the obnoxious fellow and retorted irritably, "Master Hua, if you're in a hurry to reincarnate, this official certainly won't stop you."
At that moment, Leng Ningyue walked over.
"Are you alright?"
"Please rest assured, madam. With this subordinate here, whether it's an assassination attempt or a leap from a cliff, this subordinate can ensure my lord's safety!"
After Yan Tinghao declared this confidently, Lin Qingge couldn't help but cover her face with her hand, regretting why she hadn't killed or silenced this simpleton on the way back.
"Assassination attempt? Leap from a cliff?"
Leng Ningyue's monotone voice drifted over, making Lin Qingge's scalp tingle and her heart sink with a sense of foreboding.
But Yan Tinghao, completely oblivious to the impending danger, continued to brag, "Yes, madam! You wouldn't know! Back then, many men in black emerged to surround this subordinate and my lord. To save my lord, this subordinate didn't even have time to faint from blood loss. Later, this subordinate and my lord were cornered by the men in black at the edge of a cliff. To escape them, this subordinate jumped off the cliff with my lord. Fortunately, my lord and I are blessed by heaven. After resting, we encountered Lu Huaiying, who was searching for us. And then it was as you see now."
Feeling the chilling aura emanating from Leng Ningyue, Lin Qingge truly felt she had been utterly ruined by this foolish goose!
"Heh."
A light chuckle escaped Leng Ningyue's lips, and she uttered two rare words of praise: "Not bad."
"You flatter me, madam. Protecting my lord is my unwavering duty."
Yan Tinghao said smugly, while Hua Jinrong beside him patted his shoulder, a meaningful curve appearing on his lips: "Constable Yan, you can rest easy. This student will find someone to take over your position as constable~"
"Master Hua, I'm doing perfectly fine. Why find a replacement?"
As Yan Tinghao looked completely bewildered, Leng Ningyue had already gripped her dagger.
Lin Qingge, who had no doubt that Yan Tinghao was about to meet his end, quickly linked her arm with Leng Ningyue's and, with a smile, changed the subject, "By the way, madam, did you encounter any difficulties on your side?"
"Difficulties? Not really, just a bit troublesome~ My lord, you have no idea. The mastermind behind this hired a group of martial arts experts to take your life, including that Hua Die's master, Hehuan Sanren. As the saying goes, enemies meeting in a fiery rage. Although Hehuan Sanren isn't fit to carry madam's shoes, he, along with several other martial arts experts, attacked madam, thus delaying us considerably~"
"Then what did you do? Didn't I ask you to protect madam?"
"My lord, you truly wrong this student~ This student had to disarm the cannon fuses and also block some of the martial arts experts for madam, almost wishing to split myself into two. Yet, you, my lord, reprimand me for such hard work and effort. This student feels deeply wronged~"
After Hua Jinrong finished speaking, he covered most of his face with his fan and began to sob theatrically.
Lin Qingge, finding the other's performance overly dramatic, moved aside with a look of disdain and pouted impatiently, "Alright, stop being so wronged. Brother Lin, did you find him?"
"Oh, look at this student's memory. I was so busy looking for my lord that I forgot about Brother Lin~"
Lin Qingge silently sympathized with Lin Moyuan for three seconds, then told Hua Jinrong where Lin Moyuan was hiding, urging him to rescue him quickly.
Not far from the tree hollow where Lin Moyuan was hiding, Hua Jinrong discovered the unconscious Lin Yan and An Er. Fortunately, they were only dazed and not in mortal danger.
After reorganizing, since the carriage had been blown to smithereens by the cannon, everyone had to proceed on foot.
Fortunately, they didn't walk far before An Yi arrived with reinforcements. Although there were still no carriages, they could ride horses.
Lin Qingge and Leng Ningyue rode together, galloping at the forefront of the group.
"Sister Ningyue, are you angry?"
After a long while, Lin Qingge tentatively asked.
Leng Ningyue remained silent.
Convinced that the other person was indeed angry, Lin Qingge took the initiative to admit her mistake: "Sister Ningyue, I was wrong. I really didn't mean to jump off the cliff! It's all Yan Tinghao's fault, that simpleton! He misunderstood! Of course, I was also wrong. My mistake was underestimating the enemy. Who would have thought the mastermind would be so treacherous as to send wave after wave of assassins to take my life!"
Lin Qingge spoke a great deal in one breath. After an unknown amount of time, Leng Ningyue finally sighed softly: "You are not wrong. I am just angry at myself for not being strong enough. If I could have dealt with those people faster, you wouldn't have had to live in fear, let alone be forced to jump off the cliff."
Touched, Lin Qingge immediately gave Leng Ningyue a big hug, although she was already sitting behind and had her arms around Leng Ningyue's waist.
Just as she was about to say something, Leng Ningyue spoke again: "One thing is rather strange. Besides the assassins who wanted to take your life, there was another force mixed in. Based on my observation, their martial arts were not ordinary. Initially, they remained inactive, but later they helped us clear out the assassins. After the deed was done, they vanished as silently as they appeared, as if they had never been there from the beginning. Do you have any clue about the identity of those people?"
Lin Qingge thought for a moment, "Aren't they Hua Jinrong's people?"
Leng Ningyue, however, shook her head. "Although I haven't asked him about it, the surprise on his face at the time seemed genuine. Moreover, if he truly possessed such a force, he wouldn't have been so indifferent to Lin Moyuan's safety and acted so迟迟."
"That's truly strange. I'm not royalty, yet there's a force capable of rivaling the imperial family... protecting..."
At the end, Lin Qingge fell silent, a vague suspicion dawning in her heart.