Hold back the wildly beating heart, Yang Muxi's pretty face flushed red as she looked at Jiang Chen, hesitant to speak.

She felt that his words just now seemed to be saying more than just about the jade hairpin…

*Aiya*, Yang Muxi, you can't let your imagination run wild anymore, stop it!

Jiang Chen noticed her constantly changing expression, understanding that the time was right. He spoke again, his voice magnetic:

"Muxi, I really don't mean anything else, I just simply wanted to give you a gift."

"Please accept it for the sake of the many days I spent carving it, okay?"

Yang Muxi's body went weak under Jiang Chen's ambiguous gaze. Her already wavering will began to crumble.

She compromised, "Alright, you, you let go of me, I'll accept this jade hairpin."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Jiang Chen's eyes lit up.

This reaction meant there was a chance!

He didn't release her as she wished, but instead took a step forward, closing the distance between them once more.

Faced with Jiang Chen's aggressive advance, Yang Muxi's reaction was weak and powerless.

At this moment, she was no longer a top expert, a captivating beauty, but merely a naive and ignorant girl who was experiencing love for the first time.

She forgot her martial arts, retreating step by step, forced by Jiang Chen to lean against the edge of the table.

This pure, helpless, flustered, and shy appearance made the fire in Jiang Chen's heart burn even brighter. Too beautiful!

Without hesitation, he directly wrapped his arms around her slender waist, lowering his head to cover those full, pink lips.

Such an action, no matter where it was placed, could be considered offensive, a shameless act of stealing a woman's innocence.

The fate of a woman who had been taken advantage of in this way was basically only one: to marry the person who stole her innocence.

At this critical moment!

Yang Muxi suddenly woke up. This man was all sweet words and false pretenses, giving her gifts and pretending to be wronged, but in reality, he was full of bad intentions.

Her watery eyes instantly turned cold, her voice tinged with frost as she said, word by word, "Your Highness, please have some self-respect!"

Jiang Chen's hair stood on end from the sudden surge of killing intent, and he quickly withdrew his hand, "I apologize, I was a little carried away just now."

Yang Muxi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said coldly, "Leave. Don't do this again, or we shouldn't meet anymore!"

Jiang Chen looked at her pretty face covered in frost, secretly regretting it in his heart.

He still understood the principle of knowing when to quit, so he didn't linger. He said straightforwardly, "Alright, I'll leave first. We'll meet again another day."

After speaking, he put on a reluctant look, leaving with one step and one look back, his eyes extremely affectionate, making it impossible for people not to soften their hearts.

Just as he was about to walk out of the small courtyard, a sound of rushing wind suddenly came from not far away.

*Shua shua shua!*

The icy cold arrows rushing towards him made Jiang Chen instantly suffocate.

"Duck!" Yang Muxi's expression changed drastically. She shouted and used her inner force to rush towards him.

*Bang.*

Jiang Chen was sent flying several meters away by Yang Muxi's soft whip. Looking at the arrows deeply embedded in the ground, his heart turned cold.

If it weren't for Yang Muxi's timely help, his life would have ended here.

"Assassins! Protect the prince!"

Outside the small building, the guards roared, drawing their swords and fighting with the suddenly appearing men in black.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" An hidden guard rushed in, his usually cold face now full of panic.

Jiang Chen didn't speak, extreme anger burning in his heart.

Mei Wenshi had only just fallen, and someone else had already come to assassinate him. It was simply lawless!

He turned his head, his tone chilling, "You bunch of useless people, you can't even do such a small thing well."

"How long has it been since this prince came out? These assassins actually received the news and ambushed me!"

The hidden guards all knelt down, not daring to breathe. Jiang Chen's extremely ugly expression terrified them to the extreme.

At this time, Yang Muxi bent down and pulled out the arrow from the ground, a solemn look flashing across her pretty face. "This arrow is poisoned!"

Saying that, she looked at the withered plants beside the arrow and added, "This poison is not ordinary. The moment it touches the soil, it poisons all the nearby plants. Only those jianghu (martial world) assassins have such overbearing poison."

Jiang Chen frowned, a flash of killing intent in his eyes, which he quickly concealed.

He coldly ordered, "Don't just stand there like idiots. Go help Xu Mu and the others catch the people!"

"Not a single assassin can be missed, and I want them alive!"

The hidden guards hesitated. Their primary responsibility was to ensure Jiang Chen's safety, and everything else had to be put after that.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen's forehead bulged with veins, and he looked like he was about to explode.

Several hidden guards didn't dare to delay any longer and rushed out to help. At the same time, dozens of imperial guards entered, closely protecting Jiang Chen.

Outside the small courtyard.

Cold light flashed, and blood flew.

Dozens of men in black, each displaying their own abilities, fought back and forth with the imperial guards and hidden guards, even gaining a slight advantage!

They were skilled, followed orders, and were very well-trained. In addition to their numerical advantage, they firmly suppressed Xu Mu and the others around the small courtyard, struggling to support themselves.

*Peng peng!*

An hidden guard took the opportunity to launch a signal flare. Golden fireworks exploded in the sky, attracting the attention of the entire city.

Before long, a large number of imperial guards would come to the rescue.

They had to grit their teeth and get through this time.

One figure after another fell as the battle began to enter a fever pitch.

After the fireworks exploded, the group of black-clad assassins showed their determination to fight to the death, sparing no effort to kill Jiang Chen before reinforcements arrived!

Inside the small courtyard.

Jiang Chen's face was heavy, his eyes full of thought.

These assassins were definitely sent by those behind the scenes who had not been caught.

But the question was, how did they cultivate these assassins? Could it be that the assassin stronghold that was wiped out last time was not their entire force?

In addition, his whereabouts were top secret. How did these assassins know? Could it be that there really was a traitor by his side?

Just as Jiang Chen was deep in thought, Yang Muxi walked up to him, her eyes suspicious. "Why would these jianghu (martial world) assassins ambush you, a prince?"

Jiang Chen's eyebrows twitched, and he quickly came up with an excuse, "Ahem, maybe I offended someone in the imperial court and they hired someone to kill me."

Yang Muxi instinctively felt that this was not the answer, but she was not the type to get to the bottom of things. Since Jiang Chen didn't want to say it, she wouldn't press him.

She only gave a meaningful glance at the imperial guards and the hidden guards fighting outside the door, her beautiful eyes flashing with thought.

In this silent atmosphere, a coldness suddenly flashed across her exquisite pretty face.

She said sharply, "Not knowing death, daring to break into my courtyard! Get out!"

At the same time, she drew the soft sword from her waist, its sharpness fully revealed!

In an instant, the originally quiet courtyard was shrouded in sword energy. The sharp edge surged in all directions, reaping countless blood.

*Bang!*

*Thump!*

The muffled sounds of bodies falling were continuous, echoing through the courtyard.

Several black-clad figures fell from the courtyard walls in all directions, collapsing on the open space in the courtyard…