"Why have we stopped?"
Just as Lin Shishu was about to lift the curtain to see what was happening, Yan Jinchao beside her said, "Don't move."
Lin Shishu paused. Suddenly, an arrow grazed her palm and, as it passed her cheek, sheared off a strand of her hair.
"Ah..." she couldn't help but cry out.
Yan Jinchao didn't even look at her, offering no words of comfort, and leaped out.
"Protect the Prefect..." Gu Shaoan, escorting Prefect Lin, shouted coldly.
"Hide behind me, I'll protect you..." Before Gu Shaoan could finish speaking, he felt a gust of wind sweep past him, carrying a faint, fresh scent.
Gu Shaoan looked up and saw a figure in the air. Who else could it be but her?
Xuesong and Xueyan, following behind, caught up and, seeing the scene, also readied themselves.
The black-clothed assailants came on fiercely and swiftly, targeting the only two carriages in the convoy. One belonged to Lin Shishu, and the other to Prefect Lin. The black-clothed assailants didn't know which was Prefect Lin's, so they attacked both.
"Protect the Prefect and Miss Lin." Gu Shaoan's words fell as the assailants surged forward.
Xue Zining landed in front of a carriage and casually picked up the sword from a black-clothed assailant she had just kicked away.
Lin Shishu trembled with fright. Through a gap, she saw the Empress standing heroically in front of her carriage, beheading those who approached.
Soon, most of the black-clothed assailants were eliminated. Xue Zining commanded coldly, "Leave some alive."
She personally captured one of the assailants. Before he could make any move, she expertly dislocated his jaw, preventing him from swallowing poison.
The black-clothed assailants were either dead or wounded.
Xuesong pried the poison from the assailant's mouth, reset his jaw, and said coldly, "Speak. Who sent you?"
The assailant stared at Xuesong, remaining silent. He attempted to bite his tongue, but Xuesong sneered and punched his jaw, causing him pain.
"Speak... or I'll make you wish you were dead more than alive," Xuesong said chillingly.
"Qian..."
Before the assailant could finish, a flying dart pierced his chest. He looked on in disbelief as he fell to the ground.
Xue Zining leaped forward to pursue the attacker but chased for several miles without spotting anyone.
"Your Majesty..." Xueyan, who had arrived later, inquired.
Xue Zining shook her head. "Gone."
Someone she couldn't detect was clearly an individual of unfathomable martial prowess.
Upon returning, she saw Lin Shishu looked terribly frightened, her face pale. Prefect Lin was not much better; almost all the men he brought had been killed by the black-clothed assailants.
Gu Shaoan's men also suffered heavy casualties.
It was clear that the journey back would likely be anything but peaceful.
After deliberation, it was decided to abandon one of the two carriages, keeping only one. Prefect Lin and Lin Shishu would travel in the carriage, while the others would switch to riding horses.
Of the two hundred men Gu Shaoan had brought, fewer than a hundred remained. They were tasked with forming a protective circle around the carriage, with the rest spread out.
Xue Zining and Gu Shaoan walked at the forefront, Yan Jinchao in the middle, and Xuesong and Xueyan at the rear.
This stretch of road was not attacked. It wasn't until they were nearing the Prefect's manor.
At the entrance of the Prefect's manor, Yu Yang stood there, wearing official attire. Everyone could see it was the Prefect's official attire.
Prefect Lin dismounted and saw this scene. His face turned grim. He stepped forward and said, "Yu Yang, what are you doing? Take off that official uniform!"
"Take it off? Why should I? You're the one who should take it off..." Yu Yang said triumphantly.
Prefect Lin blinked, "Yu Yang, you..."
Yu Yang waved his hand and said coldly, "Lin Feng, receive the imperial edict!"
Prefect Lin was startled. "Imperial edict?"
Yu Yang sneered, "Otherwise? Brother-in-law thought I had the audacity to wear the uniform of a court official?"
"Not receiving the edict yet?" A man with a sharp voice emerged. Upon closer inspection, the man was wearing the attire of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Xue Zining and Xueyan immediately lowered their heads.
Although this man was not the Director-in-Chief of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he had likely seen Xue Zining and Xueyan. To avoid revealing their identities, Xue Zining lowered her head, took the human skin mask handed to her by Xueyan, put it on, and then raised her head.
The eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial produced a token. Lin Feng glanced at it, his face paling. He lifted the corner of his robe and slowly knelt, "Your subject, the Prefect of Jiangnan, receives the edict."
Everyone knelt. Xue Zining took the opportunity to crouch down. She could avoid kneeling, couldn't she?
The eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial read out the imperial edict: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Lin Feng, the Prefect of Jiangnan, has engaged in corruption and favoritism, allowing the Fengling Village to oppress the common people for decades. I am heartbroken. I have decided to demote Lin Feng, the Prefect of Jiangnan, to commoner status, and Yu Yang shall serve as the Prefect of Jiangnan..."
"Lin Feng, receive the edict!" the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial said coldly.
Lin Feng trembled and raised his hands to receive the edict, but it did not fall into his hands. Someone had taken it.
Xue Zining opened the edict. The handwriting was hers. If she hadn't been sure she hadn't returned to the capital, she would have thought it was her own decree.
"How dare you, a mere lowly citizen, touch the imperial edict..."
Before the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial could finish speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his face, accompanied by a crisp sound. Everyone was stunned. Someone dared to strike an official from the capital?
"You... you dare to hit this eunuch?" the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial exclaimed in disbelief.
"Hitting you is the least of it," Xue Zining said coldly.
"You... Guards, arrest her!" the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial shouted angrily.
Xueyan blocked Xue Zining and said coldly, "Whoever dares to come forward, my sword has no eyes."
"This imperial edict is fake," Xue Zining declared, then tore it in half.
"You... You dare to tear the imperial edict? This is a grave offense against the sovereign!" the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial raged.
"The imperial edict is gone, Prefect Lin, you are still the Prefect." Xue Zining stepped forward and helped Lin Feng up.
Lin Feng blinked, but dared not rise. This Miss Shu was endangering his life. Tearing up an imperial edict was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!
Lin Shishu came over, supported Lin Feng, and whispered, "Father, there's something strange about this. We cannot accept it."
Lin Feng looked at Lin Shishu. He saw that his daughter didn't seem to care about this imperial edict. Rather than the edict, his daughter seemed to place great trust in this Miss Shu.
"Shu'er, this is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations!" Lin Feng whispered.
Lin Shishu heard this and said, "They wouldn't dare!"
With the Empress here, who would dare to exterminate the Empress's nine generations?
"Rebellion, rebellion! Guards, arrest these people!" the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial roared.
Many soldiers emerged from within, surrounding Xue Zining and the others.
Xue Zining picked up Xueyan's token and held it up, saying, "I am a fourth-rank Imperial Guard by the Empress's side. Who dares to touch me?"
Xueyan lowered her head and twitched her lips. Why did she always use her identity to intimidate people?
Indeed, the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial frowned upon seeing the token. Yu Yang quickly went over and asked, "Sir, what should we do about this?"