The Ugly Empress by Yun Guo Shi Fei / 丑娘娘 by 云过是非

Chapter 22 - Assassination

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"Guards!"

Teng Yun hadn't even come down from the carriage before it was chaos outside.

Xue Junliang was already out of the carriage. He had predicted someone would intercept the Empress' entourage en route, but didn't expect them to be so brazen to attack somewhere so close to home such as here at the Shili Pavilion.

Xue Houyang was more prepared, but still he didn't think they'd be ambushed here at the horse station. Chaos soon ensued, especially since this entourage was to escort the Empress, they'd brought many female servants.

Teng Yun was still sitting inside the horse carriage; heart beating rapidly. It was the perfect time to escape. But his current body was so weak; if previously he was afraid of being captured while trying to escape, right now he was afraid he'd be killed by assassins.

Teng Yun lifted a corner of the curtain to peek outside. The assassins seemed to be targeting Xue Junliang.

Xue Junliang was a king of a country, he could not be killed that easily. If the assassins wanted to kill Xue Junliang, they should have come prepared with a more thorough plan.

But Teng Yun also thought that it was better this way. The assassins targeting Xue Junliang meant they were occupied. There were a lot of them. No one should be able to notice a single person sneaking out of the carriage.

At this time, Xiu Yao climbed up into the carriage in a panic. Pulling Teng Yun, she said, "Empress, run! The guards won't be able to hold these assassins back for long!"

Teng Yun, on the contrary, guessed if he didn't run, the assassins wouldn't be able to reach him. After all, these guards were all elite soldiers picked personally by Xue Houyang. But, this was the best chance to escape, he reasoned.

After pondering for a bit, he finally reached up and took off the phoenix crown on his head, then took all of the jewelries on his person off. Xiu Yao was not a fool, she immediately understood her mistress' intentions. She hurriedly searched inside a small drawer for a set of plain-colored clothes. She then helped her mistress to take off her outer robe and exchange it with the newly-found clothes.

Xiu Yao was a maidservant who had seen many things in her life, on the exterior, she was able to look calm. But inside, she was so scared her soul might fly away. Her hands kept shaking. By the time her mistress had finished putting on the plain clothes, Xiu Yao was already drenched in sweat.

Xiu Yao peeked outside. When she deemed that the coast was clear, she jumped out and helped her mistress to climb out.

Teng Yun had taken off every bit of his jewelries. Added with the plain clothes he was wearing, he now looked like any other ordinary palace maids. He and Xiu Yao looked inconspicuous enough.

The road where their carriage stopped had a small body of water on one side, and a small forest on the other. Teng Yun led Xiu Yao entering the forest, but as they trudged in, they heard sounds of footsteps other than theirs, as if someone was chasing them.

As Xiu Yao started to panic, Teng Yun whispered to her, "Split up."

"Empress..." Xiu Yao was unwilling. She knew two people were bigger and easier target, but she didn't think she could go on her own. Teng Yun didn't give her much time to think; he immediately picked one direction and left her behind.

There was a lot of tall weeds and grasses in this forest. Teng Yun was wearing a skirt; the garment made too much noises when in contact with the grasses, his foot-wear crunched noisily on dry leaves. His current physical strength was non-existent; he was already gasping every two-steps. He couldn't breathe as if his throat was clogged.