Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1462: Chapter 1563: Assassination Attempt, The Might of the Astrology Tower_1

Bai Ruozhu was still somewhat surprised after listening. She had always felt that the Emperor looked upon her unfavorably, and this was the first time he had been so polite.

Even before, she was quite displeased with the Emperor, until he distinctly helped her second brother avenge his wrongful accusation and awarded her brother the title of second-place scholar, after which she began to hold some favorable feelings for the Emperor.

”Yes, this servant thanks Your Majesty for the support,” Bai Ruozhu said, now serving as a female official and thus addressing herself as ”this servant” before the Emperor, unlike her previous commoner’s self-reference.

”Furthermore, we must expedite the matter concerning Fen Wan,” Tang Yin added.

”Yes, this servant follows the decree,” Bai Ruozhu replied, and after speaking, she excused herself. Once outside, she inquired of Wang Shun about how to issue a public document to recruit female doctors. Wang Shun eagerly volunteered, saying, ”Doctor Bai, rest assured, I will instruct the Ministry of Internal Affairs to handle this matter. It depends on what your requirements are.”

Bai Ruozhu briefly stated her requirements, and Wang Shun immediately dispatched a shrewd Little Eunuch to liaise with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

”Many thanks to Eunuch Wang. I must take my leave now,” Bai Ruozhu bowed in gratitude to Wang Shun before leaving the Imperial Palace.

Once she exited the Palace Gate, Jianqi was already waiting beside the horse carriage, although he wore a very unwell expression.

”What’s the matter?” Bai Ruozhu knew that although Jianqi was usually solemn and unsmiling, his solemnity did not typically include such a gloomy countenance.

”My lady, people below have reported that this morning, rumors spread throughout the City, claiming that since returning from abroad, you were promoted and ennobled, and you used this to show off and intimidate the Jiang Family, causing Elder Jiang Ge to suffer a stroke and fall into a coma. Considering Elder Jiang Ge indeed requested leave this morning, many have come to believe these rumors. There is already an imperial censor seeking to impeach you, and even the Virtuous King was alarmed enough to make a visit to the Jiang Residence,” Jianqi said with a grave face.

”Oh? News of yesterday’s event spread by this morning. Someone is deliberately orchestrating this,” Bai Ruozhu narrowed her eyes, ”I originally did not wish their daughter to become unable to marry because of this. It seems that I was too soft-hearted.”

”My lady, what are your plans?” Jianqi sounded like he was grinding his teeth.

Bai Ruozhu suddenly let out a chuckle, ”Jianqi, have I led you astray? Always having you do the dirty work, I feel a bit embarrassed.”

Jianqi’s mouth twitched. Was that how one described oneself?

”My lady, there’s no need to be courteous with villains, using evil against evil is just,” Jianqi said earnestly.

Bai Ruozhu put away her smile and instructed him, ”Have our people disguise themselves and spread the news around the City. On one hand, say that Madame Dou, relying on her family connections, insisted on arranging a marriage for her daughter with my second brother, and after the Bai Family politely refused, she caused a scene and harbored resentment, continually causing trouble. On the other hand, of course, tell everyone the true events of that day. But try your best to exclude Zhihe from it, as I don’t want this incident to tarnish her reputation.”

”Yes, I will arrange for someone to handle it immediately,” Jianqi assured.

”Then I will take the horse carriage home first, and you can return after you’ve managed the affairs,” Bai Ruozhu said as she boarded the carriage.

Jianqi was a bit concerned, but considering this was the Capital and that other dark guards were secretly protecting her, there seemed to be nothing to worry about.

Just after Jianqi left, a pair of eyes in the darkness closely followed Bai Ruozhu.

The Bai Family was not far from the Imperial Palace. Halfway through the carriage ride, Bai Ruozhu suddenly shivered in the carriage, feeling an odd sensation rising in her heart.

Right then, a group of masked assailants suddenly burst from the roadside, charging toward Bai Ruozhu’s carriage.

The road was not crowded to begin with, but upon witnessing this scene, everyone got so frightened that they scattered and fled in all directions. The dark guards burst forth from hiding, blocking the masked assailants who were closing in.

Bai Ruozhu heard the clashing sounds of combat outside and inwardly cried out that something was amiss — someone was trying to assassinate her.

”Quick, take the mistress back to the residence!” one of the dark guards bellowed at the coachman, who, previously dumbstruck, finally came to his senses and hurriedly urged the horse carriage forward.

With a whoosh, an arrow pierced through the air, followed by a scream. The coachman driving the carriage toppled down, and as Bai Ruozhu pulled back the curtain to look, she saw that an arrow had shot through his right eye. He was now painfully twisting his body on the ground.

The horse, startled, stepped towards the fallen coachman.

Bai Ruozhu used her lightness skill to rush out of the carriage and grabbed the coachman lying on the ground. The carriage brushed past her shoulder, tearing her sleeve—it narrowly missed carrying both of them off into the air.

She pulled the coachman aside and swiftly administered acupuncture to treat him. The coachman was lucky; that arrow could have taken his life.

At that moment, she looked up and saw a dark figure standing on the eaves of a distant roof, bow in hand, drawing the bowstring back to shoot at her!

”Mistress!” A dark guard spotted the danger and cried out loudly, but it was too late.

The harsh arrow, with the sound of the wind, shot towards her. Bai Ruozhu concentrated all her attention in an instant and used the hand seals to cast the magic technique she had just learned.

An invisible barrier appeared before her, and the arrow that was aimed straight for her throat stopped less than ten centimeters away!

The arrow had strong momentum, and Bai Ruozhu’s essence drained rapidly. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead; she had practiced the Heart Method for only a few days and still had too little essence.

She clenched her teeth tightly, a tremendous potential erupting from within her body, and finally, the cold arrow lost its momentum and dropped to the ground.

She fought against the weakness in her body, forcing herself to stand upright, and looked towards the rooftop at the archer clad in black. If she was not mistaken, that person had to be Chase Wind of Qisha Pavilion!

Chase Wind was enveloped in black clothing, with even his head and face covered by black cloth, but his dark eyes, fixating on Bai Ruozhu’s hand seals, flashed with surprise.

Bai Ruozhu looked toward the other assassins and said loudly, ”You dare to assassinate someone from the Astrology Tower, do you no longer wish to live? Has Qisha Pavilion dispensed with its rules?”

While talking, she discreetly scattered a good amount of Poison Powder, which she had modified from the poison used by Fen Wan. It could instantly bring down a person of very high martial arts skill, but the downside was that it lasted only for a brief time.

”Mistress, I am late,” Jianqi came running from a distance. Having received the signal, he had immediately turned around. Fortunately, the mistress was unharmed.

”Jianqi, go kill Chase Wind, and show no mercy!” Bai Ruozhu bit out. This Chase Wind had not appeared just once; he had even near-fatally attacked her second brother before!

Jianqi sensed the intense killing intent emanating from Bai Ruozhu, his figure transforming into a swift shadow as he charged towards Chase Wind in the distance.

The rest of the assassins, initially startled by Bai Ruozhu’s shout, hesitated. Qisha Pavilion had always abided by a code of accepting money to eliminate troubles for others, but there was a rule not to provoke major sects, especially those who practiced magic techniques. In the whole Danliang Country, very few people knew magic techniques, but those high-level experts who did possess magic held extremely bizarre powers. For example, Fen Wan on her own might not seem very formidable, yet she could place a curse on the Former Emperor and Empress Dowager from thousands of miles away without god or ghost noticing, leaving them defenseless.

During the assassin’s moment of hesitation, they fell to the ground, one after the other.