Chu Junyi pulled Shen Ninghua to his side and flipped open the folding fan in his hand. With a wave of his hand, he knocked away a fireball falling from the sky. He abruptly took off his coat and draped it over Shen Ninghua"s head, "Protect yourself!"
After saying that, he was about to pull the Fifth Prince back who was now pushed by the crowd to the point of reeling right and left. He had just taken one step forward when he felt his sleeve suddenly pulled. He turned around to Shen Ninghua who was pulling him, and said with a frown, "What"s wrong?"
Shen Ninghua"s gaze was as calm as water. Her dark eyes were like a bone-chilling night, pitch-black as if they could drown a person. Her voice was also cold as ice, "Leave him alone."
Chu Junyi frowned. "Do you know what you"re talking about?"
Although he personally didn"t care about the Fifth Prince, if something happened to the prince in his place, he might have trouble explaining to the royal family.
"Of course I know what I"m doing." Shen Ninghua pondered for a moment before suddenly saying, "Chu Junyi, how about I do you a favor?"
"What are you talking about?"
Chu Junyi frowned.
Shen Ninghua took away the clothes covering her head. Then she pulled out a gold hairpin from her hair and unscrewed the hilt of the hairpin. A gold needle flashed and quickly disappeared in her hand. Chu Junyi"s eyes flashed with thought. Shen Ninghua"s movements were too fast. If he hadn"t watched carefully, he would have almost missed her movements.
Shen Ninghua walked towards Baili Jinze. Chu Junyi grabbed her by the arm and asked. "What exactly are you going to do?"
"Killing!"
Shen Ninghua"s voice was cold and solemn with cold killing intent, which actually made Chu Junyi feel a freezing-cold might.
He was stunned and unconsciously released his finger.
When he regained his presence of mind, he hurriedly tried to pull her back, but Shen Ninghua had already been blocked by the crowd.
Baili Jinze was awkwardly dodging the crowd. His feet were trampled on from time to time, making him especially annoyed.
Among all the emperor"s sons, he was born by the lowest-ranking imperial concubine. Although he was safely born, he was injured when his mother was still pregnant and his body was a little weaker than ordinary men.
The Second Prince was able to lead the troops, so he naturally possessed exceptional agility. At this moment, he was dodging the crowd with ease. When he saw Baili Jinze"s awkwardness, his eyes flashed with ridicule.
Baili Jinze was looking everywhere for his guards, but he didn"t see any of them.
Just as he was anxious, he suddenly felt a warmth in front of him and lowered his head. He met with Shen Ninghua"s watery eyes.
"Miss Shen?"
Shen Ninghua blushed. "Your Highness, please forgive me…" She was about to stand up when the person behind her pushed her again, and she looked even more embarra.s.sed.
Baili Jinze"s heart shivered. He pulled her sleeve to protect her and helped her retreat backward.
They were in such a haste that he didn"t even feel the slight stinging pain in his arm. "Miss Shen, there"s no need to be afraid. My guards will come over soon."
Shen Ninghua seemed to be utterly shocked. She stared blankly at Baili Jinze. Suddenly a fireball fell from the sky. In the hustle, Baili Jinze was pulled away by the crowd from Shen Ninghua.
Baili Jinze felt that he suddenly had nothing to hold in his hand. When he anxiously pushed away the people around him and looked for Shen Ninghua, she was nowhere to be seen.
At this time, Qing Que and Hong Ling had already rushed over.
Seeing that Shen Ninghua was fine, Qing Que heaved a sigh of relief. "Miss, are you alright?"
"I"m fine."
Shen Ninghua frowned. "Have you seen Shen Linghan?"
Something wrong was going on with Shen Linghan when they were having dinner, so it was unusual that she didn"t make some trouble right now.
"I didn"t see the Second Young Lady."
Hong Ling frowned.
"Forget about her. Qing Que, let"s go to Huanhua Stream."
Shen Linghan had better behave herself, or else Shen Ninghua would settle the score for her together.
Baili Jinze frowned tightly. He felt that the people around him were making him feel more and more painful when they b.u.mped into him. In the end, when he was stamped in the foot, he felt as if someone had slashed him with a knife. He couldn"t help but cry out in pain.
"Back off!"
Hearing his voice, the Second Prince, Baili Jinchuan, hurriedly looked over and then widened his eyes all of a sudden.
Baili Jinze was only slightly knocked by a person. The person apparently didn"t exert much strength, but Baili Jinze acted as if he was in great pain. He let out a loud shout and suddenly jumped into Huanhua Stream behind him.
Suppressing the smile on his lips, Baili Jinchuan pushed away the surrounding people with even more gentleness. "Squeezing around isn"t completely annoying at all."
Then, he turned around without looking at his brother again.
Huanhua Stream was very shallow. It wouldn"t drown anyone at all. Let his fifth brother jump in and cool down.
Qing Que and Hong Ling guarded around Shen Ninghua and protected her attentively.
When Chu Junyi saw that she was well protected, his tightly-knitted eyebrows were about to relax. However, when he saw her movements, his heart shivered.
Shen Ninghua walked to Huanhua Stream with a cold smile in her eyes. She only waved her sleeves slightly, but somehow the surrounding people seemed to have been forcefully pushed by someone and plopped into the water one after another.
The Fifth Prince, who had just climbed out of the water, was directly trampled into the water again.
Looking at the splashing water, Shen Ninghua curled her lips when she discovered that Baili Jinze had been trampled on by someone in the back and remained motionless for a long time. She stopped wandering around and turned around to walk out of the crowd.
Chu Junyi frowned and followed her. When they finally walked to a place where there were fewer people, he asked, "Is this your big gift for me?"
Shen Ninghua tidied up her clothes and turned around to look at the crowd. She then said calmly, "Master Chu, don"t be anxious. The good part is just on.
Don"t worry, this gift is exactly what you need."
"Do you know exactly what you"re doing?"
Murdering the emperor"s son was a big crime. Although this incident could be used as a cover, if the royal family looked seriously into this matter, no one present today could get away with it.
Besides, how could she know what he wanted?
"I"ve never liked to suffer losses. This time, I"m just collecting some interest."
The sky lanterns gradually descended, but the panic in the crowd was still there. People kept pushing and shoving each other. Seeing that it was almost the time, Shen Ninghua ordered, "Qing Que, release the signal."
"Yes, Miss."
Qing Que took out the fireworks and let off three fireworks into the sky.
"You already had an arrangement?"
Chu Junyi frowned. "If you can"t turn the tide at this time, you"d better not get involved in it at all. Otherwise, I"m afraid you won"t be able to get any benefits."
Shen Ninghua raised her eyebrows, "I heard that the Xiao family had always been known for acting decisively. Master Chu, the more dangerous the situation is, the more opportunities there will be. If you don"t act now, there will be no chance at all in the future."
"You..." Chu Junyi was about to retort when he suddenly saw Shen Ninghua"s eyes. There was not the slightest panic or anxiety in those dark eyes. Instead, there was a smile and resplendence. The anxiety in his heart dissipated and he immediately mocked himself for being less decisive than a woman.
Anyway, at this time, he couldn"t in way stay out of the issue, so why not give it a shot!
"I"ll immediately send my people to protect the Second Prince and Fifth Prince."
Shen Ninghua smiled. She was not wrong in her judgment of this man. Chu Junyi was indeed extraordinary.
This time, after returning the favor he had done her last time, maybe they could even become friends in the future.
After less than a quarter, they heard the clattering sound of horse hooves approaching.
"The Capital Guards are here to protect the Second Prince and Fifth Prince. Irrelevant people should quickly disperse!"
Chu Junyi was slightly surprised, "The Capital Guards arrived so quickly this time. Why aren"t they afraid of trouble?"
After saying that, he paused and looked at Shen Ninghua in surprise. "You didn"t send for them, did you?"
"Why not? Something big happened in the capital. Naturally, the Capital Guards should come out."
Chu Junyi was amused. The Capital Guards were responsible for the safety of the capital. But they were always the last ones to come when something really happened.
The governor of the Capital Guards was most skilled at evading responsibility.
The soldiers arrived and it took them quite a while dispersing the people. The governor of the Capital Guards got off his horse, rushed to Baili Jinchuan, and cried out loudly, "Your Highness, please forgive me for being here late. Fortunately, you are not hurt. Otherwise, I should die ten thousand times to redeem my guilt."
"Lord Sun, you have come just in time and saved me. How could I blame you?"
Baili Jinze wasn"t able to stand up and had been lying on the sh.o.r.e for a long time. Baili Jinchuan glanced at him and said in a good mood.
He wasn"t injured anyway, so why bother offend an official?
The governor of the Capital Guards hurriedly shook his head. "No, no. It was all thanks to Master Chu"s report that I can rush over in time.
Fortunately, we have Master Chu helping us. Otherwise, we would need more time to disperse these people."
Baili Jinchuan paused. Chu Junyi?
Chu Junyi looked very modest. "Don"t mention it. I just did what I should do. Anyone would have done his best to protect the two princes."
"Fifth younger brother…"
Just as Baili Jinchuan was about to speak, the governor of the Capital Guards screamed, "Your Highness… Alas, why are you in the water? Hurry and get up. Why are you idiots still standing there? Hurry up and help the Fifth Prince up!"
Two soldiers hurriedly went forward to help Baili Jinze carefully, one on the left and one on the right. However, they had just touched Baili Jinze with their fingers when he screamed in pain, "It hurts so much. Let go of me."
The two officers and soldiers immediately stopped, and Baili Jinze, who had just stood up halfway, fell back into the water with a bang.
Baili Jinchuan and the others were dumbfounded.
"Fifth brother, what"s wrong with you? There"s no good to stay in this water. Hurry and get up.
Be quick!"
Baili Jinchuan bent over to support Baili Jinze, but he struggled and pushed away Baili Jinchuan. "Don"t touch me!"
Baili Jinchuan"s expression changed. He flicked his sleeves and said, "Since you don"t want to get up, stay in the water for a while."
Baili Jinze felt as if his entire body was being torn apart. As long as someone touched his skin, he would feel painful as if a knife was cutting him.
He knew that all he had to do at this time was tolerate. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn"t control himself, and the pain was so strong than he felt his body was about to crack.
Chu Junyi looked at Shen Ninghua and slightly raised his eyebrows. He silently asked, "Is this your gift for me?
Shen Ninghua looked back. "Isn"t this gift big enough?"
Chu Junyi was speechless. This gift was big enough to frighten everyone. However, why was Shen Ninghua able to summon the governor of the Capital Guards, who was quite a big potato?
It seemed there were still quite some myths about this girl.