Dare to touch my woman?

As soon as the crossbow twanged, a sharp arrow shot down from the second floor of the teahouse.

"Your Majesty, bow your head!"

The female soldier guarding the car window rushed over, but the back of her knife just touched the crossbow bolt, and the arrowhead grazed her shoulder and shot into the carriage, embedding itself in the wooden board behind Zhao Mingzhu.

Zhao Mingzhu was lifting the curtain when she saw the arrow whiz past her nose, splinters of wood landing on her skirt. She didn't dare move for a long time.

The female soldier slammed the curtain down, blood from her shoulder flowing down her wrist.

"Don't worry about me, protect the Empress!"

Chaos had broken out in front of the carriage. The truck that had been blocking the road had overturned, sacks were scattered all over the ground, and several masked men emerged from the roadside and rushed towards the carriage.

The leading female soldier from the Phoenix Battalion drew her sword and rushed forward, ordering the other two to guard the carriage door.

"Back up! Don't let them get near the car!"

The man at the front thrust his knife into the car door, the blade wedged into the frame. Just as he was about to pull the door open, the female soldier guarding the door slashed his wrist.

"The Empress is inside; don't let anyone take advantage of the chaos to lift the curtain!"

"We can't back out!"

Zhao Mingzhu shouted through the car window, "There were no cars in that alley behind us before, but now it's blocked by two empty cars. They're waiting for us to come back!"

When she used to escort goods, what she feared most was a situation where there was trouble in front and a raid behind.

The female soldier peeked out and saw that, sure enough, two guys were dragging the wooden frame to the alley entrance.

"There's another road on the left, move the car over there first!"

Zhao Mingzhu gripped the side of the carriage; the jolt had made her stomach ache, so she needed to send someone out to warn them. They couldn't all be trapped here. If they couldn't move the carriage, they would wait for the patrol.

"Your Majesty, please be seated!"

A female soldier climbed over the low wall by the roadside from the back of the carriage, and while everyone's attention was focused on the carriage, she quickly jumped into the yard next door to notify the others.

Another arrow was shot from the teahouse, landing on the carriage shaft. The horse was startled and struggled violently to the side.

Zhao Mingzhu was jolted so hard she bumped into a cushion. She quickly covered her lower abdomen, and was in so much pain she couldn't speak for a moment.

"Your Majesty!"

"Don't lift the curtain!"

She took a breath. "Wait about what's happening outside, I'm fine..."

She said she was fine, but her lower abdomen kept tightening, and she had to hold onto the edge of the car even to sit up straight.

The street vendors had long since scattered. Some of the attackers threw lime, while others brandished short knives and lunged at the car door, shouting that they would only rob people and not kill them.

"Who dares to touch the Empress!"

The injured female soldier gritted her teeth and used her uninjured hand to knock down a man who had reached into the car door.

As the man fell, he tried to grab her ankle, but was kicked away by another female soldier.

The masked men grew increasingly agitated as they fought. They had received a large sum of money and thought that by blocking the car, they could drag out a pregnant woman, but the Fengzi Camp refused to budge an inch.

The leader shouted, "Chop down the horse! Force them out!"

"How dare you!"

The female soldier leading the Phoenix Battalion dodged the blade, plunged it into the man's thigh, and as he screamed in pain, kicked over her comrade who was holding a crossbow.

Ah Liu was terrified out of his wits. When he saw someone actually shooting arrows at the carriage, he turned his horse and fled out of the alley.

A female soldier from the Fengzi Battalion, who was waiting on the perimeter, recognized his horse, chased after it, grabbed the reins, and threw him off.

"Your Highness, it's Ah Liu, the one who led the way! He's trying to escape!"

Zhao Mingzhu was stunned for a moment, then grabbed the carriage curtain and yelled, "Ah Liu! You tell me clearly, where is my father?"

Ah Liu knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the stone slab: "Your Majesty, spare me! I didn't know they would actually dare to kill!"

Zhao Mingzhu leaned against the cushion and, upon hearing this, slowly dug her fingers into her sleeves.

Her father was not hurt at all; this bastard lied to her about her father's injury!

When the patrolmen arrived, the leader of the assassins still refused to give up, grabbing a fallen vendor to block his way and forcing the female soldiers to make way.

The Fengzi Battalion didn't chase after the man and hack him indiscriminately. Instead, they protected the vendor and retreated, allowing the patrolmen to take the opportunity to tackle the man from behind.

Several other assassins escaped by scaling the wall, while the rest were either injured or pinned to the ground.

The wagon blocking the road was pushed to the side of the road, and the horse-drawn carriage could barely move out of the street corner.

Lu Yuan rushed over upon hearing the news, and as soon as he dismounted, he saw the carriage that had been shot through.

Bloodstained strips of cloth lay on the ground, and wounded soldiers of the Fengzi Battalion leaned against the carriage shaft, blood still seeping from their shoulders.

He Shen quickly stepped forward to apologize: "Your Highness, this humble general has already ordered the streets to be sealed off. The crossbowmen in the teahouse escaped, but we've captured five, and we're still chasing the rest!"

"Go chase after her if she runs away, I'll check on her first!"

Lu Yuan rushed to the car in three strides: "Mingzhu!"

"I'm here."

Zhao Mingzhu tried to get out of the car by leaning against the door, but he reached out and hugged her.

"Don't move!"

Lu Yuan saw her holding her stomach with one hand, and his voice changed, "Where does it hurt? Did the arrow wound you?"

"I wasn't shot, but my stomach hurts a little."

Zhao Mingzhu, who had just been forcing herself to direct the guards, now grabbed his collar, her voice trembling, "Your Highness, the child...please call the imperial physician immediately."

Lu Yuan immediately carried her to the accompanying sedan chair and ordered He Shen to send a fast horse back to the palace to summon the imperial physician.

Before leaving, he glanced at the female soldier one last time: "Carry her back and have the medic stop the bleeding immediately. No one is to be left behind."

The female soldier, clutching her shoulder, tried to salute, but he pressed her back down.

"I will remember the arrow you took for me."

Back at the East Palace, Su Yuling was already getting impatient.

When the people she had sent to Fuyuan Escort Agency returned and said that Zhao's father was drinking tea in the shop perfectly fine, she knew something was wrong and had already sent someone to fetch the imperial physician.

Zhao Mingzhu entered without even taking off her shoes. Su Yuling helped her lie down, and touching her icy hands, couldn't help but scold, "That Ah Liu, how many times has he come and gone from the escort agency? How dare he lie to you about your father's life!"

"Sister, scold him later..."

Zhao Mingzhu tried to pull her hand back under the covers, but then her lower abdomen started to hurt again, so she had to bite her lip.

Lu Yuan stood in front of the bed, staring at the imperial physician's hand taking his pulse, and then stopped talking halfway through his question.

He was afraid the imperial physician would say something he didn't want to hear.

The imperial physician examined her for a long time before saying, "The concubine has been greatly frightened and shaken, and there are signs that the pregnancy is threatened. She needs to rest quietly tonight. I will prescribe a formula to stabilize the pregnancy. If she experiences any abdominal pain or bleeding, she must call me immediately."

Su Yuling felt a lump in her throat as she listened. She turned around and asked someone to move the hot water and medicine stove closer, and stayed there, unwilling to leave.

Zhao Mingzhu quietly tugged at Lu Yuan's sleeve: "Your Highness, don't forget the girl who shielded me from the arrow."

"I can't forget it."

Lu Yuan patted her hand. "Drink your medicine first. I'll be outside."

Lu Yuan arrived at the outer courtyard, where He Shen was waiting at the foot of the steps with A Liu and several masked men.

"Your Highness, Ah Liu has confessed. He accepted silver notes and relayed false information for someone. The contact was a steward from the Zheng family."

Ah Liu rushed forward and kowtowed, "Your Highness, I just want to pay off my gambling debts! They said that as long as Her Majesty came to the marketplace and said a word, who knew they would shoot arrows!"

Lu Yuan kicked him over.

"Use my women and children to pay off your gambling debts?"

Ah Liu's mouth was full of blood, and he was too scared to utter another sound.

Su Yuling also came out of the house and saw the wounded female soldier being helped to apply medicine. She said coldly, "Lock all these people up. If Mingzhu and the child suffer even the slightest harm, I will spare none of them!"

Lu Yuan ignored Ah Liu and asked He Shen, "Where have we gotten to the silver notes?"

"The steward of the Zheng family has been apprehended and has confessed to the silver given by the Chen family and the carts borrowed by the Cui family. The assassins have also identified the rendezvous point. I sent men to search and found the remaining crossbow bolts and account books."

Where are they?

"I've already gone to get it!"

Lu Yuan threw the crossbow bolt he had pulled from the carriage at He Shen's feet.

"Take it! Anyone who dares to shoot an arrow at her right under my nose won't get their family to cover for them!"

It wasn't until nightfall that He Shen returned with his dust-covered soldiers.

"Your Highness, the young masters who hired the assassins have been apprehended; members of the Zheng, Chen, and Cui families are all involved!"

Lu Yuan abruptly stood up: "Bring him here, I will interrogate him myself!"