But it was at that precise moment another sharp sense of danger assaulted her mind! Chu Qiao, without any hesitation, stooped down, and could only feel that from the other side of the tree a blade had flashed past. The blade skimmed past her head, and a few strands of her hair flew in the air!

　　Chu Qiao almost wanted to swear at her opponent. She had been completely seen through! As though the opponent had known exactly what speed she would have, what strategy she would use, when she would lie in wait to ambush the opponent… Instead, she was ambushed!

　　That was so frustrating!

　　In that split second, Chu Qiao activated her entire brain to formulate a follow-up strategy. Adjusting her posture, she readied herself for another round of conflict. If she was unable to defeat this adversary, she felt sorry for her instructor back in the modern world.

　　But then, a whooshing sound came from above. Chu Qiao was taken by surprise, and before she had even realized what happened, her back was dealt a heavy blow. Something hammered onto her back, and the intense pain almost caused her to vomit blood! But what happened next would have really caused her to vomit blood out of anger.

　　A loud wailing sound came from behind her. A young child, around seven to eight-years-old, was riding on Chu Qiao’s back. He wiped his face and cried as he wailed loudly.

　　It seemed that before they came, there was already a kid who was playing in this tree. The joke was on her as she had been a top agent! She had not even noticed a kid hiding in the tree. Seeing the entire process of their fighting, the kid’s grip loosened from fear, and he fell right onto Chu Qiao! Was there anything that was more frustrating than that?

　　Pushing away the kid, Chu Qiao was hoping that she still had room for retaliation, but a blade had already been pressed onto her neck. A flurry of footsteps approached, and instantly, a crowd surrounded her. A few more blades were then placed next to her neck. Chu Qiao lifted her head and glared fiercely at the kid who was still crying. She overheard people gossiping quietly behind her, “I didn’t know that our Princess was so good at martial arts.”

　　Another person replied, “The Zhao family was originally a family that rose due to their prowess in the martial arts. Knowing a little here and there would be natural. It’s just surprising that the Princess is so good.”

　　What did they just call Zhao Chun’er? Their princess? Are they from the Xia Empire?

　　A war horse galloped from the distance. The man jumped off the back of the horse. Wearing a black veil over his face, he dashed up and proclaimed, “Our men are still delaying the scene. We still have time.”

　　The man in black nodded, and told the man beside him, “Take her and go to the square.”

　　Another man-in-black ordered Chu Qiao, “Put down your weapon.”

　　Unable to resist, Chu Qiao complied. With a clank, she dropped the knife, and considered whether or not she should reveal her identity in front of the crowd and tell them that she was actually not Zhao Chun’er. But it was just then that the highly skilled man, whom she was fighting with, walked up, and stretched out his lanky hand, and held Chu Qiao’s chin. Coldly snorting, Chu Qiao shook her head, and with all her strength, bit down on that man’s hand!

　　As though she could hear the sound of her teeth breaking through flesh, blood immediately started flowing down from the wound. Chu Qiao stared back at that man, a trail of blood on her chin. Her gaze was like a wounded wolf, still with plenty of fighting spirit left within her, not willing to give up.

　　“Ah!” A loud and clear groan resounded, but no one moved. No one reacted to Chu Qiao’s action.

　　That man stared at Chu Qiao, at a loss for words, and just allowed her to continue biting his hand. Without words, without motion, the only reaction he gave was his gaze which peeked out from beneath the black mask. Right now, that gaze even had a trace of amusement!

　　Chu Qiao was taken aback as well. That pair of eyes was all too familiar to her. As though she had become retarded, she slowly unclenched her jaw. With her mouth still agape, she looked up at him.

　　“Haha!” That man suddenly started laughing. Tearing off his mask, he pulled Chu Qiao up, and with one swift motion, he swept her into his embrace.

　　“I knew you would not die so easily!” Like a kid who had just received a new toy, Zhuge Yue chuckled. He was so ecstatic, yet one could tell from his pale complexion how worried he was. Hugging her tightly, it was almost as though he wanted to morph their bodies together!

　　Chu Qiao’s head was pressed into his chest. Through his firm and strong chest muscles, she could hear his heart thumping away vigorously. Remembering what had just happened to her, her vision clouded. After just escaping death, certain emotions raged on beyond her control within her heart. She could not contain herself. Burying her head in his chest, she freely let her tears flow out.

　　The entire parade was silent, as the only sound that could be heard was the fluttering of the flag in the wind. Looking up at Qiang Wei Square, people once again were reminded of its history. 300 years ago, atop that bronze platform, the first great traitor of the Tang Empire—He Lanye—was burnt alive in an execution.

　　At that time, he was appointed the highest commander of the Hongchuan Highlands by the Tang Empire. Yet, he merely watched as the Zhao Family invaded the highlands, without putting up any form of meaningful struggle. And when the Zhao Family’s forces seized Zhen Huang City, he merely escaped the city with his entire family. He threw away the northern buffer of the Great Tang Empire, and relinquished swathes of Tang Territory for no good reason. He was the only reason that the ruler of the entire continent became history. Ultimately, he was the reason why the Great Tang Empire had to remove the “great” from its name; the Song Empire and the Xia Empire threatened them, claiming that the Tang Empire was no longer deserving of such a name. That became the humiliation of the Tang Empire even until today.

　　From that point onward, the platform in Qiang Wei Square became the location for executing criminals. At this very moment, a lady who was coated in bloodstains was tied up high on the bronze platform. With her clothes tattered, no one could see her face clearly. At her feet, a huge pile of firewood had been stacked. Soldiers holding the burning torch were already standing at one side, ready to light the bonfire. A group tried to rush in to save the lady. Although they seemed like normal civilians, those who were sharp would have noticed that they were all hiding weapons and were nothing like common folk.

　　The ruckus grew louder. Countless men waved their hands, cheering the execution on. Zhao Chun’er opened her frail eyes. Her cries of anguish and roars of anger only received a few loud and crisp slaps to her face in exchange. The rugged soldiers all had rough skin with thick callouses, and their slaps were extremely painful.

　　With her jaw dislocated, she could not say anything that resembled human speech. All she could do was peek through the dried blood that glued her eyes shut and observe the crowds of overly excited people. There were all unfamiliar faces wearing infuriated expressions. Suddenly, she started to feel scared. She started to tremble uncontrollably.

　　Was she going to die?

　　At this very moment, a name flashed into her mind. A certain woman’s sharp gaze, emotionless attitude, and her look of belittlement suddenly filled Zhao Chun’er’s heart.

　　Chu Qiao! Chu Qiao! Chu Qiao!

　　Her expression twisted into a grimace. Her hatred for Chu Qiao was so overwhelming, as if it could not be cleansed even through death.

　　It was that woman who snatched her beloved, her happiness, her reputation. It was that woman who rocked her country, humiliated her, and caused her to suffer at the hands of those despicable, nauseating, and worthless common folks! From the start to the end, her misery had all originated from Chu Qiao!

　　I will not let her go! Even if I become a ghost, even if I head to the deepest corner of hell, even if my soul is vanquished, I will not let her go!

　　Trying to clench her teeth in fury, Zhao Chun’er was like a maddened ghost, as thoughts of bloodlust filled her head.

　　“Begin the execution!” a loud bellow sounded. But then, another ruckus brewed in the crowds. It was the same bunch as before!

　　Within her heart, Zhao Chun’er an overwhelming sense of desire to live on started to grow. With her fervent gaze, she stared in the direction of the ruckus. But at the same time, a strange thought surfaced in her mind. At this point in time, anyone who was here to disrupt the execution must be here to help Chu Qiao!

　　Suddenly a twisted desire rose from within her. She suddenly hoped that no one would actually come to help her. Unable to contain that thought, she started to snicker, her voice full of self-mockery. So, if she was rescued today, it would be thanks to Chu Qiao?

　　Seeing how she started to snicker hysterically, the men below the platform started gossiping, thinking that she had gone crazy. By now, the entire central street had been crowded with people. It was as though someone had intentionally set up this chaos to prevent others from coming into the center.

　　Observing the mess, Situ Yu frowned as a dozen Yan Bei warriors returned to him for further instructions. Zuo Tingling solemnly reported, “General Situ, there are too many people of the North Camp. We can barely even charge in, let alone save the lady.”

　　Baihe frowned, and added to that grim report, “I already sent messenger eagles to inform the Master.”

　　“Even if we inform the Master now, he won’t make it in time,” Situ Yu declared forlornly. “Have you found out who tried to delay the execution just now?”

　　Zuo Tingling replied, “No, we had no intel on that as they were well disciplined and left no traces. From what I could tell, considering the lady’s friends, they should be either the Fourth Master of Zhuge Family, or the Crown Prince of Tang, Li Ce.”

　　“Then they should be from the Zhuge Family.” Situ Yu nodded. “The Tang Prince is still outside the central street.”

　　“Then what should we do now? Since the Zhuge Family stalled for time just now, they will certainly take further action.”

　　“We cannot rely just on them. ” Situ Yu shook his head and gazed at the central street behind them. “We will head over there!”

　　“The main street?”

　　“Yes!” Situ nodded. “We will help the Tang Prince open up a path!”

　　But just as the Yan Bei warriors plunged into the crowds to open a path, the crowds shrieked in a mix of fear and surprise. Following that, everyone looked up with eyes full of disbelief!

　　Under the looming black clouds, a pure white horse jumped onto the roof and started galloping past the crowd. Wearing a pine green robe, the rider’s face seemed so handsome that the scene seemed to have come straight out of a painting! That horse was naturally an excellent breed, and with a few quick jumps, it covered much distance, leaving behind a trail of dust and damaged roofs. With a long neigh, the horse landed in Qiang Wei Square, inducing cries of surprise!

　　The spear infantry, who were on standby at the outer edges of the crowd within the Square, quickly took up positions. With a flurry of whooshes, a wall of spearheads appeared before the man!

　　“Who dares to obstruct me?” The man’s brow twitched very slightly, as he glanced at the crowd of soldiers.

　　“He…he is the Crown Prince…” Within the crowd, someone, with a trembling voice, recognized the intruder. With that voice as the trigger, the panic spread within the crowd like a wildfire. The front row of soldiers, in particular, were trembling so hard that they could barely maintain a grip on their weapon. Suddenly, one of them threw down the spear, and with a loud knock, prostrated himself on the ground!

　　“Your Highness!”

　　“The Crown Prince is here!”

　　“His Highness is here”

　　With his identity out in the open, no matter how courageous the soldiers of the North Camp were, they would not dare to confront the Crown Prince directly. With their mentality breaking down, the masses of soldier bowed in deference. Like a flock of sheep, they lied low, trembling, and unable to muster the strength to carry out any further actions!