Chapter 130: Ambushed

Behind the apple tree, Yan Yan caught sight of a pair of eyes brimming with cold intent. She immediately tightened her arms around Hongzheng and instinctively turned to flee. But as it turned out, her speed was far too slow. By the time Yan Yan realized what was happening, a man dressed in black had already seized control of her movements.

The room instantly descended into chaos. The more timid women screamed in terror. Madame Chen swiftly lifted Sweetheart from the table, while, quite unexpectedly, He Xuan'er pulled Hongzhang into her arms. Cui'er let out a sharp cry of, “My lady!” and rushed forward to drag Yan Yan away.

The man in black drew a dagger from somewhere and roared, “Stand still! No one is to move, or I'll kill her!”

At his shout, the room, which had been in complete turmoil only moments before, abruptly fell silent.

Yan Yan immediately felt a chill against her neck. Looking at Cui'er, who stood only a few paces away, she swallowed and forced herself to remain calm. “Whatever it is you want, you surely don't intend to die here, do you? Let me hand over the child. I'll stay behind as your hostage.”

The man in black gave a cold laugh. “Your calculations are rather clever, Secondary Consort.”

As he spoke, he reached for Hongzheng in Yan Yan's arms. The moment Yan Yan saw his dagger move away, she raised her foot and kicked him viciously in his most vulnerable spot. Clutching Hongzheng, she dashed toward the door.

Who could have guessed that there were still accomplices hidden among the people in the room? Two men dressed in women's clothing and wearing wigs emerged from the crowd and slowly closed in on Yan Yan.

At the same time, Cui'er rushed toward one of the men in women's clothes and sank her teeth into him. The man clearly knew martial arts. With a single motion, he flung Cui'er aside. She crashed into the table and fell to the floor, writhing in pain and unable to rise.

The other women instinctively moved toward the door, only to discover that two more men dressed in women's clothing were guarding it. At some point, the door had been shut.

Yan Yan swiftly surveyed the room and saw Anna and a group of women standing by the door, staring at her in bewilderment.

She instinctively tightened her hold on Hongzheng. Her mind raced through countless possibilities, yet she could find no way to escape. Looking at the two men in women's clothing as they slowly approached, Yan Yan realized that she herself was their true objective. She bit her lip and demanded sharply, “What do you want? Just say it plainly. Stop trying to frighten people.”

As she spoke, she slowly backed away.

Yan Yan did not mention the child again. She had already guessed that the men were not after the children. If they had been, they could have acted earlier, when only the children were in the room. Instead, they had chosen to wait. If she had not discovered them by accident, they might well have continued waiting.

The Ninth Prince. It had to be him.

They were waiting for the Ninth Prince to enter the room—or, more precisely, for any of Kangxi's sons to step inside.

Yan Yan rapidly searched her memory for the major events of the Kangxi era, but she could not find a single one that matched the situation before her.

What a pity. One only regrets how little one has learned when knowledge is needed. Never mind her professional studies—even the time-travel novels set in the Qing dynasty had left almost no impression on her.

Forcing herself to appear composed, Yan Yan looked toward the man in black, who was still curled up in pain on the floor, and smiled. “You don't have much time. Something this serious has happened here; it won't be long before the guards discover it. So I advise you to state your demands quickly.”

The man in black seemed to have recovered from his pain. He rolled to his feet and slowly approached Yan Yan.

She instinctively turned her body slightly, shielding Hongzheng completely in her arms. Hongzheng seemed to realize that something was wrong as well. He clung tightly to Yan Yan and nestled against her without making a sound.

Seeing her reaction, the man in black revealed a mocking smile. “Secondary Consort, you care deeply for your child, don't you? For the sake of your child, would you agree to any demand?”

Yan Yan glared fiercely at him and said nothing.

The man in black suddenly glanced toward the burly man in women's clothing by the door. The latter immediately snatched Hongzhang from He Xuan'er's arms and strode over. Meanwhile, the man in women's clothing who had been standing before Yan Yan hurried to the door to take his place, clearly afraid that anyone might break out.

Yan Yan stepped forward at once and shouted angrily, “What are you going to do?”

He Xuan'er, drawing courage from somewhere, also threw herself forward. “Give me back my child!”

The burly man in black kicked her aside, but instead of letting go, He Xuan'er abruptly seized his ankle and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Help! Help!”

Her cry threw all the women into a panic, and they began screaming as well. “Help! Help!”

The burly man appeared flustered. He struck He Xuan'er across the back with his palm. She immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, yet she still refused to release his leg.

The man in women's clothing holding Hongzhang moved forward to help. Cui'er, who had been lying off to the side, instantly imitated Yan Yan and kicked the man with all her strength.

The man doubled over in pain and dropped Hongzhang. But Cui'er had already fallen to the floor herself and could only shout, “Second Prince, run!”

While everyone's attention was focused on the burly man in black, Yan Yan swiftly picked up Hongzheng and charged into the crowd.

Unexpectedly, the man in women's clothing who had remained beside her seized her by the collar. Even so, Yan Yan managed to hurl Hongzheng into the crowd. Anna caught him almost by reflex and immediately handed him to Madame Chen, who was also among the women.

Yan Yan let out a silent breath of relief and allowed the man in women's clothing behind her to pin her against the wall.

Hongzhang also managed to escape danger. Just as Cui'er saw the man reaching for him again, she grabbed an object and threw it without hesitation. He Xuan'er suddenly seized Hongzhang as well and quickly rolled away with him.

At that very moment, the Ninth Prince's voice came from outside the room.

“Yan Yan, are you in there?”

Hearing the Ninth Prince's voice, the burly man in black immediately abandoned his intention of grabbing He Xuan'er and Hongzhang. He sprang to Yan Yan's side, and the man in women's clothing who had been writhing on the floor, along with the one restraining Yan Yan, gathered around him.

Cui'er crawled and stumbled over to He Xuan'er, took Hongzhang into her arms, and hid behind the long table. Seeing her actions, the other women also ran to the opposite side of the table.

In an instant, the long table divided the room into two sharply separated camps.

Hongzheng struggled in Madame Chen's arms. Just as he was about to burst into tears, she quickly covered his mouth.

Strangely enough, although the room had been clearly divided, neither the man in black nor the four men dressed in women's clothing showed any intention of seizing the women—or of taking the children. All their attention was fixed on the door.

Once again, the Ninth Prince's resonant voice sounded from outside.

“Yan Yan, don't be afraid. I'm here to save you.”