The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Chapter 1005 - 565: Infiltrating the Royal Mansion

Clip clop...

The sound of hooves struck the stone brick floor, mixed with the grinding noise of the wheels. The entire carriage moved like a ghost, shuttling through the morning mist.

Zhao Douan was surprised as he peeked through the flickering curtain on one side, watching the carriage speeding through Yongjia City. Yet, the early morning pedestrians seemed oblivious to the vehicle.

Before long, the carriage reached the city gates, and without needing him to show identification, it passed straight through the thick city wall like a ghost, appearing outside.

Once outside the city, the "unicorn" became even more rampant, its four hooves almost levitating, and the wheels seemed to lift off the ground.

Zhao Douan felt as if he were riding on a "Ghost Train," traversing the mountains and forests ahead with ease, the trees flying backward outside the window.

"Is this carriage also a Suppressing Object?" Zhao Douan withdrew his gaze, turning towards Yu Xiu beside him.

The carriage was of ordinary size, squeezed with five people, making it very cramped, like a can of sardines.

Zhong Pan sat outside controlling the carriage, with Lang Shiba and Ji Yue on the outermost side, while Jin Jian was on the inside.

Zhao Douan and Yu Xiu were stuffed in the very back, their bodies almost pressing against each other.

"The carriage itself is not, but the materials used to build it are special, allowing it to travel a thousand miles a day. It relies on the exotic beast with unique bloodline and also on Brother Zhong’s spell." Yu Xiu explained.

Then he awkwardly twisted his body, trying to find a more comfortable sitting position:

"Brother Zhong is driving at full speed, we can reach the destination quickly, and it’s discreet enough."

Awkward, the Daoist is awkward... Zhao Douan felt uncomfortable all over, the air in the carriage was stuffy, he tried to move his arm, and his elbow accidentally nudged something soft.

Feeling the dagger-like gaze from Yu Xiu, he maintained a blank expression, flicking a near-nodding Jin Jian on the head:

"Sit up straight! You’re pushing against me."

As the bright daylight began to droop Jin Jian’s eyelids, he was caught off guard by the tap. He turned back with a bewildered expression, pitifully said "Oh," and curled up.

Wiggling his little butt, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep, he mumbled: "Put away the flying knife, it’s poking me."

Zhao Douan: "..."

At this moment, Zhong Pan, cross-legged and driving, asked in a deep voice without turning his head:

"In our haste, you only mentioned going to Jingchuan City, but where exactly? Heading straight to Mu Prince’s location?"

Zhao Douan shook his head: "No."

He had another plan, and before assassinating Xu Jingtang, he needed to find an accomplice.

...

...

Jingchuan City, Hundred Generations Forest Park.

This was Mu Prince’s temporary residence.

At this moment, the atmosphere was one of intense murder in the scenic mountain and water garden.

Xu Jingtang, clad in armor, fully dressed for battle, wielding a longsword, was drenched in sweat in the Martial Arts Arena.

"Boom!"

The heavy sword smashed down, and a humanoid target on the field was shattered into pieces!

"Huff... Huff..."

Xu Jingtang leaned on the sword, gasping for breath, sweat soaking his back, and his eyes filled with bloodshot.

"Prince..."

Nearby, beautiful concubines approached, holding towels soaked with clean water, cautiously trying to help him remove his armor and wipe him down.

"Wretched!"

Unexpectedly, Xu Jingtang cursed ferociously, suddenly sweeping his sword horizontally, with a whoosh, slicing off the concubine’s headpiece.

"Ah! Spare my life, Prince! Spare my life!"

The concubine, dressed in a low-cut outfit with her long black hair loose, whimpered, kneeling on the ground trembling, her legs weak, and begged for mercy in fear.

A group of servants around also kneeled to the ground.

Being close attendants of the Royal Mansion, they all knew that when the prince was angry, he truly vented his rage and killed randomly!

"Get lost!" Fortunately, despite his anger, Xu Jingtang did not lose complete control, and that "wretched" seemed not directed at those present.

Immediately, the servants and concubines fled with relief, as if pardoned.

The prince has been in a foul mood recently!

Since Zhao Ke escaped, Xu Jingtang had not smiled.

He thought, with the capabilities of the Embroidered Robe Envoy, combined with layers of defense, they could intercept her over the thousand-mile journey.

Unexpectedly, the court’s Shadow Guards were much more troublesome than anticipated, and despite continuous pursuit, the paper cranes sent back by Nie Yurong showed that they failed to intercept her.

On the contrary, many Embroidered Robe Envoys were lost.

"Useless, a bunch of useless!"

Xu Jingtang wanted to kill.

Unfortunately, Nie Yurong had fled Jingchuan City under the pretext of pursuit, escaping unscathed.

What truly enraged Xu Jingtang was the latest news he received last night.

The batch of Embroidered Robe Envoys sent to Yongjia City to investigate Zhao Shixiong returned severely injured, desperately bringing back crucial intelligence:

"Zhao Shixiong has betrayed, publicly beheading the Royal Mansion’s supervisor, slaughtering military officers of the Mansion’s faction, opening the city gates to welcome the Capital Camp into the city!"

The worst fears had finally come to pass.

"Father—"

From afar, the second son, also clad in battle armor, rushed over, stopped in his tracks as he saw his father leaning on a sword standing before a shattered puppet, clasped his fists and said:

"Father, the army is fully assembled and will head north immediately to intercept the court’s troops."

"Moreover, instructions have been given to the ships and convoys responsible for transferring supplies."

Upon learning of Zhao Shixiong’s betrayal, Prince Jing convened an emergency meeting late last night to formulate a strategy:

The troops in Jingchuan City would be divided in two, one heading north to intercept Zhao Shixiong by taking advantage of the terrain.

Another would begin the retreat, moving the supplies at Huai River back to Yunfu as much as possible within the limited time.

"Rather than engage in a deadly battle with the court and let Prince Jing take advantage, it’s better to roll up the supplies, preserve our forces, and as long as we retreat in time, guarding the crucial terrain of Yunfu, Zhao Shixiong wouldn’t easily advance into Yunfu Road."

"By then, they would definitely join forces with Xue Shence to deal with Prince Jing’s Army in Jiancheng Road."

The strategy was proposed by a strategist under Mu Prince during the meeting.

Following the principle of sacrificing a companion rather than myself, Xu Jingtang gladly agreed.

At this moment, he straightened his hunched back inch by inch, took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, then turned back around, looking at his second son with a kind and loving expression: