Baili Jinyi shouted, “Stop Baili Junyi! He is trying to assassinate His Majesty! Kill him at once!”
Baili Junyi tugged away the bed curtain and bent down to pick up Baili Qingcang. He threw Baili Qingcang on his back and used the curtain to hold him in place. Then, he held a sword and rushed out!
“Stop him! Stop him quickly!”
Baili Junyi continued to slash and kill the guards without mercy. The guards who were blocking his way fell one by one. However, he was not bothered by the pools of blood everywhere. He was like a God of War with a sharp blade, killing anyone in his way!
As soon as they saw Baili Junyi rushing out, the people waiting outside immediately engulfed and protected him before evacuating in an orderly manner.
Baili Jinyi was filled with anger and shouted hoarsely, “Quick! Stop them! Stop them! Don’t let them get out of the palace! You shall pay with your life if you guys fail to stop him!”
Someone supported Shen Ninghua as she quickly headed for the palace gate. There was enough time to go through the secret passage when they entered the palace from the outside. However, the secret passage would make it easier for others to block and kill them now that there were too many of them. At this time, they could only force their way out.
On their way here, they had made sure to clear off their paths. In addition, Baili Jinyi had gathered everyone around Chengqian Hall to kill Baili Junyi, so they could retreat smoothly. Soon, they rushed to the palace gate.
“Close the palace door!”
Someone was shouting at the guards defending the palace gate from a distance, but they seemed not to hear the order. Not only did they not close the palace gate, but they helped Baili Junyi and his group leave swiftly.
A group of people drenched in blood rushed out of the Imperial Palace. Baili Jinyi’s men could have stopped them, but later, a group of people in black suddenly came out of nowhere and stopped Baili Jinyi’s men.
After an hour, there was no trace of Baili Junyi in the palace, apart from the few people who were killed. The guards knelt in front of Baili Jinyi with fear and did not dare to raise their heads.
“Did you just tell me that Baili Junyi’s people have escaped?”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
Baili Jinyi suddenly smashed the teacup in his hand on the floor. “Are you guys good for nothing? There are so many of you, and yet you can’t stop Baili Junyi?”
“Please forgive us, Your Highness.”
“Forgive you? I wish I could kill you all, but this is not the time. I will give you all another chance to make up for your mistakes. Lock down the capital and impose emergency measures throughout the city. Search everywhere! We must find them!”
“Yes!”
Coming out of the Imperial Palace, Baili Junyi entrusted Baili Qingcang to his trusted aides and immediately came to Shen Ninghua’s side. “Ninghua, how are you?”
Shen Ninghua’s face was pale, and she had cold sweat from time to time. “Junyi, I’m afraid the child is coming out sooner than we thought…”
Baili Junyi’s pupils suddenly widened. “It’s only been six months…” It had only been six months. The child would definitely not make it out alive.
Shen Ninghua bit the tip of her tongue, and a trace of determination flashed through her eyes. “Put the herbs I prepared before into the carriage. Don’t worry about anything else. I will think of a way to protect our child.” She could not let anything happen to the child. Otherwise, what was the point of doing all this?
Baili Junyi picked her up and carried her onto the carriage. His eyes were red with fury. “Ye Yi, force our way out of the city according to the plan!”
“Yes, Master!”
At first, Baili Jinyi thought he could kill Baili Junyi in the palace. He focused on the palace, and the defense of the capital was handed over to Xiao Jingran. However, Xiao Jingran, who should have been guarding the city gate, was now sleeping in the Xiao Mansion. Meanwhile, Xiao Fengjue, who had been poisoned and unconscious before, was standing by the bed. He ordered a servant at the side, “Take good care of my father. Once the incense in the room has burnt out, replace it immediately and let my father sleep well. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Xiao Fengjue turned around and walked out of the room. He looked at the faint fire in the sky and closed his eyes slightly. “Junyi, I hope you can escape safely tonight. This is all I can do.”
The guards stood in rows at the city gate, looking toward the city. They unsheathed their sharp blades and were ready to deal with the people who rushed out at any time. Unfortunately, there was no commotion after they had waited for a long time.
Just as they were about to let down their guard, they suddenly heard a whirring sound. The sound was complicated as if something was tumbling on the ground.
Suddenly, someone cried out in fear, “Heavens, what is that?”
Everyone looked over and was immediately shocked out of their wits. They saw a few maniac horses tugging burning carriages and rushing toward the palace gate on the cobblestone road! The carriages were swallowed by fire, and the iron shafts were tied with long, sharp blades gleaming brightly. If someone bumped into them, they would either die or be injured.
The most terrifying thing was that there was more than one carriage. There seemed to be fire everywhere with one look! Facing such a scene, the guards who were guarding the city gate only had one thought: Run! Run! If they were one step slower, they would probably die here!
The city gate was in chaos at once. Meanwhile, some people took advantage of the dark night and chaos to leap close to the city wall and open the gate. The horses were shocked and acted crazily. The guards did not dare to stop them, so they could only watch the horses rush to the city gate. With a bang, the city gate was forced open.
However, at this time, they could not care less about the city gate. Almost half of them had died in less than a quarter of an hour. Some were burned, some were cut by the sharp blades, and some were trampled to death. Meanwhile, the remaining guards were almost frightened to death.
They dared not take a step closer to the city wall.
They had yet to recover from the shock before loud roars filled the sky. “Kill!”
Baili Junyi’s men took advantage of the chaos to break through the guards’ defense!
The city gate was pushed open, and a few horsemen were protecting the carriage in the middle as they quickly rushed out of the city gate!
Inside the horse carriage, Shen Ninghua took the pill that stimulated her body. She used a golden needle to trigger the acupuncture points that could forcibly save her child in her womb by sacrificing herself. The horse carriage shook violently, and she could not help but faint.
When she woke up again, she only heard someone shouting her name, and it was noisy.
“Ninghua…”
“Mother…”
“Miss…”
She struggled to open her eyes before looking at the person standing guard beside her.
“She’s awake. Miss Ninghua is awake.” Hong Ling wiped away the tears on her face and cheered happily.
Baili Junyi picked up Baby Girl and Big Boy and placed them on the bed. He wanted to laugh but could not bring himself to do so. His hoarse voice choked with tears. “Ninghua…”
After rushing out of the city gate, he immediately rushed to the carriage. However, he saw Shen Ninghua unconscious in the carriage. At that moment, he was so scared that his hands and feet turned cold. His heartbeat almost stopped.
Fortunately, Ye Yi reminded him to quickly bring Shen Ninghua out of the city to find Chen Yun, which kept him from losing his sanity.
Big Boy and Baby Girl scrunched their faces by the bed and carefully looked at Shen Ninghua. They didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, afraid that Shen Ninghua would faint again if they exhaled too hard. “Mother, you slept for a long time…”
Shen Ninghua wanted to raise her hand to pat her children’s cheeks, but she realized she had lost her strength, and it even strained her to breathe.
Chen Yun walked over with a straight face. After seeing Shen Ninghua being crowded, he couldn’t help but frown. “Get out of the way. What’s the use of surrounding her!”
Everyone quickly made way. Baili Junyi repeatedly asked, “Uncle Chen, how is Ninghua? Is there anything wrong with her? Is it bad?”
After rushing out of the city gate, they released the horses with the carriages toward a direction. Then, they switched to horses with a cover on their hooves to prevent leaving any trails behind before quickly rushing to the river. They took the boat down the river and quickly left the capital. Although they had traveled as fast as they could throughout the journey, it still took them almost two hours. Two hours felt like a day for Baili Junyi.
Chen Yun ignored Baili Junyi, but he did not chase away the crying children beside the bed. He carefully checked Shen Ninghua’s pulse. He frowned and glared at Shen Ninghua. “You are a doctor yourself. How dare you do this?”
Shen Ninghua’s face was pale, but she smiled slightly. “Uncle Chen, I have troubled you.” As she spoke, her voice was faint. If one hadn’t listened carefully, they wouldn’t have been able to hear her clearly. This child of hers had gone through a lot. In addition, she was injured when she was locked in Imperial Clan Court’s dungeon. After that, she forcefully stimulated her body, which caused further damage to herself.
Chen Yun snorted coldly, “If they had been a little later, I could not have been useful even if I wanted to help.”
Shen Ninghua smiled lightly. “I believe in you.”
Chen Yun took a deep breath and glared at her. “Alright. Close your eyes and rest. We’ve already boarded the boat. There won’t be any danger. You don’t have to think about anything. Just sleep well.”
“Alright.”
Even if Shen Ninghua wanted to stay awake any longer, she couldn’t. Her body was exhausted, making it extremely difficult for her to speak. After a while, she fell asleep again.
Baby Girl and Big Boy lay obediently on the side. They didn’t dare to touch Shen Ninghua. They could only reach out and carefully hold her sleeves. Soon, they fell asleep too. The children had been sent out in advance. Although Qing Que and Hong Ling accompanied them all the way, they didn’t go to sleep. They insisted on waiting for their parents. They were so obedient that it made people’s heart ache.
Chen Yun walked to the boat’s cabin to get some prescriptions. Baili Junyi hurriedly followed along. “Uncle Chen…”
Chen Yun shot him an annoyed glance. “What are you doing?”
“How is Ninghua’s health?”
“She almost died along with the baby in her belly. What do you think of her health?” Chen Yun was slightly angry. He thought Junyi had always been sensible in doing things. He didn’t expect Junyi to agree to let Shen Ninghua go to the Imperial Clan Court. Everyone knew what kind of a horrible place it was. It would be torturous even for a sane person to live there for a few days, much less for a woman who was pregnant for more than six months.
Baili Junyi’s heart shrank in pain. “Uncle Chen, it is too harsh on Ninghua for her to carry the child now. What if… What if we abort the child? Will she be better then?” They could still have a child again, but he could not watch something bad happen to Shen Ninghua.
Chen Yun was so angry that he almost threw the writing brush in his hand onto Baili Junyi’s face. “Have you lost your mind? Why do you think Ninghua has put in so much effort? Would she have messed herself up like this if she had been willing to lose the child? Hmph! You are becoming more irrational! You are naiver than your children! Go away. Ninghua and the child will be fine as long as I am here!”