Chapter 746: Everyone Hides Their True Abilities
"Ouch!" Almost instinctively, Bu Shulin—whose pregnancy was already showing—clutched her abdomen and bent over, retreating two steps as if frightened by Xiao Changmin and his group.
The attendant beside her hurried forward to support her. Hidden by her flowing skirts, Bu Shulin gestured to the others behind her, signaling them to remain calm.
Confronting Xiao Changmin head-on at this moment offered no chance of victory and would only arouse his suspicion.
Xiao Changmin was not a bloodthirsty man. As long as her identity remained undiscovered, he would not harm them—especially since she was genuinely pregnant.
His reasons for capturing them were simple: first, he did not want them to escape and alert the local authorities, complicating the situation further. Second, if necessary, he could use them to threaten the person they believed to be Worldly Son Bu—Shen Twenty-Seven.
It was better to play along, allow themselves to be captured by Xiao Changmin, and take advantage of his lowered guard to turn the tables on him.
"What... what do you want?" Bu Shulin feigned panic and fear, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
Xiao Changmin merely glanced at Bu Shulin. Seeing his subordinates herding them over, he remained silent, spurred his horse forward, and rode ahead.
By now, Jin Shan and Xiao Changgeng’s subordinates had gathered at the site of the confrontation between Shen Twenty-Seven and Xiao Changgeng. The two were locked in a fierce struggle, seemingly evenly matched.
Yet Xiao Changgeng’s expression grew increasingly grave—not because he was losing to Shen Twenty-Seven. In fact, Shen Twenty-Seven was no match for him. Had he not held back, Shen Twenty-Seven would have been severely wounded by now.
His gravity stemmed from the realization, through their exchange, that the person before him was not Bu Shulin!
Martial arts across the land followed distinct schools. Bu Shulin’s style should have been aligned with the Shunan Army. Even if she had grown up in the capital, pretending to be an uneducated wastrel, she must have been secretly trained in both literary and martial arts by trusted aides arranged by the Prince of Shunan.
Even if the Prince of Shunan had not assigned a martial arts instructor from the Shunan Army but instead a hidden master among wandering knights, her techniques would certainly not originate from the Northwest Army’s Shen clan!
Yes, Xiao Changgeng had detected that many of Shen Twenty-Seven’s emergency moves were derived from the same lineage as the martial instructors of the Northwest Army.
He knew of the Northwest Army’s martial arts because he had pledged allegiance to Xiao Changyan, who recruited former soldiers from various regions—men who had left military service for various reasons. Among them was one who had served in the Northwest Army.
Though this man was now disabled, Xiao Changyan treated him as an honored guest precisely because he had learned some of the Northwest Army’s martial arts and military strategies.
Xiao Changgeng twirled his sword, the blade flashing out like a folding fan snapping open. The glare momentarily dazzled Shen Twenty-Seven, who dodged to the side but failed to anticipate where the sword would strike. By the time Xiao Changgeng released his grip, letting the sword fly from his hand, and swiftly caught the hilt with his other hand to thrust forward, it was too late for Shen Twenty-Seven to evade.
The sword came to rest against Shen Twenty-Seven’s neck. Shen Twenty-Seven was inwardly astonished—he had not expected the young Prince of Yan to possess such extraordinary swordsmanship.
"You are one of Seventh Sister-in-Law’s people!" Xiao Changgeng’s gaze darkened as he whispered the accusation to Shen Twenty-Seven.
Shen Twenty-Seven’s eyes flickered with shock. Before he could speak, Xiao Changgeng suddenly relaxed his wrist, letting the sword drop. "Take me hostage!"Shen Twenty-Seven kicked up the iron sword, grabbed the hilt, and spun around to seize Xiao Changgeng, who offered no resistance.
The sudden turn of events happened in an instant. The men Xiao Changgeng had brought were all entangled by Jin Shan and the others, and none had clearly seen how Xiao Changgeng ended up in Shen Twenty-Seven's grasp.
"Everyone, stop!" Shen Twenty-Seven's cold shout brought the skirmish to a halt.
At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves approached rapidly, and in almost the blink of an eye, Xiao Changmin appeared before them with a large contingent of men, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Second Brother, save me!" As soon as he saw Xiao Changmin, Xiao Changgeng cried out for help first.
Xiao Changmin frowned, his expression stern and silent, his dark gaze fixed on Shen Twenty-Seven.
Shen Twenty-Seven and Jin Shan also noticed Bu Shulin and the others trapped within Xiao Changmin's ranks.
Both sides were filled with worry and anxiety.
"Worldly Son Bu, His Majesty has learned of the attack on you and specifically ordered me to escort you back to Shu'nan," Xiao Changmin declared with an air of authority.
"Where is the imperial decree?" Shen Twenty-Seven asked.
Xiao Changmin replied, "It was an imperial edict."
Shen Twenty-Seven tightened his grip on Xiao Changgeng and took a step back. "Prince Yan said the same thing to me earlier. Now, Prince Zhao claims to be acting on His Majesty's orders. Forgive me for not trusting easily. If His Majesty deems me guilty of defying an imperial command someday, I will accept the punishment then!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changmin shot a swift, sharp glance at Xiao Changgeng. "I am here under orders and dare not falsely claim imperial intent. With the emperor's command upon me, I cannot allow Worldly Son Bu to travel alone. If Worldly Son Bu refuses to cooperate, do not blame me for any offense I must take."
As Xiao Changmin continued speaking with Shen Twenty-Seven, Bu Shulin, positioned at the rear, clearly saw two men standing beside Xiao Changmin whose demeanor was distinctly different. They were poised like tigers ready to pounce on their prey.
One of them wore a cloak, and even though it concealed him, Bu Shulin noticed from subtle movements that he had a hidden weapon ready, poised to strike at any moment.
Bu Shulin had never confronted the Embroidered Uniform Envoys before. Everyone knew of their existence under the emperor, but only His Majesty himself had seen the true faces of every envoy. Though Bu Shulin did not know these two were Embroidered Uniform Envoys, she keenly sensed the danger.
"Ah—" Suddenly, she clutched her stomach, her face contorted in pain, and collapsed against the guard beside her, groaning, "My stomach... it hurts so much!"
Perhaps because Xiao Changmin did not see them as a threat, he had only stationed men to watch them without restraining them, though their luggage had been confiscated.
"My lady's prenatal qi has been disturbed! Return our luggage—there's medicine inside to stabilize the pregnancy!" the guard holding Bu Shulin shouted hoarsely and urgently.
This interruption broke the tense standoff between Xiao Changmin and Shen Twenty-Seven, drawing everyone's attention.
Bu Shulin seemed to be in excruciating pain, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her hands flailed in the air as if grasping randomly, but only Jin Shan could decipher it as coded hand signals. After reading them, Jin Shan's expression changed drastically.
He subtly moved closer to Shen Twenty-Seven, signaling him to be wary of those two men.
"Embroidered Uniform Envoys," Xiao Changgeng seized the opportunity, whispering softly so only Shen Twenty-Seven could hear, taking advantage of the slight shift in Shen Twenty-Seven's posture.The Crown Prince did not send a message to Bu Shulin, but instead sent one to him, informing him that Xiao Changmin had brought two Embroidered Uniform Envoys. Had it not been for this, he would not have been able to disrupt Xiao Changmin’s arrangements ahead of time today, buying Shulin and the others a chance to catch their breath.
“Give them the baggage,” Xiao Changmin ordered.
The baggage had already been inspected and contained no soldiers or weapons.
But what Xiao Changmin did not know was that although the baggage held no weapons, it contained something far more terrifying.
(End of Chapter)
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