Inside the room, Hai Ling, holding Little Lion Ball, walked out with Ye Lingfeng. Standing on the second-floor corridor, they looked out and saw torches blazing below the inn. The people they had brought were locked in a fierce battle with the black-clad assassins who had suddenly appeared. Moreover, Hai Ling also discovered that the Feathered Guards, who had been hiding in the shadows, had also appeared, and there were many of them. These Feathered Guards were no less skilled than the assassins, and with their superior numbers, the assassins not only failed to gain the upper hand but were instead forced to retreat, resulting in many of them being killed.
The entire inn reeked of blood. Hai Ling wasn't particularly sensitive to the smell of blood, but she hadn't expected that Ye had secretly deployed the Feather Guards. It seemed he had been waiting for these assassins to appear.
"Night, I didn't expect you to have prepared all this time."
She had been quite worried before, but after hearing Hai Ling's words, Ye Lingfeng smiled gently yet domineeringly.
"I will not allow anyone to harm you and the child."
A dazzling light flashed in his eyes in an instant. Hai Ling's face was full of smiles as she turned to look at the fight in the open space downstairs. By this time, many of the black-clad assassins had been killed or wounded.
Suddenly, several people spotted the people upstairs and immediately made a hand gesture. The others rushed forward, while others rode the wind up and rushed straight to the second floor, intending to attack Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling. Ye Lingfeng moved swiftly, stretched out his long arm, and pulled Hai Ling aside. Then, with a wave of his arm, a powerful burst of internal force was unleashed. The air current swept over the area, and the black-clad men who had soared into the air were immediately injured by the internal force, falling to the open ground below with muffled groans.
Then, Ye Lingfeng once again embraced Hai Ling and faced downstairs. This series of actions was swift and rapid.
Hai Ling didn't care, because she fully believed that Ye would protect her and wasn't afraid. However, the little lion Qiu Qiu in her arms was so frightened that its eyes rolled back, then it gasped and kicked its legs, almost fainting. Just then, Ye Lingfeng noticed that Hai Ling was holding the little lion tightly and became somewhat displeased. With a flick of its deep black eyes, it reached out and lifted the little lion Qiu Qiu. Qiu Qiu whimpered, shrinking its neck in fright and kicking its legs, pleading for help from Hai Ling.
Hailin had released the little lion earlier because she wanted it to protect her. Now, seeing its frightened appearance, she was both annoyed and amused. She then opened the Seven Star Glazed Bracelet and put the little lion away.
Ye Lingfeng's large hand immediately became empty, and he knew that Hai Ling had put the little lion into her Seven Star Glazed Bracelet. He couldn't help but speak up in annoyance.
"If she hugs this guy again, I'll kill her."
Hai Ling was speechless and ignored him. She turned to look at the open space on the first floor of the inn. There, the fighting had weakened. Many of the black-clad assassins who had appeared had died or been injured. Only a few of the survivors were still fighting desperately, and nearly ten of them had been captured.
Seeing that these people couldn't harm them, Ye Lingfeng took Hai Ling's hand and went into the room.
"Alright, that's all. Let's go back to our room."
"good."
Hai Ling nodded and entered the room with him one after the other. Not long after, Shi Zhu's voice rang out from outside the door: "Your Majesty."
"Come in,"
Ye Lingfeng was not resting and was waiting for Shi Zhu's report. As soon as he heard his voice, he called him in.
Shi Zhu walked in, his face cold. He looked at Ye Lingfeng and said in a deep voice, "Master, do you know who ordered those assassins to kill people?"
"who?"
Ye Lingfeng's face was gloomy, yet somewhat uneasy. He hoped it wasn't what he suspected. His unfathomable black eyes were fixed on Shi Zhu, fearing that he might utter something he didn't want to hear. Shi Zhu, unaware of his master's thoughts, calmly reported.
"Sima Yuan, the maternal uncle of Emperor Feng Zixiao of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
"Sima Yuan?" Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling exclaimed in unison. The one who ordered the assassins to kill was Sima Yuan? What was going on? Could it be that Sima Yuan was the one who wanted to kill them tonight, or something else? Was it because Hai Ling had once dealt with Sima Yuan's son that he repeatedly ordered the assassins to kill Hai Ling?
Ye Lingfeng was deep in thought. He had previously suspected that Sima Yuan was his father, because the information he had found showed that his mother had had a relationship with this man, but it ended there. Now that this man had reappeared, was his purpose to harm Hai Ling, or was he just following orders?
"Sima Yuan actually has assassins under his command?"
Hai Ling whispered, and Ye Lingfeng shook his head: "These assassins should not have been trained by Sima Yuan. When I was the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, I always paid attention to Sima Yuan's actions, so I knew that although the Sima family had some hidden forces, they did not have any so-called assassins?"
"So Sima Yuan was just following orders? Could it be Feng Zixiao?"
Hai Ling's face was extremely ugly. If this assassin was indeed sent by Feng Zixiao, then their Northern Lu would be irreconcilably opposed to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Shall we go and interrogate Sima Yuan?"
Ye Lingfeng was too lazy to guess, so he stood up and led Hai Ling and the others outside. When Shi Zhu heard that the emperor wanted to interrogate Sima Yuan, he quickly led the way. The group went down to the second floor. In the courtyard on the first floor, the guards were dealing with the assassins, dragging them out and quickly cleaning them up.
At this moment, in front of the post station, the prefect of Songzhou had received the news and led his men over. Upon seeing Ye Lingfeng, he hurriedly apologized.
"Your Majesty, I deserve to die a thousand deaths."
"Alright, get up." This matter has nothing to do with the prefect of Songzhou. These people are here for them. Wherever they go, these people will appear. Right now, we need to find out who Sima Yuan is acting on orders from. If it is Feng Zixiao, they will not let it go.
The group walked in an orderly fashion downstairs into a room. There were guards outside the door, and as soon as they saw the emperor coming, they quickly knelt down to pay their respects.
Shi Zhu stepped forward and opened the door. Inside the room was a person whose black mask had been removed, revealing a resolute and ruthless face. It was none other than Sima Yuan, the Right Chancellor and uncle of Feng Zixiao of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As soon as he saw the people who walked in from outside, he glared at them fiercely.
Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling walked in, and someone brought out stools for them to sit down, while the others stood.
"Sima Yuan, speak! Who ordered you to lead a group of assassins to kill me?"
Sima Yuan raised his head and said in a deep voice, "I'm doomed in your hands. Kill me if you want, and stop wasting your breath."
Upon hearing his words, Shi Zhu stepped forward and held a sword to Sima Yuan's neck: "You're courting death, how dare you speak to our Emperor like that."
Sima Yuan's expression changed slightly. Although he was not afraid of death, having a sword pressed against his neck and feeling pain was a different matter. He stopped shouting and closed his eyes tightly, but it was not hard to see that he was somewhat afraid.
Ye Lingfeng looked at Shi Zhu, signaling him to put away his sword, and then spoke in a cold and bloodthirsty tone.
"Did Feng Zixiao order you to kill me?"
Upon hearing Ye Lingfeng's words, Sima Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and shook his head vigorously: "This has nothing to do with the emperor of our Great Zhou. I am here for my own personal reasons. I am here to kill Ji Hailing."
Sima Yuan stretched out his long hand and pointed at Hai Ling, speaking in a sinister tone.
When Shi Zhu and his subordinates saw that Sima Yuan had first disrespected the Emperor and then the Empress, their faces turned extremely ugly and cold. They stepped forward to teach Sima Yuan a lesson, but Ye Lingfeng waved his hand to stop Shi Zhu. Sima Yuan's disrespect for Ling'er should have been punished severely, but he would keep him alive for a reason. He would use Sima Yuan to find out who was behind him, whether it was Feng Zixiao or someone else.
"Sima Yuan, how dare you attempt to assassinate me! You damned bastard! Guards, lock Sima Yuan up in a moment!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shi Zhu accepted the order, a calculating glint in his eyes. He was determined to teach Sima Yuan a lesson once the Emperor left. How dare he slander their master? He was courting death.
Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling stood up and led the prefect of Songzhou and several officials from the court away.