Chapter 119: On the Road Back to the Capital, Thorns Abound

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: On the Road Back to the Capital, Thorns Abound ???? Good News For my Pãtreon Supporters the first team member just join me to help me Translate the Chapter and from today we will post 4 Chapter a day on Pãtreon/Flokixy so I hope for your support so we can continue with the daily update ???? The Sixth Prince’s Manor, Capital City. "Smack!" Jun Hui slammed the letter down, his face ashen. Yebai stepped forward, concerned. "Your Highness." Jun Hui clenched his jaw tightly, swallowing back the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. "Use-less! Wretches!" After uttering these two words, he collapsed back into his chair. It was as if all the strength had been drained from his body, his vision a blur of white. Yebai, alarmed, cried out, "Your Highness! This subordinate will go fetch the Imperial Physician immediately!" "Come back!" Yebai carefully helped him up, calling out worriedly, "Your Highness." "I... I’m fine! Prepare the horses, we’re going to the palace!" Yebai glanced at the sky outside. "I’m afraid the palace gates are about to be locked." "To the... palace!" Jun Hui gritted out, enduring the stabbing pains in his chest as he walked outside. "Yes!" Consort Yun was puzzled when she heard Jun Hui had arrived. Why would he come to the palace so late? When she saw Jun Hui’s deathly pale face, she shot up from her seat. "Hui’er, what’s wrong with you? Are you unwell?" Jun Hui, his face ghastly white, said, "Your son is fine, Mother Consort. Something has happened in Shu." Consort Yun glanced around, her voice cold. "All of you, withdraw." The maids and eunuchs in the hall responded in unison, "Yes!" Once everyone had left, only mother and son remained in the hall. Consort Yun hurried to Jun Hui’s side. "For you to come to the palace this late, it must be something serious. What happened in Shu?" "The grain in the granaries vanished into thin air, and instead, the Su family suddenly emerged to donate grain for disaster relief. And that’s not all, Bronze Drum Stronghold was wiped out by someone. Our years of operations, destroyed in an instant!" "What! What did you say?!" Consort Yun’s voice turned shrill with shock. "The Su family? Which Su family? I’ve never known of any prominent Su family in Shu!" Consort Yun fired off questions. Jun Hui rubbed his temples, exhausted. "Which other Su family could it be? The letter says it was Minister Su’s young lady, who just so happened to have two granaries in the Shu capital. It’s utter nonsense! I say that was our grain!" Consort Yun frowned, asking anxiously, "Then who was responsible for Bronze Drum Stronghold?" Jun Hui forced out two words through gritted teeth: "Jun... Mo!" "And what about our men and weapons?" "Gone. All gone..." Consort Yun froze, muttering, "Gone? Gone... How could they just be gone?" Seeing Consort Yun in a daze, Jun Hui helped her sit down. "Mother Consort, don’t be anxious." "Not anxious? How could I possibly not be anxious? That was practically our entire fortune, mother and son! It was what we relied upon!" "Your maternal uncles are truly useless! Jun Mo is so cunning, yet they weren’t even a little wary of him! Right, are your maternal grandfather and the others alright? We won’t be implicated, will we?" Jun Hui said in a low voice, "Fortunately, amidst this misfortune, we had the foresight to push out a puppet. The Meng family hasn’t been implicated, but their future development in the Shu region will undoubtedly be restricted." He had chosen Shu precisely because the region was easy to defend and hard to attack, and it was his maternal family’s territory. He never expected things to turn out like this. Consort Yun’s eyes turned icy. It was unclear whether she was comforting her son or herself. "It’s alright. Your Imperial Father is still in good health, and he has no plans to abdicate. We still have time. We can start over. I have plenty of patience!" Jun Hui nodded. He firmly believed that this empire would ultimately be his, Jun Hui’s! Consort Yun’s tone shifted, becoming cold. "Jun Mo ruined our game. I want him to pay with his life!" "Rest assured, Mother Consort! Your son will ensure he never makes it back to the capital! No, that he doesn’t even live to see the capital!" Unaware of this mother and son’s secret plotting, Jun Mo and Su Li, who were on the road, had disguised themselves and altered their appearances. They traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping here and there to admire the scenery along the way. They had set out in early October; now it was already mid-to-late October. The views along the route were captivating. The return journey to the capital wasn’t like their arrival, where they had focused solely on rushing. When they passed by places with beautiful scenery or interesting sights, they would even rest for a night. On the surface, everything was relaxed and harmonious, but Su Li knew this was merely the calm before the storm. They had caused such a huge commotion in the Shu capital, yet the Jiang family had made no move. Moreover, once the news reached Jun Hui, he couldn’t possibly remain this quiet. In the past few days, Su Li had found time to work with Elder Dai to create many self-defense medicines. She had given almost all her previous supply to Han Shi, and had very little left. After dawn this day, the group set off on their journey again. As they passed through a valley, it was unnervingly quiet. Jun Mo, mounted on his horse, scanned his surroundings. "Everyone, be careful. This valley is an ideal place for an ambush." Su Li lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. "It is indeed unusual. The forest here is dense with trees, yet there are no bird calls." The group proceeded cautiously. Suddenly, Moyang shouted, "Careful!" Jun Mo looked up to see a large net falling from the sky. Jun Mo slapped the horse pulling the carriage. The horse neighed and bolted forward, narrowly dodging the net. In an instant, a large group of black-clad men surged out from all around. Each one was highly skilled in martial arts; a rough estimate put their numbers at forty to fifty. Because there were several women in the carriage who were not martial artists, Jun Mo and his men dared not be careless, forming a tight defensive circle around the vehicle. "Fall back! Release arrows!" Following the black-clad man’s order, a rain of arrows flew out from the dense woods surrounding them. Jun Mo leaped onto the carriage, pulled Su Li into his embrace, and flew out. Moyang, Mofeng, and the others also protected those who didn’t know martial arts. There were simply too many opponents, and it was unknown how many more were hidden in the dense forest. The enemy knew they might use poison, so they didn’t even show their faces, attacking with arrows from a distance. Moyang shouted to Jun Mo, "Your Highness, there are too many of them! We’ll cover you and the Princess Consort while you break through!" Su Li’s expression turned cold. Moyang was planning to sacrifice his life for theirs. "No! If we go, we go together!" She definitely wouldn’t leave Siqin and Zhishu behind. Jun Mo caught a volley of arrows and, with a wave of his hand, scattered them back towards the surroundings. Cries of pain echoed from the dense forest. Jun Mo’s expression was hard. Protecting Su Li, he said without turning his head, "Hold on a little longer. When they shift positions, we’ll break through together!" The few of them gritted their teeth and held on. The arrows were dense, and it was incredibly difficult to protect themselves while also shielding those unskilled in combat. Su Li bit her lip. This couldn’t go on. Except for Jun Mo, who could counterattack under the arrow barrage thanks to his superior skills, the others had no way to fight back. A moment’s carelessness, and an arrow would slip through into their midst. She took out the porcelain vial from her waist. Although this medicine wasn’t fully perfected, in this urgent crisis, she couldn’t afford to be too concerned. Just then, a breeze picked up. Su Li gritted her teeth and opened the vial. Everyone was deflecting the rain of arrows with their swords, their arms so sore they felt as if they no longer belonged to them. Just as Su Li was thinking her medicine wasn’t working, screams and terrified cries suddenly erupted from the dense forest. "Ah!" "Snakes! So many snakes!" "And centipedes!" "Aaaah! Help! Help me!" "Retreat! Retreat quickly!" The forest was thrown into chaos. Seeing the arrow rain stop, Su Li quickly shouted, "Go! Quickly!" Her medicine was Five Venoms Powder, capable of attracting nearby snakes, insects, rats, and ants. Those creatures would go into a frenzy upon smelling the powder. She hadn’t yet developed an antidote; if they didn’t leave now, they would end up like those assassins. Jun Mo swept Su Li into his arms, and with a few leaps, they vanished from the spot. The Mo Guards, naturally, followed closely behind with those unskilled in combat. Half an hour later, the group stopped by a small stream. Everyone was utterly exhausted, collapsing onto the ground, faces alight with the joy of having survived a disaster. "They really went all out this time, at least a hundred men," Mofeng said as he helped Moyu tend to a wound on his arm. Moyu smiled. "The Princess Consort saved us again this time." Su Li smiled. "It’s we who have burdened you all. Without us, breaking through would have been easy for you." Elder Dai chuckled. "We haven’t successfully developed that medicine yet. It seems we need to hurry up and create the antidote. If we encounter this kind of situation again, we won’t have to be afraid." Jun Mo gazed into the distance. "This is the first time, and they sent so many people. It seems the enemy is determined not to rest until one side is dead. I’m afraid this journey will not be peaceful." Su Li nodded. "We’ve already disguised ourselves and hidden our tracks, yet they were still able to find us. It seems they’ve laid all their cards on the table." Jun Mo looked at Moyang. "Summon the Mo Guards to rendezvous and provide support." The closer they got to the capital, the more dangerous it would become. He could not allow this group to suffer even the slightest harm. "Yes!"