Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 48 Saving People

Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Saving People

Following Eunuch Ho Sheng’s screams, the poisonous creatures in the pond struggled violently. Then, one after another, the snakes suddenly swelled up, their bodies bloating like balloons that had been filled with air, before they floated up to the surface, bellies up.

Along with them, centipedes and scorpions floated up as if pulled apart by some mighty force, with their severed legs and remains littering the entire surface of the pond.

Zheng Nianru, with her quick reflexes, caught Zheng Haoyuan just as he was about to slip into the water. Xing Yu had already rushed over, but upon seeing the scene in the pond, he hesitated for a moment.

"They’re all dead, they won’t bite, hurry and save them."

Xing Yu jumped into the pond, snapped the chains off Zheng Haoyuan’s feet, and threw him up out of the water, then grabbed Ho Sheng and heaved him out of the pond.

"Fu Gong—" Zheng Nianru checked Zheng Haoyuan. His breathing was weak, but he was still alive. She quickly started slapping Zheng Haoyuan’s cheeks.

Zheng Haoyuan seemed to be pulled from a nightmare, struggling to open his eyes, and when he saw Zheng Nianru’s face, a difficult smile tugged at his lips.

"Cousin, I dreamed that you... came to rescue me—" Zheng Haoyuan could not finish his words before his body went limp and he passed out again.

"Xing Yu, let’s go."

"Commandery Princess, we can’t get away." Xing Yu quietly tugged at Zheng Nianru’s clothes. When Zheng Nianru looked up, she saw several silhouettes slowly approaching them in the dimly lit stone cave.

"Second Prince—" The man in the lead tentatively called out, but there was no response. The group continued to advance until suddenly, one of them kicked something but quickly reacted by checking the person on the ground.

"Second Prince—" A voice cried out in alarm, but even they were perplexed. Who was the real Second Prince? Was the mission successful or not?

"Mage—" One of them found Master Yin He, also unconscious in the cave, and immediately realized something was amiss. Zheng Nianru only heard Master Yin He’s voice slowly rising.

"Don’t let them escape—" The men suddenly looked toward the dark cave with fright. Wasn’t there someone tied securely under the water?

Instantly, two of them dashed toward the pond. In the midst of panic, Xing Yu lashed out with a kick. One of them grunted and was sent flying away, while the other two, now flustered, dared not act rashly. They adopted a stance of offense and defense. The initial panic and carelessness had vanished, and they cautiously approached Xing Yu’s position,

Zheng Nianru tugged at Xing Yu’s arm. Are you confident? Could this lead to death?

Xing Yu clutched Zheng Nianru’s arm nervously. Though she was inherently different from ordinary people, she had never encountered such a perilous situation before and had never directly killed anyone.

Zheng Nianru quickly stuffed something from Ho Sheng’s sleeve into Xing Yu’s hands—it was only Ho Sheng they could use as a shield for now to buy some time for their escape.

Xing Yu then gripped Ho Sheng’s clothes tightly, ready to throw him at the assailants the moment they made a move, and take the opportunity to escape.

The two men in the darkness were puzzled. The aura coming from their opponent was clearly not that of a kung fu practitioner, lacking even the most basic murderous intent. No, it was not that there was no murderous intent—just that it was strange.

The two hesitated, caution keeping them at bay. Xing Yu’s hand grew sore from holding up Ho Sheng. Why won’t they attack?

No longer able to wait, Xing Yu suddenly made her move, hurling Ho Sheng’s body forward. The incredible force sent the heavy Eunuch flying, shocking the two assailants who felt a massive object with immense pressure bearing down on them. They scrambled backwards in panic but could not escape the swiftly flying "hidden weapon."

"Bang—" The two failed to evade and were struck, but the outcome was not as they had imagined. The points of impact on their arms and shoulders felt oddly soft... and even warm.

It was a person? Then, two shadows darted past them, their speed also exceptionally fast.

The two instinctively gave chase. Xing Yu carried Zheng Haoyuan on one shoulder and pulled Zheng Nianru with her other hand. Even so, Zheng Nianru also found it extremely difficult to keep up, but she knew they were running for their lives and now was not the time to complain.

But before they could reach the cave entrance, although those behind them didn’t catch up, they heard a sudden burst of hurried and disordered footsteps coming from ahead.

Zheng Nianru’s face changed, realizing they were about to be attacked from both front and back.

In the darkness, indeed there were quite a few people approaching. Zheng Nianru pulled Xing Yu to a stop, both of them gasping for air.

"When the time comes, throw what you have in your hands, see if we can buy some time."

"But Commandery Princess—" Aren’t we here to save the Fourth Prince? But it seemed, they also didn’t know if the Fourth Prince could be saved. Surely, they all couldn’t die, could they? Xing Yu felt the Commandery Princess made sense, too.

However, the pace of those at the cave entrance was clearly faster than those behind. When they appeared in front of Zheng Nianru and her companion, the two were stunned. With so many people, which one should they target?

Xing Yu gritted her teeth, thinking it didn’t matter; hitting at least one was good enough. Just as Xing Yu was about to act, the other party suddenly shouted loudly:

"Fourth Prince—"

Those approaching finally got a clear view of the person in Xing Yu’s hands.

Zheng Nianru quickly pulled on Xing Yu’s sleeve. Xing Yu, holding Zheng Haoyuan above her head, froze mid-air, facing a large group of people in front of them. With the light behind them, they couldn’t clearly see the faces of those approaching, but they seemed... not to be Second Prince’s men...

"Fourth Prince, Fourth Prince—" The people immediately approached, respectfully and gratefully taking the Fourth Prince from Xing Yu’s hands.

"Fourth Prince—"

"Summon the Imperial Physician, quick, Summon the Imperial Physician—"

"There are still people inside, bad people—" Xing Yu then added, her chubby face pointing towards the darkness of the cave.

The leader was taken aback, then promptly waved his hand, and a line of troops immediately headed into the cave.

A quarter of an hour later, Zheng Nianru sat on a stone outside the cave, Xing Yu sitting on the ground beside her, watching the busy crowd with some nervousness.

If she had thrown the man earlier, would she now be captured as an assassin? Then seeing Eunuch Ho Sheng being carried out, her eyelids twitched even more violently; Eunuch Ho Sheng was the one she had thrown with her own hands.

Xing Yu anxiously glanced at her own Commandery Princess, who didn’t seem afraid at all.

Zheng Nianru looked down, trying to remove a stain from an embroidered flower on her sleeve. She really liked this outer garment; it was a pity it got spoiled, not because she lamented the rare fabric and the rusted thread wound with emerald feathers, but because of the Embroidery Girl’s skills and the effort she had put into it.

In short succession, the rescued Second Prince and Master Yin He, carried out by the guards, were of uncertain fate. The Imperial Physician had already hurriedly come forward to examine them.

Following them, several men in black were dragged out, continually bleeding from their bodies, but clearly still alive, struggling in their death throes.

"Commandery Princess, do you want the Imperial Physician to take a look at you?" The leading guard, although not familiar with Princess Chao Ren, knew their identity from Xing Yu, and as people of the Fourth Prince, they also knew that the Fourth Prince had recently enjoyed playing with Princess Chao Ren.

They were brought here by Eunuch Ho Sheng, following his signal.

Therefore, this leader was extremely polite to Zheng Nianru but also aware that the current situation was very complex. Now that the Second Prince and Master Yin He had been discovered, along with several unidentified individuals. And at this moment, he already knew the Second Prince was dead. The implications were too great, and he didn’t dare make a decision on his own.

They could only wait for the Noble Consort to come and decide.