The days at the Jiuhua Palace were extremely carefree. Liao Tingyan had previously rewarded two melons to a palace staff member, which led all the palace staff members to try their best to curry favor with her, hoping they could also be lucky enough to receive generous rewards.

  The mountains are always more relaxing than the palace, and theres more fun to be had. The palace people catch a beautiful little bird today, and tomorrow they send up a small deer, exhausting themselves to amuse her. Liao Tingyan cant play enough herself, but she also wants to share with Sima Jiao. She cant tell if he likes these things or not, but at least she can see that he doesnt dislike them.

  Since arriving at Jiuhua Xinggong, Sima Jiao has been resting most of the time, while Liao Tingyan is busy running around in the palace.

  The night in the mountain villa was quiet and peaceful. The windows were open, and even without an ice bucket, it felt cool and refreshing. They slept on a bed with a bamboo mat made of jade, which was very comfortable and cooling. After taking a bath, Liao Tingyan lay down on the bed with her hair scattered around her, and by her side were various fruits and melons that had been chilled in ice. Sima Jiao sat beside her, gently stroking and combing her long hair - this was his new hobby recently.

  Liao Tingyan often fell asleep in a daze like this and woke up the next morning to find Sima Jiao still sleeping. This went on for several days, with Liao Tingyan waking up every morning to find Sima Jiao still fast asleep. She felt something was off, knowing that she usually slept earlier and woke up later than him, and it was rare for her to wake up to find him still sleeping.

  She guessed that Sima Jiao might have some physical abnormalities in this season. Thinking again, he was said to come here to avoid the heat without bringing any beauties, and it can also be inferred that he really has an unusual place. But since Sima Jiao didnt say anything, she just pretended not to know.

  Its worth being happy about that Sima Jiaos temper has improved a lot these days, at least he doesnt want to kill people all the time.

  Having realized this, Liao Tingyan felt much more at ease and with the freedom she had in the Jiuhua Temple, she became like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. She could even do things that didnt suit her status as a noble consort, such as climbing trees to pick fruits. Sima Jiao never interfered with what she did, and apart from Sima Jiao, Liao Tingyan was the highest-ranking person here, so she simply did whatever she pleased.

  She was fishing in a mountain stream near the palace, her skirt and sleeves were all wet, and with the help of many female attendants, she finally caught a small fish... In the end, this small fish was offered to Sima Jiao, who ate it.

  Ji De saw such a beauty in the harem for the first time, and quietly reported to Sima Jiao, "Your Majesty, the noble consort has been playing in the shallow waters every day. Is it not...?"

  Simazhao Yi lay on his couch with his eyes closed, waving his hand and saying, "Let her have her way, send more people to guard her."

  Yuede only said this one sentence and didnt dare say more.

  However, since ancient times there has been a saying: "Extreme joy begets sorrow."

  Carefree days didnt last long, and something happened. On this day, Liao Tingyan was playing in the shallow water as usual, with a dozen or so palace maids by her side, and further away was a team of guards surrounding the forest, when suddenly an accident occurred.

  A group of masked assassins broke through the guards defense line and rushed towards them, causing the palace staff to scatter and flee in fear. Two palace staff members dragged Liao Tingyan into the woods, trying to escape from the assassins. Due to the chaotic scene, everyone quickly dispersed. Liao Tingyan had never thought that there would be assassins coming to kill her.

  Everyone, lets talk about reason, generally speaking, isnt it normal for assassins to kill emperors?

  She ran for a while, getting more and more anxious, and Liao Tingyan started to feel that something was off. She stopped and looked at the two palace servants with tense expressions, "Where are you taking me?"

  One of the palace servants grasped her tightly, with a great deal of strength. "Your Highness, Im just taking you to avoid those assassins."

  Liao Tingyan looked around and tried to pull out her own hand, "Then why are you running further and further away from the Jiuhua Palace?"

  Two palace maids exchanged a glance, one grasping Liao Tingyans arms tightly, while the other was about to cover her mouth. Liao Tingyan saw an opportunity and struggled free, biting down on the maids hand. As the maid cried out in pain, she took advantage of the distraction to shout loudly. The sound of rustling leaves came from the nearby woods, followed by several assassins emerging from the underbrush. The palace maid once again covered Liao Tingyans mouth and whispered menacingly in her ear, "The Empress Dowager has thought this through - those assassins are here to kill you, but we can guarantee your safety for now. Dont be ungrateful!"

  Liao Tingyan: Are you guys still not in cahoots with each other?!

  She had thought it was strange enough that two parties of people wanted to harm her, but she didnt expect the two palace guards to take her hostage and run out of the forest, only to be ambushed. The two palace guards were caught off guard and were pierced through the chest by two cold arrows, falling to the ground dead instantly. Liao Tingyan was also hit by an arrow, but she was slightly luckier, the arrow didnt hit a vital spot, it just landed on her arm, however, it still hurt so much that everything went black and she fell to the ground.

  A group of burly men with a strong rural air jumped out from the thicket. Liao Tingyan had just looked up and hadnt had time to run when she was caught by a sturdy man who rushed over quickly. The big man grabbed her arm and lifted her up, causing her another wave of cold sweat. Damn it, how could it hurt so much? And what if this arrowhead is not clean? What if I get infected and inflamed in this era, wouldnt that be deadly?!

  "Hey, were really lucky, weve caught a big fish! Weve been wandering around this area for so long without any opportunity, and unexpectedly someone helped us out today and delivered the person right to our doorstep!" The man burst into loud laughter, carefully sizing up Liao Tingyans pale face and furrowed brow.

  "Look at this girl, shes so beautiful, she must be that Liao Gui Fei. Such a beauty, and shes been slept with by the emperor, its such a waste to kill her like this. Why dont we take her away first, let our brothers sleep with her, and then kill her after theyre done?"

  The other Han people also showed some movement, looking at the leading thin Han man. The leading thin Han man shook his head and said bluntly: "No way, dont make things complicated, hurry up and behead her to deliver the goods, and get the reward as soon as possible."

  Liao Tingyan grasped the mans arm and called out "Big Brother".

  At this moment, the masked assassin from before caught up here. As soon as they saw each other, they were stunned for a moment and then started fighting without saying another word.

  Liao Tingyan: ...So youre not all in cahoots with each other, how many of you are trying to take my dogs life?! Moms arm hurts so much!

  And to be honest, if both sides wanted to kill her, why not do it together? Why bother fighting each other first and then decide who gets to do the deed? This is just too ridiculous. Liao Tingyan couldnt help but feel indignant in this precarious situation where her life was hanging by a thread. Being passed back and forth like a pawn to be killed, she still maintained the dignity of being the female lead.

  If she had known that playing with fishing near the palace during the day would encounter assassins, she would have stayed in the palace and slept with Sima Jiao!

  Liao Tingyan cursed inwardly as she was dragged away by the man while being beaten.

  "Third Brother, take this woman away first, well meet at our usual place!"

  He grabbed Liao Tingyan and loudly responded, dragging her into the thicket. The group of assassins who chased after them were not many, and for a moment they were blocked by these men and couldnt pursue further. On Liao Tingyans side, she was being pulled along as she fled, her skin scratched by the sharp thorns in the forest, and the wound on her arm continued to bleed, dyeing half of her clothes red.

  The mountains and forests on this side are dense, with many thorns. But the big man seemed to be very familiar with the terrain, looking like he had walked here many times before, almost dragging Liao Tingyun around in circles, and soon they emerged from the thicket and came to a secluded mountain path.

  Liao Tingyans body was originally that of a noble lady, and after entering the palace, she was pampered by Sima Jiao to the point where her limbs were not diligent. This time, she ran down with injuries, almost fainting, and as soon as she stopped, she fell to the ground, her vision blurring.

  Its really not possible, comfort makes people degenerate, and without exercise, they dont even have the strength to run away. But is this brothers brain okay? They agreed to kill her, why didnt they just chop off her head directly, but instead went to great trouble to bring a wounded person along while running?

  Liao Tingyan looked up and saw her big brother with a sly smile all over his face. She understood, oh, he had a dirty mind.

  To be honest, looking at his face, she would rather sleep with Sima Jiao.

  "Beautiful concubine, follow me obediently. If you serve me well, when I kill you, it will be quick and painless, so you wont suffer too much." The man chuckled to himself, probably thinking that if they werent in a public place, he would have taken care of her right then and there.

  Liao Tingyan was anxious in her heart, but her face didnt show any expression, and she didnt say a word.

  Hold on, believe me and Ill make it! Generally speaking, this plot is sure to bring a comeback from the dead... Ahh, anyway, Sima Jiao save my life, hurry up and come rescue me! If youre late, Ill really be dead!

  Under Liao Tingyans sincere and earnest call, a person miraculously descended from the sky. However, it was not Sima Jiao, but Chen Yun.

  Chen: Original work Male lead: Professional rescue of fallen girls Yun.

  "Liao Niang, are you alright?" Chen Yun appeared out of nowhere on this desolate mountain path, leading his horse, and after taking down the big man with one move, he reached out to support Liao Tingyan.

  "You..." Liao Tingyan only spat out one word, and her entire field of vision became blurry.

  "I am Chen Yun, I dont know if Miss Liao still recognizes me, we met before. The young lady is injured, but dont worry, Ill take her to see a doctor for treatment."

  Liao Tingyan fainted before he could even finish speaking.

  ……

  Simar Jiao sat at the top, his face cold and stern, listening to the report of the Jinjiang General, "The entire mountain forest has been searched, but there is still no news of the whereabouts of the noble concubine. Only two palace maids corpses were found, several corpses of Jianghu gangsters, and several assassin corpses..."

  Noticing that Your Majestys breathing is rapid, General Jin doesnt even dare to lift his head. From the day the noble consort went missing until today, countless people have lost their lives due to being implicated. The one responsible for guarding the noble consort has already been dealt with because he failed to prevent the thief from taking her away. Those palace servants who escaped in the chaos and were caught, as well as the captured assassins, have been making all sorts of mournful cries in that side hall of the palace for a whole day, making ones hair stand on end. He truly fears that if Your Majesty has another outburst now, he will also be put to death.

  Fortunately, Sima Jiao just coldly ordered: "Continue searching."

  After the execution of Jinjiang, the eunuchs hastily came in and presented a document. "Your Majesty, someone has confessed that four palace maids were bribed to smuggle out the Imperial Concubine."

  "What about those assassins?"

  Eunuchs heads are lower: "Several assassins have yet to confess."