Chapter 98
King Jing handed a secret report to Li Yu. Li Yu skimmed through it. It was a plan to ambush King Jing in the town during his wedding leave.
The bandits wanted to take advantage of King Jing’s relaxed guard during his wedding to take advantage of King Jing’s weakness. However, King Jing had foreseen it.
The advantage of Fallen Maple Town lay in the secret tunnels. King Jing had been in Fallen Maple Town for nearly a year and had trained his guards to be good at fighting in the secret tunnels. Because of his wedding, King Jing had given everyone in the town a holiday. Although it seemed relaxed, in fact, the town’s security was lax on the outside and tight on the inside. The common people had used the holiday to visit their relatives and friends. If the bandits really dared to make a move at this time, they could directly catch a turtle in a jar.
King Jing knew that he couldn’t stay in the Western Frontier for too long, so he wanted to get rid of this group of bandits as soon as possible and completely eliminate this hidden danger.
Li Yu was relieved to see that the secret report was densely packed. As long as King Jing was prepared, he didn’t need to worry about it. Thinking about it, King Jing must have made all the necessary preparations since he could accompany him to “pass the tribulation.” Defense was so important that it was impossible for him to be negligent.
King Jing comforted him and gave him a small note, asking him to be patient and to have a result in less than four hours.
Li Yu nodded. It was almost the last day of his mission. He hoped that the bandits could be caught as soon as possible and that there wouldn’t be any trouble.
Li Yu couldn’t sleep even if he wanted to. King Jing hugged him and he leaned on King Jing’s shoulder. The two of them listened to the movements outside together.
After some time, there was a baby crying outside. It seemed that several children were crying at the same time. Li Yu’s hands trembled and his heart skipped a beat.
He felt that the crying sounded a bit like Da Bao. He and King Jing hid in the secret house to complete the mission, but the children stayed in the mansion and weren’t here. Just now, he had only been thinking about the town’s defense and had momentarily forgotten about his own children. If a fight really broke out, would they … be in danger?
Even though Eunuch Wang and Ye Qinghuan were guarding the King’s Mansion, would Eunuch Wang and Heir Ye be as vigilant against bandits as King Jing?
During the chaotic battle, would there be bandits who would break through the encirclement and rush into the Wang Mansion?
Li Yu didn’t dare to think any further.
King Jing glanced at him and knew that he was overly worried, so he held his hand tightly.
This is a trap, don’t fall for it. King Jing looked confident.
Wang Xi had followed King Jing for many years, and Ye Qinghuan was King Jing’s cousin. Both of them were trustworthy. Even if the bandits could really attack King Jing’s mansion, King Jing also had a large number of loyal guards who would risk their lives to protect the four children. In addition, Ye Qinghuan, who was skilled in martial arts, and the meticulous Wang Xi, who was meticulous, were more than enough to protect the four children.
King Jing tried his best to make Li Yu understand that the children would not be in any danger, but the crying outside did not stop, and it even seemed to be getting more and more mournful. Li Yu’s heart was twisted into a ball. He was already a father, and Da Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, and Si Bao were the meat on the back of his hand. Usually, he would be heartbroken if a golden bean fell from his hand. Even if the child outside was not his own, he could not bear to hear that a baby was suffering like this. It always reminded him of his children.
“Your Highness …” Li Yu held King Jing’s hand and pleaded softly.
King Jing understood what he meant. Xiaoyu was worried about the children, so it was inevitable that she would lose her cool. The most direct way to make Xiaoyu calm down was to send someone out to find out what had happened.
In fact, King Jing had already sent someone out to find out, but the other party had not returned after a long time. King Jing did not know the reason either. If he went out to find out, he would be able to solve the problem very quickly.
King Jing was very confident in his skills. Even if he really encountered bandits, he would not be afraid. He was only worried that Xiaoyu’s tribulation would be affected.
There was still the last day, which was also usually the last day. He heard that it was usually the biggest test.
“Your Highness, I promise to stay here and wait for you to come back. I won’t wander off. Just take a look for me, okay? “Li Yu hurriedly promised.
If it were not for the fact that he was half-human and half-fish, he might have already left.
King Jing could not persuade him otherwise, but he also could not bear to disappoint him. He thought that as long as this fish stayed in his private residence, it would be safe.
On the other hand, he was also afraid that Xiaoyu would be constantly on tenterhooks and unable to concentrate, which would still affect her tribulation.
I’ll be back soon.
King Jing agreed. He touched the amulet around Li Yu’s neck and gave him a warrant just in case. Then, he strode out of the house. Guards immediately came up to greet him. King Jing signaled for them to protect the princess consort, but not to enter without permission and disturb her.
Li Yu watched him leave. After King Jing went out, peace was restored outside. Li Yu thought that King Jing would return soon, but after waiting for a long time, not only did King Jing not return, but the baby’s cries also sounded again.
What was going on? Could something have happened that even King Jing could not deal with?
Li Yu felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. The more he did not know about the situation outside, the more anxious he was. He was also very worried about King Jing. If only he had insisted on going out with King Jing.
But he was still in his mermaid form. Even if he did not mind, he could not walk out in this form.
Just as he was thinking this, Li Yu found that his fishtail had disappeared and was replaced by his human legs.
It turned out that it was already the third day. He had uncontrollably changed from a mermaid back to a fishman.
Changing into a fishman at this time was not completely without benefits. Although a fishman’s appearance was far inferior to a mermaid’s, with legs, he could move around. However, a fishman had to breathe in the water and could not be out of the water for too long. Moreover, if he went out as a fishman, he would scare others. These were all things that needed to be considered.
King Jing did not return. He had to change his mind and decided to go and find out the news himself. He had originally promised King Jing that he would not leave the private residence, but the situation outside and King Jing’s safety were more important to him. He also wanted to find King Jing as soon as possible.
Li Yu’s gaze fell on the cloth he had taken off and thrown aside. This cloth was very big, enough for him to cover his upper body and fins. And … if he needed water, he still had his portable interspatial bag. He could bring some with him!
Li Yu rummaged through the cabinets and found a fish tank. He put it in his portable interspatial bag and filled both the fish tank and the interspatial bag with clean water.
If there was a shortage of water, he could take it out for emergencies. He could put his head in it and it would be fine.
Li Yu prepared everything and was about to leave the house. The imperial bodyguards outside the house stopped him. Li Yu immediately showed King Jing’s warrant.
King Jing had left this for him to protect himself. Because of the warrant, Li Yu ordered the imperial bodyguards to let them go. The imperial bodyguards had no choice but to obey. King Jing only wanted them to protect the Princess. He did not expect that the Princess would take the initiative to leave.
The imperial bodyguards obeyed the order and followed Li Yu closely. Li Yu did not reprimand them.
He insisted on leaving and also violated his own promise. With the imperial bodyguards by his side, there should not be any problems.
There were quite a few people in Li Yu’s group. After they left the house, they followed the sound of crying. Not long after, they bumped into a few people dressed as bandits. Their heads were wrapped up and they wore jackets. They were hugging something and were panicking as they tried to escape.
Li Yu’s eyes were sharp. He recognized that the bandits were holding a baby’s swaddling cloth. The edges of the swaddling cloth were golden. Li Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He ordered the imperial bodyguards to chase after them.
There were not many bandits. The imperial bodyguards were skilled in martial arts. They quickly caught the bandits.
Li Yu was almost out of breath. However, he still snatched the swaddling cloth from the bandits’ hands and looked at it.
This child … was really not Da Bao!
Li Yu’s spirits were lifted. He handed the child over to a bodyguard to take care of. He quickly ran to a corner where no one was looking. He took out the fish tank filled with water from his interspatial bag and took a break.
Just as he put away the fish tank and was about to turn around, a ball of smoke fell by his feet. A lot of white smoke came out.
Oh no, I fell into a trap!
By the time Li Yu realized this, he had already fainted.
When he woke up again, he was floating in the water. His head was still wrapped in a towel. Li Yu was afraid that the towel would fall off and reveal his fish-like face and scare others. Before Li Yu left King Jing’s secret residence, he deliberately tied the towel several times with leather ropes that were not easy to break. The towel was almost tied to his body. He also found some strips of cloth to wrap his fins. The towel and strips of cloth were still there.
Li Yu vaguely remembered that he had fainted because of the white smoke. It was very dangerous to lose consciousness as a fishman. Why did he wake up in the water?
Could it be that King Jing came back to save him?
Li Yu heard a voice. He quickly recognized that it was not King Jing, but several people. Judging from their clothes, they were a group of bandits.
This group of bandits kept making noise. Li Yu eavesdropped for a long time before he figured out what was going on. It turned out that the bandits had been defeated by King Jing’s troops as soon as they broke into Luofeng Town. They originally wanted to retreat to their bandit nest, but the bandit leader believed the military counselor next to him and insisted on capturing an important hostage from Luofeng Town to dampen King Jing’s spirit.
This military counselor had only recently arrived at the western border and joined the bandits not long ago. He had used some unknown means to make the bandit leader listen to him. At the critical moment, the bandit leader did not care about running for his life, but turned back to capture them according to the military counselor’s instructions.
The military counselor found several one-month-old babies and put them in golden swaddling clothes. He asked the bandits to make the babies cry. Then he ran with them, trying to lure the hostage out with their cries.
The bandits were confused. Since there were babies, why couldn’t they just use them as hostages? Why did they have to capture them?
The military counselor refused to explain and only asked them to do as they were told. The first time King Jing came, the bandits were beaten by King Jing and scattered. In the end, the bandit leader did not hesitate to use himself to lure King Jing away, but the military counselor still asked the remaining bandits to continue to lure the hostage out.
The remaining bandits were a little dizzy. It was not easy for another hostage to come, but they were beaten into a mess again.
The bandits took the unconscious Li Yu and fled to a dilapidated temple. There was a shallow river near the dilapidated temple. The leather rope on Li Yu’s body was thick and difficult to break, so the bandits could not untie the cloth for a while. They could neither see Li Yu’s appearance nor distinguish Li Yu’s identity, so they could only throw him into the river. They wanted to let Li Yu wake up as soon as possible so that it would be easier for them to interrogate him.
Li Yu had figured it out. He thought that King Jing was right. This was a trick to lure the enemy. He had fallen into the trap. The military counselor of the bandits did not come with good intentions. He had prepared babies and swaddling clothes. It was so special that he was afraid that he and King Jing had come for him and the baby fish. He and King Jing had to be careful.
Now they were separated. Although it sounded a little unfavorable, the bodyguards in charge of protecting him should be able to find out that he had been taken away. The bandits’ appearance was very conspicuous, so King Jing would definitely find him soon.
He made a mistake again.
He did not trust King Jing in time and acted on his own. But with the baby’s cries close to his ears, he was afraid that he would still choose to come out and investigate if he had the chance again.
