The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 28

So, after Yun Zhu helped Shen Lingyan onto the rather rickety carriage, she took the reins herself and began driving the carriage out of the village. Zhou Jin, who had been guarding the village entrance, nearly fell from the tree at the sight—how could they let Yun Zhu drive the carriage?

Zhou Jin’s intuition was correct, and her earlier instruction to Shen Lingyan to keep a close watch on the Zhang family was also correct, but it was all too late.

“What happened?” Zhou Jin finally could not bear it any longer. When Yun Zhu had driven the carriage a long distance from the village, she leaped down from the tree, ran to Shen Lingyan’s carriage, and asked.

Shen Lingyan felt too ashamed to face anyone. Zhou Jin had clearly told her to monitor the Zhang family closely, yet she had failed.

Looking at Zhou Jin’s confused expression, Shen Lingyan felt wronged: “The entire Zhang family left. They said they were going to Liangzhou to visit relatives, but they completely forgot about our matters!”

Zhou Jin frowned upon hearing this, but seeing Shen Lingyan so distressed, she took off her own phoenix coronet and placed it on Shen Lingyan’s head, trying to distract her: “Our Majesty should wear some ornaments in her hair to show her status. You are the ruler of this land, why should you fear these things? Yun Zhu is already driving towards Liangzhou. I hope we can find the Zhang family.”

Zhou Jin’s words gradually calmed Shen Lingyan. She also prayed silently, feeling that if their help resulted in no good outcome, it would be too much of an injustice.

The village was surrounded by mountains on all sides. Even after driving for a long time, Yun Zhu had only just returned to the mountain path where they were previously ambushed. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of being robbed again; she truly didn’t know any other route. Yun Zhu was now sweating profusely with tension, and she suddenly missed the pampered days as the Chief Palace Maid in the palace.

The weather was unkind. Just as they drove onto the mountain path, large raindrops began to fall. The carriage’s tattered canopy leaked, and Yun Zhu, sitting outside, was in the worst state.

The rain was heavy. By the time they reacted, the rain was already enough to soak their clothes. Yun Zhu, sitting outside, was so drenched that she could barely open her eyes, squinting to drive the carriage and trying her best to avoid any trouble.

Shen Lingyan and Zhou Jin, sitting inside the carriage, were no better off. The carriage was drafty and leaky. Shen Lingyan watched coldly, and a sense of bleak desolation arose in her heart. Zhou Jin observed her expression and nearly burst out laughing.

“Majesty Sister… don’t be like that. You look as if the country is about to fall. It’s only a few drops of rain. When I was young… I was almost constantly accompanied by it.” As Zhou Jin said this, her mood also began to turn melancholic. She only maintained her delicate demeanor for a moment before seeming to lose interest, leaning against the side without speaking.

Shen Lingyan, instead, took on the role of cheering her up. She quietly leaned closer to Zhou Jin, her eyes almost touching Zhou Jin’s lips, pressing down on Zhou Jin so that she had to look up.

“What is it?” Zhou Jin rested her chin on her hand, her long legs slightly curled in the narrow carriage, and her wedding dress spread out without a wrinkle.

“I…” Before Shen Lingyan could finish, their worst fear materialized.

A group of several carriages came rumbling down the mountain path ahead, looking as if they intended to block their path. Zhou Jin glimpsed the people inside the approaching carriages and knew something was wrong. She flipped out of the carriage immediately, without saying a word to Shen Lingyan.

Shen Lingyan was stunned. When she regained her senses, she vaguely felt abandoned. She peered through the carriage window, watching Zhou Jin who was already hidden in the woods, feeling a pang of coldness.

They were getting closer and closer. The carriages were nearing Shen Lingyan’s carriage. Zhou Jin stared intently at them until both sides could advance no further and stopped simultaneously.

“May I know who is blocking the road ahead?” Shen Lingyan did not step out of the carriage, her voice clear and cold as a mountain spring. Even from a distance, Zhou Jin could hear the displeasure in her tone. She gently curved her lips into a smile, her eyes filled with anticipation.

The people in the carriages ahead said nothing. They got out of their carriages and walked towards this one decisively. They were all burly men, holding hemp ropes as thick as a man’s thumb.

Yun Zhu completely panicked, shielding the carriage with her body and preventing anyone from getting closer. Her face was a mix of alarm and fear: “What are you trying to do!!! I warn you, the person inside this carriage is absolutely not someone you can afford to provoke!”

The men seemed not to hear. They roughly shoved Yun Zhu aside, cursing: “Non-essentials, scram. The Prefect only wants the person inside…”

The Prefect… Li Xiuxian?

Shen Lingyan finally understood. She understood everything. How could Li Xiuxian, who was far away in Liangzhou, specifically send people here? Ha-ha, it was nothing more than the Zhang family sending a message via carrier pigeon.

No wonder she had vaguely sensed that something was slightly off about the Zhang family since the morning.

In the pouring rain, Shen Lingyan could not see the faces of the men clearly. She only saw Yun Zhu being pushed into the grass and Zhou Jin still hidden in the trees.

She did not struggle. Instead, she closed her eyes, allowing the men to tie her up, and then they rudely hoisted her onto their carriage.

With a horse’s whinny, hooves splashed through the water, and the carriages sped away, kicking up a trail of spray.

“Majesty!!!” Yun Zhu struggled to rise from the muddy grass, desperately shouting into the valley. She searched everywhere and finally saw Zhou Jin in front of their carriage.

Even though both of them were soaked, and even though Zhou Jin was the Regent, Yun Zhu couldn’t help but run over and question her: “Why… why didn’t you save Her Majesty? Could it be that you really want Her Majesty’s empire and this was a carefully orchestrated plot?”

If Yun Zhu thought so, did Shen Lingyan, when she closed her eyes as she was taken away, think the same? Zhou Jin stood still, frowning, irritation rising in her heart. She simply handed the reins to Yun Zhu and commanded coldly: “Go to the Imperial Palace for the Imperial Guards. I want you to lead the guards and all the ministers to Liangzhou in a few days.”

The meaning was clear: she was telling Yun Zhu to rush back to the palace to summon reinforcements.

Yun Zhu realized this, grasped the reins, untied the connection to the carriage, and was about to ride the horse alone. After a moment of hesitation on horseback, she asked: “And what about Your Highness?”

“This King is not a heartless person who uses petty means for power. Since the current Majesty is suffering and has been captured, this King will go to accompany her.”

Zhou Jin’s voice overpowered the sound of the rain. This sentence was deafening. Yun Zhu no longer hesitated or delayed, waving the reins, and the horse galloped away, even faster than the carriages moments before.

Zhou Jin clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes coldly fixed on the raindrops falling from the sky. She felt troubled yet certain in her heart: she would go to accompany her. She would accompany her even in jail, and endure all hardships with her. As long as it was Shen Lingyan, she would accompany her without hesitation.

Thus, Zhou Jin utilized her lightness skill to the maximum, and in the mountains and water, one could only see the shadow of her leaping figure.