Chapter Eight: The Unwelcome Intrusion
Li Ming Yue sat on a horse, holding the reins lightly. She was surprised that the prince, after checking to make sure she had sufficiently recovered from her injuries, had asked her if she would prefer to ride on the journey back. She supposed she should really have said no, but she suspected that he knew she was able to ride in any event, and the offer was simply too tempting to refuse.
Ming Yue loved horses, and she had named this one Xun, because she had the feeling that if she gave him free rein, he would be very fast indeed. He had a beautiful chestnut coat and warm eyes and, as she touched his neck, she sent a wave of positive emotions towards him. He nickered softly in response.
As she was riding, that left only Eunuch Wang in one of the two carriages they had borrowed from the new governor, but Ming Yue suspected he didn't mind that at all, although thinking about it made her remember Bai Mi, and she felt a pang of sorrow. The other carriage was transporting the former governor of the province. Zhao Weisheng had decided that he should go before the Hall of Justice on their return to the capital to face punishment, to show the people that such behaviour would be dealt with in the most public way. The prince had spared his family, honestly believing they had nothing to do with the man's corrupt actions, although they had been moved out of the governor's mansion and into a smaller property on the outskirts of town, to avoid public outcry.
The new governor was one of the province's junior officials who Weisheng had come to know in the aftermath of the unmasking of the crime. While he was still relatively young for an official, in their brief interactions the prince had been impressed with the man's presence of mind and good judgment, and he was popular with the townsfolk. Like the prince, Ming Yue was confident there would be no more problems with the relief aid distribution and, under the new governor's supervision, the rebuilding of the flood-damaged areas was now well under way.
Just ahead of Ming Yue rode the prince and Luo Jian, deep in conversation although, as usual, Weisheng was doing most of the talking. Now that they had resolved the issue of the missing relief aid, they were able to move on to considering a different, but no less troubling, matter. The attack on their group on the journey north.
They had decided to take a different route back, to avoid misfortune. It was longer, extending their travelling time by a day, but it was safer, covering more open ground and with more merchants also travelling the same road. As an extra precaution, they had told no one of their change of plan, just in case the attack had been something more than a random, opportunistic raid by a band of local thugs, which was exactly what the prince and Luo Jian were now discussing.
"They seemed too disorganised to be part of a calculated assassination attempt, and their martial arts skills were not on a par with our men's" said Luo Jian. "But I don't believe they simply happened to come across us. I would say they were lying in wait."
Zhao Weisheng nodded.
"I agree," he said. "All things considered, I'm inclined to believe that they had accomplices earlier on the trail who saw us pass, sensed an opportunity, and then sent a message to their fellow gang members up ahead. Perhaps at the inn where we rested the night before."
"Most likely." Luo Jian acknowledged the possibility.
"Still," Weisheng responded. "We cannot afford to let our guard down."
Luo Jian agreed readily.
"When we return to the palace, I will arrange for more guards to be stationed around your mansion."
Weisheng raised an eyebrow.
"Is that really necessary?"
"Your Highness," Luo Jian began, "I will follow your commands at virtually all times, but not when it comes to your personal safety. Please don't argue. I will not back down."
Weisheng sighed.
"Very well, my friend. Have it your own way."
Luo Jian let out a satisfied "Hmph!" and sat back on his horse. To be honest, he was a bit surprised the prince had given way so easily. Normally there would have been an argument about it. However, what Luo Jian did not realise was that Weisheng had calculated that more security for his mansion meant more security for all its inhabitants, not just the prince himself, and that included Ming Yue. Consequently, he was happy to make the concession.
***
Before darkness fell, they reached an inn that looked to be relatively comfortable, and large enough to accommodate their party. After arranging for the horses to be stabled, they entered the hallway to be shown the rooms.
Luo Jian was keen to ensure that he was positioned next to the prince's chamber, with Ming Yue, as the only female member of the group, on the other side of Weisheng. It wasn't that the prince and Luo Jian didn't trust their own men, but this inn was an unknown place, busy with male travellers, and Luo Jian had experienced an uneasy feeling when they walked in.
In this respect, he was not alone. Weisheng was also unsettled. He had noticed a number of eyes looking in Ming Yue's direction as they entered the inn, and not simply because she was the only female member of an otherwise all-male party.
He was well aware that Ming Yue's striking looks could turn heads, but that didn't mean he liked it. Instinctively, he had reached out with his left hand, and pushed her further back, slightly behind him. He would have preferred them to have found somewhere else to rest, but their enquiries had found that this was the only inn for miles, and camping outside while bandits were roving about was out of the question.
Ming Yue resisted rolling her eyes at the prince's overprotective actions. On this trip, outside of the palace, she had sometimes forgotten that she was supposed to be a gentle, timid young woman. Back home, in Jin, if any man had dared to look at her like a piece of meat she would have torn a strip off him. Nevertheless, she kept quiet, and followed the rest of the group upstairs.
Unlike some of his clientele, the innkeeper was a respectful, sensible man, and he offered to serve dinner to the group in their respective rooms, so that they would not need to mix with the other guests. The offer was gratefully received by all, and Ming Yue went into her room to bathe before the food arrived, locking the doors behind her.
Once the bathtub had been filled, she undressed and sank gratefully into the hot water. It had been a long time since she had ridden a horse for that long, and her legs were aching. She had dismissed the female attendant, wanting to have some time to herself for the first time in a while.
She sat back and closed her eyes, letting the water wash over her and enjoying the moment. Amusingly, given her real status, she felt a little bit decadent, being served instead of being the one doing the serving. However, the prince had not once introduced her as a maidservant on their journey, and they had all been travelling in casual clothing for safety, so she was treated by everyone they encountered as just a young lady in the party.
Suddenly, she felt a gust of cold air, and the candles went out.
Immediately, she stood and reached for something to cover herself. She grasped at the closest thing to hand, which appeared to be a relatively flimsy piece of material, and swore out loud at her bad luck. "Oh well," she thought. "It's better than nothing."
Stepping out of the bathtub, Ming Yue wrapped the shawl around her body, beneath her arms. It barely covered her thighs, and she felt very exposed as she moved across the darkened room carefully, taking care not to bump into the low furniture. She reached the open window and reached out to close it, only to find a hand cover her mouth, and an arm clamp around her waist. She cursed internally and prepared to face her attacker.
***
Zhao Weisheng was in his room, writing a report to his father about the events of the last week. At present, he was grappling with how much, or little, to say about the bandit attack and, unfortunately for him, coming up with very little inspiration.
Suddenly he heard a loud thump, followed by a strangled cry, that seemed to be coming from the room to the left of his. Grabbing his sword, he quickly ran from his room towards the sound.
***
Ming Yue was in a world of trouble. Normally a solitary attacker would have posed no problem for her, but she was in a pretty serious state of undress, the sudden extinguishing of the candles had left her eyes desperately trying to adjust, and to top it all off the floor was wet and slippery from the bath water, so her bare feet were struggling to find a grip on the wooden boards.
Inwardly, she was extremely annoyed at letting her guard down for a moment and promising to have a good long talk with herself when she got out of this. Externally, she was struggling with all her might against her attacker's strong hold, ignoring the fact that he held a knife in one hand. She thrust her elbow back and was satisfied to feel it connect with soft flesh. Before she could punish him again, the man threw her to the ground, causing her to cry out, and he was on top of her in an instant, tearing at the flimsy shawl she was wearing and pawing at her with his free hand.
"Pervert!" she thought, and promptly kneed him in the crotch.
***
Weisheng cursed in frustration. The doors were locked. Impatiently, he threw all of his weight towards them and they crashed open. He paused for a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkened room.
As he swept his gaze back and forth, he saw what looked like two figures struggling on the floor.
"Ming Yue!" he called out and moved towards them.
"Zhao Weisheng! He has a knife!"
He then heard a thud, as if someone's head had connected with the hard floor, and there was silence.
The larger of the two figures stood up and moved towards him.
Zhao Weisheng was aware that he was at a disadvantage with the light from the doorway at his back, easily revealing his position, so he moved further into the room and away from the broken doors. He didn't want to draw his sword while it was so dark, as the risk of hitting something other than the intended target was too high.
Suddenly, he saw a glint of the knife as it swept towards him in the darkness. Quickly, he dodged to one side and at the same time swung his right hand. The punch connected solidly with flesh and he heard a grunt. He moved forward, intending to press the advantage, but the figure instead moved away from him and stumbled quickly to the open window.
"Coward," he thought.
As he watched the shadowy assailant jump out of the room, another noise behind him caught his attention. Spinning around, he was relieved to see the familiar figure of Luo Jian in the doorway.
"Quickly! Follow him!"
Having speedily assessed the situation, Luo Jian did not stop to ask questions. He immediately took off the same way the attacker had exited, jumping smoothly through the open window and landing like a cat one storey below.
Weisheng turned his attention to the woman lying on the floor and knelt down beside her. At that moment, the clouds obscuring the moon outside parted, and the moonlight shone directly through the open window, illuminating the room with a soft glow.
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