Since he took office, Lord Li had always been stationed in Fenzhou. Things had been going smoothly for him. However, he was an ambitious man. The prospect of being transferred back to the capital was an irresistible temptation.
His ambition was fully on display during the dinner. He bombarded Helian Duo with questions about the current political affairs in the court. Helian Duo answered them one by one, but only superficially. In his opinion, Lord Li didn't deserve to know the whole truth. It was just a formality anyway.
Lord Li listened intently. In the end, he got a bit drunk in his excitement. Obviously, he was quite pleased with what Helian Duo had told him and thought that his dream of a better future in his old age was about to come true.
Not long after dinner, Lord Li felt that it wasn't enough. So he invited Helian Duo to his study.
Before leaving, Helian Duo gave Cheng Xiran a meaningful look. She understood that he was about to take action.
Young Master Li refused to leave. He still had designs on Cheng Xiran. Fortunately, Zuo Yan was there, so Cheng Xiran felt a bit more at ease. She just hoped that everything would go smoothly for Helian Duo.
After the Li family members left, Young Master Li invited Cheng Xiran to the front hall for tea. She didn't refuse.
"Is that man your husband?" Young Master Li asked.
Cheng Xiran nodded calmly.
Crossing his legs, Young Master Li scoffed, "In my opinion, that man is really not good enough for you. A kind and beautiful woman like you should have found a better family. Why do you have to suffer with him?"
Cheng Xiran forced a smile. She didn't dare to refute or agree, for fear that if she gave him an inch, he would take a mile.
But even if she didn't say a word, Young Master Li still recommended himself, "How about this? Divorce him and marry me. I promise to propose to you with all the proper etiquette due to the eldest mistress of the Li family. What do you think, my lady?"
Cheng Xiran said perfunctorily, "With your conditions, Young Master Li, you can surely find a better match."
Seeing that he was about to say something else, Cheng Xiran said calmly, "I'm already one month pregnant."
Only then did Young Master Li stop.
She sat there for a while. She knew that Helian Duo had been gone for some time. There was no news from outside, which made her even more nervous.
She wanted to go out and check, but then she remembered what Helian Duo had said before, so she decided to stay put.
After an unknown amount of time, suddenly there came the sound of hurried footsteps.
"Quickly, catch her!"
Suddenly, more than a dozen servants armed with long swords rushed in one after another towards Cheng Xiran. It was obvious that they were after her.
Zuo Yan immediately fought with them. "Miss, quickly find a place to hide!"
Young Master Li was also completely confused. He grabbed a servant and asked, "What on earth is going on? Why are you arresting someone out of the blue?"
"Reporting to the young master, Young Master He has already found the cellar!"
Hearing this, Young Master Li immediately forgot all the sweet words he had said to Cheng Xiran. He also joined the others in trying to catch Cheng Xiran.
They had violated the most fundamental interests of the Li family. Beauty was no longer a consideration.
As for Cheng Xiran, she ran as far as she could. But some of the servants were clearly skilled in martial arts. They quickly blocked her way and surrounded her tightly. Zuo Yan and the others were struggling on one side and couldn't help.
Fortunately, Helian Duo showed up in time and kicked over several people in front of her.
Cheng Xiran didn't care about the people wailing on the ground. Her eyes were only on Helian Duo.
"Good for you, He Shu! First, you stole my woman, and now you have set your eyes on my family's wealth. I'm telling you, if I let you go today, I won't be a Li!"
Young Master Li picked up a long sword from the ground and stabbed at Helian Duo.
Cheng Xiran shouted, "Be careful!"
In Helian Duo's eyes, Young Master Li was just a nobody. He didn't even bother to fight him seriously. With just a couple of punches, he made Young Master Li fall to the ground in pain, with his old and new injuries flaring up.
"Let's not talk anymore. Let's get out of here first!"
Helian Duo gave Zuo Yan a look, then grabbed Cheng Xiran and headed outside.
Zuo Yan stayed behind to fight off the others.
The front hall was still some distance from the mansion gate. When they reached the outer courtyard, they realized that the people there were not ordinary servants but real fighters. After watching for a while, Cheng Xiran could tell that those who were fighting Helian Duo were all experts. They were well - trained killers, so they showed no mercy. They were extremely fast and numerous. Just these dozen or so people were as powerful as a hundred ordinary people.
Moreover, their attacking moves were different. Just watching made Cheng Xiran dizzy.
Seeing more and more people surrounding Helian Duo, Cheng Xiran looked around. Finally, she picked up a wooden stick beside her and struck a man who was coming towards her hard on the head... The man collapsed and fainted.
Cheng Xiran suddenly thought that she could do it. At least she could protect herself and not be a burden.
But this time she was just lucky. Another man suddenly kicked her in the abdomen from nowhere. She cried out in pain.
Hearing her cry, Helian Duo flew over and used his sword to block a dagger that was about to stab into her chest.
Just when the situation was extremely critical, Lord Li led a group of people and rushed out from the corner. He shouted, "If you can't capture them alive, kill them all!"
Seeing this, Young Master Li beside him still didn't forget to plead for Cheng Xiran, "Father, I think you should give this lady to me. I will surely tame her well!"
Before Lord Li could say anything, Cheng Xiran sneered, "Bah! I think among all the women in the world, maybe only your mother would be willing to look at you! You should look at yourself in the mirror more often. I think you'll understand a lot of things!"
After saying that, she spat in Young Master Li's direction.
Young Master Li was so angry that he no longer thought Cheng Xiran was beautiful, nor did he want to keep her by his side. He just angrily ordered the people around him, "Kill her for me! I'll feed their corpses to the dogs!"
"Do you think you're worthy?"
As he spoke, Helian Duo had already flashed to Young Master Li's side. With lightning speed, he punched him in the abdomen. The force sent him falling into a flowerbed not far behind him.
There were several cries of pain. Helian Duo's thin lips curled slightly. "That dog - like cry is quite nice. I like it."
Lord Li himself fought with Helian Duo. But he was already an old man. After just a few moves, he was knocked down by Helian Duo.
At the same time, Helian Duo knew that the real tough opponents were those assassins... They must be from the Empress Dowager's side. Otherwise, they wouldn't have obeyed an insignificant Lord Li so easily.
There were too many people. If Cheng Xiran stayed here any longer, she would only be in danger. Also, he didn't want her to witness the killing.
Zuo Yan and his men had fought their way out from inside. "My lord, there are more and more people!"