As the palaces were closely connected, the fire in the Kunning Palace had now alerted the emperor and the empress.
Feeling Yuan Zhen's gaze sweep across her chest, Princess Eighth felt a jolt of unease. She glared at him warily and snapped, "What do you think you're doing?"
If her hands weren't tied, she would have slapped Yuan Zhen hard!
"What do you think a man would do with a woman?" Yuan Zhen replied with an ambiguous tone, his lascivious gaze undisguised.
The next moment, he leaned forward abruptly, his face close to the princess's fair neck. He took a deep breath brazenly, then his eyes fell on her lips. Just as he was about to kiss her, the princess quickly turned her head away.
"You're being so presumptuous!" the princess cried out in fury. She struggled desperately but to no avail. Then she spat in Yuan Zhen's face.
Yuan Zhen wiped off the spittle with a lecherous smile. "There's more to come. Princess Eighth, you might as well look forward to it!"
Saying so, Yuan Zhen grabbed the princess around the waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
The princess felt dizzy from the sudden movement. She managed to find an opening and pounded on Yuan Zhen's back with all her might. Panic welled up inside her. "Yuan Zhen, are you sure you want to die? If you dare to hurt me even a little bit, my mother and brother will never let you off!"
Facing the struggling princess, Yuan Zhen sneered coldly. "Since I'm going to die anyway, why don't I have some fun before I go?"
He had made up his mind. Since the empress dowager wanted him dead, he might as well go all the way and try to gain some leverage.
The empress dowager's most precious treasure was Princess Eighth. So he decided to start with her.
He would leave the capital and return to Kokonor. But he would never give up on his long - planned great cause.
He would just lie low for a few years and have the princess bear his children.
Once a proud woman had children, she would be like a prisoner in chains, with a soft spot. Just like the empress dowager and Princess Eighth.
Once he tamed the princess, it would be easy to control the empress dowager.
By then, the empress dowager would not pursue his past misdeeds. And the position of Khan would still be his!
Yuan Zhen had everything planned out. So he lost patience with the princess's struggles and cries for help.
He ordered his men to tie her hands and feet and stuff a cloth in her mouth.
Looking at the princess's angry and terrified face, Yuan Zhen grinned wickedly. "I advise Princess Eighth to save your strength. You'd better save it for the bed. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to take it."
After saying that, Yuan Zhen didn't dare to stay any longer. He hoisted the princess on his shoulder and rushed out of the courtyard.
When the empress dowager and others arrived at the princess's courtyard, they only saw the bodies lying everywhere. The princess was nowhere to be found.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!"
Seeing the empress dowager stagger and almost faint, the maids and eunuchs beside her quickly supported her.
Looking at the scene in the courtyard, the empress dowager felt dizzy. She immediately understood the cause of the fire in the Kunning Palace.
"Your Majesty, the bodies are still warm. They might have just left!"
The chief eunuch knelt beside the maids' bodies, felt their body temperature with his fingers, and quickly came to a conclusion.
"Their target is actually Princess Eighth! Who dares to be so bold?!"
The empress dowager roared angrily. She immediately ordered the entire Kunning Palace to be sealed off and all the imperial guards in the palace to be assembled for a thorough search.
She was determined to save the princess and tear the villains to pieces!
Because the palaces were closely connected, the fire in the Kunning Palace had now alerted the emperor and the empress. They rushed over to check the situation. Just as they entered the Kunning Palace, they suddenly ran into a group of shadowy figures sneaking towards them. The man in the lead seemed to be carrying a figure on his back.
"It's Princess Eighth!"
Hearing the shout from the pursuing imperial guards, the group of shadowy figures quickened their pace.
"Close the door quickly! Don't let the assassins escape!"
Hearing the word "assassins", the imperial guards beside the emperor immediately shouted, "Protect the emperor and the empress!"
All the imperial guards drew their swords from their waists and stood at the ready.
Seeing the situation in the distance, the emperor frowned. He immediately ordered the imperial guards beside him, "Go and stop them! Kill them without mercy!"
"Yes!"
The imperial guards brought by the emperor obeyed the order and quickly stepped forward to join the siege. They fought with the group of black - clothed men.
Hearing the sounds of weapons clashing in the front, the empress stood closely beside the emperor. Her face was very pale. "What's going on? I thought the Kunning Palace was on fire. How could there be assassins all of a sudden? Could it be that they set the fire?"
The emperor, Qi Hong, looked gloomy. He snorted coldly. "No matter what their purpose is, they won't be able to leave the palace alive tonight!"
Since he ascended the throne, there had been countless people who wanted to kill him. But the imperial guards in the palace were all top - notch experts.
Before the assassins could even get close to the emperor, they were killed on the spot. And this time, he would make sure the same happened.
Yuan Zhen didn't expect the imperial guards to react so quickly. Just as he was about to climb over the wall and escape, he was blocked by another group of imperial guards.
Although the Kokonor people hidden in the capital were good at kung fu, they were outnumbered. Facing the most elite imperial guards in the imperial city, they were quickly defeated after a short fight.
Seeing his men die one by one, Yuan Zhen, who had hoped for a glimmer of hope, began to panic.
"Princess Eighth is in my hands. If anyone dares to take another step forward, I'll make her bleed right here!"
Yuan Zhen made the princess, whose feet were tied, stand on the ground and lean against him. He hooked his arm around her shoulder and held a knife to her neck.
Yuan Zhen was wearing a mask, so his identity was unknown.
However, seeing him threatening the princess, the imperial guards were afraid of his knife. They were worried that if they pushed him too hard, he would hurt the princess.
The leader of the imperial guards raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. All the imperial guards stopped their actions, took a few steps back, and surrounded Yuan Zhen.
Seeing this, Yuan Zhen thought he had a get - out - of - jail - free card. He took the opportunity to make a condition. While holding the princess hostage and walking towards the door, he shouted coldly at everyone, "Get out of my way! And quickly prepare a horse for me. Once I'm out of the capital, I'll let Princess Eighth go. Otherwise, I'll kill her and then kill myself!"
Among the dozen or so men Yuan Zhen brought, only two were left.
Now he had no way out. He had to take a chance!
Since the princess was in his hands, all the imperial guards didn't dare to act rashly. But they couldn't respond to Yuan Zhen's request immediately because the emperor had just ordered them to kill the assassins without mercy. They couldn't disobey the emperor's order!