mtl008 Chapter 533 Street Assassination
Chapter 533 Street Assassination
The bridal sedan chair arrived on the street amidst a throng of admirers. Shimazu Chiyo, leading her sword-wielding squad, appeared relaxed on the surface, but in reality, they were vigilantly observing their surroundings. Having already faced several close calls with Liu Ye, Shimazu Chiyo was no longer careless and was now on her guard, especially since she was assigned to protect the bride.
Looking at the heavily armed soldiers forming a human wall along the street and the Japanese soldiers with swords beside the bridal sedan chair, Gou Ergui felt a growing sense of despair. How could he possibly make a move? He feared he would be hacked to pieces before he even got close. Those Japanese soldiers had fierce glints in their eyes; they were clearly not pushovers. This man surnamed Liu probably knew that his perverse actions had angered the public, hence the grand spectacle of his wedding, with layers upon layers of protection.
As if by divine intervention, just when he was at his wit's end, a horse in the wedding procession following behind the bridal sedan chair, perhaps startled by the sound of the suona horn, suddenly neighed, raised its front hooves high, threw the person on its back off, and then trotted forward, about to crash into the bridal sedan chair.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone, and the onlookers couldn't help but scream in surprise.
At the critical moment, Shimazu Chiyo shouted in Japanese, "Stop this horse!" She rushed forward first, let the horse's head pass, and grabbed the reins from the side.
Although the horse wasn't going very fast, its weight of nearly a thousand pounds was far too much for one person to hold back. The immense inertia propelled Shimazu Chiyo forward, staggering without slowing her down. All the Japanese samurai rushed forward, trying to stop the horse's advance with their own flesh and blood, but they were smashed to pieces, some even suffering broken ribs.
One of the samurai instinctively drew his katana, seemingly intending to sever the horse's head in one blow to prevent the danger from happening.
"Baka!" Shimazu Chiyo grabbed the reins with both hands, used the momentum to leap into the air, and kicked the samurai's wrist. The samurai's arm went numb and powerless, and the half-drawn sword slid back.
Shimazu Chiyo had no time to explain to her subordinates that today was their lord's joyous occasion, and that it was very unlucky for the newlyweds to see blood. She leaped onto her horse, intending to pull on the reins and turn it around. However, she was not used to riding and her riding skills were mediocre, so she failed to turn the horse around successfully, but the horse did slow down.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, in just seven or eight seconds. The Qionghai soldiers on both sides of the street finally reacted, rushing forward and forming a human barrier with their rifles crossed in front of them, finally stopping the frightened horse.
As the onlookers stared in disbelief, Gou Ergui discovered a golden opportunity: the soldiers blocking his way had all disappeared, and everyone's attention was on the horse, leaving the bridal sedan chair unobstructed.
Overjoyed, he pulled out a dagger from his pocket and rushed forward, heading straight for the bridal sedan chair.
The sedan bearers were initially startled by the horses behind them, and before they could recover, a thug wielding a sharp blade suddenly appeared, leaving them all stunned.
With a wide field of vision from her horse, Shimazu Chiyo saw this scene and her hair stood on end. Without thinking, she jumped off her horse and ran a few steps to try to stop the assassin.
Gou Ergui rushed to the side of the bridal sedan chair, intending to lift the curtain and stick his dagger inside to stab someone, but Shimazu Chiyo arrived first, charging in like a mother leopard, and with a "boom," knocked Gou Ergui and his knife flying.
Gou Ergui was a minor official in the county government. He was usually busy with his pen and abacus. He was clever, but physically weak. How could he compare to Shimazu Chiyo, who had practiced martial arts since childhood? This time, he was knocked a meter away, and the world spun around him. He was half dead.
Before he could react, countless samurai swords and bayonets were already pressed against his head.
Shimazu Chiyo used all her strength in that slam, sending her opponent flying. Her momentum didn't diminish; she rolled on the ground before stopping, dusted herself off, and said to the samurai and soldiers, "We cannot kill him today. Tie him up and take him back for questioning to see if he has any accomplices."
The warriors responded with a roar, and took out hemp ropes to tie Gou Ergui, who still couldn't tell which way was which, into a dumpling.
The whole incident took only about a minute from start to finish. It wasn't until the dust settled that the onlookers came to their senses: someone had just tried to assassinate the bride of the Earl of Pingnan.
Shimazu Chiyo knelt down on one knee in front of the bridal sedan chair and said in a deep voice, "I have failed in my duties and allowed the thieves to take advantage of the situation, which has frightened my mistress. Please punish me!"
The surrounding Japanese samurai knelt down and loudly said in Chinese, "Please punish us, Madam!"
All the Qionghai soldiers on the street knelt on one knee and said in unison, "Please punish us, Madam!"
The unified voices of hundreds and thousands of people echoed through the street, stunning all the onlookers, and the discussions and noises stopped abruptly. The once bustling street was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The wedding attendants and musicians following the bridal sedan chair were somewhat flustered. They thought of the infamous reputation of the Marquis of Pingnan in the past and wondered if they would be punished today. Their legs went weak and they all knelt down.
Half the street's inhabitants knelt down, leaving the onlookers somewhat bewildered. Some, seeing so many soldiers kneeling, felt uneasy standing out and instinctively knelt as well, while others, quick-witted and fearing being implicated as assassins, sneaked away.
There was a moment of silence inside the bridal sedan chair, then a firm voice rang out: "Although I didn't witness what happened, I know what occurred. You all reacted quickly and handled the situation appropriately; you are not at fault and need not be punished. Get up, the wedding will proceed as planned!"
Everyone, including Shimazu Chiyo, breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the general had a good eye for talent; this lady was clear-headed, calm, and reasonable, completely different from other young ladies. An ordinary person facing an assassination attempt would probably be scared half to death, right?
The wedding continued, with the bridal procession escorting the sedan chair. After this incident, the Qionghai Army began dispersing the crowd. Whether or not they would be criticized for "disturbing the peace" was no longer a concern; ensuring the bride's safety was paramount. The people dared not complain and obediently dispersed. Missing the spectacle was a minor matter; being arrested as an accomplice of the assassin was a much bigger problem.
Gou Ergui was thrown face down onto the back of a horse, unable to move. On the surface, he had a deathly pale expression, but he was secretly making small movements with his hands—he had just picked up a sharp-edged piece of stone from the ground and was secretly rubbing it against the rope on his wrist when no one was looking.