As the carriage moved forward, the street scenes on both sides came into view.
At the entrances of the shops on either side, assistants were greeting customers.
Children ran back and forth along the street.
The aroma of food wafted from the restaurants, causing Duoduo's stomach to rumble.
Duoduo covered her stomach in embarrassment, only to hear Yingniang's stomach rumbling as well.
At this, Duoduo no longer felt awkward. She looked at Yingniang, and the two of them giggled merrily.
Because they had eaten breakfast early and were all quite full, plus they had been cooped up in the carriage without moving, they had only snacked on some pastries for lunch.
Now, catching the scent of food, their bodies naturally reacted.
Li Jin also smiled.
"In a little while, we will drop our things off at the inn first, and then come back out to find something to eat."
Xiao Yi did not speak; he just watched the pedestrians passing by outside.
Before long, the carriage came to a halt.
"Master, we have arrived," Yun Xiao called out from beside the carriage.
Duoduo stood up and pulled Yingniang along as they alighted.
Li Jin stepped forward and pushed Xiao Yi's wheelchair out of the carriage.
They were in the backyard of the inn, where the innkeeper was waiting with a respectful expression.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw Xiao Yi get out of the carriage, but he immediately bowed to him.
"Please follow me, dear guests."
Yun Xiao came over to push the wheelchair, while Li Jin took the hands of Yingniang and Duoduo.
From the other carriage, the Princess Consort of Pingyang, wearing a veiled hat, stepped down alongside Xu Jinxin.
Surrounded by their maidservants, the two women walked into the inn one after the other.
The inn only had two premium rooms left, which Yun Xiao had booked.
The other maidservants and guards were all staying in the communal sleeping quarters on the lowest level.
Upon entering the room, Xiao Yi furrowed his brows.
The room was large, but it only had one bed.
When the Princess Consort of Pingyang saw the bed, her first instinct was to check Xiao Yi's reaction.
Seeing his frown, she called out to stop the innkeeper who was about to leave.
"Are there any other rooms?"
The innkeeper smiled apologetically. "Madam, there are no more premium rooms available. I beg your pardon."
Seeing Xiao Yi wheeling himself toward the window, the Princess Consort of Pingyang nodded to the innkeeper, who then withdrew.
Duoduo followed Yingniang to the room Yingniang and the others would share. After taking a look, she ran back.
"Mother, our room is bigger than Yingniang's!"
"Father, when are we going out to eat?"
Xiao Yi pulled his gaze back from the window.
"Go wash your face and hands!"
Duoduo stuck out her tongue and went to the washstand. The Princess Consort of Pingyang smiled and walked over to wash up together.
"Mother, is Nanny Li staying with Lüdou and Lianxin as well?"
"Yes, staying together means they can look out for one another," the Princess Consort of Pingyang said, carefully glancing at Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi stared motionless at the street below the window, as if he hadn't heard.
Shortly after, Yun Xiao knocked on the door. "Your Highness, your subordinate has finished unpacking."
Only then did Xiao Yi push his wheelchair toward the door.
Because their luggage was in the backyard, the rest of the guards remained at the inn.
Nanny Li was getting on in years, and after riding in a carriage all day, she did not want to go out again.
Li Jin and his wife, bringing Yingniang along, were already waiting at the entrance of the inn.
When Yingniang saw Duoduo, she immediately went to greet her.
"Which place should we eat at?" Li Jin asked, looking at Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi did not answer; he merely looked in the direction from which they had entered the city.
As Yun Xiao pushed the wheelchair back the way they came, Li Jin and Xu Jinxin exchanged a curious glance.
"Has His Highness been here before?" Xu Jinxin asked Li Jin in a low voice.
Li Jin shook his head. "Let's go. We'll find out once we take a look."
As the group navigated through the street, Xiao Yi suddenly turned his head to look at Li Jin.
"Before we eat, you'll need to do a little warm-up."
Li Jin caught a glimpse of a black-clad figure flashing through the crowd, and he let out a sigh.
"What idiots! Wearing night-stalking clothes in broad daylight? Are they worried we won't be able to recognize them?"
"Insulting our intelligence like this, I wonder whose subordinates they are?"
Xiao Yi turned his head back, the corners of his lips curving up.
"With you saying that, the brilliantly clever Third Prince would want to kill you immediately."
Li Jin sneered. "This bunch of good-for-nothings wants to kill me?"
"Don't worry, I can handle them alone!"
Xiao Yi shook his head.
"No. Yun Xiao, you go with him."
"Remember, be extremely careful. End the battle quickly, and don't waste breath talking to them!"
Hearing Xiao Yi's words, Yun Xiao had also noticed the tails following them.
He wore a look of shame.
"Master, it is your subordinate's negligence."
Xiao Yi waved his hand. "Go. We will wait for you at the restaurant ahead."
Yun Xiao cupped his hands in a salute, and he and Li Jin turned down a side alley, quickly disappearing from sight.
Xu Jinxin had just seen her husband give her a meaningful glance. She immediately pulled the two children along and drew the Princess Consort of Pingyang closer to Xiao Yi.
She had to protect several people all by herself; the burden was too heavy.
"What's wrong?" the Princess Consort of Pingyang sensitively felt her close friend's tension.
Xu Jinxin relaxed her facial expression and offered the Princess Consort of Pingyang a smile.
"There are too many people. Let's stay closer together so we don't get separated in the crowd."
No sooner had Xu Jinxin's voice faded than a masked man in black raised his sword and lunged straight toward Xiao Yi in his wheelchair.
Xiao Yi remained motionless, as if scared silly.
A flash of triumphant joy crossed the assassin's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, he was about to reach Xiao Yi.
The very next second, an extremely fine wire whipped toward his neck.
Before the man in black could even react, the silver wire wrapped tightly around his throat.
"Pfft!"
A thin line of blood sprayed out. The assassin was decapitated, his body falling to the ground while still maintaining its attacking posture.
The nearby commoners let out shrieks and scattered in all directions.
Xiao Yi calmly pressed a mechanism, and the silver wire instantly retracted into the wheelchair.
The moment the silver wire wrapped around the assassin's neck, Xu Jinxin had covered the Princess Consort of Pingyang's eyes and pulled the two children into her embrace.
Hearing the screams of the surrounding crowd, the Princess Consort of Pingyang disregarded the danger and pulled Xu Jinxin's hands away.
"Your Highness!" She threw herself toward Xiao Yi.
Looking at the Princess Consort of Pingyang draped over his legs, a smile surfaced in Xiao Yi's eyes.
"The man is already dead."
Only then did the Princess Consort of Pingyang see the black-clad man on the ground. Blushing, she stood up.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Xiao Yi shook his head. "I'm fine."
At this moment, the Princess Consort of Pingyang understood.
"Your Highness, did you discover their tracks long ago?"
Xiao Yi nodded. "Let's go. We will wait for Li Jin and the others in the restaurant."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang nodded. Fighting back the trembling of her body, she went to push the wheelchair.
Xu Jinxin took the two little ones by the hand and followed vigilantly behind.
As soon as the group entered the restaurant, bailiffs came over to question them.
Xiao Yi revealed his waist token. The bailiffs were terrified and hurriedly bowed to apologize.
"The man in black outside attempted to assassinate this prince in broad daylight. You should know how to handle it, right?"
"Your Highness, we understand. We will deal with it immediately!"
At this moment, Duoduo furrowed her brows, looking at golden words floating in the air with a face full of confusion.
