Xu Jinxin saw the hairpin in Duoduo's hand. It was just an ordinary hairpin.
Such a hairpin could only be used effectively to deter enemies in close - range combat, but only if used properly.
However, the masked men outside all had knives in their hands.
They definitely wouldn't be so stupid as to get close to them.
This hairpin was beautiful, but it was not practical.
It was not as useful as the chairs in the carriage for battle.
"Aunt Xu, this is useless..."
The glimmer of hope that had just risen in Xu Jinxin vanished immediately.
Duoduo didn't argue. She picked up the hairpin and twisted it left and right. The hairpin suddenly broke into two pieces.
Xu Jinxin thought Duoduo was going to break the hairpin to give her a self - defense weapon, so she quickly dissuaded her.
"What are you doing with a good hairpin..."
Xu Jinxin's words got stuck in her throat.
Because she saw that Duoduo quickly disassembled the hairpin into several parts and then started to assemble them.
Xu Jinxin stopped talking. She warily looked outside while keeping an eye on Duoduo's actions.
She saw Duoduo quickly assemble the disassembled parts of the hairpin into something else.
When Xu Jinxin saw clearly what was in Duoduo's hand, her eyes widened in shock.
It was actually a small crossbow!
Duoduo took out a bamboo tube from her bosom, carefully took out the needles inside and put them into the crossbow.
After Duoduo finished these, she approached the window and prepared to shoot.
Xu Jinxin snatched the crossbow from Duoduo's hand.
"Let me do it!"
Duoduo quickly pressed Xu Jinxin's hand and stared into her eyes.
"Aunt Xu, be careful. These needles are poisoned!"
Surprise flashed in Xu Jinxin's eyes, but she quickly nodded seriously.
"Okay, Aunt Xu knows."
Xu Jinxin carefully approached the window and peeked out through the crack.
At this sight, her heart skipped a beat.
It turned out that a large group of masked men had come outside at some unknown time.
Several of the palace guards were already injured.
Xu Jinxin held the very small crossbow in her hand and felt a bit uncertain.
The hairpin itself was not big.
The crossbow assembled from the hairpin was also small.
It was just like a child's toy.
Xu Jinxin didn't know how far this crossbow could shoot.
She could only wait for the masked men to get closer to the carriage and then try to fire.
At this time, she saw a guard being kicked to the ground by a masked man, and the masked man raised the knife in his hand.
Xu Jinxin gritted her teeth, raised the crossbow and aimed at the masked man.
"Click!"
There was a very faint sound of a spring, and then Xu Jinxin saw a very thin needle fly out through the window crack.
She nervously stared at the direction of the needle, her heart in her throat.
The masked man only felt as if he had been bitten by an insect.
He casually touched the place where he was bitten.
The next second, he fell to the ground head - first.
The guard, who thought he was surely going to die, was still a bit dazed.
But he immediately slashed at the masked man several times.
Seeing the needle pierce the masked man's neck, Xu Jinxin was so overjoyed that she almost cried out.
She really had underestimated it!
She didn't expect that such a crossbow that looked like a child's toy could have such a strong killing power.
Moreover, its shooting range was not short!
After firing the first needle, Xu Jinxin gained confidence.
She aimed at a second person again.
As she pulled the trigger, the targeted person immediately fell to the ground.
Duoduo, hiding on the other side of the window, also saw clearly what was going on outside.
"Aunt Xu, shoot that man!" Duoduo pointed at a masked man not far away.
"That man seems to be the leader!"
After observing for a while, Duoduo quickly found the target.
Xu Jinxin estimated the distance. It was just within the shooting range of the crossbow.
She nodded and aimed at the masked man.
Xu Jinxin decisively pulled the trigger, and the poisoned needle flew towards the man.
Maybe their gazes were too focused, and the masked man sensed something.
He suddenly turned his head and looked at the carriage.
Xu Jinxin quickly pulled Duoduo and hid inside the carriage.
The masked man didn't see anyone. Just as he was about to turn his head back, he suddenly heard a sound of something breaking through the air.
He instinctively leaned to the side.
The poisoned needle hit his shoulder.
The masked man only felt like being bitten by an ant.
He didn't care and continued to turn around, raise his knife and chase after the guard in front of him.
However, just as he took a step, he suddenly fell to the ground, still maintaining the previous posture.
The previous people who had fallen to the ground didn't attract much attention from everyone.
But this man suddenly falling to the ground out of the blue caught the guards' attention.
The guard was stunned for a moment and then raised his sword.
"Brothers, our reinforcements have come. Let's fight hard and protect the princess!"
Hearing this, the guards immediately became energized like they had been injected with adrenaline. They all raised their swords and rushed towards the masked men.
Seeing their leader dead, the masked men began to panic.
Coupled with the counter - attack of the guards, they immediately lost the will to fight and scattered and fled in a hurry.
In a short while, the masked men disappeared from sight.
The guard leader saw this and immediately gave an order.
"Don't chase the fleeing enemy. Our top priority is to escort the princess back to the palace quickly!"
The guards obediently stopped.
The coachman guard jumped onto the carriage, and the carriage started moving.
Seeing that the crisis was over, Xu Jinxin pulled Duoduo and Lüdou and sat down on the chairs.
All three of them heaved a big sigh of relief at the same time.
Xu Jinxin looked at the crossbow in her palm and really liked it.
"Duoduo, where did you buy this hairpin?" She examined it over and over, trying to figure out how it could transform.
A smile finally appeared on Duoduo's face.
"Aunt Xu, this hairpin wasn't bought."
Seeing the confused look on Xu Jinxin's face, Duoduo took the crossbow from her hand.
"Daddy asked someone to make it for me specially!"
Xu Jinxin's eyes lit up.
"This is great! I'll ask Li Jin to make one for me later."
This hairpin was so practical. It didn't look impressive, but its actual attack power was quite strong.
Duoduo nodded. "Yes! Master Li must know who made it!"
Duoduo's gaze fell on the guards behind the carriage, supporting each other.
She thought for a while and then reached into her sleeve to rummage.
After rummaging for a while, she took out a bottle and knocked on the carriage.
"Princess, what's the matter?" The guard leader heard the sound and came forward.
Duoduo handed out the bottle.
"This is the medicine for treating injuries. One pill for each person."
The guard leader was stunned for a moment and then respectfully took it.
"Thank you for the princess's reward!"
Duoduo waved her hand. "Hurry up and let them take it."
The guard nodded and took the medicine bottle back to the guards' group.
On the other side, several masked men quickly returned to a mansion and knelt in front of a man.
"Master, please forgive us. We failed the mission!"
