Chapter Twelve: The Little Palace Maid Fanning

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  A pale blue figure whirled away like a windmill, causing the gorgeous and luxurious peony flowers to be strangled into a flurry of flower rain, making his body seem to appear and disappear. When he was exhausted, he sank into the flower cluster again, and when seven or eight horizontal knives were inserted into the flower cluster, he had already become like a nimble boa constrictor, sticking to the bottom of the flower cluster and retreating, leaping out three zhang away.

  "Ah!"

  Cries of agony erupted, and the guards in the front row who had just been attacked by the assassin let out pained wails. Some had their index fingers severed, others had their wrists pierced, with blood gushing out, along with severed fingers, buried beneath the flower bushes. Others could no longer hold onto the horizontal blades in their hands, as the knives slipped from their grasp and fell to the ground, followed by a trail of blood, like a dreamlike illusion under the dim light.

  The palace maids were in a state of panic, the palace lanterns in their hands seemed to be blown by strong winds, casting Empress Wu's face in a dim and flickering light. They did not dare to escape, nor could they escape, but only their instinctive fear made them involuntarily make evasive movements, causing the light to become dizzying, and this flickering lantern light made the atmosphere even more mysterious.

  "Everyone stand firm, raise the lanterns high!"

  Shangguan Wan'er was not skilled in martial arts, but her courage and presence were unmatched. With a loud shout, she calmed the panicked palace maids, then rushed forward to support the Empress Wu, who was stumbling slightly.

  Wu Zetian's hands were trembling, her ink-like black hair slightly shaking, her face a sheet of iron grey. She wasn't afraid, but furious: furious that someone dared to assassinate her!

  In today's Great Tang Empire, someone actually dares to assassinate the Holy Mother Empress Wu Zetian! Having just received news of Zhang Xingming's betrayal, another person dares to attempt her assassination!

  "We will live! We want to see who in the world dares to be so bold!"

  As Wu Zetian's loud voice echoed, the several full and round pearls on her forehead also slightly shook.

  Just then, the retreating figure suddenly sprang up and took advantage of the front row guard's painful collapse to the ground. As the rear row guard tried to step forward to capture him, the formation was slightly disrupted for a moment, and he suddenly rushed forward again, hugging the ground.

  At this time, the world had not yet 'land lying knife method', the soldiers had a body of exquisite martial arts, but did not adapt to this prone downward fighting style, plus their armor on the body, bent over to this extent is not convenient, action inevitably stiff, was that person a rush into, broke into the inner guard among.

  That assassin was like a ghost, stabbing one sword to the left and one sword to the right, coming and going like a wisp of light smoke. In the instant when several people fell in succession, he suddenly leaped like an arrow, making himself a sharp arrow that had been shot out, and with a swift sword, he went straight for Wu Hou!

  Shangguan Wan'er protected Wu Zetian as she hastily retreated, her bright eyes had already seen the assassin flying towards her, he was wearing a green robe, his face was also covered with a green scarf, this was a hooded scarf, only a small opening at the eye position, except for those celestial and cold star-like bright eyes, nothing else could be seen.

  Under the green scarf, those eyes narrowed slightly. When ordinary people intend to kill someone with all their might, whether they are tense or excited, they will unconsciously be somewhat tense and widen their eyes. But this person, under the guard's surveillance, assassinated the empress dowager, his eyes were actually slightly narrowed.

  That indifference, that naturalness, as if a butcher who had slaughtered pigs all his life, when he picked up the knife, it was just like usual, stabbing a tied pig's neck with a knife, could be done with his eyes closed. But what's different is that killing pigs is not dangerous, but assassinating Wu Hou is not the case, he actually put his own life and death completely aside.

  The only things that caught Shangguan Wan'er's attention were the assassin's cold and shining eyes, the face cloth tied tightly against the wind, and the fluttering sleeves behind him. As for the deadly sword, it was unexpectedly overlooked by her. The sword is in someone's hand, what's dangerous is not the sword, but the person holding the sword.

  "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

  Shangguan Wan'er cried out in despair, and this gentle as a chrysanthemum woman finally also lost her composure, starting to panic.

  Wu Zetian hastily retreated, then took three more steps back, and stood proudly in place, refusing to take another half step back.

  Her skirt was too long, three feet on the ground. When she retreated to this place, she had already stepped on her own skirt. If she retreated again, she would inevitably fall down in disarray. With today's position of Wu Hou, with today's pride of Wu Hou, it is better to be killed by someone with a sword than to fall and become the laughing stock of the world!

  Wu Zetian stood still, her body as steady as a rock, her gaze also fixed like a rock. The only thing that was still shaking was the two hairpins on her bun. Her eyes were also slightly narrowed, as if she wanted to get a clear look at the person who was about to take her life!

  The empress was stabbed, and the guards, both visible and hidden, rushed out to meet the enemy. Some were flying towards the assassin, some were groaning in pain, some palace maids had abandoned their lanterns due to fear and were crouching on the ground screaming, and there were also palace eunuchs shouting at the top of their lungs.

  Shangguan Wan'er then pulled on Wu Zetian, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face, as if she wanted to block the assassin's sword for Wu Zetian, but couldn't muster up enough courage. In everyone's eyes, all they saw was that one assassin, but in the assassin's eyes, there was only one Wu Zetian.

  The sword light is like lightning, several meters away, and it arrives in an instant!

  When the assassin's sword was thrust towards Wu Hou, a sword flashed through the air, as if light had swiftly torn through time and space, tearing apart distance. Some people were shocked pale-faced, some shrieked loudly, some furiously roared and rushed over, everyone ignored two people, two little palace maids.

  Those were two small palace maids, belonging to the small palace maid of the Imperial Guard. They had their hair combed into spiral buns, with identical delicate faces and foreheads painted with plum blossom makeup, wearing crimson narrow-sleeved shirts, white shoulder scarves, green skirts trailing on the ground, and "twin hearts knot" ribbons fluttering at the hem.

  Waist bent, abdomen straightened, they stood like two willows that seemed to move with Empress Wu's retinue, or like two lotus flowers swaying gently, soft and alluring, their beauty penetrating deep into one's bones. However, whether they were willows in the wind or lotus flowers on the water's surface, as long as Empress Wu stood in front of them, no one would notice them.

  Standing in front of them is the Great Tang Empress, who holds the Li Tang imperial family in contempt and has the heroes of the world at her command, like a rising red sun. Beside the empress stands the scholar in charge of the Northern Gate, known as the "Female Prime Minister", with a gentle and elegant face, shining like a bright moon - Shangguan Wan'er!

  Who would notice two young girls with youthful faces and pigtails?

  They were just two little palace maids who fanned them.

  They each held a "barrier fan" in their hands, with a handle as thick as a thumb and about 2 zhang (6.67 feet) long, with a fan surface made of five-colored pheasant feathers.

  When the empress went out, they were the empress's canopy against the sun and dust. When the empress held court, they were the two ornaments behind the empress, just like those two "sunshades". Over time, everyone ignored their existence.

  Something useful and something used every day are two different things.

  A sword stored for ten years, when unsheathed is still a sharp blade that can kill. A broom used every day remains just a broom. When the sharp sword converged into a cold star and pierced towards Wu Zetian's throat, two people and two fans behind Wu Zetian suddenly moved together.

  An assassin like a sword, the sword like cold light, suddenly arrived, two fans also suddenly flashed, and reached the front of Wu Hou's body, two feather fans barely crossed, blocking the sword light.

  With a loud "peng" sound, two feather fans burst open, and feathers flew everywhere. At the same time, with a metallic "ding" sound, sparks flew out from where the sword and fan collided.

  That man in green and the sword in his hand fluttered like a ghost, and no one could catch him. However, when he was only three feet away from Wu Zetian, he was blocked by two seemingly fragile feather fans.

  Feathers fluttering, illuminated by the lamp light, the colorful feathers change into ten colors, flashing in the air, extremely beautiful. However, this beautiful scene hides infinite killing intent.

  Two little palace maids shook their arms, and with a "clang" sound, the two pipes that had lost their feather handles each ejected a section of sharp blades over a foot long. The handles of the feather fans immediately turned into two frightening long guns. The two women twisted their wrists and shook them, and the guns were like agile snakes, thrusting towards the assassin.

  The assassin was extremely surprised, he never thought that the strongest guard of Wu Zetian would be these two small palace girls who were fanning her. It wasn't until now that he noticed the appearance of the two small palace girls.

  Two young palace maidens, one with a curved willow eyebrow, and the other with an arched eyebrow like a rainbow.

  Another pair of sword-like eyebrows, black and shiny, larger than most women, with a few more heroic spirits.

  Two little palace girls had a plum blossom on their foreheads, the flower had five petals, and it made people more delicate than flowers. However, the guns in their hands were not delicate at all, the guns were like a snake spitting letter, every point was close to the assassin's vital points, as long as they touched once, the assassin would definitely die on the spot tonight. The assassin had no choice but to give up the target of Wu Zetian and turned to entangle with the two little palace girls.

  Because he was killed off guard, the assassin lost the initiative and was always on the defensive, able to retreat step by step. The sound of clashing continued in his ears, and sparks flew everywhere in the night. It wasn't until now that everyone realized a fact: this assassin, until now, until the two little palace girls took action, his weapon had never collided with his opponent's weapon for the first time!

  But before that, the assassin had exchanged so many moves with others, and every time they were about to engage in a fierce battle, he would change his move and stab again. From start to finish, those guards' weapons never touched the sword in his hand.

  Within five exchanges, the assassin leapt into a sparse flower cluster that had been trampled, shaking off the last few stubbornly standing petals. His figure flashed once, then again, and he was already ten zhang away.

  As soon as they clashed, the assassin found that the two fan-bearing maids beside Wu Zetian had extremely high martial arts skills. The two joined forces, and he was completely at a disadvantage. The other guards also closed in, and if he didn't leave quickly, he would definitely be caught, so he flashed away.

  However, his speed was fast but ultimately not faster than an arrow. In the moment he flashed out with a slanted stab, a small palace maid had already thrown out the spear in her hand. The willow-like long spear seemed like a giant long arrow, catching up to the assassin's shadowy figure, piercing through his shoulder blade.

  The assassin let out a low hum, turned his hand over and pulled down the long spear on his shoulder, threw it back, and then hid his body again, disappearing from sight. P: Sincerely seeking recommendation votes!