Shocking Change

Mo Qingkuang, who was not originally from the Capital, had no idea about this. He thought he was doing a good deed by protecting the information of the women on the embroidered balls and safeguarding them from falling into the wrong hands. The common people who glared at him were simply envious and jealous, and he had no inkling that he was actually cutting off their source of income. 

Stringing the embroidered balls on his hands, Mo Qingkuang frequently looked around at the young ladies on the balcony, feeling a sense of satisfaction. In the past, when he was in Tiannan City, when had he ever received such treatment? Which family's young ladies and wives wouldn't avoid him when they heard that he was coming? 

He never expected that he, Mo Qingkuang, would have such a day! Heh heh heh. 

There was a hint of coldness in Ninth Princess's eyes as she looked at the many young ladies on the balcony, many of whom were acquaintances of hers. She couldn't glare at Mo Qingkuang and could only silently curse him for his incorrigible nature. If looks could kill, Mo Qingkuang would have been executed a thousand times over. 

Now, in front of the public, she couldn't erupt in anger and could only grit her teeth and endure the frustration. 

Moreover, some girls who sided with the Ninth Princess smiled and threw their embroidered balls into her arms, making her feel extremely embarrassed. 

As more and more girls threw embroidered balls to Ninth Princess, some ostentatious young gentlemen also laughingly took out a few embroidered balls and threw them to Ninth Princess. 

This was an opportunity to openly flirt with the most beautiful girl in Tianxuan, something that was extremely rare. Even if someone were to question it later, it could be passed off as a joke, conforming to custom rather than insulting the princess. 

Gradually, as they walked along, Mo Qingkuang's body was covered with several strings of embroidered balls, and his tall steed seemed to be decorated like a flower cart. 

Unaware of the anger of the beauty, Mo Qingkuang was still immersed in the joy of being surrounded by embroidered balls, with fragrances wafting all around him. 

"Hmm, this one smells like roses, I like it. Let's see, the birthday...only fourteen years old? From the Ministry of Rites' Attendant's family? Too young? No, no. 

This one smells like jasmine; I like it too. From the Prince's Mansion? Hmm, not bad. 

Huh, lotus fragrance? Is it because of my 'Love for the Lotus' poem? Kindred spirit! Let me see the note in the embroidered ball...Twenty-eight years old, you cunning woman." 

Just as Mo Qingkuang was completely immersed in the various scents of the balls, Mo Fan's voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "Qingkuang, be careful, there are explosives in the embroidered ball ahead!" 

Mo Qingkuang looked up and saw an embroidered ball falling in front of him. It was exquisitely made, wrapped in a layer of bright red brocade, with some exquisite patterns on it. After Mo Fan's reminder and with his keen eye, Mo Qingkuang immediately noticed that the speed at which the embroidered ball was descending was wrong. It didn't have the usual spinning motion of a normal embroidered ball; instead, it seemed much heavier and more like it was falling directly down. 

Mo Qingkuang's body trembled, and about twenty embroidered balls were shaken off his body. 

Once his body was no longer restrained, he slapped the saddle, leapt into the air, and headed straight for the falling embroidered ball. 

All of his movements were observed by Han Yan. She slightly relaxed, thinking, "Has this guy finally had enough?" 

Then she saw Mo Qingkuang kick the embroidered ball thrown at him into the air at lightning speed. 

"Get that one too, hurry, save your wifey!" Mo Fan urged again. 

Mo Qingkuang turned around and recognized another embroidered ball, similar to the one he just kicked away, heading towards Han Yan'er. He swiftly twisted in mid-air and appeared in front of her, kicking the ball towards the sky. 

Seeing Mo Qingkuang's actions, Han Yan felt somewhat pleased, "So he cares about me too? He doesn't even want me to catch the embroidered balls?" 

Mo Qingkuang carefully controlled the force of his kicks, trying not to trigger any mechanisms inside the balls, dispersing the force onto the soft wooden framework surrounding the balls. 

Like a graceful aerial shot, before anyone could applaud, the two embroidered balls kicked into the air by Mo Qingkuang suddenly exploded with a loud 'boom.' 

The consecutive explosions shook the entire street. 

"The power is immense!" Mo Qingkuang was amazed. If it weren't for Mo Fan's reminder, he would have handled the embroidered ball just like before, without discrimination, and tucked it away. 

The consequences of such a powerful explosion in his arms would have been unimaginable! 

He landed lightly on the ground, but the sudden explosions startled his horse, causing it to rear up and neigh loudly. 

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned. What was going on? 

Was this some kind of special event for this year's imperial examination? 

Especially for Han Yan, who had just been in a sweet mood moments ago, she had no idea what was happening. 

"Damn it, he found out! Throw them all down!" 

In certain buildings along the street, one after another, embroidered balls containing heavy explosives were thrown down. 

Mo Qingkuang turned pale with shock and shouted, "Spread out! There are explosives!" 

But his voice was drowned out by the successive explosions. 

BOOM !

BOOM !

BOOM !

It turned out that the attackers weren't just targeting him alone; the entire parade procession was under attack. 

One bomb even exploded right beside Han Yan, and one of her horse's legs was instantly blown off. 

The terrifying explosions rang in Han Yan's ears, leaving her in a state of shock. 

At this moment, there were no longer the sounds of joy and laughter on the street, but rather the screams of the injured and the neighing of horses mixed with the chaos of the situation. 

Seeing Han Yan'er standing there dazed and confused, Mo Qingkuang, who had already run several yards away, gritted his teeth and rushed back once again. 

Without further ado, he lifted the slender waist of Han Yan'er, who was now in a daze, onto his shoulders and ran as fast as he could. 

Before leaving, he slapped Gu Hongyi, who was sitting paralyzed on the ground, waking her up from her daze. "Hurry up!" 

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. A bomb fell under her horse, blowing the back half of the horse's body to pieces. 

Gu Hongyi was thrown into the air along with her horse, tumbling and falling heavily to the ground, covered in blood. 

Although she wasn't seriously injured, the shockwaves from the explosion left her legs numb. 

Struggling to get up from the ground, Gu Hongyi stomped her legs vigorously to regain control over them, feeling the intense pain. Then, she hurriedly followed Mo Qingkuang towards the end of the street.