"Your Majesty, are we leaving like this?" Su Jing woke up dazedly and was pulled up by him to leave immediately. 800

  Zong Zhengjin squeezed her hand tightly and said, "Let's go back."

  "Are there no more assassins on our way back?"

  Zong Zhengjin shook his head and didn't say a word, directly pulling her back as they walked.

  Su Jingxiao looked at the forest with similar shapes of trees and roads, having no sense of direction, and didn't know which way to go. She also didn't know if it was the same road she took yesterday.

  After walking for an unknown period of time, a voice came from afar, "Hide."

  Su Jing hastily grabbed his hand and said, "If you want to divert attention, it should be the concubine."

  Zong Zhengjin smiled and patted her head, "Then just stay here."

  Su Jing knew she had misunderstood, feeling a bit embarrassed. As the people from afar approached, "I, Shen Tian, have come late to save Your Majesty, please forgive me," Shen Tian dismounted his horse and knelt on the ground.

  Zong Zhengjin raised his hand slightly, "General Shen doesn't need to blame himself, let's talk about it after you return." After finishing speaking, he walked over to another horse and mounted it.

  Shen Tian rose from the ground, only to see that there was still someone standing here, who should be Zhen Fei without a doubt. Her pretty face was somewhat dirty, but it could still be seen at a glance that the hidden fragrance and jade skin were still there. A pair of eyes that seemed to say something but stopped, clear and bright, with countless charms, making people simply unable to help themselves.

  "Master Zhen, why don't you ride this horse instead?"

  Su Jing swept a glance at his sorrel horse, hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak when he heard a voice from the other side saying "Still not coming over"

  Su Jingxiang laughed and immediately ran over, consciously stretching out her hand to him, being pulled onto the horse, and galloping away.

  Shen Tian was stunned by her recent smile, with a hint of elegance in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes, his voice and expression revealing warmth and gentleness, a beauty indeed.

  The sound of the galloping horse brought him back to his senses, he didn't dare to delay any longer, and hastily mounted his horse to follow closely behind.

  Dai Yan Yuan

  "Master, are you alright?" Hearing Yao saw her return, she hurriedly ran over, not even caring about etiquette.

  Su Jing saw that her eyes were red and swollen, presumably worried for a long time, supported her, "Don't worry, I'm fine, no need to worry."

  She came out of the bath, and Yao helped her apply medicine. Her arms and legs had varying degrees of abrasions, especially on her calves, with several obvious scratches that were red and hadn't been treated yesterday, now looking quite shocking.

  "Master, bear with it for a moment, it's a bit painful."

  Su Jing nodded and asked, "What happened here yesterday?"

  Yao finished taking her medicine, pulled down her skirt, and poured herself another cup of tea. "Master, have some food first."

  Su Jing nodded, not minding her persistence. Xiang brought out a simple meal, hastily prepared, and Su Jing ate some of it, but having gone hungry for too long, she wasn't very hungry anymore.

  "Yesterday, after Master went hunting with the Emperor, I stayed there and waited until after lunch, but by afternoon, I still hadn't seen anyone. Feeling a bit strange, I went to look for Eunuch Su, but he wasn't around either. Only Xiaozhu told me to return to Daiyuan Hall and not come out unless necessary. I'm guessing..."

  She glanced at her and saw nothing unusual, then continued, "The slave waited in the Daiyan Garden until nightfall, but Master still didn't return. The slave was worried, but didn't dare to move around randomly, so she sent Xiaolu and others to ask around. He told the slave that the other masters were all gathered in one house, with someone guarding them."

  "The slaves and servants dare not send people to ask around casually, so they can only let them stay in their own rooms, fearing to bring unnecessary trouble to the master. Guessing that the master is with the emperor, it should be fine, so they wait in Daiyan Garden for the master's return."

  Having finished speaking, she knelt on the ground, "The slave has failed to protect her master well, begging for her master's pardon."

  Su Jingxiao had already roughly understood the situation and, upon hearing this, personally got up to help her up, saying "You've done well, what fault is there?"

  "You should also go get some rest after a sleepless night."

  Yao wiped away a tear, "I'm not tired, serving Master is what I should be doing."

  Su Jing didn't force her either, shaking his head, "Ben Pei isn't sleepy either, go call Xiao Lüzǐ in."

  "The slave has come to pay respects to the master," said Xiaolu Zi as he entered and bowed.

  Su Jing waved her hand and said, "Get up, you went out to gather information yesterday."

  Xiao Luzi was shocked and quickly knelt down, "I deserve to die, I was worried about the master's safety, so I took it upon myself to act, willing to accept punishment, begging the master to forgive me."

  Su Jing swept a glance at the person kneeling on the ground, calm and composed, with a measured tone, and her brain really turned quickly. Although she was listening to Yao's advice, she said it was her own decision and voluntarily accepted the punishment.

  "In that case, you can go and collect twenty slaps later."

  "Master, this..." Yu heard Yao stand up, wanting to speak but hesitating. Su Jingyu gave a hint with her eyes, "You don't need to say more."

  "I am willing to accept punishment," said Xiao Lüzǐ with a bow of his head.

  "What did you hear when you went out yesterday?" Su Jing asked calmly, her slender fingers stirring the tea cup.

  Xiao Luzi was taken aback, furrowed his brow and thought carefully for a moment, "Yesterday, not long after the master went missing, suddenly many guards came, several times more than the day before."

  Su Jingxiao went over these words in her mind again, thinking of Shen Tian she saw today, and calmed down, "Don't mention these things again."

  "I understand, I don't know anything," Xiaolu Zi said obediently in his heart, although he was surprised.

  Su Jing put down her teacup, "Alright, I'll reward you with ten taels of silver, you can go now."

  "I take my leave," said Xiaolu Zi, bowing again, a look of joy on his face.

  There are rewards and punishments, which is the way to govern people. Such a person, if used well, is a sharp sword; if not used well, it is also a sharp sword, but who will be stabbed is unknown.

  Jingping Garden

  "The Emperor had indeed anticipated this" Fifth Inkstone said to the person sitting at the top, and bowed before sitting back down.

  Zong Zhengjin raised his teacup and took a sip, "As expected."

  "Your Majesty, if you wait a little longer, perhaps..." Shen Tian was unwilling to give up, fearing that all his preparations would be in vain this time.

  The fifth inkstone stroked his beard, causing Zong Zhengjin and Shen Tian to shake their heads in succession. He was still young and hadn't reached the age of standing upright, so why bother growing a beard?

  He didn't care, "You're wrong about this. The enemy is probably doing it on purpose, and waiting longer won't do any good."

  Shen Tian was perplexed, scratching his head and looking around, when a few words floated gently into view: "Lure in by giving slack."

  Zong Zhengjin indeed intended to catch them all at once, pulling out the roots, but unfortunately, the other side was too cautious, suspicious of deceit, or rather, waiting for a follow-up move, this time just a preliminary probe, without any intention.

  He thought they would choose to start hunting in the last few days, after all, he had announced that this hunt would last for half a month and would become more relaxed as time went on. Unexpectedly, they chose the first day, catching him off guard.

  He also deliberately let people and horses walk separately, even if it was in the same direction. If you were careful, you could still find clues, and he was accompanied by someone. Such an obvious mistake and burden, unfortunately, the other party knew they were being deceived but continued to chase in the opposite direction.

  Both sides are probing each other, thinking they've successfully left the other with a foolish sign, letting their guard down, but unfortunately, it's just one move short of checkmate.

  "These old guys are interesting," Shen Tian thought clearly and said angrily.

  "The Emperor intends to spare their lives until when will be forever peaceful. It is said that the fifth inkstone, Wang, is secretly preparing to return to the capital."

  Zong Zhengjin furrowed his brow, Yong'an Wang, his fifteenth imperial brother, was the only one still alive at present. When he usurped the throne in the past, he was too young, and everyone ignored him, so he survived and ascended to the throne as emperor, and enfeoffed him as Yong'an Wang.

  "Since it's a secret, didn't you find out anyway?" Shen Tian sneered, the Fifth Ink being in charge of intelligence, collecting all sorts of useful information from all over the world.

  Zong Zheng's mouth hooked up, "Since he wants to come back, I'll give him a big gift. As for the old guys like Prime Minister, wait until Meng Wentian comes back, and I'll consider it then."

  Daiyan Garden

  "Your humble servant has arrived to pay respects to the esteemed master," Liu Taizhen said as he entered and bowed.

  Logically speaking, he didn't need to pay his respects to her. The vice-judge was of the second rank, while Su Jingci was just a pin, and even if she had a title, it would only be from the fourth rank at most.

  Although he did so, Su Jingyan still appreciated his kind intentions. After all, she was a member of the royal family, no matter how low her status was. "Doctor Liu, there's no need to be overly polite. I wonder what brings you here today?"

  "His Majesty has ordered me to come and wish the young master a speedy recovery."

  Su Jing understood after a moment's thought and didn't bring it up again. "Thanks for your trouble, Doctor Liu."

  Doctor Liu repeatedly said he didn't dare, and politely placed a handkerchief on her hand before frowning and holding his breath to begin the diagnosis.

  It wasn't long before Imperial Physician Liu put away the diagnostic tools, "The young master's body is healthy and there's nothing seriously wrong. The external injuries on the young master's body, I have also prepared a medicinal ointment for, and it won't leave any scars. Young master can rest assured, just these days, it's still best to avoid contact with water as much as possible, and don't eat too many spicy or pungent foods."

  "En, thank you Doctor Liu, I understand, Yao, see Doctor Liu off."

  Xiang Yao returned from outside, "Master, all the other masters have returned to their own residences."

  "Everything is back."

  "En, quan dou hui le."

  Translation: "Yeah, everything is back."

  Su Jing thought that the reason they were ambushed yesterday was because someone had leaked information, and those people must be among the few concubines who followed them, but he didn't know if Su Jing mistakenly suspected the wrong person or did it on purpose.

  But now they've all been released, not a single one less, which means there wasn't anyone rebelling after all. However, the Emperor has gone missing and the Imperial Guards have suddenly arrived to strengthen their control, clearly having planned this in advance; otherwise, the capital should have descended into chaos by now.

  All of this, it's clear that someone is secretly manipulating things behind the scenes. But if that person was him, then why did he bring her along? Why did he spend a night in the cave with her without anything out of the ordinary happening?

  Can't figure it out, I guess my brain isn't good enough after all, or maybe someone else's brain is just too powerful.

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu