“Your Highness, this plan of yours…..could it be that that idiot King Jing will betray us? Will the emperor of Great Zhou make things difficult for us?”

One of Li Jinshu’s men questioned him anxiously. He had already broken into a cold sweat because of Li Jinshu’s plan just now. The idea was originally to escort Li Jinshu safely into and out of Great Zhou, and there was only one ten thousandth of a chance that the plan would actually be used. After all, the situation between the two countries was such that as long as the emperor of Great Zhou wasn’t a madman, he would never take action against Li Jinshu.

Li Jinshu was writing at a table, and said with a smile: “What evidence could they get from King Jing’s mouth? Don’t worry, trash like that is clearly being used by someone else. There are others who plan to deal with him, so we have no need to act. Your focus should be on our plans for tomorrow.”

“The hunting day is still being held?”

“Of course. In order to highlight Great Zhou’s strength, no matter how big the matter was, they’ll secretly cover it up.” Li Jinshu looked at his calligraphy and smiled, feeling very satisfied.

His subordinate looked as well, but didn’t understand. Everyone wrote poems, songs, and famous quotes, but his master wrote strange dialogue. It looked like ordinary small talk, but also mentioned his intention to attend Huo Fenglie’s wedding banquet. Wasn’t it ridiculous? It was more likely that his master would attend Huo Fenglie’s funeral.

And he was wearing an expression like….. the stirrings of a spring heart. What…..

Before his subordinate had much time to be confused, Li Jinshu’s eyes shifted minutely: “Have you arranged the manpower for tomorrow?”

When the subordinate heard this, he wanted to pretend to be dead. They had agreed to attend the Longevity Festival, but ended up getting involved in the royal family’s struggle for the throne. They had just gotten themselves out of the fire with difficulty when other dangerous ideas popped up. “Your Highness, isn’t it too risky? Is this really necessary? If we do this, we’ll truly anger Great Zhou.”

Li Jinshu didn’t speak. He just lifted the man’s chin with his hand and gradually moved it toward his throat.

The subordinate immediately tensed and said: “This subordinate will go at once to make sure nothing goes wrong!”

Li Jinshu then retracted his hand with a smile: “Very good. Go on.”

After saying this, he looked at the written conversation on the table and slowly narrowed his eyes.

. . . . . .

When King Jing awoke in the clan manor, he saw a familiar dark figure. Just as he was about to speak, the figure streaked toward him like lightning and grabbed his throat.

King Jing was furious and alarmed. The veins on his face protruded as he suffocated, and the anger in his eyes was gradually replaced by terror.

“Heh, look at you now, Your Highness. This is what happens when you disobey Master. You think you have full-fledged wings? You think that means you can rebel against Master? If rebelling was so simple, would Master have had to plan for so long? If you were obedient, you would have safely ascended the throne,” the old man said leisurely.

The old man had just come over from Jian Shuang. She had fallen ill at once due to her emotional fluctuations. Looking at her face, the old man had lamented that she was both beautiful and capable, but she didn’t possess longevity. Her body may not be able to hold on for long.

He was once an assassin. His only grandson was found and rescued by Jian Shuang when she was living among the people, and he had worked for her from then on.

Jian Shuang had been planning for many years to help King Jing ascend the throne. She didn’t want to go through twists and turns, but as long as she didn’t ask rashly and left the majority of the foundation behind, there would always be opportunities. The old man admired Jian Shuang for this. Even though there was no telling when her life would end, she still had the patience of an apex hunter. But mud couldn’t shore up a wall, and the clever Jian Shuang’s efforts were in vain.

If this person really couldn’t help any further, the old man knew that the order he had received tonight was not to warn King Jing, but to kill and silence him.

The old man released King Jing and said: “Do you want to live?”

King Jing clasped his neck. There was anger in his eyes, but he knew what sort of position he was in: “En.”

“If the emperor comes to interrogate you later, remember, do not say anything. There is still a glimmer of hope.”

King Jing knew that the Taifei feared he would expose her, but he had already tried to have her killed. Was she really still willing to help him?

No, if that wasn’t her intention, why would she send an old man to warn him instead of killing him?

King Jing felt a little relieved at this thought. After all, he had been raised by the Empress Dowager and the Taifei, so perhaps she still had a mother-son bond with him.

“What is she going to do? Even if I don’t say anything, Yuan Jue won’t let me go!” King Jing spoke anxiously. “He’s going to kill me!”

“That will also take some time. Don’t worry, we won’t be too much longer. Just remain patient!” The old man warned: “If you accidentally reveal something, no one can save you. Remember, this is your last chance!”

King Jing stared at him in silence. Seeing that the old man was about to leave, he said quickly: “Right, there’s a problem with Zheng Wei. If his men hadn’t turned against us in battle, I would have killed Yuan Jue!”

The old man scoffed coldly: “You don’t need to tell me that!”

In the blink of an eye, the old man vanished. 

Soon after, Zheng Wei sensed someone watching him and slowly walked deeper into the palace.

Yuan Jue had sought him out before due to the Dongchang’s previous actions. Zheng Wei had brushed the matter aside, saying that King Jing had attempted to bribe his adopted son, which allowed him to discover some discrepancies. Because it was King Jing, he didn’t dare report him rashly, and could only wait for the investigation to make things clear. During this period, people were arranged to go undercover and look for evidence, but things unexpectedly went wrong.

He also mentioned that the Jinyiwei had been monitoring King Jing as well, and made it seem like they were greedy for credit and deliberately competing with them.

In fact, such a matter could be easily overturned once King Jing was interrogated, but Zheng Wei didn’t care about this. He had at least been effective in protecting the emperor. Even if Yuan Jue had doubts about him, he wouldn’t question him aggressively.

As expected, Yuan Jue didn’t embarrass Zheng Wei for the time being, and only asked him one question – who did he consider to be his master?

Zheng Wei replied that of course it was the emperor. There were no flaws in his behavior.

Yuan Jue only scoffed and told him to step back.

Zheng Wei knew that the young emperor was difficult to deal with. He was just pondering what problems there might be with the plan when suddenly, there was a cold sensation against his throat. Zheng Wei went still.

“Senior has something to say,” Zheng Wei said.

“You betrayed Master.”

Zheng Wei smiled bitterly and said: “Senior, whatever His Highness wanted to do, he gave the order and I carried it out. Even if I had selfish motives, it was only to perform meritorious services in front of the new emperor in advance.”

“Heh, and changing sides just before the battle?”

“There was nothing to be done. At that time, my adoptive son had already discovered that Huo Fenglie had brought people there. I couldn’t allow my men to be exposed. Didn’t this mean that the Taifei’s wings had been broken? I could only change sides at the last moment. I know that the Taifei will definitely find a way to regroup.”

“Hahaha. Zheng Wei, do you think I’ll believe that?”

“Why wouldn’t you? Do you think that with my relationship to the royal family, I would choose to be loyal to the emperor and betray the Taifei? She has been kind to me. It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. What’s important is whether the Taifei believes in my judgment or if she still needs me.”

If she didn’t need him, Zheng Wei would have been killed long ago.

The old man felt that Zheng Wei’s betrayal was strange. Zheng Wei only had one sibling, who was the spy in the beauty espionage case.

The two siblings were originally dependent upon one another. Later, the elder sister was taken advantage of by King Zhao, one of the most vicious of the Three Kings, and entered the palace as a dead soldier. In the end, she successfully faked her death to escape and was then silenced by King Zhao. When the truth was finally discovered, the late emperor was so angry that he took the corpse Liu Zhenqing and the others had retrieved and fed it to wild animals in order to vent his rage. In the end, there weren’t even bones left.

Zheng Wei naturally entered the palace for revenge, but the late emperor and Zhao Wang died one after the other, and there was no chance for him to take action. However, he ran into trouble several times and was rescued by the Taifei, and with her support, he was able to secure his position as director of the Dongchang.

Even if he had ambitions, the old man felt that Zheng Wei wouldn’t betray the Taifei. But in the end, he still went against the Taifie’s wishes. Thus, after this matter was solved, they could not allow Zheng Wei to live.

The old man lowered his blade. He was unhappy, but there was nothing he could do. Almost all the people in the hands of the Taifei had been wasted, so they could only take the risk at this point.

“Master says that you will try to delay Huo Fenglie in the wild during the hunt tomorrow. If you succeed, Master will regard you as loyal and will disregard your mistake this time. But if you fail to hold him back, you will be killed!”

“What does Master intend to do?”

“You are no longer qualified to know.” The old man fell silent after saying this. When Zheng Wei turned around, the assassin had vanished.

Zheng Wei’s figure disappeared in a flash, reappearing at the Empress Dowager’s palace quite a while later.

Yao Hua had just finished tending to Jian Shuang. Upon hearing the report, she toyed with the jade pendant around her neck and said slowly: “It’s finally time to make amends for the mistakes I made back then.”

. . . . . 

On the other side, in Qinzheng Hall, He Cong arrived with a report.

“Your Majesty, someone went to the clan manor and then left. Our people lost them.”

Yuan Jue slowly set down the book in his hand, his calm eyes glinting with a strange light. He seemed to be immersed in his own thoughts, and didn’t respond to He Lan.

He Cong spoke again: “Is Your Majesty going to interrogate King Jing?”

Yuan Jue returned to the present. He rubbed his jade thumb ring and said: “No need, there’s nothing we can ask anyway. This is their final step.”

He Cong didn’t understand what Yuan Jue was talking about, and could only say: “Tomorrow is the hunting day.”

Yuan Jue slowly raised his eyes. Hesitation flashed through them, but with a glance at the book on the table, they became firm again. “Do one thing for me.”

He Cong immediately snapped to attention, but the moment he learned what he would be doing, his pupils constricted.

“Do you understand?”

He Cong couldn’t stop trembling all over, and he broke out in a cold sweat. But he understood that if he hesitated for one moment, he may not be able to walk out of this palace with his life. As expected of the ruthless emperor’s family.

“This servant understands.”

“Go.” Yuan Jue waved his hand and said no more.

After He Cong departed, he was the only one left in the hall. Yuan Jue’s gaze fell once more on the book lying on the table. His slender fingers slowly moved up the paper and paused on a line of words.

The words on the yellowed paper read: The emperor and empress were people who were reborn after death. They were different souls, messengers from another world, and came here specifically to protect the country. If you encounter someone in the future who is reborn, they are not a trickster who has come to cause trouble. You should make good use of them and treat them well.

At the same time, Liu Qiao was sitting on the roof, gazing at the restless palace. He jumped back into the room and said to Liu Zhenqing, who was lying in front of a candlestick, deep in thought: “Master, there are people jumping around.”

“The person behind the scenes must be anxious,” Liu Zhenqing said unhurriedly. “Liu Qiao, look at my eyelids. Are they twitching?”^[1]

Liu Qiao looked carefully and asked: “Does it mean great fortune?”

Liu Zhenqing said with a sigh: “No, great disaster. The situation is precarious, ah.”

The next day, the wild hunt began.

Liu Zhenqing welcomed Huo Yunci and Huo Yunqian to Huo Fenglie’s camp.

Huo Yunci had changed into bright red martial robes and held her own small, curved red bow. Although Huo Yunqian looked dashing and heroic, he was uninterested in these matters and kept his medical books close, but still joined in the fun.

“Uncle Liu, many people from our Imperial Academy are here today. I have to be the best among them!” Huo Yunci said.

“Jiejie, you’re good at riding and shooting. Those people have never been your opponents,” Huo Yunqian said with a smile.

“If it weren’t for Second Uncle not being able to play with us, I would’ve really wanted to compete with him.” Huo Yunci raised the bow in her hand, full of fighting spirit.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “It’s better not to compare yourself, lest you receive a blow.”

Huo Yunci was immediately dissatisfied and began to make a fuss. There was a lot of happy laughter and chatter until Huo Fenglie returned. He glanced at the twins and briefly instructed them to follow Liu Zhenqing, then continued to work.

Liu Zhenqing saw him leaving and couldn’t help but follow him out.

“Have you brought everything you need?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

Huo Fenglie patted his chest pocket, which contained the detoxification and life-sustaining pills Liu Zhenqing had insisted that he bring. Although there was indeed an aura of crisis, he didn’t understand why Liu Zhenqing was being particularly cautious this time.

“Don’t worry, even if something happens, this is all just an arrow at the end of its flight. They would be crazy to take action against me,” Huo Fenglie reassured him.

Naturally, they would only take action against the emperor.

But Liu Zhenqing was still worried, and could only say: “Be careful anyway. Regardless of anything else, your life belongs to me.”

Hearing these words, Huo Fenglie couldn’t help feeling shy. While there was no one around, he quickly hugged his Qing-ge, and when he tried to let go, Liu Zhenqing put his arms around his neck and kissed him.

The two of them exchanged brief words for a moment before reluctantly parting.

When Liu Zhenqing turned around, he saw two little carrot heads peeking through the gap in the tent curtain, grinning at him.

Liu Zhenqing was thick-skinned and naturally wasn’t shy, so he said directly: “What are you looking at?”

“We’re looking at you being shameless, in broad daylight…..”

“In public…..”

The two children poked fun at him.

Liu Zhenqing raised an eyebrow and said: “Then you should get used to it as soon as possible. When I marry into your family, there will be many such scenes.”

The two children instantly blushed and began to make a fuss again.

But this lighthearted laughter and chatter soon came to an end.

Hunting day began. At the venue, the two children met the Xiheng envoys.

Their father had died in battle against the Kingdom of Xiheng., and for Huo Yunci, her greatest enemy may also come from Xiheng when she grew up. It was naturally difficult for children to conceal their emotions, so she naturally regarded them with murderous intent. Even Huo Yunqian had a gloomy face.

Li Jinshu, who had been focusing on Liu Zhenqing, also noticed these two interesting children and asked Yuan Jue about them directly.

This inquiry put unhappy expressions on the faces of the surrounding ministers.

Yuan Jue had always regarded the twins as his nephews. Seeing this, he smiled and said: “The two of you, introduce yourselves.”

The two children displayed no timidity. Huo Yunci immediately straightened up and said: “Huo Yunci, daughter of Huo Feihan!”

Huo Yunqian followed close behind: “Huo Yunqian, son of Huo Feihan.”

The moment their identities came out, the expressions of the Xiheng envoys naturally changed. Although Huo Feihan had ultimately died in battle, the losses he caused their Kingdom of Xiheng in those years had been heavy. As soon as they heard the surname Huo, they were utterly unsettled and couldn’t help but take a few more looks at them, as if beholding a future enemy. But as they looked, the two seemed to be a combination of a female general and a weak young master. Since this was the case, there was no cause for concern.

The envoys were good with words and seemed to be praising them on the surface, but Li Jinshu said directly: “What, the next generation of your Huo family is a female general? It’s fortunate that our two countries are friendly and no longer at war, or our young generals would be too embarrassed to be rough with a woman.”

When he said this, a few of the envoys couldn’t help but laugh.

Li Jinshu continued meanspiritedly: “Since your Second Uncle will marry Young Master Liu in the future, does he not plan to have any heirs? Can it really be that…..there is no successor? What a pity, what a pity. Such regret.”

Huo Yunci’s face instantly went red, and Huo Yunqian trembled all over. This was their sore spot. What they wanted to do with their lives went against their family honor. It was originally a very difficult decision to make, and now that their father’s enemy had said such a thing, how could they not be upset?

And most people in Great Zhou didn’t agree with the direction of their development. After all, they had high hopes for the inheritance of the Huo family, so no one, not even the sharp-tongued ministers, spoke up to help them.

Yuan Jue didn’t say anything. He only looked toward Liu Zhenqing’s table as if watching how the twins would react, but his focus was solely on one person.

At this time, the Empress Dowager suddenly said with a smile: “We have quite a few female officers in Great Zhou, and among the Huo family ancestors, there was even a female war goddess.”

Yao Hua had still come to participate in the hunting day, while Jian Shuang remained back at camp to rest and didn’t put in an appearance.

“I’ve heard of her, but it seems that her brother was more capable. So even if there was a female general, she wasn’t the cream of the crop.” Li Jinshu smiled, fully at ease.

Huo Fenglie wasn’t present, and even the Huo Family Army guarding the perimeter could only sulk upon hearing this. They glared at the Xiheng envoys, unable to stand up for their young master and lady.

At this moment, Liu Zhenqing pulled the two children in and whispered something to them.

Their expressions changed, and Huo Yunci instantly jumped out: “Since our countries have good relations, there is naturally no need for more war gods in our Huo family. However, this daughter has been fond of practicing martial arts since childhood. I saw some envoys today who are similar in age to me, so I wonder if I can ask them for advice!”

There were indeed two young boys of similar age among the envoys. Although they weren’t from the Kingdom of Xiheng, they were also martial arts students and had come with their envoys to meet the great warriors of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Hearing that the little girl had taken the initiative to provoke them, they were dismissive.

“I don’t hit women.”

“Little Sister, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

Huo Yunci didn’t get angry, but instead looked at Yuan Jue and directly requested an Imperial edict.

Yuan Jue naturally acquiesced, letting them all have fun as a warm-up.

The two teenagers exchanged glances, seemingly reluctant to step forward and fight a woman. But when someone came to their doorstep and asked to be humiliated, how could they not agree? Their countries had suffered greatly because of Huo Fenglie, so they would take it out on his niece.

After some discussion, the envoys sent the youths out.

However, there was some disagreement over who would go first. Huo Yunci had already retrieved her red-tasseled spear and said to them directly: “No need to fuss. Come at me together!”

As soon as these words came out, many people present burst into laughter. They felt that this Huo family daughter was a crazy girl who was eager for quick success and was naive about the world.

The two teenagers were rather speechless. Although they stood forward, they each waited for the other to go first.

But before they could reach a consensus, Huo Yunci moved with the wind and kicked over the boy closest to her, then slammed the red-tasseled spear into the other one before he could react.

The youths were stunned by this sudden turn of events and hurried to retaliate.

And the lively onlookers around them gradually fell silent.

The two youths were the sons of famous military officers, but at this moment…..the one who was hit by Huo Yunci could hardly parry, and it turned even uglier when the one who was kicked over got up and joined the fight. They worked together to a limited degree – after all, they were two men fighting one woman – but they were never able to gain the upper hand, and instead were forced back by increments.

Huo Yunci was not merciful at all, her moves fierce and swift. If not for her being young and immature, each one would have been a killing move. Aside from being a little unaccustomed to it at first, her fighting became easier and smoother, and her energy was high.

It ended with one boy having a dislocated hand and the other with a crooked mouth.

Everyone present was shocked, and stared at the red-clad girl in disbelief.

In the next instant, the girl flew toward the Kingdom of Xiheng’s seats and aimed her red-tasseled spear directly at Li Jinshu.

Other than Li Jinshu, who remained motionless and drank calmly, the other envoys were frightened by Huo Yunci’s killing intent.

The bloody nature of the Huo family began to emerge from Huo Yunci.

She raised her eyebrows at Li Jinshu and said: “Prince Li, I hear that you plan to attend my Second Uncle’s wedding banquet. Remember to take your young warriors along. Yunci really wants to ask for advice. Don’t worry, even if I lose, I won’t cry and complain that they bullied a woman.”

The expressions of the Xiheng envoys turned ugly at her words. Although their country’s young warriors were stronger than the two youths who had just performed, they weren’t very powerful. Otherwise, they would have been brought here to show off and shock everyone.

They hadn’t expected that even a little girl from the Huo family could be so capable. Although this was nothing compared to their adult warriors, such true talent could not be underestimated.

Li Jinshu never felt embarrassed when he was slapped in the face. Instead, he said very happily: “I take back what I just said. Miss Huo is indeed worthy of her father’s reputation. Those of our nation cannot compare to her.”

Li Jinshu said to Yuan Jue: “Congratulations, Your Majesty. Your Great Zhou will soon have another powerful general.”

At this time, everyone from Great Zhou regained their senses and began to applaud and congratulate.

Yuan Jue’s lips curved as he said: “There are naturally no mediocre people in the Huo family.”

As he spoke, he watched the two wailing teenagers below being helped back. Yuan Jue was about to wave his hand to summon an Imperial Physician, since the envoys of those two countries seemed to be full of anger and the desire to find fault.

But at this moment, Huo Yunqian walked onto the field and approached the two teenagers.

“What are you going to do!” someone demanded.

But without saying a word, Huo Yunqian politely cupped his hands. Then he took the dislocated arm of one of the youths, pulled until it clicked, and expertly pushed it back into place. The wailing boy paused halfway through his howl, then said in astonishment: “It…..doesn’t hurt anymore? I can move my hand, it’s fine.”

When he turned and looked over, he found that Huo Yunqian had already used a needle to prick the other youth’s mouth, which straightened out after a moment.

Rumors said that Huo Feihan’s wife had come from Medical Valley and was the inheritor of a miracle doctor’ skills. It seemed they hadn’t been exaggerating.

Huo Yunqian lived up to his name, and was polite and humble: “This is the first time Jiejie has competed against two people at once, and her blows were probably out of proportion because she isn’t used to it. Please don’t blame her.”

The two youths shook their heads like the crack of a whip. Given some sugar, they were docile and well-behaved.

The envoys who had been about to make a fuss could say nothing upon seeing this.

Huo Yunci had already come to her brother’s side. One of them often fought while the other dealt with the aftermath, so Huo Yunqian was used to dealing out treatment.

The two of them saluted Yuan Jue, who laughed loudly and rewarded them on the spot. Nobody had expected that at the beginning of the hunting day, the first ones to win a prize would be the Huo siblings.

But this opening indeed boosted morale, causing the Huo Family soldiers guarding the perimeter to raise their heads high and puff out their chests.

When the twins returned to their seats, they hugged Liu Zhenqing’s arms to the left and right, their faces shining brightly with the desire for praise.

Liu Zhenqing smiled: “Very good.”

The two children were even happier. After all, when everyone else didn’t believe in them and laughed at them, only Liu Zhenqing had helped them find a way to prove themselves.

Although they didn’t know why Liu Zhenqing believed they could do it, they had really done it.

Liu Zhenqing naturally believed in them. According to Huo Fenglie, Huo Yunci had made great progress in martial arts after accepting Liu Qiao as her master, and these two youths together would be no match for her.

He hadn’t expected their casual conversation to come in useful today, and could only consider those two boys unlucky.

Indeed, Liu Zhenqing had sworn that no one was allowed to bully these two treasures.

The harmonious scene here naturally fell into the eyes of others.

Yao Hua had watched the excitement and was somewhat dazed. She couldn’t help but think to herself, what if that person was here? He would have also defended his family this way, and such an ostentatious method also seemed to be his style.

Li Jinshu’s smile became even brighter, and he seemed to be growing increasingly interested.

Yuan Jue, on the other hand, withdrew his gaze and became more composed.

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[1] This refers to the saying: “a twitch means great fortune if it happens in one’s left eyelid, and an imminent disaster if it happens in the right eyelid.” ⮐

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Chapter 138 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 140