A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 411: It's Good That Your Highness Has Not Indulged in Love

"Sanxiu Medicine Shop? I have heard about the relationship between the owner of the medicine shop, Mr. Sanxiu, and my third brother. I didn't expect that the Honghua sisters actually hid in Sanxiu Medicine Shop. Do you think this is a blessing from heaven?"

It was late at night in the Shangjing Palace, and the only sound was the soft chirping of summer cicadas and frogs. The moonlight, just after the fifteenth day, was still bright and clear. In the pavilion on the lake in the garden, Yan Qiao put his hands behind his back and looked at the lotus leaves in the moonlight. After hearing the ambiguous reply behind him, he could not help but chuckle.

"Your Majesty is busy with all kinds of affairs, and Youmei should not have bothered you with trivial matters within the Shadow Clan. However, this time it involves the Prince, and I dare not hide the truth." Youmei, dressed in a black robe, was hidden in the night like a ghost in the darkness. He raised his hand and saluted, then continued to reply respectfully.

"That's true. But no matter what, Shadow Clan must not provoke the King. You are all my right-hand men now. If you are hostile to me, I will be in trouble being caught in the middle!" Yan Qiao was still as noble and beautiful as jade under the moonlight. He slowly turned around and looked at Youmei with narrowed eyes, and smiled softly.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Yingmen dare not offend the prince." Youmei also half bent over and said with a smile.

He knew that His Majesty's praise for Yingmen was just a courtesy. After all, Yingmen was just an organ in His Majesty's hands. How could it be compared with the princes who fought on the battlefield to expand the territory of Xiyue Kingdom?

"Well, the owner of Sanxiu Pharmacy is my third brother's late mother, Empress Leng, who used to be the medical master outside the palace. They have a special relationship. The Yingmen should not go to Sanxiu Pharmacy to cause trouble in the future. As for the pair of sisters, we have already made them suffer some hardships, so let's just let it go." Yan Qiao nodded with satisfaction, turned and sat back at the table, and spoke again.

"Yes." Youmei couldn't help but freeze all over, and his hands hidden in his sleeves couldn't help but tremble slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he dared not say anything more, but just nodded in response.

Although the emperor has spoken, he cannot let Yanyu and Honghua go. Moreover, the list of officials and generals from Liunan who have fled to other countries is still in Honghua's hands.

Originally, Yan Qiao had personally assigned this hunting mission to Youmei, but he took the initiative to reveal the list to Honghua, thinking of pushing this difficult task to the Southern Xinjiang Poisonous Insect Valley. But to his surprise, the two sisters actually found the protection of the Zongwang. Fortunately, Honghua did not give the list to the Zongwang, otherwise he would not be able to accompany the emperor to stroll in the garden at night without any harm tonight.

"I will have someone make up for the silver that Yingmen lost at Sanxiu Pharmacy in the next two days." Yan Qiao, who was completely unaware of the situation, naturally did not notice what Youmei was thinking at the moment. He gracefully put down the glass teacup he had drunk from and continued to smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." After paying his respects, Youmei suddenly said to Yan Qiao, "Also, Your Majesty, do you know that Mr. Sanxiu has a female disciple who seems to be in love with the prince?"

"Oh? Really? I've never heard my third brother mention that she is also Mr. Sanxiu's apprentice?" Yan Qiao's eyes widened when he heard this, and then a complicated look flashed across his eyes as he muttered, "This kid is really tight-lipped!"

"Although I haven't heard the prince admit it himself, he has not denied the rumors about the two of them." Youmei continued to reply.

"If he hasn't denied it, then it's probably true. That's a good thing. Ever since he divorced Princess Liang Ling, I and the Queen have been worried about him. Now that he has found the girl he likes, we can rest assured." Yan Qiao also smiled with relief. After a moment of silence, he stopped smiling and asked, "By the way, hasn't the mission I ordered you to do last time been started? Why is there no movement?"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I have arranged for people to go out. However, Your Majesty specifically instructed that the identity of Shadow Clan must not be exposed during the operation, so they have to find a chance to take action." Suddenly hearing Yan Qiao asking about the mission of hunting down, Youmei was caught off guard and frightened and broke out in a sweat. Fortunately, he was covered by the black veil, and he tried his best to suppress his panic and pretended to be calm.

"Well, this mission is indeed difficult. Although I have not given a deadline, in order to prevent any unexpected consequences, I hope that Youmei can handle it as soon as possible." Although Yan Qiao said with understanding, his handsome face as good as jade looked at Youmei with a half-smile.

"Yes." Youmei sighed secretly and responded quickly.

Prince Zong's carriage drove for six hours and finally arrived at Xuancheng at the hour of Mao the next day. Honghua thanked Yan Zong again outside the city and got off the carriage. His figure quickly disappeared into the dense forest, and the carriage continued to rush towards the city.

At this time, the city of Xuancheng was on high alert after Mr. Fan was assassinated. Even at the early morning, the patrolling troops did not dare to slack off. Fuyuan was surrounded by soldiers, and not even a sparrow could fly in.

Mr. Fan was injured in one arm and one abdomen. Although they were only scratches and not serious, Mr. Fan was a weak scholar after all. The pain from these two injuries made him faint on the spot. When he woke up, it was the next morning. When he opened his eyes and saw Arnold by his side, his pale face showed a relieved smile like an old father.

It was already the third day since Mr. Fan was assassinated when Prince Zong returned to Fuyuan. He was still able to handle official business with the help of Arnold. Seeing Prince Zong rushing back, Mr. Fan's heart was finally at ease. Arnold was even more indignant and accused the situation on the night of the assassination.

"So you didn't catch even one person?" In the hall of Fuyuan, Yan Zong couldn't help but frown after listening to Arnold's detailed account. He frowned and looked at Da Xixian who was huddled in the corner and trembling with fear.

"Your Highness, this was unexpected, and the streets were crowded at the time. After the assassination attempt failed, these traitors fled in the crowd." Seeing that Your Highness was blaming Brother Daxi, Arnold hurriedly explained, but after he finished speaking, he once again lowered his head in guilt and blamed himself: "It's all my fault. I had to pester Master Fan to accompany me to the night market."

"Didn't I tell you that it has nothing to do with you? These people will assassinate you sooner or later, if not that night then on some day. Besides, if you hadn't tried your best to protect him, your Master Fan would have died long ago." Seeing Arnold starting to blame himself again, Mr. Fan glanced at him in pretended anger, then stroked his beard and smiled.

"Maintenance in the city is my responsibility. It was all my fault for my negligence that allowed these rebels to sneak in. I was too slow to react afterwards and let them escape. It is my incompetence, please punish me, Your Highness!" But Mr. Fan's smile did not melt the cold air in the hall. Da Xixian also lowered his head, stood up and knelt in front of Yan Zong, saying with a guilty look.

Seeing this, Arnold also hurriedly stood up and knelt beside Daxixian to plead guilty to the prince. Wei Zhun, who was uneasy, also wanted to stand up but was stopped by Mr. Fan: "You were in the military camp outside the city that night. What did you have to do with it?"

"Okay, everyone, get up!" Yan Zong's expression relaxed slightly, and then he gave a majestic order to the two people kneeling in front of him.

Arnold and Daxixian looked at each other, then hurriedly bowed to the prince and stood up.

"It is indeed your dereliction of duty and incompetence that Mr. Fan was stabbed and injured and the murderer escaped, but now is not the time for me to punish you. I want you to find the traitor even if you have to dig three feet into the ground in Xuancheng!" Yan Zong still looked up at Da Xixian and Arnold in front of him with a majestic expression, and ordered again.

"Don't worry, Your Highness!" The two of them responded without hesitation and bowed their hands solemnly.

"Yu Cheng, you assist them." Looking at the two people in front of him who spoke sternly and righteously, Yan Zong became even more worried, so he gave instructions to Yu Cheng who was standing beside him.

Although one of these two men was invincible on the battlefield and had the courage to fight a hundred men at once, he was ultimately just a reckless man, and his brains were not half as good as Yu Cheng's; while the other one was still young and cunning, and all he cared about was eating, drinking and having fun. It would be better for these two to hope that the rebels would come to them on their own than to catch them.

"Yes, Your Highness." Yu Cheng also sat up and saluted the prince, with a smile already on his face. He was naturally aware of His Highness's concerns.

After everyone else had left, Yan Zong stood up and walked to Mr. Fan to check his wound.

"They are all minor injuries. You can see that the wounds are healing. Your Highness, don't worry." Mr. Fan smiled calmly as usual.

"The rebel was originally coming for me, but you blocked it for me." Yan Zong said guiltily as he applied the golden medicine he carried with him to Mr. Fan's wound.

"Don't be so clear about the distinction between you and me." Mr. Fan raised his other hand and patted Yan Zong's shoulder, smiled disapprovingly, and then asked, "Nothing happened to Sanxiu Medicine Store, right?"

"We were a step too late. Nearly half of the medicine store was destroyed, but fortunately no one is hurt." Yan Zong responded indifferently.

"Oh, wouldn't Mr. Sanxiu be so angry that he would jump up and down?" Mr. Fan was relieved to hear that the person was fine, and then he joked.

Yan Zong nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I also met Si Yao this time. She is back from her job as a traveling doctor."

"This is a good thing, but it's a pity that His Highness had to rush back to Xuancheng because of me." Mr. Fan was overjoyed when he heard it, but soon said with some guilt.

"What are you talking about, sir? Even if you were not injured, there are rebels in Xuancheng. How can I ignore the safety of Xuancheng because of my personal feelings?" Yan Zong raised his cold eyes and said seriously to Mr. Fan.

Mr. Fan smiled happily and nodded approvingly, saying that it was good that His Highness did not indulge in love.