Li Zhaoting didn’t respond, still holding his cup and drinking slowly. Wuqing’s heart tightened, knowing he still harbored resentment about Suzhen’s previous escape attempt. At the same time, he was torn between heaven and earth, hoping he wouldn’t go, but if he didn’t go, when he discovered the truth later, in his fury he might actually kill Suzhen. Little Zhou had also said she would die alongside Suzhen… He gritted his teeth and was about to persuade him when the other party suddenly set down his wine cup heavily, patted his shoulder, and said, “I know you’re loyal. You’ve always been my friend. It’s just that earlier, your father… I felt in my heart… But now it’s different. Alright, I’ll go over first.”

As he spoke and stood up, his tall frame suddenly swayed.

“Your Majesty…” Si Lanfeng and Little Four quickly supported him. Li Zhaoting held his forehead and frowned slightly. Little Four cried out, “Oh my! Your Majesty, you’ve drunk too much. Why don’t this servant make a trip to decline Concubine Shu? You needn’t see her tonight…”

“No, I’m going!” Li Zhaoting said in a deep voice, then left the tent with the two men.

Wuqing watched them depart and wanted to follow, but ultimately clenched his fists and held back, grabbing the wine pot and gulping down several mouthfuls.

Under the lamplight, he drank gulp after gulp. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he finally threw off his robe and rushed out…

By the lakeside, around the newly erected tent, over a hundred imperial guards stood watch. Si Lanfeng didn’t dare disturb them and leaned against a tree some distance away, dozing. Hearing sounds, he opened his eyes and saw it was him, smiled and greeted him, “How did you come? It looks like those two have made up.”

He gestured with his mouth, indicating that Li Zhaoting had been inside for quite some time but hadn’t come out.

Wuqing’s eyes darkened, and he immediately grabbed his arm, “I have urgent business to see His Majesty. Please announce me.”

Si Lanfeng remembered Li Zhaoting’s words in the tent earlier about not allowing anyone to disturb him, and couldn’t help but smile mischievously, “Brother, whatever it is can wait until tomorrow. No matter how urgent, it’s not more urgent than military affairs, and there are no military matters now.”

Wuqing immediately shook him off and ran forward. Si Lanfeng was alarmed—seeing this attitude, could this older brother have suddenly changed his mind and be objecting? His heart sank, and he immediately leaped forward, shouting sternly, “Sir, you cannot go there!”

Wuqing waved his hand and struck out with his palm. Caught completely off guard, and with the palm wind being fierce and powerful, fortunately Si Lanfeng’s martial arts were quite high, and he barely managed to dodge.

He was also angry, “Wuqing, what audacity!”

“Don’t draw swords, but make sure to capture him.”

“Yes!”

He commanded coldly, and the imperial guards left twenty or thirty to guard the front of the tent while the rest swarmed forward to attack.

Wuqing was also formidable, fighting dozens of well-trained imperial guards alone without showing any sign of weakness. Si Lanfeng saw that he had quickly knocked down half the men and couldn’t help frowning. Others might not know, but as Li Zhaoting’s confidant, he clearly understood that this Wuqing was none other than Feng Suzhen’s blood brother. Under no circumstances could he let the imperial guards draw swords against him and actually injure him.

But if he called the large number of imperial guards from the camp area, it would inevitably alarm the Prince of Jin’s consort and the Wei family—this Dowager Empress already had a poor impression of Feng Suzhen, and Wei Chenghui was even more… In his anxiety, Little Four slipped away.

Wuqing fought more and more fiercely, eventually ignoring even his own injuries and knocking down another group of imperial guards. Si Lanfeng had no choice but to leap in and join the battle himself.

Wuqing fought with red eyes. Seeing the last twenty or thirty imperial guards in front of the tent also rushing over, he struck faster and more ruthlessly—just then, several dark shadows flew across the night sky.

“Master Wuqing, you and I once joined forces against Lian Yu at the mass grave, and later fought together in battle. Whatever our relationship, we have some bond. This old Daoist truly doesn’t want to be your enemy, but disturbing His Majesty is a great disrespectful crime. This old Daoist can only offend you.”

Three figures landed, with the middle one having white eyebrows, eagle eyes, and a grim expression—it was the Limitless Daoist, while the other two were his disciples Yu Jinglun and Mao Hui. The three had accompanied the Prince of Jin’s consort on this trip. They had encountered each other during the past two days of hunting.

Wuqing’s expression changed, and with a flip of his sleeves, he launched a fierce Great Grappling Hand technique toward Limitless…

Half an hour later, someone broke into the depths of the forest.

Two people stood quietly under the trees.

“Boss.” Seeing the newcomer, the two were slightly startled.

The newcomer waved his hand and walked forward step by step slowly, his feet making rustling sounds as they stepped on fallen branches and leaves. Moonlight fell on him, casting a long shadow behind him.

Seeing someone lying quietly on the ground, he slowly crouched down, his pupils contracting suddenly.

…

By the lakeside, the moonlight was also extremely beautiful at this time. When the woman emerged from the tent wearing a light cloak with her head covered and eyes lowered, the surroundings seemed particularly tranquil. One could hear the distant calls of insects and birds in the mountain valleys and forests, the wind passing through treetops, and a huge silver moon embedded like frost in the distant mountain valley, with the starry river twinkling above, vast and boundless.

“We pay our respects to Concubine Shu.” Outside the tent, the imperial guards were startled to see her emerge and bowed in salute.

Si Lanfeng rose from under a distant tree and also bowed, “This humble officer pays respects to Your Ladyship.”

“Commander Si need not be so formal. Suzhen woke up and came out for a walk,” the woman said softly.

Si Lanfeng saw that she kept her head lowered, her face covered by the large cloak, her entire person seeming to be shrouded in a layer of mist, unclear to see, showing neither joy nor sorrow. He thought to himself that coming out in the dead of night, these two people hadn’t gotten into some trouble again, had they!

But on second thought, it didn’t seem so. If there had really been unpleasantness, Li Zhaoting should have stormed out of the tent.

He suddenly realized something—he wasn’t unaware of the relationship between Feng Suzhen and Lian Yu, who had been very close before. Tonight, this Inspector Li was probably feeling heartbroken, so…

“Shall this subordinate accompany Your Ladyship for a walk?” After thinking, he carefully asked.

“Thank you for Commander Si’s kindness, but it’s not necessary. Suzhen’s maidservant is nearby—let her accompany me,” the woman politely declined his offer.

Si Lanfeng knew she didn’t want anyone following her, and also knew that with the current camp defenses, she couldn’t escape even with wings—His Majesty had actually personally drawn multiple portraits that day and had them taken to various posts at the hunting ground exits… He nodded, then couldn’t help but add another sentence: “Such feelings can be recalled later as past memories. Your Ladyship is a wise person.”

The woman suddenly smiled, and finally nodded to him, brought her hand to her lips, and made a gesture.

With a light whistle, a woman quickly emerged from the shadows nearby.

Si Lanfeng recognized this woman as one of Wuqing’s trusted subordinates from the Six Doors Bureau, with quite good martial arts skills. He felt somewhat relieved and didn’t follow, but watched as the two walked farther and farther into the darkness.

…

Wuming looked at the person beside her and several times wanted to say something, but found that when the words reached her lips, she had nothing to say.

The other person also remained silent, her face hazy in the shadow of her cloak.

Fallen leaves rustled under their feet. Finally, they reached the agreed location. There, in the dim light, stood five people.

One of them looked at her with tears streaming down her face.

“Susu, change into my clothes, and you can go back with Wuming.” Pulling the hood from her head, the woman said quietly.

Moonlight fell on her face. The voice was still Suzhen’s voice, but the appearance had changed to someone else’s.

But it wasn’t Little Zhou.

Because Little Zhou was now standing behind the woman in front, side by side with Wuqing.

This was Lian Xin.

She licked her dry lips and smiled, “I’ve known you for quite a while too. I can also imitate your voice. I spoke a few words with Si Lanfeng just now, and his reaction was normal—he shouldn’t suspect anything.”

Opposite her, Suzhen’s eyes were completely red, her whole body trembling, unable to move her feet.

“How can I face your Sixth Brother if you do this!”

She looked at the people beside her with some confusion, then explained, “Susu, don’t be afraid. Haven’t they told you yet? I’m actually not Sixth Brother’s real sister. My mother empress was always childless, so she adopted Sixth Brother. But I wasn’t born to her either. The baby girl died on the day she went into labor. My mother empress had no fortune with children, and Aunt Hong feared she would be heartbroken, so she brought a child from outside into the palace…”

As she spoke, her smile gradually crumbled, and something fell from her eyes to the ground, pattering densely.

Suzhen knew.

How could Suzhen not know? Just when she had been awakened by Wuqing’s pressure point techniques, she had heard Iron Hand explain!

Yesterday she had called those three aside and proposed using herself to replace Little Zhou.

The three immediately objected—she and Li Zhaoting were cousins, how could they…

But she shook her head and told them she was not Xiao’an’s biological child.

It turned out that Xiao’an, hidden in the Sangzhan tribal territory, had been in poor health ever since Lian Yu and Huo Chang’an died in battle. Watching her last remaining child having to hide dangerously in the valley, living in darkness and facing death at any moment, her heart was cut like a knife and she fell seriously ill. Aunt Hong, having no other choice, told her the secret from years past—this princess was actually not of noble blood but was originally an unwanted baby girl from a poor household. If Xiao’an couldn’t bear to part with her, she might as well be sent to live among commoners. She wasn’t true royalty and needn’t bear the responsibilities of royalty. Upon hearing this, Xiao’an aged overnight but also recovered overnight. After Lian Jie and the others returned near death, and the court posted imperial proclamations parading Lian and Huo’s corpses through the streets, she finally made the decision to drive her out of the valley.

“In the past, Feng Suzhen went from commoner to court and harem. Now you go from palace back to commoner life. If Feng Suzhen could live well, child, you certainly can too. It’s… Mother Empress who has wronged you.”

That night, Xiao’an stood with her back to her, speaking in a hoarse voice.

“Mother Empress, let me stay by your side! You haven’t wronged me. It’s your daughter who owes you a debt of nurturing. Please let me stay by your side. Don’t mind my background.”

She refused to leave, crying until she nearly fainted.

But Xiao’an remained resolute and never turned around.

She later understood she had to leave. Only then could Xiao’an feel at peace. This former empress who had once dominated the harem understood that their hiding place would probably be discovered by the court sooner or later. She didn’t want her to die alongside them.

If her prince consort could once hide greatly in court, today she could certainly hide small in the marketplace.

So, reluctantly, she still shouldered her pack and left. Xiao’an had Aunt Hong leave with her, but she found a way to shake off Aunt Hong halfway and left a letter asking her to return and care for her mother.

She couldn’t take away the only loyal servant from beside her mother empress.

She returned to the capital once again.

She had indeed heard news of Suzhen from her two brothers, but she had lied to everyone—it wasn’t Xiao’an who sent her to pay respects to Lian Yu and search for Wei Wuyan.

Suzhen had given Lian Jie and others several silk pouches, one of which clearly stated that no matter what happened in the capital, the royal family members must never return, because there would certainly be traps waiting.

Therefore, even though Lian Yu’s corpse was humiliated and everyone in the valley was grief-stricken to the point of despair, they all stayed hidden, not emerging again lightly before restoration was hopeful.

She had returned because she had no other friends in this world. She missed Suzhen terribly and couldn’t let go of that brother who had been closer than blood relatives. She wanted to see them one last time before returning to common life. It would be even better if she could find Wei Wuyan.

And perhaps, deep in her heart, she still secretly harbored a wish—she still wanted to see that man she loved deeply but who actually despised her extremely.

Yesterday, when she saw Wuqing and Little Zhou by the lakeside, she made her decision.

She would redeem her mother’s and the Lian family’s sins and let them find fulfillment.

“Little Zhou’s face is a potential danger. Also, you all hope your boss and the girl he loves can be well together, don’t you?” After she explained her origins to Iron Hand and the others, they who had been strongly opposed were moved by her words.

People, after all, have personal feelings and preferences for those close or distant.

With their cooperation, the rest became simple. She still took Suzhen to the forest as planned, and after several people knocked Suzhen unconscious from behind, they turned to the lakeside. Little Zhou in the tent never expected they would come and was caught off guard when Iron Hand and Ah Qing pressed her sleeping acupoint. Before leaving, she searched Little Zhou’s body for the antidote, lit the incense, changed into Suzhen’s clothes and lay down, silently imagining Suzhen’s usual demeanor and voice, then extinguished the candle…

Later, she heard heavy footsteps, sounds of searching on the table, and smelled strong alcohol.

“Don’t light the candle. I’m afraid I’ll regret it. But after tonight, I hope we two can be well from now on…”

Li Zhaoting’s hand stopped reaching for the candle and walked over… In that painful chaos, she vaguely heard sounds of fighting from outside. Li Zhaoting wanted to get up to check, but she pulled him back with trembling hands…