Upon hearing these words, everyone was stunned.

Have His Majesty accompany Zhai Qiguang to the capital? But given Zhai Qiguang’s loyalty to the Jin’an Emperor, once they left Sichuan, even if he had to risk his own life, he would protect Zhu Nanxian in fleeing far away.

To put the Chief Grand Secretary’s words more bluntly—wasn’t he saying that he, Liu Yun, would shoulder all the consequences here alone, allowing Zhai Qiguang to escort the Jin’an Emperor away first?

Before Zhu Nanxian could answer, Magistrate Zhang said: “Chief Grand Secretary, the Yongji Emperor will arrive at Jinzhou at daybreak. Do you think—”

“No need to say more.” Liu Chaoming said flatly.

He glanced again at Zhai Di. Zhai Di understood and immediately ordered his personal guards to gather one hundred soldiers. He walked before Zhu Nanxian and Su Jin: “Your Majesty, please. Lord Su, please.”

The rain had grown sparse. Zhu Nanxian glanced at Su Jin, and together with her said to Liu Chaoming: “Take care.” They then boarded the carriage.

There were no profound thanks.

If not for the various disputes of the past, how would they have reached this day? That Liu Yun was willing to help—ultimately, it was also out of consideration for the current situation, and couldn’t be counted as a great favor.

Though all the officials were alarmed to see Lord Zhai so brazenly sending the Jin’an Emperor away, given that this was the Chief Grand Secretary’s decision, none dared to question it.

After a short while, a minor official led over a carriage and said to Liu Chaoming and Shu Wenlan: “Lord Liu, Lord Shu, His Majesty will arrive at the south gate of Jinzhou Prefecture at the hour of mao. If you two lords return to the Reception Temple now, I fear you won’t make it in time. Why not proceed immediately to the south gate to receive the imperial carriage?”

Shu Wenlan smiled: “This subordinate will follow Lord Liu’s lead.”

Liu Chaoming neither agreed nor disagreed, but stepped onto the carriage first.

Imperial Censor Li Qiong was already waiting inside the carriage. When Liu Chaoming saw him, he made no sound. Only after the carriage started moving did he speak: “Are matters settled?”

Li Qiong said: “In response, my lord, just as you predicted, before His Majesty entered Shu, he had already ordered his accompanying personal guards to investigate the Embroidered Uniform Guards in Shu. I fear that today, as soon as he sees you, my lord, he will demand accountability.”

But Liu Chaoming said: “This official isn’t asking about that.”

Li Qiong was stunned, seeming to recall something before speaking again: “This subordinate has already followed your lordship’s instructions and sent word to Left Army Governor’s Office Administrator Liang, ordering him to set up barriers on the official road from Jinzhou to the Jianmen Pass area to intercept Lord Zhai’s carriage leaving Sichuan.”

He paused slightly here: “My lord, this subordinate doesn’t understand—since you ordered Lord Zhai to escort the Jin’an Emperor away, why have Administrator Liang intercept them halfway? If you don’t wish for the Jin’an Emperor to leave Shu, wouldn’t it be enough to simply not help?”

Liu Chaoming glanced at him: “What does it matter to this official whether Zhu Nanxian can leave Shu or not?”

He then prompted: “What do you think Shu Wenlan came for today?”

Li Qiong was still completely confused.

Lord Shu? Hadn’t Lord Shu come to prevent the Jin’an Emperor from leaving Sichuan?

He wanted the news that Zhu Jin’an was still alive to spread and quickly reach Zhu Yushen’s ears, making the Yongji Emperor suspicious of Liu Yun, and then severely punish this Chief Grand Secretary.

It was precisely for this reason that the day before, Shu Wenlan had even sent a trusted confidant to inform Zhu Yushen’s personal bodyguard Que Wu that both Zhu Nanxian and Su Shiyu were in Sichuan.

Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration struck.

That’s right—Left Army Governor’s Office Administrator Liang had once shared a brotherly bond with Que Wu.

“Does my lord mean to make His Majesty think that it was Commander Que who privately gave orders for Administrator Liang to intercept the Jin’an Emperor and Lord Su’s carriage?”

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

“Commander Que has followed at His Majesty’s side for so many years. In order to frame you, my lord, Lord Shu has gone so far as to target someone close to His Majesty. This will surely provoke the dragon’s fury.”

Liu Chaoming glanced at Li Qiong again: “In your eyes, is His Majesty so easily deceived?”

Li Qiong was startled.

Was his thinking still too shallow?

Liu Chaoming said flatly: “Que Wu is loyal to His Majesty. I fear that the very day he received Shu Wenlan’s letter, he had already presented it before the throne.”

“Both this official and Shu Yu know that Zhu Nanxian is in Shu—how could His Majesty not know?”

“Knowing but not showing it—why?”

“Because His Majesty has other calculations in mind?” Li Qiong picked up the thread.

“Therefore, His Majesty has long known the Jin’an Emperor is alive but doesn’t want this matter to blow up, so he suppressed it without comment.”

“However, once Administrator Liang intercepts the Jin’an Emperor’s carriage, Lord Shu will certainly seize the opportunity to petition His Majesty, requesting that His Majesty make arrangements for the Jin’an Emperor, using this to target you, my lord.”

“But what Lord Shu hasn’t considered is that in doing so, he actually goes against the imperial will.”

Li Qiong said this and pondered even more deeply.

“Going against the imperial will is still secondary. More importantly, His Majesty’s entry into Sichuan was originally a secret. Even you, my lord, holding the position of Chief Grand Secretary, only received the confidential letter late last night. Yet Lord Shu was able to deliver his letter accurately into the hands of His Majesty’s personal bodyguard a full day ahead of everyone else, indicating that he is thoroughly familiar with even His Majesty’s movements.”

“His Majesty handles myriad affairs daily and might be too busy to bother with the matter of him secretly spying on the Son of Heaven’s movements. But if Lord Shu also goes against the imperial will and tries to use His Majesty’s hand to seize the opportunity to eliminate you, my lord, it will inevitably make people think that Lord Shu is too powerful, wanting to manipulate even the Son of Heaven.”

Everything has its limits; going too far is as bad as falling short.

Liu Chaoming said flatly: “This official did mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If His Majesty demands accountability and punishment, it’s only natural. At worst, this official will no longer serve as regent or hold the position of Chief Grand Secretary. What’s wrong with returning to being a seventh-rank censor?”

But hasn’t Shu Yu’s hand reached just as far? Does he think that this time he can get what he wishes?

If there’s to be scheming, no one should expect a good outcome.

Outside, the rain continued unabated, merging with the morning mist into one expanse.

Li Qiong sat quietly for a moment. If not for Liu Yun’s guidance, no matter what, he never would have imagined that before coming to the inn last night, Lord Liu’s casual remark “Send someone to find Administrator Liang and have him intercept Zhai Qiguang’s carriage on the Jianmen official road” contained such deep calculations.

“But, my lord, you went to such lengths to protect Lord Su back then. Now she must remain in Sichuan because of this—won’t she fall into danger once again?”

After this question, there was a stretch of silence.

After a long while, Liu Chaoming said coldly: “What this official can calculate, Su Shiyu may not fail to calculate. If she can calculate it, she has ways to respond. Even if she’s temporarily trapped, it’s nothing. In this world, after all, she’s not the only clever person.”

From Jinzhou Prefecture to Jianmen Pass, at the fastest it took one day, at the slowest two or three days. Once inside the pass, if the weather was bad, it would take another ten days to half a month. Because they needed to hurry, by daybreak, Zhai Di had withdrawn half the soldiers.

Everyone rested briefly at the relay station. All had words pent up inside them, and seeing the guards weren’t so strict, they began to speak.

Jiang Jiutong was the first to ask: “Master Chao, did you… already know that this Young Master Su was actually the famous Lord Su, Su Shiyu?”

Earlier, before boarding the carriage, Su Jin had called Chao Qing aside and personally explained things to him.

Chao Qing couldn’t very well conceal it and had to say: “Yes, she and I are old friends of many years. This reunion comes after seven or eight years of not seeing each other.”

“Then… what about that one?”

Jiang Jiutong no longer dared to refer to Nanting as a guard.

He looked around, voicing the confusion in everyone’s hearts.

“Did you also know… that person’s identity beforehand?”

Chao Qing shook his head and answered truthfully: “No. To be honest with everyone, although I guessed that person was an old acquaintance of Lord Su and that their identity was extraordinary, I never made the connection… When I later learned the truth, I too was extremely shocked.”

He pondered for a moment and added: “Since Lord Zhai has made clear that the matters here cannot be divulged to outsiders, we should all act as if we know nothing of this. I hope that going forward, everyone will, like me, mention it no more.”

At these words, Yao Youcai was heard to snort coldly.

“Master Chao makes it sound so easy. You and Lord Su are old acquaintances. Even after he was stripped of office and fell on hard times, he still came thousands of miles to Shu to visit you—clearly the friendship runs deep. If anything happens to you, naturally Lord Su will help shoulder it. What about us? If we suffer disaster, who will care?”

The others didn’t understand: “County Magistrate Yao, we’re going to the capital to testify about the Cuiwei Township mulberry field case. How would we suffer disaster?”

Clearly it was he, Yao Youcai, who wanted to seize the townspeople’s mulberry fields. How was it that now when he spoke, he sounded like the good person?

Having offended both Lord Su and the Jin’an Emperor, Yao Youcai was now throwing caution to the wind.

He lowered his voice disdainfully: “How is it that you have no brains? In this world, there has only ever been one emperor. What is that one over there called? The former emperor. To put it bluntly, the former emperor is—”

He pointed his hand toward the sky, not saying that extremely disrespectful phrase aloud.

“They say one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. How can one realm have two emperors?”

“What kind of place is the capital? That’s the home of our Yongji Emperor. Now that the Yongji Emperor isn’t in the capital, who is the number one figure under him? Have you heard?”

Everyone looked at each other: “Isn’t it… precisely that Chief Grand Secretary from the inn earlier?”

Yao Youcai was exasperated: “Besides Lord Liu?”

Old Man Wu said: “Does Lord Yao mean the Duke Shen in the capital?”

“Exactly.” Yao Youcai said.

“Besides being a first-rank duke, Minister of Revenue, and Cabinet Minister, Lord Shen has one more crucial identity—he’s the Empress’s younger brother, the current court’s National Uncle. Tell me, given his relationship with the Yongji Emperor, can he tolerate the Jin’an Emperor arriving alive in the capital? What if the Jin’an Emperor wants to compete with the Yongji Emperor for the throne? What then?”

“Lord Zhai understands this clearly. I fear that once we leave Sichuan, he’ll escort the Jin’an Emperor and Lord Su far away. At that time, our whole group will instead become the criminals responsible for the Jin’an Emperor’s disappearance. When we reach the capital and Duke Shen demands accountability, even preserving our lives will be difficult.”

Yao Youcai said this and glanced at Chao Qing: “Master Chao, you’re well-read. Tell me, is this official’s assessment correct?”

Though Chao Qing had corresponded with Su Jin over these years, because Su Jin rarely mentioned personal matters, he didn’t know how her private relationship with Shen Xi stood.

In outsiders’ eyes, Shen Xi had only been Minister of Revenue during the Jin’an reign. Later when Yongji succeeded, he didn’t fall into difficulty like Su Jin but instead was promoted to duke. Combined with being Shen Jun’s younger brother, he seemed more like one of Zhu Yushen’s trusted ministers.

Yao Youcai’s words were well-reasoned. Chao Qing couldn’t refute them and could only remain silent.

Though Shuxiang and Yun Xi knew the entanglements here were complex, to avoid exposing their identities, they too could only keep their mouths tightly shut.

So all the people actually believed Yao Youcai’s words and asked one after another: “Then in Lord Yao’s view, do we have no path to survival?”

Yao Youcai swept his gaze over everyone but didn’t speak, once again putting on airs.

Along this journey he had already thought things through thoroughly. He had indeed planned to use the new policy to seize Cuiwei Township’s mulberry fields, but he had also realized that the two before him who wanted to file charges against him—Lord Su and the Jin’an Emperor—though their identities were prestigious, were also clay Buddhas crossing the river. As long as he clung tightly to the great tree that was Duke Shen, no matter the wind and rain, he couldn’t be harmed in the slightest.

Yao Youcai cleared his throat: “To be honest, this official has some private connections with Lord Shen in the capital. As long as you all—”

Before he could finish, Zhai Di over there had finished consulting with Zhu Nanxian and Su Jin and sent soldiers over to summon them to depart.

The soldier said: “Lord Su has specially vacated her own carriage, inviting the women, children, and young ones to ride. Everyone hurry—don’t keep the lords waiting.”

Hearing this, Chao Qing shifted his gaze and indeed saw Su Jin descending from the carriage. She didn’t board Zhai Di’s carriage but instead shared one with Zhu Nanxian.

Surrounded by mountains on all sides, by noon the spring rain in Sichuan finally ceased. Below the floating clouds, undulating green stretched endlessly.

Going further forward, they had already reached the mountain pass narrows.

From afar, a line of soldiers could be seen blocking the road. Zhai Di’s brow furrowed. They hadn’t yet reached Jianmen Pass—how could someone already be guarding the official road?

But he didn’t panic. He glanced at the minor official beside him: “Go find out who’s there.”

He then turned his horse around and came before Su Jin and Zhu Nanxian’s carriage, saying in a low voice: “Lord Su, your guess was correct.”

Su Jin lifted the carriage curtain and raised her eyes to look. Seeing the soldiers, her expression darkened slightly: “As expected, they’re from the Governor’s Office.”

Last night when she went to the Reception Temple, she hadn’t failed to catch the implication in Liu Chaoming’s words: “Do you think you can still leave now?”

In Liu Yun’s actions, he always calculated a hundred steps ahead. Having so brazenly let her and Zhu Nanxian leave today, it was impossible he had no follow-up move.

She had long anticipated someone would block them on the road—she just hadn’t expected it so soon.

The minor official who had gone to inquire returned: “Reporting to Lord Su, Lord Zhai—the one blocking the road ahead is Left Army Governor’s Office Administrator Liang.”

A Governor’s Office administrator held sixth rank.

Su Jin turned to ask Zhu Nanxian: “Has he ever seen Your Majesty?”

Zhu Nanxian said: “I know of this person. In earlier years he followed under Que Wu and once led troops on the northern frontier. Seven years ago, due to battle injuries, he was assigned to the Left Army Governor’s Office as administrator. He shouldn’t have seen me.”

If Zhu Qiyue hadn’t wanted to transfer this person to Lingnan back then and approached both him and Zhu Yushen about it, Zhu Nanxian probably wouldn’t remember him either.

Su Jin considered briefly. Liu Yun’s purpose was merely to use Administrator Liang to intercept their party in order to deal with Shu Wenlan.

But neither Liu Yun nor Shu Wenlan possessed far-seeing eyes and wind-hearing ears. How many of their people were intercepted, how many escaped, who was intercepted, and who escaped—that was another matter entirely.

Su Jin nodded: “That’s good. Proceed according to plan.”

Zhai Di made a gesture and led the party toward the mountain pass narrows.

Reaching the barrier, Administrator Liang came forward first and performed a salute. Seeing clearly that the arrivals included Zhai Qiguang, he said: “Lord Zhai, last night this subordinate received a secret report saying that among the people you’re escorting to the capital today, there are hidden criminals. This subordinate must conduct a thorough investigation. I ask that Lord Zhai have all persons come forward for household registration verification one by one.”