The person who entered was named Lin Feng.

He had a robust build and appeared extremely sturdy, exuding the bearing of a great general.

That face covered with a full beard was stern and solemn, carrying the imposing dignity and loyalty of a loyal warrior. Despite his dark complexion, the scar on his forehead was still clearly visible, positioned squarely across his forehead, adding several degrees of fierce malevolence. Those pitch-black eyes revealed an even fiercer determination.

He held in his hand the longsword that never left his side, and bowed to Wen Panshi.

“General.”

Yet he received no response!

From the moment he entered, Wen Panshi’s face had been full of displeasure. After a long pause, he finally spoke, “Vice General Lin, do you know what you’ve done wrong?”

“This subordinate doesn’t know.”

“Who gave you the order to go kill people?” Even though his voice was low, it was resonant and powerful.

Lin Feng replied, “No one issued such an order.”

“Bang!”

Wen Panshi slammed the table and rose, taking two or three steps forward. He swiftly drew the sword from Lin Feng’s hand. A flash of silver light cut through the air, and in the blink of an eye, the blade was pointed at Lin Feng’s throat.

Just a fraction away, and it would pierce into his throat.

“Father!”

Wen Xian immediately stood up, wanting to intervene.

Wen Panshi held that sword, pointing it at Lin Feng’s neck, with no intention of withdrawing the blade. He flipped his wrist upward, and the sword moved accordingly, causing onlookers to break into a cold sweat.

“Do you know your mistake?” he roared.

Lin Feng showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he raised his chin, “This subordinate committed a wrong and deserves punishment. If the General wishes to kill me, then kill me.”

Such stubbornness!

“Though I watched you grow up and promised your father I would look after you, wrong is wrong, and there will be no leniency.”

“But, doesn’t that dog of an emperor bear any fault?”

“You…”

“He killed my father. A son must repay his father’s debts. I want him to taste the pain of losing a loved one too!”

The next moment, Wen Panshi thrust that sword fiercely into his thigh.

Flesh tore open, blood flowing out.

He fell to one knee in pain.

Kneeling before Wen Panshi.

“You are the last of the Lin family bloodline. Before your father died, he grasped my hand and made me promise to raise you to adulthood, so that in the future you could restore our lord’s mandate. Yet you, for the sake of personal vengeance, nearly disrupted the entire plan. Do you not realize that what you hold in your hands is not just your own life, but the lives of those one hundred thousand soldiers? How can your father rest in peace?”

Though he was reproaching him, Wen Panshi’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Lin Feng hung his head low, saying nothing.

“If only you had managed to kill that dog emperor’s son today, that would be one thing, but your men nearly took the young heir’s life!”

Uh!

He suddenly looked up, “Impossible. I already gave the order that the young heir was not to be harmed in the slightest.”

“In the chaos of bloody battle, there is no such thing as ‘in the slightest.’ Death is death, life is life. If the young heir had died, none of us would have any reason to continue living. Do you understand?”

Lin Feng was stunned!

Hanging his head, he pounded his fists hard against the ground, “General, it is this subordinate’s fault. I guarantee absolutely that such a thing will never happen again. Please punish me.”

Wen Panshi’s earlier anger dissipated. He let out a sigh of relief and said, “Fortunately, fortunately the young heir is unharmed.”

After speaking, he sighed heavily, and after a long while—

He handed the sword back to Lin Feng.

“Get up.”

Lin Feng raised his head, and his stubborn eyes finally showed some restraint. He reached out, grasped the sword, forcefully drove it into the ground to help himself up, and then sheathed the sword!

Wen Panshi sat back in his seat, “This matter has caused such a commotion, Prince Rong must have already started investigating. You must handle things cleanly and absolutely cannot let them discover anything.”

“Yes.”

“Alright, you should leave quickly. Don’t attract attention.”

Lin Feng clasped his hands toward him and left.

However, not long after he departed, Wen Xian followed after him.

“You were indeed quite rash today. I know you’ve always wanted to avenge your father, but you can’t rush things. We’ve waited so many years, and now that the young heir has been found, the grand plan is not far off. At this critical juncture, we absolutely cannot make mistakes.”

Lin Feng didn’t look at him and continued walking forward through the secret passage, “You’d better manage yourself properly. These past few years, you’ve been like a puppet.”

Uh!

Wen Xian suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Only when there was no sound around him did Lin Feng realize he had said the wrong thing. Turning to see Wen Xian’s sorrowful expression, he said, “Don’t take what I just said to heart. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s fine. That was all so many years ago anyway.”

“Yes, you should let it go.”

He smiled faintly, “Who hasn’t done a few bastard things in their lifetime?”

Lin Feng patted his shoulder, “Alright, you don’t need to see me off. I’m leaving.”

And he departed.

Wen Xian stood in place. In the dim tunnel, there was only the candlelight placed every few meters along the sides. The weak firelight reflected on his face. This seemingly refined and cultured man, ever since that incident three years ago, had been depressed and melancholy all day long. It had been a long time since anyone had heard his once hearty laughter.

He reached out to touch the flute in his hand, then slowly traced down to the jade pendant hanging from it. After rubbing it for a long while, his expression grew increasingly somber.

…

Early the next morning, Zuo Yao rushed over. Upon learning of last night’s events, his heart leapt to his throat. Throughout the journey, he had been anxious and uneasy, terrified that this Buddha might have been injured.

After all, his official hat and life hung in the balance. If something happened to Jingrong, when the court investigated, he would surely die.

How could he not be alarmed?

But when he saw Jingrong still lively and energetic, his heart finally settled down.

“Your Highness, this official will definitely assign more people to find the assassin. That Your Highness was subjected to assassination is this official’s fault.”

His voice trembled.

Jingrong was in the courtyard handling several bamboo stalks he had just cut down, using a knife to smooth out the burrs. In a short while, they were polished smooth and slick.

He held them in his hands, rubbing them back and forth, and only stopped with satisfaction when he felt they wouldn’t cut his hands.

Glancing at Zuo Yao standing beside him, he said, “Lord Zuo, you needn’t take responsibility for everything. This matter has nothing to do with your Prefectural Office. This prince will handle it himself. You just focus on the relief silver matter.”

“Yes, and also… this official has also worked through the night to compile the records of merchants who have passed through the prefecture in recent years, as Your Highness requested.”

As he spoke, he handed over a ledger he had prepared from his sleeve.

Jingrong took it, flipped through it, then closed it, “You may return first. If there’s anything, this prince will notify you.”

Not giving him a chance to speak, Jingrong turned away, showing him the back of his head.

He went to find Ji Yunshu and gave her the bamboo he had polished, “These next few days, I’ll have Ziqin teach you some self-defense techniques. Use the bamboo as a sword and practice well.”

“I can’t do it,” she refused directly. “If you want me to take a knife and disembowel someone, that’s fine, but as for practicing martial arts, that’s asking a bit much of me.”

First, she wasn’t cut out for it!

Second, her bones were stiff!

She couldn’t learn it.