Li Wenshi could be said to have devoted his utmost effort to this son of his!

If it were in the court hall, where would he have the patience to say all this to people?

But Li Cheng just didn’t understand. He was also very puzzled—why, when Elder Brother was already serving as an official in court with a position that wasn’t small at all, constantly attending the King of Huyi and could be said to be the person closest to and most trusted by the King of Huyi—why did Father still insist on having him enter the court?

His heart was filled with confusion.

He’d originally thought that after causing such a scene at the city gate, he would surely provoke his father’s great anger, and then he could stop being a patrol officer. Who knew Li Wenshi had long seen through his little scheme.

As a result, his plan didn’t succeed!

In the end, Li Wenshi only punished him with two days of confinement.

He didn’t mention revoking his official position at all!

Having just returned, he’d already spent two days in the confinement room.

This “luck” was probably something only he could encounter.

In the following two days, Li Cheng actually became much more obedient. He no longer caused trouble and just stayed in his office, eating and drinking as he should, not missing anything.

Those junior officials working under him didn’t dare say anything either.

Those senior officials also stopped criticizing him! They worried that if they let him go out on patrol, he’d cause some chaotic incident again, and then the senior officials would have to spend time cleaning up after him. Once or twice would be fine, but they feared that fellow would tire of it and do it several more times! The senior officials were all getting old and couldn’t endure such turmoil anymore. Moreover, if it escalated to the King of Huyi, that would be big trouble. So they simply stopped managing him.

Letting him be free and carefree!

Whatever he wanted!

This day.

The weather was cold, with January’s freezing wind whistling.

Judging by the weather, it would probably snow in a few days.

It was said that Huyi’s winter lasted a very long time, with heavy snow falling continuously for three months without stopping.

And Gaoding had the title of “Cold City”!

One could imagine how cold it was.

The city gate remained heavily guarded, and more and more people were entering Gaoding.

A convoy of carriages and horses stopped before even reaching the city gate, waiting in line to enter the city.

Jingrong’s guard, riding on horseback, spoke through the carriage curtain to the person inside, “Young Master, I don’t know if something major has happened in Gaoding, but the security is very tight. There are still many people ahead, so we might not be able to get in for a while.”

Hearing this, Jingrong lifted the curtain and looked out.

Looking ahead.

A long queue had already formed ahead.

The gate had three doors in total, but only the middle one was open, so the inspection speed was much slower.

Fortunately, they weren’t in a hurry.

They would just wait!

Inside the carriage, Ji Yunshu took out her medicine box and said to Bai Yin, “Let me change your dressing first.”

Bai Yin said, “No need to change it so frequently. My wound has already healed quite well.”

“Sword wounds can be serious or minor. It must heal completely.”

“…” Bai Yin.

Unable to refuse Ji Yunshu, Bai Yin had no choice but to obediently extend his hand and let her bandage it.

Song Zhi sat to the side, holding his tattered bundle.

His eyes stared with extreme seriousness at Bai Yin’s wound.

The wound was deep, hadn’t scabbed over, and still showed some blood vessels.

He showed a pained expression.

He asked, “Does it hurt?”

This question earned a smile from Bai Yin.

Song Zhi asked, “What are you smiling at?”

“You scholarly folk are just different from us.”

That phrase again!

Song Zhi just couldn’t understand what exactly was different between himself and them.

Weren’t they all human?

Didn’t they all eat, drink, and relieve themselves the same way?

At this moment at the city gate, guards were inspecting a woman’s personal bundle.

The woman held in her arms a child about one year old.

The child curled up tightly into a ball, and upon seeing those guards in front holding swords and blades, suddenly burst out crying with a “wah.”

The voice was extremely loud!

Those waiting to enter the city all craned their necks to look ahead.

They wondered if the guards had bullied the child!

It was precisely because of this child’s crying that the horse of a merchant in front of Jingrong’s convoy was suddenly startled.

The horse neighed several times, its front hooves rearing high.

This caused several large boxes loaded on the cart to break free from their ropes.

They all fell down.

“Thud, thud, thud” several times!

Deafening sounds.

The lock on one of the large boxes was smashed open, and many large and small stones rolled out.

Two large stones rolled away and collided directly with the wheel of Jingrong’s carriage.

With a loud “bang,” one corner of the wheel was smashed off.

The carriage tilted accordingly!

Inside the carriage, hearing the commotion, Jingrong’s first reaction was to firmly protect Ji Yunshu in his arms.

Bai Yin also grabbed Song Zhi’s clothing with one hand to prevent his body from hitting the carriage wall and getting injured.

The carriage didn’t completely overturn!

But it tilted more than halfway.

The four people safely emerged from inside.

A close call!

The guards all dismounted and asked, “Young Master, are you alright?”

Jingrong shook his head.

Only then did they clearly see those scattered stones on the ground.

Those stones didn’t look like any precious objects, and their shapes were irregular.

If they were to be used for construction, they were too small.

If the court needed them, they should have been transported by the government!

Moreover, why would someone pack these ordinary stones in boxes?

The owner of those stones was an old merchant. He immediately grabbed the reins of the startled horse. After the horse calmed down, he ran very apologetically from the front to Jingrong.

He asked anxiously, “Are you young masters injured?”

“We’re fine!”

“I’m truly sorry. My horse was startled, and the falling items damaged your carriage. I apologize, I apologize…” As the old merchant spoke, he glanced at the carriage wheel damaged by the stone and said very sincerely, “Rest assured, I will bear all losses.”

The old merchant’s attitude was quite good.

Ji Yunshu said, “It doesn’t matter if things are damaged, as long as these stones didn’t injure anyone.”

“I must compensate, I really must.” The merchant withdrew some silver from his sleeve and offered it. “I wonder if this is enough?”

“This…” Ji Yunshu didn’t know what to do.

The next moment, Jingrong accepted the silver. He said to the old merchant, “We’ll accept the silver. Please quickly gather up these stones.”

“Yes, yes.”

The merchant quickly had his assistants pick up the scattered stones back into the box.

At this moment—

The guards watching over the city gate ahead heard the commotion and walked over.

Asking sternly, “What happened?”

The old merchant explained the situation.

The guard frowned. “What a hassle. Hurry up and clean things up. There are many people behind you waiting to enter the city.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” The old merchant bowed repeatedly.

Jingrong also didn’t want to delay any longer and ordered his people to help them move things together.

But—

When one of them picked up a stone, he suddenly froze. He turned to Jingrong and said, “Young Master, this stone seems off.”