Lian Yu clasped both hands and said: “Speak clearly.”

The reporter was indeed Qinglong, who immediately replied: “Master, it was the Court of Judicial Review’s Zhuiming and Tieshou who came to the palace to report. This person is still waiting outside, saying that Judge Li was preparing to enter the palace regarding Noble Consort Yu’s matter. However, everyone waited in the hall for a long time without seeing her come out in court dress, so they went to her room to find her, only to discover she had vanished, leaving only a letter on the desk.”

“Xuanwu accompanies me to the Court of Judicial Review. Qinglong, Baihu, you two prepare your men and must depart for the Court of Judicial Review within half an hour. When the time comes, you two will separate. Baihu goes first, leading men to lie in ambush near the Court of Judicial Review. Qinglong…”

Lian Yu’s eyes were incredibly dark as he issued orders. Finally, he whispered a few words in Qinglong’s ear.

Qinglong gritted his teeth and replied: “Yes.”

“Is Your Majesty really going to agree to the criminals’ demands?”

Ming Yanchu and the others all looked alarmed. Qinglong also smiled bitterly—this was truly a case where not reporting wasn’t right, but reporting also wasn’t right!

“Oh, you won’t even listen to my words now?” Lian Yu’s voice suddenly turned cold.

“This servant (subordinate) wouldn’t dare.” Everyone was startled and quickly responded.

“Lian Yu, don’t go…”

Shuangcheng’s voice trembled lightly, carrying a hint of anger. She had even called him by name directly. However, Lian Yu was resolute. He looked at her deeply and said to Ming Yanchu: “Take good care of the young lady here.” Before Ming Yanchu could even respond, he had already left with Xuanwu.

“Tiger, wait a moment.”

Time was of the essence. Everyone in the room was about to leave, while Ming Yanchu was thinking of saying a few comforting words to Shuangcheng. Shuangcheng bit her lip slightly, laughed mockingly, and suddenly called out to stop Baihu.

Baihu had been pressing his lips tightly together. Hearing this, he was slightly stunned: “Miss?”

Qinglong was a person of action and didn’t wait for Baihu, striding out decisively to mobilize troops.

Court of Judicial Review, everyone gathered in Su Zhen’s room.

Lian Yu took the letter Wu Qing handed him.

“For His Majesty’s Personal Attention.”

Just a few words on the envelope.

The handwriting was square and round, with concealed brushstrokes. Lian Yu glanced at it and slowly said: “The edges show no sharpness—this person is no simple character.”

“The criminal is indeed formidable, spiriting away our person right under our noses without anyone knowing. Your Majesty must be careful.” Xiao Zhou responded hatefully.

Zhuiming beside them was scratching his head and ears, frantic with worry: “It must be those assassins from the mausoleum last time. Huaisu was going to handle Noble Consort Yu’s case, so they took her away to prevent the case from proceeding.”

Wu Qing’s eyes flashed slowly as he said: “I’m afraid they’re not the same group. If they wanted to stop the investigation, it would be more efficient to kill her outright rather than kidnap her. Besides, he wants Your Majesty to exchange yourself for her.”

“His target is Your Majesty. Xiao Zhou is right—Your Majesty must be extremely careful. That day when Huaisu was attacked at the imperial mausoleum, Your Majesty, concerned for Huaisu’s safety, must have already stationed people around the Court of Judicial Review to protect her. With imperial guards outside and us inside, yet the opponent could still kidnap someone in broad daylight under everyone’s watch—their methods are extraordinarily skilled.”

Lian Yu looked at him with obvious appreciation: “After the imperial mausoleum attack, I did indeed station people outside the Court of Judicial Review to watch and protect Li Huaisu.”

As he spoke, Lian Qin entered with five or six plainclothes men. Everyone understood this was Lian Yu’s arrangement. They could see that each had sharp, alert eyes—clearly internal martial arts masters.

Lian Qin asked grimly: “Did you see any suspicious people entering or leaving today?” The lead man looked ashamed and suddenly knelt before Lian Yu: “Reporting to Master, we were incompetent. Apart from the two constable gentlemen, we saw no one else enter or leave.”

He was referring to Zhuiming and Tieshou, who had just gone to the palace to report.

Whether it was Lian Yu’s group or the Court of Judicial Review people, hearing this made their expressions even more grave.

From killing people in locked prison cells to kidnapping someone from a residence without a trace—how was this accomplished? Whether the prison or the Court of Judicial Review, everyone had already searched thoroughly—there were no secret passages. Who was behind this? Quan Feitong or Wei Chenghui? Or was there an even more formidable enemy lurking behind, using Li Huaisu as a gambit to take Lian Yu’s life?

Ming Yanchu had just begun when Lian Yu said: “There’s no time for analysis.”

His pale, slender fingers gripped the letter tightly.

The ink on the paper was elegant:

—If you want Judge Li to live, please have Your Majesty come to the Qufeng Slope horse-tying pavilion at the first quarter of the You hour for an exchange. If Your Majesty comes as in a celebration, bringing thousands of soldiers, then you’ll conveniently collect a corpse with great fanfare. The same applies if you’re late.

Qufeng Slope was a desolate place outside the capital. For several li around, human habitation was sparse, with weeds growing waist-high. It was a famous mass grave site.

If Lian Yu went there, it would be like walking into a trap. Not knowing the enemy’s numbers or deployment, his chances were grim.

Lian Qin became anxious: “Sixth Brother, this is a trap. We can’t knowingly walk into a trap, can we?”

Though the Court of Judicial Review members’ eyes held pleading looks, they also knew this journey was extremely dangerous. None spoke up. Zhuiming was talkative, but Xiao Zhou raised her eyebrows sternly and firmly covered his mouth.

Lian Yu said nothing, his gaze sweeping over them with terrifying fierceness. Lian Qin was startled and waved his sleeve: “Ai!”

Lian Yu said: “This person probably won’t immediately take my life, otherwise they could just demand I commit suicide. We still have a chance. Ninth Brother, if I truly die, it won’t be too late for you to grieve and sigh then! At that time, convey my oral decree to let your Seventh Brother ascend the throne.”

“Sixth Brother, you!” Lian Qin gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening.

“Your Majesty…” At this moment, Xuanwu suddenly spoke. Lian Yu seemed to know what he wanted to say and quickly interrupted sternly: “No.”

Everyone was momentarily puzzled, not knowing what Xuanwu wanted to say, only hearing Lian Yu say: “Time is running short, depart immediately. Upon reaching the destination, the criminals will probably demand I go alone. Everyone listen to orders. This mission will divide into three groups: the Court of Judicial Review members and Lian Qin leading several skilled fighters will accompany me openly, intended to confront the enemy directly; Baihu will follow secretly—this group will still serve as decoys, making the enemy think they’ve intercepted our backup. These two groups will likely face combat. Xuanwu will find a way to take a small path from another direction, lying in ambush and acting as opportunities arise. This group is the key, meant to rescue both me and Huaisu.”

“Yes.” Everyone responded in unison, their spirits tragic and angry, filled with fierce determination, with the resolve to fight to the death.

In the capital’s autumn and winter, darkness fell particularly early.

When Lian Yu’s group reached Qufeng Slope, the sun was setting. Soon it would be completely dark all around. Though distant villages had lamplight preventing the mass grave from being pitch black, nightfall would still bring greater difficulties for any rescue attempt.

At this time, there was still a quarter-hour until the appointed time in the letter. Everyone looked around and saw the setting sun like blood, weeds growing wild and dense, reaching waist-high. A dilapidated, mottled pavilion stood quietly in their midst, with broken bones and rotting corpses scattered beneath their feet.

The pavilion held only the golden light of the setting sun—completely empty.

The pavilion was called “horse-tying” as it was an old courier route site where military travelers and messengers would stop to rest their horses. Now times had changed, this was no longer the old courier route, and no horses were tethered outside the pavilion. Xiao Zhou had sharp eyes and pointed at the pavilion pillar from afar: “Your Majesty, something seems to be posted on the pavilion.”

Here, Tieshou and Zhuiming had already leaped out, making several aerial bounds to tear a paper slip from the pavilion, then returned to respectfully hand the item to Lian Yu.

Lian Yu took it and saw written: “Two li from the horse-tying pavilion is a shrine. Please have Your Majesty go there alone. Judge Li is in the shrine. If Your Majesty brings others, the final result remains the same—only the living become the dead. I am watching from here. Your Majesty’s every word and action are in my sight.”

Everyone’s hearts sank. Lian Yu had already thrown down the letter: “I’ll go alone. Don’t follow.”

“Sixth Brother!”

“Your Majesty…”

Everyone was alarmed, but Lian Yu’s gaze was proudly resolute—absolutely non-negotiable. With no choice, everyone could only watch helplessly as the blue-robed figure with fluttering sleeves quickly disappeared into the dense weeds.

“No, this won’t do… If the Empress Dowager finds out, she’ll definitely kill me!”

Lian Qin had been clenching his fists, restraining himself. Seeing Lian Yu’s figure vanish completely, he seemed stung by something, shuddered all over, then roared fiercely: “It’s not that I don’t want to save Li Huaisu, but Sixth Brother’s safety affects the entire realm. If something happens to him, the Great Zhou will surely fall into chaos. No matter what, I must stop him!”

“I’m sorry!” He said to the Court of Judicial Review members, then shouted sternly: “All guards, follow me!”

The men he brought were all Lian Yu’s personal guards, loyal only to Lian Yu and extraordinarily faithful. But concerning Lian Yu’s life, everyone couldn’t help but feel restless. When Lian Qin raised his arm and shouted, they immediately responded.

Wu Qing and the others exchanged glances. Xiao Zhou took a deep breath and said: “If Huaisu were here, she absolutely couldn’t watch Your Majesty take such risks alone. I agree with Ninth Master.”

Zhuiming was sweating profusely, anxious and angry: “No, we can’t abandon Huaisu. You all—”

He spoke and suddenly froze, as Wu Qing and Tieshou had moved behind Lian Qin.

Zhuiming glared at everyone angrily. However, before he could speak, they heard several “thud thud” sounds. Several guards in front cried out and fell successively. Two used their bodies to shield Lian Qin, while Xiao Zhou behind them reacted quickly, leaping forward. Not caring about disrespecting the dead, she forcefully kicked aside two corpses and pulled Lian Qin back.

Looking around, the fallen men had already died from multiple arrows.

Wu Qing reacted extremely quickly, having already leaped several zhang away into the weeds, where sword flashes could be seen as he battled four or five masked men. These people all carried crossbows.

At this moment, the sun withdrew its last ray of light.

It was dark.

[Author’s note: From the later period of “Alluring” to “Legend,” many things happened in real life. These past two months, relatives have been ill and hospitalized with conditions that aren’t very good. I’ve been running around caring for them, which is why updates slowed down in November. I had wanted to make up for missed updates this month, but I’m afraid it will have to be postponed. I didn’t want to tell everyone about this, because the author just had surgery not long ago, and now encountering such things, I was afraid everyone would think it was an excuse. I’ve been struggling to update for two months, but recently I really couldn’t hold on and had to stop for a few days, so I had to tell everyone. If everyone doesn’t see updates for several days during this period, it’s because my situation here is really not good, but I will definitely return to updating. Thank you to some friends in the comments section for their understanding and encouragement. I have nothing to repay you with except thanks.]