Lian Que walked over with measured steps.

He cupped his hands in salute. “Your Lordship.”

The Marquis of Nanguo’s originally gentle gaze gradually disappeared, and his expression became somewhat heavy.

He turned and headed toward the artificial mountain.

Walking extremely slowly!

Lian Que silently followed behind him.

The two walked one in front of the other!

Neither spoke.

After walking a short distance, they reached a place where no one was around.

Only then did the Marquis of Nanguo stop and turn to ask him, “Has Minister Chen already reached a safe place?”

Lian Que replied, “This subordinate has already sent someone to escort him to the previously arranged location. The entire journey was safe with no incidents. By this time, he should have already arrived. Your Lordship can rest assured.”

“That’s good!” The Marquis of Nanguo’s thoughts were heavy, as if pondering something.

After a moment—

He said, “During this period, we still need to continue sending people to protect Minister Chen. We’ll discuss further after the storm completely passes.”

“This subordinate understands!”

“Caution must be the priority.”

“Understood! This subordinate has also followed Your Lordship’s instructions and continued sending people to the other ministers’ residences. Before anything happens, we’ll escort them away one by one as a precaution!”

The Marquis of Nanguo nodded!

He continued walking.

Finally stopping by the lake behind the artificial mountain.

Two silhouettes reflected on the water’s surface, gently rippling with the waves.

Just like the current political situation—turbulent and unstable.

Lian Que hesitated several times, wanting to speak.

He wanted to say something but didn’t know how to say it.

Although the Marquis of Nanguo didn’t turn back to look at him, he seemed to know he had something to say, so he glanced sideways and asked, “Is there something else?”

Lian Que withdrew from his sleeve a jade token carved with the character “Nan” and presented it, saying, “When this subordinate rescued Minister Chen that night, we encountered another group of people in the ruined temple. When they were about to silence us permanently, this token fell from one of them. This subordinate took a look and saw it was Your Lordship’s token, so we immediately retreated.”

When the Marquis of Nanguo saw this token, he was extremely shocked.

He had two of them in total!

Two years ago, he had given one of them as a token of gratitude to a woman from Dalin.

He took the token and didn’t come back to his senses for a long time.

“What did that person look like?”

Based on his recollection, Lian Que described, “Fair complexion, dressed entirely in gray clothing, not tall in stature, even somewhat thin and small.”

“Was it a man?”

“Yes.”

That wasn’t right, because his benefactor was a woman wearing a veil.

The Marquis of Nanguo asked again, “Did she have a scar on her face?”

He remembered that the woman had a very long scar on her face.

It was nighttime then, and it was raining. The firelight in the ruined temple wasn’t bright. Although he couldn’t clearly see the woman’s features, he very clearly remembered that the woman had a scar running from the corner of her eye to near her jaw.

Like a centipede crawling across her face.

Lian Que shook his head. “No, that person had no scar on their face, and among those traveling with them, there were no women or people with scars on their faces.”

So that person was definitely not his benefactor!

The Marquis of Nanguo looked at the token in his hand, extremely puzzled.

Why would the token he had given to his benefactor be in the possession of a man?

Could it be… the man who traveled with his benefactor back then—Jingrong?

Lian Que was confused and asked, “Your Lordship, your two tokens never leave your person. Why would that person have your token? Who exactly are they?”

“It’s a long story.”

“This subordinate would like to hear the details.”

The Marquis of Nanguo was silent for a while before saying, “Do you remember that two years ago, my wife and I went to Dalin?”

“I remember. Back then, Your Lordship turned to commerce to make the King of Huyi lower his guard against you, which is why you traveled everywhere.”

“That’s right. At that time, I went to Dalin for business, and my wife insisted on accompanying me the entire way because she was worried. Who could have known that my wife’s old illness would suddenly relapse, and she passed away on the road. My not-yet-full-term child also died in the womb as a result. Then on the way back, we suddenly encountered heavy rain and could only take shelter in a ruined temple. Inside, I encountered a group of people from Dalin, including a young lady wearing a veil. She determined that my child was not dead in my wife’s womb and performed a cesarean section on her, which saved my child. She even gave him the name A’Mo.”

After hearing this, Lian Que was extremely shocked, though his face showed no sign of it. He only said, “I had never heard Your Lordship mention this. So that’s what happened.”

“At the time, the most valuable thing I had on me was this token, so I gave it to her as a token of thanks. I also promised her that if she ever came to Huyi in the future, she could simply bring the token to find me. I just never expected that after this parting, it would be two years, and A’Mo has grown so much.”

“If we follow what Your Lordship said, that person is definitely not her. He was a man, and he had no scar on his face.”

“But this token cannot be fake!” The Marquis of Nanguo speculated, “It’s already been two years. Perhaps the scar on her face has healed, or perhaps for convenience in her activities, she’s disguised herself as a man—that’s also possible.”

“Now that Your Lordship puts it that way, I do think that man did indeed seem like a woman. His mannerisms and demeanor both seemed somewhat feminine.” Lian Que then felt immensely guilty and immediately begged forgiveness. “If she really is Your Lordship’s benefactor, this subordinate nearly committed a grave error.”

“What do you mean?”

“After this subordinate sent Minister Chen away, I followed that group, intending to investigate their identities. Unexpectedly, I alerted the enemy, arousing their suspicion. We came to blows at the inn, and I even injured one of their people. Fortunately there were no fatalities, and they escaped. This subordinate didn’t dare pursue further and immediately rushed back on horseback to report.”

The Marquis of Nanguo merely spoke in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the water’s surface not far away.

His palm tightened, gripping the token in his hand.

“Whether that person is my benefactor or not is still uncertain. After all, based solely on your description, I cannot be sure. However, this token won’t lie.”

“Your Lordship, I believe they’re also heading to Gaoding. If there are no delays on the road, they should arrive in the next couple of days.”

Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Nanguo immediately instructed, “Then for the next few days, pay close attention at the city gate. As soon as you see them enter the city, report immediately.”

“Yes!”

“Also, remember, you absolutely must not leak any trace of this rescue operation for Minister Chen. Otherwise, it will implicate many people, and the death toll won’t be just one or two.”

“This subordinate knows. We didn’t leave any traces, so there will be no impact on Your Lordship. Moreover, the King has always believed Your Lordship poses no threat, so he won’t be on guard against you.”

“But we must guard against all contingencies.”

“Yes.”

Over these years, the Marquis of Nanguo had played the fool to catch the tiger, deceiving even the King of Huyi.

It was precisely because he concealed his edge and constantly resided within Gaoding city that he hadn’t aroused the King of Huyi’s suspicion. Otherwise, once the King of Huyi decided to go on a killing spree, he would be the first person to lose his life.

But how could that ruthless monarch know that the Marquis of Nanguo would never forget that tragic scene in the imperial palace over twenty years ago! His own younger sister had disappeared with his nephew. For years, he had used commerce as a pretext to search everywhere, all for that sliver of hope that might not even exist.