“Then…” Yunyi secretly bit her teeth, raised her elegantly curved neck, and said softly, “What if I really were an assassin?”

Her words made Li Shimin show a surprised expression, “Why ask such a question?”

Yunyi smiled and said, “Just asking casually. If I were an assassin, would Second Young Master kill me?”

Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then said in a grave voice, “If you were an assassin, I would personally kill you!”

Yunyi’s hands in her sleeves suddenly clenched tight because of this statement. She suppressed the sourness in her throat and smiled, “Then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Second Young Master.”

Li Shimin chuckled softly, his gentle gaze falling on Yunyi’s beautiful and bright face, “I also don’t hope for such an opportunity.”

To his words, Yunyi responded with a faint smile…

Li Shimin, if only you weren’t Li Yuan’s son, if only you had never harmed Moping, how wonderful that would be. But unfortunately… no matter how well you treat me, we… are destined to be enemies!

The spring scenery at this time was most bright and picturesque. All along the way, willow branches swayed gently, peach blossoms bloomed red amid green willows. Several half-grown children were playing noisily in a peach grove, and a few children were running with an eagle kite, looking quite happy.

Li Shimin watched those children and sighed, “Now only children can still laugh.”

Yunyi knew he was referring to the conscription matter. Indeed, because of this, the entire Honghua Prefecture had a deathly atmosphere. Those faces were either filled with sorrow or numbly expressionless.

“I heard about the memorial the Governor sent to the Emperor. Did the Emperor agree?” Faced with Yunyi’s inquiry, Li Shimin shook his head and said gravely, “I don’t know. No news has come back yet. I hope everything goes smoothly.”

As they were walking toward Wu Laosan’s house, a thin young man appeared outside the Li residence. He walked up to one of the guards and said carefully, “Big brother, I… I want to see the Governor!”

The guard leaned back to avoid the strong fishy smell coming from him, “Who are you? What business do you have with the Governor?”

The person hastily said, “My surname is Fang. People in the village all call me Ajin. I’m a fisherman.” Saying this, he scratched his head, “Actually, I don’t know what business I have with the Governor either.”

The guard said with both anger and amusement, “You little commoner have quite some nerve, actually coming to the Governor’s residence to cause trouble.”

Ajin waved his hands, “It’s not like that. Someone told me to come here to find the Governor, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was about. He just said he knows the Governor. He’s called…”

The guard waited a while without hearing him continue and pressed, “He’s called what?”

Ajin glanced at them and said in a low voice, “He said he could only reveal his name after seeing the Governor.”

“In my opinion, there’s no such person at all.” The guard waved his hand, “Alright, alright, the Governor isn’t in the residence, and you shouldn’t cause trouble here either. Hurry up and leave.” They didn’t believe at all that Ajin, a fisherman, would know any noble person acquainted with the Governor.

Ajin made a sound of disappointment, “Then… when will the Governor return?”

The guard said impatiently, “I already told you to leave. Why are you still talking so much?”

“But… he said he has very urgent business to see the Governor.” Ajin said with difficulty, “Otherwise… I’ll wait here for the Governor.” Saying this, he walked to a corner and squatted down.

Seeing that he kept refusing to leave, the guard’s face turned cold, “Are you deaf? I told you to get lost!”

Ajin shrank back from his shout and said quietly, “But… I promised him I would definitely see the Governor. My mother said you can’t break your word!”

The guard lost patience to say anything more to him and grabbed his patched collar, pushing him outward, “Get lost quickly, or don’t blame us for being impolite!”

Ajin stumbled down the steps, wanting to go back up but not daring to. Just then, the two vermillion doors opened and someone walked out from inside. The guard respectfully cupped his hands, “Third Young Master!”

The newcomer was Li Xuanba. He was going to the office to handle some business, but before he had taken a few steps, he was blocked by someone reeking of fish, “Are… are you the Governor?”

This person was Ajin. He hadn’t heard clearly what the guard called Li Xuanba, but seeing how respectfully those two proud guards treated him, he boldly came over to ask.

“Me? The Governor?” Li Xuanba pointed at himself and said with amusement, “Do I look like it?”

Ajin nervously rubbed his hands and said quietly, “I… I don’t know.”

A guard came over and pushed Ajin aside, “This is Third Young Master, not the Governor. If you’re smart, don’t pester here.”

Li Xuanba gestured for the guard to step back and said, “What business do you have with my father?”

“Father…” Ajin repeated in a murmur, then said with delight, “So you’re the Governor’s son?”

“That’s right.” When Li Xuanba nodded, Ajin hastily said, “Then can you take me to see the Governor? I’m not trying to cause trouble on purpose. I really have business.”

Li Xuanba frowned, “You still haven’t said what business?”

Ajin’s answer was the same as before – he couldn’t say what business it was or give the name of the person who commissioned him. Li Xuanba shook his head, “You should have that person come find my father himself.” With that, he started to leave. Ajin quickly ran up to block his way, “He… he can’t come over.”

Li Xuanba was getting somewhat annoyed by his persistent pestering and said coldly, “If that’s the case, then I have no way to help. I still have business to attend to. Don’t block the road anymore.”

Watching Li Xuanba’s departing figure, Ajin became extremely anxious and muttered to himself, “He’s the Governor’s son. It should be okay to tell him.” With that, he gritted his teeth and chased after him again. Before Li Xuanba could get angry, he quickly said, “That person is severely injured. He says his name is Feng Li!”

Li Xuanba was stunned and frowned, “What did you say his name was?”

“Feng Li!” This time, Li Xuanba heard clearly. Wasn’t Feng Li supposed to be with Big Brother in Hedong? How could he be with this Ajin and severely injured? Could it be that something happened to Big Brother?

Thinking of this, Li Xuanba hastily said, “Take me to see him immediately!”

“But the Governor…” Li Xuanba interrupted him, “After I see Feng Li, I’ll naturally tell him about it. Quick, take me there!”

Ajin had no other choice now and could only agree, leading Li Xuanba toward his home. After leaving the city and walking for about an hour, he pointed to two small wooden houses by the Qingshui River, “We’re here, it’s right there!”

Hearing this, Li Xuanba immediately pulled Ajin along to quicken their pace. On the way, he had already heard Ajin tell Feng Li’s story. About half a month ago, when Ajin went to the river to fish as usual, he saw a person lying on the shore, soaked all over, with his lower body still immersed in the water, motionless. It looked like he had been washed down from upstream.