Old Duke directly ordered Chu Yun to be taken back to Duke Zhenguo’s Residence and sternly interrogated him about his collusion with Prince Duan. Chu Yun was panic-stricken and kept denying everything. Seeing that his youngest son still refused to repent, Old Duke lost all patience and immediately ordered the entire second branch to be sent back to their hometown in Qingshan, completely extinguishing Chu Yun’s ambitions.
Chu Yun was dragged away, wailing the whole time, while Chu Lin remained silent. He and Old Duke both knew very well that Chu Yun had committed the grave crime of abducting and selling Chu Yu, and that he had secretly colluded with Prince Duan. If not for the bond of sibling affection, killing him on the spot would not have been excessive.
The next day, before dawn had even broken, a convoy of carriages quietly departed the old residence in the western suburbs, and the second branch was escorted out of the capital under guard.
…
Almost at the exact moment Chu Yun’s family left the capital, a fast horse carrying a secret letter caught up with Prince Duan’s ceremonial procession, which had just returned from an inspection tour in Liuzhou.
Inside the luxurious carriage, Prince Duan Zhao Sheng had been resting with his eyes closed, his fingertips idly tapping his knee as he calculated how many local powers he had won over on this inspection tour and how many of his own people he had planted. Suddenly, an urgent report came from his trusted page boy outside the carriage:
“Your Highness, an urgent dispatch from the capital!”
Zhao Sheng opened his eyes in displeasure, but he also knew that his men would never have panicked like this unless something serious had happened. After opening the secret letter and reading its contents, the ease on his face vanished completely, replaced by icy coldness.
“Chu Yu was rescued back to Duke Zhenguo’s Residence? Again Shen Ji?!” He sat up sharply, murderous rage burning in his eyes. “Useless! A bunch of useless fools!”
The letter also mentioned that Chu Yun had been sent back to his hometown in Qingshan, and that on the day after Chu Yu returned to the residence, Lady Wang of the second branch had suddenly died. Zhao Sheng was extremely sharp and immediately guessed that Duke Zhenguo’s Residence had definitely traced the matter back to the second branch, and might even… already be suspecting him!
The important pawn he had carefully placed, the scheme he had painstakingly laid out, had once again been ruined by Shen Ji. This sickly wretch who should have died had crawled out of the coffin and suddenly become so stubborn. Had he been possessed by some evil force? Repeatedly ruining his grand plans, he truly deserved death!
“Where are the men watching Shen Ji? Are they all blind?! He rescued Chu Yu, such a huge commotion, and they noticed nothing at all?!” Zhao Sheng’s voice was now as if poisoned, so frightening that the page boys and guards around him did not dare breathe. Only the guard who had delivered the report said carefully, “R-returning to Your Highness, the spies reported… Shen Ji has not left the gates of the Marquis Residence for several days, and they did not notice anything unusual…”
“Not notice anything?” Zhao Sheng laughed in fury and slammed the warm jade hand warmer beside him hard against the carriage wall! “So they noticed nothing? What do I keep you all for?! Chu Yu has been back in the residence for over a month, and I am only hearing about it now. What use are you?!”
The guard who had delivered the letter wanted to argue that the secret message had been delayed again and again because Prince Duan kept changing his inspection route, but in the end he did not dare say another word. He only knelt with his head bowed, his face ashen.
Killing intent was fully exposed in Zhao Sheng’s eyes. “Issue the order! All the guards and spies previously assigned to monitor Shen Ji and Duke Zhenguo’s Residence failed in their duties. Beat them all to death! The messenger who delayed the report is even more useless… kill him! Send a sharper batch and have them keep a dead watch on Shen Ji and Duke Zhenguo’s Residence! If there is any further slip-up, come back with your heads!”
“Yes! Yes!” Everyone outside the carriage was shaken to the core and answered repeatedly. The messenger guard was immediately gagged and dragged away, his cries cut off at once.
“Speed up! Return to the capital immediately!”
…
The capital, Pingyang Marquis Residence.
Shen Ji had enjoyed several rare days of peace and quiet.
That day the weather was fine, and Shen Ji suddenly had a thought. Having encountered such an extraordinary stroke of luck, he should go worship at Guang’an Temple outside the city.
Guang’an Temple was prosperous with incense offerings and was quite famous in the capital as well.
Shen Ji immediately ordered a carriage prepared. Since it was still early, he took only two guards and left the city.
Guang’an Temple stood at the foot of West Mountain, with ancient trees towering overhead. Listening to the faint Buddhist chants and watching the curling incense smoke, Shen Ji’s heart strangely grew a little calmer. Because it was not a festival day, there were not many worshippers.
Shen Ji bowed in worship, donated five hundred taels of incense money, and did not ask for anything. For him, being able to live again here was already a miracle and a blessing.
In the afternoon, Shen Ji rode down the mountain by carriage.
The mountain road twisted and turned. At noon there had suddenly been a brief shower of rain, and now that the rain had cleared, the air was especially fresh. Distant mountain ranges were layered in lush green. Leaning against the carriage wall and looking at the pleasant scenery outside, Shen Ji habitually spread his mental energy outward, sensing the movements around him.
The spies sent by Prince Duan had long since been easily avoided by him.
Just as the carriage was passing a mountain stream, the system’s mechanical voice suddenly rang out.
『Ding… Urgent mission issued: Rescue the key figure Yan Shu, the great talent of Jiangnan.』
『Mission objective: Prevent his tragic death in his previous life.』
『Mission reward: 100 points.』
『Hint: The target is gravely injured and is located three li downstream from the mountain stream ahead of the host. Emergency treatment is required!』
Shen Ji’s mental energy instantly caught a faint trace of breath ahead. He inwardly cursed the system for being unreliable. If he had not suddenly felt like going out today, by the time he arrived Yan Shu would probably already have breathed his last. The system knew it was in the wrong and silently kept quiet, pretending it had heard nothing.
“Stop the carriage!” Shen Ji ordered coldly.
The carriage came to an abrupt stop. A guard nervously lifted the curtain. “The Heir?”
“Wait here. Without my order, do not come forward, and do not let anyone approach.” As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flashed into the woods beside the road and sped toward the lower reaches of the mountain stream.
The two guards looked at each other, each seeing shock in the other’s eyes, and stood firmly guard beside the carriage.
Shen Ji quickly found Yan Shu in the grass, hanging by a thread. His arm and chest were both cut by sword wounds, and blood had dyed Yan Shu’s light ink-bamboo robe crimson. There were no traces of anyone else nearby.
Fortunately, Shen Ji’s storage space had plenty of everyday healing medicine. He immediately fed Yan Shu a Jade Dew Pill to protect his heart meridians, used his mental energy to examine Yan Shu’s condition, sprinkled hemostatic medicinal powder on the two wounds, and quickly bandaged them.
“Th… thank you, benefactor…” Yan Shu struggled to open his eyes.
“Don’t speak.” Shen Ji cut him off, carefully lifting him onto his back, not forgetting the scattered books and bamboo basket nearby. “I’ll take you back to treat your injuries.”
Yan Shu still wanted to say something, but the intense pain and weakness from excessive blood loss came crashing over him like a tide. His vision went dark, and he passed out completely again.
Carrying Yan Shu on his back, Shen Ji moved with a few swift leaps through the mountain forest.
The two guards were both startled when they saw the Heir suddenly return carrying a blood-covered man.
“Back to the residence, quickly!” Shen Ji ordered in a low voice, carefully settling Yan Shu onto the soft cushions in the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Shen Ji looked at Yan Shu, whose brows were still tightly furrowed even in unconsciousness, and fell into thought.
A great talent famous throughout Jiangnan in his previous life, yet he had died on the road to the capital while going to take the imperial examinations. It was truly lamentable.
『Ding… Mission complete. Reward: 100 points. Current points: 200.』
『Please ensure the target is completely out of life-threatening danger, host.』
The carriage rolled over the road with a steady rhythm, racing all the way toward the capital.