Chapter 73: The Emperor Issues a Death Decree

Le Qianxue shivered, wondering what Zhan Lianjing was up to. She shrank back, no longer daring to eat the pastries. Yin Susu noticed her odd behavior and asked, “What’s wrong? I snuck a piece of that pastry myself and thought it was quite good. I was even thinking of asking the cook for the recipe.”

Le Qianxue quickly waved her hands. “No, no! Let’s just forget about this plate of pastries. Pretend nothing happened.”

Yin Susu frowned at Le Qianxue’s strange reaction. Just then, Yuan Tianci arrived. Seeing the two engrossed in conversation, he sat down and picked up a piece of pastry to eat. “What are you two chatting about that’s so amusing?” he asked.

Seeing Yuan Tianci eating the pastries, Le Qianxue lost all interest in food. She just shook her head and sighed lightly. “Nothing, just eat as you like, go ahead.”

Yuan Tianci blinked, glancing at Yin Susu, baffled by Le Qianxue’s attitude. But just then, Le Qianxue suddenly asked, “Tianci, how about you and I return to the Valley of the King of Medicine in a few days?”

Yuan Tianci, surprised, immediately nodded. Swallowing his pastry, he said, “Of course, that’s great! My father’s been wanting to meet you, to ask you some questions about medicine.”

Le Qianxue smiled. “Then let’s leave in a couple of days!”

Yin Susu slammed her palm on the table, her expression stern. “Hold on! What about my business? You can’t just leave now! Didn’t you promise to help me deal with Yu Guhan?!”

They hadn’t even captured Young Master Yuan yet—they couldn’t just give up now!

Le Qianxue was a bit helpless. “The Crown Prince won’t be returning to his palace so soon, so why are we in such a rush? We’ll come back after a while, and the timing will be perfect.”

Yin Susu insisted, “No way! This is a prime opportunity—Young Master Yuan may appear any day. I can’t miss a single chance. Le Qianxue, if you dare to leave, we’re finished as friends!”

Le Qianxue’s mouth twitched. Yin Susu could be so stubborn. But with Zhan Lianjing constantly on her mind, she feared that if he discovered anything now, all their efforts would be wasted.

She could only say, “Susu, there’s something I must tell you.”

Yin Susu sensed Le Qianxue’s unease. “What is it?”

But Le Qianxue glanced at Yuan Tianci, clearly unwilling to speak in front of him. Yuan Tianci suddenly felt unjustly treated; he’d only eaten a bit of pastry and was being chased out.

He protested, “Can’t a man even have his breakfast?”

Yin Susu picked up the plate of pastries, shoved them at Yuan Tianci, and returned to the flower hall, closing the door.

Only then did Le Qianxue tell Yin Susu about what had happened the previous night, leaving Yin Susu so shocked her jaw hung open for ages. She nervously twisted her fingers, trying to digest it all, still unable to believe it.

“I was only joking when I said you should seduce the Prince Zhan, but you actually succeeded! This is unbelievable—a true miracle!”

Le Qianxue, used to Yin Susu underestimating her, snorted, “Yin Susu, you don’t have to look down on me like that. Do you think no one wants me? I’ll have you know, if I wanted to marry, there’d be plenty of suitors!”

Yin Susu couldn’t help but laugh. “That may be, but those suitors are limited to that blind Fourth Prince and Yu Guhan, who only wants to use you. Anyone else hears your name and runs the other way. But now even Prince Zhan’s interested—now that’s a shock! He’s quite a catch, though it’s a shame he doesn’t have many years to live. If you go with him, you’ll be a widow in no time. Not much of a bargain, is it?”

Le Qianxue shot her a glare. How could she joke at a time like this?

She said, “Whether Prince Zhan likes me isn’t the issue. The problem is, I’m the Ghost Doctor! I once stole his Seven-Colored Spirit Medicine. If he finds out who I really am, he won’t like me—he’ll want to kill me!”

Yin Susu understood her worries and nodded seriously. “That’s true. Prince Zhan is paying you a lot of attention now. If you slip up, it’ll be a disaster. He doesn’t have many virtues, but he certainly knows how to hold a grudge.”

Le Qianxue sighed. “I was scared out of my wits yesterday!”

Yin Susu glanced at her. “I thought you’d be overjoyed.”

“Shut up!” Le Qianxue snapped. “I absolutely can’t get too close to Prince Zhan right now. I need to lay low.”

Yin Susu spread her hands. “Why do you always want to run at times like this? Prince Zhan may be a bit cold, but if you’re honest with him, maybe he’ll spare you for your sake.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Le Qianxue countered.

Yin Susu fell silent. That was true—no one could guess Zhan Lianjing’s thoughts. If he didn’t spare Le Qianxue, there’d be no way out.

Yin Susu didn’t press her any further. “So when do you plan to leave? And what about the Crown Prince of Mu?”

“I made a special medicine last night—that should help. And I revealed Yan Luoyu’s hiding place. I’m worried Yu Zhiyang will take revenge on me for outing my identity… Who could have guessed that Yan Luoyu is someone both Prince Zhan and His Majesty are fighting over?” Le Qianxue was frustrated too.

She had thought it would be a simple medical visit, nothing that would cause trouble. If Yu Zhiyang kept her secret, that would have been ideal. She never imagined that Yan Luoyu would land her in such a predicament. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up stuck on neither side, and no amount of prayers would help.

Yin Susu nodded. “We really never expected this. Now we just have to take it one step at a time.”

Le Qianxue, listless, sighed repeatedly, feeling she’d truly miscalculated this time.

Yin Susu ladled her a bowl of congee. “Xue’er, ask yourself: why are you so resistant to Prince Zhan? You could stabilize him first, then slowly reveal the truth. This isn’t like you, always running away.”

Le Qianxue froze; Yin Susu’s words made sense. But after a moment’s thought, she replied, “Who is Zhan Lianjing? I’m afraid he’ll use force. It’s safer to leave first.”

Yin Susu gave her a deep look, lips moving as if to speak, but in the end said nothing.

Right now, Le Qianxue was blinded by her worries. No matter what Yin Susu said, it wouldn’t bring her clarity—she’d have to come to her senses in her own time. Whatever Le Qianxue decided, Yin Susu would support her. After all, things were truly dangerous now. She couldn’t let Le Qianxue come to any harm; otherwise, she would never forgive herself.

In the end, it was because of her that Le Qianxue became entangled with Zhan Lianjing. Now, getting Yu Zhiyang involved had made things even more complicated.

Meanwhile, under the bright moon, Zhui Xing and his companion had already slipped off to the western villa, but the place was empty.

Even so, plenty of things had been left behind in the house, likely because the departure had been hurried. After searching, they found nothing suspicious.

Eventually, though, Zhui Xing’s sharp eyes caught something on a couch. It was a small ring, carved from ancient jade—clearly of great value. There was a single character carved on it: “Yan.”

“The Yan family has an ancient jade ring used as a seal. It signifies the orders of the family head,” Hao Yue said. “This must be it.”

“Yan Chuan mentioned that when Yan Luoyu was taken away, it was all so sudden that he didn’t have time to hand over the family’s jade ring,” Zhui Xing added.

Hao Yue nodded. “Let’s bring it back to the prince—we expected not to find anyone here anyway.”

They kept their faces covered and moved carefully, unwilling to expose themselves. Though Yan Luoyu remained missing, the ancient jade ring was a valuable find.

When Yan Chuan saw the ring, he confirmed, “Yes, that’s the one. Many Yan family affairs require that ring’s seal to be carried out.”

Zhan Lianjing nodded slightly. “Indeed. But Yan Luoyu is still missing.”

Yan Chuan sighed. “We knew this path would be dangerous.”

“The emperor wouldn’t dare kill Yan Luoyu. We’ll wait a bit longer,” Zhan Lianjing said. “I will do everything in my power to save her.”

Yan Chuan could only nod; there was nothing else to be done but trust Zhan Lianjing.

But word had already spread that someone had visited the villa—Yu Zhiyang would certainly know by now.

In the imperial study, he stood with his head bowed, the air so tense that no one dared breathe.

The emperor’s face was thunderous as he stared at Yu Zhiyang. “I told you long ago, you cannot trust Le Qianxue!”

Yu Zhiyang’s usual smile had vanished. He stood silently. “Father, I only wanted to test her, not truly trust her. Now we know—Le Qianxue is Zhan Lianjing’s spy, isn’t she?”

The emperor’s anger abated a little. Clenching his fist, he said, “Test or not, it’s clear now—Zhan Lianjing is the one! He must be eliminated at once! I truly invited a wolf into the house!”

But Zhan Lianjing was a wild wolf—he would not be so easily removed.

Yu Zhiyang said, “Father, we suffered losses last time. We should not act rashly again, lest Zhan Lianjing gain the upper hand. As long as Yan Luoyu is in our hands, the Yan family won’t throw their lot in with him.”

The emperor’s worries were endless, but Zhan Lianjing remained unscathed.

“At fifteen, Zhan Lianjing defeated the combined armies of Mu and Liang Jin—three hundred thousand strong. Ordinary means will not suffice. Send for Yuan Feng and his Gu-worm arts,” declared the emperor. “I’ve heard Yuan Feng met a formidable opponent. You must also find a way to kill that Ghost Doctor girl! Zhan Lianjing must not be allowed a way out!”