Yu Wan sat on the horse’s back and waited anxiously. What did Yan Jiuchao see? First, his back stiffened, then he froze as if he had been struck by lightning. Then, he entered the house.

Yu Wan could no longer see him.

“Will your Young Master be fine?” Yu Wan asked the silver-masked guard.

The guard did not answer, nor did he even pay attention to her. He only looked in the direction of the dilapidated straw hut without moving.

Yu Wan felt that she was talking to a dead person. Her back turned cold. Like him, she also paid attention to the movements of the dilapidated straw hut.

After a while, Yan Jiuchao came out with a man in his arms. From his figure, it was Yu Wan’s father—Yu Shaoqing.

A silver-masked guard walked forward and took Yu Shaoqing from Yan Jiuchao’s arms. The remaining seven people put away their nets and followed behind Yan Jiuchao towards Yu Wan.

Yu Wan couldn’t wait for them to come over. She jumped off her horse and walked over. “Dad!”

Yan Jiuchao stopped in his tracks, and so did the guards.

Yu Wan checked her father’s breathing and touched his neck. After confirming that his breathing and pulse were normal, she put her hanging heart back into her stomach.

But… was it her imagination? Why did she feel that Yan Jiuchao was looking at her with a trace of sympathy? Could it be that because her father had suffered, so even his daughter was pitied?

Yan Jiuchao cleared his throat and said, “Your father took too much knockout medicine. He’ll be fine when he wakes up.” But you won’t be fine soon.

Yu Wan did not decipher the meaningful gaze of a certain young master. She was still thinking hard about her father. “If my mother finds out about my father’s current state, she will definitely be very sad. In this world, the person my mother dotes on the most is me, followed by my father.”

Yan Jiuchao sympathized with her even more.

“Where’s the culprit?” Yu Wan asked.

Yan Jiuchao couldn’t bear to look at her. “He escaped.”

Yu Wan was slightly stunned. “Escaped? Why didn’t I see him?”

Young Master Yan said without changing his expression, “He escaped from the back door.”

“Do you remember what the culprit looks like?” Yu Wan asked.

“Yes,” Young Master Yan replied seriously. Not only did he remember it, but he would even be able to recognize it in the future. “I’m going to send him back to the Dali Temple now.”

“…Okay.” Although Yu Wan could not bear to part with her father, she understood that her father had yet to clear his name. It was inevitable that he would return to the prison of the Dali Temple.

“Yan Jiuchao,” Yu Wan said softly. “Can you stop them from feeding my father medicine?”

In a certain young master’s ears, her words had a hint of grievance. Yan Jiuchao said disdainfully, “Would they dare to feed the person I sent in?”

Yu Wan looked up at him, her eyes as bright as water. “Thank you, Yan Jiuchao.”

That gaze was so bright that it almost shone all the way to the darkest place in his heart. Yan Jiuchao’s breathing froze, and he looked away in resistance. He said coldly, “Get on the horse!”

Yu Wan felt his suddenly cold aura and blinked in confusion. Did she say something wrong? Why did his expression change so quickly?

The two of them rode to the foot of the mountain together. The carriage was parked there steadily. Yan Jiuchao got someone to put Yu Shaoqing into the carriage, and then he and Yu Wan got into the carriage.

The group returned to the Dali Temple. On the other side, Yan Huaijing and Jun Chang’an were still bitterly searching for Yu Shaoqing. Instead of saying that they were searching, it was better to say that they were trying their luck. That person’s movement technique was too fast. Even though she was carrying an unconscious man, she still managed to shake Jun Chang’an off in an instant.

The only thing he was sure of was that the city gate had closed. That person must still be in the Capital.

“Your Highness, look.” As they passed through an alley, Jun Chang’an noticed a carriage and a group of people slowly passing by on the street.

Yan Huaijing tightened the reins and looked in the direction of the voice. His gaze landed on the familiar emblem of the carriage and he moved slightly. “Young Master’s carriage? Is it Yan Jiuchao? He also came out to look for Yu Shaoqing.”

With the unclear relationship between Yu Wan and Yan Jiuchao, it was not surprising that Yan Jiuchao would come forward to look for Yu Shaoqing. What was strange was that… the nine guards accompanying him were wearing silver cloaks and silver masks. Their bodies emitted an aura of death. Even the horses they sat on seemed to be horses that had stepped on vengeful spirits, making one’s hair stand on end.

“Who are those people?” Yan Huaijing asked with a frown.

“Sacrificial soldiers,” Jun Chang’an said. “Silver-masked sacrificial soldiers.”

Yan Huaijing had heard of sacrificial soldiers. There were thousands of guards in the world who risked their lives, but there were not many who were truly called sacrificial soldiers. Bronze-masked sacrificial soldiers were extremely rare, and Silver-masked sacrificial soldiers were almost as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. As for the Gold-masked sacrificial soldiers, they were a legendary existence. It had been several years since a Silver-masked sacrificial soldier had appeared in the Central Plains.

Unexpectedly, there were nine of them beside Yan Jiuchao.

Jun Chang’an said, “No wonder he could destroy the Thousand Possibilities Pavilion overnight. The problem is, where did this useless young master get his sacrificial soldiers?”

The carriage drove through the alley.

Yu Wan looked at the curtain beside her and lifted it to look behind. “Was there someone just now?”

Yan Jiuchao said casually, “Just a few passers-by. There’s no need to pay attention to them.”

… .

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Dali Temple.

When the guard saw that the girl who came during the day had come again, he immediately pulled a long face. “How many times have I told you! The Dali Temple isn’t…”

Yan Jiuchao walked over and stood beside Yu Wan. The guard’s face immediately turned pale.

“Isn’t what?” Yan Jiuchao asked indifferently.

The guard knelt on the ground and trembled!

Yu Wan tugged at his sleeve, indicating for him to stop fooling around and get down to business.

The guard lowered his head and saw the hand that dared to pull Young Master Yan’s sleeve from the corner of his eye. He immediately felt as if he had been struck by lightning! The young lady who had been reprimanded by him actually dared to take the initiative to touch Young Master Yan. Why was his head still tied to his belt?

“Get lost!” Yan Jiuchao shouted.

The guard quickly rolled away.

Uncle Wan and Shadow Thirteen came out to welcome them. They took the unconscious Yu Shaoqing and sent him to a comfortable cell that had been cleaned.

Uncle Wan said amiably, “Miss Yu, don’t worry. Shadow Thirteen and I will guard here. We won’t let anyone torture Lord Yu again.”

Yu Wan bowed and said, “Thank you, Uncle Wan and Shadow Guard.”

… .

Although Yu Shaoqing had been found, the matter of the culprit was not so easily settled. When it came to the Emperor, it was not something that could be fooled with just the word “escape”. The Emperor was really furious. If the imperial guards could not find the culprit, he planned to mobilize the royal sacrificial soldiers.

After sending Yu Wan back to the Young Master Manor, Yan Jiuchao entered the palace.

The Emperor only fell asleep after midnight. Just as he lay down, he was woken up by Eunuch Wang who said that Yan Jiuchao had come. He was still dizzy, but he was instantly woken up by Yan Jiuchao’s heavy news. “What did you say? You kidnapped him?”

Yan Jiuchao took a deep breath. “…Yes.”

The Emperor looked at him suspiciously. “Who did you ask to do it?”

“The sacrificial soldiers that you gave me,” Yan Jiuchao said.

The Emperor fell back in anger! Using the people he gave him to deal with him in return was really something!

The Emperor was fuming. “Then why didn’t you admit it when I asked you yesterday? You even asked me, ‘Is it possible’?”

Yan Jiuchao had nothing to refute.

“Why did you do this? Is there anything you can’t discuss with me? Why did you have to cause such a huge commotion?!” The more the Emperor thought about it, the angrier he became. He even felt that he wanted to kill this brat. “I’ll ask you one last time. Did you really do it?”

Yan Jiuchao took a deep breath. “…Yes.”

The Emperor’s chest rose and fell violently a few times. “… You stole the offerings?”

Yan Jiuchao was puzzled.

Eunuch Wang whispered, “The offerings offered to the ancestors in the ancestral hall were secretly eaten.”

The guards of the royal ancestral hall were even stricter than that of the Dali Temple. In all these years, there had never been a theft. Nothing had happened earlier or later, but something had happened at this critical juncture. It was impossible not to link the two cases together.

That person even almost roasted the little snow fox to eat. It really seemed like she could do such a thing. The corners of Yan Jiuchao’s mouth twitched. He endured the pain and took the fall. “…It’s me.”

The Emperor turned around. He wanted to be angry, but he was a little embarrassed. “You… you shaved my mmm mmm?”

“What?” Yan Jiuchao did not hear those two words clearly.

The Emperor gritted his teeth and did not move his mouth. “Mmm, mmm!”

Young Master Yan was confused.

The Emperor cracked his knuckles. “Leg hair! My leg hair!”

Yan Jiuchao staggered and almost fell! Not only did that woman steal the offerings, she even shaved the Emperor’s hair?! How did she have the guts?! No, what was she thinking?! If the Dali Temple had discovered it a little later, she would have shaved not only his legs, but also…

Yan Jiuchao did not dare to continue. He only wanted to die now.

… .

At dawn, the news of Yu Shaoqing returning to the Dali Temple spread. It was said that the culprit had also been found. It was a death row prisoner of the Dali Temple. The death row prisoner had bribed the prison guard of the Dali Temple and the two of them had worked together to get Yu Shaoqing out. As for why the death row prisoner did this, it was said that Yu Shaoqing had once helped him in his early years and took the risk to repay his debt.

However, both of them were on death row. It was fortunate that they escaped, but it was their lives if they couldn’t.

Others might believe these words, but Yan Huaijing did not.

That was because after meeting Yan Jiuchao on the way, he and Jun Chang’an followed him all the way. They saw with their own eyes that Yan Jiuchao was the one who sent Yu Shaoqing to the Dali Temple. After that, Yan Jiuchao entered the palace. Immediately after, news of the culprit being captured spread.

“He was the one who saved Yu Shaoqing. If Yu Shaoqing really let the death row prisoner take him away, then he should have taken the death row prisoner back to the Dali Temple. However, I only saw Yu Shaoqing and not the death row prisoner.”

In Worthy Consort’s palace, Yan Huaijing expressed his doubts to his mother.

Worthy Consort Xu was arranging flowers. As she cut the branches, she said, “There are some things that you should understand.”

Yan Huaijing paused. “Mother, what do you mean?”

Worthy Consort Xu inserted a beautiful peony into the vase. “Who in this world is willing to let your father cover for him?”

Yan Huaijing frowned. “The person who kidnapped Yu Shaoqing… was Yan Jiuchao? That’s impossible. He even went to the imperial study to look for Father yesterday. When he heard that Yu Shaoqing had disappeared, the shock on his face wasn’t fake.”

Worthy Consort Xu smiled faintly. “It’s not him, but someone related to him.”

Yan Huaijing’s eyes darkened. “Breaking into a prison is a capital crime. Why does Father indulge him?”

Worthy Consort Xu picked another peony. “He only has less than two years left to live. So what if your father indulges him? At the end of the day, he only became a short-lived ghost because of your father.”

“Isn’t he born weak?” Worthy Consort Xu didn’t seem to be willing to mention Yan Jiuchao’s illness, so Yan Huaijing didn’t know much.

Worthy Consort Xu put the peony aside and picked another peony. “Silly child, we’re from the royal family. Are there any children of the royal family who are born weak? There’s only those who aren’t born, and those who are born but won’t live for a few years.”

Yan Huaijing was unwilling to interfere too much with the harem.

Worthy Consort Xu cut off the largest peony in the vase and inserted the paeonia in her hand. “You don’t have to know too much about some things. You just have to remember that your father treats him differently because he feels guilty. You don’t have to be jealous of him.”

Yan Huaijing was silent. Was it really just because of guilt? Why did he feel that it was far more than that?

… .

Young Master Yan, who had always let others take the blame, took the blame for several lifetimes in just half a cup of tea’s time.

Therefore, he had to pay back sooner or later.

The Emperor was really angry. It was Eunuch Wang who persuaded him, by saying that the Young Master was sick, that he must have fallen ill and did not even know what he was doing. Only then did the Emperor resist the urge to strangle Yan Jiuchao to death.

However, while he could avoid the death penalty, he could not escape punishment. Yan Jiuchao was punished with a year’s salary, a month of seclusion to reflect on his mistakes, and a hundred beatings. On account of his health, the beatings were enforced on his guards on behalf of him.

Shadow Thirteen obediently received a hundred hits, causing him to cry out loud. After he was done, he slapped his butt, shook his head, and strode towards the Dali Temple.

Although the truth about the breaking into the prison had been “revealed”, Yu Shaoqing’s crime had yet to be cleared. He was still the death row prisoner who ignored General Xiao’s last orders, stole the list of spies, and tried to deceive the Emperor. Zhou Huai was the only person who could prove that General Xiao had never spent time alone with Yan Congming from the moment he obtained the list to his death.

As long as he could prove that the two of them had never interacted, then Yan Congming’s so-called General Xiao entrusting the list to him would be able to resolve.

However, Zhou Huai’s whereabouts were strange, and he was not so easily found.

“Has there been any movement in the army recently?” In the imperial study, the Emperor asked the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.

After the soldiers returned victorious, those who had retired from the army had already returned to their hometowns. Those who had not retired from the army had settled down in the various camps in the Capital. Many of them knew Yu Shaoqing, and in their eyes, Yu Shaoqing was definitely not someone who deceived the world.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War said respectfully, “Your Majesty, no.”

“No?” The Emperor asked suspiciously. “Doesn’t anyone think that Yu Shaoqing is innocent?”

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War said, “Yu Shaoqing has been in the Northwest Army Camp for the longest time. Most of the people he knows are in the Northwest Army Camp, but the Northwest Army Camp was slaughtered overnight, and the twenty to thirty people who escaped have all left the Capital… It’s said that they are looking for clues to prove Yu Shaoqing’s innocence.”

The twenty to thirty people were nothing to the Emperor. There was no movement in the army, which meant that Xiao Zhenting was still behaving himself. It also meant that this so-called Yu Shaoqing was not as terrifying as he had imagined.

“Actually…” The assistant minister of the Ministry of War paused and hesitated.

The Emperor said, “What is it? Just tell me. I’ll forgive you.”

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War was the Emperor’s maternal family. He was loyal to the Emperor and the Emperor trusted him very much.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War said, “Not only did Marquis Yan kill King Wuheng, but he also led the soldiers over the Death Ridge and sent the list to Prefecture You without fear of death. It can be said that he’s brave and resourceful. Marquis Yan is also a general…”

The Emperor said impatiently, “Speak English.”

The Minister of War braced himself and said, “There are rumors in the army that Marquis Yan… will be the next Marshal Xiao.”

“Nonsense!” The Emperor slammed his fist on the desk.

Xiao Zhenting had always been a sore point for the Emperor. He could not be killed or promoted. If he was killed, there would be internal and external troubles. If he was not killed, he would have great achievements.

To put it bluntly, the Emperor lacked someone who could replace Xiao Zhenting. But when this person appeared, the Emperor was worried that he would become the next Xiao Zhenting that he could not control.

Therefore, Marquis Yan who might become the next Xiao Zhenting was definitely not good.

The next day, the Emperor received a memorial from the ministers. Most of them requested that Yu Shaoqing be executed immediately and praised Yan Congming vigorously, claiming that the Emperor should promote Yan Congming.

The Emperor was so angry that he laughed. “I’ve already conferred him as a marquis, so how can he be promoted more? Could it be that I have to confer him as a general and marshal?”

Everyone picked up the firewood. Sometimes, the flames were not strong, but it was an invisible knife.

On the fourth day of court, a minister who was usually quiet stood up for the first time and said to the Emperor, “Who exactly was the name list handed over to? Both sides have their own opinions. There is neither enough evidence to prove that Yu Shaoqing is innocent, nor is there enough evidence to prove that Yu Shaoqing is guilty. It seems inappropriate to imprison someone just based on Marquis Yan’s one-sided words. In my opinion, both of them are suspects. If we want to arrest them together, Marquis Yan should also be imprisoned!”

“You…” Yan Congming was furious.

“Locking up a hero who has won a war will definitely chill the hearts of the common people… but what you say makes sense…” The Emperor revealed a very troubled expression.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of War stood up in time. “Your Majesty, why don’t we release Yu Shaoqing first? When we have enough evidence, we can capture him and execute him. That way, the commoners will have nothing to say.”