As soon as he returned to the inn in Fan City, Jiang Zhizhou spoke before Yang Qing could ask, "I landed a cushy assignment."
Yang Qing smiled. "Truly cushy? Why do you look rather unhappy to me?"
How could Jiang Zhizhou have missed the teasing in Yang Qing's words?
He shot Yang Qing a sidelong glance. "I'm delighted."
"That Duan Ziqian handed you a hot potato. How very interesting."
Having said that, Yang Qing went no further.
How could Jiang Zhizhou fail to hear the meaning beneath his words?
"Indeed, it's much as you suspected earlier. His Majesty has already caught wind of the Former Dynasty's treasure, but he can hardly send anyone openly affiliated with him to investigate."
So he had dragged Jiang Zhizhou out to serve as a target.
Yet compared with his former attentiveness, when he had always taken care to plan everything with Duan Ziqian's interests in mind, Jiang Zhizhou had long since abandoned any desire to draw closer to him.
Besides, anyone with eyes could see what Duan Ziqian meant by assigning him this task.
When a sovereign commanded his subject to die, the subject had no choice but to obey. Yet although Jiang Zhizhou was loyal to the imperial family, he naturally had plans of his own.
At that thought, Jiang Zhizhou even chuckled. "Why else do they say someone brings you a pillow just as you start nodding off? I didn't know what His Majesty intended before, and now there's no need to find out."
Seeing his expression brighten, Yang Qing's brows also softened with a trace of pleasure. "Of course you should be happy. We were already planning this ourselves. A drum beaten openly is no match for a hammer striking in secret."
Jiang Zhizhou laughed heartily as well, and the two