Hu Xiaotian urged his horse alongside him and said quietly, "There's something you don't know, Lord Zhu. Azure Cloud Bridge wasn't washed away by the flood."
At this, Zhu Qifan frowned. "You mean..."
"If it wasn't a natural disaster, then it was a man-made calamity!"
Zhu Qifan still hadn't quite understood. "Are you saying someone deliberately destroyed Azure Cloud Bridge? Who would be vile enough to do such a thing?"
Hu Xiaotian sighed inwardly. Zhu Qifan's brain really isn't that sharp. Do I have to spell everything out for him? He glanced around, then sighed softly. "If Azure Cloud Bridge were still standing, the Shajia Delegation wouldn't be passing through here."
"Yes, yes," Zhu Qifan said with a smile. "In that case, it's actually a blessing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had a chance to meet the Prince of Zhou..." Only then did something dawn on him, and his smile suddenly froze.
Hu Xiaotian looked at him with an inscrutable expression.
Zhu Qifan unconsciously tightened his grip on the reins. "What have you heard, Lord Hu?"
"The Imperial Court attaches great importance to this visit by the Shajia Delegation. Otherwise, His Highness the Prince of Zhou wouldn't have come personally to welcome them. Let's hope the journey stays peaceful and uneventful. If anything happens, I'm afraid..."
The fat on Zhu Qifan's cheeks quivered uncontrollably. With Hu Xiaotian's prompting, he finally understood: if Azure Cloud Bridge had been deliberately destroyed, the result was that the only remaining route passed through Red Valley County. Had someone decided to lay an ambush within his county? At the thought, cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He looked up at the cloudless sky. The breeze was gentle, the sun bright. With weather like this and such a formidable escort, they could guarantee the delegation's safety even