Questioning the delegation

"I truly did not know. Wanzhou is several days' journey north. If you gentlemen do not believe me, you may wish to travel further north and see for yourselves."

Prefect Niu repeatedly defended himself, almost swearing an oath to heaven.

Prefect Niu was a nobody, and most likely unaware of the situation, so no one made things difficult for him.

After Liu, the Imperial Censor, asked a few more questions about the northern border, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review rose with a smile to see him off.

After watching Prefect Niu board his carriage and leave with his officials, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review returned to the post station, dismissed the postmen, and looked around at everyone. "Are we heading north now, or should we stay at the post station for a few more days?"

Chen, the head constable from the Ministry of Justice, said in a low voice, "If we stay at the post station, the Prince of Huai's men will surely come looking for us. At that time, we will have no choice but to head north with them."

"Isn't this perfect?" Another imperial censor surnamed Zhou laughed. "We're in the open, while Xu Yinluo is in the shadows. Our mission is to attract the Prince of Huai's attention."

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sighed, "I wonder how the Princess Consort is doing, whether she is alive or dead."

Upon hearing this, Constable Chen and the two censors sneered. What did the life or death of the princess and Chu Xianglong have to do with them?

Those treacherous and despicable people deserve to die.

Yang Yan told them that after Xu Qi'an defeated the experts from the north, he set off alone to secretly investigate a case in the northern border.

The plan won unanimous approval, and everyone promised to keep it a secret. The officials of the three departments cooperated in this way for two reasons: firstly, they had just received Xu Qi'an's life-saving grace, and their attitude towards him had changed from hostility to closeness.

Secondly, Xu Qi'an's secret investigation means that the delegation can slack off and will not incur the backlash from the Prince of Zhenbei by finding any evidence.

Killing two birds with one stone.

There was one more thing Yang Yan hadn't told them: the whereabouts of the princess. Yang Yan speculated that the princess had most likely been rescued by Xu Qi'an.

This conclusion was drawn by him afterward, as he followed the direction Xu Qi'an had gone, all the way to the scene of the battle, where he found the unconscious maid.

Aside from the spiderwebs that covered the dense forest and the maids, there were no other remains at the scene.

Yang Yan woke up the maids to ask what was going on. From them, he learned that Xu Qi'an had caught up with them, and a major battle might happen. The maids didn't know why they said "might" because they didn't know either.

They quickly fainted.

Yang Yan deduced two possibilities: either Xu Qi'an abducted the princess halfway and engaged in a chase with the northern experts; or Xu Qi'an defeated the northern experts and successfully rescued the princess.

He leaned more towards the former guess, because there were no signs of a struggle at the scene, and it was highly likely that Xu Qi'an had successfully rescued the princess using the Law Technique recorded in Confucian School books.

"The four experts from the north have ventured deep into the territory of Great Feng, but they dare not be too blatant, which gives Xu Qi'an many opportunities. He has the protection of Confucian School books and has also mastered the Vajra Divine Skill to a certain extent, so he is not without the ability to protect himself. Moreover, this is a good opportunity to hone his skills and allow him to touch the threshold of the Transformation Realm and advance to the fifth rank as soon as possible."

That's what Yang Yan was thinking at the time.

This could be dangerous, but the martial arts system is inherently a process of self-improvement and self-discipline. Yang Yan himself participated in the Battle of Shanhai back then, when he was still quite inexperienced.

They still dared to wield swords and fight on the battlefield, risking their lives to hone their Martial Dao.

Xu Qi'an could certainly do it; if he couldn't, then he had no one to blame but himself if he died.

In addition, he secretly arranged for ten imperial guards to escort the maid south back to the capital.

The delegation currently consists of only ninety Imperial Guards, a fact that the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and others are completely unaware of. It's not that they are not attentive enough, but rather that they have never cared about the lower-ranking soldiers.

A mountain path trodden by passersby led the way, with Xu Qi'an carrying a sword wrapped in cloth on his back, striding confidently ahead.

The princess, her hair disheveled, leaned on a tree branch, dangling slowly behind her. After a few days, her maid's clothes became wrinkled and dirty, and she began to smell sour.

At first, she paid close attention to her hair, combing it neatly every morning when she woke up. Later, she stopped caring and just tied it up with a wooden hairpin, leaving the strands hanging down in a slightly messy manner.

Where was the princess's noble demeanor? She was clearly a destitute woman fleeing famine.

"Not bad, you managed to keep up for so long. Your stamina has improved a lot these past few days."

Ahead, Xu Qi'an stopped and praised with a smile.

"I heard the sound of water ahead. Keep going, let's rest there."

Upon hearing this, the princess's eyes brightened for a moment, then dimmed. She dared not take a bath, preferring to smell her own sweaty odor every day and to scratch herself here and there.

There are reasons why the princess doesn't bathe. First, she's wary of Xu Qi'an spying on her or taking advantage of her lust to do something depraved to her.

Secondly, as long as she continues to smell this bad, this guy won't touch her.

"I can't stand your sour smell anymore," was Xu Qi'an's catchphrase that he had been repeating for the past few days.

Before long, the two saw a slender waterfall on the cliff to their left. Where there is a waterfall, there must be a pool of water.

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, there was a small pool at the bottom of the waterfall, with water flowing outwards to form a thin stream.

"I can't stand the sour smell on you anymore, do you want to take a shower?" Xu Qi'an suggested.

"No, I won't wash it." She refused outright.

"Dirty woman," Xu Qi'an spat.

"You're the dirty one, pshaw!" The princess smirked, secretly pleased with herself.

If you won't wash it, I will.

Xu Qi'an took off his jacket, revealing his strong upper body, with well-proportioned muscles that perfectly showcased masculine beauty.

The princess rolled her eyes and turned her head away.

She heard a "plop" sound and turned around to see Xu Qi'an jump into the pool. She sat down on a rock by the stream and slowly took off her dirty embroidered shoes.

A pair of delicate little feet were revealed. She held her feet in her hands and looked at them. The soles of her feet were bright red and had several blisters.

The princess pouted, almost bursting into tears.

Although Xu Ningyan, that lecherous fellow, was tempted by her beauty and showed her some tenderness, he did not hurry on his journey.

However, for a pampered princess, the journey of trekking for five days through mountains and rivers must have been incredibly arduous.

To put it simply: I am being treated in ways that my beauty and status don't deserve.

The princess soaked her white feet in the stream, then washed her dirty embroidered shoes clean and laid them out to dry on the rocks. The mid-spring sun was just right, but it might not be enough to dry her shoes.

Here, the princess had another little scheme in mind: with her shoes wet, she could use that as an excuse to rest a little longer.

If the boy disagrees, she can easily get him to steam her shoes dry.

A win-win situation.

The cool stream water soaked her ankles, and she squinted and enjoyed it for a long time. Then she moved her full, round buttocks off the stone, stood in the stream, lifted her skirt, and tied it tightly at her knees.

Women of this era certainly wouldn't neglect their undergarments; they would have three layers: underpants, regular silk trousers, and the skirt itself.

The princess bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and washed her face.

She squinted her crescent-shaped eyes, making an expression of enjoyment.

At that moment, she saw Xu Qi'an on a high point ahead, by the pool. He had somehow gotten ashore and was facing the pool with his back to her.

A glistening line of water traced a graceful arc before flowing into the pool.

"Xu Ningyan!!"

The princess screamed in despair.

Bang!

On the mountain path, Xu Qi'an, who was walking in front, was hit on the back of the head by a rock. Xu Yinluo, whose physical defense was unparalleled, ignored it and continued walking forward.

Bang! Another rock hit the back of his head.

"Hey, are you ever going to stop?" Xu Qi'an turned his head and glared at the woman who had been relentlessly smashing him for an hour.

Doesn't her hand get tired?

The princess hid the stone behind her back, put her hands behind her back, turned her head away, and pretended to look at the scenery around her.

Xu Qi'an glared at her a few times, but the princess was sensible enough to know she was at a disadvantage in the group and never openly argued with him. However, when Xu Qi'an turned around...

Bang!

The stone has come again.

"I've never seen such a stingy woman before. Let's see how long you can keep smashing things. Anyway, you're the one who'll get tired!" Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

She had limited strength, so the stone couldn't be thrown with much force. In addition, Xu Qi'an's defense was amazing, so he could ignore this kind of painless attack. He just found it annoying.

After staying in Wanzhou for three days, the post station welcomed an army, only two hundred strong. However, the general leading the army was of high rank, Principal Fourth Rank officer in the assault battalion under the command of the Prince of Zhenbei.

The adjutant's surname was Li. He was from Chuzhou and had the typical features of a northerner: strong and powerful with rugged features. The armor he wore was dark in color and covered with knife marks.

This is proof of its long service in battle.

He led his men into the post station, his sharp gaze sweeping over Yang Yan and the officials from the Three Departments who had come downstairs upon hearing the commotion. He demanded in a deep voice, "Where is the Princess? Where is Deputy General Chu?"

Behind him were two rows of soldiers, their faces serious, their eyes fixed on the delegation officials.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review suddenly felt immense pressure. Facing the aggressive gaze of the brute soldiers, he steeled himself and stepped forward, asking, "Who are you?"

"Li Yuanhua, the Commander of the Assault Battalion in Chuzhou." Commander Li scrutinized the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review: "And who are you?"

"I am the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

Lieutenant General Li nodded and then asked, "Where is the Princess?"

Today, he suddenly received an order from the Prince of Huai's secret agents, ordering him to go to Wanzhou to inquire about the Princess's situation from the delegation. Only then did Li Yuanhua realize that the Princess had left the capital and gone north, and he assumed that the Prince of Huai's secret agents had sent him to pick up the Princess.

He immediately led two hundred cavalrymen, along with the spy from the Prince of Huai, and rushed over from nearby Changmen County.

The smile on the face of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review slowly faded, and he sighed, "The delegation was ambushed en route, and we were separated from the Princess."

Intercept and kill?!

Lieutenant General Li was startled, his face filled with surprise. Within the borders of Great Feng, someone dared to intercept and kill the envoy? What kind of bandits were they, and what was their purpose?

A series of doubts flashed through his mind. He turned his head and looked at the secret agent wrapped in a black robe beside him.

The spy was dressed in a black robe and wore a mask that covered the upper half of her face, revealing only her fair chin; she was a woman.

However, Li Canjiang would not underestimate her because of this, since she was a "Earth" level spy. Spies of this level either had a cultivation level of Rank 6 or Rank 5.

"I have questions for you, but I must ask you one at a time," the female spy said in a deep voice, her profound gaze scrutinizing everyone beneath her mask.

"Who are you?" Chief Constable Chen from the Ministry of Justice raised an eyebrow.

The female spy slid a black iron token from her sleeve, flicked her wrist, and tossed it into the ground at Constable Chen's feet.

On the token is engraved the word "".

"The spies raised by the Prince of Huai." Yang Yan finally spoke.

The officials from the Three Departments of Secret Service, who were under the command of the Prince of Zhenbei, felt a chill and suppressed their dissatisfaction.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review smiled and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

The female spy, shrouded in black robes, brushed past the crowd and went upstairs on her own, saying, "Follow me."

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the two censors did not move, Yang Yan remained expressionless, and Constable Chen frowned, inwardly cursing the cowardly civil officials, but he forced himself to follow.

The woman in black robes randomly chose a room, took out a triangular talisman from her robes, and gently placed it on the table.

Then he said, "What we say can't be heard outside. I have a few questions for you."

Officer Chen nodded.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"Chief Constable of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Liang," Constable Chen replied truthfully.

The woman's face, hidden behind a mask, revealed no expression. Her red lips parted slightly as she asked, "Do you know the Princess's true identity?"

Officer Chen was taken aback, frowned, and asked, "The Princess's true identity?"

The female spy didn't answer, but asked the next question, "Tell me about what happened during your attack."

Constable Chen then gave a general account of what happened after the delegation left the capital, focusing on the attack.

After listening for a long time, the female spy opposite him pondered and said, "He predicted that the delegation would be ambushed at the scree beach?"

Officer Chen nodded, sensing the surprise in the woman's tone, and said, "You may not know him. He is a meticulous and perceptive man with an uncanny understanding of the situation."

The female spy raised her hand to interrupt him, and said calmly, "I know him. If we don't even know Xu Yinluo, who is a brilliant detective and single-handedly held off tens of thousands of rebels, then we are clearly unqualified spies."

Officer Chen could tell that when she said "one man single-handedly held off tens of thousands of rebel troops," there was undisguised sarcasm and mockery in her tone.

"I need his recent situation, after the Buddhist School duel," she added.

After the Buddhist School contest, Constable Chen thought for a moment and said, "Of course, it's the imperial examination cheating case and the battle between Celestial Person and man. These are the most eye-catching and influential events. As for other minor matters, I won't pay that much attention to them."

The female spy nodded, indicating that he could begin to speak.

"Your bodies and names will perish, but the rivers will flow on forever." She subdued the outstanding disciples of both the Celestial Person and Human sects with Confucian School Law Technique and her invincible golden body. She remained silent for a long time.

The imperial examination fraud case and the conflict between the Celestial Person occurred recently, and the news has not yet reached the North.

"You can leave now. Bring in that Dali Temple official," she said.

Constable Chen nodded, silently opened the door and left. A few minutes later, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review knocked on the door and then pushed it open.

The female spy repeated the question she had just asked, but with the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, she added a supplementary question:

"Why did you continue north afterward without searching for Chu Xianglong and the princess?"

To this, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sneered, "Why linger with those who have abandoned me? The mission of the delegation is to investigate the 'massacre of three thousand miles,' not to escort the princess."

He meant that we had done everything we could, and since Chu Xianglong was unkind, we couldn't blame them for being unjust.

The female detective offered no comment, but moved her hooded head slightly, indicating that he could leave.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review stood up, walked to the door, and was about to open it to leave when a female spy's voice suddenly came from behind him. "What do you think of Xu Qi'an?"

Beneath the mask, a pair of deep, calm eyes stared unblinkingly at the retreating figure of the Dali Temple official.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review narrowed his eyes, and without the slightest hesitation, snorted coldly and said, "Just a mere brat."

The female spy nodded slightly, withdrawing her intense gaze.

P. S.: Please help correct any typos, thank you. I'm going to a birthday party tonight, so there might not be an update, or there might be a short and weak chapter.