Princess Liu Ling

Zhang Xuezhou had considered several plans to rescue Zhang Cigong, but he never imagined that Zhang Cigong would one day come back on his own initiative.

The morning after his fruitless discussion with Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Xuezhou saw Zhang Cigong come to visit him.

Perhaps having discovered the true nature of the residents of the nearby Zhang residence, Zhang Cigong's eyes gleamed with barely suppressed excitement.

If Zhang Cigong hadn't arrived in a royal carriage and hadn't been accompanied by four royal attendants, Zhang Cigong likely would have found it difficult to control his emotions.

But at this moment, Zhang Cigong is in excellent spirits.

For the King of Huainan's Household, the people of Zhang Household Village were a secret, and if their true nature were discovered, it could lead to trouble and unbearable consequences.

Not only did Zhang Cigong maintain his composure, but even Zhang Houtu and Zhang Changgong simply stood on a stool in their own yard to watch, without rashly recognizing Zhang Cigong.

"The King of Huainan's Household has invited me as a guest?"

After some polite conversation, Zhang Cigong briefly explained why he had come.

This made Zhang Xuezhou blink.

He had seen Jin Chang represent the King of Huainan's Household before, but Jin Chang was extremely unlucky and was captured by Divine Lord Zhenyuan before he could even speak.

Even a polite invitation to visit failed to materialize in Jin Chang.

It wasn't until Zhang Cigong arrived that this simple matter was successfully relayed.

"I'll accept this invitation and pay my respects to the Princess on a chosen day!"

Zhang Xuezhou doesn't accept invitations from strangers, but he did accept Zhang Cigong's visiting card to avoid making things difficult for the other party after he returned home.

"That's great!"

Zhang Cigong looked delighted.

The King of Huainan's Household offers good benefits and treatment, but many people are bound by King of Huainan's Household rules and cannot be free.

Of course, Zhang Cigong must say that the scope of activities for ordinary people is actually not very wide.

If it weren't for the involvement of the Zhang Household Village people, the King of Huainan's Household's Mansion, which covered several square miles, would have been sufficient living space for most people.

This is a vast area where even a fine horse can gallop, yet many people never venture more than a few miles into their entire lives.

However, despite having his father and others involved, Zhang Cigong did not succumb to the common mindset.

If possible, he hoped to have more freedom to enter and leave the Prince's residence, rather than simply being confined to training mounts, occasionally fulfilling the travel needs of his retainers, or accompanying the high-ranking princess on horseback.

Looks like you're doing well!

With the matters concerning the King of Huainan's Household settled, all that remained was to reminisce and catch up with old friends.

Only after Zhang Xuezhou politely asked Zhang Cigong's attendants to wait in a side room did he feel free to speak with Zhang Cigong.

After Zhang Cigong finished explaining, Zhang Xuezhou even made a joke at his expense.

In the rescue of the Zhang Household Village people trapped in the King of Huainan's Household, Zhang Xuezhou was the main force, while Zhang Cigong was the main force in arranging for everyone to flee to Chang'an City. Xu Yuan and Rong Tianding were the main forces in the subsequent resettlement of the Zhang Household Village people. No one was fully responsible for the entire process in this incident, but they worked together seamlessly and ultimately helped overcome the difficulties.

"Although I live in the Prince's mansion, I always think of my father, my brother," Zhang Cigong murmured, then added, "And my mother!"

"Going to Huainan to rescue people again will be very difficult," Zhang Xuezhou replied in a low voice. "I don't have any other options right now. I can only hope to find an opportunity when I visit this princess!"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at Liu Ling's handwriting on the visiting card, his gaze inadvertently sweeping towards the area where Huainan was located.

He had previously used some methods to rescue the people of Zhang Household Village, and if Zhang Xuezhou were to repeat the same events, Zhang Xuezhou felt the success rate would be less than 10%.

More importantly, he is currently unable to use his Law Power, making it difficult to awaken the avatar of his deceased soul, and he cannot even guarantee his own safety.

"This Liu Ling is the eldest daughter of the King of Huainan, and also his most favored daughter," Zhang Cigong whispered. "She's innocent and naive, and very easy to please. You're more capable than me; you should be able to find an opportunity!"

"Is Princess Liu Ling so innocent and easily coaxed?"

Zhang Xuezhou rarely showed a hint of surprise on his face, feeling that he couldn't accept Zhang Cigong's evaluation.

Over the years, he hadn't met any women who were innocent, naive, and easy to coax; even Cai Ma was merely described by him as "cute and silly."

Having risen to such a high position, been relied upon by the King of Huainan, and even controlled the affairs of the King of Huainan's Household's residence in Chang'an City, Zhang Xuezhou did not think this kind of woman was particularly naive or innocent, much less easy to coax.

"She's really easy to coax," Zhang Cigong said in a low voice. "I told her a few well-known stories about lovers committing suicide together, and I even moved her to tears. She would come to me for horseback riding every now and then. It's just a pity that at the time I didn't know she was the person in charge of the King of Huainan's Household. I thought she was just some head maid in charge!"

"You didn't see this princess when you reported the horse loss?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"I made a mistake back then, and someone forced me to bow with my head pressed to the ground, so I couldn't lift it at all," Zhang Cigong said in a low voice. "I only caught a glimpse of her gold-embroidered robe when I left the hall."

And then what?

"After that, I distinguished myself in horse training at the Prince's residence. She would come to watch from time to time, and even try riding the horses herself. We became more familiar with each other and had more interactions. However, she was dressed differently when she came to ride, so I didn't recognize her until a guest named Jin Chang insulted the Princess. Only then did I realize the Princess's identity. But after that, the Princess rarely came to ride horses anymore!"

Zhang Cigong whispered an explanation to Zhang Xuezhou.

He felt that he had had a great opportunity before, but lost it because he was unfamiliar with Princess Liu Ling's identity.

Now that he has been promoted to handle official duties, it will be difficult for him to use the horse racing incident to get in touch with Princess Liu Ling, so he inevitably places some of his hopes on Zhang Xuezhou.

"Try not to give yourself away!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave Zhang Cigong a piece of advice.

He felt that Zhang Cigong had encountered a woman from a high-level game.

Zhang Xuezhou was knowledgeable about women, and Rong Tianding had also gained some experience from him, thus having some expertise in dealing with beautiful and capable women.

Leaving aside other people, even women like Wei Shao'er and Wei Zifu were extremely strong.

This strength is not solely based on cultivation level, but rather on these women's ability to combine their skills with their interpersonal skills, thus enabling them to thrive in their new environment.

Without revealing his own identity, Liu Ling allowed Zhang Cigong to utilize almost all of his riding abilities, thus obtaining what he needed, rather than Zhang Cigong acting out of restraint.

It seemed that Zhang Cigong was the one coaxing Princess Liu Ling, and even managed to fool her completely, but Zhang Xuezhou felt that Zhang Cigong was actually the one Liu Ling was unwittingly hunting.

It was only because Zhang Cigong had previously acted without much guile and failed to see through Princess Liu Ling's true identity that he was able to continue smoothly.

If Zhang Cigong had even the slightest ulterior motive, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would be out of the Zhang Cigong.

He whispered instructions to Zhang Cigong about the matter, when a cry of pain came from outside the house.

"Jin Chang?"

Then came Dong Zhongshu's exclamation.

Zhang Xuezhou stepped out of the meeting hall and peeked out. He saw Dong Zhongshu push open the door to the study where a makeshift bed had been set up, while Jin Chang lay outside the door with a pained expression.

"What's wrong?"

Dong Zhongshu's exclamation echoed Zhang Xuezhou's perplexity.

The Prince of King of Huainan's Household sent people to visit; it wasn't a problem if a few people came, and it was also normal for a retainer to be secretly observing the situation.

But Zhang Xuezhou couldn't understand how a master like Jin Chang could be hit by a door that was pushed open, and was now twitching on the ground, clutching his legs.

"Are you trying to scam me at my house?"

Zhang Xuezhou grumbled, and Jin Chang looked pale and resentful.

Jin Chang squatted in the corner for a while, but didn't find Divine Lord Zhenyuan who had captured him before. He became bolder and wanted to see what was going on, so he leaned against the empty study.

He didn't stay in the shadows for long, but somehow his body cramped up the moment Dong Zhongshu opened the door, causing him to bump into Dong Zhongshu when the door was pushed open.