Song Yinghuai was unusually calm. "Is it Sheng Jiangli?"
Just as the tip of the knife had pierced Han Fen's chest by an inch, Song Yinghuai's cold voice rang out.
"Spare your life for now and wait for further use!"
Han Fen, who had the knife hovering in front of his chest, paused and silently lowered his head in response.
"...Yes!"
He also knew that Song Yinghuai was short of men at the moment. He had to spare this life for now. Protecting the master was the most important thing.
Song Yinghuai had already risen from his seat. Ji Qian rushed in from outside the door, with a look of relief on his face.
"Your Highness, we've received the signal flares from our brothers. There's news of Miss Caiyu. She's thirty li southwest of here!"
A slight softening flashed across Song Yinghuai's cold face.
She was finally willing to come back. She was quite sensible.
"I'll go there myself." Song Yinghuai strode out of the inner hall of the county yamen and mounted his horse.
He wanted to ask that girl in person how many times she would deceive him before she stopped.
Hearing the news of Caiyu, Han Fen also felt slightly relieved and quickly followed up.
But Song Yinghuai stopped him. His voice was like a cold spring crashing against the cliff, chilling Han Fen to the core. "You don't need to go!"
Han Fen stared blankly at the dust rising behind the horse, his eyes turning red.
Did the prince not want him anymore?
Did he not trust his ability?
The county magistrate of Peixian had been trembling and trying to make himself invisible. Now that Song Yinghuai had left, he wiped the cold sweat on his forehead like a waterfall and carefully approached Han Fen.
"Lord Han... In my humble opinion, perhaps the prince didn't let you go because of that -"
He pointed at the Buddhist beads scattered all over the room, hitting the nail on the head.
Maybe because he didn't have a powerful backer or sufficient background, he had only been a small county magistrate after more than thirty years in the officialdom.
But he was extremely good at observing people's expressions.
He had long noticed the prince constantly rubbing the Buddhist beads.
When the beads were broken in a fit of rage, he also keenly saw the momentary regret in the prince's eyes.
These Buddhist beads... were important!
Han Fen looked in the direction the magistrate was pointing.
The Buddhist beads made of Vajra Bodhi were scattered all over the room, like stars on a chessboard.
Han Fen was suddenly enlightened. He slapped the magistrate on the shoulder.
"Magistrate Du, you're quite capable. You've made a great contribution!"
He called out to Ning Shi and the others. "Hurry up and collect the Buddhist beads. There are 108 of them. Not a single one can be missing!"
Thirty li southwest of Peixian County, there was a village.
After separating from Sheng Jiangli, Caiyu rode her horse at full speed for twenty li. Just then, she met the Jinyiwei officers searching house by house. She immediately got in touch with them.
The girl who had made the Prince of Yan so angry had returned safely. Everyone's hearts, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down. They quickly sent up signal flares to report the good news.
After setting up ambushes and tracking people all day yesterday, everyone was exhausted. So they decided to take a rest in the village's ancestral hall for a while.
A Jinyiwei officer walked in from outside. "We've received the signal from Lord Ji. He told us to wait here."
That was fine.
When the villagers heard that the imperial officers had come to the village, the village head and the local clan leader were so flustered that they prepared all kinds of food and drinks to entertain them.
Salted duck, cured meat, spiced spare ribs, Wan San's pork knuckle...
The villagers had managed to prepare all the meat they could find to treat the guests. It was quite a sumptuous meal.
Caiyu sat quietly on one side, chewing slowly while quickly thinking about how to explain to Song Yinghuai when she got back.
Or maybe he couldn't wait to find her and had already rushed to the capital?
Just as the meal was finished and the table hadn't been cleared yet, the neighing of a galloping horse came from outside the ancestral hall.
Then, a tall figure of a man appeared at the door of the ancestral hall.
Behind him, catkins were flying in the air, floating above his flickering face.
Caiyu's heart skipped a beat. She stared at the man striding towards her in shock.
He... had come in person?
Why hadn't he rushed to the capital yet?
Would he still be in time if he didn't hurry?
The man walking towards her looked gloomy. His deep pupils were half - closed, and his handsome face was covered with an unprecedented coldness. His hands were hidden in his wide robe sleeves, making it hard to tell his mood at the moment.
But Caiyu felt that Song Yinghuai's hands in his sleeves were clenched. She even heard the slight cracking sound of his knuckles.
Caiyu took a deep breath silently.
He was extremely angry.
She didn't know if he was angry because she had ruined his plan, or because she had ignored his arrangement and gone to the mountain path, or...
Had he discovered the truth and knew that she had saved Sheng Jiangli, so he had come to ask for an explanation?
Anyway, it was best to strike first at the moment!
Caiyu quickly stood up from her chair. A string of tears fell from her face.
"Your Highness!"
Caiyu choked with sobs and threw herself into the angry man's arms, ignoring his murderous intent and hugging him tightly.
"I'm still alive! I was so afraid I would never come back!"
The man, who had been full of anger, was suddenly hugged by the delicate girl. He didn't know how to vent his anger. He could only stand there stiffly, letting Caiyu wrap her arms around his waist.
Just as the volcanic magma was about to erupt, the crust suddenly stopped moving. It reached the crater but couldn't erupt.
Song Yinghuai felt as if he had punched a cotton ball.
He slowly gritted his teeth and coldly asked, "Is it Sheng Jiangli?"
As soon as he said this, he felt the delicate body pressed tightly against him gradually stiffen.
His eyes also gradually turned cold.
It seemed that his guess was right.
Caiyu had long guessed that he was going to set a trap to kill Sheng Jiangli.
On the half - hour ride here, Song Yinghuai had gone from extreme anger to deep disappointment, and finally become unusually calm.
He reached out his hand. His slightly calloused fingertips gently stroked Caiyu's delicate cheek. His calm expression was terrifying. He asked softly, "When did you know it was him?"
"Your Highness."
After the initial panic, Caiyu quickly adjusted her emotions.
She raised her head from Song Yinghuai's arms. Instead of being delicate and charming, she looked a bit willful. Her small face was full of anger, and her tone was slightly cold.
"Your Highness, are you suspecting again that I'm going to elope with General Sheng?"
Song Yinghuai frowned and stared at her in surprise at her audacious retort. For a moment, he was speechless.
This girl was becoming more and more lawless!
She had ruined his important plan and still dared to question him?
"Lan Caiyu." Song Yinghuai stared at her dangerously and uttered her name in a low voice.
Caiyu had already figured out a pattern.
When Song Yinghuai was about to get angry with her, he always called her by her full name.
Caiyu's heart trembled slightly, but her expression became even more stubborn. She preemptively blocked his impending threat.
"Your Highness, I never answered your question last time. Let me answer it today!"
Song Yinghuai: ...
Caiyu didn't give him a chance to speak and continued. "I was abducted by General Sheng in the Lianyin Pavilion last time. I don't know why Your Highness thinks I would fall in love with General Sheng and elope with him..."
It was because you had known each other before!
Song Yinghuai thought silently in his heart but didn't want to expose her clumsy act. He just quietly listened to her continue.
Caiyu: "If I really wanted to elope with General Sheng, I could have escaped with him through the secret passage when Your Highness didn't arrive last time. How could I have given Your Highness the chance to shoot him with an arrow?"
Song Yinghuai: ...
There was some truth in her words.
Although she had hidden the fact that they had known each other before, as she said, it was true that she didn't intend to leave with Sheng Jiangli.
His anger was dampened a bit.
Caiyu secretly raised her eyes and saw that the ice in the man's eyes seemed to be cracking. She quickly seized the opportunity and pouted her red lips.
"I did try to shake off Guard Han and the others to find Your Highness the other day because I guessed it was General Sheng."
As soon as she said this, she felt Song Yinghuai's handsome face suddenly turn cold and sharp!