"Lord Shen, here's what happened..." The Prince Li then told Shen Yi what had just happened on the mountain.
"Alright, I'll tell them to make way right away!" Shen Yi readily agreed.
In his opinion, there was no better solution to this matter. A hasty and forceful attack would only harm the Fourth Prince. For now, both sides had to make concessions to ensure the safety of the Fourth Prince to the greatest extent possible.
"I wonder if there's anything the Night Shade Division can do to help?"
"Good! Then I'll have to trouble Lord Shen to arrange for someone to secretly check around the pavilion first, just in case!" The Prince Li didn't decline either. He knew the strength of the Night Shade Division, so he asked Shen Yi to send people from the division to conduct a secret investigation.
Shen Yi clearly had been prepared for what the Prince Li asked him to do. Without hesitation, he immediately agreed, "Your Highness, please rest assured. I'll go and arrange it right away!"
Then, Shen Yi first withdrew most of the imperial guards from this exit. He then dispatched three teams of men to check the situation at the pavilion more than ten miles away, in case the other side really had an ambush.
The black - clothed men got off the mountain and each mounted the fast horses prepared by the Prince Li. The leader of the black - clothed men rode in the same carriage with Xiao Hanzhi and rushed towards the appointed place together.
As soon as these black - clothed men set off, the Prince Li also mounted his horse and led his seventy or eighty personal guards, following them at a proper distance.
"Let's go! Don't you want to go and take a look?" Xuan Yuanjue also fetched two horses and threw the reins of one horse to Shen Li.
Shen Li reached out and caught it, but didn't mount the horse immediately. Instead, she gave Shen Yi in the distance an ingratiating smile. Shen Yi was already sitting in the carriage and seemed to be going to the pavilion too.
Shen Yi was sitting in the carriage. He lifted the curtain of the carriage window with one hand and looked at Shen Li disapprovingly. Then he turned his head and said a few words to his subordinate. After that, the carriage slowly moved towards Shen Li.
Shen Yi's carriage stopped beside Shen Li. Shen Yi lifted the curtain again and looked at Shen Li through the open window. "Li'er, come in!" His tone carried a hint of non - negotiability, and his eyes casually glanced in Xuan Yuanjue's direction.
"Brother! You go first! I want to ride a horse today! I'll catch up with you soon!" Shen Li unconsciously held the horse reins with both hands and twirled them around her fingers.
"Li'er, come and sit in the carriage! Just accompany your brother and have a good talk. It's been a while since we had a good chat!"
Shen Yi played the family - card, and Shen Li was instantly defeated. "Okay, brother, I'll come right away!"
Shen Li could only return the reins to Xuan Yuanjue apologetically. She bowed slightly to him and then turned around and walked towards the carriage.
Shen Yi, sitting in the carriage, glanced at Shen Li walking towards him. He showed a somewhat proud smile and smiled at Xuan Yuanjue. Before Xuan Yuanjue could react, he then lowered the curtain.
"Miss, be careful!" Han Yue, who had been standing beside the carriage, supported Shen Li's arm and helped her get into the carriage steadily.
After Shen Li was seated, Shen Yi's voice came from inside, "Let's go!"
Xuan Yuanjue stood there, holding two horse reins in his hand, watching Shen Yi's carriage raise a cloud of dust and head into the distance.
"My Lord, everyone has left. Let's go quickly too!" Xuan Shu couldn't help reminding Xuan Yuanjue, who was still staring blankly in the direction where the carriage had left.
Xuan Yuanjue didn't move after hearing this. Xuan Shu looked at Xuan Yuanjue's expression, pouted and said, "Still looking? She's already in the carriage and gone! It's a pity! Why didn't you stop her just now?"
Xuan Yuanjue reacted when he heard Xuan Shu's words. He turned his head and gave Xuan Shu a dissatisfied look. "You talk too much!"
Then, Xuan Yuanjue threw the reins that Shen Li had just returned to him into Xuan Shu's arms. Without caring whether he caught them or not, he mounted his horse and galloped away.
...
On the other side, in the carriage of Shen Li and Shen Yi, as soon as the carriage started moving, Shen Yi took out several kinds of pastries from the small drawer in the carriage and placed them on the table in front of Shen Li.
"Li'er, try these. I remember these were the pastries you liked before. Come on, see if you still like them now?"
Looking at the several kinds of pastries in front of her, Shen Li was touched. "I didn't expect that you still remember what I like to eat, brother?"
Shen Li picked up a lotus - seed paste cake and put it in her mouth. She squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
"How's the taste, little glutton?" Shen Yi asked happily, looking at Shen Li who seemed like a child in front of him.
"Delicious! It's still the same taste as before!" Shen Li picked up another pastry and stuffed it into her mouth. Her mouth was immediately bulged. She kept chewing, and her round, puffed - up cheeks made her look like a greedy squirrel.
Seeing her like this, Shen Yi was both amused and helpless. He poured a cup of tea for her. "Eat slowly. Don't choke!"
Shen Li took the tea and immediately took a sip to wash down some of the pastry in her mouth. Her cheeks immediately deflated a bit. "It's okay! I just feel like it's been a long time since I ate the pastries made by you, brother!"
"If you like, brother will make them for you again in the future!" Shen Yi lovingly rubbed the top of Shen Li's head.
"Hehe, I wouldn't dare to trouble you, brother. You're in charge of the entire Night Shade Division now. You can't do such things that only women do. Otherwise, if your subordinates know about it, you won't be able to maintain your authority at all!" Shen Li joked with Shen Yi.
"You! You! You!" With a bright smile on his face, Shen Yi helplessly pointed his finger at Shen Li's forehead. "I've already lost my authority because of you!"
"Do you still remember when you were a child and cried and shouted in the Night Shade Division, asking for the pastries made by our mother?"
Recalling her childhood, Shen Li said with nostalgia on her face, "Of course I remember. At that time, our mother and father had just left. I couldn't see them, so I cried and made a fuss all day. Later, when I stopped crying to look for mother, I started shouting at you to eat the pastries made by mother!"
"This really gave you a hard time! Mother was very skillful. The pastries she made were unique in the world. You couldn't buy them outside. If you asked others to make them, they couldn't make the same taste because they had never eaten them."
"Then, brother found the record of how mother made the pastries. Brother then went into the kitchen himself and followed the steps on it, imitating the taste of mother's pastries and making them for me to eat."