Li Chenxi felt Xue Zining's gaze and looked up to meet it, saying sarcastically, "What? Am I wrong?"
"You are not wrong," Xue Zining said coldly.
Her clear, cold gaze was like the heavy frost in the deep autumn night, chilling to the bone.
Looking at this icy gaze, Li Chenxi suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, as if he knew this person.
But when had he ever known someone like this? Or had he encountered them before?
"Li Chenxi?" Hua Yun Dan called his name softly.
Li Chenxi startled, snapping back to attention. "I... what is it?"
"What were you just thinking about?" Hua Yun Dan asked.
Li Chenxi shook his head. "I wasn't thinking about anything. I just felt..."
"Felt what?" Hua Yun Dan pressed.
Li Chenxi shook his head again. "I can't quite say right now."
The next day, news spread that Sun Hao had died inside his tent.
Xue Zining was greatly shocked. She had seen Sun Hao just yesterday and spoken with him. How could he have been murdered overnight?
Although Sun Hao was injured, his combat skills were still intact. He had come from the Imperial Guard training camp, and more importantly, he had been personally selected by Prince Jing. How could he have been killed so silently?
She questioned the guards on patrol during the night, but none had heard any strange sounds.
"Alright, I understand. You may go. Remember to increase the patrols here," Xue Zining said to the guard.
The guard took the order and withdrew.
"Guard Ning..."
Xue Zining looked up to see Hua Yun Dan approaching. She stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister Hua."
Hua Yun Dan nodded slightly. "I heard that Guard Sun was murdered?"
She nodded. "Yes, but Prime Minister Hua, please rest assured. I will strengthen the defenses."
"What good is strengthening defenses? If that person could enter here undetected, it's unlikely that simply increasing defenses will be enough," the recently arrived Li Chenxi said coldly.
Xue Zining heard this and looked up at Li Chenxi, her tone icy. "Then what does Lord Li suggest? If Lord Li has a solution, I will follow it."
Li Chenxi was momentarily stunned, finding himself speechless.
Seeing this, Xue Zining said coldly, "Since Lord Li has no instructions, then I ask Lord Li to trust me."
Li Chenxi pouted. For some reason, he found himself powerless before this Guard Ning. Even if he had power, it was completely suppressed by this Guard Ning. Even when he wanted to retort, at some point, he even forgot to do so.
He found this behavior strange. To put it bluntly, he wasn't even afraid of Emperor Yun, so why was he suddenly afraid of this person?
Was it simply because, at a certain moment, this person resembled His Highness?
He quickly shook his head. His Highness would surely not be pleased if he mistook someone for him like this.
"Everything will be as Guard Ning arranges. However, Prime Minister, I need to continue into the hunting grounds with Lord Li to search for His Majesty. I hope Guard Ning can assign some men to accompany us." Hua Yun Dan stated.
Xue Zining nodded. Li Chenxi tugged on Hua Yun Dan's arm and whispered, "Yun Dan, you and I are enough to search for His Majesty. Why do we need to bring along a tag-along?"
Hua Yun Dan ignored Li Chenxi and instead looked at Xue Zining, asking, "Does Guard Ning have any difficulties?"
Xue Zining shook her head. "None." She was also somewhat surprised that Hua Yun Dan would actively ask her for men.
"Very well, I will go make preparations," Hua Yun Dan said and left.
Xue Zining narrowed her eyes, gazing at Hua Yun Dan's receding back with a thoughtful expression.
Hua Yun Dan returned to the tent, and Li Chenxi followed, asking, "Yun Dan, why did you ask him for men? Wouldn't that be unsafe for His Majesty's safety?"
Hua Yun Dan glanced at Li Chenxi and slowly replied, "It won't be. Besides, having more people will make the search faster."
"Then aren't you afraid that the people he sends might have ill intentions?"
Hua Yun Dan chuckled. "If that were the case, it would be best. But I'm afraid he won't."
Li Chenxi was confused. "Yun Dan, I don't quite understand what you're saying."
"If something were to happen to us, who would be the first to be suspected?" Hua Yun Dan asked.
Li Chenxi started, then blurted out, "Of course, Prince Jing."
"Exactly. His Majesty's disappearance would already lead people to suspect Prince Jing's involvement. But if something were to happen to you and me as well, wouldn't that make it even more certain that it was Prince Jing?" Hua Yun Dan questioned.
"But Yun Dan, by doing this, aren't you playing into Prince Jing's hands?" Li Chenxi still asked, somewhat unclearly.
"While that may be true, don't forget that the relationship within the Huang Ze Kingdom is not as harmonious as it appears on the surface. Prince Jing is still Prince Jing; he is not yet Emperor. Many people are waiting for him to make a mistake."
Li Chenxi suddenly understood. "Yun Dan, now that you put it that way, I seem to understand. Does this mean that His Majesty might also have been rescued by someone who is an enemy of Prince Jing?"
Hua Yun Dan nodded. "It's possible. But it's also possible he's still in Prince Jing's hands. After all, Prince Jing immediately returned to the palace after the incident."
Li Chenxi said with worry, "I wonder if His Majesty will be alright. How could something happen when Cheng Fei was following him?"
Hua Yun Dan froze. He looked at Li Chenxi and asked, "Say that again."
Li Chenxi was startled by Hua Yun Dan's expression. "I... I meant, how could something happen to His Majesty when Cheng Fei was following him?"
"Yes, that's the very sentence," Hua Yun Dan said.
"Is there something wrong with what I said?" Li Chenxi asked.
"How do you assess Cheng Fei's skills?" Hua Yun Dan asked.
Li Chenxi replied, "If Cheng Fei hadn't been imprisoned for so long back then, his skills would have been the highest among the secret guards. Even now, though he's not as good as he used to be, he's still not inferior to me."
"So, if someone wanted to harm His Majesty, it would be difficult," Hua Yun Dan asked.
Li Chenxi nodded. "However, I had Cheng Fei follow His Majesty later. Perhaps His Majesty didn't wait for Cheng Fei to arrive, so..."
"If that's the case, why didn't Cheng Fei return to tell us?"
Li Chenxi started. "Could it be that Cheng Fei knows that person?"
"Knowing them, I can't say for sure. It's possible that the person had no intention of harming His Majesty."
"So, His Majesty should be safe for the time being," Li Chenxi said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Li Chenxi, you Feng Guards have a way to communicate with each other, right!"
Li Chenxi heard this. "Yun Dan, now that you mention it, I remember. I can contact Cheng Fei."
Hua Yun Dan stopped Li Chenxi. "No rush. We'll talk about it after we get out."
Li Chenxi understood Hua Yun Dan's caution.
Inside a courtyard, a man sat on a stone chair. He wore black robes and a jade crown, his back tall and straight.
He had just raised his teacup when someone landed before him and whispered a few words. The hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.