He nodded slightly, and after a moment, a person walked in. He turned around and looked at the person approaching him.
"Sister, you've come."
This person was Xue Zi Ning. Her expression was exceptionally cold. "Xue Chang Jun, why did you kill Sun Hao?"
Xue Chang Jun was slightly taken aback, then said, "You think I killed him?"
"Don't you? You think he exposed your identity, so you silenced him."
Xue Chang Jun said indifferently, "As you said, he exposed his identity. Then, to prevent my identity from being exposed, killing him would be the proper course of action, wouldn't it?"
"Xue Chang Jun, that was a human life." Xue Zi Ning frowned and said coldly.
He let out a soft snort. "Human life? I have taken many lives, and this one hardly matters."
She froze. "So that's how it is. It seems I came to the wrong place."
"Sister, this is the first time you've returned to find me."
Xue Chang Jun's gaze was too intense, making her feel unable to cope.
"I won't come again. I thought..."
"You thought I would mend my ways? Where does evil come from without righteousness? Sister, I have always been wicked."
"So, human lives are like mere dust in your eyes?"
He looked at her. "Sister, what are human lives? As long as I achieve what I desire, anything can be sacrificed."
"Heh." She let out a soft laugh. "So I truly misjudged you. I thought that..."
"Sister, people have many facets. No one can maintain their original intentions forever because this is a dyeing vat. Even if you keep your original intentions, with repeated exposure, they will inevitably acquire color."
"Xue Chang Jun, this is the last time I will seek you out. Let us go our separate ways as before. However, I must still advise you, the throne is not something that can be forced. Sometimes it is destiny, the mandate of heaven."
He chuckled softly, his gaze indifferent. "The mandate of heaven? Are you referring to Prince Jing?"
"Chang Jun, no matter who it is, destiny cannot be changed in this life. Neither you nor I can..." she said, word by word.
With that, she turned and left.
He watched her stubborn back, then smiled. It was a bitter smile. He tilted his head back. "The mandate of heaven?" But he did not believe it. What mandate of heaven? Without striving, how could there be a mandate of heaven?
"Li Ming Chao." He said in a low voice.
Li Ming Chao descended. "Your Highness, what are your orders?"
"Investigate who killed Sun Hao."
Li Ming Chao was stunned. "Your Highness, I conveyed a task to him yesterday. How could..."
"Li Ming Chao, it seems that position is not only being contended for by me and Prince Jing."
"But, apart from you and Prince Jing, who else is qualified?" Li Ming Chao asked, confused.
"Prince Xue Chang An has disappeared, but it wouldn't be her. Sister would still not contend." He himself couldn't figure it out.
"Your Highness, could it be that Prince Jing is deliberately diverting your attention?" Li Ming Chao suggested.
"That is not impossible."
Xue Zi Ning returned to the hunting ground encampment. She went to Sun Hao's tent. On the bed, there were still faint traces of blood. Although the color had darkened, it had still remained.
She sighed. Actually, her feelings towards Sun Hao were complicated. Although Sun Hao had repeatedly targeted her, even such a person, she felt, did not deserve death.
"Have you found any clues?"
She turned to see Jiang Bei shaking his head. "No."
Jiang Bei sighed. "Although I wished he were dead before, hearing the news of his death, I still feel a certain indescribable sadness."
"Jiang Bei." She didn't know how to comfort Jiang Bei, as Sun Hao's harm to him was not something she could make him forget with mere words.
"I understand. The past grievances have vanished with his death," Jiang Bei said slowly.
"Jiang Bei, you..."
"I haven't forgiven him, but I just feel there's no point in hating a dead person. After all, I am still alive, and he..." Jiang Bei didn't finish, his gaze dimming slightly.
She sighed. Death is like a lamp extinguished. Past events are also let go.
She walked forward and saw his sword still on the bed. She stepped forward, picked it up, and drew the sword. On the hilt, there was a drop of blood. It looked like a plum blossom, and in the moonlight, it was breathtakingly beautiful.
Sun Hao's death was thus shelved. After all, he was just a guard, and his death would not stir any ripples.
In the evening, Hua Yun Dan and Li Chen Xi also returned, with no results.
The next day, Xue Zi Ning received an imperial order from Prince Jing and took Hua Yun Dan back to the palace.
Yun Huang had not been found. Could Hua Yun Dan accompany her back? She thought it unlikely, but she couldn't tell Hua Yun Dan that Hua Yun Jin was in a safe place. Sun Hao's death had made her vigilant; there might be assassins among these people.
"Impossible, His Majesty has not been found, and I will not leave." Li Chen Xi said angrily. Go back to the palace? What palace? His Majesty was nowhere to be seen, and he was in no mood for it.
"Lord Li, I am very sorry, but this place is not safe. Prince Jing has instructed me to escort the two lords back to the palace. Regarding the whereabouts of Yun Huang, Prince Jing will also do his best to send people to search." Xue Zi Ning said.
"Impossible, don't think about it. If His Majesty is not found, I will stay here one day, and I will stay here until I find him." Li Chen Xi said coldly.
"Lord Li, you searched the hunting ground meticulously. Did you see any sign of His Majesty Yun Huang?"
"What do you mean?" Li Chen Xi looked at her coldly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Lord Li, I mean no offense. Perhaps His Majesty Yun Huang is no longer at the hunting ground."
"Nonsense. Then find him for me." Li Chen Xi said frantically.
Xue Zi Ning felt a headache coming on; dealing with this Li Chen Xi was a difficult task.
"Guard Ning, why do you think His Majesty is not at the hunting ground?" Hua Yun Dan, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked.
She looked up at him and said, "Prime Minister Hua and Lord Li have been searching for three consecutive days. The hunting ground is not that large. If His Majesty Yun Huang were here, he would have been found. Clearly, His Majesty Yun Huang is no longer here. So, shouldn't we try a different approach?"
"What you say is easy to say. It's not like Prince Jing is missing." Li Chen Xi said irritably.
"If the Prince were missing, I wouldn't be searching aimlessly. I would follow the person most likely to be involved in the Prince's disappearance."
After speaking, she glanced at Hua Yun Dan. Hua Yun Dan looked up at her, and she met his gaze unflinchingly, without any evasion.
"Very well, we will set off tomorrow." Hua Yun Dan said.
"Yun Dan, you..."
"Guard Ning is right. Li Chen Xi, we cannot waste any more time here. The longer we delay, the greater the danger to His Majesty." Hua Yun Dan said.
"But where do we look?" Li Chen Xi felt that Hua Yun Dan was speaking too casually. He also wanted to find His Majesty quickly, but he was truly at a loss.