Chu Li said goodbye to Prince Bao and returned to Xiao Qi’s side.

　　“What happened?” Although Xiao Shi’s face was covered with a white veil, she stared intently at him with deep eyes.

　　Chu Li shook his head and said, “You’ll find out once we return. It’s better not to discuss this now.”

　　“Qiao San!” Leng Tao shouted after listening in on their conversation.

　　“Your Royal Highness!” Qiao San had been trailing behind the protectors of King An’s Imperial Residence, so he had only been ten steps away. The moment he heard Leng Tao calling him, Qiao San quickly went forward and gave a fist salute. “Your Royal Highness, what can I do for you?”

　　“What happened in Fairy’s Capital?” Leng Tao asked with a huff.

　　Qiao San was careful and thorough in whatever he did. He was also very good at serving others. He was also unusually attentive and conscientious. He would always complete a task even before being told to do so, and this made Leng Tao’s life a lot easier. Thus, he was a truly useful subordinate to have around.

　　Qiao San looked around with an awkward expression.

　　“There aren’t any outsiders here anyway. Just say it!” Leng Tao exhaled sharply.

　　Qiao San lowered his voice and replied, “It is said that Consort Ping has been assassinated.”

　　Chu Li glanced at Leng Tao in resignation.

　　Leng Tao cried out involuntarily, “Fourth Aunt is dead?”

　　“Yes.” Qiao San nodded.

　　“How is this possible!” Leng Tao was in disbelief.

　　King Ping’s Imperial Residence was strictly and heavily guarded. Their protectors were all dauntless warriors who possessed many years of experience on the battlefield. So when it came to killing people, they should be tougher and more valiant than most martial arts masters. Nonetheless, they had not been able to protect Consort Ping and instead, she was killed!

　　Qiao San kept his voice low when he said, “That’s what the rumors have been indicating.”

　　Leng Tao looked at Chu Li. “Head Chief Chu, is it true?”

　　Chu Li glanced at the women whose expressions had changed slightly and replied, “What’s the use of discussing this? You will only affect everyone’s mood.”

　　“Who on earth still has the mood to think about anything else!” Leng Tao yelled.

　　Chu Li replied impatiently, “You can’t bring the dead back to life anyway. Life goes on. At every moment, there’s always someone dying somewhere in the world.”

　　“In that case, she’s really dead?” Leng Tao anxiously asked.

　　Chu Li nodded. “She’s dead.”

　　Leng Tao muttered to himself in disbelief, “Dead?”

　　He had always thought that. As a descendant of the Emperor, death was something very far away from him and that no one would dare to kill him. The news of Consort Ping’s death had washed over him like floodwater from a dam breach. He realized that death could always be just around the corner!

　　Xiao Shi sat on her horse and said languidly, “It was just an assassination. Look at how frightened you are!”

　　Leng Qiu and Leng Qing had initially been in a daze. When they heard Xiao Shi’s cool and clear voice, they were awakened from their reverie and immediately remembered how Consort Xiao had encountered quite a few assassination attempts too. Nonetheless, she was still alive and well right now.

　　This meant that assassinations were not all that scary and the protectors at their Imperial Residence were powerful enough.

　　Leng Tao lifted his eyes and met Xiao Shi’s piercing gaze, which seemed to contain a hint of amusement. His face became flushed as he quickly averted his eyes and turned away.

　　Xiao Shi turned to Chu Li. “Who’s behind this?”

　　Chu Li replied, “It’s hard to tell. The investigation is still ongoing.”

　　“They’re very bold. Aren’t they afraid that King Ping will seek revenge?”

　　“Indeed.”

　　Noticing his half-hearted response, Xiao Shi understood that he did not wish to discuss this any further. So, she rolled her eyes at him and stopped asking questions.

　　…

　　Chu Li and Prince Bao stood on top of a high tower as they watched numerous horsemen battling on a vast plain that was some distance away.

　　Leng Tao had not yet recovered from his earlier shock and had ended up making a small mistake, which his opponents quickly caught on to. Eventually, he was utterly defeated. While watching the battle, Prince Bao kept shaking his head.

　　The sound of footsteps approaching could be heard as a black-clad protector climbed up the stairs to ascend the tower. He was a secret guardian from the Secret Guardians Hall.

　　Chu Li turned his gaze to the man. “Qi Meng.”

　　“Centurion Chu, this is a letter from Commander Xu.” Qi Meng handed a letter to Chu Li with both hands.

　　Chu Li received the letter from him. “Thank you.”

　　Qi Meng took a step backward.

　　Chu Li quickly read through the letter before he passed it to Prince Bao.

　　After having read through it, Prince Bao’s expression darkened. “It’s them!”

　　Chu Li reached for the letter and swiftly rubbed it into powder. He then sighed and said, “I never thought it could be them!”

　　He turned his head and looked at Qi Meng. “Please tell Commander Xu that I’ve received his message… Qi Meng, don’t let anyone else know that you’ve delivered this letter to me. There has never been any letter at all. You came because Commander Xu has summoned me back!”

　　“Understood.” Qi Meng gave a fist salute, bowed, and retreated to the top of the stairway. Then, he turned around and descended the stairs before he spurred his horse and riding off.

　　The two of them rested their hands on the handrail that was exquisitely carved with flowers and plants as they stared at the distant plain in silence.

　　As strong bouts of wind blew at them, Prince Bao’s purple robe and Chu Li’s white robe fluttered in the wind.

　　After a while, Prince Bao spoke, “Do you think the Emperor will keep this information a secret from King Ping?”

　　“I doubt we can guess the thoughts of the Emperor,” Chu Li replied and shook his head. “But as far as I can tell, the Emperor has no plans to fight two countries at the same time. We’re already struggling to deal with the Li Dynasty. If we start a war with another country, we may not have enough resources to sustain ourselves. In the end…”

　　“That’s true…” Prince Bao released a sigh and shook his head. “I feel sorry for King Ping.”

　　“If the Emperor intends to keep this a secret from King Ping, I’m afraid it’ll result in a falling-out between them,” Chu Li muttered with a frown. “As of now, only the three of us know about the true state of affairs. If we include the Emperor, there are only four people in the know. If King Ping ever finds out about the truth, all of us can’t escape from being held responsible. No one can guess whether or not the Emperor will vent his anger on us when the time comes.”

　　“I’ll advise my brother to be honest with King Ping.” Prince Bao nodded.

　　Even if the Emperor would not vent his anger on him, Prince Bao would certainly lose the Emperor’s trust which would eventually lead to serious repercussions. Therefore, he had to nip this problem in the bud.

　　“Chu Li, you should enter the royal court and become an official. You’ll definitely be able to rise to a high position,” Prince Bao said with a chuckle.

　　Chu Li was very careful, thorough, and quick-witted. He was often capable of predicting potential dangers in advance and would take appropriate preventive measures to remove such threats. If he was willing to enter the royal court, he would certainly thrive in that environment.

　　Chu Li laughed and replied, “I’m a warrior. How can I join the royal court and become an official? I prefer having a free and leisurely life.”

　　Prince Bao nodded. “That’s true. Once you become an official, you’ll be tied down to this place.

　　“Since the Li Dynasty and the Qiu Dynasty are going to war soon, don’t you think we should take this opportunity to attack the Li Dynasty?”

　　“I think we should attack them, but there’s no need to go overboard with it. We can just force them to divide their military strength so that the Li Dynasty can’t devote their full attention to dealing with the Qiu Dynasty.”

　　“Won’t we give an advantage to the Qiu Dynasty then?”

　　“If we don’t attack the Li Dynasty, they’ll be at an advantage instead. Since both options seem unfavorable, we should stick with the less detrimental choice.”

　　“The Li Dynasty is no match for Qiu Dynasty. Even if we don’t take advantage of the situation to attack them, the Li Dynasty will still be defeated. Qiu Dynasty might even end up destroying their country.”

　　“Your Royal Highness, don’t forget that the Fu Dynasty is still around,” Chu Li replied while shaking his head. “They won’t allow Qiu Dynasty to destroy Li Dynasty.”

　　“The Fu Dynasty…” Prince Bao gritted his teeth and scoffed. “They’re basically a mischief-maker!”

　　Chu Li chuckled as he nodded.

　　The Fu Dynasty had always considered themselves to be the leader of all the countries. To prevent the other four countries from challenging their status, the Fu Dynasty would keep sowing dissension among their neighboring countries and would not allow any of them to maintain peaceful relations with one another. Otherwise, they would feel uneasy.

　　If any two or even three of their neighboring countries joined hands to attack them, the Fu Dynasty would not be able to deal with so many countries at the same time no matter how powerful they were. Even if the Fu Dynasty ended up winning the war, their victory would have inflicted such a devastating toll on their resources that their losses would outweigh their gains.

　　Prince Bao sighed. “This is the sad part of being a weak country, but we don’t have to worry about these matters. Let the Emperor worry about them. We shall just take orders from him!”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　Given their positions, they were incapable of making any decisions on such matters. The most they could do was to discuss it.

　　By the time the Hunting Ceremony had ended and Chu Li had escorted the women back to King An’s Imperial Residence, everyone in the city had heard about the news of Consort Ping’s assassination. The people had fallen into a state of panic. If it was possible for even Consort Ping to be assassinated, who else could be safe?

　　However, everything ran smoothly and steadily as usual at the Imperial Residence of King An. They had experienced countless assassination attempts. Assassins from various sects of the Ji Dynasty as well as the Li Dynasty’s Holy Church of Light had visited King An’s Imperial Residence before but they had all failed in their assassination attempts. Their Imperial Residence was absolutely secured.

　　After having lunch, Chu Li stayed in Tianshu Courtyard to chat and discuss Consort Ping’s assassination with Xiao Shi and Xiao Qi. When he mentioned that a few protectors had taken their own lives, Xiao Shi felt somewhat regretful for their deaths.

　　Suddenly, Zhu Tianhua’s voice came echoing from outside. “Head Chief, there’s a protector with the surname Qi outside requesting to speak to you.”

　　“Let him in,” Chu Li replied.

　　A moment later, a black-clad Qi Meng strode in and gave a fist salute. “Greetings, Centurion.”

　　Chu Li waved a hand. “What’s the matter?”

　　Qi Meng quickly scanned their surroundings.

　　Chu Li nodded and rose to his feet. “Come with me.”