The Rebirth of the Deposed Empress

Back at the princess's mansion, Ling Xiao gave the wontons to Wan He.

"Put it in an exquisite porcelain bowl and send it to the princess."

The hot wontons were quickly served to Jialan.

She ate this wonton by chance once, and then fell in love with the taste, and often asked Ling Xiao to buy it for her.

Jia Lan smelled a familiar smell and finally felt some appetite. She scooped one into her mouth with a spoon.

Seeing that Jia Lan was finally willing to eat, Wan He said happily:

"You are finally willing to eat something. Guard Lingxiao really understands you."

Jia Lan paused holding the spoon and asked:

"He bought it?"

"Yes, it's three blocks away. Guard Ling Xiao didn't even spend half a cup of tea to buy it back."

With a clang, a spoon was thrown into the bowl, splashing some soup.

Wan He saw Jia Lan's face suddenly turned cold, and before she could react she heard her yelling:

"Get in!"

As soon as Ling Xiao came in from the door, he heard Jia Lan sneer:

"What? Ye Chuji was afraid that I would starve to death and no one would go to the Northern Kingdom for marriage, so he asked you to monitor my meals?"

Ling Xiao's hands, which were burned red by the wontons, trembled unconsciously, and he spoke softly:

"This matter has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. Your Highness, there is no need to starve yourself because of this."

She looked at the guard leader Ling Xiao who was bowing his head in front of her and said sarcastically:

"Oh, you're concerned about me? I didn't expect that I would have such a loyal dog by my side. Unfortunately, it belongs to someone else."

Ling Xiao lowered his head and pursed his lips, saying nothing and letting her mock him.

The sight of Ling Xiao lowering his head and letting her vent without saying a word made Jia Lan lose interest at all. She casually threw the wontons to the ground, and the porcelain bowl broke with a crisp sound.

"Get lost. I will leave with the Northern Kingdom soon. There are only a few days left. You don't have to pretend to be loyal to me."

Ling Xiao is a guard with superb martial arts skills. Once she marries to the Northern Kingdom and establishes this relationship for Ye Chuji, she will no longer be of any use to Ye Chuji, and he will no longer let Ling Xiao stay with her.

After Jia Lan finished speaking, she stood up and walked into the inner room. Before she had taken a few steps, she heard Ling Xiao's voice, which was not loud but clear, coming from behind her:

"I will stay by the princess' side and protect her for the rest of my life."

Jia Lan's heart trembled. She had heard Ling Xiao say this before. She laughed happily at that time, but now she just felt it was ironic.

"Why? Are you still going to monitor me for Ye Chuji after arriving in the North Country?"

After saying that, she walked into the inner room and closed the door, regardless of Ling Xiao's reaction behind her.

It is already late summer and early autumn, and the leaves in the yard are gradually turning yellow.

Hua Wu Ke had nothing to do, so he insisted on dragging Ye Bu Huo to practice martial arts in the yard.

The iron chain passed through the yellow leaves in the air and went straight towards Ye Buhuo. Ye Buhuo turned his head to the side, then used his sword to create a gust of wind that carried the yellow leaves on the ground into the air, disrupting Hua Wuke's vision.

When Ye Yi came back from outside the mansion, he saw that the two men attacked decisively but neither of them really hurt the other. The only ones who were injured were the flowers, plants and trees in the yard, which were frightened by the sword energy and dropped their leaves.

"My Lord, Princess, we have found a clue to where the silver went."

Based on the account book in Xu Shangming's hand, the two circled out several suspicious places, Huixian, Huoxian, and Fengcheng. After arranging people to secretly investigate for so long, they finally got news.

The two sat down next to each other and looked at the letter presented by Ye Yi.

Huixian is located at a transportation hub, and people from several surrounding counties often come here to barter, so there are many people coming and going.

The land in Huo County is fertile, and most of the people in the county make a living from farming.

Fengcheng is located among mountains, with only one main road leading to the city, and caravans carrying large quantities of goods often appear there.

After reading the letter, Hua Wu Ke said:

"There's something strange about Fengcheng. According to the terrain, this place should be a barren land, but we can always find traces of caravans carrying large amounts of supplies."

Ye Buhuo hummed, and continued her words:

"And the mountains are the best place to hide the traces of private soldiers."

Fengcheng became a major suspect, and the two decided to go and investigate in person.

In order not to attract attention, the two announced that they would go out for a trip to enjoy the autumn scenery before winter came.

When this matter reached Lin Siyu's ears in Hua Mansion, she raised her eyebrows and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the day of the poison taking effect was approaching, Lin Siyu had always relied on the antidote she prepared herself that was missing one medicinal ingredient to get through it.

But the incident between the old lady and Sun Ruhui some time ago caused such a big commotion that it seemed to have attracted Hua Wuke's attention to the Hua Mansion. Out of caution, Lin Siyu has not developed the white bone poison and its antidote for a long time.

"It's really time to leave."

Lin Siyu chuckled.

Fengcheng is not very close to the capital, so Ye Buhuo and Hua Wuke took Ye Yi and Qingzhu with them respectively, and they arrived at Xiao County near Fengcheng in three days.

In order not to attract attention, the two decided to go to Fengcheng to investigate first, and leave Ye Yi and Qing Zhu in Xiaoxian ready to respond at any time.

The letter said that there were often caravans in Fengcheng, so the two of them disguised themselves as a couple out for business and hired a carriage to go there.

The coachman drove the carriage along the road to Fengcheng. Just when he was halfway into the mountains, he encountered a checkpoint.

Several men in gray cloth shirts blocked the road tightly with wooden fences and shouted at them to stop.

"Stop! Stop! What are you doing here?"

The coachman that Hua Wu Ke and his companion found was a veteran in Xiao County. He was often hired by other merchants to take them around and was very skilled in dealing with such situations.

The driver thought that he just wanted to make some money by stopping people on the road.

"Hey, gentlemen, my master is a wealthy businessman from the south, and he has come to the north to do business. I heard that Fengcheng is a good place, so I want to see if there is a chance to make a fortune with you gentlemen."

As he spoke, he got off the carriage and gave some change to the men.

The coachman smiled in a fawning manner. People he had met in the past were most susceptible to this kind of flattery. They would compliment him a few times, smile and give him some silver, then quickly waved good-bye to let them pass.

But strangely, this trick doesn't work today.

He accepted the silver, but still blocked the way with a fierce look on his face.

"Get lost! There is no business you can do here!"

The groom tried to persuade them, but the men looked as if they were saying "this matter cannot be discussed", and he was at his wit's end.

Returning to the carriage, the coachman whispered:

"I have tried my best. Would you like to do business somewhere else?"

Without even asking what business the two were in, they said it couldn't be done.

Ye Buhuo and Hua Wuke looked at each other and found that there was indeed a problem.

Ye Buhuo sat in the carriage and said to the men outside:

"I have a batch of grain that I'm in a hurry to sell. I've been to several cities but couldn't find a suitable buyer. I wonder if Fengcheng can buy this batch of grain?"