Moonlight and wind

"Dead?" The left prime minister sitting in Duan's house had just received news from Yunlan City. "Dead is good! He was just a tool for Taishi Tong to make money! But is there any news from Emperor Wu?"

"Replying to the Left Prime Minister, the memorial about Yunlan City has been submitted by the Imperial Censor under the Right Prime Minister, because it involves Princess Jinyu secretly giving the flag waist badge bestowed on her by the Emperor to Shan Zimo. Until now, the Emperor has been in seclusion in Longquan Tower and has not made any clear statement."

"This unmarried daughter-in-law is really caring!" Duan Wende sneered, "Go to Jinxiufang and tell Yunfang to withdraw our forces from Yunlan City immediately!"

"Reporting to Prime Minister Zuo, after Shan Zimo escaped from danger, Miss Yunfang had already evacuated her people!"

"Humph, this girl has so many ideas!"

"Let that idiot die!" In the Taishi Mansion, the Right Prime Minister listened to the news from the visitor and sipped the tea in his hand, not seeming to care at all.

"Reporting to the Right Prime Minister, we have found people from the Left Prime Minister's Jinxiufang in Yunlan City. They should be here to save Young Master Shan."

"It's as expected. How could that old fellow Duan Wende let go of such a young talent?" The Right Prime Minister put down the teacup in his hand and smiled. "It's not certain which side Shan Zimo will stand on in the end!"

"Which side do you stand on?" Shan Zimo continued to move forward with the team, and asked him at a glance whether he would stand on the left or right side. "I won't stand with anyone, I'll go in the middle! Don't involve me in their fight, I have more important things to do!"

"I'm afraid this is not up to you, young master!" He shook his head.

"How will father punish Jinyu?" In Fengyi Palace, Princess Jinyu was kneeling at the feet of Empress Jing.

"You should never, ever give the flag badge given to you by your father to Shan Zimo!" Empress Jing was slightly angry. "Do you know why your father doesn't like your brothers? Because they are too involved in politics. Why are you involved in this fight?"

"Mother! Jinyu is not involved in politics! Jinyu is just saving her future husband, what's wrong with that?"

"You're still quibbling!" Empress Jing slammed the table hard, "Don't you know that Dan Zimo is the target of the struggle between Duan Wende and Taishi Tong in the court? Do you still dare to say that you are not involved in politics?"

Seeing Princess Jinyu kneeling there without saying anything, Empress Jing could only sigh, "Mother is doing this for your own good. Let Shan Zimo use the flag officer's waist badge. He secretly transferred to the Western Office, even if he executed a few officials, it's not a big deal! I want to tell you a few words from my heart. Don't think you are pretending well. Your father is not a person who only looks at appearances!"

After hearing these words, Princess Jinyu couldn't help but shudder.

"Your father is now in this position, and he is more terrifying than you can imagine!" Empress Jing leaned over and whispered in Princess Jinyu's ear. Princess Jinyu stood there stiffly. "Go to Longquan Tower and kneel down! Kneel down until the chief eunuch Duan comes out to pass on the message, and then come back!"

Princess Jinyu followed Empress Jing's instructions and knelt obediently outside Longquan Tower.

"Ouch!" Duan Tonghai knelt down as soon as he saw Princess Jinyu kneeling down. "Princess Jinyu, you should go back. The Emperor is in seclusion and practicing cultivation. He won't see anyone. Don't kneel on this cold stone slab and get sick!"

"Please tell my father a message, eunuch," Princess Jinyu cried, "Jinyu knows she was wrong! Jinyu was so eager to save people that she almost caused trouble! Jinyu will be confined to the palace and reflect on her mistakes!"

"Princess Jinyu, please don't embarrass me!" Duan Tonghai knelt down and didn't dare to stand up. "The Emperor is in seclusion, and I can't enter the Longquan Tower!"

"So," Princess Jinyu rolled her eyes, "Father still doesn't know what happened to Shan Zimo along the way?"

"That's right! Princess, you should go back. It's unknown when Emperor Wu will come out of seclusion. You don't have to suffer here anymore!"

"Thank you for telling Jinyu all this, I will come to see my father later!" Before Duan Tonghai could react, Princess Jinyu jumped up and ran away!

"Why did you come back so early?" Empress Jing, who was drinking tea in Fengyi Palace, saw Princess Jinyu running in, "Did you see Duan Tonghai?"

"Yes," Princess Jinyu grabbed the teacup on the table and drank it, "He let me come back, no need to kneel there anymore! Mother, it's okay, I'll go back to the palace!"

"Hey! You child!" Empress Jing failed to stop Princess Jinyu who ran out in a hurry. "Has Jinyu seen Duan Tonghai?" Empress Jing asked the father-in-law standing beside her.

"Yes, I did, but..." The eunuch hesitated, "The Emperor may not know that the princess has been to Longquan Pagoda."

"This is simply nonsense!" Empress Jing suddenly thought of something, "Someone, keep Princess Jinyu under guard for me. Don't allow her to step out of the palace!"

Empress Jing was the one who knew Jin Yu best. After returning to the palace, Princess Jin Yu packed her luggage and shouted that she wanted to leave the palace and go south to catch up with Shan Zimo and go with him. While she was packing, Empress Jing's guards had surrounded Princess Jin Yu. Seeing this, Princess Jin Yu knew that she had no hope of leaving the palace, so she sat in a chair in a trance.

In the next two days, Shan Zimo and his party continued to move eastward. Except for Shan Zimo, everyone else was worried about the Yunlan City incident. Along the way, they carefully chose several small roads, hoping to avoid the officers and soldiers who came to pursue them.

However, unexpectedly, the Yunlan City incident seemed to have never happened. Not to mention the officers and soldiers who were chasing them, even the soldiers guarding the small towns along the way did not even look at them!

"Is this reasonable?" Shan Zimo and his companions came to a place called Fengcang Town, which was neither big nor small, but it looked quite prosperous. "Bai Yu, go and see if there is a wanted order for us in this town?"

Shan Boyu rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's good enough that you didn't chase us. But you're the one who's taking on the responsibility!" Shan Boyu squeezed to the bulletin board near the city gate and looked through it carefully. There was not a single word about them!

"No! Nothing!" Shan Boyu returned to the team. "We have been sleeping in the open air all the way. We can at least rest in this town. You are fine, but you should also consider Miss Qi and Zi Ling'er!"

Shan Zimo then realized that everyone was covered in dirt. If they were not dressed more decently, they would be no different from Master Zhiye's beggars! "Let's go and rest in this town!"

Zizhong skillfully checked everyone in at the inn, and everyone washed and dressed up before returning to the lobby to wait for food.

"With our current progress, if nothing unexpected happens," he looked at the Wu Kingdom Mountains and Rivers Map in his hand, "I can say that if nothing unexpected happens, we will reach the largest city in the East China Sea - Hailan City - in two days!"

"Hai Lan City?" Shan Zimo chuckled, "Is it a clothing store?"

"Well, there should be a tailor shop selling clothes in the city!" This question stumped the man.

"Gentlemen," the inn's waiter stood in front of Shan Zimo, holding a wooden tray in his hands, "someone just now asked me to give these things to this gentleman in the aqua-colored robe."

Shan Zimo took the wooden tray, on which there was a brocade bag. Shan Zimo opened the brocade bag, and inside was a dagger and a letter. Shan Zimo looked at the letter and showed a happy expression, "Guess who this letter is from?"