The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

"As soon as I entered the tent, I was stunned by the scene before me." Chen Zigui recalled the scene, his tone carrying a hint of shock that was hard to conceal. "That tent didn't look like a general's tent at all, it was clearly a luxurious palace!"

"What's the difference between his tent and the tent?" Chai Zhen asked, with a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"Your Majesty, the tents are made of the finest Shu brocade, embroidered with intricate patterns. It's dazzling and colorful, and it's obvious that it's worth a fortune." Chen Zigui paused and continued, "The camp is also filled with all kinds of rare treasures, gold, silver, and jade. It's a dazzling array of everything."

Chai Zhen frowned slightly. Although he knew that Li Yusheng had made great contributions in all the previous expeditions, such extravagance and waste was really too much.

"What else?" Chai Zhen continued to ask, with a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"As soon as I entered the tent, I smelled a fragrance," Chen Zigui paused slightly, as if looking for the right words to describe the fragrance, "How should I describe that fragrance?" He frowned slightly, as if organizing his words, "It's not as sweet as ordinary incense, but it has a... a..." He tried hard to find the right adjective, "A scent of the ocean, deep and distant, but with a hint of sweetness." Chen Zigui took a deep breath, as if the fragrance was lingering at the tip of his nose at this moment, "Your Majesty, do you know what this fragrance is?" He asked, with a hint of temptation in his tone.

Svay Cheng was quite knowledgeable about spices. He paused for a moment and then asked, "But ambergris?"

"It's ambergris!" Chen Zigui said confidently, observing Chai Zhen's expression. "Your Majesty, you know this ambergris is a tribute, worth more than gold. I'd like to ask, Li Yusheng is a military commander who lives frugally. Why would he have such precious ambergris in his tent?"

Chai Zhen's expression changed slightly. Although he knew that Li Yusheng had made great contributions in all the previous expeditions and had been rewarded handsomely, ambergris was such a precious item that it should not appear in a military general's tent.

"Could it be..." Chai Zhen whispered to himself, with a hint of disbelief in his tone, "Could it be that someone gave it to me privately?"

"I've thought about this before," Chen Zigui said gravely, "but then I thought, this ambergris is so valuable, who would be willing to give it to someone else? Moreover," he paused, a hint of doubt in his tone, "what is the purpose of the person who gave it to me?"

Chai Zhen remained silent, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, lost in thought. The appearance of ambergris had made him suspicious of Li Yusheng, but he was unwilling to believe that a general he had always trusted would do anything unethical.

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui observed Chai Zhen's expression and continued cautiously, "I also noticed in the tent that Li Yusheng's brocade handkerchief seemed to be of very fine workmanship, and the pattern on it was quite unique."

Shai Zhen raised his head and asked, "What pattern?"

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui hesitated slightly, as if weighing his words, "That pattern looks like... looks like a dragon."

Shai Zhen frowned. "Dragon? What kind of dragon?"

Chen Zigui did not answer directly. He simply pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and presented it to Chai Zhen with both hands. "Your Majesty, please look. I was worried that I might have made some mistakes, so I embroidered it on this handkerchief based on my memory."

Chai Zhen took the handkerchief and looked at it carefully. He saw that on one corner of the handkerchief was embroidered a lifelike four-clawed golden dragon, flying in the clouds and looking majestic.

"This..." Chai Zhen's face darkened, and he slammed the handkerchief on the table. "This pattern is so similar to something used by the royal family!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Chen Zigui said quickly, "I suspect this handkerchief may have been taken by someone with ulterior motives..."

He lowered his voice, leaned close to Chai Zhen's ear, and whispered a name.

After hearing this, Chai Zhen's expression turned even uglier. He said meaningfully, "It seems that Princess Yunshang of Liaodan is really willing to do anything for the sake of her beloved!"

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui said in a deep voice, "I hope I'm overthinking it, but all signs indicate that this matter is serious. We must be on guard!"

Chai Zhen took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anxiety and anger, and asked, "Did you find anything else in Li Yusheng's tent?"

"I've also discovered," Chen Zigui lowered his voice slightly, as if afraid to disturb something, but his words were clear, each one like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, stirring ripples in Chai Zhen's heart. "On Li Yusheng's desk," he paused, his eyes quickly scanning Chai Zhen's expression, observing his reaction, "is a map." He paused deliberately, leaving Chai Zhen ample room for imagination.

"Map?" Shai Zhen's curiosity was piqued. He pressed on, "What map?"

Chen Zigui didn't answer immediately, instead taking on a more serious tone, as if what he was about to say was extremely confidential and dangerous. "That map..." he lowered his voice, as if mumbling to himself, "doesn't look like an ordinary map."

Shai Zhen's heartbeat quickened, and he had a bad feeling. But he forced himself to remain calm and asked, "What kind of map is it? Just tell me directly."

Chen Zigui then raised his head, looked directly into Chai Zhen's eyes, and said word by word: "What is marked on the map is exactly..." He paused again, and this time, his eyes revealed a hint of disbelief and fear.

"What exactly is it?!" Chai Zhen could no longer remain calm. He stood up suddenly and asked in a hurried tone, as if he wanted to vent all the uneasiness and anxiety in his heart.

"It's the defense map of Qifeng and its surrounding areas!" Although Chen Zigui's voice was not loud, it was like thunder, exploding in Chai Zhen's ears.

Chai Zhen felt his vision go dark, as if an invisible hand had suddenly grasped his heart, suffocating him. He stumbled back a few steps, his vision swirling with stars, and he nearly fell off the throne.

"Your Majesty!" Chen Zigui was horrified upon seeing this. He quickly stepped forward and supported the staggering Chai Zhen. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern, his tone filled with worry.

Chai Zhen waved his hands weakly, indicating he was fine. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his pounding heart. After a long moment, he slowly opened his eyes. His eyes had regained clarity, but his tone was filled with exhaustion and disbelief. "How could this happen? Why would Li Yusheng do this?"

"Your Majesty," Chen Zigui said in a deep and powerful voice, as if stating an unchangeable fact, "I suspect that Li Yusheng may have already..."

"Already what?" There was a tremor in Chai Zhen's voice. He couldn't believe that the general he trusted would actually betray him.

"Maybe he has already defected to the northern border (Liaodan Kingdom)!" When Chen Zigui said this, his voice was full of bitterness and helplessness. He himself did not dare to believe it, but everything pointed to this cruel truth.