Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

The hunting at Baiyan Mountain ended hastily. His Majesty returned to the capital first with the three princes and the imperial guards. The main force did not move out of camp until the afternoon and returned to Yuanjing around dusk.

Before reaching the gate of Yuanjing City, Tang Ling had already discovered that many checkpoints had been set up along the way, and merchants and civilians passing by were strictly inspected. Tang Ling and his party were escorted by the Wudu Prefecture under the imperial flag, so they had a smooth journey.

Tang Ling had asked before returning, but only received a vague answer: "A major case has occurred in Yuanjing City. Now it seems that this major case is extraordinary."

Upon entering the city, Tang Ling ordered Ye Huai to investigate. The Jingji Protectorate and the Five City Guards were searching the city for anyone. Ye Huai left for a short while before returning to inform Tang Ling of the murder of the Supreme Court Minister.

After hearing this, Tang Ling fell into deep thought. Assassinating an imperial official right under the emperor's feet was definitely not the work of bandits. The implications must be huge, otherwise no one would dare to take such a risk. This drama is sure to be exciting.

"Ye Huai, tell our people to keep a low profile and avoid frequent contact. Just focus on gathering information. Also, have them pay attention to the actions of the Five City Guards and the Capital Protectorate, how they are deployed, how they cooperate, and the patterns of patrols in Yuanjing City. If I'm right, the Five Capital Guards will also enter the city, so have them all be careful."

This is the time when the Yuan capital is most strictly guarded and patrolled. The Capital Protectorate and the Five City Guards are all mobilized, and it will also be the best time to collect intelligence.

"Yes, sir." Ye Huai hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you want to investigate this case?"

Tang Ling shook her head slightly: "Not yet. I'm afraid the Xingluo Guards won't be able to find out anything."

It was already dark when they returned to the guild hall. The first thing Qinglan did was to feed Tang Ling some medicine: "Sir, the cold can be severe or mild. You should rest early tonight."

"Hmm..." Tang Ling responded and ordered, "Go ask if the King of Chu has returned."

"Sir, go to bed early. Stop worrying about others." Qing Lan couldn't help but grumble, "He followed the Emperor of Chen back to Yuanjing early this morning. He must be back."

"You go and ask." Tang Ling handed the empty medicine bowl to Qinglan and asked him to go.

Qinglan curled his lips. He still had to obey Tang Ling's orders and could only go and ask.

"Sir, I've asked, and the chancellor said the King of Chu hasn't returned yet."

"Not yet? It's so late..." Qi Xiao probably couldn't intervene in the case of the Dali Temple. Could it be that His Majesty kept him in the palace? Or did he go to visit Concubine Lin?

"Sir..." Qing Lan saw Tang Ling lost in thought and hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking, "Sir, why bother with him?"

Yesterday at the camp, Qi Xiao kidnapped Tang Ling in front of Qing Lan, which scared Qing Lan to death. Unfortunately, Qing Lan was not a good rider and could not catch up with her at all. He was so anxious that he wandered outside the woods like a headless fly for almost two hours. He only breathed a sigh of relief when Ye Huai brought Tang Ling out.

Tang Ling came back, but her face looked not good. After returning to the tent, Qinglan took Tang Ling's pulse and found that she had caught a cold and started to have a fever in the second half of the night. Qinglan was so angry that he wanted to throw Qi Xiao into a stone mortar and crush him into powder to use as medicine for Tang Ling!

Qi Xiao is a very crazy person. Ever since she met Qi Xiao, Tang Ling has been either injured or sick, and has no peace for a day. He was born with the disease, and it took him many years of careful treatment to cure his old illness of palpitations and restlessness. If this continues, even Qinglan, even a god, may not be able to save him.

Tang Ling smiled and suddenly said, "Qinglan, I like him."

Qing Lan snorted softly, not understanding Tang Ling's meaning for a moment, and continued, "Sir, forgive me for being blunt, but I don't like him."

Tang Ling chuckled and looked at Qing Lan seriously and said, "What I mean is, I'm in love with Qi Xiao."

When Qinglan heard this, he was stunned as if struck by lightning. He was stunned for a long time. After a long while, Qinglan suddenly rushed out without saying a word. Before he could clean up the jars of medicine in the corridor, Qinglan poured out the residue, smelled it and tasted it himself. The medicine was correct!

Is it because he is confused? !

Qinglan hurried back, pulled Tang Ling up and took his pulse. He had qi stagnation and blood deficiency, and his pulse was a little weak, but it was not a big problem. He touched Tang Ling's forehead again and found that the fever had subsided. What happened?

Tang Ling couldn't help laughing at Qing Lan's silly look. She turned her wrist, pulled Qing Lan back, and said, "I'm fine."

"Master...are you really okay? What's wrong with you? Don't scare Qinglan."

"Qinglan, he's very good, I really like him."

"He, he, he..." Qing Lan seemed to bite his tongue, and finally managed to say a complete sentence, "He always bullies the young master, what's good about that?!"

Qinglan was slow in the ways of the world, let alone think he could figure out the situation between Tang Ling and Qi Xiao on his own. But Qinglan was someone close to Tang Ling, so hiding it from her was impossible. Tang Ling had no intention of hiding it either, so she had to explain it to Qinglan.

"Qinglan, I've taught you many times that you shouldn't just look at appearances when meeting people or things, and you certainly shouldn't make hasty judgments." Tang Ling pulled Qinglan to sit down and said patiently, "Regardless of anything else, Qi Xiao treats you very well."

"...Me?! Sir, are you kidding me?"

"Qinglan, you've been by my side, and I've spoiled you until you've become unruly. In the Great Zhou, you belonged to the Xun'an Marquis Mansion, and you were by my side. No matter how unruly you were, no one would have bothered you. You were straightforward and young, so everyone knew you had no bad intentions, and they tolerated you. But in the State of Chen, our statuses are different. You repeatedly provoked Qi Xiao, and he could have executed you in Yongcheng, but he never made a fuss. In Lanquan, you saw him kill someone with your own eyes, and you thought he was a man without temper?"

Qinglan opened his mouth, then slowly lowered his head. That night with Lanquan was terrifying, and he still occasionally had nightmares about it. Tang Ling was a hostage of the Zhou Kingdom, the key to peace talks, but Qinglan was just a servant; Qi Xiao didn't need to save him. Qinglan only remembered Qi Xiao making Tang Ling sleep on the floor all night, which caused her to have a high fever, but he forgot that Qi Xiao also saved his life.

"Qinglan, he saved me so that our two countries could negotiate peace, but he saved you first. That's what I'm truly grateful for." Tang Ling raised her hand and touched Qinglan's head. "In that situation, there was no time to think before we could see his true nature. In his eyes, your life is the same as mine."

Tang Ling couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Qi Xiao, whispering, "Even if the same thing happened again today, he'd still save you first." Back then, Tang Ling was a hostage of the Zhou Kingdom, and in Qi Xiao's eyes, his life was no more valuable than a servant's. Now, Tang Ling was the one Qi Xiao loved, and Qi Xiao would definitely save her at all costs, but he would still protect the innocent. This was Qi Xiao's most valuable quality, something he perhaps didn't even realize.

Qinglan understood it originally, but he seemed to be confused by Tang Ling's last sentence.

"Sir, even if he's a good man, he's not good to you." After hearing Tang Ling's words, Qing Lan remembered Qi Xiao's lifesaver in her heart and would no longer look down on him. But gratitude is one thing, and liking someone is another. How could Tang Ling love someone who treats him badly?! Qing Lan felt sorry for him.

"Falling in love with someone isn't about how well he treats you. The key is whether he's worth it. I like his loyalty and loyalty, but I also like his free-spirited nature." Tang Ling lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, "If he loves me, he'll naturally treat me well. Or do you think your young master isn't worth it?"

"How could it be! There is no one better than you in the whole world!"

Tang Ling smiled and nodded: "Okay, go keep an eye on it for me, and let me know when he comes back."

"...Oh." Qinglan listened to Tang Ling's words, and seemed to understand some of them, but there was one thing he understood, Tang Ling really liked Qi Xiao. There was a reason why a gentleman liked a gentleman. Even if he was stupid and couldn't figure it out for a moment, he knew that he had to be obedient and he would figure it out slowly if he thought about it.