The Second World in Ancient Times

Tents stood in the hunting grounds, and everyone was making final preparations for the upcoming hunting event. But I, on my mind, was more pressing than hunting itself—uncovering the Queen and Prince's conspiracy, and protecting the King and everyone else.

"Wanqing, take Afeng and the others to pretend to pack things near the tent. I'm going out for a walk to familiarize myself with the environment of the hunting ground. Don't arouse suspicion." I whispered to Wanqing.

"Your Majesty, this hunting ground may seem peaceful, but it is actually fraught with danger. You must be extremely careful." Wanqing looked at me with concern.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." I patted her hand, gave her a comforting look, and walked towards the depths of the hunting ground with two trusted guards.

As I walked, I pretended to admire the scenery, but in reality I was carefully observing the surrounding terrain. Drawing on my modern knowledge of geography, I noted the direction of the mountains, the distribution of rivers, and the density of the trees.

"Look, the valley over there is low-lying, with steep slopes on both sides. If someone is lying in ambush on the slopes, once we enter the valley, we will be surrounded by them and become trapped." I pointed to the valley not far away and said to the guard beside me.

"Your Majesty, how did you know? This valley doesn't look unusual." A guard asked curiously.

"This is just like the geographical advantage mentioned in military strategy. From the perspective of terrain, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it an ideal place to set an ambush. Also, look at the grass at the entrance of the valley. There are traces of being trampled. Although it is very slight, it can't escape my eyes. I guess someone must have been active here not long ago." I explained patiently.

Continuing on, we came to a forest. I squatted down and examined the soil. "This soil is fresh, like it's been disturbed. Also, some of the branches of the trees here have been broken off by humans, but they haven't been taken away. This is definitely not normal."

"Could someone have set a trap here, Your Majesty?" the guard asked warily.

"It's very likely. Let's go deeper into the woods and see if we find anything else." I stood up and walked cautiously into the woods.

At the edge of the woods, I found some strange footprints. They were of varying sizes and depths, clearly not from the same person. A thought struck me, as I remembered seeing some soldiers' footprints at the palace that bore some resemblance to these.

"Look carefully at these footprints. Do they look familiar to you? I suspect they were left by the spies planted by the Queen and the Prince in the hunting team. They came here in advance to make arrangements in order to launch a surprise attack during the hunt." I said.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" asked the guard.

"Don't alert the enemy for now. After we go back, we will carefully observe the actions of those soldiers and servants and find their flaws." I answered after thinking for a moment.

Back at the camp, I quietly observed everyone's movements. As the soldiers were moving supplies, I noticed a few of them were avoiding others' gazes, and their eye contact was awkward.

I called Wanqing over and whispered, "Wanqing, approach those soldiers and pretend to chat with them casually to see if you can get any information out of them. Remember, be careful and don't let them detect your intentions."

Wanqing nodded and walked towards the soldiers with a tray of tea. "Comrades, thank you for your hard work. This is the tea sent by the Empress to quench your thirst," Wanqing said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward." The soldiers saluted.

"General, this hunting ground is really big. Have you been here before?" Wanqing began her exploration.

"We are just following orders. We have never been here before," a soldier replied.

"Oh, I see. I heard that there are sometimes wild animals in this hunting ground, so you have to be careful." Wanqing continued.

"Don't worry, your majesty, we are here. No wild beasts will harm your masters." said another soldier.

Wanqing chatted with them for a while, then returned to me. "My Lady," Wanqing said helplessly, "they seem very cautious and haven't revealed any flaws."

"It's okay, I have other ways." I already had a plan in mind.

I called Afeng and said to him, "Afeng, go and secretly investigate the background of these soldiers in the palace. See who they are closely connected with and whether there are any signs of any contact with the queen or the prince."

"Yes, your majesty." Afeng took the order and left.

After a while, Afeng returned with a report: "Your Majesty, after investigation, we discovered that several of the soldiers were the prince's trusted guards. They had previously served by his side. Their inclusion in the hunting party this time is indeed somewhat suspicious."

"It's just as I expected. It seems that the Queen and the Prince have laid out a very deep conspiracy. However, now that we have seen through their conspiracy, we can't just sit there and wait for death." I said with a firm look.

"Your Majesty, have you come up with a plan to deal with this?" Wanqing asked.

"Well, I was thinking, we can take advantage of their own tactic. They want to launch an ambush during the hunt, so we should control their accomplices before they take action, and then set our own trap at their ambush point to make them fall into the trap." I slowly told my plan.

"Your Majesty, this plan is very good, but it requires careful planning. Any mistake will alert the enemy." Afeng said worriedly.

"That's right, so we have to be more cautious. Afeng, you select some reliable people to secretly monitor those traitors. Once there is any sign of trouble, report to me immediately. I will then discuss with other loyal ministers and strive to gain their support." I said.

"Yes, your majesty." Afeng took the order and left again.

I led Wanqing to the tent of a loyal minister. "Sir, I've come to discuss an important matter with you," I said straight to the point when I met the minister.

"Your Majesty, please tell me. If there is any way I can be of service, I will do it even if it means death." The minister said respectfully.

I told the minister everything about the conspiracy between the queen and the prince, as well as my plan. After hearing this, the minister's face became serious.

"Your Majesty, this is an act of treason. I, an old minister, will fully support Your Majesty and protect the safety of the king and the court." The minister said firmly.

"With your support, I feel relieved. We must act as soon as possible and make all preparations before the hunt begins," I said.

After discussing with the ministers, I returned to my tent, silently praying that the plan would go smoothly.