Time travel, quick transmigration

"Don't be too happy yet, you've remembered what I said."

Xiao Huanling's eyes remained cold.

Jiang He nodded with a wry smile upon hearing this.

“I’ve got it. I promise that from now on, besides Mother, you will be the third person I, Xiao Jiang, respect the most.”

Xiao Huanling then calmed down and casually glanced at him, as if remembering something.

"Where is your master ranked?"

Jiang He helped Xiao Huanling lie down on his side and applied medicine to him.

"He's stingy and has no standing with me. I've been an apprentice at the clinic for two whole years, and all he's done is teach me to identify medicinal herbs and order me around. He's not willing to teach me anything real. My master has his own son and nephew, and he's focused all his attention on them. He doesn't have time for us apprentices anyway. I don't like medicine either. If it weren't for my mother insisting that I learn a skill so I could make a living, I wouldn't bother being my master's errand boy."

Jiang He spoke lightly, but it touched Xiao Huanling's heartstrings. He too had been neglected since childhood and had always lived a life of being unappreciated. Perhaps because of a shared sense of sympathy, he was willing to help Jiang He.

"I will soon be going to serve under the Crown Prince, and I will soon gain a foothold in the capital. If you have made up your mind, you can come to me when I have succeeded."

Ever since Xiao Huanling rescued him, Jiang He had always regarded him as an object of admiration and believed that following Xiao Huanling was his lifelong pursuit. It was nothing more than risking his life, but a real man should have a grand ambition and aspirations to explore the world. He was more than willing to follow Xiao Huanling to make his mark.

"Okay, I will definitely go to find my benefactor when the time comes."

……

After returning to her room, Shi Yan did not lie down to rest, but instead talked to 0804.

"Xiao Ba, what's the situation at Dongling Temple during the two days I've been missing?"

The voice of 0804 rang out from her mind.

"Yan Yan, everything at Dongling Temple is fine. Of the four Imperial Dragon Guards that night, one died, one was seriously injured, one lost an arm, and one was slightly injured. The rest were unharmed, only a little frightened."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yan felt inexplicably heavy-hearted.

"They all lost their lives protecting my safety; it's my fault."

She didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of her. At that moment, she also felt that guilt and powerlessness.

0804, however, was unwilling to feel guilty for the sins of others.

"Yan Yan, don't be sad. Those people are the emperor's personal guards. Their duty is to obey orders. If they fail to protect the emperor or fulfill their duties, it is undoubtedly disobeying the imperial decree and they will not escape death. So you don't need to take the blame upon yourself."

“We will experience many more things together in the future. If you feel so guilty every time someone dies, I’m afraid you won’t be able to bear it. You will eventually get used to life and death. The more you see, the more you will understand that in this feudal dynasty, human life was sometimes really not worth mentioning, and the law of the jungle was the norm.”

"I think you should worry about what to do next first. Do you know that because you were assassinated and your whereabouts are unknown, the emperor is furious. He not only held the person in charge of the security of the capital region accountable and sent him to the Dali Temple for trial, but also assigned Han Jiang, the Left General of the Imperial Guard, to lead the Left Feathered Forest Army to search for your whereabouts in and around Chang'an."

"The Imperial Guards are everywhere in and around Chang'an, conducting both overt and covert investigations. If it weren't for the fact that it's not appropriate to announce it openly, the news of Yang Yuhuan's assassination and disappearance would probably be known to everyone by now."

Shi Yan had anticipated Li Longji's reaction to her disappearance, but she hadn't expected him to mobilize his Imperial Guard to search for her. To be honest, she was somewhat moved, but compared to her free will, everything related to Li Longji was insignificant.

"I might as well take this opportunity to get away from Chang'an and avoid being targeted and assassinated several times. This time I almost lost my life. It's not worth risking my life for a philandering, selfish, and fickle Li Longji."

Shi Yan's mind gradually became active.

"Quickly stop your unrealistic ideas. Have you forgotten why you came here? Have you forgotten the mission you bear? Yang Yuhuan is still waiting for you to rescue her from her suffering. We must follow the predetermined course of history. If you leave, it's equivalent to Yang Yuhuan being derailed from her destiny, and you've changed history. Deviating from history will be corrected, and you will be erased. If you dare to change history, once this spacetime collapses, everything here will disappear completely. Do you understand?"

0804 was practically begging Shi Yan to leave, fearing she might abandon everything and go.

"Stop it, you too. I told you not to eavesdrop on my thoughts, how did you break the rules again? Can't we cooperate peacefully now?"

"I just thought it was a random thought, why did you take it so seriously? Am I that irresponsible?"

0804 finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's best that you didn't have any ulterior motives."

Shi Yan wanted nothing more than to beat 0804 to a pulp. "What do you mean by 'crooked ideas'? From now on, I don't want to talk to you. I'm an injured patient right now. If you have any conscience, you'd better not say anything to upset me. I'm in pain and uncomfortable, I need to sleep."

Saying this, he took off his shoes, got onto the tatami mat, closed his eyes, and ignored the depressed 0804.

Inside the Xingqing Hall of the palace, upon learning that assassins had attacked the Dongling Temple and that their target was Yang Yuhuan, and that Yang Yuhuan had disappeared after drawing away the assassins for the safety of everyone at the Dongling Temple, Li Longji was extremely worried and furious.

For two days in a row, no news could be found about Yang Yuhuan's whereabouts. The emperor, worried about her safety, lost his mind about state affairs, couldn't eat or drink, and had trouble sleeping at night. He looked haggard and thin.

"It's been two days already. What did you say to me when I summoned you to the palace?"

"Han Jiang, I'm giving you one more chance. You have three days to find Lady Taizhen and bring her safely back to the palace. Otherwise, you'll lose your position as Left Attendant General."

Han Jiang knelt upright in the hall, bearing the emperor's wrath, his face showing neither servility nor arrogance.

"The minister obeys the order."

A cold glint flashed in Li Longji's eyes.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. If you deliberately delay and cause any harm to Lady Taizhen, not only you, but also all your generals who follow you will be punished."

"This empire belongs to me. Who has the right to question my mobilization of the Imperial Guards?"

"Get out of my way. If you don't want anyone to lose their life because of your dereliction of duty, you'd better find Lady Taizhen for me as soon as possible."

Han Jiang slowly stood up.

"Your Majesty's meaning is clear to me."

"I will spare no effort to find Lady Taizhen within three days. But I cannot guarantee whether Lady Taizhen is alive or dead."

Li Longji immediately flew into a rage, grabbed the paperweight from the dragon table, and slammed it at Han Jiang's feet.

"How dare you, Han Jiang! Do you really think I dare not punish you with death?"

Gao Lishi heard Li Longji's angry shout from outside the hall. Knowing that something was wrong, he quickly rushed into the hall and knelt down in front of Li Longji.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. General Han is simply not good with words; that's not what he really meant."

"Your Majesty, please forgive General Han, considering his long-standing dedication to guarding the capital and his unwavering loyalty."