Disease rights policy

The banquet was almost over when Chen Jiu's men came to report, "Helian Huai has not come out since entering the tent at noon, saying he is feeling unwell."

Chen Jiu was warming himself by the fire in his tent when he heard this. He asked Xie Laoshi to bring him a cloak. "What a coincidence, one or two of them are feeling unwell. Let's go and visit this old friend."

Xie Laoshi said, "Since you recognized Qin Huai so early, why didn't you expose him sooner?"

“Helian Huai, the eldest grandson of the Helian clan of Pingjing, is a notorious playboy in Pingjing,” Chen Jiu sneered. “He has ignored the affairs of the Helian family for many years, claiming that he went to seek immortality. He has only recently returned to the Helian clan, and there are many people in the Helian clan who are dissatisfied with him.”

Xie Laoshi listened quietly as Chen Jiu recounted Helian Huai's entire life in detail. He had already thoroughly investigated the person. After Qiao Ran returned from her wanderings in Jin and Chu, Chen Jiu had already found out about Helian Huai and Qin Huai.

“Even if Helian Huai has any bad intentions, he is not yet powerful enough to use them. He is just abusing his power by relying on the name of Helian’s grandson.” Chen Jiu nodded slightly when he met the people from the Imperial City Guard. He continued when they were alone, “I had someone watching him for a day, but I didn’t see him harboring any bad intentions.”

Xie Laoshi secretly glanced at Chen Jiu's expression, "Didn't Young Master Helian meet with Miss Qiao last night?"

Chen Jiu smiled at him and said, "When these two get together, all they come up with are bad ideas, which have nothing to do with what happened today."

Old Master Xie was taken aback. His young master never easily trusted others, but he seemed to have let down his guard around Miss Qiao and everything around her.

He didn't know if this was a good thing for the young master, but he knew that one day in the future, when Miss Qiao found out the truth, she would probably leave the young master forever.

What will you do then, my lord?

When Chen Jiu arrived, he could hear a commotion inside the tent. Xie Laoshi said, "Go in and report."

Helian Huai's entourage immediately went in to report, and soon a dozen or so people, men and women, emerged from the tent. They had gathered a large crowd inside, apparently because someone had been telling some folk tale.

Chen Jiu frowned and went inside. As soon as he stepped in, he smelled the heavy incense in the tent. He took out a handkerchief to cover his nose and looked up to see Helian Huai jumping off the chair, revealing a set of white teeth and saying, "I wonder what the commander has to do for you? Why have you come to my tent in the middle of the night?"

Chen Jiu waved his hand, and Xie Laoshi led his men out.

Helian Huai raised an eyebrow.

Chen Jiu then slowly said, "Young Master Qin, how have you been?"

Helian Huai feigned surprise, remaining unmoved. "What Young Master Qin? Sir, you must have had too much to drink last night and come here to sober up, spouting nonsense."

Chen Jiu ignored his feigned ignorance. "Qiao Qiao is currently missing, and there are people everywhere secretly trying to capture her. What did you say to Qiao Qiao when you met last night?"

Helian Huai pursed his lips, still trying to pretend, but Chen Jiu didn't beat around the bush at all, and said bluntly, "I've always known that Qiao Qiao wanted to leave the palace. I originally wanted her to endure by the Empress's side for a while, and then find an excuse to release her. But she couldn't hold back and ran away first, and now she's caused a lot of trouble. What do you suggest we do?"

Helian Huai could no longer keep up the act. He wasn't stupid; he probably guessed that something big had happened at the western suburban camp. After all, neither Baili Mingzhe nor Tian Ziche were pushovers.

Is Qiaoqiao in danger right now?

Chen Jiu slightly raised her eyelids and saw that Helian Huai's meaning was clearly "I'm not pretending anymore." Helian Huai smiled shamelessly, then became serious again. "Actually, I didn't really say anything to Qiao Qiao last night. As soon as we met, she said she wanted to escape from the palace. No normal person could withstand her audacity. Before I could say more than a few words to her, she left."

Chen Jiu gave a soft "hmm".

Helian Huai sighed helplessly, "I only met Qiao Qiao once, and you already know that? Could it be that other people saw it too?"

Chen Jiu: "You think you can easily evade the patrols? I've made arrangements beforehand, no one knows."

Helian Huaishun patted his chest and said, "That's good, thank you very much, Young Master Chen."

“We’re all doing this for Qiaoqiao,” Chen Jiu said. “As long as she’s safe and sound, we can rest assured.”

"Speaking of which, how did that idiot Qiao Ran end up in the palace?" Helian Huai could hardly believe it. Qiao Ran, who had once been so powerful, was hiding in the capital. How could she possibly have gone to the palace to make a living?

She wasn't that destitute, was she?

Chen Jiu didn't intend to discuss this matter in detail with Helian Huai, and said perfunctorily, "It's a long story."

"..." Helian Huai: "You two are really something. If you don't want to talk about it, then the most important thing now is how to help Qiao Qiao."

Chen Jiu suddenly looked up, "Didn't you help her today?"

Helian Huai immediately denied it, "Brother, what is my status now? I can't move an inch in this camp. How can I help her? If I were to escape with her, I'd probably be riddled with bullets by now."

Chen Jiu shut his mouth.

“I’m powerless to help her; she can only rely on herself.” Chen Jiu said with a heavy expression.

Helian Huai said urgently, "No! If she gets caught, she's finished! Young Master Chen, Qiao Qiao treats you like a brother, you have to help her!"

Chen Jiu sighed, "I did my best. After all, I have no power or influence, and my health is weak. This time, I stayed in Kyoto for a long time for Qiao Qiao's sake. I will leave after she is safe."

Helian Huai was frustrated. "Then let's think of another way."

Qiaoqiao is blessed with good fortune and will surely turn misfortune into good luck.

After a moment of silence in the tent, the two realized that even if they racked their brains, it would be to no avail. Chen Jiu naturally changed the subject, "Is Emperor Pingjing willing to marry Princess Jiayue to us? Otherwise, the Second Prince would not have brought my little sister all the way to Daliang for no reason."

Helian Huai immediately perked up. He and Chen Jiu were of different statuses at the moment, and it was not appropriate for them to interact privately. If he were to get any more information out of this sickly man, he would be beaten to death by the old man when he got back.

On the other hand, regarding the long-standing grudges between Pingjing and Daliang, he did not believe that open and covert struggles were a long-term solution, and that the fighting and killing would never end.

Helian Huai remained silent for a long time, and Chen Jiu said in a low voice, "If it's inconvenient to go back, then forget it."

Helian Huai said, "It's no use asking me. I've never cared about matters of the court."

Chen Jiu understood and got up to take his leave.

-

Most people got thoroughly drunk last night, only waking up slowly at dawn. After the hunt, Li Hezhang was supposed to return to the palace, but he ordered that they stay at the camp for two more days.

Baili Mingzhe met Tian Ziche early in the morning, exchanged a simple greeting, and said, "Tian Zhuguo seems to be in a bad mood? Are you also experiencing acclimatization issues?"

Tian Ziche forced a smile. "I am indeed feeling a bit unwell. I'm sorry to trouble you, Second Prince."

Baili Mingzhe strode away, and Tian Ziche's tense body gradually relaxed. His palms were sweating. If someone hadn't reminded him from the shadows, he would probably be lying dead in the wilderness by now.

Before noon yesterday, he returned to his tent and casually reached into his sleeve pocket, where he pulled out a note that clearly told him that someone wanted to use him to kill someone, and that he should be careful.

Tian Ziche broke out in a cold sweat. Although he didn't know who had quietly slipped the note into his body, he had tested everything he ate and drank with silver needles since noon, and it turned out that someone had indeed poisoned him.

At the banquet, he felt like he had thorns in his back, and dared not leave the crowded place for a moment. He had to be extremely careful to get to this point.

As a pillar of the state, Tian Ziche only needed to make a slight deduction to know who wanted to harm him. On the territory of Daliang, apart from Baili Mingzhe who wanted to reap the benefits, Li Hezhang was not so stupid as to kill the envoy.

"That Baili Mingzhe is something else," Tian Ziche gritted his teeth. "He's been playing dirty tricks behind people's backs. Just wait until I get back to Jin-Chu, he'll be sorry."

Now that Tian Ziche had become wary and strengthened his guards, it would be even more difficult to take his life. Baili Mingzhe blamed Baili Jiayue for not being able to handle such a small matter, and Baili Jiayue endured her grievances.

“Alright,” Baili Mingzhe frowned and said, “This time it wasn’t all for naught. Let’s plan this further.”

“Yes,” Baili Jiayue wiped away her tears and stood up, “Then should I try to find a way to stay?”

Baili Mingzhe: "Don't think I don't know that you didn't want to stay at all. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made things like this."

Baili Jiayue panicked and hurriedly explained, "That's not how it is, Your Highness, you must believe Jiayue... me."

"Why are you so afraid?" Baili Mingzhe sneered. "Fortunately, you didn't leave any evidence. Everyone in the forest has been poisoned by you. It won't be long before the Great Liang gets a pile of corpses. Even if you didn't do anything, you still deserve credit for your hard work."

Baili Jiayue's pale face finally regained some color, and she said in a low voice, "It's a pity that the woman got away, and we were unable to kill Yao Yuze."

“That woman has run away, but she can’t even protect herself and doesn’t pose any threat to us,” Baili Mingzhe said, feeling a bit better. “In that case, let’s just stay here and make other plans after we return to Pingjing.”

Baili Jiayue sat back down dejectedly. She had two completely different faces in front of others and behind their backs. She could pretend to be innocent, lively and cute, or she could be like this, bearing humiliation and looking weak and vulnerable.

She was a tool that Baili Mingzhe had cultivated since childhood. How to use her was entirely up to Baili Mingzhe. She was not allowed to have her own ideas or do anything that would displease Baili Mingzhe.

Her poison was considered among the best in Pingjing, yet Qiao Ran still managed to escape unscathed from her hands.

Qiao Ran was secretly relieved that she had Bi Chan by her side, and her strong internal energy helped her avoid a lot of poison gas. Therefore, Qiao Ran was not affected by Baili Jiayue's poison. Before she entered the dense forest, she guessed that Li Hezhang would definitely seal off the forest immediately, so she did not intend to force her way out.

She picked some wild fruit to eat for the night, and then played guerrilla warfare with the hunters in the woods. Catching her was not an easy task.

Having roughly figured out the search routes of the Imperial Guards and the garrison in the western suburbs, Qiao Ran found a safe and secure spot to hide. Once they relaxed their guard at night, Qiao Ran would be able to slip away.

The Imperial Guards carried out thirteen bodies from the forest one after another. After comparing them one by one, they were confirmed to be the thirteen missing soldiers from the garrison. Gong Yuyi ordered the bodies to be examined, but Chen Jiu glanced at them and lost interest.

"Do you think Miss Qiao has gone out yet?" Gong Yuyi asked curiously.

Without hesitation, Chen Jiu replied, "With such tight security, she'll probably have to hide for a few more days."