Disease rights policy

Young masters from noble families are usually accompanied by attendants when they go hunting, so it's normal for there to be a lot of people in the woods.

Qiao Ran changed into some simple clothes and casually followed a group of people before taking advantage of the chaos to enter the dense forest. She was going to keep heading west.

The sound of horses' hooves could be heard from time to time. Most of the prey in the dense forest was released, and as long as one did not venture deep into the forest without permission, it was relatively safe.

Qiao Ran quickly slipped away from everyone and headed deeper into the area, unaware that her quiet departure had been observed by more than one person.

Yao Yuze led his men to meet him at the entrance of the hunting grounds. As soon as he looked up, he saw Yu Yin Gongzi's eyes. He glanced inside and said, "Yu Yin Gongzi, there are many people today. It would be more appropriate for you to stay by His Majesty's side."

"General Yao, may I speak to you in private?" Yu Yin stepped aside. "Qiao Xiaoran, who serves the Empress, has disappeared."

Yao Yuze quickly glanced around the table and, sure enough, Qiao Ran was nowhere to be seen. "Young Master Yu Yin, what are you doing staring at her?"

After all, 'Chang' was the Crane Control Guard, and Yu Yin was Chang's eyes and ears, usually only concerned with the Emperor's safety. Yao Yuze couldn't figure out what Qiao Ran had done to attract Chang's attention.

Yu Yindao: "General Yao, you may not know this, but it seems that Qiao Xiaoran and I have some old grudges to settle."

Yao Yuze was even more puzzled, but he still put Yu Yin inside and instructed, "Make sure you find the person."

Yu Yin smiled. He had seen Qiao Ran by the Empress's side last night and felt that she looked familiar. He thought about it all night before he remembered where he had seen her before.

Outside the Dan Dao Temple in the black market of Sichuan, there's a petty thief who conspired with others to steal the pills he had bid on!

He's been an eye for this for years; he couldn't possibly mistake someone else.

That despicable thief, he'd recognize you even if you were ashes. That time he lost the pills, even though he later spent a lot of money to bring some back from the Pill Dao Temple, he still wasted a lot of time and was severely punished by 'Chang' when he returned.

The thief is getting bolder and bolder, even reaching into the palace. Yu Yin told Chang about this, and Chang told him to keep a close eye on Qiao Ran today no matter what.

Yao Yuze tried his best to maintain order on the field and dared not make any mistakes. When Pu Jing rushed over, he felt a sudden panic for no reason.

"What happened?"

Pu Jing leaned close to Yao Yuze's ear and whispered, "The Prefect of Qianzhou is dead."

Yao Yuze glared at him, "Where?"

“It’s inside. I’ve already had the scene sealed off and haven’t let any information out,” Pu Jing said, frowning. “General, he was shot, probably by accident.”

Yao Yuze gave a few instructions to the others, then quickly followed Pu Jing inside. "The envoys of both countries are here. We cannot afford to cause trouble and lose face at this time. We must block all information."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Pu Jing asked, "What about His Majesty?"

Yao Yuze: "Tell Gong Yuyi, he knows what to do."

The place where Governor Qiao was killed was on the west side of the hunting grounds, surrounded by tall trees. His body fell straight down, and blood had soaked half of his clothes.

Pu Jing squatted beside the corpse. "Prefect Qiao, how did you end up in the hunting grounds without any reason?"

“It’s not our arrow,” Yao Yuze said after examining it. “Arrows used today are marked. This arrow is completely smooth. It’s very strange that Governor Qiao was pierced through the heart by an arrow.”

Pu Jing stood up. "What do we do now?"

Yao Yuze looked deeper into the area and instructed, "Take the body away first. I'll go after Qiao Xiaoran. You go and tell Gong Yuyi to strengthen the defenses."

"Qiao Xiaoran escaped?" Pu Jing's mind went blank for a moment. "Could it be that Qiao Xiaoran killed Governor Qiao?"

Yao Yuze said in a deep voice, "Don't jump to conclusions. Remember, don't make a fuss about it."

"Yes, General, rest assured." Pu Jing and his men quickly dealt with the scene, and the atmosphere at the banquet was still relaxed and cheerful. No one knew that a life-or-death matter had occurred in such a short time.

Upon receiving Pu Jing's message, Gong Yuyi's expression instantly turned serious. "It seems today is not a good day to escape. Jinzhou, something has happened."

“I didn’t kill the Prefect of Qianzhou.” Chen Jiu frowned. “I’ll go into the woods.”

Gong Yuyi tried to stop Chen Jiu, but Chen Jiu seemed not to listen and left with Xie Laoshi through a side path.

Jie Laoshi: "Young Master, would you like me to secretly help you find Miss Qiao?"

Chen Jiu: "Find it."

According to Chen Jiu's plan, there are many of their own people in this vast, hundred-mile-long western suburban forest. It would be no problem to keep an eye on Qiao Ran, make her suffer a humiliation, and force her to obediently return.

There was no news from inside for a long time; either they had met with misfortune, or they had been lost.

-

What appeared to be a peaceful spring hunt had actually stirred up a huge storm. Several groups of people were searching for Qiao Ran's whereabouts in the forest, unaware that the unfortunate Qiao Ran had seen and heard things she shouldn't have, and had run into a spy from an enemy country.

Qiao Ran looked at the group of men in black in front of her and said warily, "I don't care if you are from Pingjing or Jinchu. What you are planning has nothing to do with me. I'll just go my own way, and we can all pretend we never met, okay?"

The leader of the group was a woman. The man in black next to her whispered something to her, and she narrowed her eyes behind the black cloth, saying, "Go."

In an instant, the other party was about to take Qiao Ran's life. Qiao Ran fought with them, and the other party was quite skilled, so they managed to hold Qiao Ran back for a while.

Seeing that the woman hadn't made a move yet, Qiao Ran noticed that her hands were still hidden in her sleeves. "To catch the thief, catch the leader first!"

Qiao Ran dealt with the two men in black and then approached the woman with a single move. However, the woman moved with agility and easily dodged the attack.

"Quickly finish this and kill her," the woman commanded.

Qiao Ran vaguely felt that her voice was familiar, but she couldn't remember it for the time being.

"Someone's coming..." The man in black leaned closer to the woman and whispered something. The woman's dark eyes narrowed, and she flicked her sleeve. Qiao Ran, who had been on guard against her mischief, used her Jade Entanglement technique to neutralize some of the poison. In the instant the woman was shocked, she had already leaped up a tree and disappeared into the dense forest.

Seeing that she was running away, the woman said, "Let's go."

Unfortunately, before they could escape, they ran into Yao Yuze, who was chasing after them.

"What a courage!"

Yao Yuze could tell at a glance that the other party was not from Daliang, and that he had managed to sneak into the dense forest in the western suburbs. In the past, he could have summoned the Imperial Guards with a single command arrow, but today the envoys of both countries were in the front seats, and it was not advisable to make a big fuss.

He left a mark on Pu Jing and then chased after the man in black. The woman in black ordered that Yao Yuze be dealt with.

With a light flick of her snow-white wrist, she silently dispersed dozens of poisons around her. Yao Yuze first dealt with two men in black, then his internal energy became unstable, followed by a surge of blood and qi within his body, until his internal energy dissipated and he could no longer use it.

"Despicable!" Yao Yuze realized he had been poisoned. He stared at the woman in black who was dressed in a black outfit, with only her eyes showing. "Who are you?"

The woman didn't answer him, but leaned down to the person next to her and said, "Kill him quickly."

Yao Yuze fell for the villain's trick, vomited blood, and knelt on the ground, barely managing to block two fatal blows. Just as he was about to give up, a piece of gravel knocked away the black-clad man's sword.

"Don't think you're the only ones who know how to use poison. Let me show you my Soul-Severing Powder."

Qiao Ran returned and leaped down from the treetop. With a flick of her sleeve, she sent poison powder flying several feet away. The man in black at the front said, "Be careful," and the others covered their mouths and noses.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qiao Ran pulled Yao Yuze up and sneered, "Don't just stand there, General Yao, run!"

Although the woman in black could tell at a glance that Qiao Ran's poison was fake, by the time she shouted it out, Qiao Ran and Yao Yuze had already disappeared into the forest. Footsteps could be heard in the distance, so she had no choice but to retreat quickly.

Yao Yuze broke free from Qiao Ran, coughing up blood again. Qiao Ran looked down at his pitiful state and said, "General, don't die here. If you blame it on me, I won't be able to explain myself even if I have ten mouths."

Yao Yuze felt another sharp pain in his chest as soon as he tried to circulate his internal energy. His face turned somewhat pale, but he still glared at Qiao Ran and asked, "What is your relationship with those assassins from earlier?"

Qiao Ran chuckled, "Yao Yuze, are you blind? They were trying to kill you just now, and I saved you?"

"You wouldn't be that kind," Yao Yuze said, showing no appreciation whatsoever.

Qiao Ran resisted the urge to kick him. "I shouldn't have meddled in other people's business. I should have just let you die."

Yao Yuze leaned against the book, sealing his acupoints. Even though he had taken an antidote, it hadn't neutralized the poison in his body. He had to hurry back, and he didn't forget to grab Qiao Ran, saying, "Come back with me!"

He knew Qiao Ran was definitely up to something!

The governor of Qianzhou died in the forest, and Qiao Ran appeared there. She even fought with a group of men in black whose identities were unknown. Moreover, she had been hiding her skills all along.

"Go back with me!"

"?" Qiao Ran gave Yao Yuze a gentle push, almost knocking him over. "First, I have nothing to do with the man in black from earlier. Second, my return was just a momentary impulse; I felt it would be too easy for you to die like that. Third, I can't go back with you."

Yao Yuze managed to ask, "Who exactly are you? How did the Prefect of Qianzhou die?"

Qiao Ran was stunned. "My stepfather is dead?"

Seeing her expression, Yao Yuze clearly didn't know, but he still stubbornly reached out and pulled her, "Come on, let's go back and find out!"

Qiao Ran: "..."

She was truly impressed.

"I'm sorry, General Yao, it's goodbye forever." Qiao Ran cupped her hands with a playful smile and knocked Yao Yuze unconscious. Seeing that his lips were gradually turning black, she knew he was seriously poisoned. She used her internal energy to temporarily suppress the poison for Yao Yuze. When she heard someone coming, she threw Yao Yuze down and ran away.

-

On the hunting grounds, Li Chen was far ahead, receiving praise from the officials, and Li Hezhang also had a smile on his face.

Gong Yuyi quickly arranged the affairs on the field and stabilized the situation before quietly informing Li Hezhang. He saw that Li Hezhang's smiling face had instantly turned cold.

"You shall not let a single one of them escape!"

“Yes,” Gong Yuyi withdrew.

Li Hezhang began to fidget, his stern gaze sweeping across Baili Mingzhe and Tian Ziche's faces. The Empress noticed Li Hezhang's troubled expression and asked gently, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Li Hezhang glanced behind her and asked, "Where is Qiao Xiaoran, who serves the Empress?"

The Empress then noticed that Qiao Ran had not returned for a long time, and Ying Hong quickly whispered, "Your Majesty, Xiao Ran has a stomachache."

"I'm afraid he ate something bad," the Empress said, sending a maid to look for him. She then asked Li Hezhang, "Has something happened?"

"Nothing's wrong." Li Hezhang scrutinized everyone present, his expression gradually turning somber.

Gong Yuyi almost instantly replaced all the guards in the camp. He summoned Pu Jing and said, "Don't let anyone know about Yao Yuze's poisoning. Take some men and search the forest again for any suspicious assassins."

Pu Jing asked with concern, "How is the general?"

"He was unconscious, but when he woke up he said that the leader of the assassins was a woman."

Pu Jing: "Woman?"

Gong Yuyi suddenly remembered something, turned around and left, saying, "I'm going to visit Princess Jiayue."