The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

"You mean, they had an accident on their way back to the city this afternoon?" Jin Chenyuan tapped his fingers on the table, seemingly lost in thought.

"Yes, I heard it happened on a path in the dense forest between Putuo Temple and Qingyuan Prefecture." Qingyun said, recounting the information he had gathered.

Jin Chenyuan knew that narrow path; it was the narrowest section of the road from Putuo Temple to Qingyuan Prefecture, only wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.

After thinking for a moment, Jin Chenyuan confirmed, "Yue Li returned at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), right?"

"Yes, Master," Qingyun replied affirmatively.

His master had been instructing him to keep an eye on Young Master Yue's affairs, so he was quite certain of when Young Master Yue would return.

"Do you think Yue Li might be involved in this?" Jin Chenyuan guessed.

"How could that be? Although Young Master Yue is disguised as a man, judging from her physique, she clearly hasn't practiced martial arts. How could someone who hasn't practiced martial arts cause an accident to happen to a moving carriage so quietly, with so many guards around?" Qingyun could say this because even after so much time had passed, no one had suspected that it was deliberate.

Otherwise, this matter would probably have become common knowledge long ago.

The victim has probably already reported the case to the government.

Jin Chenyuan felt that things were not so simple, and Yue Li was not as simple as they seemed.

Moreover, he always felt that today's events were related to Yue Li. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that Yue Li, who should have been staying at the inn, happened to be out of the city at that time, while Madam Yuan, who was being protected by her two husbands, was the most seriously injured?

Moreover, there's Yue Li's performance tonight. With all these coincidences coming together, it's no wonder Jin Chenyuan is suspicious.

Although this was just his guess, he didn't want to miss any news about Yue Li.

Perhaps if he continues investigating along the lines of Madam Yuan, he might even uncover Yue Li's past?

Although he was in love with Yue Li, he still needed to find out more about her background.

Thinking of this, he instructed Qingyun, who was still standing beside him, "You can stay here when we leave tomorrow. Just have Haoyun take some men and follow us on our journey. Go and find out about this Madam Yuan."

Considering Yue Li's age and her statement that she came from a small town, he instructed her, "Isn't this Madam Yuan from Pingchuan County? Try to find out as much as possible about her time in Pingchuan County."

Upon hearing Jin Chenyuan's instructions, Qingyun asked in surprise, "Does Master suspect that Madam Yuan's injury is related to Young Master Yue?"

"It's still uncertain. We don't know if there's any relationship between Madam Yuan and Yue Li. And Qingyun, don't go in the wrong direction with your investigation."

His main purpose was to investigate Yue Li's background and past. As for Madam Yuan's injury, what did it have to do with him?

Madam Yuan had some doubts about her injury and reported it to the authorities, but that was handled by the prefect of Qingyuan Prefecture, who had no jurisdiction over cases in Qingyuan Prefecture.

Upon hearing his master's last words, Qingyun realized that he had been focusing on the wrong thing. His master wasn't concerned about whether Madam Yuan's injury was related to Young Master Yue.

Master is just concerned about whether we can find out about Young Master Yue's background through Madam Yuan's matter.

Knowing his master's purpose, Qingyun immediately nodded in agreement, "Yes, master. After you leave tomorrow, Qingyun will go and investigate."

"Well, it's getting late, go and rest." He waved his hand, indicating that Qingyun could go and rest.

Jin Chenyuan knew his subordinates' abilities, so there was no need for him to give them too many instructions.

Before understanding the situation clearly, Jin Chenyuan did not want to make any rash guesses, so after Qingyun left, Jin Chenyuan also drank a cup of tea and went to rest.

......................................................

The next morning, having already discussed it the day before, they set off together with Jin Chenyuan and the others to leave Qingyuan Prefecture.

So Yue Li, unusually, didn't sleep in and got up early.

After tidying herself up in her room and dressing up as a young boy again, Yue Li left the room carrying a bundle containing only two changes of clothes and two packets of tea.

Coincidentally, just as Yue Li closed the door, she turned her head and saw Jin Chenyuan and Shao Qi also coming out of the room, with Hao Yun and Tian Dong helping them carry their respective bundles behind them.

Upon seeing the two, Yue Li immediately greeted them with a smile, "Good morning, Brother Chenyuan! Good morning, Shaoqi!"

Seeing Yue Li's smiling face first thing in the morning made Jin Chenyuan even happier, and he smiled gently and said, "Good morning, Yue Li!"

Shao Qi, seeing that Yue Li was up so early today, exclaimed in surprise, "Huh! I was just saying I was going to wake you up later, but I didn't expect you to be up so early today too!"

Hearing Shao Qi say that about her, Yue Li rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like I'm so lazy. I just like to sleep in. If something really happens, I'll get up very early."

After saying that, she ignored Shao Qi's teasing look and turned to follow Jin Chenyuan downstairs.

After having breakfast at the inn and checking out at the counter, the group went directly to the inn's backyard.

Seeing that everyone else had gone to fetch their horses, Jin Chenyuan looked at Yue Li, who had come to the backyard with them. He knew that she could also ride a horse, but he still advised, "Yue Li, are you planning to ride a horse for the rest of the journey? Why don't you take the carriage? You are still young, and riding a horse is too tiring."

He couldn't reveal that they had already discovered Yue Li's true identity as a woman, so he could only offer her gentle advice.

After all, there was still a long way to go, and riding a horse would be too tiring. He was also worried that Yue Li's body couldn't handle it.

Don't let the horseback ride be too tiring, and Yue Li be too embarrassed to say it because of her status.

Yue Li didn't know what Jin Chenyuan was thinking, but even if she did, she probably wouldn't agree. She thought riding a horse was too slow, let alone taking a carriage.

Having experienced the speed of flying on a sword in the world of cultivation, she now finds even the fastest horse too slow.

"No need, the carriage is too slow, it's much faster to ride a horse." So Yue Li refused very decisively.

Seeing that Yue Li refused so readily, Jin Chenyuan didn't try to persuade her any further. He could only instruct her, "If you feel tired on the way, just let me know, and we'll stop and rest. Fortunately, we're alright."

"Okay, thank you for your concern, Brother Chenyuan." Yue Li naturally felt Jin Chenyuan's concern, so her thanks were very sincere.

Seeing that Shao Qi and the others had led out their horses, Yue Li also walked towards her own horse, which was being led out by the shopkeeper. Before leaving, she said to Jin Chenyuan, "Brother Chenyuan, look, my horse has been brought out too."

Jin Chenyuan looked in the direction Yue Li was walking and saw Yue Li taking a pure black horse from a waiter.