His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

Upon closer inspection, it was confirmed to be Shang Shoucheng, who was already unconscious.

Xu Bing frowned slightly, bent down and half-squatted to lift Shang Shoucheng up. With a flick of his fingers, a silver needle appeared between his two fingers. He acted swiftly and completed the acupuncture in an instant.

In less than two breaths.

Shang Shoucheng's eyelashes trembled, and he was about to wake up. Blood rushed to his head, his eyes widened instantly, and he vomited several mouthfuls of blood to one side.

Xu Bing reacted quickly, taking a few steps back to avoid the bloodstains, and then brushed the dust off his body.

Although he wasn't a germaphobe, he was a fairly clean person and didn't want to get dirty for no reason.

Shang Shoucheng felt much better. After regaining his senses, he walked unsteadily to one side.

Xu Bing noticed that the direction he was heading seemed to be towards his Imperial Preceptor's residence, so he asked, "Commander Shang, are you perhaps looking for my Imperial Preceptor?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Shang Shoucheng was startled and turned around abruptly. The figure standing in the snow, wearing a large black cloak, was none other than Xu Bing.

Shang Shoucheng coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

He rushed over and said, "Go to save Xu Bing, go save His Majesty."

His words revealed urgency, and Xu Bing squinted as he looked him over, realizing that things were probably not simple.

However, Shang Shoucheng was severely injured and unable to breathe properly, so he couldn't speak. Xu Bing pinched his fingers together and pulled out several silver needles, inserting them into several acupoints in Shang Shoucheng's throat.

Shang Shoucheng's injuries were immediately suppressed. Only then did Xu Bing notice that Shang Shoucheng's Xi Ri Armor had a new scratch on his chest.

It almost pierced through Xi Ri's armor.

"Commander Shang, please don't be impatient, tell me slowly," Xu Bingyan said, the pleasant fragrance calming Shang Shoucheng down.

Shang Shoucheng glanced at Xu Bing, his feelings complicated. How could someone with such magnanimity be a traitor?

He calmed himself and told Xu Bing briefly, "Your Majesty is in danger."

Or rather, the fake emperor is in danger.

Shang Shoucheng possesses a keen mind and, as the commander of the Imperial Guard, is responsible only to His Majesty.

The imposter, Zhou Xiaoyou, was naturally assigned to Shang Shoucheng by Song Si and Cui Chen. This was to ensure Zhou Xiaoyou's safety and prevent her identity from being exposed.

But tonight, someone broke into the Taoist temple where Zhou Xiaoyou was staying, intending to forcibly abduct him. Shang Shoucheng naturally refused, and after several rounds of fighting, he was defeated.

However, the other party did not kill him, but instead ordered him to summon Xu Bing.

If it was not before midnight, he would kill the Empress and hang her body on the city gate.

So Shang Shoucheng ran to find Xu Bing, but unexpectedly, his old wounds had not healed and his new wounds were too severe, and he fainted on the way.

I woke up in the middle of the night.

"Where is he?" Xu Bing asked.

“It’s located in Tianhua Mountain,” Shang Shoucheng said.

"That's quite a distance. It's already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), and there's still less than an hour left," Xu Bing murmured.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Preceptor's residence and Tianhua Mountain were not on the same route, and Ji Yuan happened to be inside the carriage.

"Alright, let's get in the car first."

His carriage was large enough to comfortably carry three people, so in this situation, he had no choice but to immediately take the carriage to Tianhua Mountain.

Thinking about what would happen later, Xu Bing felt a sense of anticipation for some reason. It seemed like it would be quite interesting.

"it is good."

Shang Shoucheng didn't think much of it and got into the carriage with Xu Bing.

Xu Bing disliked his carriage intensely, finding the ride too bumpy.

In fact, his carriage was already considered high-class in Daxi City.

Shang Shoucheng followed behind Xu Bing, pulled back the carriage curtain, and sat down inside.

I had barely settled into my seat when I suddenly realized there was another person in the carriage. It was a woman, clearly a woman, because her curves were very pronounced.

The person was wearing a mask, so their true face was not visible.

She was wearing leather boots, and judging from the exposed hem of her skirt, she was wearing a red dress underneath.

She was also staring at him, her eyes seeming to narrow slightly; she recognized him.

Finally...

Shang Shoucheng's gaze was fixed on Ji Yuan's hair, her signature long golden hair.

Her hair was styled into a high ponytail and hung down behind her head.

Could it be... His Majesty!

As soon as the thought occurred to him, a surge of blood mixed with a chill rushed from the soles of Shang Shoucheng's feet to the top of his head, his pupils contracted sharply, and he fell into a daze.

The long decapitation sword that he never parted with fell into the carriage with a thud.

He was breathing heavily, staring intently at Ji Yuan. It really was His Majesty, the His Majesty who had been missing for a month.

Song Si, Cui Chen, and the Emperor whom she was desperately searching for.

At this moment, it appeared before him in this way and in this manner.

Shang Shoucheng's throat tightened, and his voice trembled, "Your Majesty...?"

Ji Yuan's expression was complicated. He glanced at Xu Bing, and only when he saw that the thief made no statement did he dare to acknowledge Shang Shoucheng.

At this moment, her scalp tingled. It wasn't that she didn't want to acknowledge him, but rather that she didn't want to acknowledge him in such a disheveled way.

And she knew that since Xu Bing dared to let Shang Shoucheng get on the carriage, he must have been absolutely certain of success.

Now, it's Ji Yuan herself who's reluctant to acknowledge the relationship.

She felt as if she had been thrown into a furnace, a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance, which finally turned into a soft sigh.

“Your Excellency Shang, it is I,” Ji Yuan replied.

With tears streaming down his face, Shang Shoucheng knelt on one knee and said, "It is this old minister's incompetence. Your Majesty has been trapped by the traitor Xu for more than a month, and this old minister has been unable to do anything."

"This old minister is filled with resentment!"

Ji Yuan was also moved, his eyes slightly red, revealing a deep helplessness. "What wrong have you done? It is the treacherous Xu who is cunning, but I have seen your sincere heart. Get up."

She reached out to help, only to find her hands were still tied.

Xu Bing, standing to the side, had a strange expression on his face.

"Cough cough."

"That's enough. Stop calling me Xu the scoundrel. I'm right here."

Xu Bing couldn't help but offer a reminder.

The two, the emperor and his minister, stopped abruptly.

That touching scene of the emperor and his subjects finally meeting after overcoming countless hardships was thus ruined.

As the tide recedes, a deeper level of awkwardness emerges.

Nothing is more awkward than three people of similar status and position sharing a carriage.

Xu Bing didn't care, but Ji Yuan was several times more embarrassed than him; his toes even curled up involuntarily.

I felt so embarrassed, like ants were crawling on my scalp.