Imperial Husband Chapter 67

Slap.

Ying Zijun could not conceal his anger and slapped the spy, using so much force that the spy's face immediately swelled. "What do you mean you don't know either? Is this how you handle matters for me? Causing me to lose so many death warriors for no reason?"

It took a great deal of time and effort to train even one death warrior. The loss of so many infuriated Ying Zijun to the point of wanting to execute the spy on the spot. However, as this spy was his best operative in covert operations, he forced himself to hold back his fury for the time being. He decided he would deal with the spy after Li Jin and the others were successfully eliminated.

The spy, wanting to atone for his mistake, replied trembling with fear, "Fifth Prince, on the day the Seventh Prince and Heir Li entered the carriage, this servant truly saw it with my own eyes. But for some reason, when the day came to act, the people had been switched. This servant is truly wronged!"

The spy had seen Li Jin and the others and had also participated in the assassination attempt the previous day, so he immediately recognized that the two people in the carriage were imposters.

Unfortunately.

By the time the spy realized the people were impersonators, it was already too late. He immediately shouted to retreat, but the people they attacked seemed prepared. They captured several death warriors involved in the assassination, forcing those warriors to bite down on the poison hidden in their teeth and commit suicide. The spy himself barely escaped with his life under the protection of the other surviving death warriors, narrowly avoiding being captured or killed there.

Ying Zijun narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you certain you didn't see wrong?"

The spy raised his hand to swear. "This servant dares to guarantee it with my life."

"Fifth Brother, since this servant dares to speak so in your presence, he likely didn't see wrong." Ying Zirui, who had been silent nearby, suddenly spoke. "Furthermore, I believe Shen Chaoyan is inextricably linked to why things turned out this way. After all, Shen Chaoyan was the one responsible for seeing them off from the palace. It's only natural for Shen Chaoyan to lend them a hand."

Hearing Shen Chaoyan's name, Ying Zijun's pupils constricted sharply. "Could it be... that Shen Chaoyan intends to win over Li Jin and the others for Ying Ziheng?"

"Very likely." Ying Zirui nodded.

Ying Zijun refuted Ying Zirui's words with a trace of panic. "That's impossible. Lao Qi is a useless waste who gets in the way. Why would Shen Chaoyan look upon him favorably?"

A dark glint flashed quickly through Ying Zirui's eyes. "Fifth Brother, have you forgotten that Lao Qi is now the adopted son of the Empress? If I'm not mistaken, Shen Chaoyan surely wants to befriend the Empress through Lao Qi, and then use the Empress to help Ying Ziheng reclaim the Crown Prince position."

Ying Zijun gnashed his teeth. "The Crown Prince position is mine. I won't let Shen Chaoyan succeed."

Ever since learning that Ying Ziheng had been deposed as Crown Prince, Ying Zijun's desire to ascend to the Crown Prince position had grown increasingly intense. He naturally did not want to see Ying Ziheng regain the position.

Ying Zirui said impassively, "Fifth Imperial Brother, since we still don't know which carriage they took, why don't we temporarily cease attacks and wait until they reach Zhouzhou to strike at an opportune moment?"

Ying Zijun looked displeased at the spy. "Fine. You go along as well. I warn you, this time you must succeed. Failure is not an option."

"Yes, yes... This servant will definitely do well this time..."

The spy hurriedly knelt to thank Ying Zijun.

"Enough, go down and prepare."

"Yes."

With Ying Zijun's command, the spy did not dare to linger and quickly left.

"Sixth Brother, has Ying Ziheng shown any unusual movements recently?" This time, to monitor Ying Ziheng's every move, Ying Zijun had Ying Zirui frequently visit Ying Ziheng.

Ying Zirui was adept at navigating social situations within the palace. Even when Ying Ziheng was still the Crown Prince, he maintained a good relationship with him. Having him keep an eye on Ying Ziheng now was perfect.

"Second Brother has been drinking every day recently."

Ying Zirui recalled everything he had witnessed recently and found it very strange.

Logically, Ying Ziheng should be overjoyed about the marriage alliance with the Prince of Dingbei's mansion, instead, he had inexplicably started drowning his sorrows in drink.

"Good. Sixth Brother, you continue to secretly surveil Ying Ziheng. If there's any unusual movement, tell me immediately." Ying Zijun had previously seen Ying Ziheng fawning over Shen Ningyu, so in his view, Ying Ziheng's reaction was perfectly normal. If it were otherwise, Ying Zijun would suspect something was amiss.

"Alright."

Ying Zirui agreed without a second thought.

___

Knock knock.

Suddenly, a knocking sound came from outside the door, causing Ying Ziqi, who was reading, to pause. "Who is outside?"

The eunuch knocking replied, "Replying to Third Prince, this servant attends the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince said the Third Prince enjoys eating lotus flower pastries, so he had this servant bring some for the Third Prince to try."

"Sixth Brother?" Ying Ziqi raised an eyebrow. "Bring them in."

"Yes, Third Prince."

The eunuch carefully entered the room, set down the pastries, and immediately left.

Ying Ziqi did not reach for the pastries immediately. He waited until the eunuch had closed the door before slowly opening the food box. He picked up the lotus flower pastry in the bottom left corner, broke it in two, and a carefully rolled-up small piece of paper was immediately revealed.

Ying Ziqi had long known there would be a small note inside, so he wasn't surprised. Instead, he calmly opened the note to read its contents. However, his composed expression turned into a sneer the moment he saw what was written on the note.

That arrogant fool like Ying Zijun would dare to covet the Crown Prince's position. It was the most absurd thing in the world.

Ying Ziqi couldn't help but laugh.

In Ying Ziqi's view, Ying Zijun was a complete good-for-nothing. Not only was he impulsive, but he also enjoyed causing trouble everywhere. If not for his mother's influential natal family, he might have long ago lost his life due to the schemes of those with ulterior motives.

"Whatever. It's good to have him around. If anything happens, Ying Zijun will make a very useful shield."

Essentially.

The information Ying Zijun obtained through Ying Zirui, and even the death warriors Ying Zijun thought he had raised himself, actually all belonged to Ying Ziqi.

___

"Li Jin, we'll reach Zhouzhou after traveling a bit further. Let's rest here for a while and have some water." Ying Yuan handed the water skin to Li Jin.

"Alright."

Li Jin took the waterskin and immediately drank a mouthful to moisten his throat.

On their journey to Zhouzhou, they had been traveling almost day and night because they had agreed with Shen Chaoyan on a schedule, they absolutely had to arrive before the grain transport team.

The reason Ying Yuan suggested resting now wasn't because he couldn't endure the hardship of travel, but because he felt this was the perfect spot to stop and wait for the grain transport team to catch up.

There was one concern Ying Yuan kept to himself, fearing it would trouble Li Jin: throughout their journey, he had been constantly anxious, worried that Li Jin's physical condition might deteriorate. Fortunately, aside from some occasional minor discomfort, Li Jin remained generally well, which allowed Ying Yuan's tightly wound nerves to ease just a little.

Li Jin also responded to Ying Yuan's concern through his actions.

"Li Jin, the drought in Zhouzhou is very severe."

Looking at the yellowing trees and withered plants around them, even before entering Zhouzhou city proper, Ying Yuan could already imagine how difficult life must be for the common people living constantly in such an environment.

Li Jin fastened the waterskin, walked to Ying Yuan's side, and gently patted his shoulder. "Indeed. I hope our trip to Zhouzhou can truly help them."

No sooner had Li Jin finished speaking than a sallow and emaciated child suddenly darted out from somewhere, skillfully snatched Li Jin's waterskin, and quickly ran off.

Ying Yuan was startled. "Li Jin, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Li Jin shook his head and looked at Zhou Yunting. "Yunting."

"Yes, Third Young Master."

Zhou Yunting closely followed the child and, in an instant, caught him.

"Let me go... Let me go... Why are you grabbing me..." Even after being caught, the child didn't give up, struggling desperately to escape Zhou Yunting's grasp.

Zhou Yunting possessed high martial prowess, and the child was clearly malnourished, he was no match for Zhou Yunting. Within moments, Zhou Yunting brought the child before Li Jin.

Ping'an glared angrily at the child. "You little thief, stealing at such a young age."

"You're the thieves! I didn't steal anything! This thing is clearly mine! You're the ones forcibly robbing me now!" The child stubbornly refused to admit it, instead turning the accusation around and claiming the waterskin was his.

Ping'an had never encountered a child like this before and immediately flared up. "You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting? You clearly rushed over just now and snatched my young master's waterskin!"

"I don't care, it's mine now!"

The child, terrified that Ping'an might try to snatch the waterskin back, clutched it desperately to his chest. His defensive posture made it clear he was ready to fight Ping'an to the death over it.

"Ping'an, step back."

Li Jin stepped forward to stop Ping'an.

"But he..."

"I know. Leave the rest to me."

"Yes." Since Li Jin insisted on handling the matter personally, Ping'an couldn't continue. He immediately stood to the side, fuming, and glared at the lying child.

Li Jin smiled at the child. "You say the waterskin is yours. Then can you tell me how much water is left inside?"

"This... Why are you asking that?"

The child was momentarily stunned by Li Jin's unexpected question and warily tried to step back. But since Zhou Yunting still held him, he couldn't retreat at all.

"Of course, to prove whether you are telling the truth. If your answer is correct, I will let you keep the waterskin and will not hold this matter against you."

"Re... really?"

The child widened his eyes, looking at Li Jin in disbelief.

"Of course."

"Fine, it's settled then! You can't go back on your word!" After saying this, the child vigorously shook the water skin, trying to judge the approximate water level by the sound.

But precisely because of this shaking, the child was dumbfounded.

Because this waterskin, which looked quite full, was actually empty.

"How come there's not a single drop of water in your waterskin?"

"Naturally, because I drank it all."

Actually, Li Jin and Zhou Yunting had noticed someone nearby earlier, but Li Jin signaled Zhou Yunting not to act and to let the person approach, which led to the series of events that just unfolded.

"How can this be... This is bad..." The child suddenly burst into tears, crying profusely.

"Uh... it's just no water? What's there to cry about?" Ping'an, who initially wanted to gloat over the child's misfortune, found himself unable to be harsh upon seeing the child's pitiful state and instinctively tried to comfort him with clumsy words.