Imperial Husband Chapter 89

Chapter 89

After dealing with the troublemaker Chen Manzhou, Li Jin and Ying Yuan arrived together at a road one must take to enter Zhuzhou City, waiting for the disaster relief grain transport convoy to arrive.

They came here to wait because they had received a message from the person Gu Rushuang had arranged to be in the disaster relief convoy, informing them that they would arrive in Zhuzhou City today.

"A-Jin, they're here."

Hidden in a tree, Ying Yuan immediately noticed the grain transport convoy.

"Let's observe first." Li Jin also saw the disaster relief grain transport convoy, but their expressions seemed very off; most of their faces were filled with terror and unease.

"Whoa... Ahead is Zhuzhou. Let's stop first to rest and regroup before entering the city."

At the command of the leading military officer, the soldiers dared not disobey and immediately stopped for a brief rest.

However, their complexions were already very poor.

"The Heir of the Prince of Dingbei and the Seventh Prince are both dead. I think, after we return to the capital, we will surely have to die to atone for them."

"Yes, it's all because we failed in our duty."

"Before I left the capital, my wife had just become pregnant. If I die..."

"Enough, all of you shut up." The leading officer interrupted, "Didn't I tell you all that you won't be in trouble? Quickly pull yourselves together, don't disgrace the court."

One soldier couldn't bear it anymore, speaking in a tone of despair, "Sir, The Heir of the Prince of Dingbei died right before our eyes, how could we possibly be at ease?"

Once one started, others followed. With one soldier asking such a sensitive question, the already anxious hearts of the other soldiers were instantly on edge.

It was no wonder the soldiers felt this way.

After all, anyone who saw the people they were supposed to protect killed by assassins in their carriage would react the same. What was more terrifying was that the statuses of these two who died were not low; one was the Heir of the Prince of Dingbei, the other was a prince. Even if they had a hundred heads, it wouldn't be enough to atone.

Ying Yuan said gravely, "A-Jin, the people arranged by Shen Chaoyan are dead."

"Yes, it seems someone couldn't resist taking action against us." Li Jin nodded thoughtfully, "A-Yuan, you wait here. I'll go down and take a look."

Ying Yuan looked at Li Jin and said solemnly, "Be careful."

"I will."

Seeing the unconcealed worry in Ying Yuan's eyes, Li Jin gently ruffled Ying Yuan's hair before jumping down.

"Who's there?" The leading officer's hearing was very sharp. He heard the sound as soon as Li Jin landed and immediately shouted a warning, signaling the soldiers to be alert to changes around them. 

The terrified and uneasy soldiers, hearing this, quickly picked up their weapons to be on guard.

"Commander Tao, long time no see. Are you well?" Li Jin had once seen Tao Yichu in Gu Rushuang's palace, so he immediately greeted Tao Yichu, the leading military officer of the disaster relief grain transport.

Hearing this, Tao Yichu quickly bowed to Li Jin, "This humble general pays his respects to Heir Li."

His heart, which had been tense throughout the journey, finally settled down.

Tao Yichu was, after all, young. Although he knew early on that Li Jin and the others would travel separately from his convoy, even arranging body doubles and maintaining regular written correspondence, Tao Yichu was still afraid something might go wrong.

Heir Li?

The surrounding soldiers, upon hearing this, all showed stunned expressions, the words 'Heir Li' constantly flashing in their minds.

Didn't Heir Li die, assassinated on the way to Zhuzhou? How could he appear here now? And... is this person really Heir Li?

To prevent the body double scheme from being exposed, the people replacing Li Jin and Ying Yuan wore veils. So, apart from Tao Yichu, the other soldiers had not seen Li Jin's true face before this.

One soldier couldn't help but ask, "Commander Tao, is he really Heir Li?"

"Yes."

Tao Yichu no longer concealed the truth and straightforwardly explained Shen Chaoyan's initial plan to the soldiers. Many of the worried soldiers instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, among these soldiers, one soldier's eyes seemed a bit off.

Li Jin surveyed the soldiers and cupped his hands, "Commander Tao, may we speak in private? I would like to know if you encountered anything along the way, and why the people arranged by Lord Shen to replace the Seventh Prince and me died."

"Heir Li, let's talk over there."

Tao Yichu nodded and invited Li Jin to a place some distance away from the soldiers, then began recounting his experiences before arriving in Zhuzhou.

"I need to relieve myself." The soldier with the unusual expression, seeing Li Jin and Tao Yichu heading to another area to talk, immediately used the pretext of using the restroom to secretly follow behind Li Jin and Tao Yichu.

At the same time.

All of this fell into Ying Yuan's sight. Ying Yuan did not expose him immediately but followed behind this soldier.

Seeing only himself and Li Jin here, Tao Yichu immediately said, "Heir Li, those assassins were all death warriors. Most killed themselves when captured. We did capture one alive, but no matter how I interrogated him, he refused to say who sent them."

Death warriors were people specially trained; no matter how much pain they endured, they would not reveal any information about their master.

"Is he still alive?"

"He's already dead."

"Dead?"

"He was killed by a soldier by mistake. Later, that soldier also killed himself."

Speaking of this matter made Tao Yichu very angry.

As a well-trained soldier and an old subordinate of Tao Yichu, it was impossible for such a low-level mistake to occur. Therefore, Tao Yichu quickly guessed that the soldier had switched allegiance to someone else.

Unfortunately, Tao Yichu was a step too slow. By the time he arrived at the place where the soldier was detained, the soldier had already committed suicide.

"Death warriors?" Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling meaninglessly, "I suspect those people are not unrelated to the Fifth Prince, or... perhaps it was the work of 'other princes'."

Tao Yichu had heard that the Fifth Prince Ying Zijun was at odds with Li Jin and Yin Yuan, so he wasn't surprised when Li Jin mentioned him. What truly shocked Tao Yichu were the words 'other princes' in Li Jin's statement, and he immediately gasped, "Heir Li means... other princes are also involved?"

Li Jin nodded, "Have you forgotten? The Seventh Prince is the adopted son of His Majesty the Empress. How could they not be on guard?" Especially Ying Ziqi.

Although Ying Ziqi had disguised himself well all these years, his resentment towards Ying Yuan for taking the adoptive son position that should have been his had long been known to Li Jin. Therefore, with such a good opportunity to deal with Ying Yuan, Ying Ziqi would not let it pass.

"......"

Tao Yichu fell silent.

Because he also agreed with what Li Jin said, but the matter involved a prince after all, and Tao Yichu dared not speak recklessly.

This is bad. If this continues, he might inevitably guess our master's involvement.

The soldier in the distance, who learned of Li Jin and the others' conversation by lip-reading, immediately shrank his pupils, deciding to retreat temporarily and then find an opportunity to report the contents he heard today to his master.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Sooner said than done.

Just as the soldier was about to retreat, Ying Yuan jumped down from the tree, grabbed the soldier's shoulder, instantly rendering him immobile.

The soldier immediately stiffened, "Who are you?"

"That's what I should be asking you." Ying Yuan's grip gradually tightened, "Tell me, which prince sent you as a spy? Who else infiltrated with you?"

___

"Heir Li, be careful. There's someone on the left."

When Ying Yuan jumped down from the tree, he didn't deliberately lighten his impact, so Tao Yichu immediately heard the sound from the left.

"It's fine, it's one of our own." After saying this, Li Jin walked over calmly.

Seeing this, Tao Yichu had no choice but to follow.

The Seventh Prince...

Tao Yichu didn't expect the newcomer to be the Seventh Prince and was instantly stunned, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Li Jin was the first to inquire, "Seventh Prince, who is this person?"

Hearing Li Jin call him 'Seventh Prince' again, Ying Yuan felt instantly stifled inside. However, Ying Yuan had strong self-control; the change in his expression was fleeting, and he quickly returned to normal, saying, "A spy. But he still refuses to say who sent him to infiltrate. So, to prevent him from killing himself, I temporarily dislocated his jaw."

Li Jin suggested, "Seventh Prince, since he still refuses to talk, why don't we tie him up first and decide what to do after entering the city?"

"Alright."

Ying Yuan had no objection to Li Jin's suggestion and quickly escorted the spy back to the convoy, preparing to set off.

Ying Yuan's sudden arrival, like Li Jin's earlier appearance, caused exclamations of surprise among the soldiers; they almost rushed over to confirm up close.

Li Jin's carriage was very close to Tao Yichu's disaster relief grain transport convoy. So, before heading to Zhuzhou City, Li Jin had Zhou Yunting and the others bring the so-called 'villains' captured from Liujia Village into Zhuzhou City as well.

Inside the carriage.

Because Tao Yichu and the many soldiers were added, only he and Ying Yuan were in the carriage they rode in; Zhou Yunting was responsible for driving.

Li Jin looked at Ying Yuan and said unhurriedly, "Earlier, I deliberately had someone escort Jiang You past him. He showed no reaction, so he likely isn't the Third Prince's man." 

Ying Yuan met Li Jin's gaze, "Then does A-Jin have any suspects in mind?"

"Not for now." Li Jin shook his head, "But this means we need to be careful in our actions. Ying Ziqi's people might still be hiding in the shadows."

"Didn't we capture that Jiang You?"

A trace of confusion flashed in Ying Yuan's eyes.

"That's just one of them." Li Jin lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, saying meaningfully, "Given Ying Ziqi's nature, he would definitely make two preparations. Perhaps the news of our meeting with Tao Yichu has already been sent out."

"Should we increase our precautions then?"

"No need, maintain the status quo. If he knows we have returned, he will surely make his next move."

"Alright."

Li Jin sensed something was off about Ying Yuan's mood, "Seventh Prince?"

Hearing Li Jin ask this, Ying Yuan immediately said solemnly, "There are only the two of us here, can't you call me A-Yuan like before?"

"......"

"A-Jin..."

Seeing that Li Jin didn't answer, Ying Yuan dejectedly lowered his head.

"A-Yuan." Li Jin vigorously ruffled Ying Yuan's hair and smiled, "It's my fault. I was momentarily anxious and forgot our agreement. I promise I'll remember from now on."

"I'm not blaming you." Ying Yuan quickly replied, "You can get used to it slowly in the future, no rush. I... I just... I just really like hearing you call me A-Yuan."

"Alright."

Hearing Ying Yuan speak these straightforward words, Li Jin felt a subtle, indescribable warmth quietly stir in his heart as he responded.