On the other side, Haoyue Kingdom.

Pei Zhiyuan lowered his head, knelt on one knee and clenched his fist. Although it was cool inside the Xuanhe Palace, fine beads of sweat still seeped out of his forehead.

"Please, Master Imperial Master, grant me some medicine and let me see him..."

A few wrinkles appeared on Master Hua's pale face. He said in an unhappy tone, "You failed in your duties and lost the little prince. How dare you ask for medicine now?"

"Master Imperial Master." Pei Zhiyuan felt a chill piercing his feet, yet he dared not move. He lowered his head and defended himself, "I will make amends as soon as possible and present the craftsmen and the weapons we made to repel the enemy to the Imperial Master. Please don't let me have any worries."

"Bold!" Master Hua slapped the armrest of the chair, stood up, strode to him, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and asked Pei Zhiyuan to look at him.

His fierce triangular eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his hoarse voice sounded particularly creepy, "Are you threatening me?"

"I dare not." Pei Zhiyuan tried to remain calm, lowering his eyes and not looking him in the eye, and replied: "That's all I ask."

Hua Guoshi looked down at Pei Zhiyuan's face, pinching his chin with his long nails. Hua Guoshi narrowed his eyes and said, "Pei Zhiyuan, Pei Zhiyuan, a man who knows the times is a hero. I've fed you so much meat, why can't I tame you? You dog, will you never know how to repay a favor?"

Pei Zhiyuan lowered his eyes and said nothing. Master Hua confronted him for a moment, then let him go and said coldly, "The craftsman you brought here wants to assassinate me?"

"yes."

Hua Guoshi sneered and then asked, "How does he plan to assassinate me?"

Pei Zhiyuan told Master Hua all of Shen Xu's plans, including the plan to sneak into the alchemy hall and steal the Dzi beads. Unaware of the extent of Shen Xu's disclosures to Xie Jun, Pei Zhiyuan simply revealed everything he knew.

Upon hearing this, Master Hua laughed arrogantly, "Sniper attack from a sentry tower? And you still want to steal the Dzi beads? Hahahaha, you ignorant fool!"

Pei Zhiyuan lowered his head nervously, panting softly, and replied, "I feel that this kind of trouble cannot be allowed to continue. I will order them to be imprisoned in the Xuanjing Division, tortured, and then hanged from the battlements of the city wall."

"Didn't you say he had a plan to retreat?"

"Yes, she can make the climbing mechanism for the Xiling Feiyan Army, and her crossbow-making skills far surpass those of the Armory Battalion. Since the Imperial Preceptor considers her a fool, she must be of no use to him. I will go back and kill her."

Master Hua's shrewd eyes turned slightly, his cherry lips pursed, and he thought for a long time before speaking: "You said, are they husband and wife?"

"Yes," Pei Zhiyuan replied, "The man's name is Song Lin. He was originally a constable in Langya County, Qingzhou Prefecture, and is currently a Mirror Master in the Xuanjing Division. The woman's name is Shen Xiu. Yes, she's also from Qingzhou Prefecture."

Hua Guoshi paced a few steps, kicked away the man blocking the road, and ordered in a hoarse voice, "Go, prepare the best bow and arrow, and have Yuan Shengjie go up to the sentry tower to test how far this arrow can fly. If it can't reach Xuanhe Palace, capture the couple."

Pei Zhiyuan half-knelt on the ground and continued to plead, "Master Imperial Master, what about the antidote?"

Master Hua's face darkened. He took out a paper bag from his sleeve pocket and threw it in Pei Zhiyuan's face with displeasure. He said in a cold tone, "You bastard, get back to your master!"

Pei Zhiyuan said expressionlessly, "Thank you, Imperial Master, for the medicine," and left without looking back.

......

In the emperor's bedroom, Pei Zhiyuan had already put on his clothes and crown and walked over.

The eunuchs waiting outside the palace saw that it was Pei Zhiyuan who had arrived and hurried to greet him, saying anxiously, "Master Pei, you are finally here. His Majesty is furious inside. Please go in and take a look."

Pei Zhiyuan responded coldly and strode into the hall.

The bright yellow gauze curtains swayed, and the scent of blood mixed with the fragrance of ambergris filled the air. From within the room could be heard the suppressed sobs of the palace maids and eunuchs.

All I could hear was a palace maid whispering, "Your Majesty, please stop beating her. Please, please release the Imperial Concubine..."

But then a scream was heard, and the timid voice stopped abruptly, and the strong smell of blood filled the hall.

The emperor's voice came hurriedly, and his low words became slightly trembling due to his panting. "Concubine Yu, tell me, why hasn't Pei Zhiyuan come back yet? Will he never come back?"

Concubine Yu's voice was filled with tears, and she said very weakly: "Your humble servant... I don't know..."

"Has he abandoned us? Will he never come back to save us?"

"No... Your Majesty, he won't abandon you..." Concubine Yu sobbed, her voice muffled and hoarse, as if she was trying her best to endure the pain in her body. "Your Majesty, let me go..."

Pei Zhiyuan hurried in, only to be met with a horrifying scene. Concubine Yu was hung from a beam with her hands bound, her toes barely touching the ground. Her undergarments had been ripped from the whip, blood staining her entire dress red and still dripping down.

Her tears had smudged her makeup, her face was covered in bruises, and there was a deep wound on her forehead that was bleeding.

Seeing Pei Zhiyuan coming in, she showed a panic expression, her shoulders trembled violently, and she cried and shook her head, "You, why are you back..."

"You bitch, are you hoping that he won't come back?" Upon hearing this, the emperor whipped Concubine Yu with a cruel whip, causing her to grit her teeth and groan, then faint.

"Splash it on her to wake her up."

A eunuch timidly brought a basin of water and poured it over the hanging Concubine Yu. The blood seeped through her thin dress, dyeing it pink, and flowed all the way to Pei Zhiyuan's feet.

"His Majesty!"

The emperor's treatment of Concubine Yu obviously made Pei Zhiyuan uncomfortable. His breathing became heavy, and he hesitantly reached into his sleeve to take out the packet of medicine powder given by the imperial teacher and presented it to the emperor.

When the emperor saw the packet of powder, his face immediately changed to one of greed. He hurriedly opened the package, sniffed it, and then smiled foolishly, "It's an elixir. Pei Qing, you asked the Imperial Master for the elixir. You are truly a loyal minister to me."

As he spoke, he poured the medicinal powder into the teacup and tasted it carefully.

Soon, the elixir took effect. While the emperor was enjoying the ecstasy of the Dzi bead powder, Pei Zhiyuan hurriedly whispered to the palace servants and eunuchs beside him to quickly let the hanging concubine down.

The eunuch hurriedly climbed onto the chair and was trembling as he untied the rope. The palace maids also gathered around cautiously. Suddenly, the emperor, with red eyes, kicked the eunuch climbing on the chair with a strong kick and said in a trance:

"How dare you! Who told you to let this bitch go?"

"Your Majesty." Pei Zhiyuan raised his voice anxiously and strode forward to block the whip that the emperor was swinging at the concubine. The whip landed fiercely on his shoulder, leaving a bloody mark.

The emperor saw Pei Zhiyuan groaning and quickly dropped the whip. He said in panic, "Pei Qing, Pei Qing, you are injured and you are bleeding. I hurt you. I didn't mean to do it. Don't blame me..."