Chapter 305 A Note

"Have you eaten? Let's go grab something to eat together."

Li Nanke originally wanted to go home, but after seeing Shen Cong's pale face, she thought for a moment and then smiled and agreed.

"Great! I'm starving. Let's go get something delicious."

Having said that, he took Chen Cong's hand and hurriedly walked into the restaurant.

Despite the cold winter weather, her palms were soft and warm, like a small stove, soothing his icy hands.

Shen Cong stared at their clasped hands for a moment, his gaze softening slightly.

Li Nanke requested a private room and ordered several dishes that she wanted to eat.

"I'd like a plate of steamed goose and duck, a plate of lamb tongue skewers, a plate of seafood dumplings, and a West Lake fish soup."

Ninth Brother, would you like to add something else?

Shen Cong withdrew his gaze and shook his head.

"I don't have much of an appetite, I'll just eat whatever I can."

Li Nanke then instructed the waiter to serve the dishes she had ordered, and then poured a glass of water for Shen Cong.

"Ninth Brother, you haven't been sleeping well these days, have you? You even have dark circles under your eyes."

Erfeng sighed beside him.

"It's not just that he hasn't slept well; the prince is now completely out of sleep, going to the Imperial Guard's office before dawn every day."

He only returns late at night, and spends all his time running around with the Imperial Guards. If this continues, the Prince's health will collapse before they even capture him.

Shen Cong frowned and glanced at him.

"Too talkative."

Erfeng silently made a gagging gesture and rolled his eyes to the sky.

"If you won't let me say it, then I won't say it anymore. I'll go wait at the door."

The two men stormed out.

Li Nanke rested her chin on her hand and sized up Shen Cong.

"The Imperial Guards have had similar assignments before, haven't they? Why is Ninth Brother in such a hurry to capture Prince Chen this time?"

Shen Cong tightened his grip on the teacup slightly and looked up at Li Nanke.

Li Nanke smiled slightly.

"Although Ninth Brother commands the Imperial Guards, His Majesty cares about your health and has not required you to go to the Imperial Guards office every day."

But these days you've been running around with the Imperial Guards every day, even though His Majesty has also sent the Imperial City Guard to investigate Prince Chen.

"Ninth Brother, don't tell me you're just doing your duty."

Shen Cong pursed his lips into a straight line.

What are you trying to say?

Li Nanke blinked his dark, grape-like eyes.

"After thinking it over, there's only one possibility: Ninth Brother, you want to capture Prince Chen before the Imperial City Guards, right?"

Shen Cong's pupils contracted slightly as he stared intently at Li Nanke.

After a moment, the corners of his mouth curled up almost imperceptibly, carrying a faint smile.

"Li Nanke, sometimes I'm really curious, are you really only nine years old?"

Li Nanke smiled sweetly, revealing two small dimples.

"Of course, otherwise how old do you think I am, Ninth Brother?"

Shen Cong gave a light hum, saying nothing, but also not denying what Li Nanke had just said.

Li Nanke tilted his head and looked Shen Cong up and down.

"Why does Ninth Brother want to capture Prince Chen before the Imperial City Guard? The Imperial City Guard is subordinate to His Majesty and reports directly to him."

So, Ninth Brother, is there something you'd like to ask Prince Chen privately?

Chen Cong stroked the teacup, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Since we're on the topic, why don't you guess what I want to ask him?"

Li Nanke frowned and thought about it seriously.

"About the blood curse on you?"

Shen Cong shook his head.

Li Nanke stared at him expectantly.

I can't guess.

Just then, the door opened, and the waiter came in to serve the dishes.

The conversation between the two was temporarily interrupted.

After the waiter left, Shen Cong watched Li Nanke still deep in thought, his wrinkled little face making people inexplicably want to laugh.

He happily picked up a piece of duck meat with his chopsticks and ate it.

Then he said, "What? This divination can't be done?"

Li Nanke puffed out her cheeks and glared at him.

"I'm not omnipotent, of course I can't predict the future. If Ninth Brother doesn't want to talk about it, then forget it."

She picked up her chopsticks and began to eat in silence.

When she had almost finished eating, Shen Cong suddenly placed a note on the table.

Li Nanke picked it up and glanced at it, then choked on the soup in his mouth in shock.

"Cough cough cough..."

Her face turned red from coughing, and her round eyes welled up with tears from the force of the cough.

She coughed as she glared at Shen Cong, strongly suspecting that he was deliberately teasing her.

"Ninth Brother, are you trying to choke me to death?"

Shen Cong touched his nose, then reached out and patted her on the back.

"You've always been a very brave girl, why are you chickening out now?"

Li Nanke glared at him.

Shen Cong pursed his lips.

The little girl even dared to glare at him; she's becoming less and less afraid of him.

Li Nanke picked up the note and waved it. "Ninth Brother, do you want to take another look at what's written on this note? Anyone who sees these four words will be surprised, okay?"

The note had four characters written on it, the handwriting messy, clearly written in a hurry.

The late emperor's last edict!

Li Nanke: "This note wasn't given to you by Prince Chen, was it?"

Shen Cong nodded.

“The day before yesterday, we tracked down one of the bases where Li Yongfeng was entertaining guests and found that the people there had just left, but they left me this note.”

Li Nanke swallowed hard.

"Does this note mean that the late emperor left a will before his death? And that this will is related to you?"

Shen Cong: "Obviously, that's the meaning."

"That's why Ninth Brother wanted to capture Prince Chen first and find out the truth about this matter."

Shen Cong nodded.

"Unfortunately, the Imperial Guards searched almost every corner of Bianjing, but still couldn't find any trace of Prince Chen."

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked up at Li Nanke, his voice tinged with a hint of teasing.

"Why don't you perform a divination to see where the Prince of Chen might be hiding?"

Li Nanke couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"What time is it, Ninth Brother, still teasing me? You know perfectly well that my divination is just an excuse."

"Heh, you're not even trying to hide anything from me now?"

Li Nanke stuck out her tongue with a grin.

“We’re already so familiar with each other, why should I hide anything anymore? Anyway, Ninth Brother has never believed that I can tell fortunes.”

Even so, she still thought carefully about the situation in the dream.

They tried to find clues about the Prince of Chen in their dreams.

However, in her dream, when she returned to the capital, the rebellious faction led by Prince Chen had already been eradicated.

No one in the court had mentioned this matter, and after much thought, there were still no clues.

"Ninth Brother, are you sure Prince Chen's men haven't left the city yet?"

Shen Cong nodded.

"I am quite certain that all four city gates are tightly sealed and heavily checked. It would be extremely difficult for Prince Chen to leave the city."

Li Nanke: "In other words, Chen Wang's men are still in the city, but they can't stay hidden in the city forever."

So he must be planning to leave the city right now. If you were Prince Chen, when would you leave Bianjing? And what would be the best way to evade inspection?

Shen Cong and she exchanged a glance.

The two spoke almost simultaneously, giving the same answer in unison.

"Lantern Festival!"

"waterway!"

After saying that, the two of them couldn't help but laugh.

"Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, Prince Chen will definitely show up!"