From their words, Su An vaguely guessed the whole story, and his heart tightened.

After the two men left, Su An suddenly stood up and exclaimed excitedly.

"No, Zhou Li is in danger, I have to go save him."

Seeing her emotional outburst, An Yi quickly pulled her back and said in a deep voice, "Miss Su, calm down. He Cheng is doing this to force you to show yourself. If you go out now, wouldn't that be playing right into his hands?"

But with Zhou Li's life at stake, how could she possibly remain calm?

Su An clenched her fists, her eyes red-rimmed.

“Didn’t you hear what they said? They want to hang Zhou Li. Do you want me to just watch him die in front of me? If going back can save his life, then I’d rather stay in the palace.”

As she spoke, she ignored An Yi's advice and rushed towards the city gate.

Helpless, An Yi could only step forward and gently press a few acupoints on her body.

Su An froze, her limbs becoming unresponsive, and she stood stiffly in place, unable to move an inch.

Her face flushed red as she forced out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"An Yi, what have you done to me? Let me go!"

"His Highness instructed me to protect Miss Su. I cannot fail His Highness's trust, so I will take on the task of saving her. Miss Su, please forgive me."

As he spoke, An Yi pulled out a rope from his waist and tied Su An up.

Su An struggled in vain and could only watch helplessly as he tied her up.

After doing all this, An Yi released her pressure points and set off to rescue the person.

But before he could move, a faint whooshing sound rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a dart flew straight toward his face.

An instinctively took a step back. The dart grazed his cheek and embedded itself in the tree trunk behind him. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly looked around, but he didn't see a single person.

Su An, who had come to his senses, suddenly spoke.

"A letter, there's a letter on the dart."

Upon hearing this, An Yi stepped forward, carefully removed the dart from the tree trunk, and unfolded the note attached to it. It read: "The hostage is fake; the Marquis is approaching!"

After reading this, he handed the note to Su An.

After reading the contents aloud softly, Su An felt much more at ease, but couldn't help but frown and ask questions.

Why does this letter say that the Zhou rituals are fake?

“Even the Emperor has to give the Marquis some respect, let alone He Cheng. Logically speaking, He Cheng wouldn’t dare to touch Prince Zhou, let alone hang him. The only explanation is that the prince at the city gate was someone He Cheng had impersonated, trying to lure you out.”

An Yi pursed her lips and analyzed it this way.

If that's the case, then Zhou Li shouldn't be in any danger in the short term.

Once the Marquis arrives, he will naturally find a way to escape.

Su An took a deep breath and gradually calmed down, secretly glad that she hadn't acted impulsively.

Fortunately, An Yi was there to stop them; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

She shook her arm, signaled to An Yi with her eyes, and said with a wry smile, "Now that things are clear, I won't act impulsively anymore. Can you let me go now?"

An Yi stepped forward and untied the ropes binding her.

Freed from his predicament, Su An rubbed his arms before turning his attention back to the note.

She examined the note carefully, gently pinching her lower lip, her doubts still lingering: "But is this information reliable? What if it's Zhou Li's mortal enemy using it to mislead us? If it's true, then who is secretly helping us? And what is their purpose?"

A series of questions lingered in Su An's mind, leaving him completely baffled.

An Yi pondered for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly:

"I don't know either, but based on my experience, this person in the shadows should be a friend, not an enemy. Otherwise, given his skills just now, he could have just killed us directly. Why go through all this trouble?"

That's true.

Su An nodded seriously.

Now that Zhou Li is out of danger, they no longer need to worry about rescuing him.

Before Su An could speak, An Yi urged him.

“Miss Su, if He Cheng sends the news to the palace and His Majesty finds out you are still alive, he will surely send people to search extensively. Before they can react, let me send you away as soon as possible!”

Su An knew the importance and urgency of the matter, and quickly nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's not delay, let's set off immediately!"

The commotion at the city gate continued unabated, but Su An and An Yi didn't even glance at it, and fled in the opposite direction.

They waited until almost evening, but Su An was still nowhere to be seen at the city gate.

He Cheng narrowed his eyes, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and shouted loudly to the surroundings.

"Su An, I know you're nearby. He only ended up in our hands because he was trying to save you. Do you want to just watch him die here? If you know what's good for you, come out now, and I might spare his life!"

His voice echoed in the empty city gate, but no one answered.

Seeing this, He Cheng gritted his teeth and pondered to himself.

They're really good at enduring things. Since they won't admit it until they see the coffin, let's give them a strong dose of medicine!

He raised his index finger and beckoned to the person behind him.

"The auspicious hour has arrived; carry out the execution!"

The guards responded immediately, putting the rope around Zhou Li's neck and slowly tightening it, pulling him to both sides. As his body gradually lifted into the air, Zhou Li's face instantly turned red, and his legs struggled incessantly.

He looked to be in great pain.

But even after he died, He Cheng never saw Su An again.

What bad luck! Did he really make the wrong judgment?

He Cheng's face turned ashen, his heart burning with rage, but he had no choice but to withdraw his troops.

"Throw them into a mass grave!"

After giving the instructions, He Cheng hurriedly went to the dungeon and had someone open the door to a cell.

Sitting inside was none other than Zhou Li.

Zhou Li's legs were half-propped up, his arm was draped over his legs, and he was slowly sipping water. He looked very relaxed, as if he were not a prisoner here, but cultivating his mind and body in his own mansion.

He Cheng glanced at him condescendingly, his anger intensifying.

He chuckled irritably, then sat down with a flick of his sleeve.

"The person the Crown Prince risked his life to save, now that they know the Crown Prince is to be hanged, doesn't dare utter a single word. It seems the friendship between you is nothing more than this."

Su An wasn't fooled?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Li had only one thought in his mind.

Upon hearing this news, he put down his teacup, raised his eyebrows, and clapped his hands with a big laugh.

"As expected of the person I risked my life to save, he is smart and insightful, unlike Lord He who is as stupid as a pig and can even come up with such a clumsy idea."

"you……"

He Cheng's face immediately turned ashen, and he stood up abruptly, pointing at Zhou Li with his finger.