Chapter 174

Seeing Cui Zui escape, Lingzhi breathed a sigh of relief and focused on dealing with her opponent. In no time, she kicked him off the roof. Then, she took out her token again and shouted in a deep voice, "Stop now! If anything happens to the Fourth Prince, you will all be buried with him!"

Without anyone secretly causing trouble, the Imperial Guards were quite obedient and quickly stopped fighting, standing there looking at each other in bewilderment.

Some people, half-believing and half-doubting, wanted to examine the token in Lingzhi's hand, but Lingzhi refused outright, saying, "The Fourth Prince's life is in danger right now. Where do you have time to examine this and that? Are you planning to be held accountable afterward and die with the Fourth Prince if you don't hurry up and go to save him?"

"Hurry up and go!" At Lingzhi's shout, the Imperial Guards rushed in the direction Cui Zui had left.

Although it took so long, even if she ran until her legs broke, she still wouldn't be able to catch up. But the commotion caused by so many people rushing over would definitely make the assassins of the abandoned palace hesitate, even if that hesitation was only for a moment.

Even if Fu Lu were to encounter real danger, he would have an extra breath to survive, but Ling Zhi was far from happy.

She frowned and looked at Xuan Shiyi, "What's going on? Aren't you with His Highness?"

Xuan Shiyi said, "We lost them not long after they left Zhaoyang Palace."

Xuan Shiyi was truly helpless. It wasn't that he lacked ability, but rather that Xue Jin'an's movement technique was simply too bizarre. As soon as he left Zhaoyang Palace, he performed a feat of leaping across rooftops and walking on walls as if suspended in mid-air. They didn't even know how to keep up with him.

He hesitated for only a moment, then turned a corner and disappeared. Judging from the leaves on the ground, he must have gone up the tree path.

Xue Jin'an slipped away so fast that they didn't even catch a glimpse of his clothes. Xuan Shiyi had no choice but to bring his men to help, hearing how intense the fighting was, and also to try and get some clues from Lingzhi.

Lingzhi swallowed back the insults that were on the tip of her tongue: "...Never mind, it's not your fault. His Highness has always had some extraordinary abilities, so it's understandable that you lost him."

"This is the only way now." Lingzhi pointed to the disappearing figures of the Imperial Guards. "Pray, pray that His Highness didn't lose a single hair, or you're all doomed."

Lu Bingzhu didn't care whether Xue Jin'an's martial arts skills were better than the secret guards', or whether he had any means that would leave the secret guards helpless. In Lu Bingzhu's eyes, if the secret guards couldn't even do the most basic thing of protecting their master, then they were defective products.

Either go back to the factory for a complete overhaul, or get reimbursed directly.

Xuan Shiyi understood the implied meaning in Lingzhi's words. Having experienced Lu Bingzhu's methods before, he had almost developed a conditioned reflex. His muscles tensed and stiffened instantly, his scalp tingled and itched, and cold sweat soaked his back.

*

Xue Jin'an was perfectly fine, even better than anyone expected; he had confirmed Fu Lu's temporary safety.

As soon as Xue Jin'an left Zhaoyang Palace, he opened the map and followed the navigation while simultaneously opening a live streaming app to quickly browse through the streams. He selected people along the route to watch their live streams, but he couldn't find Fu Lu's figure, which meant that Fu Lu hadn't returned yet.

Xue Jin'an rewound their live stream. Some streams showed Fu Lu's figure, while others did not. He quickly determined Fu Lu's route.

As expected, Fu Lu took the road to the abandoned palace in order to save time. The abandoned palace was remote and rarely visited by people. Fu Lu's whereabouts were cut off before he even reached the abandoned palace.

Then, based on Fu Lu's speed, Xue Jin'an deduced the time it would take him to arrive at the abandoned palace. He then found all the live stream rooms that were relatively close to the abandoned palace, and started watching them at an accelerated pace from that time, carefully listening to the sounds inside and analyzing them.

The sounds were all normal until about 15 minutes later, a long, thin, and shrill meow came from everyone's live stream.

Immediately afterwards, Xue Jin'an heard noisy footsteps in the few live broadcast rooms that were closest to him. It sounded like a lot of people, but there was no one in the video. Then there were faint voices. The voices appeared one after another. When one voice rang out, another fell silent. Occasionally, there were a few meows from cats, which sounded strangely noisy.

Moreover, although these voices have different tones, they all have subtle similarities in their tone of voice.

Before Xue Jin'an had even finished listening, he had already drawn his conclusion: "Voice acting."

Xue Jin'an recalled that a long time ago, in order to test whether he was leaking sound, he played a song for Fu Lu. Fu Lu thought it was his ventriloquism and wanted to learn from him. However, since Xue Jin'an did not have the skill of "electricity", he refused directly. After that, Fu Lu said that he would find someone else to learn from.

Fu Lu usually stays in Zhaoyang Palace, either collecting and organizing information or nothing at all. When did he learn ventriloquism? And how did he manage to master it? Xue Jin'an was completely baffled.

However, now is not the time to investigate how Fu Lu learned his ventriloquism skills or from whom.

The meowing in the live stream occurred 45 minutes after Fu Lu passed the gate of the ruined palace. 45 minutes is too long, so Fu Lu must have encountered it on his return journey, and most likely he was just unlucky enough to run into the fleeing Fourth Prince.

After all, if he heard screams or witnessed the Fourth Prince being stabbed, Fu Lu would never meddle. Instead, he would stay far away and return to Zhaoyang Palace as quickly as possible to inform Xue Jin'an.

Fu Lu knew he had no martial arts skills, and going to do something like this would be suicide. He shouldn't be listening to secrets at a time like this. His life was more important than any secret. Besides, as long as he survived and found Xue Jin'an's support, with Xue Jin'an's keen eye, it wouldn't be long before he found out who the murderer was and closed the case.

Fu Lu uses ventriloquism to create the illusion that someone has passed by, thus scaring away the murderer. This means the murderer is very close to him, and he must get rid of the murderer to create a safe environment.

Under what circumstances would a murderer, while on the verge of killing someone, turn around and deal with a passerby instead of the person they are about to kill? Either they need to get rid of the eyewitness, or the person is connected to the person they are about to kill.

After a thorough analysis and elimination of possibilities, only one possibility remained: Fu Lu was extremely unlucky and ran into the Fourth Prince, who had barely escaped, on his way back. With no other option, they hid from the murderer together and used ventriloquism to make the murderer hesitate to approach.

However, ventriloquism can only be used to buy time. If the murderer is determined to kill the fourth prince, or if the murderer calms down and thinks carefully, this method will soon become ineffective.

I need to hurry. Xue Jin'an strained his leg muscles to the maximum, running towards the abandoned palace like the wind.

While Xuan Shiyi and Lingzhi were telling each other that they had lost Xue Jin'an, the person in question had already rushed into the abandoned palace.

As soon as they rushed in, they saw a middle-aged man with a disheveled appearance, wearing a straw hat. The middle-aged man chopped down a tree with a swift stroke of his blade, and the tree crashed into the weeds with a loud bang. Fu Lu and the Fourth Prince tumbled out with screams of fright.

Not far from him stood a thin, small man dressed entirely in black.

The thin man dressed in all black paused for a moment when he saw him, clearly recognizing him.

"One slash, here comes the troublemaker, quickly take care of him." The skinny man's voice was extremely hoarse and unpleasant. As he spoke, he drew a curved sword from his waist, looking as if he was about to join in and chop down the Fourth Prince.

"Don't interfere," said Yidao Hengdao.

"Tsk, can you hurry up?" the skinny man said disdainfully. "You have to stand in the same pose every time you make a move. How come you haven't been beaten to death yet?"

"Ah!!" Fu Lu and the Fourth Prince screamed in terror as their eyes widened and they scattered and fled. As Fu Lu got up, he kicked the Fourth Prince, sending him sprawling to the ground and rolling several times. But the kick also narrowly deflected the lightning-fast slash from his body.

"This works?" Could it really be that he wasn't meant to die? The skinny man muttered, then pointed the finger at Yidao, "Are you even capable? Were you deliberately holding back?"

Without saying a word, he exhaled a long breath and swung his sword with the force of thunder, heading straight for the fallen Fourth Prince.

Unfortunately, he no longer has the chance.

With a "whoosh," the soft sword was drawn and lashed out like a whip across Yi Dao's hand. With a clever hook and pull from Xue Jin'an, Yi Dao's sword was accidentally knocked away.

Yi Dao never imagined he would be the one to have his knife thrown. After his initial surprise, his eyes lit up. He was clearly a master knife user, reacting very quickly. He did a somersault in mid-air to catch the knife, and upon landing, he praised, "To be able to catch the knife in my hand, your control is quite good. You can be considered a master at your age."

"Master!" Upon seeing that it was Xue Jin'an who had arrived, Fu Lu's previous cowardly and erratic behavior vanished instantly. He staggered over and stood in front of Xue Jin'an, shouting, "If you have any problems, come at me! No one is allowed to touch my master!"

"Master, run!" Fu Lu whispered to Xue Jin'an.

"Run? Where do you want to run?" The thin man stood behind Xue Jin'an, holding a double-edged scimitar, blocking the palace gate.

“Black Rat,” Yi Dao said with a displeased expression and a deep voice, “this is my opponent, don’t interfere.”

Black Rat not only didn't move aside, but also chuckled twice, his hoarse and unpleasant voice making a strange sound, "Why do you think the boss made me follow you? When necessary, you'll have to listen to me!"

"You—" Yi Dao wanted to say something, but Xue Jin'an didn't give them a chance to continue arguing.

Seizing the opportunity to kill someone while they are sick, Xue Jin'an took action and shouted, "Squat down!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Lu squatted down, covering his head.

The soft sword, like a silver snake spitting its tongue, almost grazed Fu Lu's scalp, drawing a dazzling white streak in the air before heading straight for Yi Dao's face. At the same time, he stepped on Fu Lu's back, leaned back, and spun around to avoid the curved blade coming from behind. He raised his hand, and with a "whoosh," the arrow from his sleeve shot directly at Black Rat.

Xue Jin'an's arrow was not shot randomly; he had predicted the black rat's trajectory, and the arrow was aimed straight at his heart.

Unfortunately, the black rat twisted its body mid-air, and the fatal arrow pierced through its collarbone.

"Ugh—" The black rat groaned and rolled to the ground. The sound was completely different from the hoarse and unpleasant sound. It was the sound of a young boy, and it was very familiar to Xue Jin'an.

It is the fifth prince.

Xue Jin'an twisted the Fifth Prince's shoulder and heard him make a similar sound.

Xue Jin'an's wrist paused slightly. The soft sword that was about to slash at "Black Rat's" neck was a step too late. Just as it cut open his neck, it was blocked by the long sword that arrived in time.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Xue Jin'an retreated and quickly fired a hidden arrow from his sleeve at Yi Dao.

Xue Jin'an's shot was skillful in both angle and force. It was his joint lock that restricted his ability to raise his sword to block. Even if he risked dislocating his arm bones and tendons, he could not completely block the arrow. The sword, deviating from its course after being hit, would fly past his eyes.

Xue Jin'an's calculations were very accurate. The only thing he overlooked was that Yi Dao's internal strength was so profound that it could be projected outwards. This cannot be blamed on Xue Jin'an, because he had only come into contact with a limited number of martial arts masters. They were either like the Fifth Prince or men in the army. Although they also practiced internal strength, they did not obsessively focus on that path.

On the battlefield, having exceptional martial arts skills alone is of little use.

Therefore, Xue Jin'an's knowledge of internal energy cultivation was not comprehensive. Moreover, internal energy cultivation was a lower derivative of spiritual energy. Xue Jin'an thought that when needed in the future, he could simply use spiritual power to simulate it, so he did not study it carefully.

Yi Dao dodged the attack with ease, his inner energy transforming into white steam. With a "clang," the hidden arrow, still an inch away from Yi Dao, struck an invisible wall and fell to the ground.

"Do you use a knife?" Yidao suddenly asked.

"I've used it," Xue Jin'an replied.

The knife Xue Jin'an used was the very one that almost cut the Third Prince in half at the waist. However, Xue Jin'an felt that the knife was too big and heavy, and too troublesome, so he put it aside. Now he mostly uses the soft sword in his hand. It's not that he has any particular preference for soft swords, but simply that soft swords are light, thin, and easy to conceal. They can be swung like a whip, giving him the upper hand when making a move.

“If you don’t love a knife, you’re not worthy to use one. Don’t use a knife anymore. That’s dishonest.” Yi Dao wasn’t satisfied with Xue Jin’an’s answer that he had “used it.” He lowered his center of gravity and squatted down, and the hand holding the knife changed as he let out a long breath.

He said, "Look closely, this is my knife."

"It's boring, I'm not watching." Xue Jin'an chose to take advantage of his focused attention and finish him off.

The two clashed, and the glint of swords flashed before their eyes.

Yi Dao hadn't taken Xue Jin'an seriously at all. Even though he knew that this was the famous Seventh Prince, he didn't think he would lose.

He underestimated Xue Jin'an, and as a result, Xue Jin'an's soft sword slashed at the back of his hand, tearing off a chunk of flesh. The pain shot from the back of his hand to his scalp, and he couldn't help but gasp.

Yi Dao's sword is all about power and force, but Xue Jin'an's soft sword is all about agility and flexibility. It is extremely good at avoiding the opponent's sharp edge. Under Xue Jin'an's control, it is like a slippery snake. Not only can you not catch it, but it will also bite you unexpectedly, leaving you with blood and gore.

If it were just that, Yi Dao wouldn't have been too difficult. However, this seventh prince was a martial arts prodigy. He could not only use any move that the prince had ever used, but also modify it to be more suitable for the soft sword.

Yi Dao hadn't seen such a talented young man in a long time. The killing intent in his sword aura dissipated without him realizing it. He deliberately entangled Xue Jin'an's soft sword, instilling more techniques in him, almost as if he were teaching him everything he knew.

Xue Jin'an never misses any opportunity to learn; he's willing to learn if the other party dares to teach him.

Cui Zui was the second person to arrive. He saw Xue Jin'an fighting with someone and drew his bow and arrow almost without hesitation. However, when he took aim and saw clearly the moves they were using in unison, Cui Zui's expression was very complicated.

"The One-Sword Hero," Cui Zui murmured the title.

The legendary swordsman, who could slay all heroes under heaven with a single slash, is said to have retired from the martial arts world because no one could inherit his self-created "Return to One Sword Style." He lamented that there was no one with exceptional talent in the martial arts world and had not shown his face in public for many years.

I thought that the great hero of the past had become a follower of Prince An and was now engaged in a life-or-death business, and must have been completely changed. But I never expected that he would disregard his own life and death and pass on his secret skills in this fight.

Cui Zui was already somewhat of a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person who had been involved in the martial arts world), so it was hard for him not to be moved by this.

When the Imperial Guards appeared one by one, ready to go down and gang up on them, Cui Zui stopped them.

By the time the lesson ended, the rooftops surrounding the ruined palace were filled with people, all of whom were pointing their weapons at Yidao. As for the black rat that the Fifth Prince was disguised as, he had already taken the opportunity to sneak into the artificial hill while Xue Jin'an and Yidao were fighting, and had long since disappeared.

Facing this certain death, Yi Dao showed no fear whatsoever and even laughed out loud, "Very well, my swordsmanship has been passed on today, and I have no regrets."

"You may leave." Xue Jin'an was always a fair person; having taught him the sword technique, he would not repay kindness with enmity and take his life.

As Xue Jin'an spoke, he turned his head and quickly checked Fu Lu. Seeing that he was alright, he turned and walked out with his men.

"There's one more here, you've missed it," the Swordsman reminded him from behind.

"It has nothing to do with me." Xue Jin'an coldly refused to sign for the extra package.

Although Xue Jin'an accepted the account book, it was sent by Consort Shu, and Fu Lu saved the Fourth Prince's life and almost got himself killed in the process. Xue Jin'an was already being lenient by not making the Fourth Prince pay compensation.

"You don't want him?" The Swordsman raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll kill him?"

Xue Jin'an made it clear that this had nothing to do with him: "Do whatever you want with me."

Upon hearing this, Yidao gently pushed open the scabbard with his thumb. "Then I shall respectfully comply?"

The long sword was slowly drawn, its cold light dazzling the eyes.

"No, no, no, no—Xue Jin'an, wait!" The fourth prince, who had been pretending to be dead for a long time, scrambled to his feet and chased after Xue Jin'an.

"Master, are we really not going to abandon the Fourth Prince?" Fu Lu asked in a low voice.

"Troublesome." Xue Jin'an pondered whether to kick the Fourth Prince back when he arrived.

Before Xue Jin'an could make a move, the Fourth Prince tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Wait, Xue Jin'an, what are you going to do?" The fourth prince sat up abruptly, his eyes filled with terror the moment he looked up.

"Pfft—" That was the sound of a knife tip piercing flesh, and hot blood spurted out. The fourth prince was neither too far nor too close, and some of it splashed onto his cheek.

Xue Jin'an suddenly turned his head away.

"Mission failure means death, that's the rule. I don't like Gu worms, so I choose to die by the blade, and that will repay the debt of gratitude." Yi Dao gripped the long sword piercing his abdomen tightly, his body unable to support him as he slowly knelt down.

Blood gushed from his mouth as his internal organs ruptured. He looked up with unfocused eyes in Xue Jin'an's direction and said, "I am lucky to have completed the inheritance before my life came to an end."

"If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening; I will die without regret."

*

The fourth prince was someone Lingzhi decided to bring back.

Lingzhi felt that although the account book was written quite clearly, it was not as clear as the person who kept it. As the accountant, the Fourth Prince might be able to get some hidden things out of him. But if you really wanted to know, what Lingzhi was most curious about was what the Fifth Prince saw when he returned to the First Prince's residence.

As the person being monitored by the Fifth Prince, the Fourth Prince could always tell a thing or two.

Xue Jin'an had no objection, so he let Lingzhi go.

Unfortunately, Xue Jin'an was so terrified by the direct impact of death that he stared blankly at anyone who tried to touch him, and he immediately began to resist and struggle like a frightened rabbit.

Finally, the fourth prince, looking so bloodied and disheveled, locked himself in his room for a whole day and night in a daze.

With so many Imperial Guards present and such a commotion, the fact that the Fourth Prince was attacked in the palace could not be kept secret. However, Xue Jin'an directly ordered the Zhaoyang Palace to be sealed off, and not a single person was allowed to enter.

Just before the morning court session, Xi Yun came by. Lingzhi personally entertained her, but she gave a wry smile, saying, "Sister Lingzhi, today I represent the Eldest Princess."

“This is a good thing, it shows that she trusts you,” Lingzhi said. “If she uses you, it proves that you are not in danger. If she doesn’t use you, I would have to tell His Highness that I got you out.”

“Yes, sister is right, but I’m timid by nature and really can’t get used to this fickle life.” Xi Yun sighed and said, “I’ll be twenty-five tomorrow, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to go home.”

"Don't worry, it's almost over." Lingzhi patted her shoulder to comfort her, "Your good days are yet to come."

Xi Yun met Xue Jin'an once, and left in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Xi Yun came on behalf of the Eldest Princess, who naturally came to ask Xue Jin'an for the account book. It was quite a coincidence that, according to Consort Shu's original plan, in order to make the Sixth Prince completely invisible in this matter, she would definitely release the news that the account book was in Xue Jin'an's hands today. However, she never expected that the Fourth Prince would end up in Xue Jin'an's hands instead.

Now, the ledger should be in Xue Jin'an's hands, or it should be in his hands, and preferably it really should be in his hands.

Xue Jin'an naturally didn't give it to her, and instead sent Xi Yun to deliver a message: "If you're so capable, then come and take it yourself. Zhaoyang Palace welcomes any challenge."

The eldest princess was not surprised to hear this, but she still felt a headache. She summoned her confidante: "Go to Qian Yuan Palace now and deliver a few words to the officials before the morning court begins. Tell them to fully cooperate with the second prince and immediately determine the first prince's guilt."

Originally, according to the eldest princess's idea, she should have waited until she had the account books and other conclusive evidence before completely bringing down the eldest prince. However, she knew her younger brother too well and couldn't wait any longer. Today, she would definitely be eager to pin charges on the eldest prince and try to nail him to the ground with one blow.

The eldest princess changed her mind because she had doubts.

Yesterday, the fourth prince was taken away by Xue Jin'an, and there were rumors circulating in the streets. However, his eldest prince, who cared the most about the account books and was even willing to kill his own brothers, remained unmoved.

It was hard for the eldest princess not to be suspicious. She suspected that the account book might not actually point to the eldest prince, but rather that someone else was truly anxious about it.

As for who will be next, we'll have to wait and see what fate awaits the Crown Prince, who is now missing crucial evidence.

The consequence was the stripping of his princely status and his execution.

"...Father." The eldest princess was shocked upon receiving the news.

Without the ledger, the eldest princess made wild speculations, while Xue Jin'an, who had the ledger, remained calm and composed.

Xue Jin'an was genuinely uninterested in the ledger. He had already made some guesses about the accounts before even looking at them, and after reading them, he could only say that they were pretty much what he had expected.

The eldest prince and Prince An are on the same side, and Prince An was originally a product of the emperor's deliberate manipulation. In a sense, Prince An is actually the emperor's puppet, and everything he does is deliberately guided by the emperor, but Prince An is unaware of this at the moment.

Once the equations are completed, it's no surprise that the eldest prince's ledger points to the emperor.

The only missing piece for Xue Jin'an now is the emperor's purpose. Once the emperor's purpose is exposed, all the fragmented clues will be connected and everything will become clear.

Knowing this purpose is not troublesome; he only needs to wait until the struggle for the throne reaches its climax, at which point everything will be impossible to hide.

That was the perfect time for him to make his move.

Xue Jin'an wondered who would be representing the emperor to retrieve the account books. He considered many candidates, but never expected it to be Consort De.

"I have five thousand warhorses; can I exchange them for my son's life?" Consort De asked.

Xue Jin'an refused the first time, knowing that this was not the limit for Consort De.

Sure enough, after a brief standoff with him, Consort De raised her stakes again, saying, "I know how to raise good warhorses, and I can tell you everything."

“I know, I know you have people in the Northwest Army, I know.” Consort De emphasized “I know” twice, trying to use this as a bargaining chip.

Xue Jin'an glanced at her but didn't say anything.

Lingzhi, ever perceptive, stepped forward to serve tea, acting as Xue Jin'an's interpreter: "Your Highness, the most dangerous thing in this world is military power, and once you get involved, you can't let go of it. Why do you think that is?"

Xue Jin'an has already established himself firmly in the Imperial Guard, and Jili has now become the Imperial Guard's exclusive training ground. Even if it is revealed that he has amassed military power in the Northwest Army, the Emperor will not be able to do anything to him easily.

Consort De told the Emperor that this matter was pointless and would only offend Xue Jin'an for no reason.

Consort De understood. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, her weariness evident in her expression. When she opened her eyes again, her thoughts were struggling, and her hand gripping the teacup so tightly that it turned white, as if she had made up her mind.

Her shoulders and back remained ramrod straight, her head slightly raised, stubbornly clinging to the last shred of dignity. "I'll give you the method to raise warhorses, and I'll give you five thousand warhorses too. I just want my son... to have one last breath."

She swallowed with difficulty, her breath trembling and her voice shaking slightly, "As long as he has a breath left, as long as he lives, I can give you everything I have."

Xue Jin'an judged that this was the limit of Consort De's patience, so he stopped being silent and said, "Answer me two questions, and I will agree."

"Ask away." Consort De had no way out.

She forced herself to stay alert, expecting Xue Jin'an's questions to be tricky, but to her surprise, he asked, "Where did you get your warhorse?"

Consort De was taken aback, then pursed her lips, opened her mouth several times before awkwardly whispering, "I... changed it."

"Whose was it replaced?" Xue Jin'an thought this would be an interesting answer.

His guess proved correct, as Consort De said, "It was replaced with the Emperor's."

The horses that Consort De raised at the horse farm were actually for the Emperor. After they were well raised, the Emperor would put them away. To date, Consort De has raised a total of about eight thousand warhorses for the Emperor. Among them, Consort De secretly used inferior horses to replace five thousand superior horses.

Second-class and first-class horses look very similar. In particular, the second-class horses raised by Consort De were better than the original first-class horses of the Great Qi Dynasty. The problem could not be discovered until they went to the battlefield. Of course, even if it was discovered then, Consort De could use the excuse that the warhorses were left to degenerate.

At first, Consort De was cautious, replacing only a few horses out of a hundred. Later, when she realized that no one was noticing, she became more and more audacious. Most recently, she replaced all the horses she presented to the emperor.

"Anyway, we haven't noticed anything wrong until now," Consort De said, feigning composure.

"..." Xue Jin'an silently gave her a thumbs up.

"Pfft—" Teacher X couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The emperor, splashing ink on rice paper, thought: "What are you laughing at, Teacher X? Has my painting violated some taboo?"

"No, I was just thinking about something happy." Teacher X put the classic dialogue into the auto-reply.

To this day, the emperor still doesn't know how many of his eight thousand warhorses were actually spurious.