Chapter 918 Going Down the Mountain (5)

Shen Miao agreed and walked out.

Some of the ladies outside had already woken up, their faces showing signs of fatigue. These were all people of ordinary wealth and status, and making do in tents was unacceptable. The particularly pampered ones had already returned to their residences last night. Those who stayed behind were either to curry favor with Emperor Yongle or to enjoy this rare leisure time.

Hui Xiang served Shen Miao a bowl of porridge. Emperor Yongle came out, and several of the palace's chefs arrived, specially to prepare meals for the ministers and their wives. While Shen Miao sipped her porridge, she asked Ba Jiao, "Is there still no news from His Highness?"

Bajiao shook his head.

Shen Miao looked into the distance. The sun had already risen above the mountain. In another hour, it would be completely bright. Even if Xie Jingxing and his companions had spent the night in the mountains, they should have returned by now. There was no precedent for hunting in the mountains for two full days.

They don't just hunt, though.

“Is there no signal from your Mo Yu army?” Shen Miao asked, “Didn’t your master tell you about this matter? Once the matter is accomplished, what signal will be sent out to inform you?”

Ba Jiao and Fennel were both stunned. They looked at each other and shook their heads. Fennel said, "The master didn't tell us about this plan."

Shen Miao was helpless and could only say, "I don't know what the situation is now." Looking at Lu Zhengchun who was already stretching lazily in the distance and Ye Maocai on the other side, she felt even more headache.

Just as he was thinking, he saw a familiar figure walking by on the other side. Shen Miao was stunned and didn't care about drinking the porridge. He put the bowl into Bajiao's hand and quickly walked forward to catch up with the person.

The man turned around and it was Ji Yushu. Shen Miao's mind was full of thoughts, so she pulled Ji Yushu to a corner where no one could see her and asked him, "Why are you back?"

Ji Yushu asked, "Sister-in-law, what does this mean?"

Shen Miao frowned: "Aren't you with Xie Jingxing?"

Ji Yushu was surprised: "No, I'm in the outer court. Only the royal family can enter the inner court. Although I am half a royal relative, I'm still not qualified."

Shen Miao was surprised. She thought Ji Yushu came here to help Xie Jingxing. Now that Ji Yushu was not there, could it be that Xie Jingxing and Emperor Yongle were fighting alone? She said, "Tell me honestly, what exactly does Xie Jingxing want to do this time?"

Ji Yushu touched his nose in grievance. "Sister-in-law, you've really asked the wrong person. Third brother never takes me with him when he wants to do something big. The more dangerous it is, the less likely he'll let me touch it. Back in Mingqi, I was only in charge of the food and drink at Fengxian Pawnshop, and I wasn't allowed to interfere with anything else. Gao Yang was with him at the hunting ground yesterday. Third brother always takes Gao Yang with him when he has something to do. I wanted to come along, but he wouldn't let me."

"Gao Yang?" Shen Miao asked, "Gao Yang is also a minister, how can he go?"

"Gao Yang disguised himself as Third Brother's personal attendant and went along." Ji Yushu said, "He's smart and knows medicine, so he'll be able to help if anything happens."

Shen Miao's heart tightened. Did Xie Jingxing bring Gao Yang with him because he knew medicine? But could the situation have become so dire? She glanced at Ji Yushu again and understood. Although Xie Jingxing had a bad mouth, he was actually very protective of his family. Ji Yushu was still his cousin after all, just like he had done with Su Mingfeng back then. The best way to protect Ji Yushu was to not involve him. Perhaps it was also to protect the Ji family.

Ji Yushu looked at Shen Miao's expression, but this time he became smarter and asked, "Sister-in-law, did something happen to Third Brother?"

Shen Miao said: "No, I just saw that he hadn't come back yet, and I was anxious."