Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath: "That's good. The matter here is now settled. Your Highness will set off for the capital this afternoon."

Magistrate Li didn't want to keep him, so he said a few kind words.

In the afternoon, Zhu Yunwen packed his things without saying goodbye to Zhu Yunwen. Before leaving, Magistrate Li asked:

"Doesn't the Third Prince invite the Second Prince to travel back together?"

Zhu Yunwen laughed: "No need, they're still planning how to kill me on the way. Wouldn't it be a bit awkward to travel together?"

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Magistrate Li gave a wry smile, sighed, and said nothing more.

After setting off, Zhu Yunwen, along with his subordinates and Zhao Qingzhu, leisurely made their way to the capital.

The initial sense of urgency faded along the way, and instead, people began to appreciate the scenery.

A charming smile appeared on Zhao Qingzhu's face.

I must say, she is indeed very beautiful.

Especially when she's laughing, it's as if she becomes the only one in the world.

What puzzled Zhu Yunwen was that with such a beautiful woman around, the ten Imperial Guard commanders around him remained expressionless and didn't even glance at her.

This puzzled him somewhat, so he said in a joking tone:

"You guys are really too rigid. Can't you see how beautiful my fiancée is? Don't you even glance at her?"

Behind Zhu Yunwen, a Jinyiwei commander said:

"Your Highness is joking. We have undergone rigorous training, and no matter how good-looking someone is, we will never even glance at them."

However, as he said this, he still glanced at Zhao Qingzhu.

Zhu Yunwen witnessed this scene and looked at the Jinyiwei commander with a strange expression.

The commander of the Imperial Guards stiffened, his face flushing slightly, and said:

"Unless I can't help it..."

Zhu Yunwen burst into laughter, and many of the Jinyiwei commanders behind him finally broke their stiff expressions and couldn't help but smile.

The atmosphere immediately became lively.

Then Zhu Yunwen spoke:

"Your martial arts are formidable, your reactions are quick, and you are cautious—these are your strengths. But by following me, I don't need you to become emotionless machines."

That would make me very uncomfortable. I'd rather be a normal person; I'm more comfortable with that. In other words, your bodies have the characteristics and abilities you should possess, but your thoughts should be like those of normal people.

The ten commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were somewhat bewildered by Zhu Yunwen's words, but after thinking about them, they were still able to understand their meaning.

This greatly shocked them, because to them, Zhu Yunwen was their master, and masters never cared whether their subordinates had any thoughts or emotions that normal people should have.

They only care whether their subordinates are capable; as long as they are capable, even if they are just machines.

They didn't even care whether they lived or died.

However, Zhu Yunwen was different.

Zhu Yunwen not only joked with them to put the atmosphere at ease, but also showed no airs in front of them.

They were even asked to show their true selves, and as long as their abilities remained, there was no problem, which moved everyone deeply.

They immediately felt that Zhu Yunwen was a very good master, not only very capable and kind to the people, but also a good person.

And so, everyone relaxed and chatted along the way, making the otherwise tedious trip more enjoyable.

Zhao Qingzhu relaxed even more. At this moment, the way she looked at Zhu Yuntong showed that she had completely accepted this fiancé whose reputation was supposedly not very good.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Guards' goodwill towards Zhu Yunwen increased to 100%.

When this happens, their loyalty to Zhu Yunwen is almost at its maximum; he is a master for whom they are willing to serve.

Although the journey was much slower, Zhu Yunwen warned Zhao Qingzhu and the ten Jinyiwei centurions that they were likely to face more assassination attempts along the way.

Because they had increased their speed when they arrived, Zhu Yunwen did not have enough time to prepare a strategy to deal with Zhu Yunwen.

This gave them ample time to prepare for the return journey.

The road back to the capital will certainly not be smooth sailing.

That evening they stayed at a post station. Upon arrival, Zhu Yunwen inquired of the post station manager:

"Has the Second Grandson of the Emperor, Zhu Yunwen, ever passed through here?"

Upon hearing this, the postmaster immediately nodded and said:

"His Highness the Second Prince passed by earlier."

Zhu Yunwen hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

Then he asked the postmaster to prepare some food.

Soon the food was served, and for safety's sake, the commander of the Imperial Guard took out a silver needle to test for poison.

Zhu Yunwen became interested upon seeing this. Although he knew that the method of testing for poison with silver needles was not very accurate, he did not stop him.

After trying it, the commander of the Imperial Guard nodded and said:

"No problem."

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and said:

"Is there a problem? That's not how you try it."

As he spoke, he picked up some food, placed it on a small plate, and said to the commander of the Imperial Guard:

"Find a cat or dog, let them eat it and see."

The Imperial Guard commander nodded, turned and left. A moment later, he returned with a grim face, his voice filled with murderous intent as he said to Zhu Yunwen:

"I found a cat, tried it, and the cat died a few moments later. The poison was very potent, but colorless and odorless."

Zhu Yunwen revealed a faint, cold smile and said:

"Bring the postmaster here!"