Chapter 237 It’s Him

Qin Hanzhang's hands were a little red. After killing, plucking and cleaning a pheasant outside, he washed his hands for a quarter of an hour, and only stopped when his skin was almost peeling off.

At this time, he nodded and reached out to take the chicken soup, trying to hide his hand into his sleeves.

[What are you hiding? I saw it all when I went out to get some water. It's hard for you, someone who hates blood so much, to have been working on the edge of a knife for five years. 】

Su Qianqian sighed inwardly and pretended not to notice his hand. She handed it to him and then stared at his expression, observing his reaction to drinking the soup.

Qin Hanzhang paused with his hand holding the soup, and no longer tried to cover it. He took a sip of the soup, and a strange expression gradually appeared on his face. He stared at Su Qianqian for a moment before slowly drinking it.

"Why, is it so unpalatable? There's nothing we can do, there's no seasoning here... My Lord, you'd better not drink it, just in case..."

...What if he gets poisoned to death? All my efforts would be wasted. Su Qianqian didn't dare to say the second half of the sentence and reached out to take the bowl back.

"Don't make excuses to eat alone. I've already given you the rabbits. You should let me drink some chicken soup. I'm still injured."

Qin Hanzhang cautiously avoided Su Qianqian's hand, and actually stepped forward, holding the bowl and drinking one sip after another.

[I’m really hungry...] the system said quietly.

After finishing a bowl of soup quickly, Qin Hanzhang handed the bowl over without hesitation and gestured to the soup pot for more.

"Okay, I'm really hungry, so I might as well eat it with the meat. It smells good. Even if it doesn't taste good, the meat is still tender and not greasy."

Su Qianqian served Qin Hanzhang another bowl of meat and soup.

"Madam, eat too. I forgot to tell you that this soup is delicious." Qin Hanzhang winked cunningly and continued to drink while holding the bowl.

tasty? Su Qianqian went to get another wooden bowl, scooped a spoonful of soup and tasted it carefully. She couldn't help but widen her eyes: It's really delicious!

I thought it was like in TV dramas, where they pretend to enjoy the drink no matter how unpalatable it is because of their deep affection, but it turns out they just want to eat more and take more, what a little fox!

The two of them quickly finished the pot of chicken soup and the chicken, cleaned up and boiled some water, and it was getting dark.

Su Qianqian then remembered an important question: how to sleep on such a straw mat? There is a big bed in the space, but I don’t dare to go in!

Qin Hanzhang saw Su Qianqian's expression and said, "I haven't slept for days and nights in the northern border. You can rest assured. I will catch up on my sleep tomorrow. We should also be on guard against wild animals that accidentally break in at night."

"How can that be possible? The most important thing when you are injured is to rest more..."

Su Qianqian pulled the grass under the felt blanket outwards and spread it flat. This way, the area was larger and it should be enough for two people to sleep on it, but the two people had to sit close to each other.

"My Lord, please don't despise me. We have to make do with this as it is an emergency. Just stay here for one night. You can come to find us tomorrow." Su Qianqian spread the felt carpet out again and said calmly.

Qin Hanzhang nodded and sat aside.

"My lord, do you know who tried to kidnap me last night?" Su Qianqian accidentally touched something in her arms and looked up to ask Qin Hanzhang.

"Judging from their skills, they must be the same group of people who tried to assassinate you. Assassinating His Majesty and the Crown Prince is a heinous crime punishable by the death of all nine generations of the family. However, if they only kill officials to seek personal revenge, even if they alarm the Emperor, they may not pursue them in a large-scale manner. This is their cleverness after they realize that the situation is hopeless."

"But why didn't they kill me on the way here, but started a war when I was returning to the camp? They set rolling stones on the road, which clearly showed that they were prepared in advance, unless..."

Su Qianqian looked at Qin Hanzhang.

"Unless they originally wanted to use you to lure me to follow them." Qin Hanzhang replied calmly.

"It turns out that the one I want to kill today is you! I was lured out here just to set up a trap for you." Su Qianqian figured it out.

"Yes, when we saw the body of the guard later, it seemed like he was deliberately leading us there." Qin Hanzhang nodded.

"Look at this."

Su Qianqian took something out of her bosom and handed it to Qin Hanzhang. Qin Hanzhang took it and looked at it in the light of the fire. It turned out to be a small jade pendant with a tiger descending from the mountain engraved on one side and the word "Jing" in relief on the other side.

"Where did it come from?" Qin Hanzhang asked in surprise.

“When I first heard the black-clad man’s voice, even though he deliberately spoke in a low voice, I still felt that it was somewhat familiar. It was not until he pushed me onto the horse that I smelled the incense on him.

The smell was very special. I had only smelled it when I went to Xie Fangyuan with Lu Jing, a doctor from the Ministry of Revenue. Then, when we were riding on a bumpy horse, I pretended to control my body so as not to fall off the horse and grab things. I touched this thing and pulled it off without him noticing. ”

Su Qianqian looked at the jade pendant and said, "Such fine jade with such words engraved on it, I'm afraid many people have seen it. If Lu Jing is the master of the man in black, everything makes sense. He can't get away this time."

"He must have felt that his actions had exposed himself, and that the list must be related to him, so he took the risk of hunting us down."

Qin Hanzhang looked at the jade pendant with deep and cold eyes.

"Now we only have physical evidence. If we find the location of the assassins, it will be impossible for Lu Jing to turn things around. Even if His Majesty lets him off because of the princess, he will not be able to keep his position."

Su Qianqian thought of the eldest princess and could only make the lightest prediction. After all, Lu Jing was the emperor's nephew.

"I have sent people to find the whereabouts of the assassins. If successful, we will be able to find them in a month." Qin Hanzhang said confidently.

Su Qianqian blinked and didn't ask what method was used. It's not a bad thing to not know some things.

"Everything makes money, but it can kill people. The most important thing is that it involves the case of selling official positions. Lu Jing is a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel. Although his position may not seem high, he actually has the greatest chance of changing the results of the selection. It is not surprising if the case of selling official positions is related to him."

Su Qianqian linked the case that was about to be tried in the Dali Temple to Lu Jing.

"As long as it is verified, even if he is your Majesty's nephew, he will not be forgiven easily."

Qin Hanzhang returned the jade pendant to Su Qianqian: "Keep this and take it out when you need it in the future."

The two of them sorted out the matter and seeing that it was getting late, Su Qianqian spoke first:

"My Lord, we should settle down early. If no one comes tomorrow and we check the wound and it's not serious, we should find a way to go back, otherwise our family will worry about us."

Qin Hanzhang nodded, but he was not that interested. After Su Qianqian lay down inside with her clothes on, he lay down carefully outside, just like he did that night in the villa. However, this time there was no empty space between the two of them, so if they didn't sleep next to each other, they would have to sleep on the floor.

Su Qianqian tried to get as close to the stone wall as possible to leave some space for Qin Hanzhang, but the space was so small that Qin Hanzhang's body inevitably touched her.

The even breathing sounds and the scent of each other were clearly amplified in the quiet cave. Su Qianqian faced inward with her eyes open, listening to Qin Hanzhang's movements with her ears perked up. Qin Hanzhang did the same. Both of them stared in silence, pretending to be asleep.

Unconsciously, Su Qianqian's eyelids drooped and she began to snore loudly.

Qin Hanzhang finally breathed a sigh of relief, and turned around slowly and carefully. With the help of the jumping firelight in the cave, he used his eyes to trace Su Qianqian's small ears, slender neck, and round shoulders, and finally carefully covered her with the felt blanket...