Daqing, Lingzhou.

"Peilan, Master has gone with Yanwang towards Lingshan." Hua Qing brought back news of Gu Qingyan and Qin Wei. "The two bandit groups in Lingshan are rampant. Will Master be in danger?"

Pei Lan's expression also became more serious. She turned her head and glanced in the direction of the room. "Go and quietly follow the master. I'll take care of Gu Qingling."

Hua Qing nodded. "I'll go right away. Be careful in everything you do."

Just as Hua Qing arrived at Qin Wei's side, Gu Qingyan led Qin Wei straight to one of the bandits' strongholds.

"stop."

At the foot of Ling Mountain, Gu Qingyan was dressed as a wealthy young master, while Qin Wei carried a heavy bundle on his back.

Who are you?

Gu Qingyan retreated as if frightened. The bandits in front of him laughed when they saw this. "He's a big customer. Take him back and find out which family's young master he is, then ask for more money."

When Gu Qingyan's head was covered, he was locked in a woodshed with Qin Wei when he regained his sight. The package Qin Wei brought was divided up, and the sounds of drinking and revelry outside were deafening.

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Qin Wei took out a razor blade that he had hidden in his sleeve and cut the ropes binding him.

“I’m fine. Everyone here loves to drink, and they often don’t leave until they’re drunk. As long as we take advantage of everyone’s drunkenness to kill the leader, infighting will naturally break out.” Gu Qingyan cracked his knuckles. “However, I still feel that’s not enough.”

Gu Qingyan and Qin Wei listened carefully to the sounds outside the woodshed. After everyone had drunk quite a bit, Gu Qingyan narrowed his eyes.

"action."

Gu Qingyan quietly pushed open the door to the woodshed. His figure moved so fast that it was impossible to see him clearly. In just an instant, the chief, who was sitting at the head of the table, had his throat slit by a blade.

Qin Wei immediately took out the smoke bombs he had prepared in advance, and then covered Gu Qingyan's retreat.

The bandits were completely thrown into chaos.

Just as Gu Qingyan and Qin Wei were retreating according to plan, Qin Wei's expression suddenly changed, and an arrow shot straight towards Gu Qingyan from behind.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

Qin Wei instinctively pushed Gu Qingyan away. The arrow pierced Qin Wei's left arm, causing him to let out a muffled groan of pain.

"Hurry up." Qin Wei, clutching his wound, covered Gu Qingyan and quickly returned to the courtyard where they were staying.

Gu Qingyan personally went to fetch a doctor to bandage Qin Wei's wounds, saying, "You... that arrow could have been fatal."

Gu Qingyan pursed his lips, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Until he was shot by the arrow, he still harbored some doubts about Qin Wei's identity.

"Even if this servant loses his life, I cannot let anything happen to Your Highness."

Qin Wei's lips were pale, and his uninjured hands were covered by a quilt and clenched tightly.

Why does he always soften his heart towards Gu Qingyan? Even willing to sacrifice his own life?

This is the umpteenth time this has happened...

"Uncle Qin, thank you."

Gu Qingyan's tone was somber, "I will definitely find the person who shot the arrow from behind."

Qin Wei twitched the corner of his mouth, glancing almost imperceptibly at the arrow he had drawn. This arrow...

On the other side.

"Why did you shoot arrows without permission!"

Upon hearing that Qin Wei had been shot with an arrow, Pei Lan became extremely anxious. "Hua Qing, if something happens to our master, what will you use to make amends!"

“This time I acted on my own.” Hua Qing lowered his head. “Don’t worry, I asked the doctor who treated Master, and he said that no vital organs were injured.”

"Hua Qing, this is the last time."

Pei Lan stormed off in anger, leaving Hua Qing with a gloomy expression. It was clearly a good opportunity to kill Gu Qingyan, so why wouldn't his master let Gu Qingyan suffer any harm?

In the following days, Gu Qingyan used a scheme to sow discord between the two groups of bandits, completely disrupting the division of the mountain strongholds in Lingshan.

"What happens next is beyond our control."

Gu Qingyan sat beside the fireplace, "Wait..."

Gu Qingyan abruptly stopped talking, knowing that when his uncle came to Lingshan, he would be able to deal with these lackeys with almost no effort.

"Congratulations, Your Highness." Qin Wei was asked by Gu Qingyan to lie in bed to recuperate, and Gu Qingyan laughed upon hearing this. "I'm waiting to see what that old fox has to say next."

"Your Highness's lightness skill has greatly improved. I imagine His Majesty would be very pleased if he knew."

Upon hearing Gu Lin's name, Gu Qingyan paused, then got up to pick up a pen and write a letter to Gu Lin.

"Qin Wei was injured while saving me, so he can't be a traitor."

......

In Daqing, the capital city, the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion recruited renowned doctors from all over the country to "detoxify" Jiang He. Previously, many doctors had come to the mansion every day to examine Jiang He's pulse.

However, the gates of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence have not been opened frequently in the past few days.

This led many to speculate whether the poison in the Marquis of Dingyuan's body had been cured or whether the Marquis of Dingyuan was also terminally ill and beyond cure. However, the situation inside the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion was quite different.

"That's all the information about Wei Ruo." Gu Lin tossed over a thick stack of booklets. "No need to thank me."

Jiang He's face was visibly grim, but he still picked up the booklet and flipped through it page by page. He needed to find out who this Wei Ruo was.

“He was saved by A-Yu back then.”

Jiang He twitched his lips. "So now you're only thinking about repaying A-Yu?"

Within seconds, Jiang He's extremely sour expression shifted to Gu Lin's face. "Ayu saves people without expecting anything in return, but this person is like a clingy ghost, always sticking to Ayu."

"So he went to... went to Miss Bai to ask her to ask Ayu if there was anything she could do to help." Jiang He's expression improved considerably; he had thought this man had...something going on with Aqian!

"But he doesn't know anything, so what can he do to help? He's like an idiot."

Gu Lin clearly had his own agenda: "Like this incident, Ayan didn't want to come back, but he insisted on figuring out how to get Ayan back. Isn't that just making things worse?"

"They meant well after all."

Jiang He's words made Gu Lin's eyes widen. "That's not what you said just now. And a few days ago, you were so angry that you didn't even eat dinner."

Jiang He laughed out loud, looking like a rogue.

“A few days ago I was just worried that this person had ill intentions, but now I have confirmed his intentions. Anyone who is willing to be good to Ayu is someone I, Jiang He, will protect.”

As soon as Jiang He finished speaking, Ling Hai appeared from the shadows.

"My lord, Marquis." Ling Hai was struggling to suppress his laughter. "Young Master Wei has been invited by General Bai to pay a visit to the Bai residence."

Gu Lin glanced at Jiang He's frozen face and laughed out loud in an immoral way.

"Is Kui Ruo someone you, Jiang He, are going to protect?"