Shang Changge didn't care whether Di Ying could rest in peace; she only cared whether Di Ying was truly dead.

She swung her blood-stained soft sword again to finish off her opponent. Not bad, she always had this good habit of finishing off her opponents.

"Princess!" "Princess!" "Princess!"

The three unanimous calls of "Princess!" grew louder as they approached. Shang Changge, now certain that Di Ying was beyond dead, turned around.

She switched the soft sword from her left hand to her right, but her tall and slender figure remained vigilant and tense, without relaxing for a moment.

As the saying goes: Better safe than sorry.

Who knows if, besides Di Ying, there are other people lurking in the shadows waiting to take her life, right?

"Princess, you're injured!?"

When the three assassin leaders arrived, they were nearly scared to death when they saw the still-wet blood on Shang Changge's shoulder and neck.

Their usually androgynous voices had never reached such high notes before, to the point that all three of them cracked simultaneously.

Shang Changge laughed out loud, showing no mercy, but she didn't forget to wave her hand in denial; her skill in lying was as masterful as ever.

"No, it's the other person's blood."

The three burly assassins then stopped protecting Shang Changge with their bodies and went over to carefully examine Di Ying lying on the ground.

Seeing Di Ying's neck, which was still gushing blood, the three of them had complicated expressions.

The leader of the assassins sent by Shang Changze was particularly shocked.

The princess's skills had reached the point where she could kill an Emperor Shadow; he would never have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

Emperor Shadow, what kind of existence is that?

One man was worth fifty men, and these fifty men were not ordinary people, but the Imperial Guards of the palace.

The top-ranked individual is worth a hundred people, and the only one who can rival the strength of the number one ranked Emperor Shadow is the Great General.

But today,

One of the Emperor's Shadows died by the princess's sword, and the princess was using a soft sword.

If he were a princess today...

They might be able to kill Di Ying, but there's absolutely no chance of escaping unscathed. At best, they'd lose half their lives.

He was shocked.

The other two leaders of the assassins were also shocked.

The only difference is that the three people have different strengths, so the degree of shock they experienced was also different.

Shang Changge: "Cough."

Shang Changge cleared his throat, and when the three looked over, he slightly raised his chin towards the corpse of Emperor Ying on the ground, his voice casual:

"Get rid of it."

The three words are concise and clear.

The hunt isn't over yet; there's no guarantee that someone won't come to this bamboo forest after they leave.

The discovery of Di Ying's body and the subsequent public exposure would be troublesome for Xiao Ji.

Admittedly, she really wanted to carry Di Ying's body back and confront the old emperor.

However, she had no evidence to prove that Di Ying was Di Ying, so carrying it back was useless and disposing of it was the best option.

The three assassin leaders were experts at disposing of corpses, and they handled it quickly and efficiently.

The other assassins who were a step behind had also arrived, and after confirming that the surrounding environment was absolutely safe and that no one had escaped, they arrived.

Shang Changge casually found a rock to sit on and rest to recover her strength, then sent someone to fetch her horse.

Even after the horse was found, he didn't rush back. Instead, he picked a yellowish foxtail grass and listlessly put it in his mouth.

Continue sitting and waiting.

They waited until almost dusk, when the hunting game was about to end, before spurring their horses back to where they had come from.

At the same time,

At the royal hunting grounds' rest area, many people had returned earlier than Shang Changge.

The open space that was originally used to store prey is now piled high with counted game of all sizes.

Time passed slowly, and the hunt was about to come to an end.

Looking around, almost all the people who went out hunting have returned, except for Shang Changge, the eldest princess.

Whispers arose.

"Where is Princess Anguo?" "I don't know, perhaps she encountered a wild beast in the forest..."

"My God, no way. The Great General of the Forest should have led people to clear out and drive away the ferocious beasts a few days ago..."

"You're all worrying unnecessarily. I think the princess was riding her horse through the woods and had so much fun that she forgot about the time..."

"Exactly, why worry so much? Didn't you see the prey marked with the princess's arrow? If the princess were to return..."

"The prize might just fall on the princess today, and then there'll be no chance for us..."

The whispers were almost entirely from the family members of officials, and moreover, those of relatively lower rank.

Even if princes, princesses, and the families of high-ranking officials harbored resentment in their hearts, they would not speak out due to the strict etiquette they had been taught since childhood.

Shang Changze stood tall and slender at the forefront of the princes and princesses, already aware of the news but showing no sign of it on his face.

As he gripped his riding whip and gazed at the mountains and forests, anyone who saw him would have thought that His Highness the Crown Prince was extremely worried about his elder sister, whom he shared the same mother with.

Xiao Ji also received news that Shang Changge was safe and sound and had single-handedly killed Di Ying. At this moment, he felt proud of the little rascal.

His handsome, rugged face showed no trace of it; his thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his expression was cold and stern.

It was as if he would disregard the emperor's presence at any moment, wielding his long spear that had slain countless enemies, and lead his men on horseback into the jungle.

final,

Emperor Mingde, seated high above the Empress, spoke, feigning ignorance despite clearly manipulating everything, his brow furrowed in worry:

"Why hasn't Ge returned yet? I'm really worried."

Xiao Ji, take your men and ride at full speed into the woods to search..."

Before Emperor Mingde could finish speaking, a rapid clatter of hooves approached.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shang Changge riding a reddish-brown steed, his dashing figure backlit.

...

...

The area enclosed within the royal hunting grounds for resting was quite large, and at this moment it was both quiet and restless.

The whispers from a moment ago have disappeared, but the sounds of horses' hooves, the autumn wind, the chirping of insects, and the calls of birds remain.

Sitting high above,

The moment Shang Changge appeared, Emperor Mingde's hand, which had been resting on the armrest of the golden nanmu chair, suddenly clenched, then slowly relaxed.

As if nothing had happened, his face, which usually remained impassive to the public, revealed the loving affection of a father for his daughter.

"Ge'er, you're finally back!"

This sentence felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my heart, bringing me immense joy and relief.

In terms of acting skills,

Shang Changge might not be inferior to Emperor Mingde. Looking around at the quiet crowd from his horse, a hint of doubt crept into his expression.

Seemingly puzzled as to why everyone was acting this way, he suddenly realized something after hearing Emperor Mingde's words.

He hurriedly jumped off his horse.

She strode quickly to the spot that Shang Changze and the other princes and princesses had left for her, grasped her riding whip, bowed, and admitted her mistake:

"Your daughter came home late from playing and worried your father and mother. Please forgive her."

The Empress was the first to speak out this time, unaware of the details.

Assuming Shang Changge had genuinely forgotten the time due to playfulness, he couldn't help but give her a cold reprimand, neither too harsh nor too gentle:

"You know you're making your father and me worry, but do you know everyone is waiting..."

Emperor Mingde: "Alright, alright, Empress..." Emperor Mingde, as expected of a ruler, remained composed despite the turmoil in his heart.

They can remain calm and pretend to know nothing in order to avoid any trouble that follows.

Sitting high on their thrones, Emperor Mingde and the Empress played the roles of good cop and bad cop, respectively.

Sitting down high, Shang Changge and the handsome younger brother exchanged a knowing glance.

His gaze fell upon Xiao Ji, who was seated below Emperor Mingde. Their eyes met, and his full, red lips curved silently.