Looking at the huge pig's head on the ground, Gao Chengwei could hardly believe his eyes:

This...this huge pig's head...

Is it really the emperor?

Are you sure it's not a pig demon?

But upon closer inspection of his clothes and the bright yellow sheet he was clutching, it seemed to indeed be an item used by the emperor.

"You...are you really the Emperor?" Gao Chengwei cautiously took half a step forward and asked with some uncertainty.

"If I'm not, then who are you?!" Shang Xiche roared at Gao Chengwei in a fit of rage, a tearing pain shooting through his chest. He gasped several times before he could soften his tone, suppressing a low growl: "Gao Chengwei, you dog, how dare you kick me, hurt me..."

Gao Chengwei only realized that the pig-headed man in front of him was the Emperor after hearing Shang Xiche's voice clearly. He quickly sheathed his sword, clasped his hands and knelt down, saying, "Please calm down, Your Majesty. I thought there was an assassin, so I instinctively fought back. I know my crime!"

In the end.

Gao Chengwei looked up again, genuinely puzzled, and took a serious look at Shang Xiche's face, which was indeed unrecognizable even to his own mother. He asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, why...why did you come to see me like this?"

Mentioning this makes Shang Xiche go crazy again!

"If I don't come to find you! If I don't come to find you, am I supposed to stay in Chaoyang Palace and wait to die?" Shang Xiche roared, but the pain was excruciating, and he had to endure it for a while.

But I just couldn't help it.

Then, amidst Shang Xiche's roar were flat breaths and gasps, rising and falling: "How could you be the commander of the Imperial Guard? I was beaten up by those two assassins, punched and kicked, I screamed until my throat was hoarse, and you were just sleeping soundly here! Don't you think you deserve to die? Don't you think your whole family should be executed?!"

"Such a thing is true!" Gao Chengwei exclaimed in shock, and loudly asked his subordinates who were kneeling on the ground behind him watching the commotion, "What have all those hundred-plus Imperial Guards on night duty at Chaoyang Palace been doing tonight?!"

Shang Xiche, recalling the bunch of good-for-nothings lying haphazardly on the ground, was so angry that the hairs on his body stood on end. He pounded his fists on the ground, panting and roaring, "How dare you mention them! The good-for-nothings your Gao family raised are all still lying on the ground fast asleep! They're sleeping so soundly, their deafening snoring could have blown the roof off Chaoyang Palace!"

This emperor is quite the joker.

Which imperial guard would dare to sleep soundly and snore in front of him?

One of Gao Chengwei's confidants couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to report truthfully: "Reporting to the commander, they have all been put to sleep by acupressure points. The technique is extremely special, and we cannot undo it. We can only wait for the acupressure points to release naturally after a few hours."

"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty and I know my crime. If you wish to punish me, I will not utter a single complaint. However, the assassin is so arrogant. Could you allow me to thoroughly investigate this matter and give you an explanation before you punish me?" Gao Chengwei clasped his hands in a gesture of apology.

Shang Xiche coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, terrified. His whole body ached terribly, and he gritted his teeth, saying hatefully, "I'll give you three days to give me a satisfactory explanation, or I'll exterminate your entire family!"

Gao Chengwei's eyes widened and his expression changed slightly.

The Imperial Guards under Gao Chengwei's command, especially those belonging to the Gao family clan, also changed their expressions and hesitated to speak.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

In the end, Gao Chengwei said nothing.

Inside the largest camp in the mountain valley on the outskirts of the city.

Ji Fengyao and Shang Xi slept in each other's arms that night.

The two held hands tightly, intimately connected.

Ji Fengyao knew that the closer they got to the capital, the heavier Shang Xiye's heart became.