"Go to Broken Heart Cliff to look for clues." An Honghan didn't speculate too much, and, holding Xi Xizhi's hand, gave the order to the Imperial Guards.
Everyone was in awe of An Honghan's authority. After he uttered those words, the Imperial Guards instantly formed ranks and marched in an orderly fashion up the mountain.
"Give him some reward money," An Honghan instructed Lin En before leaving.
He was always fair in rewarding and punishing, and since the old farmer had provided the clue, he deserved the reward.
Seeing the old farmer's impoverished appearance, Xi Xizhi also strongly supported An Honghan's decision.
For An Honghan, silver was merely an external possession, but for the old farmer, it might represent the fruits of years of hard work.
A heavy bag of silver was handed to the old farmer. He didn't react for a moment. Only after An Honghan and the others had walked away did he kneel down, his hands trembling, and exclaim, "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"
Because many young men and women come to enjoy the spring scenery every day, this mountain path is not considered rugged.
Xi Xizhi and An Honghan walked side by side, followed by a group of eunuchs and many imperial guards.
Dongfang Youyu was deeply worried about the safety of the Imperial Preceptor. As he walked, he analyzed the Imperial Preceptor's current situation.
"Your Majesty, what is your opinion on this matter?" Dongfang Youyu asked.
An Honghan turned his head, glanced at him, and said coldly, "Opinion? What opinion could I possibly have?"
"We just searched the area where the jade pendant was dropped, but we didn't find any signs of a struggle, so there are only two possibilities."
"First, the Imperial Preceptor Xu left with an acquaintance, and the jade pendant was dropped accidentally."
"Secondly, the opponent was too powerful, so much so that Grand Preceptor Xu had no room to resist. The jade pendant was dropped during the argument."
"Your Highness, tell me, which one is more likely?"
An Honghan successfully threw the problem back to Dongfang Youyu.
The thought of that possibility weighed heavily on Dongfang Youyu's mind.
But speaking of acquaintances, does the Grand Preceptor still have any close friends in Fengze Kingdom?
As far as he knew, there wasn't one.
"Don't think the worst. Maybe we're overthinking it?" Xi Xizhi noticed the change in his expression and blurted out words of comfort.
A strange light flashed in An Honghan's eyes, as if he disliked Xi Xizhi and Dongfang Youyu having too much interaction.
To warn the child, An Honghan reached out and placed his hand on her waist again, giving it a light pinch.
The sudden attack caught Xi Xizhi completely off guard, causing her to scream in fright.
The surrounding people immediately turned their attention to Xi Xizhi and An Honghan, all staring inquisitively at His Majesty's hand on the child's waist.
The actions between the two were so ambiguous that they inevitably led people to speculate.
If Xi Xizhi weren't so young, rumors about them might have already spread.
Xi Xizhi's face immediately turned red, and she glared at An Honghan resentfully.
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable under everyone's gaze, she hid behind An Honghan, trying her best to conceal herself.
Unfortunately, there were too many eyes watching from all directions, and no matter how Xi Xizhi tried to hide, it was difficult to escape everyone's gaze.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and get going." An Honghan narrowed his eyes, and everyone shivered in fright, immediately taking a step forward.
Xi Xizhi's cheeks flushed slightly. Seeing that everyone was no longer staring at her, she took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Why are you so scared? It's not like it's the first time I've put my arm around your waist. Let them say what they want." An Honghan didn't care about other people's gazes at all.
Xi Xizhi was already shameless, but compared to a certain cunning emperor, he was nothing.
"You...you let go." Afraid of making too much noise and attracting attention, Xi Xizhi whispered and shouted at An Honghan.
Seeing that Xi Xizhi was too afraid to speak up, An Honghan raised an eyebrow and said, "You can choose to speak louder, and maybe I'll let you go..."
"You...you..."
"The road up the mountain is quite steep. If you fall, I will be able to catch you in time."
The child was utterly dejected. Why was he always so completely under the thumb of this guy? He didn't even have a chance to turn the tables!
So, Xi Xizhi lowered her head in dejection, letting An Honghan put his arm around her waist and walk up the mountain. She comforted herself, telling herself not to panic, that she was just a child, and An Honghan only treated her like a pet.
It's perfectly normal to grope a pet.
The scenery at Broken Heart Cliff is quite nice, surrounded by lush greenery, with many ancient trees visible.
Xi Xizhi tried her best to ignore the large hand around her waist and turned all her attention to the trees on the left and right.
Having spent most of her time in the palace, Xi Xizhi rarely had the opportunity to go out and about. Whenever she saw the scenery of the countryside, she couldn't help but sigh, "The outside world is so much better. There's no infighting or backstabbing in the palace, and no concubines scheming for the emperor's favor."
The lush greenery seems to purify one's soul.
Broken Heart Cliff, despite having the word "cliff" in its name, is not a dangerous place.
The name likely originated from that touching story.
Led by An Honghan, everyone walked to the edge of the cliff.
Dongfang Youyu looked around but didn't find anything suspicious. "Did the Imperial Advisor really come to a place like this?"
To be honest, Dongfang Youyu was extremely unsure.
Xi Xizhi shook her head and said, "It's always good to look for it, don't you think? Since we're here, we might even meet the white fox the old farmer was talking about."
Because of her own circumstances, Xi Xizhi was quite interested in strange and unusual things.
If we could meet that white fox and see if it is good or evil, that would be a wonderful thing.
If it is the righteous path, then discuss the path to ascension with it.
It's an evil path, so of course we must do everything we can to get rid of it.
Because unorthodox cultivation methods are extremely harmful to both oneself and others.
After circling around the cliff, the Imperial Guards were all mobilized to search the surrounding mountains and forests.
Broken Heart Cliff is located at a relatively high altitude, which means it offers a wide field of vision.
As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the farther you can see.
There's a basis to this statement.
Xi Xizhi stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the vast expanse of low mountains opposite, and felt a sense of being on top of the world.
Perhaps An Honghan has a deeper understanding and experience of this feeling.
Because of his low position, he has always been high above, unreachable.
He is like a majestic, unmoving mountain, while all the things in the world around him are like the masses of living beings, prostrating themselves at his feet.
He always stood at the highest point, looking down contemptuously at everyone else and everything else.
That's the difference between him and others.
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