Xiao Qingyin muttered a few words to herself, then asked Yi San, "Is the bear den real or fake?"
"real."
Where's the bear?
"It's still buried underneath."
"Hurry up and dig it back; we shouldn't miss out on such a big piece of gold."
"……OK."
Just as Yi San was about to leave the tent, Xiao Qingyin remembered something and called out, "Wait, don't rush to bring it back. Guard it first, and carry it out when it's time to redeem the prize."
Yi San: "..."
As the sun set and the light dimmed, no one showed any joy despite it being the time to claim the prize.
Everyone looked mournful, and even their clothes had been changed to plain colors.
The emperor's expression was very somber.
"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have suggested hunting the bear. Unfortunately, time cannot be reversed. I am sorry to the Princess, I am sorry to the Marquis of Yong'an, I am sorry to General Yi..."
After saying this, he bowed deeply in the direction of Yi Shuihan's camp.
Then he said, "Tonight was supposed to be a time to reward the brave hunters with singing and dancing, and to drink until we drop, but alas... now we can only cancel all the activities and mourn for General Yi."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yi San and his men appeared carrying a large black bear.
“Your Majesty,” Yi San knelt on one knee, choking back tears, “this bear was hunted by our master. Although he is no longer with us, exchanging it for a golden Buddha statue to give to the young lady was his last wish. Please grant it, Your Majesty.”
emperor:"……"
This golden Buddha statue is quite significant; he only brought it out as a formality and never intended to give it away!
But since Yi San had already spoken, even if he was unwilling, he had no choice but to give up.
"I never expected that General Yi would actually hunt a bear. In that case, I will grant his wish and give this golden Buddha to Miss Xiao, so that his spirit may rest in peace."
Xiao Qingyin blankly accepted the golden Buddha from his hands.
The emperor turned his gaze away from the golden Buddha, thinking that the statue would eventually return to his hands, so there was nothing to be sad about.
With nighttime entertainment canceled, everyone went to bed early.
Snowflakes fell silently, casting a silvery glow over the tents.
The campfire burned quietly, occasionally crackling softly.
The guards on night watch were tired and cold, nodding up and down like they were fishing.
At midnight, when the night was at its quietest, the sound of footsteps in the snow suddenly rang out.
The hounds awoke with a start, about to howl, but then felt a chill on their necks and collapsed to the ground.
The guards who noticed the commotion were also silently killed, just like dogs.
The newcomers were a group of men dressed in black, with only their eyes showing.
They all slithered in the same direction—to the camp where Xiao Qingyin and Yi Shuihan were located.
Once outside the tent, they simultaneously raised their long knives and swung them at the tent, but suddenly froze, then turned around and ran towards another tent.
They broke open the tent, rushed in, and then rushed out again a few moments later, heading towards the mountains and forests.
The long sword dripped blood all over the ground.
As dawn broke, a guard awoke from his deep sleep and, upon catching a glimpse of faint bloodstains on the ground, jumped up in alarm.
They hurriedly sounded the horn as a warning.
Everyone was startled awake. They didn't even have time to do their makeup and hair before they wrapped themselves in their outer garments and left the tent.
Only the emperor, upon hearing the horn, let out a slight smile.
He allowed the palace servants to dress and tidy him up before he stepped out of the imperial tent with steady steps.
He asked the Imperial Guard Commander in a deep voice, "What happened?"
The Imperial Guard Commander knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, assassins broke into the camp last night and killed..."
Before he could finish speaking, the emperor interrupted him: "An assassin broke in? How come there wasn't a sound! Are you all incompetent! General Yi has passed away unexpectedly, and I haven't even had time to arrange his funeral, yet you still have to watch over him..."
"His Majesty!"
The Imperial Commander had no choice but to interrupt.
"The one who was murdered last night was Eunuch Wang."
What? !
The emperor froze completely.
He looked at the Imperial Guard Commander in disbelief: "Eunuch Wang is dead?"
The Imperial Commander nodded emphatically.
"Everyone in the camp where Eunuch Wang was stationed was slaughtered."
The emperor felt dizzy and almost fainted.
He grabbed the eunuch's arm to barely stand up straight.
He and Eunuch Wang clearly arranged for people to assassinate Xiao Qingyin and Yi Shuihan's subordinates, so how come they didn't die, but Eunuch Wang died instead?
His tent was no safer than Eunuch Wang's. If the other side could kill Eunuch Wang as if he were in an empty place, wouldn't they be able to kill him just as easily?
Upon realizing this, the emperor felt a surge of panic.
My body started trembling uncontrollably.
The camp, which was originally full of a sense of security, suddenly became a strange and unpredictable forbidden area.
He didn't want to stay a moment longer; he just wanted to get back to the city as soon as possible, close the palace gates, and hide behind heavy protection.
"This is utterly outrageous!"
He tried his best to remain calm.
"You must find out the identity and whereabouts of the assassins, bring them to justice, and give Eunuch Wang justice!"
"yes!"
The Imperial Commander received the order and departed.
The emperor then instructed the eunuch: "Go and find out if anyone heard any noise last night, especially from General Yi's tent."
The eunuch did as instructed.
The assassin's trail abruptly ended in the woods, leaving behind only a pile of long knives.
The design of those longswords looked quite familiar.
When the guards brought the long sword back, not only the emperor and the commander of the imperial guards recognized it, but everyone else did too.
"Isn't this the sword of a Southern Depot officer? Could the assassin from last night have been from the Southern Depot?"
"Eunuch Wang is the commander of the Southern Depot! The Southern Depot actually killed him. Isn't this a case of the lower ranks turning against the higher?"
"This is terrifying. The Southern Depot even kills its own people. What about us...?"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
