Chapter 306: Chapter 306: A Vicious Scheme

Just a moment ago, all she cared about was escaping; she hadn’t thought about much else.

Now that she was safe, she began to feel uncomfortable all over.

Mostly, it was because these clothes stank.

All she wanted now was to find a place to bathe and change into a clean set of clothes.

She composed herself and told Chen Jiu everything that had happened with Zeng Jiayi.

When Chen Jiu heard her story, he broke out in a cold sweat.

If the Miss hadn’t ingeniously escaped on her own, it would have been too late by the time they found her.

The Miss was so beautiful. If she had fallen into the hands of those pimps, she likely would have been violated before she even reached the brothel.

If that had happened, none of them would have dared to face the Princely Heir again. They would have had to atone with their lives.

"Miss, thank goodness you escaped with your wits, otherwise..." Chen Jiu couldn’t continue. Just thinking about it now sent a fresh wave of fear through him.

’That bitch Zeng Jiayi was truly despicable and vile. Thinking back, the Princely Heir had been far too merciful to her back in Yangzhou. If he had known Zeng Jiayi was harboring such malicious intentions, he should have just killed her in Yangzhou. But now that the Miss had sold her into a brothel, she was getting what she deserved.’

The group reached Santian Town but did not enter.

For one, they needed to make haste. For another, they were afraid of running into Zhi Ye and causing more trouble if they went inside.

They had come on horseback, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, they had tied their horses in the woods outside the town last night.

Zhi Wan had never learned to ride. Her only two experiences on horseback had been with her cousin, and one of those times had been in a dream.

Looking at the tall horse before her, she felt a bit daunted.

"Don’t be afraid, Miss. This subordinate will lead the horse for you. I guarantee it will be steady," Chen Jiu promised earnestly.

Zhi Wan was indeed too exhausted to walk any further, so she had no choice but to trust him.

She lacked the agility of the guards, so she could only grab the saddle and slowly haul herself up.

"Alright, let’s move out," Chen Jiu said, taking the reins of Zhi Wan’s horse and leading the way. The others followed behind.

"Ah Jiu, are we going to the town or the hunting ground?" Zhi Wan asked.

"Straight to the hunting ground," Chen Jiu replied.

’Last night, when Zhi Ye gave the Miss’s earring to Tong Da, he had demanded that the Princely Heir meet him in town between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. today. Although the rescue of the Miss had been full of twists and turns, she had indeed been in Santian Town. The Princely Heir’s information was correct, and they had successfully rescued the Miss. He guessed the Princely Heir probably wouldn’t go to the town to meet Zhi Ye. Zhi Ye, on the other hand, had no idea the Princely Heir already knew the Miss’s whereabouts. He was probably still in town right now, waiting for the Princely Heir to show up. And based on his understanding of the Princely Heir, Zhi Ye’s kidnapping of the Miss had touched his reverse scale—the Princely Heir would certainly not let Zhi Ye off the hook again. By now, the town was likely surrounded by men sent by the Princely Heir. This time, Zhi Ye wouldn’t be able to escape even if he grew wings. Knowing the town was dangerous, he naturally wouldn’t take the Miss there. Right now, taking the Miss to the hunting ground was the safest course of action.’

Hearing they were going to the hunting ground, Zhi Wan didn’t ask any more questions.

But Chen Jiu had guessed one thing wrong: Lu Zhan had already arrived in town.

Even though he knew his cousin was in Santian Town and had already sent men to rescue her, he didn’t dare to be careless. So, using the excuse of feeling unwell from a hangover, he had Duan Ling ask the Emperor for leave on his behalf, then went to meet Zhi Ye in town himself.

First, it was for the sake of his cousin’s safety. Second, he wanted to know what sort of conspiracy Zhi Ye was plotting.

In the inn, Lu Zhan and Zhi Ye sat facing each other.

"It seems my little niece is indeed important to you," Zhi Ye spoke first, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"My cousin is naturally important to me. There’s no doubt about that. Otherwise, do you think you’d still be sitting here in one piece?" Lu Zhan’s tone was icy, devoid of any warmth. "You’d better pray that my cousin is completely unharmed. Otherwise, even if you are her paternal uncle, I will not spare you."

Zhi Ye sneered at his words. "By seniority, you should follow Wan’er’s example and call me ’Uncle.’ But you’re so arrogant. Aren’t you afraid that my brother, in the afterlife, would be uneasy entrusting his daughter to you?"

"Uncle Zhi was far more magnanimous and perceptive than you, or he wouldn’t have parted ways with you back then. But look at you. Wan’er calls you ’Uncle,’ yet you disregard the bonds of family and blood to kidnap your own niece. If Uncle Zhi knew of this in the afterlife, he wouldn’t forgive you. He would probably wish he never had a brother like you. How dare you still call yourself Wan’er’s uncle?" Lu Zhan retorted sarcastically.

"Hmph, enough nonsense. If you want Wan’er to be safe, then do exactly as I say. Otherwise, I don’t mind if she disowns me," Zhi Ye snapped.

Lu Zhan asked patiently, "What do you want me to do?"

"I know the Emperor is at the hunting ground right now. As long as you go and bring me the Dog Emperor’s head, I will immediately release Wan’er, safe and sound," Zhi Ye said.

Lu Zhan’s brow furrowed at his words. ’My cousin was right. Zhi Ye really wants to use her as a threat to make me assassinate the Emperor.’

With this in mind, he put on a troubled expression. "Even though he’s at the hunting ground, the security is even tighter than at the Imperial Palace. I can’t do it."

"Lu Zhan!" Zhi Ye slammed his hands on the table and leaned forward, glaring at him. "With your abilities, and the Emperor’s trust in you, how hard could it be to kill him? You can’t do it? Or do you not want to see Zhi Wan again?"

Lu Zhan felt a surge of anxiety.

’Santian Town isn’t far from here, but I still haven’t heard from the men I sent to rescue my cousin. Did something go wrong? Or was the information about my cousin wrong? Is she not actually in Santian Town?’

The realization made his heart sink.

Facing Zhi Ye’s relentless pressure, his expression remained calm as he said, "I won’t do anything for you until I’ve seen for myself that my cousin is unharmed.

Unless you let me see her."

Hearing this, Zhi Ye’s tone softened slightly. "Of course. You can send someone with me. But once you’ve confirmed Zhi Wan is unharmed, you must act immediately. I can’t wait a moment longer."

"I can agree to that, but you have to give me some help, don’t you?" Lu Zhan lowered his voice. "Assassinating the Emperor is a crime that implicates nine generations of one’s family. You have to have your people coordinate with me from the inside, right?"

Zhi Ye paused, lost in thought.

Lu Zhan noted his hesitation and sneered inwardly.

’It seems the person behind the scenes helping Zhi Ye plan this is also at the hunting ground right now. But who could it be?’ He ran through all the possible candidates in his mind but came up with no leads.

’No, wait. If that person is also at the hunting ground, it means they were planning to move against the Emperor there all along. They would have acted whether this business with my cousin happened or not. Zhi Ye just happened to capture my cousin, so he changed his plan at the last minute. He wants to use her to threaten me into assassinating the Emperor, all so I’ll take the blame. And once I succeed in assassinating the Emperor, Zhi Ye’s backer will rush out and capture me on the spot. They’re the ones who want to kill the Emperor, but they’ll end up being hailed as heroes for capturing the assassin. Meanwhile, I, and the entire Lu Family, will be sentenced to the most extreme punishment and cursed by the whole world.’

Realizing this, Lu Zhan’s dark eyes narrowed. ’What a vicious scheme.’

"If I had my own people, would I need to go through all this trouble to find you?" Zhi Ye finally spoke, his tone sounding helpless.

Lu Zhan lifted his gaze and shot him a cool glance. "You don’t? Assassinating the Emperor is no small matter. Surely you aren’t pinning all your hopes on me alone? You think too highly of me.

I can’t even get past Shen Congrong, the head of the Imperial Guards who’s always by the Emperor’s side.

Besides, while my cousin is indeed important to me, assassinating the Emperor involves my entire clan. I need to think this over." With that, he stood up.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.