His Highness Prince Jing, upon hearing this, said, "However, this prince will give Emperor Yun an explanation. Guards, 'with a wave of his hand,' bring them forward."
The guards brought two people forward. Hua Yunjin looked up at His Highness Prince Jing and asked, "Your Highness Prince Jing, what is the meaning of this?"
His Highness Prince Jing replied, "These are the assassins. Emperor Yun may deal with them as he sees fit."
Hua Yunjin said coldly, "There's no need. Your Highness Prince Jing may handle it yourself."
"Then this prince will humbly accept," His Highness Prince Jing said.
"Or perhaps we should just kill them!" His Highness Prince Jing said slowly, looking at Emperor Yun.
Emperor Yun looked up at His Highness Prince Jing and said coldly, "The people you captured, Your Highness Prince Jing, are naturally for you to handle."
Prince Jing narrowed his eyes. "If that is the case, then kill them!" With that, he drew the ceremonial sword from a nearby guard's waist and walked towards Song Jiang and Hei Yin.
Seeing this, Xue Zining's hand rested on her waist. She knew that even if it exposed her identity, she absolutely could not let Song Jiang and Hei Yin be harmed.
Just as His Highness Prince Jing's sword was about to strike Song Jiang, Xue Zining's sword was also drawn. At that moment, a person rushed over from a distance. This person was none other than Sun Hao, who had seen Mr. Li off.
Upon seeing Sun Hao, Xue Zining felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
Sun Hao approached His Highness Prince Jing and whispered a few words to him. His Highness Prince Jing was greatly alarmed. He turned to Emperor Yun and said, "Emperor Yun, Mr. Li has been attacked. This prince must go and see to it. You should return to your tent and rest for a while."
Emperor Yun nodded, "That is fine. Is Mr. Li's injury serious?"
"Emperor Yun need not worry, Mr. Li's injury is minor. Guards, escort Emperor Yun back to his tent." His Highness Prince Jing assigned guards to escort Emperor Yun back to the camp.
As Xue Zining was about to leave with His Highness Prince Jing, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Guard Ning, you are this Prime Minister's escort. Will you not escort this Prime Minister back to camp?"
Xue Zining looked up at Hua Yun Dan. Hua Yun Dan’s expression was placid, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
"Ning An, you stay here," His Highness Prince Jing said, and left with his entourage.
Xue Zining gritted her teeth and looked at Hua Yun Dan with a stiff smile. "This humble one will escort Your Excellency back."
Hua Yun Dan nodded, mounted his horse, and headed in the direction of the camp.
Xue Zining frowned slightly. The timing was too coincidental. She did not understand Mr. Li’s intentions.
However, she would take things one step at a time. At least for now, Song Jiang and Hei Yin's lives were temporarily saved.
Upon returning to the camp, Xue Zining was ordered by Hua Yun Dan to guard outside the tent. Hua Yun Dan then left. She had intended to follow him secretly, but unexpectedly, Cheng Fei arrived.
How long had it been since she last saw Cheng Fei? It seemed as though she hadn't seen him since their parting three years ago.
Back then, Cheng Fei had been imprisoned in the water dungeon by the Emperor, and his lower body had lost the ability to move. He had been recuperating in the palace ever since. Seeing him now, she felt a thrill.
Cheng Fei felt that Guard Ning was looking at him strangely. How to put it? It was too intense. When he arrived, he had done some research. His Highness Prince Jing was not interested in women, and his estate was filled with men. He had indeed discovered upon arriving at His Highness Prince Jing's estate that there were very few maids; all of them were men, and moreover, they were quite handsome.
Thinking of this, Cheng Fei felt somewhat nauseous. He liked women, not men.
"Guard Ning, are you feeling unwell?" Cheng Fei finally could not help but ask.
Xue Zining was slightly stunned and shook her head. "I am not unwell."
Cheng Fei hesitated, then finally said, "Guard Ning, I don't like men. I only like women."
Xue Zining was taken aback and looked at Cheng Fei with confusion.
Cheng Fei took a step back. "Guard Ning, I know that the customs in your Huangze Kingdom are open, and it's not seen as a bad thing for men to like men. However, I truly do not like men..."
"You think I like men?" Xue Zining finally understood what Cheng Fei was saying.
Cheng Fei thought to himself, why else would you be looking at me if you didn't like me?
Seeing Cheng Fei's wary expression, Xue Zining finally remembered something. She took a step back and said, "Guard Cheng, please don't misunderstand. I just thought you resembled an old friend."
Cheng Fei was relieved. He thought to himself, you should have said so earlier, you scared me.
Having let down his guard, Cheng Fei began to size up this Guard Ning. It was said that this Guard Ning was quite skilled and had been personally selected by His Highness Prince Jing.
Cheng Fei felt a desire to spar and asked, "Guard Ning, I've heard your skills are quite good. I wonder if I might have the opportunity to learn from you?"
Xue Zining nodded, "Certainly."
Hua Yun Dan, seeing that the person entangled with Cheng Fei was none other than Xue Zining, finally emerged from his tent and went to Emperor Yun's tent.
Inside Emperor Yun's tent, Emperor Yun and Li Chenxi were already waiting.
Upon seeing him arrive, Li Chenxi asked, "Why are you so slow? Didn't we ask Cheng Fei to keep that guard occupied?"
Hua Yun Dan replied, "It's better to be cautious."
Emperor Yun nodded, "Yun Dan is right. This is Huangze Kingdom, caution is paramount in all matters."
Hua Yun Dan asked, "Have you thought of a plan?"
Li Chenxi shook his head. "Neither His Majesty nor I have thought of a good plan. After all, this is Huangze Kingdom, and rescuing people will not be easy."
Hua Yun Dan nodded, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Majesty, I've noticed that Guard Ning seems to have an unusual relationship with Song Jiang and Hei Yin."
Emperor Yun's eyes lit up at this. "In what way?"
Hua Yun Dan recounted Xue Zining's performance at the hunting grounds.
Emperor Yun said, "Even so, what can a mere guard do?"
"He may not be able to do much, but if we can win him over, he could be an additional helper," Hua Yun Dan suggested.
"His Highness Prince Jing's probing today was likely to ascertain whether we knew them. Tomorrow, there will likely be further tests," Emperor Yun said with a slight frown.
"Your Majesty, you truly don't need to save them, as you and they are not..."
"Li Chenxi, I know what you mean, but if Ning'er were here, she would likely spare no effort to save them. And as her elder brother, there isn't much I can do for her. Every little bit counts!" Emperor Yun said softly.
Li Chenxi fell silent. After a long pause, he said, "I wonder if His Highness is in Yin City."
Hua Yun Dan's gaze dimmed considerably. He bowed and said, "Since we cannot come up with any plan now, perhaps we should wait and see tomorrow."
Emperor Yun nodded, "That is the only way."
"Your humble minister will take his leave," Hua Yun Dan said.