The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 254 To Go or Not to Go

But they all seemed to have underestimated the seriousness of the matter.

Ji Yuxiu went to the border the next day. Li Jiangui looked grim. Everyone else had guessed it, so he couldn't possibly not have.

"Your Majesty can rest assured that General Ji and his daughter are at the border."

"Relax?" Li Jiangui opened his eyes. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. When did he manage to get in touch with those foreign tribes again?"

Lai Shun knew that Li Jiangui was referring to Li Jing, and he dared not answer the question. He could only kneel down in fear and trepidation.

The people used at the border are all Li Jiangui's own. He wouldn't have sent them there if he didn't trust them. Those people have nothing to do with Li Jing.

So when this incident occurred, although Li Jiangui thought of Li Jing, he still felt something was strange.

Li Jing had never been to the border, but perhaps his men knew something.

"I want to interrogate those staff members."

Lai Shun got up and quickly went to make arrangements.

Following the clues, the Dali Temple gradually made some progress.

But just then, before Ji Yuxiu even reached the border, news came from the border that the situation was even more serious. The foreign tribes had already come to provoke them, and their numbers were so great that it seemed like they had mobilized their entire army.

Because of this matter, the imperial court could not pay attention to the case in Lizhou and focused on pacifying the border area first.

"General Pei, do you think you'll be allowed to go?"

Yu Qi was also unsure, wondering if sending Ji Yuxiu alone would be enough.

Pei Du didn't panic like the others; he had already analyzed the situation carefully last night.

"Don't worry about me. First, find out what happened in Lizhou. If you are all distracted by the border, then he has really fallen into your trap."

Ji Yuxiu hasn't reached the border yet, so there's no rush to send him there.

"General Ji hasn't arrived there yet. We still have some time, though not much, but we need to deal with that person in prison as soon as possible."

Pei Du had been keeping a close eye on Li Jing, but Li Jing would eat whatever was given to him and do whatever he was told, without a hint of suspicion.

He didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. Even after the edict to depose the crown prince was issued, he was only angry for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

Li Jing's schemes are designed to include everyone in them.

Yu Qi was well aware that no sooner had they provided the evidence than trouble broke out at the border.

The hard-won time was cut in half.

"Let's focus on what we're doing first."

Pei Du looked down at the things; Jiang Fengxiao's side still needed more effort.

He was certain that Jiang Fengxiao knew a lot, but he couldn't understand why Jiang Fengxiao was unwilling to tell him.

Jiang Fengxiao's attitude seemed to be one of observation.

A few more days passed after the border incident, and Ji Yuxiu was almost there. She quickened her pace considerably.

Pei Du and Shen Hanyu stood by the stall in front of the Dali Temple.

"From late summer to autumn, this matter has dragged on long enough."

When the incident first occurred, the weather was still hot; now it's autumn and cool, and winter is fast approaching.

"General Ji is almost at the border. The matter of Zhao Wanfu has dragged on long enough. We must first convict Zhao Wanfu."

Originally, the intention was to convict both Zhao Wanfu and Li Jing, but now the only option is to arrest Zhao Wanfu.

"How long has Zhao Jiahe been gone?" Shen Hanyu suddenly remembered to ask.

Li Huaijiang hasn't appeared in public recently, presumably because he's been busy with this matter.

"It should have been longer than we know. After she returned from Cining Palace, she never left the East Palace. I'm afraid she had already disappeared from Chang'an by then."

"Zhao Jiahe has just married into the Eastern Palace. Judging from her spoiled and arrogant personality, would Li Jing really use such a person for such an important matter?"

It wasn't that Shen Hanyu was belittling Zhao Jiahe, but Zhao Jiahe was far inferior to Zhao Yu.

"What if Li Jing didn't tell her anything, but instead used some tricks to deceive her into believing him?"

The good thing about Zhao Jiahe is that she knows nothing. Li Jing is good at pretending, and Zhao Jiahe, this fool, is just completely deceived.

Shen Hanyu also thought this made sense, and Zhao Jiahe probably still didn't know what he had done for Li Jing.

"Internal and external troubles," Shen Hanyu suddenly said.

Pei Du was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"You mean, if something happens here, Chang'an might not be safe either."

Li Huaijiang had reminded her about the Crown Prince's private army and also mentioned that Li Jing had tried to kill her before.

"You probably guessed it, but the Crown Prince has been keeping a private army. But now that army has disappeared without a trace, and Li Jing insists he doesn't know anything about it. I feel it's time to make a scene."

This is the best opportunity. Although they were unable to transfer Pei Du along with them, Ji Yuxiu is almost at the border.

Shen Hanyu had been calculating these past few days, and the day Ji Yuxiu arrived at the border would probably be the time for them to make their move.

Pei Du glanced at her with some concern.

"The problem is that we still haven't found out where your father's body is."

"This is just a minor matter in the case. Once everything else is investigated, this matter will naturally be resolved."

Pei Du thought for a moment and said, "If Chang'an is about to fall into chaos, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you. Why don't you come and stay at my residence for now?"

Pei Du couldn't rest easy knowing that someone had entered Shen Hanyu's residence.

“Okay, I’ll go there privately and try not to attract attention.”

Shen Hanyu didn't hesitate; she knew the priorities.

"There are spies everywhere in Chang'an. You are staying in my residence, and no one will come near you."

Pei Du was surrounded by people at his residence, along with Jin Chui, so he wasn't afraid of those people.

"I am investigating this matter. There is some unusual activity in the northwest. I will be leaving the city in the next two days."

Shen Hanyu was somewhat surprised. Why did they suddenly want to leave the city?

"Going out now?"

Pei Du nodded: "Yu Qi's martial arts are not good enough, and the eldest prince cannot leave Chang'an, so only I can go."

Moreover, Pei Du needs to go and return quickly.

Since it involved private soldiers, Li Jiangui didn't want to make a big fuss and cause panic. He only trusted Pei Du.

"Besides me, there's only the Wei family left. Wei Ming is your friend, and I know your character, so it's safest for me to go."

Shen Hanyu lowered her head: "Thank you."

Pei Du left Chang'an the next day, and Li Jing, who was in prison, opened his eyes.

He got up and pressed himself against the wall.

"Pei Du has left?"

After a moment of silence, the person on the other end said, "Yes."

Li Jing suddenly smiled and said, "It's good that he left. His fiancée caused me a lot of trouble. We can deal with her then. She's looking for her father's body, so we can just throw them together."

"Pei Du won't be able to return by 9 PM tonight."

Li Jing hummed in agreement and lay back down on the bed covered with haystacks.

Tonight at Hai hour (9-11 PM) is truly an auspicious time; it was also at this hour that Li Jing was sent away back then.

Li Sheng dozed off at his desk, and for some reason, felt a chill run down his spine.

"Where is Lord Yu?"

"Lord Yu is interrogating Jiang Fengxiao. Would Your Highness like to go and take a look?"

Li Sheng waved his hand: "I'll go later. Make me a pot of strong tea."

"Your Highness, it's late, you should rest."

"Make tea."