There was not even a trace of wind in the quiet woods, only a rumbling sound of people stepping on the grass slowly came. After a while, I saw a man walking out of the dense forest with his hands behind his back.

Qinghan and I both gasped.

"Emperor...Emperor..."

He looked at Pei Yuanhao, and his face faded and pale as paper. I could hardly believe my eyes - Pei Yuanhao, he is still here?!

Qinghan and I were delayed at least a month below. After such a long time, if such a high cliff fell, all normal people could think of would die. Even if they escaped by chance, they should have gone downstream to find us. Why?

Pei Yuanhao's face was faint, and he sneered completely opposite to the hot sunlight. He had no kindness in his smile. He just looked at the earthworm in his hand and could completely strangle us to death in the next moment.

"……emperor."

"Is my dear?"

“…”

Qinghan didn't say anything, and the hand holding me was completely cold.

"I didn't expect that my dear is so lucky. If you fall down at such a high place, you will be completely relieved. I feel no comfort."

“…”

"Do you think it's strange, why am I still here?"

“…”

"Because my men were downstream, I saw Shen Xiaokun."

Qinghan and I were shocked - Could it be that Shen Xiaokun had been arrested and killed?

No, I immediately came to my senses. What he said just now was that his men saw Shen Xiaokun downstream, and did not say that they had caught Shen Xiaokun. He should be fine now. But-

I looked up at him, and my dark eyes also looked at me, as if a bottomless deep pool was about to completely sink a person into it, and it was hard to see the light of day again. "In fact, it is not difficult to catch him, but I am worried that if I only focus on catching him, I will probably miss my two dear friends. So--"

So, he gave up Shen Xiaokun and rushed back from the downstream.

When I heard this, I felt a little stuffy in my chest, as if an animal was caught in a cage. No matter how hard it struck, it would be difficult to break free. My breathing and heartbeat were almost no longer my own.

At this time, a heavy sound of horse hooves sounded behind him. When he looked closely, Wen Fengxi and others followed him quickly. The smoke and dust raised behind him covered the sky and the sun. The faces of those people were still tired, but they did not dare to slack off. However, when Sun Jingfei rushed out with the people, when he saw Qinghan and me, a trace of almost heavy regret appeared on his face.

There was also a burst of rapid footsteps behind him. Without looking back, I knew that it was Pei Yuanzhen who ran up.

Her tears were not drying, and she looked very embarrassed. As soon as she came up, she said to Pei Yuanhao: "Brother, don't let them go, they--"

Before she could finish her words, Pei Yuanhao had already raised his hand to stop her from saying what she said next.

Then, he looked at us, his thin lips curled up slightly, and the smile that was completely indescribable in his indescribable coldness, slowly took a step towards us.

With his step, Wen Fengxi's men had already surrounded him and cut off all our paths.

At this moment, my heart also sank.

Really, can't it be?

Every time, I think that using life as a price can be exchanged for freedom, the life I want, or even the feelings I want, but in the end, it is just a waste.

After all, can't escape this man's Five Finger Mountain?

Thinking of this, a fire suddenly rose in my heart, and the flames that wanted to destroy everything were burning, and the poisonous hatred filled my whole chest.

Why, why just refuse to let me go?

Why, I just can't escape him? Can I really be shackled by him like this for the rest of my life!?

The hands that Qinghan and I held each other subconsciously exerted force, and we could almost hear the clattering of finger bones. I was pinched so hard that I was so painful that I didn’t want to let go, and I even wanted to keep hurting like this. As long as I didn’t separate from him, even if I merged into each other’s flesh and blood and the pain was in my bones, I would have no regrets!

I looked up at him, and he was looking at me.

I was still the only one in those clear eyes, but I was so firm that there was no flash of flash. I nodded at me: "Don't be afraid."

"……Um!"

With my confidence, he seemed to be more calmer. He raised his head to look at Pei Yuanhao. The latter's face was covered with a layer of haze. He gritted his teeth and took a step forward: "Emperor, Weishu--"

Before he could finish his words, Pei Yuanhao had already interrupted him: "Liu Aiqing, I already know what you want to say."

“…”

"But, look at this before you speak."

After saying that, he raised his hand, and Changsui, who was behind him, immediately lowered his head and went forward, presenting a scroll.

I recognized it at a glance that it was the 800-mile rush that was sent from the capital before the Shin Gongyi rebelled.

For some reason, when I saw the scroll, my heart immediately became uneasy.

The content in this scroll has not been revealed before. Although Shen Gongyi said on the surface that the Supreme Emperor had woken up and had his army with Pei Yuanhao, the appearance of the old Taoist priest later proved that Pei Ji was not awake at all. Of course, Shen Gongyi told a not-so-smart lie.

So, the content of this 800-mile expedited is—

The Changsui had already sent the scroll to Qinghan. He frowned slightly, as if he was a little uneasy and hesitant. He was silent for a moment, and finally reached out to take the scroll and opened it.

Suddenly, the expression on his face froze.

I saw him from the side and hurriedly said softly: "Qinghan?"

“…”

"Qinghan, what's wrong?"

“…”

"What happened? Qinghan!"

He didn't say anything, but just used his hand to force the scroll into a ball. I just felt the shadow in my heart getting bigger and bigger, and my heartbeat became more and more messy. I wanted to reach out to hold his hand, but I felt a sharp look that seemed to be cutting off my wrist.

I felt a thrill in my heart. I raised my head, but saw Pei Yuanhao still had a calm and almost cold expression on his face. He looked at Qinghan and said, "Do you understand?"

“…”

Feeling the cold trembling, after a while, he gritted his teeth: "Weichen, I understand."

"Qinghan!"

I subconsciously called his name. At this time, Qinghan slowly turned his head to look at me, and there seemed to be many contradictions in his eyes, and it seemed to be scary: "Qing... Qingying..., the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, the people have changed."

"What?!" I was shocked and looked at him in a daze.

The six provinces in Jiangnan have changed their lives?

What's going on? Why is it suddenly-

At this moment, several familiar figures walked out from behind Pei Yuanhao. It was Chang Qing who brought Shui Xiu and the others over. Although she was still self-controlled, her eyes were red when she saw that I was still alive: "Qingying, you are fine!"

“…Queen, Empress.”

I looked at her dullly, Chang Qing walked over, held my arm and looked me up and down, and then she was relieved: "You, you scared me."

I can't speak.

I should have been glad and happy to see each of them safely again, but now Qinghan's appearance has caused me to fall to the bottom of the valley, and I can't think about it any more. However, Chang Qing looked at the scroll in Qinghan's hand, looked at me again, and understood.

She whispered in my ear: "This time something big happened in the south."

The civil rebellion... is indeed a big deal.

"The prefects of several prefectures and counties in the six provinces have all resisted and some have surrendered."

“…”

"Now, the six provinces in Jiangnan have already—"

Although I have been immersed in the haze in my heart, I still couldn't help but feel shocked when I heard Chang Qing's words.

She didn't finish her words, but I already understood it completely. The six provinces in Jiangnan have now completely separated from the court and have become rebels.

But, how is this possible?!

Not to mention the importance of Jiangnan to the entire Celestial Empire, Pei Yuanhao's attention to Jiangnan in recent years has increased his control over the other side. How could he have changed the people in such a short time and seized the six southern provinces in one fell swoop!

This is simply incredible!

At this moment, I suddenly remembered what Shen Xiaokun said to me in the cave at the bottom of the valley. He said that Shen Gongyi was encouraged and received some help, and the thought of rebellion arose. The people sent to deliver the message were in the southern accent. Could it be that?

This time, the people who caused civil war in Jiangnan were those who secretly contacted Shen Gongyi and encouraged him to rebel?!

I suddenly understood!

Those people encouraged Shin Gongyi to rebel. I had always suspected that a person's actions were driven by the most fundamental interests, and Shin Gongyi did not want to govern Jiangnan well. He just wanted to get greater benefits. Therefore, even if he successfully rebelled, he would not implement a relaxed policy on Jiangnan. For the forces in the south, it would be like shooting themselves in the foot. But now I know that from the very beginning, they did not want Shin Gongyi to succeed at all.

With Pei Yuanhao's scheming methods, Shen Gongyi was no match for him at all, but it could cause him great trouble. During the period when Shen Gongyi was plotting rebellion and turbulent in the court, Pei Yuanhao had to relax his control over Jiangnan and devote all his energy to the plan to fight this tiger.

So, the civil unrest in Jiangnan was born at this time!

But, who is it?

Who is it, who manipulated all this behind the scenes?

Such deep scheming and step-by-step planning, even Pei Yuanhao was included.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but sweat in a cold sweat, and raised my head tremblingly, and saw Pei Yuanhao's face hidden under the shade of the tree, with some shaking clouds and sunshine. Only those bright eyes looked at me, like a hunting beast, staring at my prey.

Then, he spoke, but said to Qinghan: "Liu Aiqing, I still want to discuss this matter with your master and apprentice."

“…”
Chapter completed!