The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 306 What a vicious scheme!
She was so focused on getting away that she didn't think about anything else.

Now that she was safe, she felt uneasy all over.

The main problem is that these clothes really smelled terrible.

All she wanted to do was find a place to take a shower and change into clean clothes.

She calmed herself down and told Chen Jiu about Zeng Jiayi's situation.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiu broke out in a cold sweat.

If the young lady hadn't cleverly escaped, even if they had found her later, it would have been too late.

The young lady is so beautiful; if she fell into the hands of those pimps, she would probably be defiled before even reaching the brothel.

If that's the case, none of them need to go back to see the Crown Prince; they can atone for their sins with their deaths.

“Miss, it’s fortunate that you managed to escape so cleverly, otherwise…” Chen Jiu couldn’t finish his sentence. Even now, he still felt a lingering fear when he thought about it.

Zeng Jiayi, that bitch, is so hateful and immoral.

Looking back now, I realize that the prince was too kind to her back in Yangzhou.

If I had known Zeng Jiayi harbored malicious intentions, I should have killed her back in Yangzhou.

However, she has now been sold into a brothel by her cousin, which can be considered as her just deserts.

The group arrived at Santian Town but did not go inside.

Firstly, it was to hurry on the journey; secondly, it was to avoid going in and running into Zhiye, which could cause further complications.

They came on horseback. Last night, fearing unnecessary trouble, they tied their horses in the woods outside the town.

Zhiwan had never learned to ride a horse. She had only ridden horses twice, both times with her cousin. One of those times, she rode a horse in her dream.

Looking at the tall horse in front of her, she was somewhat troubled.

"Don't be afraid, Miss. I'll lead the horse for you and make sure it's steady," Chen Jiu assured her confidently.

Zhiwan was indeed too weak to walk any further, so she had no choice but to trust him.

Lacking the agility of the guards, she could only hold onto the saddle and slowly climb up.

"Alright, let's go." Chen Jiu said, leading the horse that Zhi Wan was riding, and walked ahead first, with the others following behind.

"A-Jiu, are we going to the town or the hunting grounds?" Zhiwan asked.

"Go straight to the hunting grounds," Chen Jiu said.

Last night, Zhiye gave Tong Dashi the cousin's earrings, declaring that the young master should come to the town to see him at Chenshi (7-9 AM) today.

Although the rescue of the young lady was fraught with twists and turns, she was indeed in Santian Town.

The prince's information was accurate, and they did indeed successfully rescue the young lady.

He guessed that the Crown Prince probably wouldn't go to the town to see Zhiye.

On the other hand, Zhiye was unaware that the young master already knew the whereabouts of his cousin. At this moment, he was probably still in the town, waiting for the young master to appear.

Based on his understanding of the Crown Prince, Zhiye's abduction of the young lady had already touched a nerve with the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince would certainly not let Zhiye off the hook.

By now, that small town has probably been completely surrounded by the prince's men. This time, Zhiye has no chance of escape.

Knowing that there was danger in the town, he naturally wouldn't take his cousin there.

Taking Miss Biao to the hunting grounds is the safest course of action right now.

When Zhiwan heard that she was going to the hunting grounds, she didn't ask any more questions.

However, Chen Jiu was wrong about one thing: Lu Zhan had already arrived in the town.

Even though he knew his cousin was in Santian Town and had already sent people to rescue her, he still dared not be careless. So, he used the excuse of feeling unwell from a hangover to ask Duan Ling for leave from the Emperor, and then went to the town to meet Zhi Ye himself. One reason was for his cousin's safety; the other was to find out what Zhi Ye's scheme was.

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

"It seems my little niece is indeed important to you," Zhiye spoke first, though his words were full of sarcasm.

“My cousin is important to me, that’s for sure. Otherwise, do you think you’d still be sitting here unharmed?” Lu Zhan’s tone was icy, devoid of any warmth. “You’d better pray that my cousin is unharmed. Otherwise, even if you are her uncle, I won’t let you off the hook.”

Upon hearing this, Zhiye sneered, "According to seniority, you should also call me Uncle like Wan'er, but with your arrogance, aren't you afraid that my younger brother, if he knew in the afterlife, wouldn't feel comfortable marrying his daughter to you?"

“Uncle Zhi is more open-minded and insightful than you, otherwise he wouldn’t have parted ways with you back then. On the other hand, Wan’er calls you Uncle, yet you disregard kinship and blood ties, kidnapping your own niece. If Uncle Zhi knew this in the afterlife, he would not forgive you. He would probably rather not have a brother like you. How can you still call yourself Wan’er’s Uncle?” Lu Zhan said sarcastically.

"Hmph, enough nonsense. If you want Wan'er to be well, then obediently follow my orders. Otherwise, I don't mind if Wan'er doesn't acknowledge me," Zhiye said angrily.

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

“I know the emperor is currently in the hunting grounds. As long as you go and cut off the dog emperor’s head for me, I will immediately release Wan’er safely back,” Zhi Ye said.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan frowned slightly. His cousin had guessed correctly; Zhi Ye really wanted to use his cousin as a threat to make him assassinate the emperor.

Thinking of this, he looked troubled: "Although it is in the hunting grounds, the guards are even more stringent than in the palace. I can't do it."

"Lu Zhan!" Zhi Ye placed her hands on the table, leaning over and staring at him. "With your abilities, plus the Emperor's trust in you, killing the Emperor wouldn't be difficult, would it? You can't do it? Don't you want to see Zhi Wan again?"

Lu Zhan felt a little anxious.

Santian Town isn't far from here, but there's still no news from the people sent to rescue my cousin. I wonder if things have changed?
Or perhaps my cousin's information is wrong, and she is not actually in Santian Town?

Realizing this, his heart sank.

Faced with Zhiye's relentless pressure, he calmly replied, "I will not do anything for you until I see if my cousin is alright."

Unless you let me meet my cousin.

Upon hearing this, Zhiye's tone softened a bit. "Of course, you can send someone with me, but once you've confirmed that Zhiwan is safe and sound, you must act immediately. I can't wait a moment longer."

“I can agree to your request, but you have to get someone to help me, right?” Lu Zhan said, lowering his voice. “Assassinating the emperor is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one’s family. You have to have your people work with me from the inside, right?”

Zhiye paused, then fell into deep thought.

Lu Zhan saw his hesitation and sneered inwardly.

It seems that the person behind the scenes who helped Zhiye plan this is also in the hunting grounds at this moment.

But who could that person be?

He went through all the possible people in his mind, but still couldn't come up with a clue.

No, if that person was also in the hunting grounds, then it means that they originally planned to harm the Emperor in the hunting grounds.

Whether or not this incident involving my cousin happened, they would still take action.

However, Zhiye happened to capture his cousin, so he changed his mind and decided to use his cousin to threaten him into assassinating the emperor, so that he would take the blame.

Once he succeeds in assassinating the emperor, the people behind Zhiye will rush out and capture him on the spot.

They were the ones who wanted to kill the emperor, but instead they became the ones who captured the assassin, while he, and the entire Lu family, would be executed and cursed by the world.

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

“If I had someone else, would I need to go through all this trouble to find you?” Zhiye finally spoke, her tone sounding helpless.

Lu Zhan raised his eyes and glanced at him indifferently. "No? Assassinating the emperor is a major event. You wouldn't place all your hopes on me alone, would you? You overestimate me."

I couldn't even get past Shen Congrong, the commander of the imperial guards who served the emperor.

"Besides, my cousin is indeed important to me, but assassinating the emperor would involve nine generations of my family. I need to think it over some more." With that, he stood up.