In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Huang Er's mental defenses collapsed on the spot, and he cried out in anguish.

"Your Highness, I confess! I confess!"

"Could you please give this scoundrel a way out!"

Li Yuanchang looked at him with disdain; he was trying to outsmart him and even won money from gambling.

You probably couldn't find a single person within a hundred miles of this desolate place who would be willing to gamble with a sardine.

"That depends on whether what you're saying is valuable."

Huang Er grabbed his trouser leg, looked up at him eagerly, and said, "Yes, it's valuable!"

"There's a Xianbei man named Helian who gave me these benefits, saying he wanted me to help him gather intelligence!"

Li Yuanchang narrowed his eyes: "What kind of information are you trying to gather?"

"It's...it's news about the marriage alliance," Huang Er said guiltily.

Instantly, the surroundings changed color dramatically.

"What was he doing spying on the marriage procession?"

Huang Er trembled and dared not answer.

"Speak!" Li Yuanchang hissed.

Huang Er trembled, collapsed to the ground, terrified: "Yes, I'll assassinate you!"

boom!

These words struck the post station like a thunderbolt, causing everyone's eyes to change color.

assassinate?

This was something the entire marriage alliance hadn't even considered. How could someone in the Tang Dynasty's marriage alliance dare to attempt an assassination?

"Where is he? How many people are with him?" Li Yuanchang's expression instantly turned serious.

"I don't know exactly how many people there were. He just met me with his men on the hill behind the hill. That's where I came back from." Huang Er was on the verge of tears, filled with deep regret.

Li Yuanchang's expression changed drastically. He looked sharply at the so-called hill, which was only a little over a mile long!

He quickly whispered, "Quickly, take a squad and charge!"

The sound was so loud that it startled many of the guards inside the post station.

"yes!"

Guo Chao clasped his hands in a fist salute, then quickly left.

"Quickly, come with me!"

The sound of hurried footsteps and the clanging of metal shattered the tranquility of the night.

"I deserve to die, I deserve to die, I was blinded by greed!"

"We beg the King of Han to show mercy!"

He kept slapping himself, wailing and begging for mercy.

Li Yuanchang was furious and grabbed the man.

"Who is this person? What's his background?"

"Your Highness, I don't know either. I only know that his subordinates call him Lord Helian and that he is a Xianbei. I know nothing else."

"Really, I swear!" Huang Er wailed.

"You know nothing, yet you dare to do this for him!" Li Yuanchang shouted, slamming the man to the ground.

boom!

Huang Er screamed in agony, rolling on the ground in pain.

At this moment, more and more guards heard the commotion and rushed over.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

"Quickly awaken all troops, stand ready, work tirelessly through the night, lock all passages, and gather all idle personnel at the post station under strict guard. No mistakes are allowed!"

The officers stiffened, not daring to ask any further questions: "Yes!!"

After giving his instructions, Li Yuanchang rushed to the location of Princess Honghua on the second floor.

He didn't know who the enemy was, why they wanted to assassinate the marriage alliance, or how they were going to do it, but he dared not gamble if something went wrong with the marriage alliance.

To put it mildly, it was a failure to protect him; to put it more seriously, it could have sparked a war!

In an instant, the dormant post station was fully revived, and a large number of torches lit up the daytime.

"quick!"

"Let's send another team over there!"

"Everyone from the Third Regiment, hold the rear!"

Everywhere, the guards of the Imperial Guard were marching and shouting, warhorses were neighing, and many archers even climbed onto the rooftops to take the high ground.

Princess Honghua was awakened from her sleep and her residence was urgently changed.

In no time, the post station was under full martial law and entered a state of combat readiness.

At the same time, two cavalry units were dispatched to pursue the suspect on the hill mentioned by Huang Er.

As time passed, the entire post station became as oppressive as a battlefield, with all the crossbows even loaded.

Li Yuanchang personally oversaw the operation, staying until the early hours of the morning.

Finally, the sound of galloping warhorses rang out; Guo Chao had returned.

"Whoa!!"

"Report!"

"Your Highness, there are indeed many footprints on the hill, indicating that at least ten people stayed there, but it was too late; they had already left."

"We split up and chased them for more than ten miles, but we found nothing. The enemy has long since vanished without a trace!" Guo Chao said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang frowned, secretly feeling regretful!

"Your Highness, should we halt our march and report to the court?" a guard general asked.

"It's too slow. It would take more than two months to go back and forth," Li Yuanchang said, pacing back and forth.

This unexpected situation caught him off guard.

He never expected this to happen when he arrived, since the probability of this was even lower than that of intercepting and killing an imperial envoy.

After hesitating, Li Yuanchang said calmly.

"You can go down now. Just get through the night safely, and we'll make plans when it's light and the view is clearer."

"Regardless, it's a good thing to have received advance warning and be on alert," he reassured his subordinates.

"Yes!" The group clasped their hands in a fist salute and slowly withdrew from the hall.

Li Yuanchang slowly sat down and fell into deep thought.

He wondered, who has such audacity?

Who is behind the assassination determines its scale and level.

The scale and level of the operation determined how Li Yuanchang should respond.

"..."

Soon after, it was dawn.

After a harrowing night at the post station, Li Yuanchang remained sleepless, with cold tea and a map on the table.

He waited until the sky began to lighten, then looked up at the sky outside, his eyes already filled with determination.

"Your Highness." Chi Lian and Wu Yu arrived together, bringing steaming hot food.

Li Yuanchang got up, stretched, and without saying a word, devoured a large amount of food, fully recovered.

At this moment, the confidants of the Prince of Han's mansion also gathered around, awaiting orders.

"Stay put and hold your positions."

"Chi Lian, take some men and sneak off to Shanzhou. Don't reveal your identities. Find two porters familiar with Chiling, preferably locals."

"yes!"

Everyone clasped their hands in a fist salute.

Guo Chao and the others were also somewhat puzzled: "Your Highness, this place has already been exposed. Shouldn't we change locations?"

Li Yuanchang shook his head: "No need. If we really wanted to assassinate someone, we would have done it last night."

"Their inaction is clearly out of fear that this is within Shanzhou territory."

"I reckon their ambush location is at Red Ridge. It's the only deserted area along the entire route, with plenty of forests, making it ideal for an ambush."

"Shanzhou was the capital of the Tang Dynasty. If they entered Qinghai Road, the Tuyuhun Khan would have someone to meet them. Their chances were even slimmer."

"Your Highness, should I send scouts at full speed to Fu'ai City ahead of time to request the Tuyuhun Khan to send troops to Chiling? That would be a safer approach?"

Li Yuanchang shook his head: "Once he sends out a large force to provide support, the enemy won't dare to make a move."

"What I want is not to avoid them, but to bring them to justice!"

"Otherwise, the problem will always remain."

"Yes!" Guo Chao and the others said no more.