Yu Yi nodded. With the reward increased by half, they would do it. “We’ll stop after completing this mission.”
Meng Qing looked at her sparkling eyes and muttered: “Workaholic and money-lover…” He raised his voice: “Lin Bai, give us half an hour to prepare.”
“Okay, continue.”
“Get lost!
Meng Qing raised his middle finger to the air.
Chapter 121: Throne Succession (1)
The former emperor suddenly passed away, the crown prince also died, and the remaining princes fought each other for the throne.
For Yu Yi and Meng Qing, there was no suspense about which prince would ultimately win the throne. Their mission was to help the second prince, Luo Ye, gain support from court officials and eliminate the power of other princes until Luo Ye successfully ascended the throne.
Yu Yi, having learned the customs and etiquette of the mission’s time and space through a memory package, changed into the common warrior’s attire of that time and space inside the room and subsequently arrived in a dense forest.
Looking around, she found herself at the bottom of a mountain valley, near dusk. The valley was already devoid of sunlight, and the forest had grown dark.
She opened her terminal and pulled up the valley’s topographical map. The “body” of the injured executor was only a hundred meters away from her, almost at the same coordinate point on the map. However, just a dozen meters into the dense forest, the person became invisible. She enlarged the map, crossed her arm over her chest, and adjusted her facing direction until the executor’s position on the map was directly in front of her.
She proceeded forward while carefully searching. The forest floor was not flat, with grass reaching up to her calves.
She moved cautiously, suddenly kicking something that caught her right foot’s tip, causing her body to lurch forward. She quickly stepped over the obstacle with her left leg while using her right foot to maintain her balance. She realized the obstacle was a vine.
Beneath the wild grass, many vines grew, easily tripping her. Yu Yi became even more careful afterward, lifting and placing each foot deliberately.
After advancing about 80-90 meters, she spotted an unnatural flattening of grass ahead, with a noticeable depression in the middle. Above this area, there was a gap between tree branches, with broken branches and fallen leaves. Yu Yi could almost certainly confirm this was where the executor had fallen.
She continued carefully but quickened her pace, softly calling: “Xu Yong?”
A faint response came from ahead.
Drawing near the person on the ground, she could see in the fading twilight that his body was bloodied and mangled, with darkening blood on his face and grotesquely twisted limbs.
He could still survive because he was a soul transfer, and this body was not originally his. Even with the latest medical technology’s drugs barely maintaining his consciousness, he was close to giving up.
He moved his lips, producing barely intelligible sounds that Yu Yi could only understand through her lip-reading bracelet’s translation: “I wanted to hold on longer so you could take me back. Luo Ye is extremely suspicious. Without my direct testimony, he might not trust you based on just the token. Unfortunately, I can’t hold on… This body will deteriorate even with medication, and I can’t move – moving would kill me.”
He told her everything she needed to know, then said: “Alright, I’m going. I hope your mission succeeds.” Then he fell silent, the body losing all signs of life.
Yu Yi stood where she could see through the broken branches to the quickly darkening sky and a corner of the cliff, but she simply looked down at the lifeless body among the wild grass. The executor had abandoned the mission, but the original owner of this body was now gone forever.
She crouched, retrieved a jade tablet and a letter from his chest, then quickly oriented herself and departed.
Yu Yi said: “This maiden meets Lord Pan for the first time and fears that Lord Pan will not believe me.”
Pan Xian urged: “What exactly is the danger? Speak quickly.”
Yu Yi then handed over a letter, saying: “Lord Pan will understand after reading the letter.”
The secret letter mentioned that the Fourth Prince intended to poison the Second and Third Princes. After reading, he looked up and asked: “Does Miss Yi know the contents of the letter?”
Yu Yi answered: “This maiden has not seen the contents of the letter.”
“Why not?”
“The matter is confidential. I should not have seen it, and I rushed here to report urgently, without even having time to bury my senior brother’s body, let alone read the letter.”
While questioning her, Pan Xian carefully observed her facial expressions, simultaneously weighing her words. He found no apparent flaws. Given the gravity of the matter, it was better to err on the side of caution and make preparations. However, to ensure this woman would not harm the Second Prince, he must first detain her and verify her identity.
He quietly instructed two people nearby. After they hurriedly left, he did not return the jade token to Yu Yi but instead kept it in his possession.
Yu Yi stood up, moving closer to him urgently: “This is my senior brother’s belonging. Please return it to me, Lord Pan.”
Pan Xian’s face showed wariness, and he ordered his guards to seize her. Yu Yi did not resist, only insisting that Pan Xian return the jade token. Pan Xian feigned misunderstanding: “This is a military token, not a personal item of the general. How can Miss Yi claim it?”
Yu Yi anxiously said: “This is the black jade token of the Xuanhu given by my father to my senior brother before he went down the mountain.”
He always carried it and never let it leave his side. How can Lord Pan say it is a military token?”
Pan Xian then took out the jade token, saying: “The matter is serious. I had to test Miss Yi. Please do not take offense.” He returned the token to Yu Yi and added: “Thank you for bringing this message. Please rest here for a while.”
Yu Yi knelt down and begged: “Please send some soldiers with me to retrieve and properly bury my senior brother’s body.”
Pan Xian replied: “Matters have their priorities. Miss Yi, please be patient. Once the Second Prince’s crisis is resolved, I will arrange for someone to find the general’s body.” He then hurriedly left, instructing several guards to watch the woman in the room.
Yu Yi understood he was afraid she was lying, and she would not be allowed to leave the Second Prince’s residence until her information was verified. She sat quietly waiting.
After testing the jade token, Pan Xian now believed about three to four parts of Yi Yao’s story. He had already sent trusted subordinates to inform the Second Prince. Knowing it was a poisoning attempt, they only needed to prevent the Second Prince from eating or drinking until they could identify the poison or poisoner.
During these extraordinary times, the Second Prince was already extremely cautious about his food. A bowl of lotus seed soup sat before him, untouched.
Upon hearing the report from Pan Xian’s men about a potential poisoning, he put down the soup spoon and ordered a silver needle test. Although the test showed no poison, he had lost his appetite and waved for the soup to be taken away.
When Pan Xian arrived, he saw the servants removing the lotus seed soup and asked in surprise: “Could the poison have been in the soup?”
Luo Ye said: “I’ve already tested it. No poison, but I don’t want to eat it.” He reached for a cup of water, but Pan Xian quickly stopped him: “Your Highness, do not!”
