First off, I’d like to welcome and thank my new editor who goes by the name Otwentyfirst for editing this chapter! Hopefully, with an editor now I can stick to the release schedule if not faster!

  Ji Feng Li slowly finished the bowl of porridge and the maidservants quickly brought over another, yet he did not raise his chopsticks again, merely staring at it with a blank expression.

  Lifting the curtain, Lan Bing and Tong Shou entered. Lan Bing was teasing Tong Shou yet he still carried the same imposing expression as always.

  Taking their seats at the red sandalwood table, Lan Bing sighed and said, "Lord Chancellor, you handled tonight’s matters quite inappropriately, why must you refuse the marriage, that Third Princess&h.e.l.lip;"

  Li Feng Li glanced at Lan Bing and said, "What do you know!" He then raised his chopsticks and picked a few dishes to place in his mouth and slowly swallowed before coldly asking Tong Shou, "Where are you on the things I asked you to do?"

  "Reporting to Lord Chancellor, everything has been arranged." Tong Shou replied in a low voice.

  "Great, Lan Bing, go settle things, we shall progress according to plan," Ji Feng Li said with slightly narrowed eyes, seemingly unsettled by the hot rising steam emanating from the porridge.

  "a.s.sign more men to protect that person, his life must not be placed in danger," Ji Feng Li instructed as he slowly rose and approached the window, extending his fingers to caress the epiphyllum on the window sill.

  "Lord Chancellor&h.e.l.lip;" a person that rarely spoke such as Tong Shou stood and in a low voice, asked, "Why not seize this opportunity to get rid of that person&h.e.l.lip;."

  The silent Ji Feng Li slowly turned around to face them, his pupils contracted before a look of indifference swept through them. A chill exuded from his entire body, like a sharp sword that was suddenly unsheathed.

  "Tong Shou, since when did you become so talkative," he stated in a languid voice.

  Yet Tong Shou was frightened stiff, not daring to make a sound, even the muscles in the corners of his eyes froze, not blinking.

  The night grew dreary yet the flowers upon the window sill were flourishing, releasing their fragrance in the room. Spreading out his fan, Ji Feng Li unhurriedly swept it back and forth, causing the flowers to lightly sway like wisps of smoke.

  Behind the Qing Jiang Palace were endless forested mountains within which contained countless rare animals. Although the Emperor was well advanced in his age, he still enjoyed horse riding and archery. Each year he would host a hunting event in the mountains behind Qing Jiang Palace. The princes, royal family members, as well as important officials would accompany him. This year the Northern Crown Prince Xiao Yin as well as Eastern Yan’s Rui w.a.n.g were present so the Emperor was in even higher spirits.

  People from the Northern Kingdom grew up on horseback and were highly skilled in riding and archery compared to those from Southern Kingdom. Although this was a well-known fact throughout the four kingdoms, the Southern Emperor still wanted to use the opportunity of the hunting event to challenge Xiao Yin. This meant that anyone who could ride and shoot were obligated to follow along.

  The day before the event took place, guards were sent to the mountains to clear the fields and take care of any ferocious beasts.