Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Bian Yushu was severely punished this time, so Qin Ji did not rush back to the palace and allowed him to rest in his room for a while longer.

As night fell and curfew approached, the group braved the rain and left the private residence in a carriage, with Lentil acting as the driver.

The carriage seats were all covered with soft cushions. Bian Yushu gave Fu Lu a grateful look and said, "Thank you."

Fu Lu hurriedly replied, "Young Master Bian, you've thanked the wrong person. Without His Majesty's grace, how could this servant dare to act on his own?"

Bian Yushu was flattered by His Majesty's kindness and said, "I am ignorant and have troubled you."

It was Fu Lu who suggested laying down soft cushions, and Qin Ji only casually agreed. But Fu Lu's comment made it seem as if he had brought it up himself.

Seeing Bian Yushu's bright eyes, Qin Ji did not correct Fu Lu's words. Under his grateful gaze, he said lightly, "Curfew is about to start. What are you dawdling for? Come up here."

The matter of violating the curfew was not difficult to resolve, but it was better to avoid trouble. Bian Yushu dared not delay and, with Fu Lu's help, boarded the carriage.

Although the carriage seats were covered with soft cushions, Bian Yushu's face was still pale when he sat down. He braced his hands on the seats, not daring to put his weight on them.

Even the most stable carriage will sway when it's running. Bian Yushu had to put all his strength on his arms, and after a while he couldn't hold on any longer. Finally, his arms buckled and he sat firmly on the ground.

Bian Yushu bit her lip tightly, afraid that she might lose control and let out a cry of pain.

Seeing that he was really suffering, Qin Ji said, "If you can't sit, lie on Fu Lu's lap and let him hold you."

Bian Yushu imagined herself bending over and lying on Fu Lu's lap under His Majesty's nose, her face turning as red as a persimmon. She whispered, "I wouldn't dare trouble Eunuch Fu."

Being punished was already humiliating enough; Bian Yushu had no face to behave improperly before the emperor.

Qin Ji glanced at him, his face expressionless, deliberately misinterpreting the situation, "I wouldn't dare trouble him, would I?"

Bian Yushu had no idea what he meant. He was greatly alarmed and obeyed the previous imperial edict, saying to Qin Ji in a voice barely audible, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Qin Ji knew, of course, that wasn't what he meant; he just felt that Bian Yushu couldn't possibly enjoy such good fortune.

Seeing Bian Yushu's pained expression, Qin Ji felt a pang of pain himself, so he deliberately said something to scare him, and the effect was immediate.

Bian Yushu stared blankly at the bottom of the carriage, too embarrassed to even lift his head. The only consolation was that lying down was indeed much more comfortable.

They had already left the private residence late, and with the rain making the roads muddy and difficult to travel, they soon heard the evening drum sound at three in the morning.

It was already curfew time, and occasionally one could hear the watchman striking the gong along the street to announce the time.

Inside the carriage, Bian Yushu glanced discreetly at Qin Ji, who was resting with his eyes closed, and dared not utter a sound.

If it weren't for the fact that he got into a fight and was punished, and His Majesty was concerned about his injuries, he wouldn't have returned so late, even violating the curfew. Bian Yushu felt a little guilty.

Before long, the sounds of armor rubbing together and boots clattering in the puddles came from outside the carriage.

The carriage stopped abruptly, and as expected, it was stopped by the patrolling soldiers.

A reprimanding voice rang out, "The evening drum has sounded; why are you still driving around the streets?"

Startled by the commotion outside, Bian Yushu quickly got up from Fu Lu's body, ignoring her injuries, and sat back down on the stool.

Silently, Bian Dou took the token from his waist, threw it to the night patrolman, and attached a note indicating that he was ordered to carry out his duties.

The secret guards were directly under the emperor's command. Their tokens were special, allowing them to travel freely and mostly serve the emperor. No one dared to stop them.

As expected, after the patrolling soldiers checked the token and slip of paper, they respectfully handed it back to Biandou without asking any further questions and let him pass.

The carriage hadn't gone far when they heard another group of people asking the night patrol soldiers who had stopped them, "We just encountered someone breaking curfew. He's incredibly skilled and heading this way. Did you see him?"

"no."

"I didn't see it."

The leader of the officers and soldiers asked, "Have you searched that carriage ahead...?"

Before he could finish asking the question, someone stopped him and whispered a few words in his ear.

The officers nodded, didn't ask any further questions, and pointed in another direction, "Go search over there."

After the patrolling soldiers left, the carriage also drove some distance away. While driving, Biandou lifted the thick curtain, quickly turned around, pointed his index finger downwards, and pointed to the bottom of the carriage.

The three people in the carriage immediately understood what he meant.

There are people under the car.

Or perhaps he was a skilled thief who broke curfew.

The atmosphere immediately became tense; Qin Ji's precious body could not afford the slightest mishap.

Ignoring his own injuries, Bian Yushu shielded Qin Ji, while Fu Lu tried to peer through the gaps under the carriage. Unfortunately, the carriage was too sturdy, the gaps too tight, and he couldn't see anything.

On the contrary, Qin Ji remained as steady as Mount Tai.

This person was most likely using their carriage to evade pursuing soldiers, and may not have come for him.

Suddenly, Bian Dou pulled on the reins, and the hidden sword shot out towards the bottom of the carriage.

The hidden sword pierced the wood under the cart, followed by the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground and water splashing everywhere.

Lentil's sharp eyes were fixed on the dark underside of the car, poised to strike.

The dark figure on the ground lay motionless in the puddle.

Lentil gently pulled the reins, causing the carriage to move forward a few steps, exposing the person lying on the ground to his view.

Rain fell from the sky, washing away the mud-splattered faces of people on the ground, revealing faces they had just seen not long ago.

The man on the ground had unfocused eyes and looked like he was in great pain. He struggled to reach out and grab Bian Dou's trouser leg, pleading in a daze, "Just throw me anywhere, please don't... report me to the authorities, please..."

The lentil turned and left.

In Shang Jingming's almost unfocused pupils, a person wearing a straw hat and a raincoat lifted the carriage curtain and whispered back into the carriage.

A short while later.

A fair-skinned, beardless middle-aged man opened an umbrella from the carriage and held it over the head of the person behind him. Someone he never dreamed of stepped down from the carriage and slowly walked towards him in the pouring rain.

Another umbrella was opened over his face, blocking most of his vision, and the rain pattered against the umbrella.