The Emperor Doesn't Despise Me? Why Is He Still Using Force! - Chapter 4

The warm glow of the lantern carried by Pei Yan flickered indistinctly in the nocturnal mist.

Xiao Jing’an was toying with a bronze telescope in his hand, keeping his gaze locked on him.

Beside him, Jiny卫 (Emperor’s Guard) Commander Lang Zhen stared at Pei Yan and Pei Yanning, and said, “At this time of night, these two suddenly come to the North Mountain. Could it be related to the Third Prince?”

As he spoke, Lang Zhen’s gaze shifted over to Pei Yanning.

“The orphan of the late Chariot and Cavalry General Pei Ming has appeared here; I have long heard rumors of it, and Pei Ming maintained very close ties with the Third Prince’s maternal family before his life ended.”

Having said that, he looked toward Xiao Jing’an standing beside him and asked, “Your Highness, should we execute them all, just like those assassins who attempted to assassinate you?”

Xiao Jing’an’s expression was cool and detached, his eyes as cold and icy as snow, seeming to harbor traces of faint killing intent.

“Send people to follow them secretly and maintain strict surveillance.”

Lang Zhen seemed to understand something. “Does Your Highness want to use these two small fries to fish out a much bigger fish?”

The batch of assassins previously executed in the North Mountain were loyal retainers prepared to die; they had not extracted any information regarding the Third Prince from their mouths.

To topple the Third Prince, evidence of his wrongdoing was imperative.

Xiao Jing’an’s gaze had never once left Pei Yan’s figure.

Against the backdrop of the night mist, Pei Yan’s entire person exuded an aura of mystery.

“You’ve only guessed half of it.”

Knowing Xiao Jing’an’s lofty and aloof temperament, Lang Zhen asked no further. After instructing the Jinyiwei to tail Pei Yan, he continued standing on the observation tower, staring fixedly at the two fading figures.

Pei Yan raised his eyes and inadvertently glanced toward the distant observation tower.

However, the observation tower was pitch-black, and he could see nothing at all.

Yet his brow twitched abruptly, and he immediately grasped what was happening.

“Little Dad, this isn’t the East Mountain; this is the North Mountain Hunting Grounds!”

In his past life, he had once accompanied the tyrant to the North Mountain for the autumn hunt, and he knew there was an observation tower specifically built for the emperor to overlook the mountain scenery.

Back then, Xiao Jing’an had also brought him up to that observation tower.

On that day, the autumn wind was fierce and strong, blowing Xiao Jing’an’s tapestry dragon robe so that it snapped loudly in the wind and looked slightly disheveled, prompting him to order Pei Yan to tidy up his dragon robe for him.

At the same time, Xiao Jing’an had also spoken some words to him that he still found difficult to comprehend to this day.

Beside him, upon hearing Pei Yan’s words, Pei Yanning hurriedly turned his gaze to examine his surroundings closely.

Immediately afterward, his face turned pale, and he said with a hint of panic, “This really is the North Mountain. We must leave here as quickly as possible.”

The North Mountain was a hunting ground, stocked exclusively with large beasts—especially wolves, which were highly aggressive carnivorous wild animals and extremely dangerous.

Although the East Mountain and the North Mountain were closely linked, their boundaries were demarcated by wire netting, making it difficult for wolf packs to cross over and preventing casual visitors from entering.

Even if the two of them could not see the path clearly due to the darkness, once they reached the boundary line, they naturally would have been blocked by that wire netting.

Yet, why had that wire netting vanished tonight?

In truth, the wire netting had not vanished; rather, a gap had been torn into it.

When Xiao Jing’an’s subordinates among the Jinyiwei were locked in fierce combat with the assassins, they had torn open that section of the wire netting and had not yet had time to repair it.

As luck would have it, the two of them had walked right in through that very gap.

At night, wild beasts could appear at any given moment.

Holding the lantern in one hand, Pei Yan firmly grasped Pei Yanning’s hand with the other, turning back and hastily retracing their steps.

In the night sky draped by heavy, gloomy clouds, the shrill cries of eagles echoed faintly.

At this moment, the two of them felt as though they were no longer standing within the mountains, but rather directly beneath the bared fangs of ferocious beasts.

“Ouch…”

A pained moan suddenly escaped Pei Yanning’s lips.

Pei Yan abruptly halted in his tracks, turned his head, and asked gently, “What’s wrong, Little Dad?”

Pei Yanning’s face was deathly pale, revealing an expression of intense pain.

“I’ve sprained my ankle.”

The mountain paths were rugged and uneven, and they had been walking in a rush; mishaps were simply inevitable.

Pei Yan hurriedly squatted down and pulled back Pei Yanning’s trouser leg to take a look.

His brows instantly knitted tightly together.

“It’s swollen this badly; it looks like you won’t be able to walk.”

Pei Yanning closed his phoenix eyes. “I am so useless. You should go.”

At this juncture, tears welled up in Pei Yanning’s eyes. “I beg of you to convey a message back to Mother…”

“I will not abandon my Little Dad.”

As he spoke, Pei Yan presented his back to Pei Yanning.

“Little Dad, hurry up and get on; it’s far too dangerous here.”

Fearing that Pei Yanning would refuse him, he added with rock-solid firmness in his tone, “If you do not allow me to carry you, I will stay right here with you and absolutely refuse to leave alone.”

At this moment, Pei Yanning’s expression was grave to the extreme, complex and unreadable.

Yet at such a critical moment, he could not afford to waste time on other matters.

He bit his lower lip hard and climbed onto Pei Yan’s back.

Wasting not a single second, Pei Yan hoisted Pei Yanning on his back and pressed forward.

Along a mountain trail a short distance away from them, Xiao Jing’an listened as the Jinyiwei tracking the two men reported back.

“General Pei’s son has sprained his ankle, and that young man in white is carrying him with rather intimate gestures. At a single glance, anyone can tell their relationship is unusual.”

Xiao Jing’an’s tone was indifferent. “What did they say to each other?”

“To guard against being discovered by the two of them, your subordinate maintained a certain distance while monitoring them, so I couldn’t clearly hear the content of their conversation.”

Having said that, he produced a jade pendant and presented it to Xiao Jing’an with both hands.

“This is what the hunting hounds my subordinate brought along sniffed out and tracked, picked up along the path the two of them traversed. It must have been dropped by one of them.”

Xiao Jing’an took the jade pendant with a expressionless face.

Beside him, fearing that he might not see clearly, Lang Zhen brought the lantern in his hand closer to illuminate the object for him. As he looked down, his pupils suddenly constricted in shock, and he exclaimed, “The pattern on this jade pendant is actually a four-clawed python!”

A jade pendant bearing a pattern of this sort was exclusively worn by members of the imperial family.