“The day after tomorrow is the Yuexu Country’s tribute. If the regent is absent, the Empress Dowager will have to make the decision.”

The Empress Dowager was ambitious and had been vying for power with the prince. The ruler of the Yuexu Country was also not to be underestimated. If these two joined forces and conspired against Da Chu and the regent, it could lead to unfavorable outcomes…

Qian Shicheng’s brow furrowed deeper. “Are you sure?”

Zhou Qi’s expression was grim. “I wouldn’t joke about something this serious.”

He looked like a weak scholar, a far cry from Qian Shicheng, the military general. The two could barely exchange three sentences without arguing, but given the gravity of the situation, Zhou Qi patiently explained, “The master complained of a headache early this morning. He’s always been able to endure, so if he says something, it must be at the limit of human endurance… The master left the palace at the same time as you, and then his guards lost track of him. There’s been no news since.”

“When you searched the city today, did you find anything?”

Qian Shicheng lowered his head. “I’m incompetent.”

“The Imperial Dragon Guards may not recognize His Majesty, but they definitely recognize the master. Did they not notice anything?”

“No.”

Zhou Qi continued, “The master always plans everything meticulously and wouldn’t disappear for no reason. So, there are two possibilities: one, something happened to the master.”

Thinking of Zhou Qi’s suggestion, Qian Shicheng couldn’t help but consider the worst-case scenario—the regent had been poisoned and harmed.

“Two, the master went outside the city to find His Majesty.”

“Yes, yes, that’s possible!” Qian Shicheng exclaimed.

Zhou Qi looked at him disdainfully. “If both the regent and His Majesty are missing, it won’t be hidden from anyone, especially not the Empress Dowager. We need to prepare for the worst. If the Empress Dowager is involved, we’ll be at a disadvantage. I’ll keep an eye on the Empress Dowager’s movements, and you need to send people to search outside the city immediately!”

“Understood.”

…

Chu Zhaoyou was abruptly awakened from his sleep and felt something warm and fluffy placed in his hand. He jolted, almost jumping up on the spot.

“What is this… a chicken!?”

“Yes,” the man in black, or rather, Xiao Heng, nodded.

Chu Zhaoyou had mentioned wanting a chicken, so he caught one as it passed by the dilapidated temple.

Carefully avoiding the flapping chicken, Chu Zhaoyou asked, “Can you roast it?”

Xiao Heng thought for a moment, then hesitantly shook his head.

“Neither can I.” It wasn’t appropriate to slaughter and pluck the chicken at this late hour. Chu Zhaoyou tore a piece of gauze and had Xiao Heng tie the chicken’s feet. “We’ll exchange it for some food in the morning.”

He leaned against Xiao Heng, feeling like he was a human wish-fulfilling bottle, capable of granting anything.

Chu Zhaoyou suddenly realized he didn’t know Xiao Heng’s name. “What’s your name?”

“Xiao—” Xiao Heng’s head suddenly throbbed, and the name that had just faintly surfaced in his mind turned into a haze, clouding his vision and making his eyes go dark.

“Xiao what?” Chu Zhaoyou watched Xiao Heng’s mouth and thought it sounded like the “h” sound. It was either Xiao Hei (Little Black) or Xiao Huang (Little Yellow).

Indeed, he was a dead soldier. Chu Zhaoyou felt sympathetic.

He didn’t even have a proper name, only a code name.

“Xiao Hei or Xiao Huang?”

Xiao Heng fell silent for a moment. “Xiao Hei.”

“Your name matches your clothes,” Chu Zhaoyou praised enthusiastically, then curled up next to him and fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, the headache struck again, causing intense pain and clouding Xiao Heng’s judgment. He punched the pillar, attempting to distract himself from the pain.

Chu Zhaoyou turned over and murmured softly.

The punch stopped just an inch from the wall, and Xiao Heng switched to pinching his own thigh, his face filled with restraint, not making a sound.

“What’s wrong?”

Chu Zhaoyou woke up with a sense of foreboding, as if he had never fallen asleep, and diligently massaged Xiao Heng’s temples, singing “Mother is the Best in the World” for the rest of the night.

Xiao Heng held him tightly, and the two slept like that for the rest of the night. Chu Zhaoyou had three nightmares of being bound with iron chains and taken back by the regent.

The next day, the two continued their journey.

To be honest, Chu Zhaoyou didn’t know where to go, and Xiao Heng was even more clueless. They wandered aimlessly, like fools, following the road.

“You take this chicken and exchange it for some cooked food at the first house at the village entrance,” Chu Zhaoyou originally intended to go himself, but the location was too close to the capital, so it was better for him not to show his face.

Afraid that Xiao Heng wouldn’t know what to say, Chu Zhaoyou coached him word by word, “I’m your wife now, understand? You go knock on the door. If you see a man… a man like me… “

Chu Zhaoyou stumbled over his words and decided to change his approach, “If you see a man like you, call him ‘big brother.’ If you see someone like me, um, a woman, call her ‘big sister-in-law.’ Tell them you’re taking your wife to seek medical treatment, but you don’t have enough money. You caught a wild chicken in the mountains last night and ask if they can exchange it for some food for the journey.”

After making Xiao Heng repeat it several times, Chu Zhaoyou felt it was fine and hid behind a tree. “Alright, off you go.”

Xiao Heng returned quickly, holding only two steamed buns.

“Only these two?” Chu Zhaoyou couldn’t believe it. Three pounds of meat exchanged for only fifty grams of flour?

Xiao Heng replied solemnly, “Big sister-in-law said they are vegetarians and don’t accept mountain chickens. But seeing that my wife is ill, she agreed to give us two steamed buns.”

“What about the chicken?”

“Big sister-in-law kept it and said she would release it. She said it’s a good deed to release animals, and by releasing a chicken today, it will bring blessings. Next year, my wife will give birth to a healthy baby boy.”

“Do you believe her nonsense? Do you even have a wife?”

Xiao Heng frowned, unable to reconcile the contradiction. What was a wife? He had just mentioned having one.

Chu Zhaoyou’s face turned red with anger. He wondered if he was hallucinating, but Xiao Heng seemed even more foolish than yesterday. He must have given himself away as a fool the moment he spoke. People were just pretending to be fools!

Even the emperor’s chicken was cheated! Was there no justice left?