Tao Sheng couldn’t watch anymore: “Cousin, please stop teasing him.”

The Prince of Chu had a weak heart, and if he got scared, it would be troublesome.

King Huan pushed his nephew aside with disdain: “I’m just using this as an excuse to help you get into trouble. Nothing will really happen to you. Why panic?”

Tao Sheng laughed.

After arriving in Ling State, she had been thinking about something: both the King of Chu and the King of Huan seemed careless, but it was unclear who was smarter.

Now, after comparing them, she had the answer.

Old ginger is still spicy.

It turns out that King Huan wasn’t ten years older than King Chu for nothing.

Originally, after hearing Ji Yanming’s words, the King of Chu was prepared to sacrifice himself. He thought he’d have to be attacked like King Rui and lie in bed for several days.

Later, after hearing Ji Yanming’s plan, he realized that they just wanted to use his “accident” as an excuse to enter the city in the name of a funeral. It wasn’t him who was sacrificed, just the “act” of him being alive.

The King of Chu immediately said he didn’t have many concerns, as long as he stayed safe.

This plan wasn’t hard to carry out. The King of Chu called Fu An and other trusted generals to discuss, and the plan was completed before dark.

Ji Yanming’s plan was almost flawless. Seeing victory in sight, King Huan’s mood lifted. He ordered a big fire tonight and a bonfire barbecue in the camp. After eating and drinking, they would continue the battle tomorrow.

Tao Sheng felt a little tired and wanted to go back and rest, so she left early.

King Huan also knew it wasn’t easy for a young girl like her to follow him these days, so he told her to rest well and they could meet another time.

Tao Sheng had just taken a few steps when Ji Yanming caught up with her.

Tao Sheng was a little surprised: “Cousin, is there anything else?”

“Nothing, I just want to go out for a walk with you.”

Although they see each other every day and spend time together, they haven’t had a simple conversation in a long time.

Tao Sheng laughed: “Why do you have such free time today?”

“Everything has been arranged almost completely,” Ji Yanming said. “In theory, with the bargaining chips we have now, we could find a way to open the city gates and storm it, but the emperor still has some concerns and wants the crown prince to act first.”

Tao Sheng nodded gently, showing understanding: “After all, they’ve been father and son for many years.”

It’s natural to have doubts.

Ji Yanming agreed: “Indeed.”

With his military strength ready, the emperor wasn’t in a hurry anymore. He wanted to see how far his son could go.

Tao Sheng thought about the rules of tomb raiding.

If a father and son enter a tomb together to rob, the rule says the father should come out first. Almost every father who gets out safely will want to pull his son out, but some sons can ignore their fathers and take all the treasures for themselves.

Though a son has only one father, a father may have many sons.

But fathers are more tolerant of their sons than sons are of their fathers.

This has always been true, both in the past and now.

“There’s one more thing,” Ji Yanming said. “I’ve already arranged with Lord Yu in Zhili to help you leave in advance. If something really happens in the future, he’ll also help you reach a safe place.”

Fortunately, they had left some people in Ling Kingdom. Lord Li liked Tao Sheng and had always wanted to recruit her. If anything happened, Ling Kingdom would indeed be a good option for Tao Sheng.

“You want me to go to Zhili?” Tao Sheng was a bit surprised. “When His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu talked to me alone just now, he didn’t mention this.”

Was it a last-minute decision?

Ji Yanming replied: “I discussed it with Lord Yu alone and haven’t told His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu about it yet.”

Tao Sheng paused.

Ji Yanming added: “It’s not that I don’t trust His Royal Highness the King of Chu, but for things like this, the fewer people who know, the better.”

The more people who know, the higher the risk.

Even though they had a 90% chance of winning, Ji Yanming didn’t want Tao Sheng to follow them into battle.

If anything went wrong, the King of Chu would likely become a key figure that the Prince and his team would focus on, so there’s no need to inform him about these plans.

Tao Sheng remembered that in the original story, Ji Yanming was mostly described from the perspective of Shen Ruojin or Guan Muyun, and he had few positive traits. He was portrayed as someone who didn’t care about others outside of his career.

But now it seemed that wasn’t entirely true.

Ji Yanming’s care and concern for her definitely went beyond the limits of family.

Perhaps he truly thought of her as his own sister.

Sharing good and bad times isn’t common these days.

If she stayed, they’d have to protect her, so it was better for her to go to a safe place.

Tao Sheng agreed with a smile: “Thank you, cousin, for thinking ahead. I’ll leave right away.”

To show her cooperation, Tao Sheng turned around to go back to pack her luggage, but Ji Yanming stopped her and said, “Wait a minute.”

The sky was gradually darkening, and a faint light appeared in the distance—it seemed to be a bonfire lit by King Huan.

Ji Yanming had become more stable after spending the past few years in politics, but his features still held the clean, youthful appearance of a young man.

He stood before her, backlit by the moonlight, leaning down, getting closer.

Tao Sheng couldn’t help but close her eyes for a moment, then she felt Ji Yanming placing something around her neck, hanging straight down to her chest.

Tao Sheng looked down and saw an amulet of a design she hadn’t seen before.

In the original text, Ji Yanming was portrayed as someone nearly materialistic. His paranoid and cruel nature led him to consider only the consequences of his actions, without thinking about cause and effect. He didn’t believe in reincarnation or retribution and wasn’t involved in superstitions like praying to gods or Buddhas.

Tao Sheng looked at the amulet and remembered the visit to Yue Lao Temple. She sensed something odd about Ji Yanming’s character.

The boy, whose personality might have been crumbling, still had no idea what Tao Sheng was thinking.

“When I visited Lord Yu in Zhili, I heard him say the Taoist temple was very powerful locally, so I specifically asked for it,” Ji Yanming said.

Tao Sheng was a bit surprised: “You were able to ask for a talisman despite your busy schedule?”

As expected, he was the one who would eventually become Prime Minister in the original text—truly a master of time management!

“I was indeed a bit anxious that day,” Ji Yanming admitted. “The mountain gate was about to close, and Lord Yu had a lot of influence locally, so he asked the Taoist priest to open the door.”

Tao Sheng was puzzled: “Isn’t it a bit disrespectful to ask the Taoist priest to open the door and welcome guests at night?”

So, was this amulet useless?

Ji Yanming thoughtfully recalled what had happened that night.

Lord Yu and Tao Sheng had similar thoughts and asked the same question.

After Taoist Priest Li opened the door, he seemed very happy to see them. He said they had come at just the right time, as it was the moment to prepare “offering lamps” for the temple. Under the Taoist Priest’s persuasion, Ji Yanming also offered star lamps worth five years’ salary.

He remembered Tao Sheng saying the bracelet was too expensive, and he worried she might think he was wasteful, so he chose not to bring it up.

“Ah Sheng, I’m very sincere.”

When it comes to you, I always mean it from the heart.