Chapter Fifty-Four: Xie Zhao Sends Her a Lantern

Today, Shen Zhining specially disguised herself as an ordinary commoner before leaving the estate. Yuzhu wore a plain cloth skirt and a simple wooden hairpin, while Shen Zhining dressed in men's attire.

The Marquis of Zhenbei's estate was heavily guarded and located right at the foot of the imperial city.

Therefore, the first thing Shen Zhining did after leaving the mansion was to hire someone to deliver the large chest of items to the Marquis's estate. As for herself, she took Yuzhu to Qianwei Restaurant for lunch, browsed some new storybooks at a roadside stall, and finally finished off her trip by purchasing a large bag of her favorite pastries.

However...

Lin Xiao and Liu Xu withdrew, closing the door behind them. The rooms here had been specially arranged long ago, and those permitted to enter could be counted on both hands.

The morning mist hung hazy as a gentle breeze swept across endless floating clouds, rolling in billows like a vast sea. The sunlight revealed an amber halo, gradually fading with the morning fog to dye the clouds in brilliant hues, edging the distant dark green mountains with gold.

Yanjun's words truly gave Peony a profound scare. For a full half-moment, she could not snap out of her lingering fear.

As soon as those words left her lips, Yunxian felt the officials' gazes fix squarely upon her, sharp and hungry like wolves starved for days. Communicating mentally with Muyu, Yunxian stepped out into the garden beyond the hall, where the crowd of people poured out closely behind her. There, she planted a peach pit in the soil.

Mo Xian gripped his Azure Edge Sword, coldly uttering a rare word of praise. Yet the fighting spirit in his eyes did not wane in the slightest due to the enemy's strength; instead, it burned even brighter than before.

The vast night sky was veiled by a faint haze, and the anxiety that had subsided for years began once again to linger in every corner of the vast Southern Territory.

The atmosphere of reunion among the group gradually grew heavy. Yan Ning furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

With the shout of Jian Liekong tearing the air, the long sword hovering above his head immediately began to tremble. It struggled violently, like a horned dragon bound by millions of ropes, while streams of pure sword-qi flowed endlessly from Jian Liekong into the blade, and his very vital life force gushed out like the waters of a breached dam.

"Tsk, what kind of talk is that? We're brothers!" Fat Du patted his chest and said.

The yellow draft paper was actually a map. Unlike the sheepskin map below, the one outlined on this draft paper depicted only the terrain in the immediate vicinity of Fangcun Peak, and it was far more detailed.

Xiao Yuanzhou had no intention of dwelling on the fleeting vernal scenery. Seeing that Mo Shiqi had almost finished her meal, he finally picked up his cup of wine.

"One dares to snatch a person right out of my hands, and the other dares to mobilize troops under the false pretext of my name—they are becoming increasingly lawless!" Chen Xiang paced back and forth in anxiety.

Without further hesitation, the three of them walked straight to the edge ahead and jumped down together.

His lips felt slightly numb, causing him to alternately loosen and tighten his embrace around Li Jie, a final trace of struggle lingering in the depths of his eyes.

Under the dim light of the flint, the already gloomy and terrifying courtyard within the pitch-black surroundings felt inexplicably like a place for summoning spirits, causing Mo Shiqi to shiver involuntarily.

As for his sixth imperial brother, he chose not to withdraw the guards outside until their father could no longer speak, calling it a "last resort." Who could know what schemes he was plotting behind the scenes?

Ignoring the pain, Tang Qi knew nothing could be more agonizing than this. He clenched his teeth and ruthlessly carved a cross-shaped incision, about an inch long, into the wound on his left hand.

Standing beside him, Liu Ye smoothed out the wrinkles on Tang Qi's attire while praising how clothes make the man, flattering Tang Qi until he felt rather pleased with himself.

Song Ming was the first chosen to give the presentation, because Jiang Yuli believed that only Song Ming had previously worked in a manufacturing plant—even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had at least seen a pig run. However, the final result left Jiang Yuli frowning deeply; Song Ming stammered throughout his presentation and spoke vaguely about the advantages of the cooperative products.

London boasted the highest average wages in the capitalist world, exceeding Vienna by one-third to one-half, and this was even after Austria enacted labor protection laws.