Chapter 251 Crisis
Everyone worked together to carry the saint back to his bedroom. After diagnosis by several respected old doctors from the Imperial Hospital, they concluded that the saint was poisoned.

The assassin's arrow was highly poisonous, and fortunately the saint only suffered a minor skin scratch, otherwise his life would be in danger.

After being treated by the imperial physician, the saint slowly regained consciousness. He waved his hand and asked everyone to leave, leaving only Concubine Jing behind.

"Your Majesty, you were in danger this time." Concubine Jing's face turned pale and she choked up as she said, "You scared me."

Zhao Che leaned against the head of the bed and said fiercely, "I didn't expect Lu Ji to take the initiative. But it's good. After finding out the truth, I can destroy the Lu family openly this time."

"Go and call Xu Ling." The saint ordered Concubine Jing.

Concubine Jing took the order and left. After a while, a middle-aged man followed Concubine Jing into the emperor's bedroom.

The man was tall and thin, dressed in black, with a long scar across his pale face.

"Your Majesty..." When he saw Zhao Che, he knelt on one knee, and the voice he made was strange and cold.

This man has followed Zhao Che for many years and is his most capable secret guard. He is the sharpest and most vicious knife in the emperor's hand.

"I have a mission for you." Zhao Che said, "Keep an eye on Lu Ji."

The man took the order, and Zhao Che gave him detailed instructions: "The assassination attempt by the Lu family failed today, Lu Ji must have made some preparations. I am not afraid of others, but I am afraid that this Lu Ji has great skills and will not surrender so easily. You keep an eye on him, and when necessary."

Zhao Che paused, then made a ruthless killing gesture.

After the man took his orders and left, Zhao Che said to Concubine Jing, "Once the assassin is interrogated, there will be a bloody storm in the palace. I will immediately order someone to secretly escort you out of the palace."

"I won't leave." Concubine Jing knelt in front of Zhao Che, looked up at him and said, "Whenever there is danger, the first thing you think of is to protect me tightly. This time, I want to stay by your side. As I said before, we live together and die together."

In the beginning, he was the least favored bastard, and he climbed to the supreme position step by step by step on the corpses of his brothers. There were countless dangers along the way. He had always been decisive in killing and had never been afraid of life or death. However, this woman who had always been by his side was his weak spot. Whenever he encountered danger, the first thing he thought of was her safety.

"It's not that difficult." Zhao Che saw the woman crying, so he hugged her and comforted her, "Today is different from the past. I already control the world. How can I fall into the hands of a young man who has just started out?"

"Don't worry, it's okay."

The emperor treated his beloved woman just like any other man. He comforted her gently, "I am only doing this to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Concubine Jing put her arms around the emperor's neck and said, "I just want to be with you."

Zhao Che patted her hands and said, "Lu Ji is quite capable. He has planted many spies in this palace. At this critical moment, you should go out and hide. I have my own way to eradicate these villains."

"What about Concubine Shu?" Concubine Jing frowned and asked hesitantly, "She is an honest person. She has never done anything against the law in all these years."

"And the King of Qi?"

The woman frowned and asked, "If you eliminate the Lu family, how do you plan to deal with Concubine Shu and Prince Qi?"

Zhao Che fell silent after hearing this. After a long pause, he said slowly, "There is no one in this world who is truly content. Living in a royal family, in this vortex of power, who doesn't have desires? Once you have desires, you will fight to the death."

He paused and said, "Shufei, after the Lu family is destroyed, you should be executed."

"Otherwise, I can't be at ease." The emperor fell into deep thought while speaking. After a long while, he continued, "The Lu family is a big family with deep roots. Even if the Lu family is destroyed, there are still Lu family disciples all over the world. Although the Lu family has fallen, there is no guarantee that these people will not have other intentions. If the King of Qi is left behind..."

"I'm afraid there will be chaos in the future."

After all, he is his own biological son. When Zhao Che mentioned this, a trace of reluctance appeared on his face, but it was only fleeting.

He looked at Concubine Jing and said sincerely, "For the sake of peace in the future, I must be ruthless."

In the Ningguo Mansion.

When Lu Ji finished his work on government affairs, the full moon had already risen. He did not take a rest, but picked up the pile of household registration books as thick as bricks from the desk and began to read them carefully, page by page.

The little thing has always been cunning. If she leaves me, she will definitely find ways to live a carefree life.

No matter where she settles, she must register her household registration.

According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, people without household registration cannot leave the city at will or buy houses at will. In short, there will be many inconveniences.

Over the past month, Lu Ji has searched all the cities where he had taken her on a southern tour, but there is no news of Qin Xiaoning.

Compared to searching everywhere like looking for a needle in a haystack, starting with the newly registered residents in various places is a shortcut.

Seeing that the prince was holding up the thick household registration form again, Zhu Feng stepped forward and picked up the wick: "Prince, the people in the Ministry of Household Affairs have already screened all the Qin people who have settled in various places recently. Don't waste your energy on this. It's so late now, you should go to bed early."

Seeing that the prince ignored him, Zhu Feng couldn't help but try to talk more: "Prince, you haven't had a full night's sleep since Miss Qin left. You must be exhausted."

Lu Ji finally raised his head from the thick household registration form. The man's eyes were bloodshot and he looked tired and sad.

"Zhu Feng, do you think I didn't care enough about her in the past?"

After a month of negotiations, the man has calmed down from his final anger and started to reflect on himself.

"I often discipline her. Sometimes when she makes a small mistake, I often scold her and threaten her with violence. She is still young, so she might be afraid of me."

Are you still young?
If compared, I am three or four years younger than Miss Qin.

As orphans without parents, who hasn’t suffered injustice?

He worked in the study and was often scolded by the prince, so how come he never thought of running away?

In Zhu Feng's eyes, Qin Xiaoning's behavior was purely a bad habit developed by the young master.

He is just an ungrateful person.

"This is my fault." The always arrogant prince showed his weak and helpless side: "She is still young, I should be more patient with her."

Seeing that the prince kept criticizing himself, Zhu Feng finally held back and said, "The prince has been good enough to Miss Qin. Every concubine is well behaved and obedient, but Miss Qin lives like a proper mistress. The prince provides her with fine clothes and delicious food, and treats her like the apple of his eye. Everyone in Qingsong Garden says that the prince dotes on Miss Qin."

"Then why did she leave me?" The man frowned, looking dejected, and spoke in a helpless and sad tone.