Dongfang Mengling's complexion flickered. Her hand still clung to his wrist, but the strength in it was gradually waning.
She stared fixedly at him. Her once lively eyes were now so deep that one couldn't see to the bottom.
Under her intense gaze, Kong Ze's heart skipped a beat, filled with an indescribable uneasiness.
"Princess, this humble official—" Kong Ze was about to say something when Dongfang Mengling interrupted him.
"The national master is truly busy. Hehe, and just happens to have something to do at this moment..." Dongfang Mengling's latter words sounded half - laughing, with a hint of veiled mockery.
Suddenly, she let go of his hand, the movement swift and decisive. "If the national master doesn't want to talk to this princess, he can just say so. There's no need to make up these excuses. This princess has some self - awareness. From now on, I won't bother the national master anymore."
With these cold words, Dongfang Mengling got up to leave.
Kong Ze's heart suddenly skipped a beat, filled with an indescribable panic. "Princess—" He thought she must have misunderstood him. He got up to explain, but she showed no sign of stopping. Her back was so resolute, and her steps were hasty, as if she was trying to escape something.
Kong Ze finally swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. Even if he managed to stop her, what could he say? He wasn't the real Kong Ze and shouldn't give the Fifth Princess any hope.
Considering the situation of Feng Yunshu and Xiaoling, Kong Ze decided to put this matter aside for the time being. His mission here was to help his junior sister deal with Zhu Shan. Now that there was news of Zhu Shan, he naturally couldn't sit back and do nothing.
With this in mind, Kong Ze summoned the head steward of the mansion to arrange the affairs inside. "If anyone comes to the mansion to look for this national master, just say that this national master has caught a cold and is unwell, unable to receive guests. Don't let anyone into the mansion."
After giving his instructions, Kong Ze returned to his room. First, he used his spiritual power to set up a barrier around the house. Then, he formed seals with both hands to open a portal and instantly teleported to the Yuan Kingdom's military camp where Feng Yunshu was.
To prevent his identity from being exposed, Kong Ze transformed himself into an ordinary - looking stranger and changed into a soldier's uniform before walking into the camp.
When Kong Ze found the tent where Feng Yunshu was, she was lying lazily on the couch. There was a plate of fresh and juicy purple grapes on the low table beside her.
Zi Yuan picked up a grape on one side, peeled off half of its skin, and then handed it to Feng Yunshu. Feng Yunshu bit into the grape flesh with her snow - white teeth. The sweet and sour grape juice burst in her mouth, making her feel refreshed.
It was extremely difficult to get fresh grapes in this place. Feng Yunshu didn't expect that after she casually mentioned to Helan Yanting that she was craving fresh grapes, he actually managed to get some.
"Junior sister."
Hearing this familiar voice, Feng Yunshu was startled. The grape flesh she hadn't had time to bite into rolled into her throat, choking her so that she couldn't make a sound for a moment. Her face turned red.
Seeing this, Zi Yuan quickly reached out to pat her on the back. "Miss, eat slowly... Why did you suddenly choke..."
Finally, with the help of Kong Ze's spiritual power, the grape successfully went down her throat. Feng Yunshu patted her chest to catch her breath.
"I'm fine. Go down."
After saying that, Feng Yunshu quickly got out of bed and put on her shoes.
"Miss, where are you going again?" Zi Yuan was worried when she saw her getting out of bed. "Just now, the prince repeatedly told Miss to recuperate from her injuries properly..."
"I'm not going out. I'll just stay here."
Feng Yunshu walked to the entrance of the tent. Seeing a strange - faced soldier standing not far away, she immediately used her spiritual power to send a message. "Third senior brother, is that you?"
Kong Ze immediately looked up at her and winked to signal. Feng Yunshu was a bit excited and immediately called him in.
"Third senior brother, you're finally here!"
Kong Ze looked up and sized up Feng Yunshu. Seeing that her complexion was a bit pale and her figure was a bit thinner, he couldn't help but frown. "Junior sister, you haven't found the prince since you came here, have you? Judging from your appearance, you've suffered a lot. What exactly happened?"
Feng Yunshu quickly shook her head. "Third senior brother, you've misunderstood. I've already found the prince, and he recognized me. I was just injured by the enemy's sneak attack not long ago. But don't worry, third senior brother. I'm almost fully recovered now."
"You asked Xiaoling to tell me that you might have encountered Zhu Shan here. Is this true?" Kong Ze was so eager to confirm this news that he didn't even have time to take a sip of water.
After hearing this, Feng Yunshu's expression also became a bit more solemn. She then told him what had happened not long ago. "Third senior brother, the prince said that Chang Ying wasn't Zhu Shan, but I couldn't tell for a while. However, that Chang Ying really saved Big Brother Qing Zhu. This also makes me a bit unsure."
"Did you use the demon - detecting mirror to check him?"
Feng Yunshu was stunned for a moment and then shook her head. "I really didn't... The situation was urgent at that time. I was worried that Chang Ying would hurt someone, so I only thought about how to deal with him."
Speaking of this, Feng Yunshu was a bit confused. "By the way, third senior brother, if he is really Zhu Shan, the demon - detecting mirror may not be effective."
"Why do you say so?"
"The demon - detecting mirror is a magic weapon made by immortals. It can detect demons only because it is endowed with special spiritual power. Otherwise, it's just an ordinary mirror. But if the opponent's ability far exceeds that of this mirror, the demon - detecting mirror will most likely fail."
"That's true..." Kong Ze slowly nodded, his expression becoming more and more solemn. "Where is Chang Ying? Let me go and take a look to find out."
Feng Yunshu nodded. "I'll take you to have a look later, but let's not tip him off for the time being."
Kong Ze nodded. "Don't worry. I won't."
"By the way, third senior brother, I have another thing to ask you."
"What is it? Just say it."
"Do you know what I was injured by?"
Kong Ze shook his head, looking puzzled.
"The immortal - binding rope."
When he heard this answer, Kong Ze showed the surprise that Feng Yunshu had expected. "Are you sure it was the immortal - binding rope? Who used this thing to hurt you?"
Feng Yunshu nodded. "It was indeed the immortal - binding rope. This is also what puzzles me. It was the Duke of Ding of the Dan Kingdom who took out the immortal - binding rope. But he's just an ordinary mortal. How did he know that the rope could deal with me? And I've been assassinated several times before. The prince's informant investigated and said that the mastermind behind these things might be Concubine Mu."
"Concubine Mu?" Kong Ze's heart skipped a beat.
Feng Yunshu nodded. Seeing that Kong Ze's expression was a bit strange, she asked, "Third senior brother, have you also noticed something strange about Concubine Mu?"
Kong Ze slowly nodded. "Junior sister, during the time you've been away from the Dan Kingdom, there have been many things happening in the Dan Kingdom's palace. The emperor suddenly fell seriously ill and may not have much time left. The Fifth Princess mentioned to me not long ago that Concubine Mu wouldn't let anyone go in to visit the emperor."
After hearing what Kong Ze said, the messy clues in Feng Yunshu's mind seemed to be suddenly strung together by a rope.
"It's her! This matter is most likely related to her! And there's also the matter of the Crown Prince Dongfang Qi. He was originally doomed to die after being plotted against by the Third Prince on the battlefield, but then he was suddenly taken back to the imperial city of the Dan Kingdom. Do you know about this, third senior brother?"
"I've heard about the matter of the Crown Prince. After the Crown Prince was sent back, the queen summoned me to divine his fortune."
"And the result?"
"This matter is truly strange. According to my divination, the Crown Prince's lifespan was up and he was doomed to die. But you know I couldn't say that in front of the queen. I just said that the Crown Prince was fated to have this disaster, and whether he could survive it depended on his destiny."
"But strangely enough, not long after that, I heard that a high - ranking expert was invited to the palace to bring the Crown Prince back to life. And not long after that, I really saw the Crown Prince acting normally, without any difference."
After hearing this, Feng Yunshu instinctively felt a chill down her spine. "According to what you said, third senior brother, the current Crown Prince Dongfang Qi is most likely not... alive anymore. Or rather, he's no longer that Dongfang Qi."
Kong Ze frowned and nodded gravely. "Yes, I really couldn't feel the breath of a living person on that Crown Prince. He seemed more like a puppet. At that time, I tried to use my spiritual power to detect the secret on this person, but unexpectedly, I was blocked by a special force and failed to detect the Crown Prince's secret."
"Good heavens, so many things have happened in the Dan Kingdom's palace..."
Feng Yunshu couldn't help but take a sharp breath. "That Concubine Mu is most likely coming for me. And there's also the matter of the Crown Prince coming back to life. There must be a big problem in the Dan Kingdom's royal family. I wonder if the prince knows about these things..."