The mistress is reborn, no one who bullies me can escape

It has to be said that this sentence was like a key, accurately opening the tightly closed door deep in Ling Yan's heart and piercing straight into his heart.

Ling Yan couldn't help but feel an indescribable wave of emotion in his heart.

He cared deeply about Xue Jinhua. This care was not superficial, but was rooted in his heart and integrated into his blood.

Because of this deep affection, everything that happened to Xue Jinhua in southern Xinjiang had to be handled with great care and must not be exposed to the public and become a topic of conversation after dinner.

Zhang Junan, who was standing by, understood what he meant, but his worry was still evident. "So what should we do now?"

Faced with this tricky situation, even he, who was always resourceful, couldn't think of a perfect solution for a while.

Ling Yan frowned, and after a moment of silence, he slowly turned his gaze to Run Nanji who was standing on the side, and asked, "My dear Run, in your opinion, how should this matter be handled properly?"

Runanji thought for a moment, then bowed and replied, "I just sent someone to inquire and learned that the city lord of Southern Xinjiang came to Lingnan just to seek a rare medicinal herb."

"Oh? I wonder what kind of medicinal herb could attract the city lord to come in person?" Ling Yan asked.

"Your Majesty, it is Danggui." Runanji replied in a calm tone.

Hearing the word "Danggui", Ling Yan's face changed slightly and his heart shook involuntarily.

He murmured to himself: "Danggui...Danggui..."

These two words seemed to contain some deep meaning, causing his thoughts to drift far away in an instant.

Then, he suddenly raised his head, stared at Runanji with sharp eyes, and asked: "What do you mean by this? Could it be that this Angelica is the news passed on by the Queen?"

Runanji bowed his hands and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I really don't know the details, but I think we can take advantage of this opportunity. I have ordered the merchants in Nanling not to sell this key herb, and when we go to Southern Xinjiang, we will pretend that we know nothing about it, but we must bring this herb with us."

He paused, then analyzed, "As far as I know, the city lord of Southern Xinjiang is in urgent need of this medicinal ingredient. In this case, they will definitely allow us to enter the city. After entering the city, we can act according to the circumstances and find a chance to break the deadlock."

After Runanji finished speaking, the whole room suddenly became silent, as if time had stopped at that moment.

The atmosphere seemed particularly depressing.

After a long time, Zhang Junan finally broke the silence and said worriedly: "But isn't it too risky to do this? The emperor is worth a million gold. If he encounters an accident on the way to southern Xinjiang, or suffers any physical injury there, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Obviously, Zhang Junan had strong opposition to this plan.

Runanji frowned and said to the emperor again: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. As the saying goes, 'You can't get a tiger cub without risking it'. At present, this seems to be the best strategy to solve the problem. If we don't give it a try, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find a turning point. I hope Your Majesty will think twice."

When Zhang Junan heard this, an uncontrollable anger suddenly surged on his face. He widened his eyes, glared at Run Nanji, and shouted: "Sir Run, are you too impulsive? The emperor is worth a lot of money. If he encounters any accidents or changes during this journey, who can take on such a heavy responsibility?"

Facing Zhang Junan's questioning, Runanji's face became particularly serious. He stood up straight and responded without flinching, "Sir Zhang, if this method doesn't work as you said, then I would like to ask if you have any other more appropriate solutions?"

Zhang Junan was speechless for a moment. He couldn't help but frown and think secretly in his heart.

Indeed, he couldn't come up with any good and feasible ideas at the moment, but the plan proposed by Runanji was too risky and could lead to a disaster if he was not careful.

After a while, Zhang Junan slowly said, "Even if we haven't come up with a better solution yet, we still have time to think and try to find other ways to solve the problem, right? We may not really be at the end of our rope."

After hearing this, Runanji sneered and said, "Then Lord Zhang, why don't you tell me how long it will take to find the so-called 'better solution'? One day? Two days? Or a month? Or even two months? Lord Zhang, don't you know that the Queen is pregnant and about to give birth? If the Emperor is not by her side at this critical moment, what will be the consequences? Haven't you ever considered it?"

Zhang Junan frowned tightly, secretly groaning in his heart.

If this matter can finally achieve its goal successfully, perhaps everything will be fine.

However, if things fail, the consequences will be disastrous!

When he thought of this, Zhang Junan felt as if his heart was being tightly grasped by an invisible big hand, and he became extremely panicked.

For some reason, he always had a bad feeling that this would definitely not be a good thing.

At this moment, Ling Yan, who had been listening to the conversation between the two silently, finally couldn't help but speak.

His face was solemn, his lips trembling slightly as he said, "Okay, I think we should do this according to Lord Run's wishes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Junan's knees softened and he fell to the ground.

He raised his head, looked at the emperor earnestly, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, please think twice!"

In his opinion, the Queen Mother is indeed extremely noble and important, but compared with the entire country and the people, he really does not think that the Queen Mother can occupy a more important position.

Seeing this, Ling Yan's face darkened and he scolded rudely, "Of course I know what Master Zhang is thinking, but I have made up my mind. This matter is settled like this, no need to discuss it further!"

"As for me, if I unfortunately encounter any accident, I will personally issue an edict to declare that this matter has nothing to do with Master Zhang."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Junan's face turned pale as paper, with cold sweat on his forehead. He hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, I have no such intention! I am not the kind of person who is afraid of death. I really think that the overall situation should be given priority in the current situation!"

Ling Yan frowned slightly, stretched out his hand and gently rubbed his brows, and reminded him earnestly: "Master Zhang, for you, perhaps as long as I am safe and sound and nothing goes wrong, this beautiful land can be preserved and everything will be fine."

"But to me, the queen is my closest relative. If I can't even protect the woman I love, then what's the point of me sitting on the throne?"

These words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Zhang Junan's heart hard, making him stand there in a daze, unable to utter a word for a long time.

After a long while, he came back to his senses as if waking from a dream, fell to his knees with a plop, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I admit my guilt..."

At this time, Runanji, who had been standing aside in silence, hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I understand your intentions. Please let me handle this matter with full authority."

It is late spring now, and the scenery along the river is beautiful, with green trees and colorful flowers. The breeze brings bursts of fresh floral fragrance and melodious bird songs.

But when Ling Yan looked at the sparkling river and the picturesque scenery on the shore, his heart was filled with sorrow and he had no interest in appreciating it at all.

So he turned around without hesitation and left in a hurry.

When Ling Yan completely disappeared, Zhang Junan, who had been suppressing his emotions, finally could no longer suppress his inner anger and confusion.

He stared at Run Nanji with wide eyes, and asked loudly: "Master Run! Why did Grand Secretary Run send you here? Are you trying to murder the emperor? You clearly know that the southern border is extremely dangerous, but why did you instigate the emperor to take the risk?"

Facing Zhang Junan's questioning, Runanji remained calm, only sighed softly and said slowly: "Master Zhang, do you think that this matter can be stopped by your and my strength alone?"

Hearing this, Zhang Junan couldn't help but frown, with a look of surprise on his face.

Obviously, he knew very little about the inside story.

Seeing this, Runanji continued to explain, "When the emperor conferred the title, he had already issued an imperial decree to announce to the world that he would never appoint anyone else as his empress. If the empress cannot return, given the emperor's deep love for her, I'm afraid he would not want to live alone. Although going to southern Xinjiang is full of risks, it is currently the only possible way to find the empress and fulfill the emperor's wish. I think that as a minister, we should share the emperor's worries and do our best to satisfy the emperor's wish. This is the right way."

After hearing Runanji's words, Zhang Junan's originally tense expression gradually relaxed, and his heart seemed to begin to waver.

He was silent for a moment, and finally nodded, indicating that he agreed with Runanji's point of view.

Finally, Runanji patted Zhang Junan on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Master Zhang, things have come to this point, and there is no point in saying more. You and I just need to do our respective duties and take care of ourselves."

After saying that, he turned around and left the spot, leaving Zhang Junan standing there alone, lost in deep thought...

Zhang Junan pursed his lips tightly, and finally swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

There was a complex light flashing in his deep eyes, and he wondered in his heart: Is it a blessing or a curse to always follow this affectionate and righteous emperor?

This question was like a fog, always lingering in his mind, making it difficult for him to see the road ahead.

On the other side, Meng Jincheng came to Nanling with great expectations, thinking that as long as he successfully purchased the required medicinal materials, he could embark on his return journey.

However, reality dealt him a heavy blow.

When the men he sent out returned empty-handed again and again, bringing back the depressing words:

"Lord City Lord, it seems that all the angelica in Nanling has been sold out."

Meng Jincheng couldn't help but frown slightly, and an ominous premonition came to his mind.

"Are they really all sold out? Did you look carefully?" Meng Jincheng suppressed his inner anxiety and asked in a stern tone.

"Your Excellency the City Lord, we dare not be negligent in the slightest. We have not only run to all the pharmacies in the city, we have also asked the small vendors on the street one by one, but the answer we got without exception is that they are out of stock." The subordinate answered tremblingly.

Hearing this, Meng Jincheng's face became even gloomier.

If only one of the pharmacies was out of stock, it might be attributed to accidental factors; but now all stores have no angelica for sale, which obviously cannot be explained by coincidence.

There must be some unknown conspiracy or change behind this matter, and Meng Jincheng knows very well that it will take some effort and thought to solve this mystery.

Meng Jincheng frowned slightly, thinking to himself: Who knew he was here? How did the news leak out? Countless questions swirled in his mind, making him feel a little uneasy.

Seeing that the city lord remained silent for a long time, the servant beside him could not help but cautiously ask again: "Lord City Lord, do you think we should continue searching?"

Meng Jincheng turned his head to look at the sparkling riverside, pondered for a moment and said slowly: "There is no need to look for it anymore. Since the other party has already known about our arrival, they will not sell us what we need. Even if we insist on continuing to look for it, it will only be a waste of effort."

After hearing this, the servant nodded as if he understood, but he still had some doubts about the city lord's decision.

However, at this moment, a man suddenly rushed over from a distance and shouted loudly: "Lord City Lord, Lord Zhang wants to see you!"

When Meng Jincheng heard this, he suddenly understood.

So that's why. No wonder I couldn't find those seemingly ordinary medicinal herbs. I guess Lord Zhang must have known in advance that I was coming to buy medicinal herbs, and he did it on purpose.

In this case, if I want to get this batch of medicinal materials, I will inevitably have to meet with Lord Zhang.

Thinking of this, Meng Jincheng immediately got off the boat, stepped steadily onto the solid land on the shore, and walked in the direction indicated by the visitor...