AUBTN -Chapter 196 Entering the Palace

The other party didn’t show up, yet by using this method, they had directly laid everything out before him—before everyone.

They wanted to take Su Hewan away.

“Shennong Valley…” Lu Yan murmured the name under his breath, his brows tightly furrowed.

“I’ve heard of it before. It’s said to be a secluded medicinal valley, completely cut off from the outside world. The people there are all masters of the healing arts, indifferent to worldly affairs. But whether the legends are true or not is hard to say—and as for its exact location, no one knows.”

Yu Qing let out a light scoff. “That Madam Lin is seriously ridiculous. She tells us to go to Shennong Valley, but doesn’t even send us a location! Where are we supposed to find it?”

Shen Jue’s voice was as cold as ice. “They calculated everything. They knew that once Wanwan saw that jade pendant, she would definitely go. And they also knew that with the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, we would eventually uncover Shennong Valley’s location.”

“So they’ve investigated us thoroughly,” Lu Yan said, his gaze turning icy.

“Then we just won’t go!” Yu Qing immediately declared.

“Who cares about the truth? We’re living just fine as we are!”

Su Hewan lifted her head, her gaze clear and resolute. She looked at Yu Qing, then at Shen Jue and Lu Yan.

“No. I’m going.”

“Wanwan!”

“Qingqing, listen to me.” Su Hewan held her hand.

“This isn’t a question of going or not. This is a trap—and I’m the piece on the board. If I don’t go, the ones who set this up won’t stop. They’ll use every possible method to force me into submission. By then, it won’t just be me who gets dragged into this.”

Her gaze swept over Shen Jue, then Lu Yan, carrying both guilt and determination.

“I don’t want to keep living in the fog anymore. Have you forgotten? The fates of the four of us have long been intertwined.”

Seeing the determination in her eyes, the three of them found themselves unable to voice any further objections.

Shen Jue looked at her deeply. After a long moment, he slowly nodded.

“Alright.”

He spoke only a single word.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Same here!” Yu Qing reached out and hugged her.

Since they had decided to go to Shennong Valley, the first step was to determine where exactly this place was.

However, several days passed, and whether it was the Eastern Depot or the Northern Command Office, it was as if a stone had sunk into the sea—there wasn’t the slightest trace of information about Shennong Valley.

Inside the study at Yuyuan, the atmosphere grew heavier by the day.

Su Hewan carried in two bowls of freshly stewed rock sugar pear soup and gently pushed open the study door.

Shen Jue was pinching the bridge of his nose, looking troubled.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan, seated on the grand chair to the side, had a face as dark as still water, idly playing with a throwing dart in his hand.

“Still no news?”

Su Hewan placed one bowl beside Shen Jue and the other beside Lu Yan.

Her clear eyes swept over the two of them, subtle yet observant.

Shen Jue raised his eyes and forced a faint, reassuring smile.

“Shennong Valley has been hidden from the world for a long time. Finding its exact location will indeed take some time.”

“You’re lying to me.”

Su Hewan’s voice was soft, yet carried an unquestionable certainty.

The faint smile at Shen Jue’s lips stiffened.

“Wanwan…”

“With the Eastern Depot’s agents spread across the land, and the Northern Command Office’s hidden operatives, there’s no place in this world the two of you working together couldn’t find.”

Her gaze burned as she stared at them both.

“Unless—you’ve run into some kind of obstacle.”

With a sharp snap, the dart in Lu Yan’s hand struck the table.

Irritated, he slammed his palm down and spoke coldly.

“Shen Jue, at this point, stop hiding it from them.”

Shen Jue let out a long sigh and reached out to hold Su Hewan’s slightly cool fingertips.

“You girl… your mind is always this sharp. Nothing can be hidden from you.”

Su Hewan clasped his hand in return and sat down on the armchair beside him.

“What exactly happened?”

At that moment, Yu Qing poked her head in from outside, carrying a plate of pastries.

“Yeah, seriously—why all the secrecy? I already felt something was off!”

She strode in, set the pastries down heavily on the table, and planted her hands on her hips.

“Lu Yan, you haven’t even polished your Xiuchun blade these past two days. What’s going on?”

Faced with the two girls’ questioning, Shen Jue and Lu Yan exchanged a glance, their eyes clouded with an inescapable gloom.

“It’s the Empress Dowager.”

Shen Jue’s voice was as cold as ice.

“On the surface, we’ve been reinstated to our positions, but she has planted a large number of her own people into the Six Ministries and the Cabinet.”

Lu Yan gritted his teeth and continued.

“And that’s not all. The Ministry of War has completely blocked the Northern Command Office’s deployment orders!”

“The three most elite battalions under my command have all been transferred out of the capital under the pretext of inspecting the border defenses!”

Shen Jue let out a cold laugh, killing intent flickering in his eyes.

“On my side, those old fossils in the Directorate of Ceremonial have joined forces to suppress my authority over red-ink approvals. Now even mobilizing agents beyond a hundred li from the capital requires layers upon layers of approval.”

Su Hewan sucked in a sharp breath.

She finally understood.

This wasn’t a matter of being unable to investigate Shennong Valley—they had been completely bound hand and foot by the Empress Dowager!

No troops to deploy, no cases to investigate.

The two once all-powerful blades of the court had been forcibly hollowed out, reduced to mere decorations with no real power!

“That old witch—what a ruthless scheme!”

Yu Qing slammed the table in fury, righteous indignation written all over her face.

“She’s promoting you on the surface while stripping your power behind the scenes, trying to seize control of both the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards!”

Su Hewan’s brows knitted tightly.

Looking at the two men who had been doing everything they could to protect them, a strong wave of guilt surged in her heart.

“We’ve dragged you into this.”

If it weren’t for helping them deal with the Grand Princess, they wouldn’t have torn things open with the Empress Dowager at such a critical moment, giving her the opportunity to strike.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Shen Jue pulled her onto his lap in one swift motion, his slender fingers gently smoothing the crease between her brows.

“Struggles in the court have always been a matter of life and death. Even without you, the Empress Dowager would have made her move against me sooner or later.”

For once, Lu Yan softened his tone as he spoke to Yu Qing.

“That’s right. Don’t take the blame onto yourselves.”

“The Empress Dowager may have her schemes, but we have our own countermeasures.”

“Do you really think we’ve spent all these years in court for nothing?”

A dark, chilling smile curled at the corner of Shen Jue’s lips.

“She wants to hollow us out? She doesn’t have the appetite to swallow us whole.”

“Lu Yan and I have already made arrangements in secret. It won’t be long before we turn the situation around.”

“You just focus on your chamber of commerce. We’ll handle the storms outside.”

The men’s words rang firm and reassuring.

Yet, though Su Hewan and Yu Qing heard them, their anxiety only deepened.

They knew all too well that in this era where imperial power reigned supreme, without control over troops and an intelligence network, Shen Jue and Lu Yan were walking a tightrope.

What they didn’t expect was that misfortunes would come one after another.

Before there was any progress on Shennong Valley, their “Huaxiangrong” expansion plan had also suffered an unprecedented setback.

“I’m so mad! I’m absolutely furious!”