The next day, the advisor told Hong Wen about his findings. Hong Wen excitedly asked, "Should we catch Uncle Qiu as a precaution before he goes back to the capital? This is a really good chance ah~!"

"You can't do that, Da Ren," the advisor said in a low voice, hoping that no one heard what this dimwit had just said. Whenever it was about Uncle Qiu, he always became hasty! This really gave him a headache! He knew that sending Hong Wen to Crescent Lake wasn't a good thing.

The advisor had tried to cultivate him slowly and Hong Wen had gotten better, too bad... he was sent to here and they were back to square one. It really wasted the Right Prime Minister's effort.

"Why?" Hong Wen asked in confusion. Wasn't this a good opportunity to arrest Uncle Qiu?

"We have no evidence. We also don't know whether this rumor is true or not. Besides, Uncle Qiu has already received the Emperor's decree. No matter what, he has to go back to the capital. Implicating Uncle Qiu is a small matter, but the most important thing is for you to gain merit at this moment. Do you understand what I mean?" The advisor asked seriously, trying to knock some senses into the man's head.

Hong Wen wasn't fully stupid, hence he understood what his advisor meant. If Uncle Qiu indeed colluded with the esteemed guest, capturing him would only alert the big fish. Not only that, he would violate the Emperor's decree and it would do him no good.

Capturing him later in the capital wasn't going to be late either.

Even though he was reluctant, he knew that he could only let Uncle Qiu go --- for now, of course. He just hoped that Uncle Qiu was really guilty so that he could use the opportunity to defeat him. Thinking of this, his mood became better.

"Then, we can let him go," Hong Wen said smugly.

The advisor sighed in relief when he heard Hong Wen's decision.

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Rong Qiu already checked everything and it seemed that everything went well on their part. He asked Ah Zhao, "Have you already given Xiao Fang's maidservants the way to contact you?"

Ah Zhao knew that his master was referring to their spy here --- the one who would let them know the aftereffect of their plan, whether they were successful in sowing discord between Hong Wen and Bai Bing Wen or not. Ah Zhao quickly nodded, "Don't worry! Everything is good! She will inform us when something happens in the future. She will directly send it to Xiao Fang Gu Niang."

Knowing this, Rong Qiu felt relieved. He looked at Crescent Lake and knew that it was time to go. This chapter of his life had been closed --- soon, he would embark to a new life and journey. He just hoped that everything went well.

He had heard how the Han Emperor was treating Yao Ling's stepmother and he felt disgusted by the Han Emperor's behavior --- he would certainly help Yao Ling and Xiao Fang to get revenge. After all, he was also feeling grateful for the woman's help in saving and bringing up his daughter. He wanted to repay her even though the latter had been long dead.

-----------

Yao Ling's entourage arrived first at Nei Huang with their best effort. The desert's climate wasn't really good and they were almost trapped in a sandstorm. Fortunately, it wasn't a big one and Xiao Fang had already made a preparation beforehand. She calmly gave them pointers when they encountered the sandstorm.

Yao Ying and Yao Ling had never lived in the desert before, thus, it was understandable if they didn't know anything about it. On the other hand, Lin Jian had experienced a sandstorm once before, hence he already knew what to do.

They covered their mouth and nose with bandanna so that they could avoid sucking in the dust. When they were thirsty, they moistened the bandanna for a little bit to save up the water. Once it became more unbearable, they could only s.h.i.+eld their faces with their arms as they moved slowly, then wrapped a piece of cloth tightly around their heads to protect their eyes and ears.

They were lucky that they were able to find a shelter to spend the night, otherwise, their survival would be questionable too.

Yao Ling started to worry about her father when she thought about their experience, however, she didn't tell the others. She just tried to convince herself that he would be okay. Rong Qiu had lived in the Han Kingdom for so long, so he should be more familiar with the climate here than them.

Due to the sandstorm, their appearance became so messy and dirty, making them feel uncomfortable. They quickly searched for a big inn which had a built-in stable for their horses to spend the night.

The innkeeper had gotten used to having customers with dirty appearances, especially because he also knew that they must have encountered a sandstorm. He didn't discriminate them and as long as they had the money, everything would be prepared for them.

Yao Ling's entourage quickly booked the few best rooms in the inn which made the innkeeper grinned from ear to ear. After finished freshening up, Yao Ling tried to inquire the news back at Crescent Lake, "Is our plan successful?"

Xiao Fang laughed. "Why are you so impatient? We just reached here..."

Yao Ling grinned. "I want to know so I can have a good night sleep," Yao Ling admitted. If the plan went awry, it could implicate her father ah~!

Xiao Fang had told them that she had just received the information when they arrived at the inn, however, she hadn't opened it yet. She planned to talk about this the next day, so all of them could have a good rest. However, it seemed like she could only postpone her beauty sleep, because she knew how worried Yao Ling was.

Yao Ying helplessly looked at Xiao Fang, feeling apologetic. He knew that Xiao Fang lived in a pampered environment and the latter looked so tired, but Yao Ling still insisted to ask the news. Yao Ling might feel tired but she had gotten used to living in a hard environment, so her condition was slightly better than Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang rea.s.sured him with a smile, telling him that she was fine. They would only read the letter and discuss the rest the next day.

Xiao Fang slowly opened the scrolls --- it was a small one because they used an eagle as a means of communications. The letter's first two words already made them sigh in relief --- cheng gong [=it means success].

If they didn't remember where they were, they would have already cheered happily.

"The details... did she write the details?" Yao Ying asked excitedly.

Xiao Fang nodded. Probably because it was written by a woman, the writing was neat and easy to read even though it was written in a small size. Generally, maidservants mostly were illiterate. However, the people around Xiao Fang were specially nurtured by Xiao Fang's father and brother to protect her --- because they knew how they had spoiled Xiao Fang and the latter was too innocent to see the dirty world.

If she didn't meet Yao Ling back then, Xiao Fang would probably still living in her own coc.o.o.n. Not only that, Han Xiang's experience had given her a good lesson and made her become mature overnight. If she continued being coddled, then it would be hard for her to grow up.

The letter told them in details about what happened back at Crescent Lake. Xiao Fang started to read it carefully for the others...