Chapter 424: Ou Tai Inspection Visit

Shadows flickered as Zhang Guoli stepped into the room first.

Following closely was a middle-aged man with a square face, dressed simply and unremarkable in appearance, his lips curled in a faint, elusive smile—utterly harmless to behold.

Yet this very man made many who knew him spring to their feet at once.

They smiled warmly to greet him.

“Ou Tai.”

Zhang Guoli waved to them, then gestured inward. “Shi

“That’s great—I’ll be a father next year,” Rong Yanqi rejoiced at this realization.

“Stop talking nonsense! Let’s get him out first!” Shi Nan slung Xu Li’s arm over his shoulder, ready to drag him away.

Wang Yuan locked eyes with the man, his gaze neither humble nor arrogant, yet still subdued by the other’s aura; though Wang Yuan felt his own killing intent was already thick, the man’s killing intent was not merely superior—it was incalculably greater.

Minutes later, a large contingent of Imperial Guard soldiers, wielding swords and spears, emerged from all sides and surrounded the dozen or so Persians in the center of the training ground.

Chen Yunling froze—hadn’t things unfolded as she planned? Had she failed to help him?

Only two sat in the pavilion, but Sima Boyuan knew countless eyes lurked unseen in the surrounding grove, fixed on him.

“Worry about tomorrow’s troubles tomorrow. Why rush? The imperial examination opens its dragon gate tomorrow—who knows what chaos will erupt? Are you this agitated today? Should I have Dr. Qiu prepare medicine for tomorrow?” Wei Yang lazily chatted with him.

She glanced at her martial uniform and realized Han Xuening had been watching them—her face flushed instantly.

Moreover, a maid under a master would gain the master’s protection; if the master was pleased, she might even receive silver or coins, and her monthly stipend would be higher than that of a lowly servant girl. Hence, many lowly maids strained every connection to get inside the inner quarters.

A Western Single national? One of the Western Single envoys? Rong Yanqi probably wanted to extract news of the princess sent in marriage from him.

Summary: The Zhang Yu family refused to compromise, declaring that anyone wishing to buy seeds must sign a liability waiver—or they wouldn’t sell.

After getting in the car, Lin Sitong pressed the one-touch start button, then slammed the accelerator.

He Yu quietly hid, observing for a while, and only when he confirmed no one was around did he slip soundlessly inward.

“It’s that family everyone says is doing incredibly well in the big city—seems they’re surnamed Gong. None of us ever met them before,” Zhang Jian mused, awed by their wealth yet puzzled.

But Ye Feng noticed the handcuffs and leg irons they carried weren’t ordinary ones—they’d been specially treated, radiating a strange energy.

At that moment, Li Zhongqing approached holding a white booklet and reported: “Your Majesty, the corpse of the palace maid Cuizhu has been examined three times by the coroner and is now fully verified. I present the coroner’s final report for Your Majesty’s review.” With that, he stepped forward and offered the white booklet.

She had no right to drive them away—after all, she’d been the one who collided with them first. After thinking it over, she decided she might as well see it through to the end.

“Ning Xiao, what kind of disreputable friends are you hanging out with? They say anything,” said a boy named Liu Fei beside Qiao Haonan.

But their demeanor and the effortless grace of their movements—qualities not forged in a day—softened their hostility toward them.

“These are my affairs—I don’t need you worrying or exerting yourself,” Nie Chen said calmly, as if he’d entirely forgotten how shocked and heartbroken he’d been when those two parasites crawled out from beneath his knees.

She didn’t need to worry about this, because her husband had no intention of expanding his harem in this lifetime.