Chapter 186 - Protect Her
Sheng Li closed the door and saw Ying Lili was fanning herself when something hit his mind. "Lili, don't come out. I am coming in a while," Sheng Li stated. Before Ying Lili could ask him, Sheng Li had left the room.
"Did I miss something? Who was that man?" Sheng Li wondered and walked ahead, keeping a serene expression on his face. He went to the room next to his where the two Generals and Hu Jingguo were staying.
"Your highness," the three stood up from the chairs and bowed their heads.
"I think a spy is here. Check the rest- house," Sheng Li ordered his Generals. The two bowed their heads.
"Your highness, how did you find out?" Hu Jingguo asked.
"Because someone accidentally bumped into me. I did not see his face but it was unusual," Sheng Li pronounced. Wang Hao and Xiao Zhan had taken the daggers, hid them inside their waistbands.
"Kill him right away without getting into anyone's notice," Sheng Li ordered the two. Wang Hao and Xiao Zhan nodded and walked out from there.
"Rashes have appeared on Ying Lili's body. Is there any medicine which could relieve her?" Sheng Li asked.
Hu Jingguo nodded his head and told the Crown Prince that he would send it to his room. Sheng Li told him to be careful with food and water before leaving the room. As Sheng Li arrived at his room, he saw Ying Lili was waiting for him at the table. Ying Lili had worn the mustache on her upper lips and also had worn the upper clothing. He found that the meals had already arrived there which was suspicious to him.
"Did you eat anything?" Sheng Li asked Ying Lili worriedly as he walked to her.
"No, I was waiting for you," Ying Lili replied. Sheng Li picked the bowl full of meat soup and smelled it. "Don't eat this," Sheng Li said as he put the bowl at the table.
"Why? I am hungry," Ying Lili replied.
"I think a spy is here. I don't know how he reached us but he might have mixed something in this," Sheng Li pronounced. Ying Lili stood up from the chair and knitted her brows.
"How could it be possible? We took precautions while coming here," Ying Lili affirmed.
"It does not matter. Maybe the spy had come here earlier and was keeping an eye on us. Weng Wei might have informed him about our stay in the Governor's Residence. He must be following us from that time onward," Sheng Li opined and rubbed the skin above his right eyebrow.
"Let's catch him and kill him," Ying Lili suggested.
"Wang Hao and Xiao Zhan are searching for him. It isn't known how many are with him so it might be risky to do anything. Just stay here and don't leave the room. I think I need to go as well," Sheng Li proclaimed.
"Where?"
"He is in the rest-house so I will be here only," Sheng Li stated. "I need to act fast before he or they can make his or their moves," Sheng Li muttered. Hu Jingguo knocked at the door thus interrupting their conversation. Sheng Li opened the door and let him in.
"Your highness, I have prepared this herbal paste for her highness. The rashes will vanish after applying this," Jingguo said with a smile, looking at the China dish in his hand.
"Okay. Stay here. I need to go out," Sheng Li told Jingguo who widened his eyes.
"Is his highness letting me stay beside the Crown Princess? Isn't he jealous?" Jingguo asked. Sheng Li glared at him when he immediately apologized.
"Protect her even if you will die," Sheng Li ordered Jingguo who bowed his head. "I need to leave," said Sheng Li, looking at Ying Lili. He then left from there.
Jingguo found out how tense Ying Lili was. "It will be alright. The Crown Prince and the Generals will tackle this," Jingguo persuaded the Crown Princess. "The life of the Crown Prince is difficult. His highness has to be extremely careful at every step," he added.
Xiao Zhan met the Crown Prince on the first floor. "Did Wang Hao send the meals to our room?" Sheng Li asked him.
"No," Xiao replied.
"That means the spy is indeed here. He was listening to our conversation. Where is Wang?" Sheng Li queried as the two kept moving forward while conversing with each other.
"He is with the owner, looking at details of the Merchants who have come here for the stay," Xiao replied. Sheng Li nodded. "Go to my room and protect the Crown Princess. Wang and I will take care of the rest of things," Sheng Li whispered.
"But, it can be risky for you, your highness," Xiao expressed his concern.
"No. If he is sent by the Empress, then I need to extract something important from him, and only I can do that. Go upstairs and look after them. The Crown Princess is hungry so take food for her as well. Make sure that she will eat that. If she refuses then pass this message to her- 'Hu Jingguo will get punished if she will not have her lunch meal.' Go now!" Sheng Li commanded General Xiao who turned and walked away.
Sheng Li gazed around and took a seat around a table. He ordered the rice wine so that no one could suspect him. He looked at the table to his left.
"The silk trade is flourishing these days. Even some middle-class people can afford it. Thanks to the new rules passed by the Emperor of Han," Sheng Li heard them talking. He turned his gaze to the table to his right, which was vacant. Looking at the other tables, Sheng Li realized that the man was not there. He only remembered his clothes so no such person in those clothes could be seen there.
He picked the cup and sipped the rice wine when his gaze fell on General Wang. Sheng Li grabbed the tiny porcelain jar full of rice wine in his hand, paid for it.
"Let's have fun outside," Sheng Li loudly said, looking at Wang Hao who put his hand around Sheng Li's shoulder and the two walked out.
When they were at a safe distance from the rest-house, Wang Hao let go of his arm from Sheng Li's shoulder.
"I checked the entries. Nothing is found which could be suspected," Wang Hao stated.
"It would be difficult to find out from the entries. You know how spies work. Someone is there. He even sent the poisoned meals to the room allotted to me and my wife. He is after me so let's take him somewhere far from the rest-house," Sheng Li asserted and sipped the wine again. Actually, he had seen the same person when he went to the counter for payment. That's why he decided to go out of the rest-house, rather than staying there.
"What about the Crown Princess? Is Xiao there?" General Wang asked Sheng Li who hummed at him. This gave relief to Wang Hao.
"If the spy has come this far, then he might have a force which would be ready to attack us anytime. What if they attack the Crown Princess in the rest-house?" Wang Hao concernedly said.
"They won't. If they had to, then they would have done it by now. He might have noticed that I have seen through his tactics," Sheng Li voiced. They both turned to a route that was quite isolated when Sheng Li pulled out the dagger from the sheath which was hidden inside the sash.