Chapter 301 Tit for tat
Hearing the slight noise outside the door, Zhao Ji's heart suddenly tightened and he couldn't help but glance at Shangguan Wan'er, his eyes full of worry.

He couldn't help but be afraid. If he was caught outside, at least he would have an excuse.

However, he was caught in Shangguan Wan'er's boudoir, which made him suspected of committing a debauchery in the imperial palace. Even Shangguan Wan'er was in danger of being harmed by him.

However, Shangguan Wan'er showed extraordinary calmness. She signaled Zhao Ji to hide quickly and leave everything to her.

At this point, Zhao had no other choice but to trust her wisdom and adaptability. He flashed and disappeared into thin air in an instant.

But Huan Bin's courage was limited, and he did not dare to break into the boudoir of Shangguan Wan'er, Wu Zetian's trusted female official.

He simply led his troops to surround Shangguan Wan'er's residence, blocking Zhao Ji's escape route, and then politely woke up the palace maid who served Shangguan Wan'er and asked someone to pass the message on his behalf.

Huan Bin held the hilt of his knife and paced back and forth in front of the door, feeling uncertain. He thought to himself, "I have searched all the other palaces and pavilions, but this is the only one I missed. The kid surnamed Zhao is probably hiding here."

"It is said that he has a close relationship with Shangguan Wan'er. Regardless of whether it is true or not, if we search for him in the palace now, it is either true or not. Then we can accuse him of defiling the palace, and His Majesty will surely be furious. We can then take advantage of the situation to fish in troubled waters..."

Just as Huan Bin was lost in thought, Shangguan Wan'er had already dressed neatly and walked out with a stern expression.

Huan Bin immediately put on a naive look and greeted him: "Greetings, Mr. Shangguan! I hope you can forgive me for disturbing you so late at night!"

Shangguan Wan'er glanced at Huan Bin calmly, her tone full of unquestionable majesty: "It happened for a reason, and it is also my duty as a general. How can I be surprised!"

"Thank you for your understanding!" Huan Bin felt relieved when he saw that although the woman opposite him looked unhappy, her words were not unpleasant.

Shangguan Wan'er asked again, "Has His Majesty been informed?"

"Uh..." Huan Bin was stunned when he heard this and didn't know how to answer.

Since Zhao Jihe was not caught, he certainly didn't want to inform Wu Zetian immediately, otherwise he didn't know what kind of changes would happen.

After thinking for a moment, Huan Bin bowed his head slightly and said, "To be honest, His Majesty has already sent more people to guard against it, but we dare not disturb His Majesty's sleep at will!"

"You know your Majesty's temper. That is why we dare to disturb you in the middle of the night. We want to ask you for your advice."

Seeing Huan Bin being so smooth, Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but sneer in her heart: "Ridiculous, this matter is of great importance, of course we must report it to His Majesty as quickly as possible!"

Huan Bin's smile widened, and his attitude became more humble: "In that case, why don't you wait for me? After all, you are closer to His Majesty than we are."

He had a good plan. As soon as Shangguan Wan'er left, he would immediately make an excuse that the assassin had escaped into the palace and then force his way in to arrest Zhao Ji. No one could say there was anything wrong with that.

The key point is that Shangguan Wan'er actually had no reason to reject him.

How could Shangguan Wan'er not know Huan Bin's wishful thinking? A barely perceptible sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she already had a plan in mind.

Thinking about this, she stopped being polite to Huan Bin and immediately said sarcastically, "The Qianniu Guards are responsible for the palace guards. You allowed the assassin to sneak into the palace. You have already been guilty of this crime. Do you still want to use me as a shield now?"

"I will give the general a favor and send someone to report to His Majesty immediately! I can turn a blind eye and notify His Majesty immediately after the incident of Qianniuwei!"

Huan Bin's expression froze when he heard this. Seeing that Shangguan Wan'er was unwilling to cooperate, he had no choice but to follow her wishes and send someone to report to Wu Zetian.

Afterwards, the two men faced each other in front of the door. The atmosphere was a little awkward and the silence was suffocating.

In the end, it was Shangguan Wan'er who spoke first. She pretended to turn around and leave, but suddenly turned back and asked sharply, "General Huan, why are you still staying here if you don't want to catch the assassin?"

Huan Bin secretly adjusted his breathing, straightened his back, and responded in a heavy tone: "To be honest, the Qianniu Guards under my command saw the assassin sneak into the palace where the talented person lived..."

Shangguan Wan'er sneered when she heard this: "Oh? Did your Qianniu Guards see it with their own eyes?"

After saying that, he glanced at the soldiers behind Huan Bin.

All the soldiers lowered their heads in horror, not daring to look at him, let alone speak back.

What is the status of Shangguan Cairen? These Qianniu Guards have been in the palace for a long time, how could they not know? Obviously, they were unwilling to offend.

Huan Bin's expression changed slightly when he saw this, and he quickly signaled with his eyes to a trusted confidant beside him.

The man was pointed out by Huan Bin. Although he was nervous, he still stood up and replied, "I saw it with my own eyes! The assassin must be among them!"

"Hmph, so what you mean is that I, Shangguan Wan'er, intentionally sheltered the assassin?" Shangguan Wan'er's words were as cold as ice, and she had already secretly taken note of this person in her heart.

When the man heard this, his throat rolled and he finally lowered his head, not daring to say anything more.

Huan Bin quickly stood in front of his confidant, still with a smiling face: "You are too kind, we just want to catch the assassin."

"That assassin is very skilled in martial arts and is extremely difficult to deal with. If he is really hiding in the palace of a talented person, once he escapes, the consequences will be disastrous. We really can't afford to take that risk!"

Shangguan Wan'er continued to sneer: "Huan Bin! So what you mean is to let these people enter my boudoir and search it?"

She pointed at the Qianniu guards who were bowing their heads, and her dissatisfaction was evident in her words.

Huan Bin smiled and shook his head: "How dare I do that? Let the talented lady lead the way. I will take two of my men and ask the two palace servants under the talented lady to go in and take a look! This is also for the talented lady's safety!"

Shangguan Wan'er fell silent after hearing this and did not answer for a long time.

Seeing this, Huan Bin's smile turned into a sly grin: "Why, talented man, do you really have something to hide?"

Shangguan Wan'er immediately waved her sleeves and said, "Go ahead and search. If you can't find anyone, I'll make you pay! Humph!" Huan Bin sneered when he saw Shangguan Wan'er turning around.

What a joke! In two days, regardless of success or failure, Huan Bin would either die and his clan would be wiped out, or he would rise to prominence. Threats would no longer matter to him.

With a wave of his hand, two trusted followers followed Huan Bin and strode in.

When she arrived in the palace, Shangguan Wan'er's sneer never stopped.

She turned around, her fingertips lightly sweeping across every corner of the hall, and said provocatively: "Come on, General Huan, search wherever you want! I want to see where the assassin is!"

Huan Bin was no longer humble and looked around the hall.

The two subordinates then pushed open the heavy door and checked behind it. Seeing no one was hiding, they pushed the door back.

In fact, there is not much place in the hall to hide people. There is only a couch, a few cupboards, and a desk.

Shangguan Wan'er behaved unusually calmly. She walked forward and opened the doors of the cupboards one by one, with a hint of determination in her movements.

"General Huan, please read this carefully. I cannot afford to be charged with harboring an assassin!"

Huan Bin ignored Shangguan Wan'er's performance and first checked the ground inch by inch, looking for any possible clues.

Shangguan Wan'er sat leisurely on the couch, watching the three people's busyness with cold eyes, and said nothing more.

Although she looked relaxed, her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She didn't know where Zhao Ji had hidden.

Time passed slowly, and Huan Bin's search did not reveal anything suspicious.

He nodded slightly and gave his two men a subtle look: "Hmm!"

The two Qianniu Guards understood and immediately jumped up and jumped onto the beam.

Shangguan Wan'er's eyes widened immediately when she saw this. She remembered that Zhao Ji also flew away, fearing that he would be found.

However, the beam was empty and there was nothing unusual, so the two of them jumped down again in disappointment and shook their heads in silence.

Seeing this, Huan Bin frowned and his eyes involuntarily fell on the bed where Shangguan Wan'er was sleeping.

The bed was bulging, as if it was hiding some unknown secret.

Since he had already offended someone, Huan Bin had no choice but to throw away the jar. He was no longer afraid and walked slowly towards the bed.

Shangguan Wan'er saw this and hurried forward to stop him, her voice filled with urgency and anger: "Hey, Huan Bin, you are going too far!"

However, Huan Bin strode forward without paying any attention to Shangguan Wan'er, and walked over directly and pulled back the quilt.

Still empty!
Shangguan Wan'er was furious at first, then she breathed a sigh of relief and said in a complicated tone: "Humph, you..."

Just when she was about to explode, she saw Huan Bin suddenly half-kneeling on the ground and putting his head under the bed.

When Shangguan Wan'er saw this scene, she was so angry that she almost laughed. She sighed and shook her head.

She had gradually realized that Huan Bin and his men would not be able to find Zhao Ji, and that Zhao Ji might have already escaped.

After searching for a while, Huan Bin still found nothing. He could only stand up helplessly and sigh.

At this time, the other two Qianniu Guards also gathered together and shook their heads slightly at Huan Bin, indicating that they also did not discover anything.

Shangguan Wan'er saw this and smiled triumphantly, her tone was a little smug: "No means no, it seems the assassin has escaped to another place. General, you wasted your time here and let the assassin escape. I want to see how you explain it to His Majesty!"

Huan Bin's face turned pale and blue when he heard this. He knew he was in the wrong, so he could only bow his head and admit his mistake: "What you said makes sense. It seems that the assassin is indeed not here, but has fled to another place."

"I dare not delay any longer. I must search elsewhere immediately! I will apologize to you in broad daylight!"

After saying this, the man left in a hurry as if he was escaping, and his two trusted followers followed closely behind him, looking a little embarrassed.

Shangguan Wan'er came to the door and watched Huan Bin lead the Qianniu Guards away, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She immediately returned to her room, prepared to pack up, and then went to see Wu Zetian.

However, Zhao Ji suddenly appeared behind Shangguan Wan'er and landed silently, which scared her.

"Are you trying to scare me to death?" Shangguan Wan'er looked miserable and took a breath, but immediately showed a strange expression again: "Where have you been hiding? I thought you were gone."

Seeing Huan Bin and the others had already evacuated, Zhao Ji felt relieved and explained with a smile: "How can we escape? There must be many people outside. Going out now is like walking into a trap!"

"I hid on the beam at first. After they checked, I quietly came down and hid behind the door on the right."

Shangguan Wan'er couldn't help but sigh in amazement when she heard this, her eyebrows full of surprise: "They are so close, how dare you act so boldly?"

Zhao Ji smiled upon hearing this and said proudly, "Huan Bin is quite clever, but his martial arts skills are mediocre. If he were alone, he might not be able to find me even if I circled behind him!"

His martial arts are the same as Kui Wen Zhong's. Kui Wen Zhong's concealment skills could even deceive Li Yuan Fang for a while. So it is naturally more than enough for Zhao Ji to deal with Huan Bin.

(End of this chapter)