The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

Chapter 106: Take precautions before they happen

"What is the dean worried about?" Ye Qingwu keenly caught Cen Jiexiao's uneasiness and asked with concern.

Cen Jiexiao turned to look at Ye Qingwu. Seeing his worried face, she smiled and comforted him, "It's nothing. I just remembered some old things."

"Don't worry, Dean," Zhao Hu said in a deep voice, "With Zhao Hu here, I will make sure those villains never come back!"

Cen Jiexiao shook her head and said softly, "Zhao Hu, I know you are loyal and brave, but this time is different. The Queen Mother and her followers have long been dissatisfied with our Zhaoyin Academy. They will definitely not let this opportunity go easily during this sacrificial ceremony."

"Empress Dowager?" Ye Qingwu frowned. "The Dean is saying that the Empress Dowager and her followers might be taking advantage of this grand ceremony to fish in troubled waters?"

Cen Jiexiao didn't say anything, just nodded slightly.

"Do we have any countermeasures? How should we prevent it?" Zhao Hu scratched his head anxiously.

Cen Jiexiao pondered for a moment and said, "When an enemy comes, we must fight with our troops; when water comes, we must block it with earth. We just need to strengthen our defenses and respond accordingly. And most importantly, we must protect His Majesty, if we are already on this 'ship'!"

"Don't worry, Dean. The Qiming Group will be fully prepared and will ensure the safety of His Majesty and you." Ye Qingwu echoed.

"I hope so." Cen Jiexiao sighed, still unable to completely let go of her worries.

Cen Jiexiao was full of thoughts, gazing absentmindedly at the vast sea in the distance, trying to find a trace of peace from the ups and downs of the waves.

At this moment, a familiar figure entered her sight. The man was dressed in black, which made him look tall and straight, and his temperament was extraordinary. Who else could it be but Chen Zigui?

He walked towards her with steady steps and his usual gentle smile. However, in those deep eyes, there seemed to be some inscrutable mystery hidden, making it difficult to understand.

"Senior Brother, why are you here?" Cen Jiexiao forced a smile on her face, but there was a hint of barely perceptible surprise in her tone.

Chen Zigui walked over to her, looked at her gently, and said softly, "I heard that you haven't had a good rest for several days because of this sacrificial ceremony. I brought some cakes and pastries that you like."

As he spoke, he handed the food box in his hand to Cen Jiexiao, his eyes full of concern.

"Thank you, senior brother. I'm sorry for your trouble." Cen Jiexiao took the food box, but she felt a little more alert inexplicably, and her tone became a little distant.

"Why should we be so polite to each other?" Chen Zigui seemed to have noticed her change, and a trace of loneliness flashed across his brows.

"Big Brother, you know that I'm in the center of public opinion right now. You have a special status, and if you get too close to me, you'll inevitably be criticized." Cen Jiexiao lowered her voice, with a hint of helplessness in her tone.

"Those rumors will be cleared up if they are true, and will be turbid if they are false!" Chen Zigui looked at her firmly and said word by word.

Cen Jiexiao's heart trembled, and she avoided his gaze, her tone a little flustered: "Big Brother, today is different from the past. Your future responsibilities and burdens will be even greater and heavier."

"Of course I know." Chen Zigui took a step forward and wanted to get closer to her, but was stopped by Cen Jiexiao.

"Big Brother, don't forget that you are now an inspector. Your every word and action represents the court and the emperor. You must not act on your emotions." Cen Jiexiao said in a serious tone, trying to pull him back from his own world.

"I know, I won't make things difficult for you." Chen Zigui took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, took a step back, and kept a proper distance from her.

"I'm glad you understand." Cen Jiexiao breathed a sigh of relief, placed the food box on the stone table beside her, and changed the subject, "Big Brother, is there something important that brought you here today?"

"It's nothing important, I just couldn't help but feel worried about you, so I came to see you." Chen Zigui's tone returned to its usual calmness, but there was still a trace of loneliness in his eyes that was difficult to conceal.

At this moment, a carrier pigeon flapped its wings and landed in front of Cen Jiexiao. She hurriedly took off the small bamboo tube on the pigeon's foot, opened it and took a look. Her face suddenly turned pale.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Chen Zigui asked hurriedly when he saw that she looked strange.

Cen Jiexiao did not answer, but handed the note in her hand to him. Chen Zigui took it and looked at it, and his face became extremely ugly.

The note contained only a few words: "East Sea sacrifice, firewood is flammable!"

"Damn it!" Chen Zigui pounded the rock beside him fiercely, gritting his teeth and saying, "Who on earth dares to be so bold?"

It is obvious that Chai must be referring to Emperor Chai Zhen. It seems that there is no way to avoid the "excitement" this time.

"Big Brother, the most urgent task is to find the assassin as soon as possible, stop this conspiracy, and prevent it from happening!" Cen Jiexiao analyzed calmly, a sharp glint in her eyes. "Big Brother, immediately notify the anti-Japanese camp to strengthen their defenses and do not alert the emperor. I will lead the Qiming team to search for the assassin's whereabouts!"

"No, this is too dangerous. Let me go!" Chen Zigui grabbed Cen Jiexiao's arm and said anxiously.

"Big Brother, you're in the open, so it's inconvenient for you to show up. Leave this matter to me and the Qiming Group, don't worry!" Cen Jiexiao said firmly, "Time is running out, so we need to split up!"

After saying this, Cen Jiexiao no longer paid attention to Chen Zigui. She turned to Ye Qingwu and Zhao Hu behind her and ordered, "Pass the order down. Everyone, act immediately. We must find the assassin and protect the emperor before the sacrificial ceremony begins!"

"Yes!" Ye Qingwu and Zhao Hu took the order and left, quickly disappearing into the night.

Watching Cen Jiexiao's receding figure, Chen Zigui's eyes were filled with worry and helplessness. He clenched his fists tightly and swore in his heart that no matter what...

Even as night fell, the Zhaoyin Academy was brightly lit. Cen Jiexiao's face was solemn, her slender fingers tightly gripping the note. The words "firewood is flammable" on the note seemed to carry a scorching heat, making her heart tighten.

"Wangcai Inn on East Street? The name is really... unique." Ye Qingwu couldn't help but curl his lips when he saw the latest news.

"Stop talking nonsense and tell our men to pay attention. This time, our target isn't some petty thief." Zhao Hu scolded in a low voice and turned to look at Cen Jiexiao. "Dean, when do we start?"

"Since someone wants to play with fire, let's play along." Cen Jiexiao's tone was calm, but her eyes gleamed with an unquestionable light. "Pass the order down, everyone disguise yourself and meet at Wangcai Inn in half an hour!"

Half an hour later, outside the Lai Fu Inn, several seemingly ordinary passers-by were wandering around bored.

"Hey, boss, how's your business lately?" Zhao Hu, waving a folding fan and speaking in a weird Beijing accent, approached the innkeeper and asked with a gossipy look on his face.

The shopkeeper was dozing off, but when Ye Qingwu disturbed him, he immediately waved his hand impatiently, "Go away, don't block my business."

"Hey, shopkeeper, don't be so cold. I see that your store is deserted and I want to chat with you." Zhao Hu said, taking out a silver note from his pocket and calmly stuffing it into the shopkeeper's hand.

The shopkeeper looked at the banknotes and his expression softened a little. "Sir, what exactly do you want to know?"

"Nothing much. I just heard that there's been a big event in the city recently. I wanted to ask if there are any strange people living in your inn?" Zhao Hu said, but his eyes kept glancing into the inn.

"Strange people? Who isn't strange these days?" The shopkeeper laughed and obviously didn't want to say more.

Zhao Hu wanted to ask more questions when he saw Ye Qingwu winking at him. He immediately understood and said no more. He turned around and left the inn.

On the second floor of the inn, in a guest room.