So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

In the midst of chaos, the various kingdoms of the Red River Continent were locked in conflict, plunging the world into misery and causing internal turmoil within the Great Xia Dynasty.

Despite strong opposition, the council of elders supported Xie Xun, a member of the imperial clan, to ascend the throne as emperor, citing national crisis as the reason. He changed the dynasty name to Xuanhe and established a new dynasty.

In the early years of the Xuanhe reign, the new emperor Xie Xun, backed by the council of elders, ordered a southern expedition, opened the Tangshui Pass, and led his troops south, taking the waterway through Shangliang and Yanzhou, directly threatening the southern border.

No one knew why the new emperor attacked the southern border as soon as he ascended the throne, but Wei Rongxuan understood it perfectly well.

Southern Xinjiang is located in the southwest of Shangliang. If we take the route through Niangziguan in Southern Xinjiang, we can take advantage of the internal strife in Shangliang to occupy half of the Liang people's territory. In this way, we can travel back and forth through Yanmenguan in Shangliang, destroy Ximisha, slaughter Shangliang, and swallow up the western desert. This is much faster than a direct northern expedition.

The biggest problem now is that we still can't find the whereabouts of Crown Prince Xie Jingchen.

Back then, under the pretext of suppressing a rebellion, the emperor secretly mobilized so many troops from the Northwest to besiege the entire capital. However, Crown Prince Xie Jingchen had already taken precautions and managed to escape with the help of his elite guards.

If he doesn't die, those restless vassal kings and officials in the court who initially supported the Crown Prince's faction will not give up, and they will inevitably turn against each other, causing the Great Xia Dynasty to fall apart once again.

Xie Jingchen did not die. He escaped from the palace through a secret passage with the help of assassins and hid in a small village outside the pass.

Amidst the sparse stars and the deafening crashing of the waves, Xie Jingchen seemed oblivious to the waves crashing against the rocks, standing tall and straight on the reef, gazing at the secret letter that had been delivered to him.

The woman standing behind him had a graceful figure, her soft, sorrowful eyes fixed on the man's figure. The sea breeze blew by, blowing their robes, and the fluttering hems of their clothes became tightly intertwined.

"south wind."

"Your Highness." A figure emerged from the dense forest.

Xie Jingchen's face was gloomy. "Write to General Zhang. I will wait for him at Moon Pass."

"Yes."

Wei Qingrou looked at his cold profile, his fair face etched with sorrow, "Your Highness, are you still going back?"

The mutiny was defeated, but they had already escaped. Why would they go back to fight for that cold, hard throne? Is the throne really that good?

"Why not go back? Am I going to hand over my kingdom to someone else?"

Suppressed anger emanated from his voice carried on the sea breeze. Wei Qingrou stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Let's give up the throne, okay? Let's be an ordinary couple and live in anonymity from now on."

Before she could finish speaking, he suddenly turned around, grabbed her wrist, and his dark eyes were filled with malice.

"A rebellion and coup! As long as I live, Xie Xun's rule is illegitimate and his throne is unstable. Those lackeys of the Elders' Council want to seize the Xie family's empire? Dream on!"

Wei Qingrou was frightened by his appearance. When she thought that he had been attacked and slashed because of her sudden miscarriage, she burst into tears.

If she hadn't been so incompetent and dragged him down, he wouldn't have prioritized sending her away after his defeat, and would have waited for reinforcements from various prefectures and counties.

She dragged him down with her.

"But once war breaks out, you will inevitably have to go to the battlefield. How many years will it take? How chaotic will the Great Xia become? The people will be displaced, and there will be countless refugees. Moreover, Your Highness's brothers are all dead. Can you fight against the Elders' Council?"

Many people used to say that Crown Prince Xie Jingchen was despicable, treacherous, and a beast in human form, having killed several of his brothers, but he never showed any anger or tyranny in front of her.

She loved him, hopelessly loved him, and was willing to defy her family's wishes to support her husband.

But now that the army has been defeated, she doesn't want him to embark on a path of no return, nor does she want him to fight on the battlefield, risking his life.

"Rou'er, I'm sending you to Ximisha. Will you wait for me there?"

She knew she would be a burden to him, and if she were caught, she would inevitably become his Achilles' heel.

But Wei Qingrou didn't want him to die on the battlefield. With red eyes and tears welling up in her eyes, she hugged him tightly. "Let's go to Ximisha together. Let's give up the throne, okay? I don't want to lose you. I really don't want you to die."

"Impossible," Xie Jingchen pushed her away, his voice chillingly cold, "I will send someone to Ximisha tomorrow."

"Your Highness."

The mournful sound carried by the wind and waves. Xie Jingchen paused, turned around, and saw her fall on the rocks. Startled, he rushed over and picked her up.

"Rou'er."

Since losing her child, Wei Qingrou's health has been extremely weak. Xie Jingchen didn't want her to live with him in constant danger, so he thought of sending her to Ximisha.

Wei Qingrou felt waves of pain in her stomach. Thinking of the child she had lost, she nestled in his arms, her eyes filled with sorrow.

She lost her child, and she couldn't keep her husband either.

Xie Jingchen picked her up and strode back.

A fierce sea breeze swept in from behind, as if to sweep them into the sea. The moonlight shone on their figures, leaving behind lingering shadows.

Xianyang City.

When Rongyuan returned home after drinking, he heard that his father was entertaining a high-ranking official from the capital in his study. He secretly peeked through the window and saw the man's figure. He then curled his lip in disapproval.

I don't know who they are, but they deserve my father's servile bowing and scraping.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the man seemed to realize something. He turned and looked towards the window, his body trembled, and he quickly stopped peeking.

Qingfeng frowned slightly but said nothing. He instructed, "I'll leave this matter to Lord Rong. If you find any trace of the Madam, please inform her as soon as possible."

After leaving Kyoto, he traveled to several prefectures and counties near Fuzhou. Xianyang is quite far away, and he only arrived yesterday.

There was no news from the governors of other prefectures and counties. If Xianyang still couldn't find the whereabouts of his wife, he would have to go to places like Dongzhou.

"I understand. I will immediately retrieve and thoroughly investigate the household registrations of all those who have entered the city in the last two weeks. Sir, you must be tired from your journey. Please rest well at your residence for a few days."

Qingfeng didn't want to rest, but then she remembered that the heavy snow had blocked the roads and the official road to Dongzhou was blocked. Taking the mountain road would take too much time, so it would be safer to wait two days and get some rest.

With that thought in mind, he said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Rong."

"It is my honor. I have prepared a banquet. Please rest for two hours at the manor, and we can have a more detailed discussion tonight."

After Qingfeng left, the Governor of Rongzhou sighed and sat down on the stool.

No wonder that after the chaos in Kyoto, several imperial edicts were issued, and the government was ordered to issue reward notices. However, these notices did not mention names or identities, only a blurry portrait, and nothing was clear.

It turns out that this woman was actually the wife of the governor, or rather, the new emperor.

How come he's never heard of the new emperor marrying any women in his former residence?

"Father, what are you thinking about?" Rongyuan sneaked in after the steward saw the master off.

The governor of Rongzhou looked at his good-for-nothing son and didn't want to pay him any attention. He cursed, "Where have you been gallivanting off to again? You good-for-nothing who never does anything productive."

Rongyuan didn't dare to go against his father, and timidly shrank his neck.

He went drinking with a few young men. The girls in the brothel were beautiful, but they were nothing compared to that widow surnamed Liu.

He had lost interest in sleeping with women and wanted to ask his father to find medicine to treat his boils, but seeing his father's worried face, he didn't dare to ask and ran away with unsteady steps.