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

Inside Changxin Palace, a group of palace servants knelt on the ground. The head maid looked at the man on the throne in fear, not daring to breathe.

Xie Xun lowered his brows, rubbing his forehead with one hand. In his palace, you dared to run away? Ning Yu, who's helping you?!

"That day will never come. I will always be with Your Majesty."

With a bang, the teacup on the table shattered into pieces, and the shards pierced her flesh. The head maid was so frightened that sweat beaded on her forehead, but she dared not utter a sound and endured the pain.

Sure enough, she was only trying to escape the palace by giving in to him. She was deceiving him again and again!

Ning Yu, you'd better get the hell out of here. I wish I could strangle you right now.

When an emperor is enraged, blood flows for miles. In less than half an hour, all the clues were uncovered and presented in great detail to the imperial table in the Changxin Palace.

Yun Shu's body was also exhumed, but it turned out to be a fake. Following the trail of people, they found the contact guard in the account of the guards in the Treasure Pavilion, and traced it back to Consort Lin from the list of those who left the palace.

Today, all the palaces were very busy with the prayer ceremony, and there were so many people in the palace that no one noticed an inconspicuous palace servant getting into Consort Lin's carriage. It was only after the commander at the city gate presented the portrait that no one noticed.

Xie Xun stood in front of the imperial table, looking at the portrait of a completely different person from her, her hands gripping the jade thumb ring, veins bulging.

When Consort Lin was brought into the palace, she realized she had made a mess of things. "They said she was a woman from Donghu, but how was I supposed to know I'd been tricked by that rascal? I just dropped her off on West Street and left."

"Did my elder brother ask the Empress Dowager to help him take someone out of the palace?"

"Yes, they even bribed someone at the palace gate to avoid the heavy guards and didn't check much. His Majesty has sealed the city gates all night, and they still haven't found any trace of them. They must have bribed someone at the city gate and they've already left the city."

They had a man disguise himself as a woman and sneak into Changxin Palace to contact her. He put on a grand show in front of her, exuding the emperor's oppressive aura, which terrified the chief eunuch so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

That palace maid was just a bit tall. Little did he know that accepting gifts and bribing people to get into Changxin Palace would cause such a big fuss. He thought that serving in front of the emperor was an attempt to seduce His Majesty, but he never knew it was an attempt to get close to the Lady. He regretted it now.

"Immediately dispatch troops out of the city to search, heading northwest towards Yanzhou and Beihai, and issue a notice to seal off all passes leading into the northwest and Beihai."

Qingfeng immediately replied respectfully, "Yes."

The chief eunuch, kneeling on the ground, trembled like a leaf. "We must find it! Otherwise, how many people will die?"

Xie Xun couldn't sleep all night. The next day, he received a letter from Xie Yan, which he opened and read.

The eerie atmosphere made everyone in the hall shiver. Qingfeng lowered his head, wondering what the young master was up to. Since morning, he had revealed the whereabouts of the madam to them.

Inside the military camp of the North Sea Empire.

Two days ago, another battle was fought. The army of Crown Prince Xie Jingchen, fully supported by the southwestern clans, has arrived at Hanchuan Pass and a sizable battle took place on the North Sea.

The general in charge of Beihai was surnamed Qin, who commanded the troops of various tribes in Nanqiu and Xiliang. He was a general sent by the empire, and the army was composed of various forces. This general from the capital was somewhat unable to control the various troops and suffered several defeats.

He entered Xie Yan's tent, looked at the man inside who was acting alone, and laughed, "This humble official is from a poor family and doesn't know many characters. I really don't know what the meaning is of the battle plan that the young master sent?"

Xie Yan poured him a cup of tea.

"Your Highness, please speak frankly. I am a rough man and do not understand what you mean."

"General Qin, you have commanded troops for many years, there is no need to be so modest. It's just that the court suffered heavy losses in this battle, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to explain when you return to the capital."

General Qin paused, recalling the new emperor's ruthlessness, and sighed, "I wonder when the imperial army will be able to arrive in the southwest."

That was the former Crown Prince Xie Jingchen! Everyone thought he had died in the palace coup, and the new emperor ascended the throne as a member of the imperial clan. Now that the situation is settled, the former Crown Prince is still alive. How are the officials in the court supposed to behave?

"General Qin should be aware of the situation in the court. The late emperor is dead, and Crown Prince Xie Jingchen died at the hands of the physician. The rebellion in the southwest, using the Crown Prince's name, is unjust. The empire is the army of justice."

Xie Yanwen smiled and handed over the teacup. General Qin coughed lightly, took the hot tea, and said, "Yes, yes."

"If this war is not quelled, given the new emperor's temperament, your life after returning to the capital will not be easy." Xie Yan looked at the battle plans on the military disk. "Tomorrow, the ice on the river will crack, and hundreds of warships will cross the river. This is a good opportunity."

Even the weather is cooperating like this. If he doesn't win a battle soon, he really won't be able to return to the capital. General Qin took a sip of tea and responded.

The army was stationed downstream of the North Sea, facing the southwestern rebels across the river. At night, the sea was shrouded in clouds and mist, with wind and waves rising.

After General Qin came out of the main tent, A-Zhou took the letter and went inside.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort has arrived in Qin Nan."

At this pace, it would take them another half a month to reach Beihai. Xie Yan looked at the topographical map on the table. "Has any news come from the palace?"

"Not yet, but His Majesty should have received the letter." After saying this, A-Zhou looked at his master with some confusion. "Why would the Crown Prince reveal the Crown Princess's information to His Majesty? I don't understand."

The candlelight inside the tent crackled, casting a soft glow on the man's face. "Isn't it fun?"

"Fun?"

Xie Yan chuckled lightly, "Let my good brother also taste the bitterness of having his wife stolen, and watch her die with his own eyes. How fun would that be?"

A-Zhou frowned. "Does the Crown Prince want the Crown Princess to die?"

"As long as she doesn't die, Xie Xun won't give up looking for her. He'll be hiding and can't live in peace. Only when he sees her dead with his own eyes can A Yu live a peaceful life."

Ah Zhou understood that the Crown Prince did not really want the Crown Princess to die. He was about to turn around and leave when he saw the man under the lamplight raise his head, his eyes as calm as the autumn waves of a spring lake.

"Go and send a letter to my good brother, and tell him that A-Yu and I are waiting for him in Beihai."

Such provocation would surely infuriate His Majesty. A-Zhou hesitated for a moment, "What if His Majesty's army is strong and fast enough to catch up with the Crown Princess and bring her back?"

"No, knowing his temperament, he'll summon me back to the capital." Xie Yan smiled. "If I don't go back, he'll come and beat me up himself. Besides—the waterway to the north should be open by now; he can't wait much longer."

A-Zhou was dissatisfied. It was clearly His Majesty who had taken away the Crown Prince's wife, so why was he hitting the Crown Prince?

"Go."

A-Zhou responded, but stopped as he turned to leave, looking back. "If His Majesty were to take action against the Northwest because of this, would it be worth it?"

Xie Yan tapped his long, slender fingers lightly on the table. "He'll make his move on the Northwest sooner or later."

A-Zhou remained silent, then lifted the tent flap and went outside.

After everyone left, Xie Yan looked at the portrait of the woman on the table, and the image of the woman in the heavy snow outside the city of Beijing many years ago flashed through his mind.

The two figures gradually overlapped. He gently stroked the eyebrows and eyes in the painting. The hatred of having his wife stolen was irreconcilable, not even his own brother could be allowed to do it!