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

Although Ning Yu didn't know where he was going to see, she was sure it wasn't a good place, so she grabbed his clothes and didn't dare to speak.

"Is there such a thing as a plaything? You're practically riding on my head and acting like a tyrant." He said this with a hint of doting in his tone, lifting her up by the waist and kissing her forehead.

Ning Yu felt no love at all; a chilling fear surged within her. Even if she wasn't his plaything, so what? He hadn't considered leaving her a way out; her life and death were entirely up to his whims.

She was like a pet he kept in a gilded cage. When he was in a good mood, he would tease and coax her, but once she asked for this or that and touched his bottom line, he didn't know how he would turn his back on her.

All he wanted was for her to obediently stay in the villa, watch him marry and have children, and wait for him to come to the villa to favor her. If she dared to grow fangs and try to resist, he would make the entire Ning family pay for her death.

A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she buried them in his chest. If she could do it all over again, she would never provoke a man like him.

"Weren't you going to the palace? Aren't you leaving?"

A low urging voice reached his ears. Xie Xun grabbed her slender neck and lifted her up. Their eyes met. Her eyes were filled with affection and an undeniable weariness. His heart softened, and he kissed her lips deeply.

"Remember what you said. If I find out you lied to me, you'll suffer the consequences."

His voice sounded gentle, but to Ning Yu it was a warning!

She felt a vague unease in her heart, but obediently responded.

Xie Xun went out.

Ning Yu was originally very sleepy, but his words made her uneasy, and she couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned.

She didn't fall asleep until almost dawn, and when she woke up again it was noon.

After washing up and having dinner, she asked Xia Zhu and learned that Xie Xun hadn't returned from the morning court session, and even Qingfeng, her usual lackey, wasn't at home.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ning Yu asked Xia Zhu to go outside and buy a small medicine stove, the kind that can be carried around, about the same size as a stewing pot.

Xia Zhu was very efficient; she bought it in less than half an hour.

She then spent the afternoon fiddling with her medicinal herbs in the small kitchen. Once she had finished refining the contraceptive medicine, she immediately destroyed all traces of it, restoring it to its original state, and gave the medicine furnace to Xia Zhu.

"Madam, could it be that the Governor has gone back to his ancestral home because of his wedding?" The Governor usually returns right after court, but it's almost evening now and he still hasn't come back.

Ning Yu was hoping he wouldn't come, and didn't care much. She dismissed him, saying, "I'm not eating tonight, you can all leave now."

She planned to take a stroll around the mansion that evening, especially the small kitchen, to see if she could sneak out.

She had originally planned to run away while Xie Xun was away when she heard at noon that he hadn't returned. Even if she was an unregistered resident, she could just hide in the city and get a legal identity before leaving.

But she didn't dare to take any action even after thinking about it all afternoon. Xie Xun's words from last night were still vivid in her mind, and she felt that something was wrong.

But she couldn't worry about that now. Her scoundrel wasn't in the mansion, which was a perfect opportunity. She couldn't afford to miss this chance and be trapped in this villa forever.

The door was closed, and the candlelight inside went out shortly afterward. The old women who were keeping watch at the door saw that people had rested and went a little further away to gossip and chat.

Inside the room, Ning Yu changed into some simple clothes. Just as she climbed onto the window, she suddenly remembered Qing He, who was still imprisoned in the imperial prison, and her heart clenched.

If she escapes, Xie Xun will definitely kill Qing He. She needs to hurry back from Mozhou and ask Xie Yan for help.

With a creak, the window closed, and Ning Yu jumped down, hiding in the grass. Unaware of the sentries around her, she leaped into the air and nimbly climbed up a large tree.

---

Inside the palace.

Xie Yan, who had just come out of the imperial prison, had bloodshot eyes. The guards following behind him bowed as they looked at his cold, hard features.

"The person has been sent back. The maid was stubborn, but the interrogator from the Dali Temple deduced from her expression during the interrogation that what the young master wanted to ask was true."

Xie Yan remained silent, descended the steps, boarded the carriage, and headed towards the outskirts of the palace.

Ah Zhou drove the carriage. "We can't completely trust what that Qinghe girl says. The Commander is currently preoccupied with military affairs at the camp. Shall I go to the other residence to investigate?"

"If what His Highness Prince Zhao said is true, then there is no need to wait for the Crown Prince to go to Mozhou to investigate."

Now the border is in chaos. As soon as the Crown Prince of Shangliang left the land of Daxia, he launched a counterattack. The Emperor is seriously ill, and the Elders Council wants the Seventh Prince, Xie Chizhang, to personally go to the battlefield in armor.

The Third Prince, the Eighth Prince, and Prince Xie Zhanyan are all among the supreme commanders of this campaign against Liang.

Apart from the princes who remained in Kyoto, the Crown Prince suddenly mentioned that the Fifth Prince, Prince Zhao, was in good health and hoped that he could come to the palace to attend to him as soon as possible.

The princes who had been granted titles had already established their own residences, so when Prince Zhao was not in the palace, he brought out a prince who had long since withdrawn from the power struggle. No one knew what the Crown Prince was really thinking.

This Prince Zhao was also good-tempered, and he entered the palace the next day.

The court has been in a state of chaos these past two days, with everyone preparing for war. As the supreme commander of the three armies, Xie Xun is naturally extremely busy and spent the night in the military camp.

Those close to him knew that the governor was not actually working in the military camp; after issuing a few orders, he disappeared without a trace.

These orders were quickly sent to the border by the guards.

The frontier tent.

Murong Huang's face had been very gloomy these past few days, especially after learning the news from the capital that Prince Huaiyou had taken advantage of his southward campaign to support a prince who had long been deposed to return to the capital.

Upon receiving this news, he angrily kicked the table and chairs to pieces. He had searched for so many years without being able to kill it, and now it had actually returned.

Of course he knew who was behind it.

He wanted to force Xie Xun to personally lead the expedition and fight him openly, so he used tricks to send out several secret letters from the rebels.

But within a few days, all of his trusted confidants who had been hiding in Daxia died, and his ninth brother, who had long been destined to die while living among the common people, was also found and returned to Shangliang.

Thank you, Xun! Thank you, Xun!

That's quite a feat; you've outmaneuvered him. Now he's even more eager to personally descend upon Great Xia and challenge you to a duel.

"Your Highness, battle reports have arrived from the front."

Murong Huang walked to his desk, looked at the densely packed reports on it, and said in a sinister voice, "It's that bunch of useless trash again."

"Has the general leading the army for Great Xia been confirmed yet?"

"I heard it was a prince from the palace, but no one has come forward yet."

In the battle of Nanguan, he fought a thrilling battle with the Xie family's heir, but the latter ultimately lost. Although he survived, he didn't get to enjoy the fight enough.

Murong Huang recalled the state banquet he attended in the Great Xia Dynasty. The Xia Emperor was seriously ill, the Crown Prince held power, and more than a dozen princes were eyeing him covetously. Now was the perfect time for internal strife in the Great Xia Dynasty, and he had to send troops.

"Your Highness, we've found her; it's this woman."

A deadly assassin appeared silently behind him. Murong Huang turned around when he heard the eerie, flat voice.

The moment he saw the portrait, he smiled, his eyes narrowing. It was her!

Isn't that Xie family heir's wife? He had seen her at a banquet in Daxia.