The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Young Master Fuzui, I will take my leave first."

Tangxi Xue put down her teacup and nodded slightly to Chao Huarong.

The smile that had just graced his lips vanished like smoke, leaving not a trace.

She still remembered Madam Mei's gentle eyes when she gave her the sheet music, and Xiao Ningran's bright eyes calling her, "Fairy Sister."

They are all very good.

Sadness surged into my heart like a tidal wave.

"Walk."

Tang Xixue suddenly stood up, her purple cloak billowing in the night wind.

"Returning to Xuelu".

"Your Highness, let me see you off!"

Hua Rongshi hurriedly followed, her clothes carrying a wisp of peach blossom fragrance, but she couldn't keep up with her resolute steps.

Mu Liang silently protected her from the side, brushing his clothes and following closely behind.

The carriage rumbled out of Zuixueju and rolled over the long bluestone street.

The sound of hooves faded into the distance, eventually swallowed up by the night wind.

Hua Rongshi stood in front of the door, watching the car drive away into the distance, her peach blossom eyes filled with sorrow.

"Little snowflakes..."

Bei Chenji stood on the rooftop, taking in the entire scene.

He didn't bother to deal with his troublesome younger cousin, but simply gave a brief instruction:

"Qian Su, go investigate. See if you can help."

A night breeze blew by, and the copper bells on the eaves tinkled.

The carriage curtains were drawn, shutting out the gloomy night outside.

Tang Xixue lifted the curtain and entered, only to find Yan Ci already sitting upright inside.

Several confidential reports lay open beside him, the candlelight illuminating his calm face.

"A-Ce, explain in detail."

Yan Ci nodded slightly, his voice steady.

"After Madam Mei and Qi Si arrived in Yun Chuan, they were ambushed and killed. Miss Pei also perished."

"Strangely, they had traveled safely through Beichen territory, with the troops of each prefecture escorting them in accordance with proper etiquette, and there had been no mishaps."

He paused, then lightly tapped the secret report on the table with his fingertips.

"As is customary, upon entering Yunnan and Sichuan, one should be met by the Yunnan and Sichuan military."

But the person who was supposed to meet them didn't show up. Instead, the assassin did.

Tang Xixue leaned against the carriage wall, the candlelight flickering in her eyes.

"Working together from within and without."

She spoke slowly, her voice soft yet firm.

"Within Yunchuan, the one who most wants Qi Si dead is that young emperor."

Pray for Zhan.

That person with a gentle smile and eyes as warm as a spring breeze actually harbors a poisoned knife in their bones.

"Is Ah Lin rushing back to Yun Chuan now tantamount to suicide?"

She gently pressed her brow, her fingertips feeling slightly cool.

"Qi Zhan was just worried that he was hiding in Baiyujing and wouldn't come out."

According to the Book of Fate, although Pei Yanchuan was lonely and all alone, he would still live for a few more years.

He is only eighteen now.

She changed his fate, but instead made him die even earlier?

According to the Book of Fate, Qi Si, Mei Ruohuan, and Pei Ningran all died young.

Could this be Heaven telling her not to foolishly try to change her fate?

But she didn't believe in fate!

She insisted on protecting Pei Yanchuan.

"Young Master Pei knows the road ahead is fraught with danger."

Yan Ci's voice remained as steady as ever.

"But he has to go back to arrange the funerals for his parents and sister."

"The people left behind by the Regent will escort him all the way. As for Yun Chuan, Qi Wang will protect him."

He took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Tang Xixue with both hands.

"This is what he left for His Highness."

Tang Xixue took the letter and ran her fingertips over it.

On the blank white paper, only two lines of words were hastily written:

"I have already broken my promise to the crabapple in this life, but in the next life, I will still see the snow falling on its branches."

On one corner of the letter, there was a dried tear stain that blurred the ink, like a flower blooming on the paper.

Pei Yanchuan knew that his fate upon leaving for Yunchuan was uncertain.

If he stays in Baiyujing, His Highness will protect him.

But he had to go back.

Those were his parents and his sister.

He couldn't let them lose even their last shred of dignity.

"If Qi Wang had been able to protect her, how could Madam Mei have perished so tragically?"

Tang Xixue's voice was light, yet it sounded like it had been tempered with frost.

"He was just a prince. The Yun Chuan Empire ultimately belonged to Qi Zhan."

She had read the files of Qi Wang, the God of War of Yunchuan.

Qi Wang, courtesy name Lingzhi, was nineteen years old.

Sword fanatic.

He was only one year older than Pei Yanchuan.

He was raised by Regent Qi Si.

His parents died in the palace coup that year.

Only the two brothers were left behind, entrusted to the then young Qi Si.

It was Regent Qi Si who protected and raised the two brothers amidst the perilous struggles.

Qi Wang is not someone who is obsessed with power.

He only wanted to become stronger, and that was all he did.

He didn't understand, nor did he care to understand, the intricacies of court politics and the underhanded power struggles.

Just because you don't understand doesn't mean you won't get hurt.

"He can't protect Ah Lin."

Tang Xixue lowered her eyes, carefully folded the letter, and tucked it into her sleeve.

"No one can protect him."

The candlelight flickered inside the carriage.

"Qi Wang saved Qi Si back then, but... the Silk-Pulling Gu died."

Yan Ci's voice fell into a deep pool, like a stone falling into a deep pool.

"The fact that Lady Mei's life was intertwined with the Regent's should have been a secret. But someone leaked it to Guixu Palace."

He only found out afterward that Qi Si's Thread-Pulling Gu was actually on Mei Ruohuan.

That means entrusting your life to her, sharing life and death with her.

This is the most devoted and sincere declaration of love from the Qi tribe.

Not many people know about this.

Tang Xixue knew about the Silk-Pulling Gu, but Qi Si probably hadn't told anyone else.

"Isn't that silk-threading gu (a type of poisonous insect) proof that the Regent seized it by force?"

"Not so. In fact, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion knows another secret about the Silk-Pulling Gu."

Yan Ci raised his eyes, his wise eyes possessing a clear understanding of the world.

"The Silk-Pulling Gu, bound by a single thread of love, intertwined by life and death."

"The mother Gu uses her own life force to continuously nourish the offspring Gu, which can bring a person on the verge of death back to life."

"If the offspring Gu dies, the host of the mother Gu will also die."

"However, the mother Gu died, but the host of the offspring Gu remained unharmed."

"The mother Gu is the mother Gu, giving everything until death. Only true love can bind them together."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue suddenly recalled the words that Regent Qi Si had said when she first met him.

The Gu poison of the Qi clan is not something anyone is qualified to be cast upon.

At the time, she thought it was mockery.

Only now do I realize that it was true.

"In that case, Qi Zhan is even more suspicious."

She lowered her eyes, her voice icy.

"He used the remains of Ah Lin's family members as bait to lure him back. This was an open conspiracy."

"But Ah Lin is so loyal, righteous, and filial; how could he not go back?"

She always understood.

Pei Yanchuan was of very upright character and was well cared for.

Falling into the dust and mud did not break his pride, and being down on his luck did not make him lose his true self.

Be grateful and repay kindness; be resilient and strive for progress.

Such a good person, yet his life was full of misfortunes.

"Since they are my people, I will naturally protect them."

Tang Xixue looked up, the candlelight reflecting in her eyes like cold stars.

"If Qi Zhan wants A Lin's life, let's see if he has the ability."

She reached out and gently pushed away the cup of tea that had gone cold on the table.

The fingertips brushed the rim of the cup, making a very faint sound, like the last soft ringing of a blade before it is drawn from its sheath.

"Make preparations, I am leaving the capital. The main soul has been found. A-Ce, please convey this to my elder brother and mother, and return the Buddhist beads to the mother."

Tang Xixue handed the sandalwood prayer beads to Yan Ci.

"Does His Highness intend to go to Yunchuan in person?"

Yan Ci inquired.

"What else? Let Ah Lin go and die alone?"

Tang Xixue's voice was calm and resolute.

"No one can touch my people."