In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"If these words had been spoken before yesterday, they might have been considered reasonable," Yanhe said calmly. "Unfortunately, after yesterday, they are no longer."

Yang Xuan was taken aback.

Yanhe placed the documents in his hand on the table, his tone still calm, but his logic was extremely clear.

"First, you caused such a big scene before the Emperor yesterday. Now, those in Chang'an who are watching the Yang family are also watching me. If I immediately withdraw and return to the Imperial Clan, in other people's eyes, it will be seen as the Yang family and the Imperial Clan working together to eliminate you. When you are demoted from Chang'an, you won't even have a single person by your side who can nominally speak up for you."

"Secondly, given your current injuries, even if you were given a carriage and a few servants, you might not make it to Jiannan alive. Along the way, at post stations, prefectures, medicinal herb shops, and lodgings, without a respectable reputation, who can you expect to take a minor county magistrate like you, who has been exiled for a crime, seriously?"

"third……"

She paused, looking at Yang Xuan.

"If the Prime Minister can break up your engagement today, he can also cut off your people, wealth, and carriages tomorrow. If you push me out too, it's like throwing away your last remaining card."

Cai Fan stood to the side, her eyes wide with astonishment.

She would never have imagined that these words would come from her own princess if she hadn't heard them with her own ears.

Yang Xuan also fell silent.

He always knew that Yanhe wasn't stupid.

A person of royal lineage who can stay peacefully in a place like the Prime Minister's residence for so long cannot possibly be a completely naive and docile woman.

But it was only at this moment that he truly realized that this princess, who usually didn't talk much, wasn't blind to the situation; she just hadn't been too lazy to speak up before.

Now, every word he utters is sincere.

Yang Xuan slowly exhaled and leaned back against the pillow.

"So, when you said 'Let me wake up and we'll talk about it' last night, you already had the answer in your heart."

"Yes."

"Then why are you asking me what I'm doing?"

Yanhe looked at him, his expression remaining calm.

"Because I want to go with them, it's my decision."

"But if you don't want to take me with you, that's your decision."

There was a moment of silence in the room after he said that.

Yang Xuan looked at her.

The morning light fell on her profile, revealing a sharp edge to her usually aloof and cold demeanor.

He suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

In this battle in Chang'an, he overturned the table before the emperor and severed ties with his relatives under the cane. He calculated and plotted against Emperor Xuanzong, An Lushan, and Yang Guozhong, but he never expected that his nominal wife would stand up at this moment and fill the most crucial gap for him.

"Have you thought this through?" Yang Xuan said. "Once you leave, you may never come back."

"Chang'an may not necessarily be a good place," Yanhe said.

Yang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Yanhe lowered his eyes, picked up the document, and walked to the brazier.

The charcoal fire in the basin was still warm, with embers glowing faintly red.

Without the slightest hesitation, she released her grip, and the document, filled with the Prime Minister's wishes and the dignity of the imperial family, floated lightly into the fire.

The paper rolled up first, and then the flame suddenly shot up and instantly engulfed the ink.

Cai Fan couldn't help but exclaim softly, "Princess!"

Yanhe watched as the document curled up, turned black, and turned to ash little by little in the fire, his voice very soft.

"It is the Prime Minister's residence's business to send documents."

Whether I admit it or not is my business.

She turned around, looked at Yang Xuan, her expression calm.

I disagree.

These four words carry more weight than the analysis just now.

Because at this point, it's not just about weighing the pros and cons, but about clearly giving a choice.

Yang Xuan stared at her, remaining silent for a long time.

After a long pause, he chuckled softly.

"it is good."

"Since you've made your choice, I won't try to persuade you anymore."

"From this day forward, if you come with me out of Chang'an, you will not be on the safe path of a princess of the imperial family, but on the perilous path of Yang Xuan, a path that will sever ties with your family and may not even lead to your survival."

Yanhe said, "I know."

"The journey may be tough."

"I know."

"When you arrive in Yaozhou, you may not have a decent house, enough medicine, or even someone to greet you properly."

"I know."

"Then why are you still going with it?"

Yanhe looked at him, and for the first time did not avoid the question.

"Because in that game yesterday, you weren't courting death."

"You're trying to survive."

"Since you're not prepared to die, why should I go first?"

Yang Xuan was slightly taken aback.

This statement is more accurate than anything else.

To outsiders, he appeared to be going mad before the emperor, a rebellious son committing suicide; but Yanhe saw through it all. He wasn't fooling around; he was using himself as a weapon to cut through the deadly net that was Chang'an.

The room fell silent.

After a while, Yang Xuan slowly said, "Gather the angelica."

Cai Fan quickly stepped forward: "This servant is here."

"Go and fetch Afu."

"Yes."

Just as Cai Fan was about to leave, Yang Xuan said again, "Don't disturb the front hall yet, go quietly."

"This servant understands."

After Cai Fan quickly left, Yan He looked at him and said, "You just woke up, what are you going to do again?"

"Do what needs to be done."

Yang Xuan raised his hand and pressed his temple, trying to cheer himself up.

"The imperial decree has been issued, and I cannot linger in Chang'an. Since Yang Guozhong is determined to eliminate me completely, the time he has left for me will be even less than it appears. He will send someone to urge me to get out of the mansion today; he doesn't want to see me for even a quarter of an hour longer."

"If I continue to lie here waiting for his judgment, I will only face death."

Yanhe asked, "Do you want money?"

Yang Xuan glanced at her and smiled.

"Life comes first, money second."

"But you're right. Without money, people, carriages, and help along the way, even if I leave Chang'an, I'll just die in another place."

Yanhe pondered for a moment and said, "I'm afraid you can't keep the private money you originally had in your courtyard. But when you got married, there were rewards from the palace and a gift from the imperial clan. Those things aren't all in the hands of the Prime Minister's mansion on the books."

Yang Xuan's eyes brightened slightly.

He had originally only thought about how to squeeze some of his own resources out of Yanhe, but he didn't expect that Yanhe already had a cleaner resource that was less likely to be immediately blocked by Yang Guozhong.

"How much can you handle?"

"There isn't much cash, but there are jewelry, goldware, two fine horses, two carriages, and several elderly people who came with us from the royal family. If we really want to leave, we can take them all with us."

Yanhe paused here.

"But if you only think about taking these things to Yaozhou to take up your post, that's not enough."

"That's not enough."

Yang Xuan's eyes had become completely clear.

"What I want is not a beat-up car and a few boxes of valuables."

"What I want is to hold onto everything I can before leaving Chang'an. Take what you can with you, exchange what you can for cash as soon as possible, and lay the groundwork for what you can in advance."

Yanhe looked at him and suddenly said, "When you caused that scene in front of the Emperor yesterday, did you include all of this today in your account?"

Yang Xuan was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Seventy percent has been factored in."

"The remaining 30% belongs to you."

He paused slightly after saying this.

Yanhe hadn't expected him to say that, and his eyes flickered slightly.

The room fell silent for a brief moment.

In the end, Yanhe looked away first and said in a flat voice, "Now that the 30% has been made up, stop talking nonsense and think about the important matter."

Yang Xuan laughed out loud, which caused her wound to ache, and she immediately stopped laughing.

But this time, when he looked at Yanhe again, his eyes were different from before.

It wasn't just politeness towards a wife in name only.

Instead, it was the first time he had truly included her in his future plans.