Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

"I have a border defense deployment map, right here."

Gu Jinghuai raised his finger and pointed to his temple, the iron chains rattling with his movement.

"Not a single word is wrong, it's all in my head."

The troop deployment, rotation times, supply routes, and water source distribution of the thirty-seven beacon towers along the border.

Also included are the names, hometowns, and combat habits of each garrison commander.

Do they prefer to flank with cavalry or advance with infantry from the front? Do they typically beat drums or raise flags before battle?

The princess has fought in the north for so many years; she should know how many lives this information is worth.

Saren was silent for a moment, then placed the oil lamp on the low table next to him, crossed his arms, and called out the names of several border generals one by one.

Beside her stood a wiry Han Chinese advisor who had emerged from the room at some point and was squinting as he scrutinized Gu Jinghuai's every subtle expression.

Gu Jinghuai answered fluently.

He described the garrison locations, troop strength, and preferred tactics of each general.

They even pointed out the weaknesses of some of them.

His Northern Hu dialect wasn't fluent; it was halting and stumbling, but every key word was accurate.

After listening, Princess Saren's contemptuous smile finally disappeared.

She tilted her head and stared at him for a long time, her fingers slowly stroking the hilt of the knife at her waist, as if she were sizing up prey that had come to her door.

Then she smiled, her eyes crinkling.

The smile was beautiful, with the corners of the mouth curving up to reveal two sharp canine teeth, but beneath that smile lay an unseen knife.

Gu Jinghuai was all too familiar with that smile.

In her past life, when she was being interrogated, she would smile like this every time she was about to lie.

"interesting."

Saren took half a step back and tilted his head towards the guard.

"Take him with you, let's leave tonight."

Two guards grabbed Gu Jinghuai by the arms and dragged him into the room like he was carrying a bag of goods.

The door closed silently behind him.

Princess Saren blew out the oil lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

A moment later, the back door of the inn’s backyard was silently pushed open.

Several fast horses disappeared silently into the night on the Gobi Desert.

The next morning, when the yamen runners were counting the number of people, they discovered that one person was missing from the livestock shed.

The burly yamen runner turned the entire post station upside down.

They even stirred the latrine with a stick.

Apart from the broken iron chain in the corner, nothing was found.

Gu Jinghuai disappeared without a trace, like a grain of sand falling into the desert.

Prince Zhenbei's Mansion

The news arrived in the capital by carrier pigeon on the evening of the third day.

Xiao Fang had just returned from the Censorate and hadn't even stepped into the main hall when he saw Ming Rui walking in quickly from outside.

He held an urgent secret report in his hand, his expression even more silent than usual.

Mingrui has followed Xiao Fang for so many years, and he doesn't even flinch when a knife is held to his neck.

There aren't many things that could make him show that expression.

"Your Highness."

Mingrui handed over the confidential report, lowering his voice.

"An incident occurred at the post station in the northern desert."

Gu Jinghuai has disappeared.

A broken iron chain was found at the scene, along with this—

He pulled a small piece of torn leather from his pocket, on which was branded a blurry wolf's head.

That is the emblem of the Northern Hu people.

Xiao Fang took the piece of leather, examined it for a while, and then slowly clenched it.

The leather crumpled in his palm, his fingertips turning slightly white from being squeezed so tightly.

Gu Jinghuai wouldn't disappear without a reason.

The fact that the chain was broken indicates that someone was there to help.

The wolf head mark indicates that the person who came to meet them was a Northern Hu person.

Why would the Northern Hu people risk infiltrating the post station to rob a convicted exiled slave?

Unless, he has something that tempts them.

Gu Jinghuai does indeed have leverage.

He carried the memories of his past life, knowing every defense post, every supply route, and the weakness of every general on the border.

If he were to defect to the Northern Hu, this information would become a knife stuck in the heart of the Zhenbei Army.

Xiao Fang slammed the secret report on the table and turned to walk towards the study.

He gave instructions as he walked.

"Prepare the horses, I'm going to the palace."

Yun Shuyao came out from the inner room.

She heard Mingrui's words and saw the veins bulging on the back of Xiao Fang's hand as he clenched the leather.

She walked up to the tall man, blocked his path, and looked up into his eyes.

Yun Shuyao's eyes were slightly red, but her voice did not tremble, and she spoke clearly, word by word.

"It was my fault.

He should have been killed with a single blow back in the capital.

I hate him so much that I want him to suffer while he's alive.

She hated him so much that she wanted him to walk the three-thousand-mile road of exile, to suffer all kinds of hardships, and then die.

--It was my fault.

He defected to the Northern Barbarians carrying memories of two lifetimes. If his intelligence endangers his father's border troops...

The consequences would be unimaginable.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Xiao Fang reached out and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, his voice a little softer than usual.

"No one expected that the Northern Hu people would appear at that post station."

Besides, sparing his life was my decision, not yours alone.

Even if there is responsibility, it should be mine to bear.

Xiao released her, cupped her face in his hands, and used his thumbs to wipe away the tear stain that hadn't yet rolled down from the corner of her eye.

"But now is not the time to talk about these things."

You said that Gu Jinghuai had seen the border defense map in his previous life and was familiar with the combat habits of every general under his father.

His defection to the Northern Hu puts not only his father in danger, but the entire border region is in danger.

So I have to go.

Yun Shuyao gripped his wrist tightly.

"I'll go too."

Her tone carried an almost stubborn firmness.

Xiao Fang looked down into her eyes and shook his head.

His gaze returned to calm and sharpness, as if in an instant he had transformed from husband to head coach.

"You have more important matters to attend to while you are in the capital."

Gu Jinghuai's defection to the enemy may be part of the Wing King case.

The Northern Hu people shouldn't have appeared at the post station out of thin air; someone needs to investigate this lead.

You need to keep an eye on Lu Zhao and Lin Hui, and also keep someone in the court who can mobilize the Censorate.

"I'm going to the border; I'm leaving everything in the capital to you."

Yun Shuyao remained silent for a moment, then slowly released her grip.

She knew Xiao Fang was right.

They are a couple who fight side by side, not one protecting the other.

Xiao Fang believed she could stabilize the court in the capital, just as she believed her husband could repel the enemy at the border.

Xiao Fang entered the palace overnight.

He stayed in the imperial study for less than half an hour before requesting an imperial decree to come out.

He didn't even go back to his residence; he simply mounted his horse at the palace gate.

With only Mingrui and a few dozen personal guards, he rode into the deep night.

The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance on the empty official road, startling a few crows that were roosting there, which fluttered into the moonless night sky.

Xiao Fang arrived at the border in the early morning of the seventh day.

He ran three fine horses to their deaths on the road.

From the capital to the northern desert, a distance of over three thousand li, he only changed horses three times at the post stations along the way.

Each time, he would throw off the reins, flip himself onto the saddle, and not even have time to drink water.

When the last horse carrying him charged into the gate of the Zhenbei Army camp, its hooves buckled and it collapsed to its knees, foaming at the mouth, unable to stand up again.

Xiao Fang tumbled off the horse, his legs so stiff he could barely stand. He staggered a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

The sentry at the camp gate paused for a moment before recognizing him, and exclaimed:

"The Crown Prince?!"