After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

At dawn the next day, at the ten-mile-long pavilion outside the capital, ten thousand Northern Shuo iron cavalry stood in formation. Their black armor gleamed with the golden light of dawn, their swords and spears gleamed coldly, and their military bearing was as disciplined as a mountain.

Xiao Jingyuan, clad in black armor and a dark cloak, leaped onto his warhorse. As he pulled on the reins, he instinctively looked up at the city wall.

On the city tower, Xie Qinglan, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, stood with the morning breeze making the hem flutter. The two gazed at each other across the long official road, a thousand words unspoken.

Xiao Jingyuan nodded slightly to the man, reined in his horse, turned around, and cracked his whip, shouting, "Let's go!"

The massive cavalry force set off in a grand procession, the dark torrent gradually receding into the distance towards the horizon.

Xie Qinglan stood on the city wall, watching the procession head west until the last figure disappeared into the horizon.

The morning breeze ruffled his clothes as he slowly descended the city wall, his steps as composed as ever. Only Gao An, standing close by, could clearly see that his hands, hanging at his sides, were clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, leaving several faint red marks.

The expedition was rushed, and Xiao Jingyuan left behind only two imperial edicts before departing.

The first decree appointed Prince Rui, Xiao Jingchen, to temporarily assume the position of regent, to perform the rites of the imperial clan, and to preside over regular court sessions. The second decree established that since there was no previous system of prime minister in the Northern Shuo, the position of Grand Chancellor was created as an exception, and Xie Qinglan was appointed as Grand Chancellor, in charge of all military and political affairs. He could make decisions on the appointment and removal of officials in the capital, the allocation of grain and fodder, and the punishment of criminal cases. He could act first and report later, and even the regent princes would be subject to his control.

The two imperial edicts were posted in the court on the very day the army set off, immediately causing a great uproar.

A group of senior officials jointly petitioned the emperor, saying that "the Northern Shuo Kingdom has never had a prime minister in its hundred years of existence. It is unreasonable to have a minister from the Southern Yue Kingdom take charge of the government." Even members of the imperial clan and collateral branches expressed their dissatisfaction.

Xiao Jingchen, on the contrary, was happy to be a hands-off manager and was the first to stand up and agree, saying frankly, "With Prime Minister Xie here, I can save myself the trouble."

Xie Qinglan, dressed in court robes, stood beneath the imperial steps, his expression cold and indifferent. He knew that this imperial decree had come abruptly without any prior preparation and would inevitably draw criticism from both the court and the public. At this moment, reasoning was useless; the only option was to establish his authority.

He suppressed all dissent by doing only three things: First, he revealed the imperial edict bearing Xiao Jingyuan's personal seal, stating that it was personally decreed by His Majesty and that anyone who disobeyed it would be punished for defying the imperial edict; second, he publicly asked anyone who believed they could control the capital garrison and manage the western expedition's provisions flawlessly, and that they could step forward immediately, in which case he would immediately yield the position; third, he ordered the palace guards to arrest the senior official from the Ministry of Rites who had instigated the disturbance and to dismiss him from his post and investigate him for the crime of disrupting military affairs.

After three moves, the entire court fell silent. In just three days, Xie Qinglan had brought the capital's government affairs, grain and fodder allocation, and city defense deployment to a well-ordered state. The court officials who had previously harbored discontent had no choice but to submit, and no one dared to question the prime minister's power anymore.

After Xiao Jingyuan set out on his campaign, there was no news of him for half a month. Discussions began to rise in the court, with many senior officials privately criticizing Xiao Jingyuan for ignoring advice and for being too reckless in personally leading the campaign.

On the sixteenth day of the expedition, the first report of victory from the front lines reached the capital. Under the command of Xiao Zhaoyue, the Yanran cavalry broke through the encirclement, and Shen Hanzhou and Wanyan Lie's surprise attack successfully crossed the Han Sea. The three armies converged, and Wanyan Duo's defenses of the Western Rong collapsed one after another. Along with the report of victory, there was also a personal letter from Xiao Jingyuan.

Xie Qinglan unfolded the letter, and the familiar handwriting immediately caught his eye. Xiao Jingyuan first described the situation on the main battlefield, then mentioned that Wanyan Duo had sent someone to sue for peace, and finally, the tone shifted, and he began to complain to him about Shen Hanzhou and Wanyan Lie—

"The army is peaceful, except for Shen Hanzhou and Wanyan Lie, who bicker every day. Yesterday, the two argued endlessly about the marching route. Shen Hanzhou called Wanyan Lie a fraudster from the Western Rong, to which Wanyan Lie replied, 'Not a fraudster, but your wife.' Shen Hanzhou drew his sword on the spot and almost came to blows in the central command tent, but was stopped by Xiao Zhaoyue. I hear the two of them arguing all day long, and it gives me a headache."

Xie Qinglan unfolded the letter and read it carefully, a faint smile spreading across his usually cool and aloof expression. He folded the letter neatly and tucked it into his sleeve, then picked up his pen to reply.

The handwriting was elegant, and the message was brief: "All is well in the capital, and the court is in order. Your Majesty, focus on the war and take care of your health. We await your triumphant return."

That night, Xie Qinglan went to bed early. The anxiety that had been hanging over him for more than half a month finally eased a little, and he fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He didn't know how long he had slept when he was suddenly awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Thank you, Lord Xie! Thank you, Lord Xie!" It was Gao An's voice, filled with unprecedented anxiety and trembling. "The Cold Palace is on fire! The Cold Palace is on fire!"

Xie Qinglan suddenly stood up, put on an outer robe, and rushed out of the palace gate.

Flames shot into the sky from the direction of the Cold Palace, the crimson flames engulfing the buildings, the wooden beams crackling as they burned, and thick smoke billowing into the night sky, turning half of the night into a dim yellow.

The fire broke out in the side hall of the Cold Palace where Pei Yuning was under house arrest. The palace servants were scrambling to fetch water to put out the fire, and the imperial guards were running around coordinating their efforts. The entire harem was in chaos.

By the time the fire was completely extinguished, most of the side hall had collapsed, the charred beams and pillars were leaning precariously among the rubble, and the blue brick floor was blackened by smoke.

Ling Feng emerged from the ruins, his face extremely grim, holding in his hands a gold hairpin that had been burned and deformed—the one Pei Yuning usually wore in her hair.

"My lord, a female corpse has been found near the bed in the side hall. Her figure is similar to Ning's. She has been burned beyond recognition."

"Furthermore, the four shadow guards on duty that night were all drugged with a sleeping potion. When they woke up, the fire had already started, and they didn't see anything."

Xie Qinglan took the gold hairpin, her fingertips tracing the charred, intertwined patterns, her eyes cold and deep: "It's not her."

Ling Feng was slightly taken aback.

"She loves beauty but is afraid of pain." Xie Qinglan's voice was very calm, so calm that it was almost devoid of any emotion. "Even if she were to hang herself, she wouldn't choose to immolate herself."

He glanced towards the outskirts of the city, a flash of anger crossing his eyes: "Immediately seal off all four gates and thoroughly investigate all vehicles and pedestrians leaving the city!"

He stopped abruptly as soon as he finished speaking, his heart sinking. The Cold Palace was heavily guarded by shadow guards; Pei Yuning could not possibly have escaped alone. There must have been someone working with her from the inside.

The fire had been burning for a long time, and the gates had been disrupted as the flames spread. The other party must have taken advantage of the chaos to send people out of the city. By now, it was too late to seal the city gates.

"Prepare the horses!" Xie Qinglan decided immediately. "Follow me and pursue them along the official road heading south!"

The night wind was biting, making his robes flutter loudly. Xie Qinglan spurred his horse and galloped along the official road towards Nanyue.

Ten miles outside the city, beside a dense forest along the official road, stood an inconspicuous blue cloth carriage.

The coachman had long since disappeared, and half of the torch lay rolled in the dry grass, its light flickering in the night wind, making the dark brown bloodstains on the carriage curtain stand out starkly.

Pei Yuning was surrounded by several men in black beside the carriage. Her palace dress was torn in several places by tree branches, her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered with cigarette ash and tear stains.

Upon seeing the gleaming longsword in the man in black's hand, the fear on her face instantly turned into disbelief.

"Who are you? I am Princess Nanyue, you cannot—" Before she could finish speaking, a long sword had already pierced her chest.

The cold blade pierced her chest and emerged from her back, blood dripping down the blade and staining the dust with dark brown marks. She lowered her head, looking at the blood gushing from her chest, opened her mouth but could not utter a sound, her body went limp and she slowly slid down the carriage shaft to the ground.

Just then, a figure in moonlight darted out from the darkness.

With a flash of sword light, before the black-clad man wielding the sword could even turn around, a line of blood was slashed across his neck, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

The remaining men in black immediately turned to face Xie Qinglan, but they were no match for her—in just three moves, several of them fell to the ground, powerless to resist.

Xie Qinglan sheathed her sword and quickly walked to Pei Yuning's side, where she knelt down.

He looked down to examine the location of the wound. The sword had pierced her lung, and blood was gushing from the wound and from her mouth and nose, staining her clothes crimson.

His fingers paused slightly—at this position, at this depth, it was already too late to save him.

"Why...did you come?" Pei Yuning's voice was very soft, with a calmness unique to someone on the verge of death.

She looked at Xie Qinglan's blood-stained face and suddenly smiled. The smile was pale and bleak. Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth and flowed down her chin into her collar.

"I'm not here to save you," Xie Qinglan said calmly.

Pei Yuning's eyelashes trembled, and she smiled again, as if she wasn't surprised.

She lay on her back, gazing at the night sky fragmented by the shadows of the trees, her breathy voice broken like withered leaves in the wind: "I know."

"Pei Nanchi would never let you return to Nanyue alive." Xie Qinglan's voice was calm yet cold, as if stating a predetermined ending. "From beginning to end, you were nothing more than a pawn on his chessboard, used and discarded once it was done. Once this pawn has fallen into Beishuo, there's no going back, no going back. He only intended to use your marriage to get rid of me from the start—you failed, and you're no longer of any use."

He paused, lowered his eyes to look at Pei Yuning's pale face, and said in a flat voice, "Oh, no. You have one last use. Dying in Beishuo will give him a legitimate reason for his actions and add a tragic dimension to his revenge."

Pei Yuning stared at him blankly, tears silently rolling down her face, washing away the ash and bloodstains, and disappearing into her disheveled hair.

She wanted to shake her head, to argue that it was impossible, that he was her own brother—but she couldn't utter a single word. Because when she saw those assassins, she had already understood this, she simply refused to admit it.

"Qinglan... Brother." Her voice grew softer and softer, each word sounding as if it were being ground out from the depths of her chest, hoarse and filled with the churning of blood and foam, "I... it hurts so much."

Xie Qinglan was silent for a moment, then reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword stuck in her chest.

He glanced at Pei Yuning—in her tear-blurred eyes were pain, resentment, regret, and a complex emotion he couldn't decipher.

He suddenly drew his sword.

Blood gushed out like a spring, instantly staining Pei Yuning's clothes and Xie Qinglan's cuffs red. Pei Yuning's body convulsed, and her breathing suddenly became rapid.

She opened her mouth, desperately trying to breathe, but like a fish out of water, she couldn't inhale anything. Her consciousness began to blur, and Xie Qinglan in her vision turned into a swaying, moon-white shadow.

With her last ounce of strength, she moved her lips and uttered a muffled sound: "Qi—".

Xie Qinglan frowned. He subconsciously leaned down, trying to hear what she said, but Pei Yuning's lips moved a few times, and the breathy sounds she made were too faint to be heard.

He could only barely make out the pronunciation of the word—"其"—from the remaining lip movements.

The next moment, her lips fell completely still, without any further movement.

Those dark, bright eyes that had followed him since childhood gradually dimmed and eventually lost all their luster.

Xie Qinglan looked down at her, remained silent for a long time, and then gently covered her eyelids with her hand.

The night wind blew through the dense forest, causing the torchlight to flicker. In the distance came the rapid sound of horses' hooves; Ye Qi and his men had arrived.

He dismounted and strode to Xie Qinglan. He looked down at Pei Yuning, who was lying in a pool of blood, and asked nothing. He simply knelt on one knee, waiting for Xie Qinglan to speak.

"Find a quiet place and bury her." Xie Qinglan stood up, her voice returning to its usual calm and indifferent tone, but for some reason, it sounded somewhat hoarse. "No need for a tombstone."

"There are still some assassins alive on the ground. Take them back and interrogate them thoroughly to uncover the forces behind them."

Ye Qi responded and directed the shadow guards to step forward, wrap Pei Yuning's body in a cloak, and gently lift it onto the horse.

Xie Qinglan mounted his horse and turned it back to the city.

As he rode along, the night breeze caressing his face, the doubts in his heart lingered.

The Cold Palace was heavily guarded by elite shadow guards personally appointed by Xiao Jingyuan. Pei Yuning was under strict house arrest, making it difficult for outsiders to approach. All the shadow guards on duty were affected by the sleeping potion and couldn't even find the person's trace, which showed that the person was not only familiar with the palace's defenses but also had a foolproof plan.

Someone was able to sneak into the palace, set fire to create a fake death, send people out of the palace undetected, and even arrange for assassins to kill them on the way.

There is a traitor in the palace.

This thought took root in his mind. This person was hidden deep within the palace, familiar with the defenses, and could even exchange information with Pei Nanchi of Nanyue, posing a far greater threat than any open enemy.

He tightened the reins, gazing into the deep night, his eyes growing increasingly cold and sharp. With war raging outside and treacherous villains lurking within, this game was far more dangerous than he had imagined.