The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

Just as King Bilin had predicted, Yuan Shuying was indeed at the State Administration of Ceremonies handling matters related to the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce.

At this moment, in the courtyard outside the State Ceremonial Office, a large number of people who had heard the news rushed over, creating a noisy and indignant atmosphere.

After the initial surprise of the auspicious white deer appearing in the capital, many people believed that the Wan Hua Merchant Guild had been incredibly audacious and secretly imprisoned the white deer, which led to the auspicious beast breaking out of its carriage in the bustling city.

The crowd surrounded the gate of the Imperial Household Department, shouting and pleading with the Princess to severely punish the merchant guild and restore justice to the auspicious beast.

The noise grew louder and louder. Yuan Shuying stood in the hall, her brows furrowing more and more tightly, feeling utterly annoyed.

She patiently went out and explained a few things, but the people were too emotional to listen and became more and more agitated.

Yuan Shuying's patience ran out. With a cold face, she said to the guards beside her, "Issue the order that anyone who gathers a crowd to surround the Banglijian again and causes a disturbance be arrested for disturbing the peace."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The guards obeyed and obediently carried out the princess's orders, and gradually the shouting subsided.

... ... ...

Su Yanji had been waiting for a long time in the main hall of the Imperial Household Department.

Seeing Yuan Shuying return, she stepped forward and handed her a small, exquisitely carved wooden box, saying gently, "Your Highness, this is just a small gift, nothing more."

The box was opened, revealing a silver chain inlaid with tiny sapphires. The bracelet was exquisitely designed, and the gems shimmered with a warm glow under the light. It was one of the treasures she had prepared for auction at Jinhua City.

"Your Highness, the matter of the auspicious white deer has absolutely nothing to do with my Wanhua Merchant Guild."

Su Yanji repeated herself, sighed softly, and said with a hint of helplessness, "It was Bai Lu who secretly sneaked into one of my merchant guild's cloud carriages. Not only did we fail to detain it, but we also lost five precious herbs. I hope that the Princess can speak a few words of justice for my Wanhua Merchant Guild in front of King Bilin and clear up the misunderstanding."

Yuan Shuying picked up the bracelet and weighed it in her hand, then said calmly, "I will find an opportunity to speak to my father about this matter, but I cannot guarantee what he will think. President Su, please understand."

"I am deeply grateful for the Princess's kind offer," Su Yanji said, bowing slightly.

Yuan Shuying nodded, then accepted the gift box without saying anything more, turned around and left the hall.

Once Yuan Shuying's figure had completely disappeared, Su Yanji's gentle smile slowly faded, and his expression darkened.

Su Yanji suffered this undeserved disaster, damaging her business reputation and having to spend money to mitigate the damage. The key question is whether the damage can be mitigated at all. If it really leads to the King of Bilin targeting their Wanhua Merchant Guild and preventing them from doing business in Bilin Kingdom, then Su Yanji's trip to Bilin Kingdom will have been completely wasted.

To be honest, Su Yanji's business plan involves hundreds of countries, so even if one country is missing, it wouldn't matter much, but this matter still makes Su Yanji feel frustrated.

This is not just a financial loss, but a matter of dignity. She has always been strong-willed and will never allow herself to fail so easily.

"Damn Bai Lu, you'll remember this." Su Yanji couldn't help but curse Qi Ji in her heart.

"President."

The maid Zhuya quickly approached and whispered, "We've checked the goods repeatedly in the carriage and confirmed that, apart from the five precious herbs, all the other goods are intact. We've also questioned the guards in the carriage, and no one noticed when the white deer crawled in."

"A bunch of useless trash."

Su Yanji said coldly, "Fire the employee responsible for guarding the goods in the carriage and send him back to headquarters."

Zhu Ya immediately wrote it down.

As his anger subsided slightly, Su Yanji's gaze involuntarily fell upon the tree roots and branches that had not yet been cleared from the outer courtyard of the State Ceremonial Office.

The image of the white deer's antlers glowing, the tree roots breaking through the soil, and the branches binding the enemy as if they were wielded by a master wielder flashed through her mind.

"This ability..."

Su Yanji's heart tightened. She was annoyed by Bai Lu, but Qi Ji's abilities far exceeded her previous assessment.

Having traveled to many countries over the years, she had seen quite a few strange beasts. Most of them were physically strong and intelligent, but their ability to manipulate plants and trees was completely outside the scope of strange beasts. This was basically a matter of using the power of heaven and earth to fight enemies.

In Su Yanji's understanding, only true spirit beasts possess similar abilities.

Su Yanji narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Zhuya, pass down the order to have our people gather information about this white deer again. The previous information was too superficial. I need all the details of this white deer's abilities, the more detailed the better."

"Yes," Zhu Ya replied and withdrew.

... ... ...

On the other side, after leaving the Imperial Household Department, Yuan Shuying did not return to the palace immediately, but instead turned into an inconspicuous house in an alley.

A beautiful woman in her thirties, dressed in tight-fitting clothes, with a fierce look in her eyes, was already waiting in the courtyard. She was Ji Zhu, her trusted confidante.

He was also the person in charge who was ordered by her to search for Yan Lie, one of the Ten Villains.

Yuan Shuying cut to the chase and asked, "Where is Yan Lie now?"

"Your Highness, according to the report from yesterday, Yan Lie is currently in Pingqiu City."

As Ji Zhu spoke, her tone was filled with undisguised disdain: "In addition, Yan Lie has been eating and dashing in restaurants and casinos every day lately, and he kills people at the slightest provocation. Our people have had to clean up his messes many times, and it has taken a lot of effort. Princess, apart from his impressive martial arts skills, Yan Lie is a complete savage madman."

Yuan Shuying tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, her expression calm: "Go to Pingqiu City later and tell him that the auspicious beast, the white deer, that he is looking for is now in the royal palace of Jinhua City, the capital. Tell him that if he wants to kill the white deer, he should come to the capital and cooperate with me. I will help him succeed, and he must kill someone for me."

After a pause, Yuan Shuying added, "Also, remember, don't reveal my identity."

"Understood."

Ji Zhu bowed and accepted the order. With a flicker, she disappeared outside the courtyard.

Yuan Shuying was the only one left in the courtyard.

She slowly raised her hand and touched the black veil over her left eye.

After a moment of silence, she moved her fingertips slightly and gently untied the ribbon tied behind her head.

The black gauze slipped down, revealing a cloudy, grayish-white, already necrotic eyeball. Several shallow scars clung to the eye, winding across the fair skin, a shocking sight.

A beautiful and stunning face was marred by this useless eye, which added a touch of grotesque disfigurement.

This injury was inflicted when she was ten years old.

During a hunting trip outside the palace, a branch of a tree struck his left eye, leaving him with only one eye to see and causing disfigurement to his appearance.

From then on, she felt that everyone's gaze towards her had changed, as if everyone was pointing at her face and saying that she, a princess of a great country, had a disfigured face.

As a result, she became sensitive and competitive, studying and governing with all her might, and practicing martial arts, trying to make up for the princess's majesty that she lacked because of her appearance.

The problem is that the harder she tries, the more she realizes that the people around her are looking at her with a sense of alienation.

Especially after Yuan Yao was born, her father and mother never looked at her for a moment. Her carefree and beautiful younger sister easily stole all their love and attention.

Yuan Shuying picked up the rhinestone-encrusted eye mask that Su Yanji had given her and slowly put it on her left eye.

The delicate silver trim perfectly concealed her scars and missing eye, while the rhinestones made her features appear even more strikingly beautiful.

Yuan Shuying faced the bronze mirror, raised her hand and gently stroked the edge of the blindfold. The woman in the mirror had a beautiful face and a cold temperament, and no trace of her disability could be seen.

She looked at herself in the mirror, a cold smile curving her lips. Her voice was as soft as a sigh, yet laced with venom: "My dear sister, you were born perfectly healthy, pampered by Father and Mother, growing up without a care in the world, without any worries or pain. You are both an eyesore and a nuisance. I'm so tired of looking at you."

"This time, I won't be soft-hearted. I will make you... disappear from this palace completely."