The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

A biting wind howled atop the palace walls.

Shen Qingruo was pushed to the edge of the city wall, where she immediately spotted the man wearing the armor of a general from the Great Liang Dynasty, with an old sachet hanging from his waist—Wei Zheng.

Standing beside him was a slender civil official, none other than Grand Tutor Yun.

Just like in his previous life, Wei Zheng's eyes were filled with determination as he reached out to restrain her.

Just before he held the knife to her neck, Shen Qingruo suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze fixed on the sachet at Wei Zheng's waist, and spoke in a voice only the three of them could hear: "I recognize your sachet. It's a pair with my mother Yun Wan's."

She paused slightly, and amidst Wei Zheng's suddenly contracting pupils and Yun Taifu's astonished gaze, she softly uttered those two words: "Father."

Wei Zheng's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, as if struck by lightning, staring at the person in front of him in disbelief.

"You..." His throat was dry, and he could barely make a sound.

Grand Tutor Yun stepped forward excitedly, his old eyes instantly welling up with tears: "You...you are Wan'er's..."

"There's no time to go into the past now," Shen Qingruo quickly interrupted them. "My mother passed away last autumn, heartbroken and devastated."

Wei Zheng swayed, and all the color drained from his face.

Shen Qingruo felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, but she forced it down and spoke even faster: "Given the current situation, the desert is powerful, and the fate of the Great Liang is sealed; it cannot be saved."

"Father, Grandfather, there's no need for blind loyalty."

"The Emperor of Liang forced me to become a concubine, and he has no benevolent policies towards the people."

She looked at Wei Zheng with pleading eyes: "Father, please, for your own sake and for ours, do everything you can to survive."

"Hold me hostage. You don't need to ask Shen Wangxi to release the emperor. Just ask that your loyal soldiers leave safely."

"I'll find a way to get Shen Wangxi to agree."

Just then, a chilling sound of horses' hooves came from below the city wall.

Shen Qingruo looked up.

A massive, dark mass of desert soldiers surged to the city walls, led by Shen Wangxi, as always.

Beside him, Shen Jingyan rode close, her beautiful face radiating undisguised smugness as she looked up at Shen Wangxi and said something.

That image, even when seen again, remained deeply etched in Shen Qingruo's heart.

Look, this is what it looks like to be favored and noticed.

Shen Qingruo turned her gaze away from the father and daughter below the city and instead looked at Wei Zheng and Grand Tutor Yun, who were still in a daze, urging them silently with her eyes.

Wei Zheng looked at her, his eyes churning with emotions that eventually turned into deep sorrow.

He finally placed the knife in his hand against Shen Qingruo's slender neck.

The icy touch returned, but this time, Shen Qingruo felt neither fear nor despair.

She knew things were different now.

"Let her go! I'll spare your lives!" Shen Jingyan's sharp voice broke the silence first, carrying the arrogance of a victor.

Wei Zheng held the knife close to Shen Qingruo, but secretly held back his strength. He said in a deep voice, "Let my Wei family army withdraw safely! Otherwise, don't blame the fact that swords have no eyes and might injure your royal princess."

Below the city, Shen Wangxi, sitting upright on his horse, frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He anticipated that the other party would make demands, perhaps even requesting the release of Emperor Liang, but he never expected that what Wei Zheng wanted was for his elite troops to withdraw.

Emperor Liang was incompetent; whether or not he released the prisoners was of little consequence.

But the Wei family army is different. The reason why the Great Liang has been able to withstand his iron hooves until now is entirely due to the bravery of the Wei family army.

Letting them go would be tantamount to releasing tigers back into the mountains, which would lead to endless troubles.

Shen Jingyan, standing beside him, could no longer contain herself and raised her voice in mockery: "Don't even think about it! Releasing a tiger back to the mountain—what kind of stupid deal is that!"

"Is a mere illegitimate princess worth the sacrifice of my entire army in the desert?"

Shen Wangxi's gaze, however, bypassed the crowd and landed on the city wall, on the slender figure held hostage by a sharp blade.

Dressed in plain clothes with black hair, her skin appeared even whiter. Standing in the biting cold wind, her body trembled slightly, like a tender bud on a branch about to be broken by the wind and snow.

He vaguely felt that his daughter, whom he barely remembered, had grown into such a delicate and fragile young woman.

Especially those eyes that were looking at him, moist yet filled with sorrow, made his heart inexplicably clench.

He recalled that a year ago, it was the same thing, that he so easily decided her fate of being sent to a political marriage.

Now, should we abandon her again without hesitation?

Seeing her father remain silent, Shen Jingyan felt indignant and was about to speak again.

Just then, Shen Qingruo on the city wall turned her head slightly, her gaze passing over Wei Zheng, and timidly looked at Shen Jingyan, her voice soft and choked with sobs, calling out, "Sister..."

This sound made Shen Jingyan stop speaking.

Shen Qingruo looked at her, her eyes reddening, and continued softly, "Sister, A-Ruo wants to go home..."

"Aruo remembers when we were little, you took me to the river to catch small fish, and to the meadow to pick cosmos flowers..."

"Aruo wants to return to the grasslands of the desert and stay with her family."

Her words were full of affection for her older sister, which made Shen Jingyan's face show a hint of guilt.

Those times spent playing with her younger sister were nothing more than leisure time in her life at the royal court, not worth mentioning, but she never expected that her younger sister would remember them.

Shen Wangxi noticed the fleeting awkwardness in her eldest daughter's eyes, then looked at her delicate and beautiful youngest daughter on the city wall.

His fingers tightened slightly around the reins.

Wei Zheng keenly sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere below. He felt reluctant, but still brought the blade a little closer. Shen Qingruo let out a soft groan in pain as a red mark appeared on her neck.

Shen Wangxi stared at the glaring red figure and finally spoke, his clear, cold voice not loud, but firm and resolute: "I grant your permission."