Who said the eldest daughter is crazy? She's clearly a woman of high rank and influence in the

Xi Yueli stood by the window, going over the pieced-together fragments again. The chain of evidence concerning the Empress's collusion with Beishuo, her alliance with Xirong, and her intention to use this technique to control the power of the three kingdoms was now all in her hands.

Yinsuo's confession, Yelan's investigation, He Qingshuang's accounts, Fuyuan's secret letter, and Huajianzui's intercepted secret letter—five lines converge at the same point, like a chess piece held by five fingers at the same time, finally reaching its moment to be played.

She heard footsteps behind her, and Helian Jing walked in from the corridor carrying a cup of hot tea, placing it on the windowsill next to her.

He took out a thick scroll from his sleeve and placed it next to the teacup. It was a scroll that had been read many times, with frayed edges and an iron seal of the Tian Shu Division pressed on the cover.

"The authority to mobilize all the undercover agents of the Tian Shu Division." His voice was neither loud nor soft, as if he were saying something ordinary that didn't need to be emphasized.

"The contact codes and mobilization sequences for all the thirteen branches within the capital, the thirty-two branches in the surrounding area, and all the branches along the northern and southern borders are all in this booklet."

He paused, turned his head to look at her, and said, "However you wish to overturn this plate, I will fully cooperate."

Xi Yueli glanced down at the thick book on the windowsill, then reached out and picked up the teacup, taking a sip. The warmth of the tea traveled down her throat.

She put down her teacup, picked up the thick book to weigh it, and then tucked it into her sleeve.

She turned to face him, and sunlight streamed in from behind the window paper, illuminating her entire face clearly.

"Your Highness, would you be interested in becoming the king of this country?"

Helian Jing stood by the window, the morning light streaming in from behind him, outlining the angles of his brow bone and the curve of his jawline into a sharp golden line.

"Not interested."

He spoke those three words in a flat tone, without any hesitation. He had already thought about this question before, and the answer was already somewhere, just waiting for her to ask so he could bring it out.

Xi Yueli's eyebrows twitched slightly. She leaned back against the windowsill, crossed her arms, and looked at him: "Your Highness has no interest in being king? That is the throne of Great Ying."

"I have no interest in that chair." He took half a step forward, reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair that had been blown by the morning breeze behind her ear. His fingertips slid down the curve of her earlobe, stopping at the edge of her earlobe. He paused for a moment before withdrawing his hand.

"I am only interested in the one male concubine in your tent."

When he finished speaking, an undisguised smile finally appeared in his usually aloof and indifferent eyes.

Xi Yueli looked at him, a smile spreading across her eyes. He took his hand out from his sleeve; she had carefully put away the thick book. Her fingertips touched the back of his hand very lightly, as if confirming something.

"Then Your Highness will stand next to me, close by—so they can see clearly that His Highness Prince Chen chose this position himself."

Helian Jing took her hand in his palm and slowly rubbed his thumb around her knuckles: "Okay."

Before dawn, all the lights in the Empress's palace were already on.

Xiao sat in front of her dressing table, her well-maintained face reflected in the bronze mirror.

When the head lady-in-waiting put the last nine-tailed phoenix hairpin in her hair, she reached into the bottom of her makeup box, took out a small porcelain bottle, uncorked it, poured out a pill, and put it under her tongue. The taste of licorice and coptis mixed together was extremely bitter.

This is something she always takes before she has something important to do; it refreshes her mind and calms her spirit, making her gaze appear gentle and unwavering under the sunlight, without revealing any cracks.

She stood up, the hem of her dark red robe embroidered with gold phoenixes trailing a smooth arc on the gold brick floor. She walked to the window, pushed it open, and glanced at the dawning horizon in the east. A morning breeze blew in, ruffling a stray strand of hair at her temple, which she gently tucked behind her ear.

"Are the impeachment petitions ready?"

The female official in charge of the seal bowed behind her: "Your Majesty, Censor Zhang completed the transcription before midnight last night. The wording, evidence, and list of signatories are all ready."

"The memorial listed three charges against the Xi family—colluding with the Northern Shuo, secretly possessing weapons, and plotting treason. Each charge was accompanied by witness testimonies and physical evidence, and could withstand scrutiny."

The Empress leaned against the window frame, her gaze fixed on the old locust tree in the courtyard that was sprouting new buds. Her fingertips tapped lightly on the window frame twice, one after another, with a determined rhythm.

"Xi Yue Li, I can give you the highest status, but I can also pull you down from that high platform."

The lady-in-waiting, following the Empress's words, said smugly, "That master of the Xi family is a coward. As soon as the impeachment memorial is submitted, he'll be the first to kneel down and clear his name. Who would believe that a daughter whom the whole family considers crazy has suddenly transformed into the eldest princess?"

"If she claims to have identification, I've already prepared her medical records for the past ten years: dissociative identity disorder, amnesia, intermittent madness—the whole capital knows about it. Who can believe the words of a madwoman?"

"Hmph, Helian Xi's original body is gone, Xi Yueli is just a lonely ghost after all." The Empress wiped her hands with a handkerchief, then threw it on the ground.

The female official in charge of the seal lowered her head and lowered her voice even further: "Your Majesty, please see the truth."

The Empress closed the window, turned around, straightened her cuffs, took two steps toward the palace gate, paused at the threshold, turned her head, and spoke in a voice a notch lower than before.

"Has the money for that house outside the city arrived today?"

The female official in charge of the seal stiffened for a moment: "...Your Majesty, they haven't arrived yet. The He family's businesses sent word this morning that they are experiencing cash flow problems and need to postpone their arrival for three days."

The empress stood at the threshold, the morning light streaming in and illuminating half of her face, while the other half remained hidden in the shadows of the palace.

"It's alright. I can wait three days. As long as this memorial is submitted today, she will be the one roasted over the fire. What I want is for her to make the first move; once she does, she will reveal her weakness."

She stepped over the threshold, the hem of her phoenix robe brushing against the edge of the door frame. "I will now travel to the Hall of Diligent Governance."

The morning light bathed the stone corridor between the central palace and the Hall of Diligent Governance. Two rows of palace maids stood respectfully with their hands at their sides. As the empress's palanquin passed through the center of the corridor, all the bowed heads lowered even further.

The Empress sat upright on the phoenix throne as usual, the cuffs of her dark red phoenix robe neatly gathered, and the gentle smile on her face was perfectly placed, without revealing any hidden flaws.

She had already planned out every step of today's court assembly in her mind:

The accusation against the Xi family was met with Xi Mingyuan kneeling to clear his name, and Xi Yueli stepping forward to defend herself. She questioned the authenticity of the eldest princess's identity based on "imperial physician records" and "dissociation syndrome," and then publicly brought out the forged old document.

With the three cards played in turn, no matter what cards Xi Yueli held in her hand, she couldn't make a fuss in front of the entire court.

The palanquin stopped in front of the Hall of Diligent Governance. The Empress, supported by the female official in charge of the seal, stepped down. She looked up at the plaque hanging above the hall gate, the gentle curve of her lips remaining unchanged, and then she stepped over the threshold.

She walked gracefully towards the phoenix throne, and when she sat down, the sleeves of her phoenix robe brushed against the armrests, her posture relaxed and natural.

Her gaze swept over the figure at the end of the civil official list, who was bowing his head. Xi Mingyuan stood there, his legs trembling slightly beneath his official robes.