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

The day after Fang regained control of the household affairs, Xi Yuefu came to Jinxian Courtyard.

The gauze on her face was replaced with a thin layer of medicated gauze, and the scar on her face had scabbed over with new pink granulation tissue, which was a little lighter than before, but it was still hideous.

She walked much faster than before when she pushed open the courtyard gate. The two maids behind her were new and looked more efficient and fierce than before.

"Is your health any better, sister?" Xi Yuefu stood in the center of the main room, a crooked smile on her lips. "After spending a few days in jail, I've come to understand quite a few things. It turns out that in this world, it's not always the case that whoever has the most evidence wins."

She leaned closer to Xi Yueli, the scars gleaming slightly in the sunlight: "Sister, why didn't your Prince Chen come to your aid? Weren't you so capable? How come everything's turned upside down after my mother's trip to the palace?"

Xi Yueli remained seated in her chair, feeling quite weak today. Her temples were still throbbing, her mind was foggy, and she lacked energy.

Looking at Xi Yuefu's face so close to hers and smelling the heavy scent of perfume on her body, she suddenly felt a little dazed.

Two days ago she was huddled in a haystack in jail, but today she's all made up and standing in front of her, swaggering around.

"Is my sister finished speaking?" she asked, her voice trailing off with a hint of hoarseness, barely managed to rise from her weakness.

Xi Yuefu chuckled at her a few times, then turned and left.

Qingdai rushed over and grabbed Xi Yueli's arm, her eyes red with anxiety: "Miss, why don't you argue with the Second Miss? What right does she have to cause trouble in our courtyard—"

Xi Yueli shook her head and pulled her arm away from Qingdai's grasp. "What's all the fuss about? I can't even remember what happened yesterday, what's the point of arguing with her?"

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, the fog in her mind rising again.

How Fang entered the palace, what she said to the Empress, why Xi Yuefu was released, and why her father was promoted—all of this happened too fast. In the gaps between her weakness and memory loss, she didn't even have time to react before the tables were turned.

She still held the irrefutable evidence of Fang's hiring of a murderer and the old stories of Willow Lane, but these things suddenly seemed insignificant and not enough to impress the Empress.

Fang's elder brother worked in the palace and gained the Empress's favor. He only mentioned his younger sister to the Empress, and the Empress summoned Fang to the palace. Then Xi Yuefu's case was dropped, and her father was promoted.

Xi Yueli slowly opened her eyes, took out the black iron token from under her pillow, and felt the icy touch seep into her fingertips.

Fang won this round, but she already knows about the Empress, and the Empress is making moves.

The fact that the Empress made a move indicates that the hidden agents she had laid were working. The Empress felt that Xi Yueli was a threat, which is why she stepped in to help Fang Shi.

Xi Yueli stuffed the token back under her pillow, stood up by supporting herself on the edge of the table, walked to the window and opened it. The late autumn wind blew in and blew on her face, making her shiver.

But apart from Helian Jing's Tian Shu Division, no one can investigate this matter for her.

The Tian Shu Si (Heavenly Pivot Office) was located on the eastern wing of the Imperial City, adjacent to the Dali Temple (Court of Judicial Review) and the Ministry of Justice. The three government offices were separated by two high walls, but the lintel of the Tian Shu Si was more than twice as wide as that of the Dali Temple.

There are twelve white marble steps in front of the gate, and two black stone Bixie squat on either side of the steps, which have a more ferocious and awe-inspiring aura than the stone lions at the gates of ordinary government offices.

Above the door hangs a huge plaque with a black background and gold lacquer. The calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, as if it were carved by a knife or axe. The signature is marked with only three horizontal lines of cinnabar, which is a unique secret mark of the Tian Shu Si.

The officials in the court knew from the three marks that this gate was a place that reached the ears of the emperor and showed no mercy to the people.

Four Xuanjia Guards stand guard at the gate year-round, their armor impeccable. The narrow-bladed longswords at their waists are marked with a blood groove, a unique feature of the Tian Shu Division. Every time the sword is drawn, it draws blood. The blood groove on the blade is of varying depths, designed specifically to "leave no survivors."

Pedestrians passing by the gate of Tian Shu Si would walk around it from a distance, and even carriages would consciously slow down when they reached the alley entrance. The coachman would unconsciously lower his whip, afraid that the sound of the horses' hooves would disturb the people inside the gate.

As Xi Yueli walked down the white marble steps in front of the Tian Shu Si gate, four Xuanjia guards turned their heads at the same time, their eyes falling on her.

Without stopping, she took out the Tian Shu Si pass token that Helian Jing had stuffed into her sleeve.

The card is only half the size of a palm, forged entirely from black iron, with a very shallow "Jing" character engraved on the front, the strokes of which are clean and neat.

The moment the four Xuanjia guards saw the iron plaque, they simultaneously withdrew their gazes. The leader stepped aside and pushed open the black lacquered door for her.

Inside the door was an extremely long corridor, with a copper lamp hanging every three feet on both sides. Ebony shelves were inlaid on the walls, and neatly stacked files stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Each file was marked with a number and security classification in vermilion.

The air was filled with a breathtaking atmosphere: the scent of ink, iron, and old paper, mixed with a faint smell of the protective oil left after repeatedly wiping knives.

At the end of the passageway was a black lacquered door with three horizontal lines of vermilion ink on the door, exactly the same as those on the plaque above the door. When Xi Yueli pushed the door open, the hinges were silent, and the door was as heavy as a single piece of cast iron.

Helian Jing sat behind a long table in the center of the hall, holding a half-open scroll of documents in his hand. He looked up when he heard footsteps.

He was wearing a moon-white casual suit today, with the same narrow black wrist guards on his cuffs. His eyes narrowed slightly when he looked at her.

"Here I am," he said. His tone was flat, as expected.

Xi Yueli walked to the long table, stood opposite him, placed the Tian Shu Si pass from her sleeve on the table, then clasped her hands in front of her and looked up to meet his gaze: "Your Highness, I've come to discuss cooperation."

Helian Jing's gaze swept over the token. He closed the document in his hand and set it aside, leaning back in his chair and looking at her with a relaxed posture. "Cooperation?"

"Fang went to the palace to see the Empress. Xi Yuefu's case was dropped, my father was promoted, and the Empress is making moves. I need to know why she is making moves, how much she has done, and what her next move will be."

"The Heavenly Pivot Bureau has the most secretive intelligence network in the entire world. I need Your Highness to keep an eye on the Empress's movements for me." She paused for a moment, "In exchange, I can tell Your Highness something."

Helian Jing raised an eyebrow.

"That day, His Highness said he went through the files in the secret archives in the blacksmith's shop and compared my fighting style with that of the Pavilion Master." Xi Yueli's voice was calm and clear.

"But Your Highness is mistaken. The person Your Highness is looking for is not the Master of the Dark Pavilion."

Helian Jing's gaze sharpened for a moment the instant those words were spoken.

"How do you know she's not the Pavilion Master?" His voice deepened.

Xi Yueli did not avoid his gaze: "Because there is more than one person inside my body."

Helian Jing slowly leaned back in his chair, staring at the bronze lamp hanging above his head for a few moments. The candlelight cast flickering shadows on his face, making his cold and stern features appear and disappear.

"You mean," he finally spoke, his voice lower than before, "that the person I've been searching for for four years does indeed exist within your 'fragment,' but she's not the Dark Pavilion Master, but another version of you?"

"That fragment is in Beishuo, dressed in black robes, her face veiled, doing meticulous work, and she saved His Highness's life. I don't know her name, where she is, or whether she's dead or alive. But I know she definitely exists; it's just that I can't remember her when I'm awake."