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

In that short time, Helian Jing had already led her to the back of the old apricot tree in the middle of the street. The trunk of the old apricot tree was so thick that two people couldn't wrap their arms around it, which just happened to block the angle of the arrows from one side.

Helian Jing pushed Xi Yueli behind the tree trunk to help her stay upright, then turned to the side to block in front of her, using his short blade to parry a blade that was thrusting from the side.

"Don't move from here." His voice came from the front, rapid and uneven from the struggle.

While blocking the attack of two cavalrymen diagonally in front of him, he glanced to his left and saw that the Dark Pavilion men were already pressing in from the alley entrance. Liu San Niang's long sword drew a sharp arc in the morning light, forcing the two cavalrymen who were trying to flank her back.

Xi Yueli leaned against the tree trunk, looking at his figure blocking her way. His shoulder line was taut and straight, and with each stroke and retraction of his sword, he blocked all possible angles that could hurt her.

The two stood back to back in the middle of the main street. Xi Yueli turned her head, her hood slightly slipped down during the struggle, and spoke from close range, "Take Fu Yuan first, from the backyard—"

"No." Helian Jing interrupted her, his back pressed against hers, and through the fabric he could feel the tension in her shoulder blades as she exerted force.

"I said I would never abandon you a second time."

Xi Yueli paused for a moment as a dagger flew from the side, grazing the edge of her hood and severing a strand of her hair.

At the same moment the dagger flew past, Helian Jing's hand reached out from behind her, his palm touching her ear and turning her head half an inch to the side. His palm covered her earlobe, burning her.

"Don't get distracted." His voice came from behind her ear, firm and certain. "There are three in front of you, two more on your left, and four behind me. In three breaths, I will switch places with you."

Xi Yueli responded, and then turned around at the same time as he counted to the third breath. Their backs brushed lightly as they crossed.

The search sounds at the alley entrance suddenly changed. During a break in the fight, Xi Yueli glanced at the direction of the alley entrance. In the morning light, a deep purple armor poured in from the town entrance, and the banners bore the wolf head pattern of the Northern Shuo Royal Court—the Left Prime Minister's personal guards.

The army of the Northern Shuo Royal Court camped outside Qixia Town. The Left Prime Minister did not go far and waited with his troops on the outskirts for two days.

The Left Prime Minister sat on his horse, and the white jade pendant with the wolf's head shimmered with a faint light in the morning glow.

His gaze swept over the two figures on the main street. They stood back to back in the center of the cavalry formation, their feet splattered with over a dozen dark red streaks of blood. His eyes lingered between the two figures for a moment, then he raised his right hand.

"Within the territory of Beishuo, the private army of Daying shall not be tolerated."

Fifty Northern Shuo soldiers pressed in from both sides of the alley entrance simultaneously, their long spears and shields gleaming with an iron-gray light in the morning glow.

The Empress's fifty riders were thrown into disarray the moment they saw the Northern Shuo army flag. They could intercept and kill Fu Yuan, but if they were to engage the regular army of the Northern Shuo royal court in a direct confrontation, it would be a war between nations.

Despite trespassing into Beishuo territory and surrounding and killing Beishuo officials, Empress Daying still dared not extend her influence openly.

The cavalry commander's face turned deathly pale in that instant. He reined in his horse and glanced back at the surging banners of the Northern Shu army. His knuckles were white as he gripped the hilt of his sword, but in the end, he let go.

He waved his arm behind him, and the fifty riders simultaneously turned their horses around and retreated in the direction they had come from.

As dawn broke, the entire main street was bathed in a bright golden light, revealing the bloodstains and scattered weapons on the ground.

At the same moment the cavalry retreated, Xi Yueli sheathed her short blade and turned her head to look at Helian Jing, who was half a step behind her.

His gaze was also fixed on her. The morning light fell on the small patch of bluestone between them, stained with blood and dust. Both of them had specks of blood on their faces from the fight—it was unclear whether they were their own or someone else's.

Helian Jing raised his hand to wipe away a drop of almost dried blood from his cheekbone. Then he took half a step forward, reached out and pulled Xi Yueli's hood back up. His fingertips paused for a moment as they brushed against her forehead, then withdrew without lingering.

"You owe me another life," he said.

Xi Yueli tilted her head slightly, and the morning light illuminated the faint curve of her lips clearly.

The Left Prime Minister dismounted and strode to Xi Yueli. His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and the image of Fu Yuan in her eyes became clearer and clearer. The Left Prime Minister's Adam's apple bobbed, and then he knelt down on one knee.

"Left Prime Minister—" Xi Yueli reached out to help him up.

The Left Prime Minister did not get up. He looked up at the clear, dark face in the morning light. "I know that Fu Yuan has entrusted this responsibility to you. I saw it. The way you stood, the hand holding the knife, and the password you gave to the Northern Shuo soldiers to form a battle formation—it was all Fu Yuan's."

"You are her, and she is the path you will take next."

Xi Yueli withdrew her hand from his elbow and then pulled him up.

"Fu Yuan cannot live, nor should he live," she said.

The Left Prime Minister's expression changed drastically. Inside the courtyard wall, Fu Yuan had been helped out by Liu San Niang at some point.

She leaned against the door frame, her black robe covering her emaciated body, which was now just a skeleton. Her face was pale. She looked at the Left Prime Minister, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"Prime Minister, the poison in my body has damaged my very foundation. Rather than letting the Regent drag on with this crippled body and cause more trouble, it would be better to let me die now." Fu Yuan's voice remained as calm as ever.

"When news of my death reaches the Northern Shuo royal court, Regent Tuoba Lie will lower his guard, thinking the threat has been eliminated, and then he will reveal more flaws."

Fu Yuan's gaze turned to Xi Yueli, whose figure leaned against the door frame, her slender silhouette outlined as a thin golden line by the morning light.

"Go to the Northern Shuo royal court, and as the new national advisor, sit in Fu Yuan's bedchamber. Remember all of Fu Yuan's plans, all his hidden agents, and all the moves he made under Tuoba Lie's control for three years."

"When you sit down, you don't need to say you are Fu Yuan. Just play all the moves, and everyone will know who this new national advisor is."

The Left Prime Minister clenched and unclenched his fist. Having spent forty years navigating the political landscape, he knew that this "fake death" plan was flawless in terms of political maneuvering.

As long as Fu Yuan lives, the Regent will remain on guard; only if Fu Yuan dies will the Regent feel comfortable exposing all his and the Empress's secret connections to the public.

Xi Yueli, as the new Imperial Advisor, will be able to take over the position and illuminate all the hidden pieces in place of Fu Yuan.

He remained silent for a long time, then bowed deeply to Fu Yuan. When he straightened up, his eyes were already red-rimmed. "...Your subject obeys the Imperial Preceptor's order."

Helian Jing stood half a step behind Xi Yueli, but he had made an appearance in Qixia Town today. The face of the Prince of Da Ying appeared on the battlefield at the border of Beishuo. This news would reach the ears of the Empress of Da Ying within three days.

He had to go back and take charge of the Tian Shu Division, laying out all of her secret agents on the desks of the Tian Shu Division before the Empress made a move.

He walked to Xi Yueli's side, and the two stood side by side in the morning light.

The Left Prime Minister had already taken Fu Yuan back to the backyard of the pharmacy to arrange the details of the "death announcement." Only soldiers cleaning up the battlefield and the occasional sound of horses' hooves remained on the main street.

"You will return to the Northern Shuo Royal Court alone," Helian Jing said. "I will return to Daying."

Xi Yueli turned her head to look at him, "Your Highness, the Prince of Yingchen, is quick to slap yourself in the face."