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

The sunlight fell from the side onto his brow bone and high nose bridge, making his face sharper than ever, but the light in his eyes was soft.

"I know, go ahead. I'm the new Grand Preceptor of Beishuo, so you'd better be careful." She put away her mocking tone; Daying was no safer than Beishuo.

"Are you worried about me?" he asked again.

Xi Yueli punched Helian Jing on the shoulder. "After Your Highness returns to Daying, you must burn some paper money at my grave."

Helian Jing was stunned for a moment, then he curved his lips into a smile, the curve extending from the corners of his mouth to the depths of his eyes.

He took half a step forward, lowered his head and leaned close to her ear. In the morning light, the small space between them felt both close and warm.

"I will return to Daying to watch over the Empress for you, and you will watch over the Regent for me in Beishuo." His lips almost touched her earlobe, and his voice was so low that only the two of them could hear it.

"Next time we meet, you will repay everything you owe me in person."

He stepped back, then mounted his horse, his dark blue outfit revealing a clean edge in the morning light.

He turned his head on horseback for one last look at her. Xi Yueli stood in the middle of the main street, her black robe and hood pulled up over her head. The morning light rose from behind her, casting her as a silhouette against the light.

He looked for three breaths, then turned his horse around, its horseshoes crushing the last dewdrop of Qixia Town, and galloped south towards Daying.

Xi Yueli stood there watching his figure disappear around the corner at the entrance of town. There was a half-step space behind her, so she pulled her hood up a little tighter and turned to walk towards the backyard of the pharmacy.

Fu Yuan leaned against the kang (heated brick bed) in the side room, holding a newly written letter in her hand. The letter was sealed with the old seal of the Northern Shuo State Preceptor, and a crescent-shaped fingerprint was pressed on the wax surface. Her hand trembled slightly when she handed the letter over.

"This letter will be delivered to the King first thing tomorrow morning." Fu Yuan looked at Xi Yueli. "Within three days of my death, you will enter the royal court as the new Grand Preceptor. The decree appointing you has already been drafted by the Left Prime Minister."

Xi Yueli took the letter and ran her fingertip across the crescent moon mark on the wax surface.

Fu Yuan's lips curved into a smile, then he shifted his gaze to the jujube trees outside the window, which were being thoroughly sun-dried in the autumn sun. "From now on, it's you."

"After I leave, you will shield me from the wind and snow of Beishuo, fold the Queen's sleeves for her, and finish the Regent's game of chess for me."

Xi Yueli stood on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding the wax-sealed letter. When she stood up again, her shoulders felt a little heavier, and her center of gravity was a little more stable.

Three days later, the Northern Shuo royal court issued an obituary to the three kingdoms: the Grand Preceptor Fu Yuan had passed away on the border.

On the same day, the King of Beishuo issued an edict appointing Xi Shi Yue Li as the new national teacher of Beishuo, who was to take up her post at the royal court immediately.

Xi Yueli stood on the stone platform outside the Hall of Diligent Governance, the sunlight bathing the entire high platform.

Today she changed into a black robe with silver trim, the standard robe of the Northern Shuo State Preceptor. The fabric was black velvet satin, a specialty of the North, thick and draping, with a matte sheen in the sunlight.

The collar and cuffs were embroidered with continuous wolf and cloud patterns in silver thread, the stitches were dense and flowed subtly with the movement of her raising her hand.

The robe was tailored to fit well but not too tight. The shoulder line was two fingers wider than her actual shoulders, a unique style of the robe of the Northern Shuo State Preceptor, designed to make the wearer appear as steady as a mountain amidst the wide sleeves.

The extra two fingers that were on her shoulders perfectly supported her shoulder line when she put them on, making her already slender frame appear even more upright.

Her long hair was tied up high, with a black iron hairpin piercing through the bun, the head of which was carved into a crescent moon.

She used to look weak when her hair was loose, but now that it was all pulled back, revealing her entire face and a slender, fair nape, she suddenly had sharp angles, like a narrow-bladed knife that had been sheathed.

The Left Prime Minister stood beside her, the white jade pendant with a wolf's head gleaming with a calm, matte light at her waist.

The civil and military officials stood on both sides of the stone platform, with Tuoba Lie at the very front, his dark red python robe gleaming in the sunlight like a lurking beast.

His gaze fell on Xi Yueli's face, which was filled with scrutiny, vigilance, and a trace of hesitation that had been briefly soothed by the news that "Fu Yuan is dead."

Xi Yueli met Tuoba Lie's gaze and nodded slightly. The nod was very slight, but the shadow of Fu Yuan was clearly visible in the gesture.

Tuoba Lie frowned and then relaxed. Fu Yuan was no longer there; the person in front of him was just a substitute who had been pushed up and was nothing to fear.

Xi Yueli withdrew her gaze, turned around, and stepped across the high threshold of the Hall of Diligent Governance.

The Qinzheng Hall of the Northern Shuo Royal Court was three-tenths narrower than the Hanyuan Hall of Daying, but its dome was surprisingly high.

Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows on both sides, casting two strips of light across the floor in the center of the hall. The assembled civil and military officials stood in rows, a dense, dark mass of their hats and gold belts.

Xi Yueli sat upright in the position of Grand Preceptor, which was half a zhang below and to the left of the throne. The back of the rosewood armchair was inlaid with a palm-sized piece of white jade, engraved with the wolf-head crescent pattern unique to the Grand Preceptor of Northern Shuo.

When she sat down, her back was straight, her hands were folded and placed on her knees, and the cuffs of her black robe were neatly gathered, revealing half of her slender wrists.

From the time she sat down until now, about half a cup of tea's time has passed, and the gazes of everyone in the hall are like dozens of invisible needles, piercing in from all directions.

The civil officials kept their eyes down, but their peripheral vision kept darting across her face. The military officers stood ramrod straight, the swords at their waists occasionally gleaming in the sunlight, as if silently reminding them of something.

The imperial family members were even more direct. Three or five marquises in python robes huddled together whispering, their voices not too low, just enough for her to hear.

"...This girl? She doesn't even look as old as my daughter."

"I don't know what the Left Prime Minister was thinking, giving the position of Grand Preceptor of Fuyuan to a wild girl from the south. Aren't they afraid of being laughed at by neighboring countries?"

"Have you heard? The day she entered the royal court, she couldn't even speak the Northern Shuo dialect fluently. It was the Left Prime Minister who translated for her sentence by sentence."

"Tsk, I wonder how Grand Preceptor Fu Yuan feels if he sees this person sitting on his chair in heaven."

Xi Yueli's gaze fell on her intertwined fingers on her knees. Her heartbeat was much slower than when she was sitting in Jinxian Courtyard, and much slower than when she was fighting with Helian Jing on the main street of Qixia Town.

Fu Yuan's memories were seamlessly embedded in the depths of her consciousness, and at this moment she could accurately identify who was speaking in the hall.

The military officers of Tuoba Lie's lineage, the marquises from the collateral branches of the imperial clan who favored the regent, and several upright civil officials who were on good terms with the Left Chancellor—Fu Yuan could identify them all by their positions, speaking speeds, and the direction in which they exchanged glances.

However, her body couldn't withstand too much exertion, not to mention that some of Fu Yuan's fatigue remained. She closed her eyes for a moment, suppressing that weakness deep into her consciousness. When she opened them again, her gaze was as clear as black jade, showing no ripples.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

The eunuch's announcement came from the direction of the palace gate. The whispers in the hall ceased, and the civil and military officials all turned to face the throne, bowing their heads.

The King of Beishuo entered the palace through the Xuanmen Gate.

The Queen is twenty-two years old this year, and has been on the throne for ten years. When she ascended the throne at the age of twelve, she was half a head shorter than the royal robe she was wearing. Her hands were clenched white in her sleeves, and she could only hold on by leaning against Fu Yuan, who was standing half a step to the left of the throne.

Ten years have passed, and the dark blue royal robe no longer hangs loosely on her. The shoulder line is straight, the cuffs are neatly fitted, and although she is not burly, her upright posture comes from her very bones.

Her brow bone was straight and slightly upturned, her nose was straight and delicate, and the corners of her eyes naturally drooped half an degree. Her pupils were light amber, but beneath that gentleness lay the weight honed by ten years of imperial life, making her so heavy that no one dared to take her lightly.

She walked to the throne, turned around, and sat down. Her face held the usual coldness and solemnity of an emperor. The collar of her dark blue royal robe was embroidered with dark silver wolf patterns, and a wide leather belt was tightly tied around her waist, making her already slender waist appear even thinner.

Fu Yuan's memory stirred slightly for a moment, and Xi Yueli's heart ached for a second. She quickly suppressed the ache and lowered her eyes.