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

"Tuoba Lie's men have been watching us for four days, and they have already submitted three rounds of impeachment memorials. If I continue to deny it, it will only make me look guilty. I might as well just admit it and make the charge of 'being obsessed with men' a reality."

"And then?" His voice dropped two octaves.

"Then he will think that I am really distracted by beauty, and relax his vigilance, thus accelerating his final round of planning to completely ruin me, the national advisor."

She paused for a moment, then smiled slightly. "And every step he took through the covert operation, Shen Qingya would intercept and record, sending it to the desk in the secret chamber."

"He publicly admitted to having an affair with me." He repeated these words to himself. He looked down at her, the twilight filtering through the window paper softening the contours of her face.

Helian Jing stepped forward, the cuff of his moon-white robe brushing against the hem of her black robe. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, his voice even lower than before: "Then I'll need to work even harder."

Xi Yueli's ears burned the moment those words fell. She turned around to say something, but when she met his eyes, which shone brightly in the twilight, the stubbornness in her voice suddenly caught in her throat and she couldn't say it.

Seeing her like this, Helian Jing's lips finally curved into a wide smile. He took a half step back, walked back behind his desk, picked up the ink stick, and continued grinding ink.

After a while, she went back to her desk and sat down, opening the newly arrived secret report. Her gaze fell on the paper, but the redness on the tips of her ears had not completely faded.

Shen Qingya's secret report arrived that night: "Tuoba Lie sent three secret letters at 5 PM today. One was directed towards Xijun, one towards the southern caravan, and the third, which had not yet left the palace, was delivered to the staff in the palace. The content involved 'the advance date for the operation to close in on the secret agents.'"

After reading the words, Xi Yueli burned the lamp flame and looked up at Helian Jing opposite her.

"He's taken the bait. There are three secret letters, two for leaving the manor and one for staying. Shen Qingya's men have already intercepted the transmission routes of the first and second letters. The third one, which is staying in the manor, will probably be converted into specific action instructions in the next day or two."

Helian Jing put down the ink stick, walked to her side, squatted down, and looked up at her: "Grand Preceptor, on what day do you think he will make his move?"

Xi Yueli lowered her head to meet his gaze. The light shone from the side, casting a soft, intermittent glow on their faces.

"Within three days, he can't wait any longer. The Empress's people have arrived near Ci'en Temple, caravans are crossing the border, private treasuries in Xijun are being moved, and all leads are tightening. He must complete his final move before the first heavy snow of winter closes the roads."

She reached out, her fingertips touching the shoulder line of his moon-white robe, gently brushing away the incense ash that clung to it. "And for these three days, I will continue to play the role of the imperial advisor who is blinded by male beauty."

Helian Jing raised his hand and covered her hand that had been brushing against his shoulder, his palm against the back of her hand, his thumb slowly rubbing around her knuckles: "This prince will play along with the Imperial Preceptor until the very last moment."

The candlelight in the copper lamp flickered slightly, casting the overlapping shadows of the two people onto the bookshelf behind them, merging into a unified darkness.

On the twelfth day of the eleventh lunar month, the Northern Shuo royal court held a banquet in the Hanguang Hall to welcome the last batch of foreign envoys before the onset of winter. The Daying delegation, as distinguished guests from the superior country, were seated right next to the lower left of the throne.

Xiao Yanzhi changed into a dark red and gold embroidered formal suit. The collar of the vermilion python robe was adorned with a silver thread entwined with branches, which made him appear even more handsome and upright in the brightly lit hall.

He sat upright in his seat, holding a jade wine cup in his hand, his gaze fixed on the singing and dancing in the center of the hall, his posture composed and dignified.

But out of the corner of his eye, he always kept a glimpse in the direction of the Grand Preceptor's seat.

Today, Xi Yueli was dressed in a black and silver-embroidered imperial advisor's formal attire. Her long hair was tied up neatly, and the crescent-shaped hairpin gleamed calmly in the lamplight.

She sat in her seat, exchanging a few words with the Northern Shuo civil official beside her with an air of composure, her manner of returning the toast impeccably proper.

Helian Jing sat three feet behind her, wearing a moon-white long robe and a silver-gray half-mask. It was against the rules for a physician to appear at a palace banquet, but everyone in the hall saw that the Grand Preceptor had brought him, and no one said a word.

Halfway through the song and dance, Xi Yueli put down her wine cup, turned her head slightly, and whispered something to the direction behind her.

Helian Jing leaned forward, took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve, uncorked it, poured out a pill, and handed it to her. As Xi Yueli took the pill, her fingertips instinctively hooked around his knuckles; the touch was brief and natural.

Xiao Yanzhi saw this, and the fingers holding the wine cup tightened slightly.

The distance between the two people had far exceeded the proper boundaries between doctors and patients.

Another song and dance began during the banquet. The dancer twirled into the hall, her colorful sleeves billowing, drawing everyone's attention.

Xi Yueli was also watching the dance, but she leaned back slightly by half an inch, her back pressed against the edge of Helian Jing's elbow, which was resting on his knee.

Helian Jing did not stop. He adjusted his posture and extended his arm slightly outward by half an inch. His palm landed on the outside of her lower back, the movement gentle and inconspicuous through her black robe.

Xiao Yanzhi's gaze froze the moment the hand landed on her lower back. He tightened his grip on the wine cup, his knuckles turning white. The lamplight reflected off the rim of the jade cup, leaving a thin red mark on the base of his thumb.

He suddenly realized that her action of gripping Helian Jing's knuckles just now was not an act.

The light in her eyes when she turned her head to whisper to Helian Jing, and the way her back stretched out when she leaned into his elbow, were not acting.

She had acted out so many scenes of indulging in male beauty in front of everyone, but just now, he saw that the relationship between her and Doctor Lian couldn't be more real.

Xiao Yanzhi drank the remaining wine in the cup in one gulp. As the wine slid down his throat, it brought a burning sensation that was stronger than usual. He put the empty cup back on the table and reached for the wine pot to refill it, but his fingers wobbled slightly as he lifted the pot.

He put down the wine pot and turned his gaze back to the direction of the singing and dancing in the hall, but he saw that the hand on Xi Yueli's lower back was sliding from her side to the middle of her lower back, with the palm pressed against the curve of her back.

Xiao Yanzhi withdrew his gaze. He recalled that night when he carried her back to the Imperial Preceptor's palace in his arms, and the feeling of her breath brushing against his neck as she nestled against his shoulder.

Her face was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat, but she did not push him away. Even after he stopped her breathing and the needles were inserted, her hand unconsciously clenched his sleeve.

He thought it was a patient relying on the doctor, and that he performed acupuncture on her and stayed with her through that night simply because he happened to know how to do it and couldn't bear to see her unable to endure it.

But just now, the way she sat in front of Helian Jing, her back pressed against his elbow, made Xiao Yanzhi suddenly understand.

During his stay in Beishuo, he would always straighten his clothes in front of the mirror before going to the Imperial Preceptor's bedroom to discuss official business.

Every time he came out of her place and walked down the corridor, he would unconsciously slow down, because if he went back too quickly, he would have to wait longer to see her again.

He thought it was just his normal appreciation for a respectable high-ranking official of Beishuo, but when that glance fell, he heard something in his heart shatter.