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

Shen Qingya had been looking down at the booklet, but when he looked up, their eyes met in the light of the bronze lamp, and they were locked in a close confrontation, separated by a foot.

He saw the flame of the bronze lamp reflected in her usually dignified eyes. She was also looking at him, and the hesitation in her gaze lasted only a moment before she regained her usual composure.

"What happened to the exit?" Shen Qingya heard his own voice, which was half a degree hoarseer than he had expected.

Tuoba Zhao withdrew his gaze and returned it to the booklet, his voice steady: "The exit is half a mile south of the west side of the city. Thirty years ago, the underground canal was built to the vicinity of Da'en Temple in the west of the city and then it was cut off."

Shen Qingya's heart was pounding against the inside of his chest, one beat after another. He looked down at the line of notes in the booklet, but the words blurred for a moment in his vision because her shoulder was still against his arm, and the warmth was transmitted through a thin layer of clothing.

"I will take men to see it tomorrow." He deliberately made his voice sound more steady than before when he spoke.

Tuoba Zhao paused for a moment on his white knuckles, then reached out and placed her fingertips on his clenched hand, pressing very lightly on the web of his thumb.

"Shen Qingya," she called his full name, her voice half an octave lower than before, "why are your hands shaking?"

Shen Qingya was so stunned by the touch that he froze for a moment, inside and out. Her fingertips pressed against his tiger's mouth, the temperature was slightly cool, and a boiling ripple exploded in his heart.

He abruptly pulled his hand back, faster than he had anticipated, and his knee slammed against the edge of the table with a dull thud that was particularly clear in the quiet side room.

"Your subject has been rude." He stood up and took a step back, bowing with his hands clasped and his back ramrod straight. His voice carried a hint of something he had forced down, making it slightly rougher than before.

"Your Majesty, I will go and arrange the inspection of the culvert immediately. I will not disturb Your Majesty's rest any longer."

Tuoba Zhao sat in her chair watching him take a step back. She withdrew her hand from the tiger's mouth (the area between his thumb and forefinger) and tapped her fingers very lightly on the table.

"I am not a tiger, I do not eat people." Her voice carried a hint of faint helplessness.

Shen Qingya's shoulder line was taut like a fully drawn bow. He turned his head to the side, revealing half of his face illuminated by the light of the copper lamp.

"Of course, Your Majesty is not a tiger." He bowed and withdrew, muttering to himself.

"It was my own fault that my intentions were impure." After saying this, he stepped out of the threshold, his pace quickening by a third compared to when he came. His dark blue figure disappeared rapidly into the distance under the corridor lamp, as if he were fleeing.

Tuoba Zhao sat alone under the lamp, looking down at the hand that had just been pressed against his own hand, the fingertips still retaining a trace of the warmth of his own palm.

She closed her eyes briefly, gathering the remaining warmth into her palms, then reopened the old Ministry of Works booklet to continue looking at the markings on the culverts. However, her gaze lingered on the paper for a long time, never turning to the next page.

Shen Qingya strode out of the east side gate of the Qin Zheng Hall, passed through two corridors, and suddenly stopped in the shadow of an old locust tree.

He braced his hands on the rough tree trunk, his forehead pressed against the cold bark, panting heavily.

The cold winter wind blew into his lungs, making him shiver, but his heart was still beating uncontrollably in his chest, making his eardrums buzz.

From the moment he pulled her off her horse on the day of the autumn hunt, the way he looked at her had changed.

It was unclear whether he was feeling his heart race for another man, or whether he was finding it absurd to have inappropriate thoughts about a king sitting on a throne.

In the side hall of the Hall of Diligent Governance, Tuoba Zhao finally turned to the next page. She looked down at the line of annotations on the paper, and her fingers, which were holding the corner of the page, slowly loosened and then tightened again.

This moonless night's headache was more severe than ever before.

Around midnight, Xi Yueli began to feel a slight tightening in the back of her head, as if someone was pulling a thin string inside her skull, slowly twisting it.

She put down the file in her hand, pressed her temples, but the tension didn't ease; instead, it tightened even more.

Helian Jing's medicine arrived a little over half an hour later than usual tonight. When he pushed the door open, he was holding a bowl of medicine in his hand. Even from the distance of a desk, he could see that her hand, which was pressing her temples, was trembling slightly.

His pace quickened the moment that glance landed, and the sound of the medicine bowl being placed on the corner of the table was a bit heavier than usual.

"When did it start?"

"Just now," Xi Yueli said, her forehead already beaded with a fine layer of cold sweat.

Helian Jing knelt down beside her and reached out to feel her pulse. When his fingertips touched her wrist, her pulse was beating fast and erratically, like a bird trapped in a cage, rushing around wildly.

Just then, Liu San Niang's hushed voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Sect Master, the envoy from Daying, Xiao, has arrived. He says there are several grain transport terms that need urgent confirmation, and he is waiting outside the courtyard."

Xi Yueli tightened her grip on her temples. Just as she was about to tell him to come in, Helian Jing stood up before her and turned to walk towards the courtyard gate.

"The Imperial Advisor is unwell tonight and has already retired for the night. The provisions regarding the grain transport will be discussed again tomorrow. Envoy Xiao, please return."

There was a moment of silence outside the courtyard gate before Xiao Yanzhi's voice came in: "I can wait. I brought silver needles. If the Imperial Preceptor's old ailment flares up, I can help administer the acupuncture."

Helian Jing stood inside the door, the cuffs of his moon-white robe fluttering slightly in the night breeze. His voice was a notch lower than before, "Envoy Xiao, there's no need to worry. The Imperial Preceptor has me by his side."

The footsteps outside the courtyard gate paused for a moment, then gradually faded into the distance.

Helian Jing turned and walked back into the inner room. Xi Yueli was standing up from behind the desk, one hand supporting herself on the edge of the table, the other hand pressing on the back of her neck, her face already mostly white.

She took two steps forward, intending to go towards the couch, but when she took her third step, her knees buckled and she fell forward.

Helian Jing rushed in front of her in that instant, his arm reaching under her armpits to pull her up. Her forehead bumped into his shoulder, but it didn't hurt.

"Xi Yueli!" He called her by her full name, his voice carrying an anxiety he rarely showed to others.

But Xi Yueli could no longer hear. The tightly strung string in the back of her head snapped completely. The excruciating pain was like a red-hot iron bar pushing outward from the inside of her skull, burning away all her consciousness into a blank.

Helian Jing carried her towards the edge of the bed, but she suddenly struggled in his arms, breaking free and falling forward, her forehead slamming against the wall—

He grabbed the back of her head, placing his palm between her forehead and the wall. Her forehead slammed into his palm with such force that it made his hand shake.

"Don't hit her." He tightened his grip, stopping her. The light in her eyes had already faded in the intense pain, leaving them unfocused.

Xi Yueli's back was pressed against his chest, her forehead against his palm, and she was curled up between him and the wall, trembling. Her breaths were short and rapid, each one trembling with pain.

"It hurts..." she managed to squeeze out a single word through her teeth.

Helian Jing wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her back from the wall and letting her lean against him. His palm was still pressed against her forehead, feeling the burning heat of her skin. Cold sweat had soaked a large patch of her hair.

He held her as he sat down on the edge of the couch, letting her lean against his chest. His fingers covered her Fengchi acupoint, pressing the throbbing vein with light pressure, but that pressure wasn't enough for her.