The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

"Go and summon Commander Zhao," she instructed her maid.

Soon, the Imperial Guard general, Zhao Yi, entered the tent.

"What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"Commander Zhao," Li Qingluan looked at him and lowered her voice, "we can't wait any longer. Xiao Jingchen is clearly trying to wear us down."

"Tonight, take a few skilled men and find a way to sneak into the city."

Zhao Yi was taken aback: "Princess, this... Shuobei City is heavily guarded. Trying to sneak in would be......"

"I don't care what method you use!" Li Qingluan's tone left no room for argument. "Whether you dig a tunnel or scale a wall, you have to get in!"

"Once inside, do not disturb anyone. Go to this place and find a person called 'Manager Liu'."

She took out a jade pendant with a special pattern carved on it from her bosom and handed it to Zhao Yi.

"Give this to him, and when he sees the jade pendant, he will understand. He will tell you what to do next."

Zhao Yi took the jade pendant; it was icy cold to the touch.

He knew that this was the princess's real secret mission.

The so-called "rewarding the three troops" was a pretext from the very beginning.

"Understood!" He carefully put the jade pendant away and replied in a deep voice.

"Remember," Li Qingluan's eyes sharpened, "this matter is of utmost importance; it can only succeed, it cannot fail. If it is exposed, you know the consequences."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhao Yi bowed and withdrew.

Watching Zhao Yi's departing figure, a cold smile finally appeared on Li Qingluan's lips.

Xiao Jingchen, do you think I can't do anything to you just because you've closed the city gates?

You underestimate my elder sister.

The spies she planted in your northern city are far deeper than you can imagine.

As long as Zhao Yi can contact Manager Liu and activate that secret line.

Even if you don't open the city gates, I still have ways to throw your Shuobei City into chaos from within!

……

At the same time.

In the study of Xiao Jingchen at the Zhenbei Marquis's residence.

Bright lights.

Xiao Jingchen was standing in front of a huge sand table, deducing various possible battle scenarios.

Lei Lie paced back and forth restlessly to the side.

"My lord, aren't you worried at all? That little princess has been outside the city all day; what if something really happens to her..."

"She'll be fine," Xiao Jingchen said without looking up.

Why?

"Because she doesn't want to die yet." Xiao Jingchen picked up a small flag representing barbarian cavalry from the sand table and casually tossed it aside. "If she really wanted to use her own life to force me to open the gate, she should have smashed her head against the city gate during the day, instead of making a few meaningless threats and then setting up camp on the spot."

"The fact that she's lingering here means she's waiting."

"Wait for what?" Lei Lie pressed.

"Wait for our inside man in the city." Xiao Jingchen's gaze fell on a small marker on the sand table, representing a certain area within Shuobei City.

That place is the most bustling commercial district in Shuobei City.

Lei Lie was taken aback: "An inside man? My lord, you mean... the little princess's people have already infiltrated the city?"

"They didn't sneak in," Xiao Jingchen shook his head. "They were lying in ambush here all along."

"From the day I took over Shuobei City, the one in the capital has never truly trusted me."

"Over the years, she has planted countless eyes and ears in my Shuobei City. Some are visible, like Wang Delu, whom I killed. But many more are hidden in the shadows."

"They might be a tavern owner, a courtesan, or an insignificant street vendor."

"Normally, they lie low and are no different from ordinary people. But as soon as the capital issues an order, they become the most deadly vipers."

Lei Lie felt a chill run down his spine.

He never imagined that such a dangerous undercurrent was hidden beneath the calm surface of Shuobei City.

"Then...then we..."

"I've already sent Black Crow's men to investigate." Xiao Jingchen pointed to the mark on the sand table. "The key point is this area. It's a melting pot of all sorts of people, the place with the best information network, and the easiest place to hide one's identity."

"The longer the princess stays outside the city, the greater the risk of her spies within the city being exposed. I want to see whether she loses her composure first, or her spies give themselves away first."

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the study door.

The figure of the black crow appeared at the doorway like a ghost.

"My lord."

"Any results?"

"Yes." Black Crow handed over a thin file. "That princess at the South Gate did come prepared. Our men have been watching her for a day and discovered that Zhao Yi, the commander of the Imperial Guards she sent out, is preparing to sneak into the city through an abandoned drainage outlet in the west of the city at midnight tonight with several trusted men."

"Drainage outlet?" Lei Lie was furious upon hearing this. "Damn it! These cowards from Beijing think they can play tunnel warfare with us?"

Xiao Jingchen ignored him and opened the file, quickly browsing through it.

The file contained detailed information about the person called "Manager Liu".

Liu Changqing is ostensibly the manager of "Jinxiu Pavilion," the largest silk shop in Shuobei City. He is a shrewd and sophisticated man with a wide circle of friends.

But his true identity is the highest-ranking official of the Imperial City Guard, planted in Shuobei City.

The Imperial City Guard was a secret service agency established by the Empress after her ascension to the throne, modeled after the previous dynasty. It operated independently of the Three Judicial Offices and reported directly to the Empress. Its power was terrifying.

This Liu Changqing had been lying low in Shuobei City for five years, building a vast intelligence network and even planting his own people in Xiao Jingchen's army.

At the end of the file, a list was also attached.

Hundreds of names were written on it.

There were merchants, minor officials, and even a few low-ranking military officers.

Lei Lie leaned over for a look, and when he saw one of the familiar names, his eyes instantly turned red.

"Wang Ergou!" he gritted his teeth as he uttered the name. "That son of a bitch! I treated him well, promoting him from a lowly soldier to a captain! And he turns out to be a spy for the Imperial City Guard!"

He drew his knife with a "whoosh" and turned to rush out.

"I'm going to kill him right now!"

"Stop!" Xiao Jingchen shouted.

Lei Lie stopped and turned back to look at him with a puzzled expression: "Lord Marquis?"

"If we kill him now, wouldn't we be alerting the enemy?" Xiao Jingchen closed the dossier and threw it into the charcoal brazier beside him.

The flames licked at the paper, quickly turning it to ashes.

"Fish must be caught one by one."

"The net will be pulled in at the very end."

He walked to the window, opened it, and looked out at the deep night.

"Pass down the order to the garrison in the west of the city to 'sleep soundly' tonight."

"As for that drain outlet..."

He turned back, looked at Black Crow, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Since Her Highness the Princess wishes to send guests, how could we, as hosts, not welcome them?"

"Prepare a grand gift to properly 'entertain' Commander Zhao and his men."

"I will make sure they never return."