Isolated town in northern border region

That night, Jiang Tai knocked on Jiang Min's door.

Jiang Min was sitting under the lamp, with a book open on the table.

She looked up and saw Jiang Tai come in, without surprise.

"My third brother has come to visit so late at night. Is there something you need?"

Jiang Tai stood at the door without coming in, his voice very low.

"Min'er, do your brother a favor."

Jiang Min put down her pen.

"What kind of help?"

Jiang Tai took a step forward.

"Xiao Xiong's men are rushing back from Qingzhou."

"The Azure Wolf Cavalry possesses unparalleled fighting prowess; even the Northern Barbarians tremble at their mere mention of their name!"

"Once he arrives in Youzhou, I will have no room to interfere in the northern frontier."

"If you can help me intercept Xiao Xiong and lure and kill him along with that scholar Zhou Xun!"

He paused.

"I, the King, will then be able to control the northern frontier army!"

"Once I have control of the Northern Frontier, you will be its Empress."

Jiang Min looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

"Third brother, Xiao Lie saved our lives."

Jiang Tai interrupted her.

"Xiao Lie is dead!"

"He was burned to death at the post station in Jing Kingdom!"

"How could I possibly let him come back?"

Jiang Min's breath caught in her throat for a moment.

Jiang Tai looked at her.

"Xiao Lie fell seriously ill on his way home; this is a golden opportunity!"

"The strength and grandeur of the troops in the northern frontier are truly unprecedented!"

"And there are steel mills, trains, and an endless stream of warhorses—this is a gift from heaven!"

"Xiao Lie is my lucky star, Jiang Tai!"

He took two more steps forward.

"Min'er, listen to me!"

"Xiao Lie is dead, and the Northern Frontier is leaderless... Your brother can help you now, do you really want to hand over the Northern Frontier to Zhou Xun, that outsider, after Xiao Lie's death?"

"We are blood relatives!"

Jiang Min lowered her head.

After a long silence, she spoke softly.

"What my elder brother says is true..."

"But I am just a weak woman..."

"If my elder brother were to hold sole command of the northern frontier's military forces, how could I be sure he wouldn't harbor murderous intentions?"

Jiang Tai was about to defend himself, but Jiang Min did not give him a chance to speak.

Her hand emerged from under the table, revealing a small glass bottle from northern Xinjiang in her palm. The bottle was warm and translucent, filled with grayish-white powder.

"Since we're going to cooperate, we need some kind of proof."

She looked into Jiang Tai's eyes.

"If Your Majesty trusts me, then take this medicine."

"If you submit to it, I will believe you."

Jiang Tai took the porcelain bottle, opened the cap, and gently sniffed it.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and the words slipped out uncontrollably.

"The soldiers are scattered!"

At that moment, Jiang Min's tears fell silently.

She held onto a last glimmer of hope: perhaps Jiang Tai didn't know the true origin of the medicine, or perhaps he was just being used.

But Jiang Tai recognized "Bing Yong San" just by its smell, proving that he was not deceived when he presented the so-called "Yang Shen Dan" to his father!

It was definitely not Jiang Jun who framed him!

Jiang Tai! He knows everything!

"Third Imperial Brother."

Jiang Min's voice was trembling.

"The 'Spirit-Nourishing Pill' you presented to the Emperor, was it made with this?"

Jiang Tai's expression changed.

He neither denied nor admitted it, but for a moment his face showed an expression of being exposed.

"Jiang Jun told you?"

Jiang Min nodded.

"It was my lord who personally led me into the Imperial Study and questioned me face to face before I found out."

"Eunuch Xianji personally identified you as the one who poisoned Father Emperor!"

Jiang Tai twisted his neck and exhaled.

"Xiao Lie?"

"What an oddball, actually taking you to confront Jiang Jun face-to-face..."

"Isn't he afraid... the result of his questioning might be fatal?"

Jiang Min's eyes were bloodshot, and she stared at Jiang Tai as if she were seeing him for the first time.

"Your Majesty! Even now, do you show the slightest remorse?"

"To tell you the truth, all of this was a scheme orchestrated by my lord!"

"It's so I can see your true colors!"

Jiang Min became increasingly angry as she spoke, and reached for the teacup on the table, smashing it against Jiang Tai's forehead.

The teacup shattered, and tea and porcelain shards splashed everywhere.

Jiang Tai had a cut on his forehead, and blood was flowing down his eyebrow.

He reached out and touched it, then looked down and saw the bloodstains on his fingertip. All his pretense was finally torn away.

"A setup? Fake?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Xiao Lie is really generous!"

"But he hasn't come back yet..."

moment!

Jiang Tai unbuckled his belt and lunged at Jiang Min, wrapping the belt around her neck and tightening it abruptly.

"Since you won't help me, then you might as well die!"

"I can kill you and still negotiate with the Northern Barbarians!"

"I refuse to believe that the Northern Barbarians are truly loyal to Xiao Lie!"

Jiang Min was so choked that she could barely breathe, her hands gripping the tight belt tightly.

Her face flushed red, and her vision began to blur.

At the last moment, she finally believed that the assassination attempt in Bingzhou was indeed carried out by her most trusted third brother!

"Clang!"

The door was kicked open from the outside.

Tie Muyun appeared at the doorway, and a sharp arrow pierced through Jiang Tai's right shoulder with a whooshing sound.

"what!"

Jiang Tai suddenly loosened his belt, and Tie Muyun stepped forward, twisting his arm with his bow and pinning it against the wall.

Jiang Min collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Tie Muyun glanced at her neck; a purplish-red ligature mark lay across her throat.

She pulled out a dagger and stabbed a hole in Jiang Tai's left shoulder.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, for my late arrival to Your Majesty!"

Jiang Min coughed for a long time before finally catching his breath.

"What crime has General Tie committed? If I hadn't faced death so close to home, I truly wouldn't have been able to bring myself to do it!"

Jiang Min stood up, her eyes red, but now there was no affection or regret in her eyes, only hatred.

Tie Muyun asked softly.

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

Jiang Min didn't look at Jiang Tai, but instead looked out the window and said something.

"Sever his limbs! Take him away and torture him severely every day!"

"We can't let him die, we must let him live, he must live forever!"

Jiang Tai looked up at Jiang Min's profile, his eyes filled with nothing but fear.

"No! No!"

"Royal sister! Min'er! Please forgive your brother this time!"

"Kill me! Give me a quick death! Please!"

Jiang Min glanced at him and saw that Jiang Tai's face was covered in blood mixed with snot. She turned her head away in disgust.

Tie Muyun reached out and dislocated Jiang Tai's jaw, dragged him to the door of the room, severed Jiang Tai's tendons in his hands and feet, and then gently closed the door for Jiang Min.

Jiang Min sat alone under the lamp, the ligature mark on her neck still throbbing faintly.

"Your Highness, I was wrong!"

"Are you... alright?"

…………

Jing State, Yinzhou City.

Xiao Lie, dressed in coarse linen clothes, sat in the courtyard, the air thick with the stench of burning.

"Jiang Tai is quite ruthless!"

"He's someone important."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Xiao Lie casually answered.

"Who is it? The owners of this place have all gone out of town to do business. I'm just a housekeeper and have no right to open the door for you."

"Doctor Shi sent me. Please open the door, Your Highness."

Xiao Lie sneered and stood up.

"My net was cast... damn accurately!"

"They even gave us an extra fish!"

Xiao Lie turned around and kicked open the side room. Luo Daniu was lying on the bed, fast asleep. On the table were two Northern Frontier Taiping swords.

Xiao Lie kicked Luo Daniu awake.

"Luo Daniu! Grab a weapon and start stabbing someone!"