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

"Master," Liu Sanniang stood up, "In Qixia Town, His Highness Prince Chen has settled the Imperial Preceptor. The Empress's men chased after him in three waves, two of which were lured away by the Tian Shu Division. The remaining wave is currently searching the town."

Xi Yueli nodded, then pushed the hood of her black robe back. "Let's go."

She strode towards the southwest, with Liu San Niang following half a step behind her, like a dark shadow blending into the moonlight.

Fifteen shadowy figures silently followed from the withered grass, forming a loose arc to protect the sides and rear. The entire group quickly traversed the wasteland in the moonlight, moving towards Qixia Town.

Xi Yueli walked at the front of the group. Fu Yuan's memories were settling in her mind inch by inch, and her steps became more and more steady.

Qixia Town was smaller than Xi Yueli had imagined, with a main street and dozens of gray adobe houses on both sides.

The stronghold of the Tian Shu Division was hidden in an inconspicuous pharmacy at the westernmost end of the town. The courtyard gate faced a narrow alley that could only accommodate one person at a time, and a faded old cloth curtain hung at the entrance of the alley.

Helian Jing stood at the door of the side room in the backyard of the pharmacy, watching Fu Yuan lean against the kang (a heated brick bed). Her face was as white as the moonlight filtering through the window paper, and her lips had a bluish-purple tinge.

He handed Fu Yuan a pill. Without thinking, Fu Yuan swallowed the dark red pill with warm water. She closed her eyes and rested for about half a cup of tea's time before the deathly gray on her face slowly faded, replaced by a pale color that, although weak, had finally regained some vitality.

"What did the doctor say?" Helian Jing asked the Tian Shu Si guard standing next to him.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Preceptor has been poisoned for at least three months. It is a chronic poison that requires monthly doses of antidote to suppress. If he stops taking the medicine for more than forty days, the poison will invade his heart. Judging by the days, the Imperial Preceptor only has ten days left before his next dose."

Helian Jing frowned slightly, turned his head and whispered to his guard, "Investigate. Search every pharmacy, prescription, and physician within the territory of Beishuo that can prepare this antidote."

"It's impossible for the Queen's people to carry the antidote with them. She must have a fixed supply chain for the medicine. If we follow that supply chain, we'll find the antidote recipe. If not, we'll bring back the person who supplied the medicine."

The guards acknowledged the order and withdrew, and the room fell silent again, with only Fu Yuan's breathing as he leaned against the kang and the howling of the night wind through the cracks in the wall outside the window.

Helian Jing stood on the edge of the kang for a moment, then took half a step back and bowed to Fu Yuan with a solemn gesture.

"Four years ago, heavy snow blocked the mountain pass on the northern border. I was ambushed and seriously injured. If it weren't for the Imperial Preceptor's intervention, I would have died in the dilapidated temple long ago."

"I have been searching for the Imperial Advisor for four years. Now that I have found him, I owe him my life. If the Imperial Advisor ever needs anything in the future, as long as it is within my power, I will do it without hesitation."

Fu Yuan leaned against the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked at him. The candlelight flickered on the low table between the two of them, illuminating half of her thin face with a warm glow.

She looked at him for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Your Highness, I do not need your repayment."

Helian Jing's gaze sharpened for a moment, waiting for her to continue, but Fu Yuan simply shifted her gaze away from him and onto the moonlight reflected on the window paper, her voice softening.

"My time in this world is running out. The poison the Empress administered won't last long. Even if an antidote is found, the damage to this body will be irreversible. I have only one request."

Helian Jing took half a step forward: "Please speak, Grand Preceptor."

Fu Yuan turned back, her gaze flickering in the candlelight. "Protect her for me. There aren't many people in this world who can walk alongside her. Since Your Highness has searched for four years and found this place, don't let her walk alone any longer."

Helian Jing paused for a moment, then said, "I agree."

Fu Yuan nodded and said nothing more. She leaned back on the kang (a heated brick bed), closed her eyes, and her breathing became steady. Helian Jing stood there watching her for a moment, then turned and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Suddenly, a series of very light footsteps came from the narrow alley outside the courtyard wall. Then, the old cloth curtain at the entrance of the alley was lifted, and a figure dressed in a black robe appeared in the moonlight.

Xi Yueli is back.

Her hood was still pulled up over her head, covering most of her face. The moment Helian Jing saw her walk in from the doorway of the room, he sensed a change he couldn't quite put his finger on.

When she walks, her shoulder line is slightly lower and she is slightly more steady than before.

Helian Jing took two steps forward and stood at the courtyard gate. The moonlight cut down from the eaves and fell on the small square of blue brick ground between her and him, like a silver-white dividing line.

He watched her face emerge from the shadow of the hood; her gaze met his for a moment, then shifted away.

As Xi Yueli walked straight past him, she didn't even pause. The hem of her black robe brushed against the ground three inches in front of his boots, stirring up a breeze carrying the coolness of the night dew.

She pushed open the door to Fu Yuan's room, stepped inside, and the door closed behind her.

Helian Jing stood there, staring at the closed door, his hand still in the position he had just reached out to stop her, but he withdrew it after a couple of breaths.

He lowered his hands, stood still, his gaze fixed on the wood grain of the door panel, and it took him a long time to slowly loosen his clenched knuckles.

Inside the side room, Fu Yuan opened his eyes upon hearing the door open.

She saw that the person who walked in was Xi Yueli. She tilted her head slightly and pushed the candle on the pillow toward Xi Yueli, as if gesturing for her to sit closer.

Xi Yueli sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), the two of them facing each other very close, close enough to see the pale gold of moonlight and candlelight intertwined in each other's eyes.

Fu Yuan looked at her, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. "Are you alright?"

Xi Yueli nodded, "It feels good."

Fu Yuan's smile deepened. She looked at Xi Yueli with a look that was even more profound than before, like the mixed feelings of joy and melancholy one has when seeing their younger self.

"I can't hold on much longer," Fu Yuan said. "You saw him waiting at the door when you came in, right?"

Xi Yueli didn't reply, but her fingers, which were hanging on her knees, twitched slightly.

Fu Yuan noticed her retraction of her fingers. She reached out and grasped Xi Yueli's wrist, her fingertips touching the pulse on the inside of her wrist bone, feeling the rhythm of the beating.

"Go ahead." Fu Yuan released her wrist. "Someone's waiting for you outside."

Xi Yueli sat in the room for a while longer, then she stood up and walked out of the side room. She saw Helian Jing still standing there.

He hadn't moved at all. From the moment she went in until now, he had been standing three steps away from the door of the room, his hands hanging at his sides, his gaze fixed on the door.

His usually aloof and languid eyes were fixed on her face, and he took half a step forward: "You—"

"I'm tired," Xi Yueli interrupted him, tilting her head to look at the old locust tree outside the courtyard wall. "I need to rest for a while. Your Highness will need to put in a lot of effort to find a cure for Fu Yuan's poison."

She walked past him, her steps a beat faster than when she had come out.

Helian Jing stood still and did not chase after her. He watched her walk into the temporary room in the east wing that had been vacated. The sound of the door closing was soft in the night, and then the whole courtyard fell silent again.

He glanced down at his hands; he had almost reached out to grab her sleeve as she passed by. The thought flashed through his mind, but he suppressed it.

The night breeze caused the old bells hanging from the eaves to gently tap against the bronze wall, producing a short, crisp sound.

Helian Jing was still standing on that blue brick, looking at the closed door of the east wing. He slowly pulled his outstretched hand back into his sleeve, his palm covered with a thin layer of sweat from his earlier clenching.