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

The king sat on his throne, his fingers slowly loosening their grip on the armrests. He glanced at Xi Yueli, and there was a message in that glance that Xi Yueli understood.

She didn't say "Well done" aloud, but it was hidden in the faint curve at the corner of her eye.

Xi Yueli put the three iron tokens back into her sleeve. Her movements were so slow that everyone in the hall could clearly see the order in which each token was flipped, stacked, and put into her sleeve in her palm.

That was Fu Yuan's fixed habit of receiving orders. The Left Prime Minister recognized that he would first flip over the main order and then look at the secondary orders. Then, he would stack the two secondary orders together and put them into his left sleeve, while the main order would be put into his right sleeve alone.

The elderly official at the head of the civil officials' line, with his white hair and beard, silently shifted his gaze from Xi Yueli's hand as she received the order. He didn't say a word, but the grip on his official tablet loosened slightly, though no one else could tell.

After the court session ended, Xi Yueli walked out of the Qin Zheng Hall. The civil and military officials on both sides of the stone platform walked out in twos and threes. When they passed by her, they automatically gave way half a step and lowered their heads.

But she knew it was uncertain where the wind would blow on the stone platform tomorrow. Tuoba Lie had backed down today, but that beast had only temporarily withdrawn its claws. It would not let the matter rest. Tuoba Lie was best at doing things in a sneaky way.

Just as she was about to turn and walk towards the Imperial Preceptor's bedroom, a eunuch hurried out from the side door and bowed to her: "Imperial Preceptor, please wait. The King requests your presence in the Imperial Study."

Xi Yueli followed the eunuch through two corridors and a courtyard, stopping in front of an inconspicuous black lacquered door.

The eunuch pushed open the door and stepped aside to let her pass. She crossed the threshold, and the young king was standing by the window, his back to the door, holding a cup of tea.

Hearing footsteps, the king turned around. Sunlight streamed through the window paper, softening her features, but her eyes were bright, shining with the hope of youth.

"Sit." She gestured with her chin toward the low stool opposite the desk, then sat down behind the desk herself, placing the teacup aside.

Xi Yueli sat down opposite her, with a large table covered with memorials between them.

The king's gaze lingered on her face for a couple of moments before she spoke, her voice three degrees softer than it had been during court, the last syllable carrying a hint of relief after a heavy burden had been lifted.

"When you displayed the iron token in the hall just now, my palms were sweating profusely. I was afraid that Tuoba Lie would turn on me on the spot."

"He won't turn on you." Xi Yueli smiled slightly.

"If he were to disrespect the late king's ironclad orders in front of the entire court, it would be a slap in the face to the late king. He has been the regent in Beishuo for so many years, and his most valuable asset is his face."

The king looked at her, and a smile suddenly appeared in his young eyes. "You speak just like her."

"It's not about appearance, it's about rhythm. When Fu Yuan speaks, he also likes to pause first, to think things through before speaking. The way you spoke in the hall just now was exactly the same as Fu Yuan's."

Xi Yueli lowered her eyes and looked at the memorials spread out on the table. One of the memorials was half-flipped, and the vermilion annotations were still fresh, with neat handwriting but a hint of impatience.

"I know you are not her." The king's voice suddenly deepened, as if something had pressed down on it.

"I knew from the day you entered the Hall of Diligent Governance that you were half a finger shorter than Fu Yuan, your right shoulder was slightly lower than your left shoulder, and the order in which your feet landed when you walked was different from hers."

Xi Yueli's gaze sharpened for a moment. When she looked up at the king again, the young emperor was leaning back in his chair, his hands folded on the table, the sunlight illuminating his still young face clearly.

"I have relied on Fu Yuan for thirteen years." The king's voice was steady, but the weight under each word could be heard.

"When I ascended the throne at the age of twelve, it was Fu Yuan who shielded me from the first cup of poisoned wine sent by Tuoba Lie. It was Fu Yuan who finalized the first border defense treaty for me. It was Fu Yuan who personally taught me how to feign composure in court meetings."

She paused, looked down at her interlaced fingers, and tapped her fingertips lightly twice on the back of her other hand. "But I can't hide behind you again after Fu Yuan is gone. I've been hiding for thirteen years; it's time for me to step forward."

Xi Yueli looked at her, and the king raised his eyes to meet her gaze. The awkward smile in his eyes had completely faded away.

The king pulled a thin scroll of secret reports from under the table, unfolded it, and pushed it in front of Xi Yueli.

"I had anticipated that Tuoba Lie would cause trouble at the court meeting. When he submitted the memorial on the allocation of winter grain the day before yesterday, I put a layer of paper under the memorial and had the Inner Palace copy the notes he had attached to the back of the memorial."

On the sheet of paper, a line of text was copied in extremely fine handwriting: "If the winter rations for the three northern garrisons are allocated according to this amount, the border troops will be short of rations for three months next spring. At that time, we can petition the King to transfer the Left Chancellor's personal guards to the northern border to escort the rations. While the Left Chancellor is away from the capital, the defenses in the capital can be changed."

Xi Yueli's gaze lingered on that line of text for three breaths, then she raised her eyes to look at the young emperor opposite her.

"Is this a note that Tuoba Lie attached to the back of the folding book?" she asked.

The king nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. "After I had the Imperial Household Department copy it down, they tore up the original annotations and replaced them with a new one. He didn't realize he'd given himself away."

"I want to tell you that I'm not going to wait any longer. He's been scheming right under my nose for seven years, and I've seen it every time, but every time I've said, 'Let's ask the Grand Preceptor first.' Now that Fu Yuan is gone, if I'm still hiding behind you, then I'm not worthy to wear this royal robe."

Xi Yueli looked at her, and in the depths of Fu Yuan's memory, the image of this young girl secretly picking her fingers on the throne in the Hall of Diligent Governance overlapped with the figure sitting behind the desk at this moment, on the same person's face.

"Tuoba Lie has planted trusted confidants and at least three secret sentries west of Shuofeng Pass. Every secret letter sent from the royal court will be intercepted at Shuofeng Pass," Xi Yueli said, her voice steady.

"He questioned me in the court meeting because he thought that after Fu Yuan's death, no one in Beishuo could take over the secret agents, and he wanted to take advantage of this time to consolidate his control over the deployment of troops."

The king listened, his gaze darkening slightly. "That's why I was in a hurry to approve the memorial on the allocation of winter grain. If I had delayed approving it, he would have drafted another memorial to impeach the Left Chancellor on the grounds that 'Your Majesty is delaying border affairs.'"

"By approving this petition, he will at least feel like he has won this round and will shift his attention away from you."

Xi Yueli raised an eyebrow slightly. She looked at the king, "How did Your Majesty know there were three hidden sentry posts west of Shuofeng Pass?"

The king tilted his head slightly and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the edge of the table.

"Before Fu Yuan left, she left me a secret book. It listed seventeen of her spies, three of which were near Shuofeng Pass. After she left, I memorized the book. I even sent people to investigate the activity at one of the locations."

She pulled out another piece of paper from under the table. On the paper was a rough topographical sketch drawn with charcoal, marking the location of a hidden valley in the mountains thirty miles west of Shuofeng Pass. Next to it was written a word: "store".

"Did His Majesty personally send someone to investigate?" Xi Yueli looked down at the sketch. The charcoal marks on the paper were somewhat blurry, as if they had been repeatedly rubbed and traced. The edges were wrinkled, obviously having been tucked into her sleeve and carried close to her body.

"I went disguised as an accountant in charge of transporting grain." The king took back the paper, folded it, and tucked it into his sleeve with practiced ease.

"I'm afraid of being recognized, afraid that Tuoba Lie's people will find out that I left the royal court, Xi Yueli, but I'm even more afraid that I'll just be picking my fingers on the throne forever."