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

Xi Yueli closed the file. "He's testing us. He wants to see if the King and I can handle this connection. If we can, he might maintain some level of information exchange with Beishuo through 'personal connections' in the future."

"If he hadn't caught it, he would have followed the Empress's instructions and played all the moves. Last night's cooperation was his personal expression of sincerity, and today Zhou Bingliang delivering the documents was his duty as the envoy of Daying. He clearly distinguished between the two matters."

After listening, Tuoba Zhao remained silent for a few moments. She leaned back in her chair and spoke after a long while.

"If he really wants to develop a personal relationship with us in the future, how do you plan to respond?"

Xi Yueli turned her head to the side. "Let's catch it first. The thread is in his hands. Whether he lets it go, and how long he lets it go, depends on whether Beishuo is worth letting it go."

The wind rustled through the locust tree branches outside the window, and the imperial study was quiet for a moment. The documents on the desk were slightly warmed by the sunlight.

Xi Yueli stood up to leave when Tuoba Zhao's voice came from behind her, carrying a warmth much thinner than before, "Yueli, how was your pipa playing last night? I haven't heard you play the zither before."

She turned her head slightly at the doorway, the sunlight illuminating half of her face, and smiled slightly. "Not bad, just the level a pipa player in a music hall should have, enough to make a living."

A few days later, Xi Yueli came out of the Qin Zheng Hall after a meeting. It started to rain. She didn't use an umbrella, and the shoulders of her black robe were soaked with dark water stains.

As she walked quickly past the corner of the corridor with her head down, she met Xiao Yanzhi, who had just come from the west side of the royal court. His dark blue casual clothes also had a layer of rain stains on the shoulders.

The two of them stopped at the corner of the narrow corridor at the same time. Rain fell from the eaves, forming a fine curtain of water that enveloped them at opposite ends of the corridor.

He first noticed the rain streaks on her shoulder, then stepped aside to clear a dry patch of ground under the eaves: "Is the Imperial Advisor finished with his work?"

Xi Yueli stopped in the open space he had vacated, raised her hand to tuck the rain-dampened stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear, and pressed her temple from an angle where no one could see, where it was throbbing.

He took a dry handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it over: "I've come today to deliver a reply. I seconded the document from the Ministry of Rites that the Grand Preceptor had the Left Chancellor forward yesterday. I thought I'd show it to the Grand Preceptor in person to save him the trouble of going through the Ministry of Rites."

Xi Yueli took the handkerchief and patted the water stains on her forehead. She looked up at him, and the rain curtain between them formed a semi-transparent veil, making his handsome face appear slightly softer.

"Is Envoy Xiao personally delivering a reply in the pouring rain? Are the courier services of the Northern Shuo royal court insufficient?"

Xiao Yanzhi's lips curved slightly, much more relaxed than when he was seen at the court assembly. "I came whenever I felt like it. If the Grand Preceptor finds it inconvenient, I will have a messenger escort me next time."

"No need," Xi Yueli said, turning and walking deeper into the corridor. "Since you're here, come in and have a cup of tea before you leave. The rain is going to continue for a while."

The side room of the Imperial Preceptor's bedroom was not usually reserved for outsiders. The documents and maps on the table were neatly arranged. Xi Yueli opened the window to let in the light from the rainy day, and then took a kettle from the bronze stove to make tea.

Xiao Yanzhi sat on a low stool by the window, watching her finish brewing a cup and push it over. The tea in the celadon cup had a bright amber color.

He picked it up and took a sip. The refreshing taste of the tea was beyond his expectations. It wasn't the butter tea that Beishuo was used to drinking, nor was it the tribute tea with many special ingredients from the Daying Palace. It was just the most ordinary southern green tea, roasted just right, with a hint of sweetness.

"The Imperial Preceptor's tea is better than any I've had in Beishuo." As he put down the teacup, his gaze fell on the hand she used to brew the tea. Her fingers were soft and slender, as if she had never practiced martial arts.

He lowered his head and took another sip of tea. The rain outside the window intensified, pattering softly on the banana leaves, making the silence between the two of them even more profound.

Xi Yueli sat down opposite her. The light from the rainy day shone through the window paper, softening the contours of her face and revealing a hint of weariness beneath.

"Envoy Xiao, you've lived at the border for five years," she began. "How have you gotten used to life after returning to the capital, Ying?"

Xiao Yanzhi paused slightly in the teacup he was holding. "I'm not used to it."

He put down his teacup and looked at the water curtain hanging outside the window. "After five years at the border, I got used to the smell of saddles and hay. When I returned to the capital, I found the smell of cosmetics on the streets too cloying."

Xi Yueli twirled the teacup in her hand. She suddenly remembered what Helian Jing had said in the carriage outside Qixia Town: that the snow in Beishuo was drier than that in Daying. She suppressed the thought and picked up the teacup again to take a sip.

"If Envoy Xiao has nothing else to do today," she put down her teacup and stood up, "I will take you somewhere."

She put on a dark gray cloak and walked out through the side door. Xiao Yanzhi followed half a step behind her. The two walked along the corridor for a while, turned through two moon gates, and stopped in front of an inconspicuous side hall.

Xi Yueli pushed open the door, and the shelves against the wall were piled high with files and booklets, the air filled with the smell of old paper and ink.

She walked to the third shelf on the west wall, pulled out a yellowed scroll from the top shelf, turned around and handed it to him. The cover of the scroll was mostly worn out.

It is a handwritten draft of the memorandum of understanding on the grain transport agreement between Beishuo and Daying two years ago. It has Fu Yuan's handwritten annotations. Next to each change, there is a line of very small writing that reads "This clause is easily exploited" and "A time limit should be added to this section".

Xiao Yanzhi looked at the annotations. One annotation, written in vermilion ink, was larger and bolder than the others: "If 'takeover' is changed to 'temporary management,' this clause must be given a time limit, otherwise there will be endless troubles."

"Did Grand Preceptor Fu Yuan foresee this long ago?" Xiao Yanzhi closed the scroll.

Xi Yueli turned her gaze to his face. "The reason I showed this to Envoy Xiao is to tell you that next time you receive a similar old file, you can think about what else Fu Yuan wrote."

When he handed the file back to her, his fingertips touched her fingers through the worn cover. The air was slightly cool on that rainy day, but the warmth of that touch was transmitted through the half-inch of paper.

"I have remembered," he said.

Xi Yueli escorted him to the entrance of the Imperial Preceptor's residence. After walking about seven or eight steps, Xiao Yanzhi turned his head to look at her, then looked away and continued walking forward, his pace slightly slower than before.

Three secret reports were delivered simultaneously into the Imperial Preceptor's bedroom from three directions, three hidden routes, and three fast horses of different colors.

Xi Yueli laid the three secret reports side by side on the table, took out the roll of border map from the hidden compartment and laid it at the bottom. The locations of the three prefectures were marked with cinnabar, forming a triangle with Shuojing sandwiched in the middle and slightly to the north.

Tuoba Lie's local arrangements were more comprehensive than she had anticipated. Dongjun controlled the money and grain channels, Xijun choked the trade routes, and Nanjun guarded the supply lines for winter clothing and military equipment.

With the three directions locked down, Shuojing was like a chess piece being held in three directions.

She picked up a pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote a line of small characters on the last page of each secret report: "Investigate, submit a report within three days." Then she folded the three secret reports, sealed them into three wax tubes, stood up, walked to the palace gate, and handed them to Liu San Niang.

"Have the secret police disguise themselves as merchants and start by examining the accounts of Sun Mian's cousin's cloth shop, uncovering every single one of the seventeen transactions. I want three files delivered to the Left Prime Minister's desk on the same day."