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

The following day at court, the Left Chancellor stepped forward and read out three cases in turn: Liu Rong, the Prefect of Dongjun, embezzled 70,000 taels of disaster relief funds; Zhao Cheng, the Prefect of Xijun, privately increased taxes and deposited them into his own accounts; and Sun Mian, the Prefect of Nanjun, withheld funds for winter clothing and military supplies.

After reading each case, he would distribute the corresponding evidence pages to the civil servants for review. The seventeen detailed records of bank drafts, money shop accounts, and cloth shop transactions were all stamped with official seals or shop stamps, and the dates, amounts, and persons in charge were clearly recorded.

Tuoba Lie stood at the head of the line. His face changed when the Left Prime Minister read out the second item. It turned from ashen to a dark red that was suppressed to the extreme, and the muscles on his cheekbones tightened into a line.

The Left Chancellor stepped back to the front of the civil officials' line, and Tuoba Lie stepped forward. "Left Chancellor, the three prefects were found to have embezzled on the same day, the case files were submitted to your desk on the same day, and presented to the court on the same day."

"Who provided the evidence to the Left Chancellor? Who orchestrated this behind the scenes? Who has the ability to investigate the accounts of three prefectures simultaneously?"

His gaze passed over the Left Prime Minister's shoulder and landed directly in Xi Yueli's direction. The anger in his eyes was like that of a beast that had been locked in an iron cage for too long, spewing hot air out through the gaps in the bars.

"The three prefects have been in office for many years, and the Ministry of Revenue has audited them every year without finding any problems. How come the new Grand Preceptor found them as soon as he arrived? He's using Fu Yuan's old accounts to rectify the court."

"Who knows if your evidence is true or false? Who knows if someone has falsified accounts and framed an honest official?"

His voice suddenly rose a notch, and some of the civil officials shrank back, while several of the military officers who were originally standing behind Tuoba Lie unconsciously took a small step forward, as if to support him.

After Tuoba Lie finished roaring, the hall fell silent again, and everyone's eyes were on the Grand Preceptor's seat.

Xi Yueli tilted her head slightly. "The Regent says this evidence is fabricated. Whose approval, seal, and handling was involved in the approval process for a disaster relief fund that wasn't actually affected by the disaster? Does the Regent want to explain this publicly?"

She picked up the bottom page of the first file from the table. The page was stamped with three seals: one from the Ministry of Revenue, one from the Prefectural Governor's Office, and one private seal with most of the corner worn off.

Everyone present recognized the pattern on that private seal. The Left Prime Minister's residence kept a record of the seals on official documents handled by Tuoba Lie over the years, and anyone who had compared them could recognize it at a glance.

"As for framing loyal officials," Xi Yueli put the last page back on the table, her voice slightly softer than before, "If the Regent thinks this evidence is forged, why not have the Ministry of Justice examine it on the spot? If any of them don't match, I will admit defeat on the spot."

After the court session ended, Xi Yueli returned to the Imperial Preceptor's bedroom and closed the door.

She stood in front of the desk for a moment, then turned around and walked to the row of bookshelves against the wall, reaching out to the most inconspicuous old document on the innermost part of the third shelf.

Her fingers touched a very fine raised line on the side of the spine of the book. She followed the raised line down to the bottom of the book, inserted her fingertips two inches in, and pulled out the piece of silk and unfolded it.

The top line reads "To Her Majesty the Empress of Daying," and at the bottom is Tuoba Lie's handwritten signature, along with his personal seal.

Less than three days after the court assembly ended, the Left Chancellor drafted a list of new governors for the three prefectures in Shuobei and submitted it to the Imperial Study.

The three nails were completely removed, the accounts of Dongjun were cleared, half of the additional taxes in Xijun were refunded, and the Sun family's cloth shop in Nanjun closed down on the night the case broke. The seventeen transactions were traced back one by one and put into the military supply depot.

Xiao Yanzhi watched the entire court upheaval from the window of the guest courtyard. Every day, when he traveled from the Daying delegation's residence through the royal court corridor, he could see the subtle changes on the faces of the Northern Shuo officials.

In the past, when they saw Tuoba Lie's carriage, they would bow their heads to pass by. Now, when they passed the road to the Imperial Preceptor's palace, they got off the carriage half a beat faster than before.

Xiao Yanzhi took in these small details, and after returning home, he sat down at his desk, picked up his brush, and dipped it in ink.

He sat in front of that blank piece of newspaper for a long time, the tip of his pen hovering above the paper, the ink droplet about to fall.

He picked up his pen and wrote the first sentence on the paper: "This woman is extremely difficult to deal with."

He stared at the six words for a moment, then put down his pen, burned the entire sheet of paper, and watched as the ashes slowly cooled before laying down a new sheet of paper.

"The new Grand Preceptor of the Northern Shu is unfathomable. I have not yet been able to ascertain his true nature. Please grant me more time."

He finished writing the line, blew the ink dry, and sealed it in a wax tube.

The autumn night in Beishuo outside the window gets dark earlier than in Daying. The wind chimes on the eaves ring occasionally in the wind. Across a guest courtyard and two palace walls, the lights in the Imperial Preceptor's bedroom are still on.

Xiao Yanzhi opened his eyes, glanced in that direction, and put the wax tube into his sleeve.

The court meeting that day lasted exceptionally long. Although Tuoba Lie had been relieved of control in three places, his old subordinates, who had been operating in Beishuo for more than ten years, still held sway in various parts of the court. As new appointment and dismissal documents were submitted one after another, he would find fault with each one.

Xi Yueli sat in the Imperial Advisor's seat, accepting every objection from Tuoba Lie. But with each response, she could feel the tendon at the back of her head tighten a little.

Fu Yuan's soul was entrenched in her body like a tree with deep roots. It was peaceful when things were calm, but on moonless nights, those roots would start to twitch and push outwards from the inside of her skull.

It was a moonless night, and she suppressed the dull ache in the back of her head with a calming soup all night.

But the daytime court meetings were too exhausting, and the suppressed pain climbed up from the back of his neck, like a tightly wound string, tightening with every word he spoke.

When the court session ended, the sunlight was still bright, but the western sky had already begun to darken.

When Xi Yueli stood up from the Imperial Advisor's seat, her movements were as usual. As she stood up, her vision blurred for a moment, as if someone had put a thin veil over her eyes and then quickly pulled it away.

She steadied herself, bowed in the direction of the throne, and then turned and walked out.

As she turned through the moon gate, her right foot stepped on a slightly loose blue brick, causing her to shift her weight and lean to the left. She reached out to grab a pillar, but something had already firmly supported her arm.

After the court session ended today, Xiao Yanzhi did not leave the palace directly. Instead, he stopped at the corner of the corridor as if he were just passing by.

The instant she tilted, he had already taken a half-step to the side, his right arm passing under her arm to firmly support her, his left palm lightly resting on her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace.

"Don't move." Xiao Yanzhi's voice was extremely low, so low that only the air between the two of them could hear it. "You look pale. What's wrong?"

Xi Yueli leaned against his arm and closed her eyes briefly. The thin veil covered her face again, and she held her breath for three breaths before suppressing the dizziness once more.

When she opened her eyes, her gaze was focused again, and her voice was steady: "My old illness has flared up again. I just need to rest for a bit. Don't make a fuss."

Xiao Yanzhi lowered her head, her forehead beaded with a fine layer of cold sweat, and the stray hairs at her temples were damp with sweat and stuck to her cheekbones.

The moment he bent down, his arms slipped under her knees, lifting her up in his arms. Her back was pressed against his chest, and her forehead rested against the hollow of his shoulder. She could smell the crisp minty scent on his clothes, mixed with the grassy aroma from the rain.

His voice came from above her head, "I'll take you home."