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

The candlelight in the Tian Shu Division was tilted slightly by the wind seeping in through the window cracks, and Helian Jing sat behind his desk reading secret reports.

"Xiao Yanzhi entered the Northern Shuo National Preceptor's sleeping quarters and did not leave until dawn the next day. During this time, the courtyard gates remained tightly closed, and the secret guards were withdrawn far away."

Helian Jing leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and slowly clenched his hand on the armrest, his knuckles turning white as he loosened and clenched again, as if he were struggling against something.

It hasn't been long since they parted ways in Qixia Town, yet someone has already entered her bedchamber, carrying her in as well. The lights were still on around midnight, and she didn't leave until dawn.

He opened his eyes, his gaze returning to the rolled-up secret report on the table. He picked it up and held it to the lamp flame to burn, the flame licking away the last line of text. Then he stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open, letting the cold winter wind blow in and onto his face.

The next morning at court, Helian Jing made an exception and appeared in the audience. The Tian Shu Division was in charge of the secret guards, inspecting all officials and handling all shady business; they usually only showed their faces when it was necessary to arrest or take down people.

But today, he stood in the hall, his dark blue robes highlighting his high-bridged face, and he held the impeachment memorial in one hand as if it were something extremely light.

"Your Majesty, I impeach Xiao Yanzhi, the eldest son of the Marquis of Zhenbei, for failing to fulfill his duties as a foreign official during his mission to Beishuo. According to the records of the mission, Xiao Yanzhi entered the palace of the Beishuo National Preceptor four times in the past half month under an informal name."

"On two occasions, the mission's official log was not included, nor was it reported to the Ministry of Rites. Such frequent private dealings with important officials in the Northern Shu are probably not appropriate for an envoy. We request Your Majesty to issue an edict to recall Xiao Yanzhi and send another envoy to replace him."

The hall fell silent for a moment; the person sitting on the throne was not the Emperor of Ying himself.

He sat behind the beaded curtain to the right of the throne, his figure so thin that he almost blended into the shadow of the chair back, separated by twelve layers of hanging jade beads. The dragon robe he wore hung loosely on his body, revealing a section of his thin neck at the collar, and his complexion was as pale as rice paper.

Since his serious illness three years ago, he has never attended court alone again.

Empress Xiao sat on a slightly lower phoenix chair to the left of the beaded curtain. Today she wore a dark red robe embroidered with gold phoenixes, her hair was styled in a high bun, and a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin was placed at her temple.

That face was well-maintained, looking no more than thirty years old. When he smiled, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes looked like lines drawn with a fine brush, soft yet carrying an imposing aura that made people afraid to look directly at him.

After hearing Helian Jing's words, she did not speak immediately. Instead, she picked up her teacup, took a slow sip, and gently stirred the tea foam with the lid.

"Prince Chen," the Empress said, setting down her teacup, her voice as gentle as ever, "you've been scrutinizing the delegation's documents quite meticulously."

"However, Xiao Yan's mission to the Northern Shuo is a matter of state. While it is certainly against regulations to meet with powerful ministers in private, it is not a major offense if it is to investigate the true situation of the Northern Shuo court. Let's discuss it again when he returns to the capital."

The Empress's well-maintained hands were folded on her knees, and her fingertips tapped lightly on the folds of her phoenix robe. She could see clearly that Helian Jing would never personally go to court to deliver a memorial for the private conduct of an official.

His movement at this moment indicates that Xiao Yanzhi encountered something or someone in Beishuo, and that thing happened to be something that Helian Jing did not want anyone to touch.

Her gaze fell on the figure in the dark blue robes in the hall, the corners of her lips curving into a gentle smile: "I do have something to wonder about. When did Prince Chen become so concerned about the records of the Northern Shuo National Preceptor's comings and goings?"

Helian Jing lowered his eyes, his posture as respectful as ever: "Your Majesty, I am in charge of the Heavenly Pivot Bureau, observing the words and deeds of all officials, both inside and outside the capital. Xiao Yan, as an envoy, has an overly close personal relationship with a high-ranking official in the Northern Shuo, which is detrimental to the dignity of the Great Ying. Since I am aware of this, I dare not fail to report it."

She placed the teacup back on the table, her voice slightly deeper than before: "Your Highness is kind, but Xiao Yan's mission to Beishuo is a matter of state. Now that he has entered the Beishuo royal court, he should prioritize state affairs. Matters of personal morality can be discussed after he returns to court."

She paused, her gaze falling on the figure in the dark blue robe in the hall, the curve of her lips as gentle as ever: "With the envoy abroad, I trust he can handle things on his own. If Prince Chen has nothing else to say, you may leave."

The Empress used the word "retreat" instead of "dismiss the court," which meant that she was telling Helian Jing in front of all the officials that the matter was over and there was no need to discuss it further.

After the court session ended, Helian Jing returned to the ranks, his face expressionless. However, he took a few steps back to his position, a beat slower than usual, and no one in the hall dared to look up at his face.

That very night, the Empress's urgent secret letter left the east gate of the imperial city and sped off towards the north.

"Now that you have entered Beishuo, stay there for a while and carefully examine the people and matters in the Beishuo court that have dealings with Prince Chen. Report all matters, no matter how small, to the Empress."

Xiao Yanzhi received the letter in Shuojing three days later. After reading it, he sat under the lamp for a while, a bitter smile appearing on his lips that he himself did not notice. Helian Jing's impeachment memorial had actually extended his stay in Beishuo.

At the same time, the winds in the capital city of Daying had already been turned in a different direction by the Empress's people.

The Empress spread a message in the court, saying that "Prince Chen has a very close personal relationship with the new national teacher of Beishuo. Impeaching Xiao Yanzhi is just a pretext. His real purpose is to avoid being noticed."

The message was delivered smoothly and accurately, so that Helian Jing would be too busy to keep up. No matter how powerful the Tian Shu Division was, it couldn't silence the gossip of the court officials. As long as Helian Jing spent his energy dealing with the rumors in the court, he wouldn't have the energy to keep an eye on Bei Shuo's movements.

However, she overlooked one thing: Helian Jing deliberately made the Empress pay attention to his connection with Beishuo, so that Xiao Yanzhi would pay less attention to the Grand Preceptor.

Three days later, news came from the capital city of Daying that Prince Chen, Helian Jing, had been assassinated outside Qixia Pass. All his accompanying guards were killed in battle, and Prince Chen himself was forced to the edge of a cliff. He was stabbed several times and fell into a waterfall. His whereabouts are unknown, and his chances of survival are extremely slim.

When the news reached the Empress's palace, she was reviewing memorials. When she heard the eunuch's trembling voice finish reading that line, her vermilion brush paused. She put down the brush, leaned back in her chair, remained silent for a moment, and then raised her hand to press her temples.

"Who did it?"

"Your Majesty, the situation is still under investigation, but two bloodstained tokens were found at the scene. One is a token of the Heavenly Pivot Division's secret guards, and the other—"

The eunuch's voice trembled even more, "The other one is a fragment of the wax seal of the Empress's Phoenix Seal."

The Empress's fingers, which were pressing her temples, tightened suddenly. The wax seal of the Empress's Phoenix Seal was the special seal she used when sending secret messages. No one except her and her two most trusted female officials in charge of the seal could obtain it.

The wax seal fragments found at the scene were indeed of the Empress's style, and half of a phoenix pattern could even be faintly discerned on the dark red wax surface. Someone was using her seal to kill Prince Chen.

"Investigate." The Empress squeezed out these three words from between her teeth, and the eunuch's knees buckled half an inch.

The investigation uncovered several things: an extra sum of money of unknown origin was found under the name of the female official in charge of the empress's seal; the shift change records of the eunuchs on duty had been altered twice; and even a box of dark red wax blocks of unknown origin was found in the wax-sealed materials that had been put into storage the day before.

The Queen looked at the unearthed clues, each one like a thread that someone had pre-tied for her, pointing in different directions, yet all converging on the same conclusion—

Someone laid a net in her palace, a net that was not only aimed at Prince Chen, but also at her.