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

Shen Qingya looked down at the iron plaque. He didn't immediately reach out to take it, and his voice was two octaves lower than he had expected: "Why does Your Majesty trust your subject?"

Tuoba Zhao looked at his downcast eyes and slowly said, "Because when you pulled me off my horse at the autumn hunting grounds, you didn't turn around to see if Tuoba Lie was watching you; you just reached out your hand."

The side hall was quiet for a moment.

Shen Qingya reached out and picked up the iron plaque, flipped it over to look at the wolf head pattern on the back, and then carefully put it into the hidden pocket at his waist.

"Your subject accepts."

Tuoba Zhao watched him collect the cards, a very faint smile curving her lips. She turned her head to look at Xi Yueli, who nodded slightly, as if confirming the final step.

Tuoba Zhao pulled out a second scroll of documents from under the table, which was almost twice as thick as the previous one. "This is a copy of all the messages that Tuoba Lie has sent to the royal court through the kitchen, purchasing department, and palace eunuch department over the past six months."

"Each one is marked with the date, the person in charge, and the delivery direction. Twelve of them point towards the west, eight point towards the south, and you can look at the rest yourself when you get back."

When Shen Qingya took the thick roll of documents, his fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the cover.

Having spent so many years in the imperial court, he had seen how Tuoba Lie's men would slip messages into the corners of purchase lists and use food boxes from the kitchen as secret compartments to deliver letters.

He had always known about those methods, but he had never seen a complete record of them, copied down line by line, with dates and locations listed in a volume.

He looked up at Tuoba Zhao and said, "Your Majesty's dossier is more than twice as complete as the one I have pieced together over the years."

Tuoba Zhao leaned back in her chair, the winter sunlight filtering through the paper window and casting a warm glow on her thin face. "From now on, everything you have will be updated in this dossier, one day at a time."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Shen Qingya, now that you've entered this game, you're not walking alone anymore."

Shen Qingya stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and bowed deeply, three times deeper than when he entered. As he straightened up, his gaze fell on Tuoba Zhao's face, lingering for a moment before looking away.

"Your subject takes his leave," he said.

He turned and walked to the door. Before stepping over the threshold, he glanced at Tuoba Zhao and his gaze swept quickly across the doorway. Then he looked away and stepped over the threshold, and the door closed gently behind him.

Shen Qingya walked out along the stone corridor. His dark blue outfit looked particularly composed in the winter sunlight. However, after he stepped out of the moon gate, his pace slowed down. He could hear his own heartbeat, thumping against his eardrums, unusually fast.

He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest; through the fabric of his clothes, he could feel the irregular throbbing in his palm.

He recalled the image of her sitting behind her desk in the side hall earlier, sunlight falling on her face. When she pushed the thick roll of secret reports towards him, she lightly pressed her fingertips on the cover, her demeanor as composed as if she were handing over an ordinary document.

But the light shining in those light amber eyes was something he had never seen before on the throne.

Shen Qingya stood outside the moon gate for a while. The winter wind of Beishuo blew into his face from the end of the corridor. He finally put down the hand that was pressed against his chest and started walking out again.

Xi Yueli watched Shen Qingya's figure disappear outside the courtyard gate, then turned her head to look at the king. She leaned back in her chair, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and slowly circled her finger on the rim of the cup.

"The king didn't mention the secret letter earlier."

Tuoba Zhao placed the teacup back on the table and looked out the window. "It's not the right time yet. He's just entered the game. Let him get started and get the internal guard patrols and the intelligence interception on track first."

She paused, then turned to look at Xi Yueli. "When do you plan to use that piece of silk?"

Xi Yueli lowered her eyes and tapped her fingertips lightly on the table. "When Tuoba Lie brings the caravan into the palace, since he dared to let the Empress's people into the territory of Beishuo, he should be prepared for that secret letter to be exposed in public."

Tuoba Zhao looked at her, and the morning light shone through the paper window onto the large desk between the two of them.

"Yue Li," she began, her voice slightly softer than before, "that Dr. Lian of yours..."

Xi Yueli's ear tips turned red for a moment. She picked up her teacup and took a sip to cover it up, but when she put the teacup down, the redness on her ear tips had not completely faded.

"His medical skills are excellent."

Looking at her like this, Tuoba Zhao's smile deepened by half an inch. "I heard that he stayed in your bedchamber all night last night."

Xi Yueli's fingers tightened slightly as she held the teacup. She remained silent for a moment, then set down the teacup and met the king's gaze. "Your Majesty, he is my man and will not betray me."

"I know." Tuoba Zhao did not ask any further questions, but simply took out a small white porcelain bottle from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

"This was sent by the Imperial Hospital this morning. They said it was a prescription written by Doctor Lian, and asked me to pass it on to you. They said to add a spoonful of this to the calming soup that the Imperial Preceptor has been taking these past few days."

Xi Yueli looked at the white porcelain bottle, then at the suppressed smile on Tuoba Zhao's face, and silently cursed Helian Jing in her heart—he had even taken care of the king.

"Your Majesty, I thank you." She squeezed out those four words through gritted teeth and accepted the white porcelain bottle.

Tuoba Zhao finally couldn't help but smile slightly. "Yueli, this is the first time I've ever seen your ears so red."

Xi Yueli tucked the white porcelain bottle into her sleeve, stood up, and cupped her hands in a respectful gesture. "If Your Majesty has nothing else, I shall take my leave."

She spoke a beat faster than usual, as if she was in a hurry to leave this place where she had nowhere to hide. As she turned and walked to the door, she heard Tuoba Zhao's smiling voice behind her, "Remember to drink the calming soup tonight."

The next morning at court, Xi Yueli sat in the Imperial Preceptor's seat, her black robe with silver embroidery neatly gathered at her knees. She maintained her usual composure, but her fingertips were slightly tucked into her sleeves.

The morning court session was quieter than usual, with all eyes sometimes falling on the Grand Preceptor's seat and sometimes on Tuoba Lie, who was at the head of the civil officials.

Tuoba Lie was less aggressive today than he had been a few days ago, but his posture at the head of the line was relaxed and confident.

When the court assembly reached the part about verifying the grain supply, the Left Chancellor stepped forward and publicly reported the actual inventory data of the three granaries outside Shuofeng Pass.

Xi Yueli sat upright in her seat, her gaze falling on the cover of the scroll in the Left Prime Minister's hand, but she couldn't remember what the number should be.

Tuoba Lie tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing over the Left Prime Minister's shoulder and landing in the direction of the Grand Preceptor's seat, watching her reaction.

Xi Yueli felt that gaze fixed on her profile. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and used the rim of the cup to cover half of her face, frantically searching her mind for traces of that memory.

Just then, a beam of light and shadow suddenly appeared on the paper of the high window on the west side of the Hall of Diligent Governance.

The light shone in from outside the window paper and landed precisely on the gold brick floor to Xi Yueli's left front, reflecting three extremely faint characters.

"Three, thousand, seven."

Tuoba Lie was originally prepared to ask about the whereabouts of the four hundred shi after the Left Prime Minister finished reporting the numbers, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Xi Yueli had already put the teacup back on the table.

"I also have a copy of the details of the reduction that the Left Prime Minister just mentioned." She caught up with the half-sentence that Tuoba Lie hadn't had time to hand over.