After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

By the time they returned to the Jiang residence, it was already dark.

However, Tu Shan Ruoshui showed no intention of returning.

She sat on a stone bench by the training ground, watching Jiang Yan have his wounds bandaged by the doctor from the manor.

The white cloth was wrapped around her right arm in circles, and her gaze followed it in those circles.

"Princess, it's getting dark," a servant whispered a reminder from the side.

"Okay." She didn't move.

She knew that after this incident, the palace would no longer allow her to run around freely.

Until the assassin's background is fully investigated, this outing will likely be the last time she stands in the Jiang family's courtyard for a long time to come.

The attendants retreated to the corridor, not daring to urge him any further.

After Jiang Yan finished bandaging her wound, she sat down next to her.

The maid quietly lit the lanterns under the corridor.

As night deepened, the people around them tactfully withdrew, leaving only the two of them at the edge of the training ground.

Tu Shan Ruoshui sat on a stone bench, resting her chin on her hands, looking at Jiang Yan's forearm, which was thickly wrapped in bandages.

"Jiang Yan," Ruoshui suddenly spoke.

"Um."

Why are you so good to me?

Jiang Yan thought for a moment, watching the moonlight fall on the fox ears on her head. The light orange ears were tilted forward slightly because of some kind of tension that she herself might not even be aware of.

"Because you've been very good to me too," Jiang Yan said.

"No way." Tu Shan Ruoshui frowned. "I've only known you for two days."

Jiang Yan smiled but offered no explanation.

Two days is a short time, but some things have nothing to do with the length of time.

The Tu Shan Ruoshui he knew was not only the one before him, but also the one he envisioned for the future.

Although Tu Shan Ruoshui was unaware of those events, he remembered them.

"You're different from others," Jiang Yan said.

He said this very seriously.

Tu Shan Ruoshui's heart skipped a beat.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling, but it just felt different from any other flattery she'd ever heard.

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt, and it took her a while before she raised her head again.

"Can I come to you when I'm unhappy in the future?"

"Can."

"Let's make a pinky promise."

She extended her little finger, and Jiang Yan hooked it with his, their hands loosely entwined in the moonlight.

"Pinky promise, a hundred years from now." Tu Shan Ruoshui recited it very seriously, then stood up, patted her skirt, and said, "Then I'm leaving."

She turned back to look at him again as she reached the courtyard gate, then quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

That evening, Tu Shanlie was furious.

The commander of the secret guards knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles, sweat dripping down his temples.

"Your subordinate has neglected your duty; please punish me, Your Majesty."

Tu Shanlie had his back to him, his shoulders and back taut like a fully drawn bow.

"A peak-level Qi Refining assassin, disguised as a human orphan, spent an entire day staking out outside the city." His voice was extremely low. "You couldn't find anything?"

"It's...it's His Highness's men. They used hidden agents and laid two layers of lines to bypass us."

The entire palace was lit up all night.

The imperial guards moved in and out of the imperial study, and each message they brought back made the emperor's face grow even darker.

By daybreak, the truth was laid out on the emperor's desk.

The next day, the capital was unusually calm.

It seems like yesterday's assassination attempt outside the city was just a passing breeze, gone as soon as it was over.

The news spread quickly.

The eldest prince, Tu Shanyao, shall immediately enter the forbidden area for seclusion and shall not leave without imperial decree or be seen without summons.

Although the wording is "closed-door policy," everyone knows that it's no different from being locked up in solitary confinement.

The whole story is slowly coming to light.

The throne of the demon race does not discriminate between men and women. Although Tu Shan Ruoshui is young, she is Tu Shan Lie's most beloved legitimate daughter and the only daughter of the empress. She is also quite talented.

For the eldest prince, Tu Shanyao, his sister, who was half human, was always a thorn in his side.

He hated humans the most.

In his view, the reason why the Tushan Dynasty was unable to expand in the Ten Thousand Demon Domain was that his father was too lenient and actually issued household registrations to those two-legged sheep, allowing them to walk openly on the streets of the capital.

This is an utter disgrace.

If this plan can kill Tu Shan Ruoshui, it will remove the biggest threat to the succession struggle.

If that fails, they can use the excuse of "inadequate human protection" to uproot the Jiang family, a human clan that has been an eyesore for a long time.

Killing two birds with one stone.

However, his arrogance had led him to underestimate Tu Shanlie's reaction, as well as that young man from the Jiang family.

Tu Shanlie sat alone in the imperial study, with a series of petitions pleading for mercy spread out in front of him.

He knew his eldest son's character better than anyone else. He had been bloodthirsty since childhood, a trait admired by many in the court who felt it was the kind of spirit a demon race should have.

But he didn't like it. When he was young, he had been to Shangqing Domain and Haoran Domain. He had seen the lineage left by the three founders of the human race, and he had seen the young people studying in the academies and the disciples practicing swordsmanship in the sects.

In his view, there was no difference between them and the demon race—there were good ones and bad ones, some who would risk their lives to protect those behind them, and others who would sell anything for profit.

His bedmate was one of them.

Tu Shan Yingxue, whose original name was Qin Yingxue.

He met a young cultivator during his training in the Shangqing Domain. The cultivator had excellent swordsmanship and an even more handsome smile.

Later, he brought her back to the Demon Realm and, against all odds, made her his queen. According to the customs of the Demon Realm, a married woman changes her surname to her husband's, which is why she changed her surname to Tushan.

The uproar this incident caused in the imperial court back then is still ongoing.

It is precisely for this reason that Tu Shan Yao has become someone many people can follow. He is decisive in killing, he hates the human race, and he represents what the demon race "should be".

There are quite a few people in the court who belong to the eldest prince's faction.

They felt that Tu Shan Lie was too mild-mannered and hoped that Tu Shan Yao would bring about a change after taking power.

On the Jiang family's side, the lights in the ancestral hall stayed on all night.

Jiang Wuchen and several clan elders discussed the matter from nightfall until dawn.

Several elderly people with gray hair sat in silence in their chairs. They had analyzed everything that needed to be analyzed and deduced everything that needed to be deduced. There was only one thing left... waiting.

Let's wait and see how Tu Shanlie will handle this.

We'll see if this storm heads towards the Jiang family or goes somewhere else.

At noon, the palace guards arrived.

The head guard, holding a roll of yellow silk, stood in the main hall of the Jiang residence, his voice ringing out.

He bestowed upon them gold, silver, cloth, and silk; he also bestowed upon them elixirs and spiritual stones; and he granted them a token for passage through the royal palace.

There was also a verbal promise, simply stated, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"Jiang Yan, the young man of the Jiang family, has rendered meritorious service in protecting the emperor. His loyalty and bravery are commendable. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you may speak directly to the emperor."

Jiang Yan stepped forward and took the token.

The token was small, dark gold in color, with the nine-tailed fox emblem of the Tushan clan engraved on the front and only four characters engraved on the back: "As if the Emperor were here in person."

He didn't say much, just bowed and then retreated.

When the news reached the imperial court, undercurrents were stirring.

"A mere human has managed to get the First Prince imprisoned in the forbidden area." Several officials from the First Prince's faction gathered outside the side hall, their voices low and full of resentment.

"Humans are really no good."

"Your Majesty is too biased. The eldest prince is the crown prince, decisive in killing, and highly skilled in cultivation."

No one mentioned that Tu Shan Yao had attacked Tu Shan Ruo Shui first.

In their view, the law of the jungle is the survival rule of the demon realm.

The eldest prince wanted to kill the princess; that was just an internal power struggle within the royal family, a matter of the victor taking all.

On the contrary, they see the real root of the problem as the "human race household registration" system and the "indulgence" of the human race that Tu Shanlie has been promoting over the years.

These undercurrents, however, have not yet reached Ruoshui.

After returning to the palace, Tu Shan Ruoshui stayed in her own bedroom.

She knew that her eldest brother had been imprisoned because of her, but no one told her the specifics.

She also heard some of the discussions.

She didn't know what she had done wrong.

The bedchamber was quiet, and the moonlight from outside the window fell on the glass lamp by the bedside.

The little fox looked up at the moon, the thin mark on its neck flickering in the moonlight.

Tu Shan Ruoshui hugged the glass lamp to her chest, snuggled into the blanket, and closed her eyes.