The First Jasmine - Chapter 84

Chapter 84: The Southern Border Saintess

An Er knew many interrogation experts, such as the dashing and romantic Third Young Master of the Feng family, Feng Zhiyao, the head of the shadow guards responsible for training them, or the serious and taciturn yet actually kind-hearted Steward Mo of the Dingguo Estate. However, An Er had never known that their master, the normally delicate Princess Consort of the Dingguo Estate, was also an expert in this field. Time and time again, all four of them couldn't help secretly wondering in their hearts just how much the Ye family had mistreated the Princess Consort in the past to twist a high-born young lady from a prestigious family into such a shape?

Taking that unlucky assassin out of the Princess's estate would require a great deal of effort, and getting him out at a time when the Princess's estate was under martial law would likely yield a reward that was not proportional to the risks involved. Therefore, An Er had no intention of waiting until tomorrow; he prepared to crack the unlucky guard's mouth right on the spot. The guest courtyard was quite large, and the inner chamber where Ye Li resided was located at the very back, so as long as they didn't scream out loud, even the people monitoring outside the courtyard wouldn't notice anything unusual. Of course, the shadow guards already lurking in the Princess's estate wouldn't let anyone who shouldn't be near the guest courtyard get close. After the unlucky assassin was forced to drink a cup of cold tea mixed with Tendon-Softening Powder, he wouldn't have been able to call out even if he wanted to.

Thus, a rather bizarre scene unfolded inside the reasonably well-appointed room. Lying on the couch to one side was the soundly sleeping Southern Border maid, while sitting by the table under the lamp was the delicate young maiden writing and drawing. Just a few steps away, however, an inhuman torture session was taking place. With a gloomy face, An Er snapped the assassin's left leg bone. The assassin's face turned pale and his entire body was drenched in sweat, yet he still gritted his teeth and refused to speak. Due to spatial limitations and the inability to employ overly troublesome or bloody methods, An Er's expression grew increasingly unsightly. By the time Ye Li finished handling her matters and looked up, An Er still hadn't managed to extract a single half-sentence of useful information from the assassin, and had instead almost given the assassin the opportunity to bite his tongue and commit suicide.

"Not working? Need help?" Ye Li asked as she stood up. An Er's mouth twitched, and he shook his head, saying, "There's no need to trouble the Miss with such matters."

"It's fine, break another of his legs and he still won't confess."

"Then I'll smash all the bones in his body," An Er stared chillingly at the assassin and said.

Ye Li shook her head with a smile. "By the time you smash half of his bones, he'll be dead."

"What idea does the Miss have?"

Ye Li leisurely walked over, squatted down in front of the assassin on the floor, and smiled, saying softly, "You understand Central Plains speech, right? Don't worry, I won't be as crude as him." The assassin stared with vigilance at the delicate young maiden smiling so amiably before him. A bounty hunter's intuition told him that this pretty and cute young girl was the truly dangerous figure.

Ye Li looked with a winning smile at the assassin who was staring at her with vigilance, and said softly, "Don't be afraid. I won't break your bones like he did; I plan to... take apart every single bone in your body. Let's start with... the fingers, shall we?" Her slender, delicate hand picked up the assassin's left hand, and with a crisp snap, the first joint of the left index finger twisted strangely. Ye Li continued downward, and with another crisp sound, the entire index finger was warped. The assassin's jaw had been dislocated, making it impossible for him to even scream out loud. All that could issue from his mouth were vague, muffled groans. Ye Li looked at him. "Whenever you feel like talking, just nod. But... don't wait until I've disassembled your entire body before nodding; it'll be too late by then."

Snap...

Ye Li's expression remained calm as her hands worked methodically. Yet this very calmness was far more terrifying than An Er's stern threats and intimidation. Just as Ye Li moved her hand toward the assassin's right hand, the assassin—whose face was already as pale as paper and whose breathing was extremely faint—finally nodded with great difficulty. Ye Li raised an eyebrow, cast a sideways glance at An Er, and said, "I thought he was some kind of tough nut. Just like this?" An Er silently wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. He also felt that this assassin was a bit too useless, but at the same time, he felt that what made the master terrifying wasn't her torture methods, but that terrifying calmness. If it were him, he feared he would be terrified too.

"Very well, but don't play games with me. Otherwise... the consequences will only make you regret living in this world," Ye Li advised, looking at him sincerely.

Ye Li nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Now, tell me, who is your master?" Waving a hand to signal An Er to pop his jaw back into place, Ye Li asked. A trace of fear flashed in the assassin's eyes. He looked at Ye Li, opened his mouth, but still didn't speak. Ye Li knitted her delicate brows in thought and said, "If you're worried about your personal safety, I can guarantee it. Furthermore, after I finish my business in the Southern Border, I can give you a sum of money so you can change your name and start a new life." The assassin's eyes flickered, and hesitation crept onto his face. Seeing this, Ye Li's smile grew even more sincere. "Your information is very important to me, so... as long as the information you give me is true, I guarantee I will fulfill the above promises. However, I think you should also realize that you aren't the only one who knows this information. If you don't talk, someone else might. When that happens... I'm very sorry, but I can only..." Seeing the assassin's nervous expression, Ye Li smiled. "No, I won't kill you. When I came to the Southern Border, I passed through a valley filled with blood-red flowers. Beneath every single flower lurked a small snake. At the time, I wondered, with so many snakes, what on earth do they eat to grow up? What do you think..."

"Snake... Snake Valley... No..." It wasn't just Central Plains people who feared places like Snake Valley; the Southern Border people certainly weren't afraid of snakes, but apart from snake charmers, no one would fail to fear tens of thousands of uncontrollable venomous snakes.

"So... your answer?"

"I'll talk... what do you want to ask?"

Ye Li turned back to look at An Er, raising an eyebrow in satisfaction.

In truth, not a great deal of intelligence was obtained from the assassin; after all, someone sent out as cannon fodder like this was hardly likely to be a core figure. However, it at least partially confirmed Ye Li's suspicions while also narrowing down the target regarding Xu Qingchen's disappearance. It was just that Xu Qingchen's exact whereabouts remained without a clue. Now that she had confirmed Xu Qingchen was temporarily out of danger, the anxiety in Ye Li's heart finally eased.

"Junwei... Junwei..."

A cheerful shout rang out on the bustling avenue. Passersby turned their heads to look, only to see a handsome young man dressed in white Central Plains attire waving joyfully at a youth not far away. Ye Li turned her head back, saw the white-clad man running toward her, sighed helplessly, put on a smile, and said, "Brother Han, it's been several days, are you well?" Han Mingxi quirked his soul-stirring eyes, gazing with grievance at Ye Li. "Junwei, I traveled thousands of miles to follow you to Nanzhao, and yet you threw me aside and ignored me. How cruel of your heart..."

Following me... Ye Li shuddered involuntarily. Although passing pedestrians couldn't understand what he was saying, looking at that demeanor and listening to that tone, they instinctively cast bizarre glances in their direction.

"Brother Han!" Ye Li couldn't help pressing a hand to her forehead, struggling to rein in her temper before smiling. "Has Brother Han finally slept enough? Truly rare, indeed."

Han Mingxi didn't feel the slightest bit guilty as he crowded close and smiled. "Not at all, I woke up ages ago and even strolled around inside and outside the city. But I didn't see Junwei anywhere. When Junwei has matters to attend to, why don't you let me know? Wouldn't it be much safer if I went with you?" Ye Li gave him an eye-roll. "I was just looking around everywhere, not charging into a dragon's pool or tiger's den." Han Mingxi shrugged, saying with total indifference, "Even if Junwei were going to charge into a dragon's pool or tiger's den, I would still accompany you." Having said that, he didn't forget to blink at Ye Li, his eyes practically spelling out see how good I am to you.

Ye Li frowned. She hadn't expected to run into Han Mingxi here. However, having Han Mingxi tagging along right now was clearly very inconvenient, yet if she left him behind, given Han Mingxi's personality, she truly had no idea what kind of uproar he would get Tianyi Pavilion to raise in the Nanzhao capital. Lowering her head in thought, Ye Li said, "Brother Han, let's find another place to talk."

Finding a private room in a teahouse to sit down, Ye Li finally spoke. "Brother Han, I have some matters to attend to, and having you follow along might not be very convenient."

Han Mingxi slumped unhappily over the table, glaring at Ye Li to accuse her, "You... when you wanted information from my Tianyi Pavilion, you didn't say it was inconvenient, and now you want to dump me. You discard me after using me!" Ye Li was left speechless; she had paid a corresponding price for Tianyi Pavilion's intelligence and hadn't made him work for free. Seeing Ye Li's expression of wanting nothing to do with him, Han Mingxi bit his fingernail, chuckled mischievously, and said, "What important matters could there possibly be in such a small place like Nanzhao? Wasn't Junwei looking for the Azure-Falling Flower? The news of that Southern Border Saintess is right here with me. Or else it's about the Sick Scholar; I happen to know the Sick Scholar's whereabouts too, though he seems to be targeted by another group of people. Junwei had better not go meddling with them. Or... could it be that Young Master Qingchen has gone missing, am I right?" Tilting his head, Han Mingxi smiled with an air of absolute innocence.

"Tianyi Pavilion's intelligence truly lives up to its reputation," Ye Li sighed softly.

Han Mingxi smiled. "Tianyi Pavilion exists to traffic intelligence, doesn't it? With just these few major events happening in the Nanzhao capital recently, if we didn't even know this much, what face would we have left in the business? So... which one does Junwei want to handle first?" Ye Li stared steadily at him for a long moment before softly smiling. "Do you know where Young Master Qingchen is?" Han Mingxi's eyes flashed, and he said with some dissatisfaction, "You really want to find him first? Junwei, I thought the Azure-Falling Flower and the Azure-Falling Springs were more important to you." Ye Li replied, "Items can be retrieved whenever, but if we don't find a person quickly, there's no guarantee they'll still be in one piece." Han Mingxi propped his chin on his hand to look at her. "I can let you know the news about Young Master Qingchen, but tell me first—what is your relationship with him?"

Ye Li shook her head and smiled faintly. "You don't know Xu Qingchen's whereabouts either. Otherwise, you wouldn't just be negotiating terms with me now, would you?"

Han Mingxi let out a humph, glaring at her with utter depression. "Then do you want the news on the Southern Border Saintess or not? If not, I'll burn it."

"He is my elder brother," Ye Li answered. Han Mingxi frowned, looking her up and down for a long while before asking, "Brothers? Are you Xu Qingbai or Xu Qingyan? Judging by age... you look more like Xu Qingyan, but judging by personality, you're more like Xu Qingbai. But... nobody ever said any of the young masters of the Xu family knew martial arts!" Ye Li smiled. "It seems Tianyi Pavilion's intelligence isn't all that reliable after all. The third young master of the Xu family, Xu Qingfeng, is currently serving in the military. Doesn't Brother Han know this?" Han Mingxi stared at her suspiciously. "Could you really be a member of the Xu family?" Ye Li smiled without a word, neither confirming nor denying it.

Han Mingxi paced back and forth restlessly inside the private room, occasionally muttering complaints to vent his frustration at Ye Li. "You lied to me... you aren't looking for any Azure-Falling Flower at all, you're looking for Xu Qingchen! Junwei, you lied to me..."

"Young Master," An Er's voice came from outside the door. The door was pushed open from the outside, and An Er glanced at Han Mingxi before saying to Ye Li, "Young Master, there is news."

Ye Li nodded. "Come in and speak."

Inside the private room, Ye Li and An Er simultaneously looked toward Han Mingxi. Yet the usually tactless and savvy Feng Yue Prince unexpectedly lacked all awareness, acting as though he completely failed to understand the desire for him to recuse himself. He generously lounged in his chair and began snacking on pastries. Helplessly waving a hand at An San, Ye Li said, "Forget it, just speak directly."

An San nodded, speaking in a low voice. "Today, Princess Anxi came into contact with someone who is either Qingchen Gongzi himself, or... someone related to Qingchen Gongzi."

Ye Li knitted her brows. "Explain."

An San stated, "When Princess Anxi returned to her estate today, her person was tainted with a certain special fragrance. Southern Border people are not fond of using incense, so they don't have any specialized study of spices. However, they don't realize that in the Central Plains, even the same type of spice has many different intricate distinctions. For instance, among the young masters of the Xu family, apart from the third and fifth young masters who do not use fragrances, the second young master habitually uses plum blossom scent, the fourth young master prefers orchid scent, and Qingchen Gongzi—because he travels away from home year-round—has his fragrances custom-blended by Madame Xu herself, with certain medicinal herbs beneficial to one's health added into the mix, resulting in an extremely faint medicinal fragrance. For ordinary people, it's definitely not easy to distinguish, and attempting to imitate and blend it is even harder."

Ye Li frowned and asked, "Where has Princess Anxi been?"

"The Imperial Palace. This morning, the King of Nanzhao summoned Princess Anxi. After leaving the palace, Princess Anxi returned directly to her estate," An San affirmed.

Han Mingxi smiled curiously. "Could Qingchen Gongzi be in the Imperial Palace?"

An San hesitated, frowning as he said, "The chances of Princess Anxi seeing Qingchen Gongzi in person should not be very high. From the time Princess Anxi entered the palace until she left, aside from the time she was having an audience with the King of Nanzhao, she was basically within our line of sight and would not have had the opportunity to see Qingchen Gongzi. Unless it was during her audience with the King of Nanzhao. Moreover... after returning to her estate, Princess Anxi dispatched additional personnel to secretly search for Qingchen Gongzi." Ye Li shook her head. "The King of Nanzhao knows Big Brother's identity; if anything happened to Big Brother in Nanzhao right now, it wouldn't do him any good. Therefore... the chances of Big Brother being in the imperial palace are also quite slim. That fragrance... should be a message he wanted to transmit to let us know he is still relatively safe."

An San was puzzled. "Since Qingchen Gongzi is not in the imperial palace, why would the message be transmitted from inside the palace? How could the fragrance Qingchen Gongzi carries with him end up in the palace?"

"Naturally because the other party might be someone inside the imperial palace, or if not, someone who can freely enter and exit the imperial palace."

Han Mingxi lazily shook his head and said, "That's not right... Junwei. In Nanzhao, apart from the Crown Princess, absolutely no one can freely enter and exit the imperial palace. That includes other princesses—and of course, even this Princess Anxi is currently no longer in Nanzhao." Ye Li glanced at him. "There's no open access, but what about secret access?"

"Secret access?" the two asked in unison.

Frowning, Ye Li asked, "Has the trail of those assassins been tracked down?"

An San nodded. "It has, but we arrived a step too late. They were silenced at a small dirt hill two li outside the city, and their corpses were dumped in an abandoned cave."

"Tell me in detail."

"We found their corpses in a concealed cave located ten li outside the western suburb of the city. However, there were no signs of a struggle at the scene, and although that location wasn't far from the capital, the road was extremely difficult to walk, with nothing of note around it. Even if those assassins were fleeing for their lives, they shouldn't have fled in that direction. Fortunately, the hidden weapon that wounded them had been pre-coated with a tracking scent. It took a full day and night to find them; they must have been silenced shortly after leaving the city, and only then were their corpses discarded in that cave."

Rubbing her brow in thought, Ye Li asked, "Which direction were they silenced in?"

"East."

"Meaning they originally wanted to head east, but after being killed, the mastermind threw their corpses to the west? What is in the east?" Ye Li stood up. "Give me the map of the Nanzhao capital."

An San lowered his head, retrieved a thin, light sheet of paper from his tunic, and carefully spread it out on the table. Han Mingxi leaned in for a look, curled his lip, and said, "A full map of the Nanzhao capital? Junwei, since you have this kind of thing, you wouldn't even have needed to go to Tianyi Pavilion to gather intelligence in the first place, right?" Ye Li smiled faintly. "An extra piece of information means an extra layer of safety; I've always cherished my life. Besides... I refuse to believe Tianyi Pavilion couldn't produce this map." This wasn't some military defense deployment map; it was merely a general urban layout map. She took out a charcoal pencil and circled the imperial palace on the map, Princess Anxi's estate, the location where Xu Qingchen went missing, the location where the bodies were dumped, and the location where they were silenced. Raising her head, she asked, "What do you feel?"

Han Mingxi gestured over the map and said, "If you ignore this dumping site and the Princess's estate, these locations all seem very close to the Saintess Palace. Come to think of it... if you don't look at this map, you really wouldn't realize that the Saintess Palace is actually so close to the imperial palace." The Saintess Palace was located on a mountain five li outside the eastern suburb of the capital. However, calculated from the royal palace, plus the journey up the mountain, reaching the Saintess Palace required traveling at least ten li. Ye Li pointed downward and said, "Ordinary people only think that the route from the imperial palace to the Saintess Palace is not short, and furthermore, the royal palace is built against the mountain, with steep and precipitous peaks behind it. Trying to cross over from the mountains would not only be fraught with difficulty, but would also take more time than simply exiting the city directly. Therefore, basically no one has ever paid attention to it. In reality, the straight-line distance between the royal palace and the Saintess Palace is less than two li."

"A secret tunnel?" An San said.

"Have we not already witnessed the Southern Border people's ability to tunnel through mountains all the way along our journey?" Ye Li asked with a smile. The two of them instinctively recalled those mountains that had been practically hollowed out, falling into speechless silence.

"What was the founding King of Nanzhao thinking? Building the royal palace against a mountain?" Han Mingxi asked in puzzlement. In Central Plains history, things built against mountains were invariably imperial detached palaces or secondary palaces. Every true imperial capital was invariably erected right at the center of the city, both displaying the supreme nobility of the royal family and holding the awe-inspiring prestige of commanding the entire realm. Ye Li replied unremarkably, "Different customs, I suppose."

Han Mingxi saw through her perfunctory answer at a glance, glaring unhappily at Ye Li for a long while before finding that the other person was still lost in her own thoughts, causing his face to turn dark. Coughing twice to draw the attention of the two in the private room, Han Mingxi smiled and said, "Are you suspecting that Qingchen Gongzi is in the Saintess Palace? As everyone knows, the Southern Border Saintess is pure and untainted, and men are forbidden to enter the Saintess Palace, let alone harbor a man there. If word got out that you thought this way, trust me... you would be engulfed by the anger of the Nanzhao people." Ye Li said indifferently, "Precisely because it's common knowledge, isn't that precisely why it's all the more possible?"

Han Mingxi rolled his eyes. "Then may I ask how Lord Junwei intends to enter the Saintess Palace—whose security rivals the imperial palace—and find Qingchen Gongzi, who is hidden away who knows where? If you don't find him and get yourself discovered instead, we really are going to be beaten to death by the Nanzhao people."

"I don't intend to go in through the Saintess Palace," Ye Li said.

Han Mingxi wore a look of amazement mixed with admiration. "Ah, so Lord Junwei intends to bravely charge into the Nanzhao Royal Palace? My dear brother Junwei, even if Nanzhao is a small state and their royal palace isn't even one-third the size of our Chu capital, could you please not look down on them? Don't forget... there are definitely no venomous snakes in our Chu capital's royal palace, but Nanzhao might just have them." Ye Li smiled faintly. "You talk as if the Feng Yue Prince has never been to an imperial palace. I wonder who was boasting the other day about having strolled through the inner quarters of various nations' imperial palaces?" Han Mingxi was struck speechless, somehow beginning to quietly regret bragging to Junwei about his past romantic escapades when the journey had been boring a while back.

"Even if you get in and find Qingchen Gongzi, how do you plan to get him out?" Han Mingxi asked. "As far as this Prince knows, Qingchen Gongzi has zero martial arts ability."

Ye Li frowned and said, "This... does require careful thought." Charging in by force was definitely out of the question; even if the shadow guards were formidable enough to snatch people from the Nanzhao royal palace, the aftermath cleanup would be extremely troublesome. If outsiders found out that the ones behind it were people from the Dingguo Estate, it would be even more troublesome. Seeing her frowning in deep thought, Han Mingxi smiled cheerfully and said, "How about it? Need help?"

Ye Li looked at Han Mingxi and shook her head. She and Han Mingxi were merely in a partnership; the last time Han Mingxi followed her, he had already taken quite a few risks, and under no circumstances could she drag him into danger with her again.

Han Mingxi looked at her with a smile and said, "Don't refuse so quickly. Tianyi Pavilion is, after all, in the business of running an open shop. As long as Junwei can afford the bill, we can do more than just gather intelligence." A thought stirred in Ye Li's heart as she looked at Han Mingxi and asked, "What does Brother Han want?" Han Mingxi smiled triumphantly. "Xunya Pavilion, I want another two percent share." Ye Li said, "I thought Tianyi Pavilion preferred hard, cold cash? You should know that no matter how much it is, both the Xu family and I will pay it." Han Mingxi looked at her with grievance. "Junwei and I are friends, and how can friends take advantage of someone's precarious situation?"

Friends? Ye Li raised her eyebrows lightly. "Tianyi Pavilion isn't specialized in this sort of thing, so I'd better not trouble Brother Han."

"Junwei is being too much of a stranger," Han Mingxi smiled. "Although Tianyi Pavilion isn't specialized in this, we are very familiar with the Nanzhao capital, you know. Compared to our friendship, shouldn't Brother Junwei find Tianyi Pavilion a bit more trustworthy?" Ye Li frowned, deep in thought for quite a while before saying, "Then I'll have to trouble Brother Han. All losses incurred by Tianyi Pavilion afterward will be covered by me; of course, the two-percent share of Xunya Pavilion remains as before."

"I told you, Junwei is being too much of a stranger," Han Mingxi sighed helplessly.

Ye Li smiled faintly, lowering her head in silence as she secretly pondered whether she might still need Princess Anxi's help?

Amidst the shimmering pearlescent glow, the heavy stone door was pushed open once again. However, the woman clad in golden imperial attire no longer possessed her past leisure, her disordered footsteps seeming to contain immense fury. "Xu Qingchen!"

Xu Qingchen, who had been closing his eyes to rest, opened them. He looked back gently and serenely at the woman who had hurried over, frowning as he asked, "What is it?" The woman seemed utterly furious, flicking her sleeve to send every celadon teacup on the table crashing down to the floor. The shattering sound was crisp and pleasing to the ear. "Speak! How did they find out you were here?!" Xu Qingchen shook his head, replying blandly, "I can't even step out the door here, how would I know that? What? Someone giving you trouble?"

"How could you not know?! You must have leaked the news out; tell me, what method did you use?" the woman asked, struggling to restrain her anger.

Xu Qingchen shook his head and sighed. "You overestimate my abilities. I am merely a weak scholar with no strength to truss a chicken, not some peerless expert hiding his profound skills. Instead of wasting time imagining things like this, you'd do better to consider whether you've offended someone recently." The woman let out a cold snort. "How could I offend anyone? Apart from that woman Anxi, the only person I've ever wronged in my life... hehe, seems to be your precious fiancée."

"I told you not to touch her," Xu Qingchen said in a deep voice.

The woman sneered, "Rest assured, your precious fiancée is completely fine. However... being fine now doesn't mean she'll be fine later; last time was merely meant to frighten her a bit. Speaking of which... the bodyguard protecting her seems to have rather decent martial arts." Xu Qingchen didn't mind. "You're talking about her personal escort? When high-born young ladies from the Central Plains travel, they always have a few bodyguards by their side; there's nothing remarkable about that."

"You certainly trust her. Why don't we continue watching to see whether her bodyguard can actually protect her? Maybe as he protects her, they'll fall in love—don't maidens love heroes saving damsels the most?"

Xu Qingchen glanced at her. "If you have that kind of spare time, you might as well tell me what on earth happened to make you this furious."

At the mention of this matter, the countenance hidden beneath the woman's mask twisted uncontrollably, and she said hatefully, "Someone threw the corpses of those assassins outside the Saintess Palace!"

Xu Qingchen was somewhat surprised, but his expression quickly smoothed out. "Even so, it's nothing major. Hand them over to the Nanzhao royal family or the authorities to deal with, isn't that enough?"

"How can that be?!" the woman cried. "Don't tell me you don't know—if someone discovers that corpses were dumped at the Saintess Palace, Anxi will definitely use the opportunity to search the place. Hmph! Don't think I don't know, she's long wanted to stick her hands into the Saintess Palace. Only she doesn't have the qualifications!" Xu Qingchen reached out to pick up a book, flipping it open as he said, "You still haven't mentioned that if people find out corpses were discovered at the Saintess Palace, the Nanzhao people will also harbor doubts in their hearts regarding the purity of the Southern Border Saintess. Most importantly, if you were given another year or two, you could pin this matter on Great Chu or Xiling, but right now... you haven't even finished preparing to go to war with Great Chu."

The woman's gaze darkened, and she stared at him gloomily, saying in a low voice, "You know too much. Aren't you really afraid I'll kill you?"

Xu Qingchen nodded slightly. "Because you still want to know more from me, don't you?"

"Correct!" the woman admitted straightforwardly. "If you weren't secretly helping Anxi, she wouldn't have been able to defeat me at all. Since you can help her, naturally you can help me too, right?"

Xu Qingchen shook his head. "I won't help you."

"I will make you willing!" the woman sneered. Xu Qingchen put his book down again, looking at her with a pitiful gaze. "You simply aren't suited to do these things. None of the successive Southern Border Saintesses are suited for it. Even if you are smarter than them, when it comes to governing a country, you still fall short of Princess Anxi." A trace of anger flashed in the woman's eyes as she said coldly, "Who says I'm not suited? You even admitted that I'm smarter than Anxi, didn't you?"

"You are merely better at schemes and machinations than her. But a country cannot be run on schemes alone. Furthermore... your schemes aren't even presentable on the grand stage."

"So what? At least you are in my hands right now," the woman said proudly. Xu Qingchen smiled faintly and remained silent. Looking at Xu Qingchen's serene and tranquil demeanor, the woman suddenly felt extremely furious, and spat bitterly, "You look down on me!" Xu Qingchen frowned and said, "I don't look down on you; I merely disagree with your current approach."

"I know! You just look down on me!" the woman shrieked. "What do you know? Do you know what kind of life Anxi lived growing up? What kind of life I lived growing up? Why? Why is she born the Crown Princess and a princess, why is everything hers?"

"You are the Southern Border Saintess, likewise revered by tens of thousands," Xu Qingchen said.

"Heh... revered by tens of thousands? I hadn't even seen my mother by the time I was three, and by five I was entirely alone. I wasn't allowed to speak with the maids, wasn't allowed to go out and play, wasn't allowed to cry, wasn't allowed to see outsiders, and weren't even allowed to let my heart wander. When I turn twenty-eight, I have to go to that damn Holy Land—who wants to go to that ghost place? Nanzhao is mine, everything belongs to me!" the woman screamed, as if she had suddenly suffered a breakdown.

Xu Qingchen shook his head. "The life of a Southern Border Saintess is indeed very worthy of pity. But I imagine that does not include you. No one ever restricted your actions, did they? Otherwise, how would you have had the opportunity to meet Prince Li, and how would you have ended up feuding with Princess Anxi? Even... as early as two years ago, a new Saintess had already appeared, only to be murdered by you. A Southern Border Saintess can serve until twenty-eight at the latest, but in reality, most Saintesses abdicate before the age of twenty-five."

"Anxi even told you this?!" the woman stared at him. "It seems she really trusts you."

"Princess Anxi and I are friends."

"Hmph!" The breakdown from just moments ago seemed to be nothing more than a facade, or perhaps an act. In an instant, the woman recovered her elegance. "A fine friend. I will send the heads of your friend and your fiancée straight to your presence." Having said that, the woman flicked her sleeve and departed once more.