The wind swept across Luoyan Valley, rolling up dust mixed with the smell of blood.
Xue Tingxue stared at the secret report in her hand; the characters on it seemed like large snakes writhing to life.
"Crown Prince, Fu Jing." She murmured the name, her voice colder than the wind of the Northern Border.
Fu Tingyuan stood beside her, his posture tall and straight; one could never tell he was a man who had sat in a wheelchair for ten years.
He reached out to take the letter, his gaze sweeping over it for only an instant.
"Not surprising." His voice appeared exceptionally calm in the night. "My dear nephew, who usually keeps a low profile in the Imperial Court and pretends to be gentle as jade, is actually a venomous snake."
Xue Tingxue looked up at him.
Fu Tingyuan met her gaze, a coldness rising in his eyes: "Winning over Marquis Zhongyong and planting Xue Manman into the Dingguo Mansion—on the surface, it looks like Prince Yu, Fu Nanli, is just causing trouble, but in reality, he is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes."
"Dividing the military power of the Dingguo Mansion and cutting off Fu Nanli's arms." Fu Tingyuan gave a cold laugh. "Once you two have both suffered, he, the Crown Prince, can ascend the throne securely."
A loud noise echoed in Xue Tingxue's brain as the fragmented memories of her previous life instantly connected.
In her previous life, the entire Dingguo Mansion was executed, her Eldest Brother died in battle, and Fu Nanli climbed to power over the corpses of the Xue Family.
She had always thought Fu Nanli was the ultimate winner.
Now it seemed that Fu Nanli was merely a blade in the hands of the Crown Prince!
It was just that in her previous life, this blade eventually went out of control and backfired on the one holding it. The Crown Prince's "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" scheme ultimately failed, and he lost the territory.
"So all of us were just abandoned chess pieces on his board." Xue Tingxue gritted her teeth, her fingers tightening.
Fu Tingyuan reached out and pressed his hand onto her shoulder, the warmth of his palm seeping through the thin fabric.
"As long as a chess piece isn't dead, there is a possibility of overturning the board." His voice was not loud, but it carried immense force.
Xue Tingxue took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart.
"The crisis at the Northern Border is temporarily resolved, and my Eldest Brother's injuries have stabilized." She turned to look in the direction of the camp. "But the real storm is in the Capital City. I must rush back immediately."
Since Xue Manman spat out the Crown Prince's name in the Heavenly Prison, the Crown Prince would never sit still and wait for death.
Once he reacted, whether by silencing witnesses or muddying the waters, the Dingguo Mansion would still be implicated.
Fu Tingyuan took back his hand.
"I will go with you."
"No." Xue Tingxue immediately retorted. "The news that you can stand is only known to these few people right now. These three hundred black-armored cavalry are also your trump card. If you go back now, walking and jumping, the Emperor and the Crown Prince will be the first to not tolerate you."
Fu Tingyuan looked at her and suddenly laughed.
"Xue Tingxue, are you worried about me?"
"I am worried that my partner in cooperation will die halfway!" Xue Tingxue glared at him.
Fu Tingyuan restrained his smile.
"Fine." He nodded. "I will continue to sit in my wheelchair and slowly wobble back to the Capital City. It will also serve to confuse their line of sight."
He untied a black iron token from his waist and handed it to Xue Tingxue.
"These three hundred men will break into smaller groups and escort you back to the Capital City in batches. This token can mobilize all the Undercover Agents I left in the Capital City."
Xue Tingxue held the slightly cool token and nodded.
On the night before her departure, Xue Tingxue opened Xue Zhen's tent.
Xue Zhen was leaning on the couch; his complexion was still a bit pale, but his spirit had improved significantly.
Seeing his younger sister enter, he struggled to sit up.
"Eldest Brother, don't move." Xue Tingxue took quick steps forward to hold him down.
Xue Zhen sighed, looking at his legs wrapped in bandages.
"This time, I truly escaped death." He gave a bitter laugh. "The few deputy generals I trusted most turned out to be moles. If it weren't for you and..."
He paused and lowered his voice: "If it weren't for His Highness Prince Ning'an, our hundreds of men would have all been lost in Luoyan Valley. I always thought he was a useless person, but I didn't expect..."
"Eldest Brother." Xue Tingxue interrupted his exclamation, her expression solemn. "Something happened in the Capital City."
She recounted the story of Xue Manman going mad in the Heavenly Prison and implicating the Crown Prince, telling it exactly as it happened.
Xue Zhen's eyes widened instantly.
"The Crown Prince?!" He was so angry he was trembling all over, smashing a fist against the side of the couch. "My Xue Family has been loyal for generations, and he actually used such despicable means to deal with us!"
"This is imperial power." Xue Tingxue's voice was calm. "Eldest Brother, there must still be people from the Crown Prince and Prince Yu in the army. You must be doubly careful while staying here. Whether it is medicinal herbs or grain and fodder, you must have our own people handle them."
"Don't worry." Xue Zhen gritted his teeth. "Having stumbled so badly this time, I will never make the same mistake again. But what about you, going back alone..."
"I am not alone." Xue Tingxue patted the back of his hand.
Three days later, a seemingly ordinary carriage, mixed in with a caravan, drove out of Luoyan Valley.
Fu Tingyuan sat upright in another specially made, wide carriage.
Qing Feng knocked on the wooden board outside the carriage.
"Your Highness, the Eldest Miss has already departed."
"Hmm." Fu Tingyuan closed his eyes. "Send word to the 'Beehive' in the Capital City to spread the news of Xue Manman's gossip in the Heavenly Prison implicating the Crown Prince. Remember, spread it casually, like idle chatter in the marketplace. The more chaotic, the better."
"Yes." Qing Feng acknowledged and stepped back.
Fu Tingyuan opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into an ice-cold smile.
Imperial brother, oh imperial brother, don't you love watching your sons fight each other the most? This time, I will add some fuel to the fire for you.
Prince Yu's Estate.
Fu Nanli sat in the study, with several secret reports thrown on the table in front of him.
Xue Zhen's great victory.
Prince Ning'an personally oversaw the battle.
His brain was buzzing.
That useless Uncle-Imperial who had sat in a wheelchair for ten years was actually able to go to the Front Line to command a battle?
Not only did Xue Zhen not die, but he also achieved an unparalleled merit!
Just then, his Confidant Eunuch ran in hurriedly, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
"Your Highness! Outside... outside, everyone is saying..."
"Saying what! Speak quickly if you have something to say!" Fu Nanli irritably grabbed a teacup and smashed it over.
The eunuch shivered in fear, kneeling on the ground and replying with a trembling voice: "They say... they say that the Second Young Lady Xue locked in the Dali Temple Heavenly Prison has gone mad. She is shouting in the prison every day... shouting that everything was directed by the Crown Prince!"
Fu Nanli stood up abruptly.
The Crown Prince?
He kicked away the chair in front of him.
That idiot Xue Manman was a chess piece he used to deal with the Dingguo Mansion. How could the Crown Prince be involved?
A chill crept up his spine.
Could it be that even Xue Manman was arranged by the Crown Prince to be by his side?
He recalled the Crown Prince's usual appearance of being indifferent to the world and showing great concern for him.
Fu Nanli's face turned livid.
Good for you, Fu Jing! You used me as a gun!
Eastern Palace.
Sandalwood Incense curled in the air, and the Crown Prince, Fu Jing, was practicing calligraphy at his desk.
A black-clothed person appeared silently in the study.
"Your Highness, the marketplace is now full of rumors." The black-clothed person knelt on one knee. "Everyone is saying that the Second Young Lady Xue confessed in the Heavenly Prison that the mastermind behind the scenes is you."
Fu Jing's hand holding the brush paused abruptly, and a drop of thick ink fell onto the white Xuan paper, staining a large black mark.
He put down the brush and took out a silk handkerchief to slowly wipe his hands.
"This woman is truly a useless idiot who ruins everything she touches."
His voice remained gentle, but his eyes revealed a strong murderous intent.
"Go to the Dali Temple Heavenly Prison." Fu Jing crumpled the stained Xuan paper into a ball and threw it into the charcoal fire brazier nearby. "Do it cleanly; don't leave any traces."
"Your subordinate understands." The black-clothed person received the order and disappeared into the shadows.
In the Capital City at night, the curfew clapper had just sounded.
Xue Tingxue, dressed in Night Clothes, moved through the alleys like a ghost.
She did not return to the Dingguo Mansion.
Over the past few days, the Undercover Agents left to her by Fu Tingyuan had already mapped out the movements in the Capital City clearly.
Minister of Dali Temple, Wang Shian.
This man had always been slick, not taking sides and only looking at evidence.
Xue Tingxue climbed directly into the residence of the Minister of Dali Temple.
Two incense sticks later, the Minister of Dali Temple ran out from the back door, sweating profusely, and led a team of trusted yamen runners straight to the Heavenly Prison.
The Dali Temple Heavenly Prison was built underground and never saw sunlight throughout the year.
The air was filled with a musty smell and the fetid smell of excrement.
Xue Manman huddled in the corner of the cell, trembling all over. Her face had been scratched to shreds by a Persian cat and was covered in blood scabs.
A faint sound of footsteps echoed in the long passageway.
The light of the torch flickered.
A shadow wearing Night Clothes appeared outside the cell door.
The person held a short knife in their hand, the blade gleaming with a cold light in the dim illumination.
"Who? Who are you?" Xue Manman retreated in terror.
The assassin did not speak and directly used an Iron Wire to pry open the lock of the cell door.
The sound of the lock falling to the ground was exceptionally harsh in the silent dungeon.
The assassin approached step by step, raising the short knife in their hand.
Just as the tip of the knife was about to strike—
"Bang!"
A deafening loud noise came from outside the cell door.
Immediately after, the light of the torches illuminated the entire passageway as bright as Daylight.
"Take them!"
Minister of Dali Temple Wang Shian shouted violently.
More than a dozen yamen runners holding bows instantly filled the cell door, all their cold arrowheads aimed at the assassin.
The assassin was shocked, and just as they wanted to climb out the window to escape, a sharp Long sword was already held against their neck.
Xue Tingxue, dressed in black, walked out slowly from behind the crowd.
"Daring to come to the Dali Temple to silence witnesses at this time, the Crown Prince is truly impatient."
She kicked the assassin in the back of the knee, pressing them heavily to the ground, and casually tore off a jade token from their waist.
On the jade token, the emblem of the Eastern Palace was clearly engraved.
Wang Shian looked at the jade token and gasped.
Xue Manman, who was slumped on the ground, looked at Xue Tingxue as if she had seen a life-saving straw, crawling over like a madwoman and hugging Xue Tingxue's legs.
"Older sister! Older sister, save me! I don't want to die!" She cried out tragically and fiercely, the blood scabs on her face cracking open as blood flowed all over her face. "It's the Crown Prince! He sent me into the Dingguo Mansion; he was the one who told me to seduce Prince Yu! I have backups of the letters! As long as you don't kill me, I will say everything!"
Xue Tingxue pulled her leg away with disgust.
She turned her head and looked at the Minister of Dali Temple, who was dripping with cold sweat beside her.
"Lord Wang." Xue Tingxue said lightly. "This case involves the current Crown Prince; you must hold onto this heaven-sent fortune firmly."
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