This was the first time Guan Zhangning had attempted to contact Li Tianfu since returning to the Capital City. Either he intended to rescue Li Tianfu like the previous Western Liang assassins, or… he planned to unite with Li Tianfu to do something to disrupt the Great Zhou.

Regardless of which it was, after Guan Zhangning contacted Li Tianfu, who had been under their house arrest, he would certainly need to contact available personnel. This time, with their preparations in place, they could capture all these people in one net, thus eliminating future troubles.

After making his preparations, Guan Zhangning took the risk to personally meet Li Tianfu. After all… before departing, their Western Liang Emperor Li Tianjiao had someone deliver him a letter, with the sole wish that he would rescue Li Tianfu no matter what…

Moreover, in the letter, Li Tianjiao also told Guan Zhangning that Prince Yan Li Zhijie had said before his departure… that Bai Qingyan already knew that Guan Zhangning was Yun Lan, a spy Western Liang had embedded in the Bai Family Army years ago.

When Guan Zhangning first received this letter, his heart was indeed troubled and uneasy for some time, but… since he needed to fulfill his emperor’s request and rescue Li Tianfu, he had to pretend that he was genuinely a member of the Bai Family Army with no connection to Western Liang.

Throughout this journey, he pretended to have a clear conscience, acting entirely like a member of the Bai Family Army as he returned to the Capital City. This wasn’t for wealth and honor, but to rescue Li Tianfu, who had already been brought to the Capital City, just as Li Tianjiao’s letter requested… not seeking Li Tianfu’s restoration of the kingdom, but only hoping to preserve a bloodline for the Western Liang Li family.

During this time, after the various Bai Family generals learned of his identity, they still hadn’t moved against him. Guan Zhangning speculated this was because they still considered their blood-forged brotherhood. First, there weren’t many Bai Family Army veterans left from the Southern Border campaign years ago. Second, the Bai family probably suspected this was Western Liang’s divisive tactic. Third, the Bai family members all valued loyalty and friendship.

Guan Zhangning had already mapped out the layout of Princess Yunjing’s mansion through the young general guarding it. Today, he had come personally to see Li Tianfu. He had heard from the Western Liang secret guards who previously tried to rescue Li Tianfu that she had lost confidence in escaping and was single-mindedly focused on coming to the Capital City to take revenge on Bai Qingyan.

However, until now… Bai Qingyan had only placed Li Tianfu under house arrest at Princess Yunjing’s mansion, giving her no opportunity to go outside, let alone… allowing Li Tianfu to see and assassinate Bai Qingyan.

He had to discuss with Li Tianfu a foolproof method to take her out of the Capital City, but first, he needed to convince Li Tianfu.

If not for the need to convince Li Tianfu, Guan Zhangning wouldn’t have made this personal trip.

Guan Zhangning had also made his plans: if he could escape, he would flee together with Li Tianfu. If he couldn’t escape with Li Tianfu, since his identity was already known anyway, he would create a major disturbance while the Bai Family Army still suspected his identity but hadn’t moved against him out of consideration for their brotherhood, such as… assassinating Bai Qingyan!

If he could truly kill Bai Qingyan, it would count as revenge for Western Liang and loyalty to Li Tianjiao and the Yun family.

But deep in his heart, Guan Zhangning hoped he could escape with Li Tianfu. Even if he stayed behind to assassinate Bai Qingyan, he didn’t hope to succeed.

Having lived so long in the Bai Family Army under the identity of Guan Zhangning, before Yun Poxing contacted him, he had truly… almost begun to think of himself as a genuine member of the Bai Family Army.

How many times in life-and-death moments had Bai Family’s Fifth Master Bai Qijing risked his life to save him, because the Bai Family Army never abandoned brothers who had shed blood together.

As he walked toward the courtyard where Li Tianfu resided, his mind became increasingly chaotic. He remembered when he was severely wounded in battle against Great Liang, it was Fifth Master Bai who led troops day and night without rest to rescue them. They were merely twelve people – if they died, they died… the life and death of these dozen or so people, how could it be more important than the bigger picture?

If it had been the Western Liang army, they would have certainly died. At that time, Guan Zhangning also thought he was going to die.

But Fifth Master Bai traveled day and night without rest, leading a large army in a swift march for a day and night, before snatching all twelve of them back intact from enemy hands.

If he were to speak of the happiest time of his life, it would be the period he spent in the Bai Family Army when Western Liang hadn’t yet contacted him.

Between brotherhood, they truly entrusted their lives to each other, completely able to trust their backs to their comrades.

Now that Western Liang was gone, as a Western Liang spy embedded in the Bai Family Army, if he hadn’t received the emperor’s secret letter and orders, he truly would have wanted to happily serve as a member of the Bai Family Army for his entire life.

The only regret was… that Western Liang blood flowed in his veins.

In the next life, in the next life… he wanted to be a person of Great Zhou, and then honorably join the Bai Family Army.

On his way from the front gatehouse to the separate courtyard where Li Tianfu resided, Guan Zhangning thought of many things… in his heart, he was prepared to die, planning to rescue Li Tianfu first, then let life and death take their course.

Guan Zhangning led the patrol soldiers past the gate of Li Tianfu’s separate courtyard, excused himself to relieve himself, then leaped over the back wall into Li Tianfu’s main room.

Li Tianfu was just about to undress for a bath when she saw Guan Zhangning enter and was startled. She was about to call for help when Guan Zhangning gestured for silence, then took out the letter Li Tianjiao had sent him from his chest, quietly placed it on the round table, then stepped back several paces, almost pressing against the window, indicating he wasn’t there to harm Li Tianfu.

Li Tianfu put her clothes back on properly, glanced at the young general guarding outside, then looked at Guan Zhangning. Seeing him in the Great Zhou general’s military attire with no intention of threatening or harming her, she slowly walked to the round table. She picked up the letter and asked, “You’re from Western Liang.”

Guan Zhangning nodded.

Li Tianfu laughed softly, sat down at the round table, looked at Guan Zhangning with her silk-like charming eyes while opening the letter, keeping her voice extremely low: “I’ve already said before, I don’t plan to leave Great Zhou. I have my own business to attend to. I advise you all to flee for your lives and stop worrying about…”

When Li Tianfu’s gaze fell upon the opened letter, her voice stopped. What met her eyes… was her sister Li Tianjiao’s handwriting.

This letter wasn’t written by Li Tianjiao to Li Tianfu, but to Guan Zhangning.

Li Tianfu read word by word, line by line. As she read… her eyes couldn’t help but redden with moisture, tears nearly spilling from her eyes.

She laughed softly: “Tell me… isn’t this person foolish! I usurped her throne, drove our mother empress to death… and wanted to kill her! On her deathbed, she wrote you a letter not to have you use your current position to destroy the Bai Family Army, but to have you come rescue me?”

These words weren’t pleasant to hear, and speaking them felt like carving out Li Tianfu’s heart…

In her mind, all she could think of was how her sister had once loved her, cared for her, and indulged her.