His heartbreak when he discovered Qing Xia’s betrayal while imprisoned might have been genuine. Someone with his personality would naturally expect everyone to revolve around him, utterly unable to tolerate betrayal or change of heart. However, he himself was cold-hearted and unfeeling. This was evident during Chu Li’s coronation when he only saved Chu Zheng while completely ignoring her, even using her to divert Chu Li’s attention and collaborating with Concubine Dan and others to lure her into a trap.

In this world today, apart from Zhuang Dianru, Chu Li, Qin Zhiyan, and Qi’an, no one else would doubt her identity. Among these four, two would never speak out, one was already dead, leaving only Qi’an. Qing Xia’s theatrical performance in the great hall today would surely make people dismiss their original suspicions entirely and redirect their attention and accusations toward Qi’an. After all, the story of Zhuang Qingxia’s unwavering devotion to Prince Qi in her early years had spread throughout the world. Later, for his sake, she even turned against the Chu Emperor, was confined to the cold palace, given the degrading title of “Dissolute Consort,” and finally fled the country. However, afterward, Zhuang Qingxia never went to Eastern Qi. The reason was naturally that this Qing Xia was not that Qing Xia, but in the eyes of the world, it would certainly be seen as Zhuang Qingxia having no home to return to, wandering everywhere, nearly dying several times in the chaos of war.

At Bailu Plains, Qi’an once again used Zhuang Qingxia to provoke conflict between Qin and Chu, nearly causing a great war.

This small chess piece had truly played a role far exceeding its value.

Qi’an had always been renowned for his virtue in the world, and most talented individuals from various nations would travel thousands of miles to serve under him. The Eastern Qi Crown Prince’s residence had essentially become a small court, filled with capable people. But from now on, Qi’an’s virtuous reputation would be destroyed in one fell swoop. At the same time, no one would ever again suspect that she was a spy from the northern foreign tribes. Most importantly, her former image of being fickle and promiscuous would be completely rewritten into that of a pitiful woman who endured humiliation and suffered a tragic fate. This would greatly benefit Qin Zhiyan’s reputation and prestige in Great Qin.

Qing Xia sat in her chair, poured herself a cup of tea, and slowly drank it down, her gaze fixed determinedly ahead. She could allow them to insult her, but she could never sit idly by while they damaged Qin Zhiyan’s reputation. This was her bottom line, and once anyone dared to cross it, they would face her merciless retaliation.

In the distance from the main hall, the sound of strings and bamboo instruments began to play softly again, though it was uncertain whether those drinking still had the same mood as before.

Qing Xia stood up, opened the palace door, and slowly walked out. She saw the moon hanging over the central courtyard, where an ancient tree with luxuriant branches and leaves grew large. She didn’t know what species it was, but at this season, it was already lush with green foliage, towering majestically. Qing Xia reached out to touch the rough trunk and slightly raised her head, her thoughts drifting as she gazed at the brilliant stars filling the sky, beautiful and magnificent.

She had forgotten how long it had been since she had quietly looked up at the moon like this. Everything seemed like a great flood that swept her along. She had always thought she was master of her own fate, able to decide her own destiny, never realizing she was merely a puppet entangled in silk threads, repeatedly performing predetermined scenes. She died when she least wanted to die, lived when she least wanted to live, and even now, this beautiful present might not last long. Fate was like a turbulent river, with rolling waves that could strike at any moment, ruthlessly washing away everything she had.

She didn’t know when she had become increasingly pessimistic, always inclined to think about such matters. She smiled bitterly and shook her head, silently telling herself not to think about distant futures. She already had enough troubles without adding more worries for herself.

Just as she was about to return to her room to wait for Qin Zhiyan to finish the banquet, suddenly there came a commotion from outside the courtyard, and a familiar, crisp female voice shouted loudly: “Who dares to stop me? Whoever dares to stop me, I’ll chop off their fingers!”

“Princess,” a thin, sharp voice said helplessly, “His Majesty has ordered us servants to watch over Your Highness.”

“This princess is grown up! Where’s the need for you people to watch over me? All of you get lost, or I’ll really turn hostile!”

“Princess, please spare us servants.”

Qing Xia approached the door and slightly opened a crack, only to see a young girl in blue palace attire holding a red riding whip, mounted on a small chestnut horse, arrogantly pouting her small mouth as she loudly berated a group of servants, threatening to chop off their hands and gouge out their eyes. Yet that little whip never came down. It was clearly Princess Wanfu, who had caused such a stir at tonight’s royal banquet.

“Princess, you mustn’t do this. A guest from afar deserves respect, moreover, he is a sovereign…” an old eunuch pleaded earnestly, his aged face covered in wrinkles, temples gray with age, thin as a bamboo pole.

“Silence!” Princess Wanfu’s willow eyebrows shot up as she bent down from her horse and grabbed the old eunuch’s ear, shouting loudly: “Bao Quan, do you still know who your master is?”

The old eunuch was so anxious that tears nearly flowed, quickly saying: “Naturally it’s the Princess!”

“Good,” Princess Wanfu called out, “Since you still know I’m your master, you must listen to everything I say.”

With that, she suddenly raised her tender white finger and pointed at the old eunuch, calling out: “Bao Quan, look at your cowardice! You still have the nerve to say you’re the head eunuch of my palace. So what if he’s an emperor? My father is also an emperor, and my brother will be emperor in the future too. What’s so great about emperors? I’m not afraid of him.”

“Yes, yes,” the old eunuch, seeing that the little princess couldn’t be stopped, quickly changed tactics and pleaded earnestly: “Our princess fears no one, but Princess, it’s the middle of the night. We really shouldn’t be barging into someone’s sleeping quarters. Besides, His Majesty the Chu Emperor is still in the great hall. For the Princess, a golden branch and jade leaves, to sneak into someone else’s palace quarters really doesn’t look proper.”

“Who said I was sneaking in?” Princess Wanfu frowned and said angrily: “I’m going in openly and honestly. I want to see exactly what kind of person Father wants to marry me to.”

Several eunuchs in green robes, seeing they couldn’t dissuade her, were so frustrated they nearly wanted to bang their heads against the ground. Bao Quan’s eyes filled with tears as he continued helplessly: “Didn’t the Princess arrange to meet the Chu Emperor tomorrow? Whatever you want to ask can be asked face-to-face tomorrow.”

“That shows your lack of insight. ‘Appear weak when strong, appear strong when weak’ – this is military strategy that Third Brother taught me.” Princess Wanfu smiled slightly and said proudly: “What can you find out by asking face-to-face? Just like those scholars from the Hanlin Academy that Father found for me before – each one spoke beautifully, eloquent and literate, but when I went out to inquire later, it wasn’t like that at all. Bao Quan, you’re too old for me to explain to, but the rest of you listen carefully and learn well. If I ever marry out, there’ll be no one in the palace to protect you anymore, so you need to learn the principles of dealing with people. In this world, don’t believe anything others say – only what you see with your own eyes is real. This time I’m going to find my own husband and absolutely won’t let others manipulate me randomly. Move aside, move aside, all of you move aside! Anyone who blocks me again, I’ll really lose my temper!”

“Princess!” The old eunuch desperately grabbed her sleeve and called out: “What can you see by going to his sleeping quarters?”

“So stupid!” Princess Wanfu said angrily: “At the very least, I can see whether the maidservants he brought are pretty or not, see if he’s carrying any erotic pictures to determine if he’s a lustful man who doesn’t think of progress. I can also see if he privately keeps aphrodisiacs and such to judge whether his health is good, and I can examine his changed clothes to assess his hygiene habits, what books he usually reads and whether he’s learned, what incense he likes and whether his taste is good. Oh, there are so many things to observe – don’t hold me back.”

With that, she broke free from everyone’s restraints and rode her horse straight toward Qing Xia’s palace quarters.

Qing Xia was startled. Wasn’t she supposed to go to Chu Li’s residential palace quarters? Why was she coming toward her? In a flash of inspiration, a terrifying thought suddenly struck her mind. Before she could think further, with a bang, Princess Wanfu had already kicked open the main gate.

In that instant, Qing Xia suddenly displayed the highly efficient action capability of her special forces background. Almost at the very moment Princess Wanfu opened the door, Qing Xia’s body suddenly transformed into a strange arc and immediately disappeared behind the large tree. At this time, the two front hooves of Princess Wanfu’s small red horse stepped into the courtyard.

“Is anyone here! Come out someone!”

Princess Wanfu was obviously accustomed to acting tyrannically in the Qin palace, shouting loudly as soon as she entered. Taking advantage of this time, Qing Xia’s body suddenly moved like a monkey, nimbly climbing up, and in moments disappeared among the thick foliage. Unless someone climbed up personally, they absolutely couldn’t see even a trace of her.

Chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded. Qing Xia’s forehead broke out in cold sweat as she silently thought how close that was. She hadn’t expected that after calculating everything, avoiding one round of attacks only brought another. Those guiding palace maids definitely had ill intentions. Although she still couldn’t guess their identity or which faction they belonged to, if she had just sat obediently in the sleeping chamber earlier, being discovered staying in the Great Chu Emperor’s sleeping palace would truly be impossible to explain even if she jumped into the Yellow River. If her guess was correct, a large group from the Qin imperial family should soon arrive with the Chu Emperor. As long as she seized the opportunity later to see clearly who was the first to incite everyone to come, that person would definitely be the chief culprit.

“Who are you?” A second-class Black Guard soldier stood at the front of the crowd, looking coldly at Princess Wanfu and asking in a deep voice. This man was named Chen Che, someone Qing Xia had personally promoted in the past. He was very alert and capable, and unexpectedly, after not seeing him for so long, he had already become Chu Li’s personal bodyguard captain.

“How dare you!” Bao Quan, who had originally tried desperately to persuade Princess Wanfu not to come, immediately shouted loudly, looking as if he feared Princess Wanfu would be bullied. His thin old face was full of wrinkles as he called out: “Not bowing when seeing the Princess – no manners at all!”