The rope was just ordinary hemp rope, tied in a dead knot, binding both hands, yet leaving a living person completely helpless.

Having endured through an entire night, Nanyi struggled until exhausted, finally slumping powerlessly against the window, forced to accept her fate.

Parched and unable to move.

Her mind was dull, and in her delirium she thought of Zhang Yuehui. They had been separated too long—a person in memory would inevitably become flat with time, and the spiritual support he could provide gradually weakened. Imperceptibly, Xie Queshan had changed how she viewed the world, and she too began to doubt: was a man’s love for a woman truly cheap?

Did Zhang Yuehui still exist in this world? If he cared about her and wanted to see her, why would there be no word from him? Why would he let her drift in this chaotic world, allowing her to die in some corner?

Or perhaps he was just an excuse for her wanting to live. With no one to depend on, she had thought of going to his side, but now that her death was certain, her obsession with him actually diminished.

She thought of the jade bracelet on her wrist. If she had sold it earlier, she could have exchanged it for money to carry with her, then she wouldn’t have stolen Xie Queshan’s purse, and none of the subsequent events would have happened.

Fate was truly cruel.

Thinking of how that jade bracelet had been violently slammed against the iron bars by Xie Queshan just now, it should have shattered. She tried moving her wrist—a circle around it had been rubbed bloody by the rope, any movement causing piercing pain, only the patch of skin wrapped by the bracelet was somewhat spared.

—Something suddenly flashed through her mind!

Nanyi’s attention had previously been entirely focused on how to escape. Though her wrist wounds hurt, in the face of life and death everything was bearable. Only now that she had calmed down did she feel that some wounds were cuts made on her skin by the sharp broken edges of the shattered jade bracelet.

Yes, wasn’t this a sharp tool?

She laboriously bent her fingers within the restraints, fishing out a shard of the jade bracelet from the tangled ropes, scraping it back and forth on the wall several times to make the break even sharper, then using the broken edge to slowly grind at the rope.

Initially progress was slow—the sturdy hemp rope was almost unmovable, and her raised hands were going numb, but she could only mechanically repeat this motion. This was her only hope.

Until the hemp rope was ground through with a gap, then it became easier. One of her hands quickly broke free, and in no time she had completely removed all the ropes.

Regaining her freedom, she couldn’t wait to run outside the door, knelt on the ground, and scooped up a mouthful of snow to put in her mouth. The clear, cold snow water slid down her throat, and everywhere it reached was like long drought meeting sweet rain, bringing new life.

Nanyi was even somewhat dazed. She looked up at the gray sky, then cracked her parched lips and smiled silently.

She had survived.

She had survived!

But as she smiled, tears disobediently streamed from her eyes. Where would she go?

——

In Li Du Mansion, the matter of Xie Queshan’s return was kept absolutely secret. In everyone’s eyes, he was still missing with unknown whereabouts.

Scattered Qi soldiers searched Tiger Kneel Mountain under the pretext of looking for Xie Queshan, but were actually scouting ahead.

Through covert reconnaissance, they confirmed that Yucheng Army was indeed camped at the ruined Taoist temple in the mountains. Xie Queshan’s intelligence was correct.

Wanyan Jun intensively deployed plans to annihilate Yucheng Army, with his personal troops as the main force. He intended to monopolize the credit for this matter, so he completely kicked Gusha out of the picture, not revealing even half a word of information to him.

Xu Kouyue came and went around Wanyan Jun, and through listening and guessing, she somewhat understood the full picture of events.

Regarding Yucheng Army, originally there were only some rumors and speculation—some said the army was hidden in Tiger Kneel Mountain, others said it had been destroyed by Qi soldiers halfway there. Before seeing the army, everything was just suspicion.

Madam Gantang had previously settled in Yucheng. If Yucheng Army was truly hidden in Tiger Kneel Mountain, who it was related to was obvious. Now it was only because Xie Queshan was still around that Wanyan Jun didn’t dare openly move against her second sister.

But if Yucheng Army was found, it would inevitably implicate Madam Gantang.

Xu Kouyue naturally worried about her aunt, but was powerless in the confined space of the inner quarters. After hesitating for a long time, she entered Xie Queshan’s side room under the pretext of delivering medicine.

She dared to seek out Xie Queshan because he had saved her at that spring banquet. She was betting that he still had some conscience in his heart. Even if negotiations failed, he had no need to betray her to Wanyan Jun.

At this time Xie Queshan was awake, but his body was still very weak—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his breath was like gossamer.

Xu Kouyue didn’t want to beat around the bush either. Xie Queshan was such an intelligent person, and the situation was urgent, so she got straight to the point.

“Master Xie, you’re doing your duty in your position, which is understandable, but if you tell Lord Wanyan about Yucheng Army, your dear second sister will certainly be in danger. Do you really want to push her into a fire pit?”

Only then did Xie Queshan breathe a sigh of relief—Xu Kouyue had finally come to find him.

But his words couldn’t be too explicit: “I’m also powerless. Some words should be said to someone who can take action.”

“Who is someone who can take action?” Xu Kouyue was anxious. “I’m confined to the back courtyard, can’t go out, can’t see anyone. I can’t very well go plead with Wanyan Jun, can I?”

“Princess, find a way to have Lord Wanyan take you out, and you’ll naturally see that person.”

Xu Kouyue was stunned. Each day Wanyan Jun went nowhere but the military camp and the Maritime Bureau…

The military camp was full of Qi soldiers, so that left the Maritime Bureau? Song Muchuan?

Song Muchuan’s influence wasn’t great enough to sway Wanyan Jun’s decisions. What would she say to Song Muchuan?

—No, that wasn’t right. Xie Queshan couldn’t possibly give such a shallow suggestion. There was another meaning in his words.

“Why look for him?”

He looked at her, his expression indifferent: “Sometimes one piece of information… is the key to determining victory or defeat.”

Xu Kouyue suddenly understood somewhat. She had originally just wanted to protect Madam Gantang and asked Xie Queshan to intercede for her, but the root of this matter actually lay in whether Yucheng Army was safe. If she could somehow pass along the news that Wanyan Jun was going to eliminate Yucheng Army, perhaps she could make Yucheng Army relocate in advance, leaving Wanyan Jun empty-handed.

And Song Muchuan, whom she was most likely to see, was the best candidate to relay the message.

That Xie Queshan would make such a suggestion to her… Xu Kouyue felt alarmed. No wonder he wouldn’t speak plainly, speaking so cryptically. If the Qi people knew, the consequence would be death without burial.

Xu Kouyue didn’t dare think further and bowed in thanks: “Master, thank you.”

“Princess, I have one more matter to ask of you.”

“Please speak, Master.”

No one knew what was actually discussed in the room. Moments later, Xu Kouyue’s cry of alarm came from within.

“Doctor! The patient has fainted again!”

Xu Kouyue ran out of the room just as the doctors filed in. She took a deep breath, suppressing the nervousness of lying.

She told herself—today she had entered and Xie Queshan had immediately fainted. She hadn’t spoken with Xie Queshan. Of course, this matter needed witnesses, which was why she had called all the doctors in.

Inside the bed curtains, Xie Queshan closed his eyes deeply. He had forcibly maintained a thread of consciousness just to wait for Xu Kouyue to come find him. Fortunately, Xu Kouyue hadn’t come too late.

Having arranged this matter, he could finally rest properly.

Before his consciousness was about to blur, he thought again of that night on the pleasure boat.

He should have boarded the pleasure boat at Sifang Bridge and could have stayed out of trouble, avoiding getting blood on his hands. But the source of all these mistakes was simply that he saw Song Muchuan had also brought Nanyi onto the pleasure boat. This was his person—what right did Song Muchuan have to let her participate in operations and take risks? Fearing something would go wrong, he followed.

Running into the fake Chang Yan who had already seen through Bingzhu Division’s counter-scheme and was about to go report was completely unexpected. He could only act to kill that fake Chang Yan.

At this time he also accidentally confirmed from various clues that tonight Song Muchuan was going to help Nanyi escape. Burning with fury, he actually forgot about covering his tracks and didn’t notice his sword tassel was gripped in Chang Yan’s hand.

He waited on that small boat to see if Nanyi would come. As expected, she was indeed trying to escape.

But everything spiraled out of control again from his inability to kill her…

In the end, he had dug his own grave. It had been a long time since he’d acted so recklessly without considering consequences, losing his composure. He’d been too comfortable lately, even forgetting he was someone walking on a tightrope who could be shattered to pieces with the slightest carelessness.

To somewhat patch the loopholes in the situation, he could only make himself this miserable.

But he was only flesh and blood after all, and the wounds on his body truly hurt too much… his consciousness gradually drifted away.

When the doctors felt Xie Queshan’s pulse, it was another round of frantic rescue efforts.

Xu Kouyue wasn’t anxious anymore and waited outside. In the bitter cold, she stood in the courtyard eagerly waiting for news from inside.

At noon when Wanyan Jun returned from the military camp and saw this scene, his expression darkened.

“Why are you worrying about Xie Queshan’s affairs? There are people here to take care of him.”

But Xu Kouyue didn’t leave, replying gently: “After all, Master Xie is your honored guest, My Lord. I should pay attention, otherwise I can’t help you with anything.”

“You have a relationship with Xie Queshan?”

Xu Kouyue mumbled: “I met him a few times in the old capital before, but we weren’t really acquainted.”

Wanyan Jun gave a mocking laugh and pinched Xu Kouyue’s face. When these eyes like autumn waters met his, they revealed a guilty expression.

How could he not know her little schemes? Saying they weren’t acquainted meant there was indeed a relationship. She must be waiting for Xie Queshan to wake up so she could go in and conspire with him about how to rescue Madam Gantang.

These few days were a crucial juncture for eliminating Yucheng Army. He absolutely wouldn’t allow any mishaps.

“Since you’re so idle, this afternoon you’ll accompany me to the Maritime Bureau. Having you, this princess, walk around will make those craftsmen work harder too.”

Xu Kouyue’s face still showed a bewildered expression, but her heart jumped to her throat. Based on her understanding of Wanyan Jun, the more she wanted to go to the Maritime Bureau, the more she had to act like she very much wanted to stay home. Wanyan Jun was full of schemes and inevitably guarded against her. To prevent her from meeting with Xie Queshan, he would keep her by his side under watch.

Using small tricks in front of Wanyan Jun for the first time, her legs were somewhat weak.

Had this succeeded?

No, this was only the first step… What made Xu Kouyue even more anxious was: telling Song Muchuan… could he really turn the tide?