Hearing this, Mu Yunjin finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Her father was truly cunning.

With Northern Ming making such a declaration, the implication was clear: as long as she remained safe in Western Yuan, Northern Ming would certainly not turn against Western Yuan. The four countries would stand in two opposing pairs, helping Western Yuan balance against Nanting and Eastern Lin.

But if anything were to happen to her, Northern Ming would also ally with Nanting and Eastern Lin. At that point, the three countries would unite to isolate Western Yuan, which would surely mark the beginning of disaster for Western Yuan.

Emperor Ximing must be furious right now!

Chu Li, listening to Mu Yunjin’s laughter beside her, frowned and poked her forehead, “Be careful not to laugh until you choke.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin remembered that her emotions shouldn’t fluctuate too much, so she stopped laughing, “Alright, you both can leave now. I need to rest.”

Chu Li’s mouth twitched as he walked out.

As soon as they left the room, Ding Xian said to Chu Li, “Your Highness, old rascal Qin has already secretly entered the palace.”

“Hmph, that old bag of bones never rests,” Chu Li let out a light snort, his eyes revealing contempt.

…

…

“Then…” Ding Xian looked at Chu Li.

Chu Li narrowed his eyes, a flash of bloodlust appearing in his dark pupils, “How old is he this year?”

“Should be around seventy,” Ding Xian answered.

“Enough,” Chu Li dropped these two words and walked slowly toward his study.

Behind him, Ding Xian was momentarily stunned before immediately understanding Chu Li’s meaning. He darted off beyond the courtyard wall.

…

At the same time, in the Imperial Study of the palace.

“Your Majesty, as things stand now, the entire Canghua Continent has been divided into two camps. They seem evenly matched, but the fate of our entire Western Yuan is in the hands of the Prince Ning’s residence!” General Qin spoke indignantly, looking at Emperor Ximing seated in his chair.

Emperor Ximing’s face darkened. How could he not understand what General Qin was saying?

Northern Ming and Western Yuan stood on the same side solely because of Northern Ming’s Princess Imperial, Mu Yunjin.

If Mu Yunjin were gone today, Bei Tang Wenfeng probably wouldn’t have made such a decision.

Thinking of this, Emperor Ximing silently felt a tremendous threat, “Minister Qin, what do you suggest we do?”

“This old minister recently heard of another matter,” General Qin said.

Emperor Ximing frowned, “What matter?”

“I heard that when Prince Ning and his Princess were in Qingzhou, the Princess saved the life of Eastern Lin’s Crown Prince Rong Jiu. Rong Jiu will ascend to the throne next month. If he becomes the ruler of Eastern Lin and has this connection with Prince Ning’s residence, I fear the King of Northern Ming might reverse today’s decision at any time.”

“Saved his life?” Emperor Ximing calculated the timeline. The Qingzhou period coincided closely with Crown Prince Chu Ye’s investiture ceremony. It wasn’t strange for Rong Jiu to appear within Western Yuan’s borders, but this life-saving favor was puzzling.

Hearing this, General Qin’s eyes flashed with a cunning light, “The fact that the Princess saved Crown Prince Rong Jiu was told to this old minister by an imperial guard who accompanied them in Qingzhou. At the time, I found it suspicious and ordered someone to thoroughly investigate.”

After a pause, General Qin continued, “It’s said that Eastern Lin’s Second Prince Rong Min had ambitions to seize the Crown Prince position and deliberately sent assassins to kill Rong Jiu on the road. During the assassination attempt, he was coincidentally saved by the Princess.”

Emperor Ximing nodded. Such power struggles were nothing new to him.

“Your Majesty, this old minister boldly has an idea,” General Qin stepped forward.

“Speak freely,” Emperor Ximing’s mind was in turmoil. The cascade of events following Consort Rong’s situation was truly overwhelming him.

General Qin lowered his voice, “Your Majesty, since Eastern Lin’s current old king opposes us, and the soon-to-be-crowned Crown Prince Rong Jiu also has close private ties with Prince Ning’s residence, why don’t we simply establish a connection with Second Prince Rong Min…”

“We still have a month. If we find a way to help Second Prince Rong Min gain Eastern Lin’s throne, wouldn’t that reclaim Eastern Lin’s power to our side?”

“As for Prince Ning’s residence, Bei Tang Wenfeng is too far away to deal with immediate concerns. If we just make some small maneuvers against Prince Ning’s residence, as long as no lives are harmed, how would Bei Tang Wenfeng even notice?”

“By then, with our three-country alliance, what would a single Nanting country amount to?”

Upon hearing General Qin’s words, Emperor Ximing’s tense expression suddenly relaxed, a smile spreading across his face. In an instant, it seemed as if all problems had been resolved.

Throughout history, winners became kings and losers became outlaws—only results mattered, not the process.

“Minister Qin, you truly deserve your reputation as a founding minister of our Western Yuan!” Emperor Ximing’s eyes showed admiration.

General Qin bowed slightly, “Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty.”

“How should we approach this connection with Rong Min?” Emperor Ximing asked.

“Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, your status is noble, and naturally it’s inappropriate for you to discuss these matters with someone of a younger generation. If Your Majesty trusts this old minister, I am willing to negotiate this matter with Second Prince Rong Min,” General Qin volunteered.

Emperor Ximing nodded, “Then I’ll entrust this matter to you.”

“I obey the imperial decree!”

“Also… regarding what you mentioned about Prince Ning’s residence, that child Eli cannot be underestimated,” Emperor Ximing, despite his great fondness for his son Chu Li, now deeply felt a sense of threat with these recent developments.

The Prince Ning’s residence could no longer be allowed to remain.

“For Prince Ning’s residence, it’s best to act secretly, without anyone’s knowledge. It must not be detected by outsiders,” General Qin advised.

“Let me think about this further,” Emperor Ximing sighed.

General Qin looked at Emperor Ximing and could only nod, “Then time is of the essence. This old minister will first contact the Second Prince’s side to test his intentions.”

“Mm.”

…

In the carriage leaving the palace, General Qin looked at Rong Min, who had been waiting for him in the carriage all along, a satisfied smile on his lips, “Now with Chu Jin’s support, you are one step closer to sitting on Eastern Lin’s throne.”

“Many thanks to General Qin for your generous assistance,” Rong Min smiled and bowed to General Qin.

“No need for thanks. Second Prince is a clever person, and this old man appreciates that,” General Qin smiled.

After a pause, he recalled something else, “Has there been any news about Rong Jiu, who was poisoned by your Ten Thousand Bones Poison? If he dies from the poison, dealing with the other princes of Eastern Lin would be even easier.”

“I don’t know how he got so lucky. I heard he returned to Eastern Lin last night,” Rong Min thought about it angrily. He had gone to great lengths to obtain this Ten Thousand Bones Poison, but somehow Rong Jiu had easily neutralized it.

Then, Rong Min added, “I heard he had been staying in Heyue City for the past few days. I wonder if there are any poison experts in Heyue City?”

“Heyue City…” General Qin frowned slightly, and after a moment, he laughed coldly, “That witch was also in Heyue City recently. I’m sure Rong Jiu’s antidote must be connected to her.”

Rong Min narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth with an expression of disbelief, and after a long moment, gave a bitter laugh, “Her again.”

“No matter, today Emperor Ximing has already…”

General Qin had only spoken half his sentence when a white-feathered arrow swiftly penetrated through the carriage curtain.

The arrow moved so quickly, carrying a force that cut through the air, giving no one time to react.

“Thud…”

The sound of flesh being pierced.

Inside the carriage, General Qin now sat motionless, eyes wide open, mouth agape, still in the position of speaking.

And between his eyebrows was an arrow that had pierced through…

Rong Min’s expression changed. This sudden turn of events made his heart sink heavily. Looking at the blood dripping from the arrowhead, his mind was in tremendous turmoil.

At the same time, the carriage stopped, and the driver’s voice came from outside—

“Master, we’ve arrived at the residence.”

Soon after, the steward’s voice also came through, “Master, Minister Chen from the Court of Judicial Review has been waiting for you at the residence for a long time…”

The carriage curtain was lifted the next second, followed by a scream, “Ah! Master, Master…”

“What happened?” The speaker was Chen Pu. Upon seeing the scene inside the carriage, he stepped back in shock.

Then, he turned his gaze to Rong Min beside him, “A person from Eastern Lin?”

The carriage driver, already frightened to his knees, saw Rong Min inside the carriage and looked at Chen Pu with a pale face, “Minister Chen, I don’t know this person. When we boarded the carriage, only the master was inside, and no one else got on during the journey.”

Hearing these words, Rong Min was silent for a moment, “There’s a misunderstanding here.”

Chen Pu clenched his fists and raised an eyebrow at Rong Min, “Any misunderstanding can be clarified at the Court of Judicial Review.”

“Come, take General Qin’s body to the Court of Judicial Review for examination!”

…

The news of General Qin’s assassination spread quickly throughout Diehua City. Now, almost all important figures had gathered in the interrogation hall of the Court of Judicial Review.

“Wuwuwu, Grandfather, Grandfather…” Qin Muyue knelt beside General Qin’s body, crying bitterly.

Her parents had died early, and General Qin had raised her single-handedly. Now, seeing General Qin’s tragic death, Qin Muyue was overwhelmed with grief.

Emperor Ximing also sat in the great hall, looking at the figure covered with a white cloth, his brows tightly furrowed. How could someone fine just moments ago suddenly meet with such a fate?

“Reporting to Your Majesty, the examination results of this arrow have been completed,” the coroner came forward, holding the arrow.

“Speak!”

The coroner nodded, “Ordinary bows and arrows are usually made with six materials, but only Eastern Lin makes arrows with seven materials, requiring an additional process compared to regular arrows. This arrow in my hand is indeed made with seven materials, and the arrowhead bears the character ‘East.’ Therefore, it can be deduced that this arrow originated from Eastern Lin.”

Rong Min, who had been standing to the side all along, stepped forward upon hearing this, “You cannot claim that I killed him just because of this arrow!”

“Second Prince, no one is accusing you of murder based solely on this arrow,” Chen Pu looked at Rong Min.

Nearby, Chu Qing glanced at Chen Pu, “Minister Chen, why did you go to the General’s residence today?”

“Yes, as the Chief Justice, you’ve never set foot in our General’s residence except during festivals and holidays. Yet today you happened to come, and Grandfather happened to meet with disaster. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?” Qin Muyue also regained her composure and looked at Chen Pu.

Now, Emperor Ximing’s attention also fell on Chen Pu.

Seeing this, Chen Pu stood up calmly and smiled sheepishly, “About this matter, it’s truly embarrassing…”