Princess Changle smiled: “Then what are you afraid of?”

Fu Lingchuan laughed self-mockingly: “Nothing. You’re right.” Indeed, there was nothing to worry about. These few people couldn’t stir up any waves. At worst, they could be dealt with before taking action.

The sea was somewhat choppy today, so passengers were too lazy to leave their cabins. No one had come in here from beginning to end.

After finishing their chess game, Fu Lingchuan and his companion casually returned to their cabin, not noticing the small spiders perched in the chair crevices and ceiling cobwebs.

The Ghost-Faced Spiders transmitted their conversation verbatim to Feng Miaojun and Lu Chuanying.

After listening, Feng Miaojun said: “Just like our previous encounter, Princess Changle is merely a figurehead, with Fu Lingchuan handling all affairs.”

Lu Chuanying also remarked: “This man is truly extraordinary, finding a fake princess who somewhat resembles the Queen of An’xia.”

Feng Miaojun was startled: “Does she resemble her?” She touched her cheeks.

Lu Chuanying smiled: “She doesn’t resemble you. Your features are more… delicate than both the Queen of An’xia and her.” Feng Miaojun’s appearance surpassed even the Queen of An’xia in her youth.

“Could she have some connection to the Queen of An’xia?”

“That remains unknown.” Lu Chuanying pondered, “Fu Lingchuan dares to have her impersonate Princess Changle, so he must have confidence in his plan.”

Since first seeing the fake Princess Changle, Feng Miaojun had searched through her original body’s memories extensively but found no useful clues. “Why did Uncle Lu approach Fu Lingchuan?”

“To see what kind of extraordinary person he is.” Lu Chuanying instinctively lowered his voice. “Will Miaojun stay in Taoyuan Territory to manage Feng’s business from now on?” The daughter of An’xia’s Queen was different from ordinary girls; since he had known her, she had never lived a peaceful life. Now, though she followed Feng’s business to the distant Taoyuan Territory, Lu Chuanying vaguely felt she wouldn’t remain content in this small corner.

This feeling was so natural that he thought this young girl must have a belly full of secrets and concerns.

Feng Miaojun thought for a moment: “I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble Uncle Lu to look after Feng’s business for me in the future.”

Lu Chuanying understood: “So you still want to restore the nation?”

Feng Miaojun was slightly surprised, finally understanding that this was Lu Chuanying’s purpose in approaching Fu Lingchuan: he thought she was not content with a quiet life, that she still thought about her duties as a princess, about restoring the former glory of An’xia.

But she had not yet developed such consciousness.

Feng Miaojun smiled bitterly. She only thought about how to break the curse between herself and Yun Ya, to roam freely through the world thereafter. How could she consider such national affairs? In this regard, she was inferior to Fu Lingchuan, and even to the fake Princess Changle.

“I…” She initially wanted to deny it, but as the words reached her lips, she took a turn, “Let’s observe the situation first. I’m not optimistic about Fu Lingchuan’s New Xia.”

“Why not?” Lu Chuanying counted on his fingers for her to hear, “The Wei Kingdom is busy with civil war, not knowing when it will end; New Xia was established with Yan’s support, and neither Yao nor Jin opposed it. At this moment, the timing couldn’t be better.”

He summarized in one sentence: “For you, this is also an opportunity. You are the true…” The true Princess Changle!

Feng Miaojun adjusted the oil lamp on the table: “Though that may be true, I feel uneasy. I sense the Wei civil war will end soon, and if they turn their blades toward New Xia, Fu Lingchuan and his people will face dire circumstances. I don’t want to be tied to the same fate as him.”

“With the combined forces of Yao, Jin, and New Xia, even if they can’t defeat the Wei Kingdom, they can at least make it retreat in the face of difficulty, right?” Lu Chuanying smiled, “Coincidentally, Fu Lingchuan is on the ship. Surely he wouldn’t reject the true Princess Changle. Why don’t you…?” Fu Lingchuan had rallied under the banner of An’xia’s royal bloodline; he must constantly worry about the fake Princess Changle’s identity being exposed. Now, if given the true Princess Changle, he would be elated even in his dreams.

Was Lu Chuanying urging her to seize this opportunity? Feng Miaojun understood his meaning but waved her hand: “He wants a puppet, and I am not one.”

The real reason she couldn’t speak out: if she revealed her true identity to Fu Lingchuan, if she truly returned to New Xia as Queen Changle, then her chances of directly facing Yun Ya would multiply. They might even have to cross swords… What kind of situation would that be? She didn’t want to harm Yun Ya, nor did she want him to harm her.

Both the palm and the back of the hand were part of her own life!

Moreover, she had personally witnessed Yun Ya’s methods. If such endless schemes and calculations were directed at her, she lacked confidence in withstanding them. So she spoke seriously: “Uncle Lu, I know what I’m doing. Revealing my identity rashly now, Fu Lingchuan might kill me to silence me. Going forward, let’s avoid further interaction with them for the time being.”

Lu Chuanying was only offering suggestions; since she opposed, he didn’t insist. Though young, this girl was deeply thoughtful. Fu Lingchuan only wanted a puppet princess he could easily control. Once her true identity as Princess Changle was exposed, would Fu Lingchuan treat her as an honored guest? No, he would most likely kill her to silence her, so that his fake princess would become the real one.

In the following days, the people of Feng’s business indeed kept their distance from Fu Lingchuan, no longer initiating conversation. Fu Lingchuan did the same.

Feng Miaojun thought that this person was extremely proud at his core.

After sailing for seven or eight days, the fleet needed to dock at an island for supplies.

Where there’s money to be made, people are doing it. As the routes across the Forbidden Sea prospered, many islands along the way were developed, gradually becoming inhabited and slowly transforming into indispensable maritime supply stations.

The third island where the fleet docked was very large and had a beautiful name called “Spiral Float Island.”

From the first glimpse at an extreme distance, Feng Miaojun knew it was different because rather than an island, it was more like a mountain standing in the sea.

Although lush and concealed by dense forest, people standing on the ship had a perfect view of the panorama. Madam Xu exclaimed in amazement: “I never imagined such a strange island existed in the world!”

Feng Miaojun also expressed her astonishment. A mountain forming an island would be ordinary enough, but this mountain was spiraled, with each circle getting narrower toward the top. As the fleet approached from the side, everyone saw—this mountain was also tilted, forming approximately a forty-five-degree angle with the sea surface!

Before departure, Feng Miaojun and others had thoroughly studied maritime navigation, and along the way, they had shared strange tales with Madam Xu, including the origin of this Spiral Float Island. However, seeing is believing; the shock of seeing such an island with one’s own eyes was truly beyond description.

Especially after Madam Xu learned of its origin.

She murmured: “Such a large island, is it really… a shell?” There were many far-fetched legends in the world; surely this couldn’t be one of them?

“Of course,” Feng Miaojun pointed to the mountain peak at the highest point. “No trees grow at the mountain tip; you can see that’s the end of the spiral, right?”