Liu Dali felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, leaving him dazed and distracted. Zhao Yun waved his hand, and his attendants returned the oil paper package to the man before pushing him ashore.

Seeing him leave in a trance-like state, Feng Miaojun, who had gracefully disembarked from the boat, casually asked Zhao Yun, “How far do you think he’ll make it?”

This man had already survived two murder attempts; it was virtually impossible he would have the good fortune to escape a third time.

Zhao Yun narrowed his eyes. “Him? Probably won’t make it beyond two li.”

Feng Miaojun smiled. “Now that we’ve enjoyed the food and drink, we shall take our leave. Many thanks to the Nineteenth Prince for your generous hospitality today. When we meet again in the New Xia Kingdom, I shall be the host, and the Nineteenth Prince must certainly honor us with your presence.”

This was merely polite conversation, but unexpectedly, Zhao Yun nodded and seized the opportunity: “Excellent. When the time comes, would the Queen please invite me for a private meal?”

“A small matter.” Having said this, she bid farewell. Zhao Yun offered to escort her, but Feng Miaojun declined, going directly with Fu Lingchuan to board their carriage and depart.

Inside the carriage, Fu Lingchuan frowned deeply. “We can barely protect ourselves, yet you still want to meddle in this affair?”

She answered indirectly: “We won’t be able to leave today, will we?”

After spending so long on the river, it was already sunset. Taiping City had a night curfew, and it was too late to reach any city gate in time, let alone make the necessary preparations beforehand.

So Fu Lingchuan could only shake his head. Delaying departure by one day would at least double the difficulty. His plan would need further refinement and greater detail.

“Muddy waters are best for catching fish,” Feng Miaojun smiled, lifting the curtain to look outside. “Perhaps he can help us make the waters even muddier.”

“Muddier?” Fu Lingchuan was slightly surprised. “With just an ordinary commoner?”

How could such a man, who could barely protect himself, help them distract the Yan King’s attention enough to sneak out of the city?

“Cousin, there’s an old saying,” Feng Miaojun rested her chin on her hand, smiling. “Plans can’t keep up with changing circumstances—this applies to us and the Yan King alike.”

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled brilliantly, as if she had everything under control.

The Queen of New Xia looked so vivid and beautiful that one couldn’t look away. Fu Lingchuan started, suddenly realizing he had been staring at her, and quickly averted his gaze.

Feng Miaojun spoke a few words in a low voice. He listened attentively and couldn’t help but clap his hands: “Brilliant!”

The carriage moved faster than a person could walk, and within moments they caught up to Liu Dali.

He was walking aimlessly by the roadside when unexpectedly, a carriage approached from behind. The curtain lifted to reveal a face more beautiful than flowers: “Hey, man, do you still want to petition the Emperor?”

He recognized this beauty; earlier on the pleasure boat, even the Nineteenth Prince had treated her with great respect. Liu Dali spoke gruffly: “Yes.”

“Even if you have to crawl over nail boards?”

“Yes!” He had traveled thousands of li; even if it cost him his life, he would seek justice!

Feng Miaojun smiled. “Perhaps I have a way to help you reach the Emperor’s ears without having to crawl over nail boards.”

“What?” Liu Dali was stunned. “What must I do?”

“Get in the carriage.”

When Zhao Yun returned to his residence, the attendant he had sent out also returned, reporting: “The Queen of New Xia picked up that man in her carriage.”

Zhao Yun smiled: “So she wants to involve herself in this affair. Good. What else?”

“Besides your servant, there are at least two other factions following her carriage.” The attendant respectfully asked, “May I request Your Highness’s instructions?”

“No need to concern ourselves.” Zhao Yun lazily extended his hand, allowing the maidservant to remove his outer robe. “This is the New Xia Queen’s business; it has nothing to do with us anymore.”

At that moment, in a large mansion in the northern part of the city, someone else received similar intelligence and slammed the table as they stood up:

“What? That country bumpkin escaped again?”

This person paced back and forth for several steps: “Who took him away? What’s their background?”

“The commoner boat did indeed sink, but he was fortunate to be rescued by the Nineteenth Prince. We dared not sabotage His Highness’s boat,” the scout reported smoothly. “After reaching shore, the Nineteenth Prince let him go, but His Highness’s two guests welcomed him into their carriage and took him back to their residence. We’ve checked—they are the Queen of New Xia and Fu Lingchuan.”

The person’s face darkened: “What does this mean? The Nineteenth Prince has abandoned the matter, but the New Xia people are interfering?” The Nineteenth Prince must have already questioned him on the boat and learned the whole story, yet after reaching shore, he drove Liu Dali away, clearly showing he didn’t want to wade into these troubled waters.

But why would the Queen of New Xia get involved?

She was a foreign guest with no connection to anyone in this affair. Could it be at the Nineteenth Prince’s request?

Having disturbed someone who shouldn’t have been disturbed, this person rubbed their temples and summoned several others: “Infiltrate Songlanzhai Manor. Kill Liu Dali before dawn tomorrow.” The Queen of New Xia and Fu Lingchuan were frequent guests at the royal palace; if they brought Liu Dali to meet the Emperor, the trouble would have been enormous.

Everyone received their orders and departed.

That night, flames shot into the sky from the northern part of Taiping City.

Everyone saw that it was Songlanzhai Manor, where the Queen of New Xia resided, that had caught fire.

Since the Pu Kingdom hostage incident, the words “foreign guest” had become enough to stir the sensitive nerves of the people of Taiping City. The city governor was greatly alarmed and immediately mobilized all available manpower to fight the fire. In the capital, he performed his duties with great trepidation.

Fortunately, Songlanzhai Manor was not far from the government office. Several dozen water wagons were pushed over, shooting water with all their might. In less than half an hour, the fire was brought under control.

The dozens of servants who had escaped during the fire couldn’t explain how it had started. However, when the city defense forces rushed in to rescue the Queen of New Xia, they found four or five people lying on the ground in the Queen’s quarters, dressed in night-stalking clothes, all unconscious.

As for Fu Lingchuan and the Queen of New Xia, they were nowhere to be found.

Since this involved the ruler of a friendly nation, the matter became serious. Even the Yan King was alarmed, rising and donning his robes to order an immediate interrogation.

Meanwhile, Minister Xing, who had been standing on the tower of his residence, cracking melon seeds while gazing at the distant flames, also received a report from his servant: “The Queen of New Xia has sent a messenger with a letter; he’s waiting in the reception hall.”

“Oh?” The old man was greatly surprised. Her residence was on fire, yet the Queen of New Xia sent someone to deliver a letter to him. What did this mean? “Let him wait; I’ll go right away.”

The black-clothed men bound in Songlanzhai Manor tried to commit suicide by poison as soon as they regained consciousness.

The prison officers were no fools; they had already removed the false teeth where the poison was hidden. But among these men, one cultivator unexpectedly self-destructed his primordial spirit. Fortunately, these men were interrogated separately.

The self-destructed cultivator was also a Yan citizen.

Every cultivator was the country’s most valuable asset. To lose one not on the battlefield but by self-destruction in prison infuriated the Yan King. As the State Preceptor, he could recognize all the cultivators in the country and certainly knew this man’s identity!

Inside the prison, some methods made people wish for death. No matter how tough the remaining men were, they eventually confessed:

They worked for a mysterious organization and were ordered to infiltrate Songlanzhai Manor to kill a commoner named Liu Dali. As for the owners of the residence—that young brother and sister—they hadn’t seen them.

The name “Liu Dali” immediately entered the sight of the Yan Kingdom’s highest authorities.