With his comprehensive knowledge of the Seven Kingdoms’ situations, he certainly understood the royal families of each country as clearly as the back of his hand. Feng Miaojun only needed to mention “Princess Changle” for him to understand her background.

“Only a body double died, not me,” she remained composed. “My mother, the Queen, sent me out of the palace early to be raised by the Feng family.”

“Evidence?” He smiled. “Mere words prove nothing. How can you claim to be a princess?”

She took a small jade fish from her waist, twisted open the fish’s mouth, and Mo Tizhun saw the character “Changle” imprinted on the fish’s body.

“Just this?”

Anyone could carve a radish seal.

Feng Miaojun put the fish’s head back in place, pressed down simultaneously on both fish eyes, then twisted open the fish’s mouth again and pressed it onto a piece of white paper.

The seal impression still showed the two characters “Changle,” but the color was a green with gold undertones that, upon closer inspection, turned red.

This was a special ink unique to An Xia’s royal palace, called Green-Gold. The king of An Xia normally used red ink, only using Green-Gold on extremely rare occasions, such as for succession or marriage.

The refinement process for Green-Gold was extremely special and impossible to replicate outside the palace. Mo Tizhun had seen documents stamped with it before.

Feng Miaojun said softly: “This is my seal. It should be sufficient to prove my identity, right?”

Besides the personal seal, there was of course also an official seal. She was warning Mo Tizhun that taking this private seal from her would be pointless.

Mo Tizhun pondered for a long time before asking: “Do you want to avenge your country and family?”

This question was leading, but she didn’t even blink: “Perhaps.”

Feng Miaojun’s calm composure finally satisfied Mo Tizhun. He suddenly clapped his hands and laughed loudly: “Good, excellent! Wonderful, marvelous!”

“I was originally worried about what identity to give you to bring you into the Jin King’s palace.” He stretched lazily. “Now it’s settled—what identity could be more appropriate than a princess of a fallen kingdom!”

She said coolly: “Do as you see fit.”

Secrets aren’t always better kept deeply hidden. Sometimes, they can be the most useful weapons, the most powerful assets. For this, she could risk revealing her identity completely.

Mo Tizhun helping her enter Smoke Sea Tower was, plainly speaking, just a transaction that didn’t involve personal feelings. Things like personal favors couldn’t be measured; she had never believed in them. How could she, Feng Miaojun, know whether one day she might be abandoned by this Grand Preceptor? After all, there could be countless interpretations of contractual spirit.

Only by making him see potential benefit in her would he wholeheartedly protect her.

“You can start considering your second condition now,” he said lazily. “It’s time to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll set off for Jin.”

She went out to find her foster mother, resignedly leaving the room to him.

To let her foster mother sleep well, she chose to inform her of this decision the next day, telling a small lie that Mo Tizhun had taken a liking to her… talent, and insisted on accepting her as a disciple.

Madam Xu immediately insisted on going with her.

“We know nothing about the Jin Kingdom. Why doesn’t Mother follow the original plan and stay in the Yao Kingdom first? After I’ve established myself and observed the situation, we can decide?” Feng Miaojun persuaded her. “Grand Preceptor Mo has many adversaries in Jin. What if they can’t deal with him and take out their frustrations on the Feng business instead?”

Taking out frustrations on the Feng business because they couldn’t deal with Mo Tizhun? She was taking her family business too seriously. As she said this, Feng Miaojun silently felt embarrassed.

But Madam Xu didn’t see it that way. The legacy her husband had left her meant everything to her, and in her mind, it was naturally the best. “Then you shouldn’t go either!” Her voice turned pleading. “Anan, the Queen’s dying wish was for you to live a smooth life, to marry and have children, to live like an ordinary girl. We can achieve all this. Why must you go to a strange country to weather storms? I’ve never been in a royal court, but I imagine it’s certainly not a peaceful place. A fragile little girl like you going there might be devoured without even bones left.”

“Yao Kingdom is just as strange to us. We’re starting from scratch either way, so why not choose a place with a higher starting point?” Feng Miaojun blinked. “As for the court, I was born into royalty originally. Now I’m merely returning to it, hardly entering a tiger’s den or wolf’s lair. Besides, Grand Preceptor Mo will protect me and not let me suffer. Please rest assured, Mother!”

This time, Madam Xu was particularly resolute. Seeing that her daughter wouldn’t budge, her beautiful eyes immediately reddened, and she broke into loud sobs.

Tears fell like rain, without cease.

Feng Miaojun was utterly exasperated by her tendency to resort to such dramatic tactics at the slightest provocation. She sighed repeatedly: “I’ll leave Peng Bai for you to use, alright? Please stop crying!”

Madam Xu’s crying paused: “Wh-what would I do with him? I only want my good daughter!”

“Without a man in the household, you’ll be bullied whether managing the home or conducting business outside. Wasn’t Madam Wang’s case and the Zheng family’s scheme arose because of this?” Feng Miaojun said a few words, then looked up to see Madam Xu’s blank expression. She couldn’t help but laugh helplessly. “What are you thinking? I mean to leave Peng Bai for you as a representative. Many matters requiring public exposure can be handled by him, so you needn’t appear personally.” Peng Bai handled affairs large and small quite appropriately, and his loyalty went without saying. She felt at ease leaving him with Madam Xu.

But Madam Xu’s expression changed: “What was I thinking? You child, speaking so vaguely.” Recalling the hardships of supporting internal and external affairs alone after her husband’s passing, she couldn’t help but sigh, finally saying: “Do you resent that your mother isn’t capable enough to give you a good life, that you’re so eager to go to Jin Kingdom!”

Left with no choice, Feng Miaojun played her final trump card: “Fine, fine, I won’t go, I won’t go! Then you go tell Grand Preceptor Mo not to accept me as his disciple.”

Madam Xu choked. With Grand Preceptor Mo’s status, how could he listen to her? Unlike her foster daughter, no matter how much she cried, that kind of man had a heart of stone.

She gnashed her teeth in hatred: “How can that person be so hateful, forcibly tearing apart a mother and child!”

Downstairs, Mo Tizhun sneezed for no reason.

Which bastard was cursing him?

Madam Xu suddenly lost heart, realizing that her foster daughter’s journey to Jin Kingdom was inevitable. Feng Miaojun pressed her advantage: “Mother, I have a reason for asking you to stay in the Yao Kingdom—we should always leave ourselves a way out. If I can’t make it in Jin, or if Grand Preceptor Mo is defeated by others and falls from power, I can still come back to you. If you also went to Jin, what would we do if they rounded us all up at once?” She smiled cheerfully. “Of course, if I flourish in Jin, I could also establish a business to connect with Feng’s business, so you can extend your business to Jin without personally risking danger.”

Downstairs, Mo Tizhun sneezed again.

Madam Xu said irritably: “What ‘make it,’ what ’rounded up’? Where did a dignified princess learn such vulgar talk?”

“Princess Changle no longer exists in this world, only Anan.” She grabbed Madam Xu’s soft little hand, employing the tactic of acting spoiled. “Dear Mother, don’t you believe in my abilities? I promise I’ll thrive in Jin too, and then make the Feng business bloom everywhere!”