What kind of place was the capital of Yao? Even for the State Preceptor of the Wei Kingdom, it was a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den! If killing a ruler and destroying a country were so easy, why would each nation raise large armies? Wouldn’t they just send a few cultivators to infiltrate the royal palace for assassination and be done with it?

The city of Inzi had countless mechanisms and formations. Yao Kingdom’s most elite cultivators would rush there, not to mention Mo Tizhun himself. Though Yun Ya was powerful, he would be isolated and without support in Yao’s capital. One or two hundred cultivators were insignificantly small when faced with hundreds of thousands of people in a nation’s capital.

If he failed, the consequences made Feng Miaojun shudder just thinking about them.

She wasn’t clear what that fellow was doing in Yao’s capital. Perhaps he already had a thorough plan. But all these were just “maybes,” and she was concerned about her own life! She had to go keep a close eye on him herself!

Why couldn’t Yun Ya just live properly and peacefully?

After packing quickly, Feng Miaojun called for Chen Dachang and strode to the garden where there was a wetland adjacent to a small stream.

The palace attendants couldn’t keep up with her pace and were left behind eating dust. Feng Miaojun first gave a sharp whistle.

The whistle was crisp and still echoing in the night sky when two snow-white cranes gracefully descended, landing before her and Chen Dachang.

“Da Hei,” she patted the long neck of one white crane, “you’ll need to work hard this time. Take us to Inzi City immediately.”

Da Hei let out a long cry, and San Hua shook its long beak.

Feng Miaojun jumped onto Da Hei’s back. The great crane had only flapped its wings twice, about to soar into the sky, when suddenly a figure appeared at the garden entrance. It was Fu Lingchuan.

His face was extremely grave: “Where is Your Majesty going?”

The Minister’s tone was extremely dissatisfied.

Caught red-handed, Feng Miaojun gave a couple of fake laughs: “Well, with state affairs being so busy, I thought to go out for some relaxation. I’ll be back in two days.”

Indeed! Fu Lingchuan’s face twitched: “Your relaxation destination wouldn’t happen to be Inzi City, would it? That place is too dangerous!”

Feng Miaojun covered her mouth with her fist and coughed lightly: “The Yao people are busy defending against enemies, and the Wei people are busy storming the palace. Who would have time to bother with me?”

“You are the ruler of a nation! If something happens to you in Inzi City… what about New Xia!” Though he said this, Fu Lingchuan knew he couldn’t stop her. His queen did whatever she wanted without needing anyone’s approval. “Let me accompany you!”

“No,” Feng Miaojun’s expression also turned solemn as she waved her hand. “The affairs of New Xia still need to be managed, and I wouldn’t feel at ease leaving them to others. Having Chen Dachang accompany me is enough. By the way—”

“May I borrow the Mustard Seed Formation?”

Fu Lingchuan had no choice but to take out a set of swords from his storage ring and hand them over.

“Thank you!” As she spoke, the crane beat its wings and shot into the clouds like an arrow, leaving only lingering echoes: “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

Chen Dachang also jumped onto San Hua, shrugging at Fu Lingchuan with a helpless expression before riding the crane in pursuit.

Within moments, the two great cranes had become white lines on the distant horizon.

Fu Lingchuan sighed softly. At that moment, a palace attendant from the sleeping chambers knelt before him with a golden letter: “This was left for you by Her Majesty before departure.”

He opened it to find, as expected, a letter of authorization stating that during her absence from court, all state affairs would be handled by the Minister and the Chancellor.

She certainly knew how to casually pass on responsibilities!

The white cranes soared straight up through the sky. Though the wind was bitterly cold like a bone-scraping steel knife, Feng Miaojun felt refreshed and clear-headed. Looking down at the magnificent mountains and rivers below the clouds, she had the impulse to let out a long howl.

She had remained in the deep palace for two years straight. Although every decree she issued stirred up winds and clouds across the world, she hadn’t left Wuser City for a very long time. What was the use of possessing vast territories? Without the chance to come up to these high heavens for a look, without this opportunity to point at rivers and mountains, how would one know the magnificence of one’s lands?

The crane beasts beat their wings toward Yao’s capital.

Having flown for so long without seeing punishment descend from heaven, Feng Miaojun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Her journey to Yao by crane wasn’t just an impulse. This was something she couldn’t delegate to anyone else.

She was also concerned about Princess Hanyue’s safety and wanted to lend a helping hand if necessary. But she couldn’t issue this order herself, nor could she send people officially, otherwise it would violate the agreement between Wei and Xia.

As the Queen of New Xia, every command she issued represented the nation of New Xia. But actions she took privately as an individual rather than in the name of the state allowed her to find a loophole.

No matter how watertight, there are always gaps; even the most meticulous rules have flaws. Nevertheless, Feng Miaojun remained tense throughout the journey, ready to turn back at any moment.

Fortunately, as they were about to fly into Yao’s territory, the sky remained clear for thousands of miles without a single cloud. Heaven didn’t consider her travel as “New Xia supporting Wei’s adversary.”

A ruler’s actions don’t always represent national behavior.

This time, the Heavenly Way acquiesced.

The first hurdle had been crossed. When they crossed into Yao’s national borders, Feng Miaojun breathed a sigh of relief. By now, Mo Tizhun should have received news that his lair had been raided and would likely take action, right?

The two crane beasts also sensed her urgent mood. Combined with the favorable high-altitude air currents that day, they arrived at their destination two hours earlier than usual.

It was now early morning of the next day, not yet time for the rooster’s crow.

Inzi City, still shrouded in darkness, no longer had its usual tranquility. Looking down from high above, it was brightly lit, clearly showing that most soldiers and civilians were awake—with such a major event occurring in the capital, with their ruler captured, who could sleep soundly?

She dared not descend directly from high above, lest she be treated as a spy. Instead, she flew to the outskirts more than ten miles away to land, releasing the crane beasts to move about freely before she and Chen Dachang headed toward Inzi City.

At this time, Inzi City was under martial law. All city gates were closed, prohibiting entry or exit, making the Shapeshifting Bug useless.

Fortunately, she had the White Board skilled in illusion formations, allowing her and Chen Dachang to sneak to the city gate. The guards would see everything as normal, without any suspicious elements.

At this point, the illusion formation was no longer useful. First, the city gates were tightly shut, and neither she nor Chen Dachang were paper-thin enough to squeeze through. Second, bright mirrors hung high on the gates, capable of piercing through disguises, so she couldn’t risk approaching.

This was when Fu Lingchuan’s Mustard Seed Formation came in handy.

Using the formation’s effect, she shrank herself and Chen Dachang to the size of beans. Such tiny figures would hardly be noticed by humans, especially with the sky still dark—it was essentially like being invisible.

Moreover, the originally tightly sealed city gates now appeared to have large gaps from their perspective, wide enough for them to pass through side by side.

The city gate obstacle was overcome smoothly.

Next was to clarify the situation in Inzi City. New Xia had permanent staff stationed in Inzi City; otherwise, they couldn’t have sent news to Wuser City before the gates closed. However, Feng Miaojun now only dispatched Chen Dachang to find them and also established future signals and routes for support, among other details.