Yet after Wei Xiren got a clear look at that ball of darkness, she grew more tense; before it had settled stably on her arm, she had raised her other hand to take the roll of paper tied to its leg. This was the Cangwei army's special message courier. The xuanya looked similar in shape and appearance to crows, yet after going through training, they could take on a human-like personality, and their flight speed would increase as well; moreover, as their bodies were those of crows, when hidden in the dark of night, it would be hard for someone to notice them, and even if they did notice, most people would only assume they were crows. The implication of crows didn't need to be explained; no one was willing to take a second look, and so the xuanya had become an indispensable courier of messages. She'd received a message carried by a xuanya not even half a shichen before, and so, just then, when hearing the clattering of the window, had subconsciously eliminated the possibility t...

However, the weather in Nanfu was still dreary. Heading further southeast from Nanfu, it was the region administered under Luyuan. The town of Nanfu had been built along the mountains, and the mountain paths all around it were rugged and craggy; only this bit had smooth terrain, and as a result, had over time become the unavoidable road for merchants and travellers. The late summer going into autumn rains of Nanfu were still heavy, and it had just rained early that morning; now, though it was evening, the air was still humid and sticky. As people walked along the road, it was as if the jet-black piles of clouds above their heads were about to press down at the very next moment. Xie Qianbing and Wei Xiren each wore coarse cloth attire, carrying a bag on their backs, and followed the stream of people along the Nanfu road, the dozen or so people following behind them either pulling flatbed carts, or watching after wares. Even if someone with a keener eye were to look, they'd assume th...

The white porcelain cup cover slipped out of Yang Zhuofei's hand, rolling a few circles on the tabletop, and then finally tumbled to the ground, and in an answering sound, shattered. She'd clearly not guessed that, today, Song Juguang and Jiang Changbai, one after the other, would come to Prince Yu's manor, which, in a month, didn't even see a single visitor; her gaze, looking towards Jiang Changbai, was full of astonishment. But Yang Zhuofei, in the end, was a senior, and grew calm quickly, rising to give obeisance towards Jiang Changbai. "This subject didn't know Bixia would come; excuse me for not coming out to meet you." "No matter, We only came on a last moment whim," Jiang Changbai said, waving her hand to indicate to her to rise, and then immediately looked towards Song Juguang, and asked, "how could it be that A Guang is here as well?" Yang Zhuofei rose, and only then was able to call a maid to clear away the fragments on the gr...

Song Juguang felt that she'd already done everything she could. The Cangwei army she'd painstakingly lead, she'd disbanded in an instant just so Jiang Changbai would be at ease, and of the originally near three hundred thousand troops, now, those stationed in the capital's suburbs, only barely a hundred thousand remained. The court ministers all maintained those archaic thoughts, and felt that, no matter what, the sovereign of a nation couldn't be female, and so she'd arranged for each of them to be beat up, so that these people could no longer have the courage to say something. Even Lu Pingwan's self-imprisonment in the Cining Palace, Song Juguang had tried to go appeal. Though in the end, it hadn't had any effects, she'd tried after all. It was just that, besides disbanding the Cangwei army, the remaining matters, Jiang Changbai didn't know about a single one. Song Juguang hadn't thought to tell her, nor could she tell her. She was only hop...

Xie Qianbing watched Song Juguang leave; she couldn't hear the words Song Juguang had left behind before departing, and, turning her head to see Jiang Changbai gazing in the direction Song Juguang had departed, unmoving, she merely felt that this scene was somewhat strange. Xie Qianbing had always known that Jiang Changbai harboured a guardedness towards Song Juguang, but regardless of that, the two had always been outwardly polite and amiable. This was the first time she'd seen the atmosphere between them become so rigid, and for a moment, she was at a loss for what to do. Jiang Changbai merely took it as having had an auditory hallucination, and, after stilling for a moment, she didn't think on it further; she turned her head and looked towards Xie Qianbing, and said, "Go to Luyuan, and keep a watch on that Wei Xiren for Us." Hearing Jiang Changbai speak, Xie Qianbing hurriedly took a step back from her own confusion of just then, and nodded, replying, "Thi...

Jiang Changbai, hearing this, promptly turned her head to look at Song Juguang, and asked, "Where do these words come from?" Song Juguang still sat on the chair; her words were relaxed, as if she weren't discussing matters of the state, but rather talking about a plot in some book. "This minister's deputy general, Wen Congyun, is from Luyuan. Her family are in business, and every month, her mother sends letters along with caravans. But she never mentioned the matter of Lian Zhigao establishing himself as a King, and so I think this matter must have occurred a short period ago." Jiang Changbai didn't feel so. "Let's not talk about whether or not this matter was mentioned in a letter from home; even if it was, why would she mention the contents of a letter to you?" Yet Song Juguang was incredibly confident. "As long as she were to know, she'd most certainly tell this minister." Hearing this, Jiang Changbai's eyes grew a degr...

"Your highness, please quell your anger," Lin Yingqing called out, hurriedly urging the subordinate he'd brought with him to kneel on seeing Jiang Changbai's demeanour. Jiang Changbai calmed her expression, yet looking towards the person kneeling by Lin Yingqing's side, she felt some familiarity. Only after considering it for a great while did she think of the answer, and asked, "You're named Sheng Yunxing?" Only hearing this did Sheng Yunxing raise her head, replying in a tone neither servile nor supercilious, "Responding to Bixia, this minister is." Jiang Changbai looked over her carefully once more, the events of the past unable but to rise in her mind. Though the face of the Sheng Yunxing of now had the marks of time, she still had bright eyes and white teeth. In her youth, Jiang Changbai had heard Sheng Yunxing's name, and knew that she was both beautiful and a literary talent, the formerly most well-known female talent in the capi...