After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Watching stacks of books being carried into the room, Xiao Ru was so busy that her feet barely touched the ground, afraid that the servants carrying them would put them in the wrong place.

Xiang An leaned against the chaise longue, one hand behind her head, the other unconsciously twirling her hair, her gaze unfocused, staring blankly at a spot on the floor.

"Princess," Xiao Ru suddenly came over, kneeling at the foot of the couch and calling softly, "whose books are these?"

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with the book?" Xiang An blinked lightly.

Xiao Ru leaned close to her ear and whispered, "There are a few forbidden books."

"Which books?" Xiang An's eyes narrowed. There were indeed many books in the secret room that recorded content from other dynasties, but she didn't know if they were forbidden books. She propped herself up with one hand, trying to get off the bed, but Xiao Ru pressed her down with one hand.

"Princess, please don't worry. Diao Xi secretly took it out before it was loaded onto the carriage and just now quietly gave it to me." Xiao Ru reached out and took a thin blanket from the gold-threaded screen beside her, gently covering Xiang An's legs. "Would the princess like to see it?"

"Bring it later." Xiang An felt relieved and lay down leisurely. "Did you find anything in the prison?"

"No, I searched every straw, but I couldn't find even a single piece of paper, let alone believe it." Xiao Ru wrinkled her nose in distress. "Is the princess mistaken?"

It's impossible for me to have misremembered.

In the previous game, Xiang An and Fu Qingbai spent so much time together in prison that she was so bored that she even remembered how many cracks were in the wall.

The system is truly ruthless; it says it doesn't exist and then it doesn't, even lying to her that it doesn't know.

In this task, what's more difficult than killing the emperor is dealing with the system. It's great to get multiple lives when you start over, but each start means starting all over again, and all the strategies from the previous game will be discarded.

Compared to giving up halfway or failing to plan successfully, this wasted effort made her feel more desperate and angry.

In despair and anger, Xiang An slapped the edge of the bed hard, making his fingertips go numb.

Xiao Ru tenderly took Xiang An's hand, "If the princess wants to hit me, then hit me. Don't hurt yourself. Although the couch is made of sandalwood and covered with the softest and smoothest silk, it would be heartbreaking to damage it, but it's not as precious as the princess."

Xiang An narrowed his eyes: "If we sell this chaise longue, how much silver could we get?"

“Uh… thirty, thirty thousand taels,” Xiao Ru said. “Princess, we don’t lack silver, we don’t need to sell.”

"How much silver does the princess's residence have left?"

"Five hundred thousand taels of silver and thirty thousand taels of gold."

"Five hundred thousand...that's enough to fight a war." Xiang An clapped his hands. "Here's what we'll do: exchange three hundred thousand taels of silver for banknotes. I need some money for something."

"No, no. Princess, the money we've saved over the years is from bits and pieces accumulated since the Princess's residence was built. It includes your monthly allowance, His Majesty's occasional rewards, and grain sold from the estate..."

"Stop, I only want to know one thing."

"W-what?"

"Will anyone in the princess's residence starve to death if it loses 300,000 taels of silver?"

"No. But we'll become very poor." Xiao Ru said with a worried look. "Princess, summer is approaching, and the flowers and plants in the yard are delicate. We'll need a lot of people to take care of them and keep them nourished with medicine..."

“Speaking of which, this reminds me of something.” Xiang An jumped up and pointed outside the courtyard. “I don’t like the flowers and plants in the courtyard anymore. Have someone dig them out and put them in Piaoxianglou tomorrow to sell at a high price along with Li Qinhu’s vases. Also, scrape off the marks on those bottles and jars in our storeroom and sell them together.”

"Princess, why?!" Xiao Ru's face was scrunched up like a bitter gourd; she simply couldn't understand.

Xiang An pinched her cheek. "Don't worry, the sky hasn't fallen. Do as I say. When you sell, remember to sell it in several batches. It's okay if it's slow, but don't make too much of a fuss. I need money, lots and lots of money."

If she cannot seize the throne in the capital, she will have to rely on external forces. She needs to recruit soldiers and expand and strengthen her 50,000 secret guards; she cannot let her efforts be in vain.

Xiao Ru pouted and obediently went to do her errand. Xiang An lay on the couch for a while and thought about it. He didn't find anything wrong. His tense thoughts relaxed, and he yawned slightly. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

The scent of sandalwood filled the room with the gentle breeze, the window screens fluttered softly in the air, and a cool breeze spread along the patterns on the ice chest, gradually easing the heat of the summer afternoon. Sunlight filtered through the bamboo blinds, casting dappled golden rays, and the cicadas chirped louder in the trees.

"Princess! She's back! She's coming back!"

Xiang An opened her eyes and looked towards the corridor in the direction of the sound. Xiao Ru was running happily towards her, holding her skirt in one hand and a letter in the other.

Another summer has arrived. One summer last year, Diao Xi followed Fu Qingbai to the border. Now, a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

"Slow down—don't rush—" The short sentence was drawn out slowly. Xiang An lay on the couch without moving. He had just spent the morning practicing martial arts with Ding Yinan, and his whole body was still sore. He really didn't want to move.

"Princess, the letter!" Xiao Ru presented the letter to Xiang An like a precious treasure, her eyes shining like obsidian.

Xiang An didn't answer: "Diao Xi wrote this for you, why is he giving it to me?"

Xiao Ru shook her head: "It's from General Fu. Princess, this is the 123rd one."

Xiang An: "..."

Ever since Fu Qingbai went to the border, whenever a letter was sent from the border to the capital, no matter how many letters there were, or how urgent or numerous the war was, there would always be one for her.

What he wrote wasn't anything important, just trivial matters at the border. Sometimes there weren't even any trivial matters, just the two words "all is well," and they were all written hastily, so you could tell at a glance that they were written in a hurry.

Was Xiang An moved? A little, though; he wasn't heartless. But in his heart, he was mostly thinking, "Fu Qingbai, you're wasting resources, don't you understand?! Going to the border is fighting a war, not playing a game!"

Although Fu Qingbai paid for the messenger himself, and no one else noticed that the messenger was secretly delivering messages, Xiang An only wanted to say, "She doesn't need it."

In fact, a long time ago, Xiang An had sent five letters of refusal, advising Fu Qingbai to focus on the war effort. However, Fu Qingbai sent them anyway, and even advised her not to worry, saying that he knew what he was doing.

I don't know how he dared to write the word "discretion." If he truly had discretion, he wouldn't have sent such unimportant letters from so far away.

Tearing off the sealing wax, the letter contained only three neatly written words: Will you come?

Will it come? Where will it come from? Where will it go? Xiang An couldn't understand.

Oh well, it doesn't matter. She won't go even if she knows.

He folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and then casually tossed it into a locked box filled with letters from Fu Qingbai.

"Princess, what did General Fu say?" Xiao Ru asked, her curiosity evident.

Xiang An rolled over, lay face down on the pillow, half-closed her eyes, and said lazily, "I don't understand."

"Oh." Xiao Ru lightly touched her chin with her finger, seemingly understanding but not quite, with a knowing smile on her lips.

Xiang An glanced at her and knew that Xiao Ru must have been thinking way too far ahead. He immediately felt exhausted. She really couldn't understand! Why didn't she believe him?

She propped herself up on the couch, intending to take out the letter and show it to Xiao Ru to verify its authenticity, when Xiao Ru suddenly grabbed her hand: "Princess, shall we go to the city gate to pick them up in three days?"