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

Xiang An's lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she could only manage to utter, "You continue."

These three short words were not meant to be disrespectful; it was simply that she didn't know whether the price was expensive or cheap in this era, and therefore couldn't make an assessment.

Fu Qingbai: "Does the princess know what the most precious thing in the world is?"

Xiang An: "Gold and silver jewelry? High-ranking official positions and generous salaries? Fame and fortune? Beautiful women?"

Fu Qingbai: "No."

Xiang An: ? ? ?

"It is human life. Only by living can one be surrounded by beautiful women, enjoy gold and silver treasures, enjoy high official positions and generous salaries, and achieve lasting fame in history."

Having said that, Xiang An knew exactly what he meant, but did she really want to die? Wasn't she afraid of death?

He was afraid of dying, afraid of pain, and afraid of being so scared that he wet his pants, which is why he asked if he could just end her life with one stab when she was suffering terribly.

As a result, he gently advised her to live well. Faced with his kindness, how could she still have the face to ask him to kill her?

Xiang An said earnestly, "I value my life more than you do. But I'm sorry, I can't leave. The reason... I can't tell you."

"...I apologize for disturbing you so late at night. I take my leave." Fu Qingbai immediately opened the door without any hesitation. "Finally, I would like to advise the princess: a marriage alliance involves the fate of the nation and cannot be mixed with any personal feelings."

Xiang An was startled. When she came to her senses, the other person had already disappeared. Looking at the empty room, she remembered his carefree manner in opening the door.

He hurriedly turned around and opened the window. A gust of wind and rain lashed his face. The wind and rain lashed violently, and before he knew it, the window shutters were flung open with a loud bang, immediately attracting the attention of the Imperial Guards below the covered bridge.

Someone looked up and shouted, "Does the princess have any orders?"

Facing the rain slanting in, Xiang An quickly scanned the yard. Finding nothing amiss, he slowly relaxed, casually uttered "Nothing's wrong," and closed the window.

Lying back in bed, Xiang An felt calm but couldn't fall asleep.

She understood the meaning of Fu Qingbai's last words: the emperor had already made up his mind to send her to marry a foreign ruler, so there was no point in talking about kinship.

She stared at the ceiling for a long time, then finally muttered under her breath, "True softie." It was a meaningless, purely insulting remark.

The next day, a large number of eunuchs and maids were expelled from the princess's residence. The reason was that the princess was about to be married off to a distant place, and in gratitude for the care they had given her over the years, she generously rewarded them with a large sum of money for leaving the residence.

Everyone was overjoyed, except for Xiao Ru, who knelt before the door, crying and begging that she didn't want the money, only wishing to stay by the princess's side. After a long commotion, the princess had no choice but to personally intervene and bestow another sum of money upon her before she finally left, sobbing.

The heavy rain continued for several days without stopping, and the damp air enveloped people as if covered by a thin film, making it hard to breathe.

Under the eaves of the blue bricks and tiles, the sound of sandpaper rubbing was constant. Xiang An sat in a chair, busy with her work. She held a piece of wood with clear grain in her hands and was sanding it with a focused expression. Around her were various semi-finished parts that had already been made, exquisite and small, just waiting for the final step of assembly.

A young palace maid crept closer along the corridor and whispered, "Princess, Miss Ren from the Prime Minister's residence requests an audience."

"Ren Xueqing?" Xiang An's hand stopped moving, the rubbing sound ceased. "What's she doing here?"

"They said it was an apology." A shrewd glint inadvertently flashed in the little palace maid's almond-shaped eyes.

"Apologize?" Xiang An put down what she was holding, stood up, brushed the wood chips off her dress, and gently rubbed her aching neck.

"Would you like to see the princess?"

"not see."

After the event was over, Xiang An sat down again to continue what he had been doing.

"This……"

"If you cannot understand what I am saying, you should return to the palace to serve your father as soon as possible."

"This servant understands."

The young palace maid slipped away like a whirlwind, her figure disappearing through the moon gate. There was no one else in the courtyard. Xiang An picked up the half-finished product beside him, and with a few deft movements of his fingers, a crossbow bolt, unlike anything ever seen in the Yuan Kingdom, appeared before his eyes.

Stroking the still-imperfect details, he murmured to An, "It'll be finished soon..."

The rain gradually subsided, and the dowry was carried into the princess's residence in a misty rain that day.

Seeing antiques that would fetch hundreds of millions in future auctions flash before her eyes, it would be a lie to say Xiang An wasn't tempted even if she said it a thousand times. After repeatedly sneaking into the storeroom in the dead of night to steal her dowry, she was caught by patrolling eunuchs and brought before the emperor.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Xiang An stood at the bottom of the steps, holding the jade bottle she had taken from her dowry, looking up at the emperor silently. She was not surprised at all by what had happened that night, but she noticed that after not seeing the emperor for many days, his gentle and smiling face was covered with dark circles under his eyes.

The emperor has kidney deficiency and needs to take medicine. This was Xiang An's final conclusion.

Perhaps sensing her lingering gaze, a faint sadness appeared on the emperor's face as he said, "Is Miankang blaming me for bestowing this marriage upon you?"

"Yes." No one could accept being assigned a complete stranger as a husband at such a young age. Xiang An did not hide his emotions at all. "Your subject has never met the legendary Third Prince of Yan Kingdom, and there is no such thing as love at first sight."

"Are you blaming me?"

"Yes!"

Ignoring the emperor's sorrow, Xiang An answered crisply and decisively, his eyes unwavering: "Your subject wants to know the reason. He wants to know why Father Emperor replaced Ren Xueqing, chosen by the Prince of Yan, with your subject."

If Yan Kingdom had chosen her from the beginning, she would have accepted it; but if Yan Kingdom had chosen Ren Xueqing, she would never accept this marriage.

Not arranging a marriage alliance was both the original owner's wish and her own.

She knew very well that marriage alliances were often linked to national affairs. Once a candidate was chosen, even if Ren Xueqing's father was the prime minister, it was impossible to easily replace the candidate. The only person who could replace the candidate for marriage alliance was the emperor.

But why? She couldn't understand.

In order to find out the truth, she refused Fu Qingbai's help and chose to stay, just to find out the reason so that she could sever the kinship and debt of gratitude that the emperor had once given to the original owner of this body, which she had always been concerned about.

Once everything is made clear and understood, and the cost is paid in full, she will never hesitate again, no matter how many times the game starts afterward.

"How did you know?" the emperor asked in astonishment, then turned and roared, "Changfu, what have you done?!"

Changfu, who was waiting at the door, knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This servant is guilty. This servant did indeed follow Your Majesty's orders to block the news that day. Perhaps there were too many noble ladies and young misses present that day, and many people came and went. Perhaps... perhaps someone saw it once or twice..."

"Investigate! If you can't find anything, bring your head to me!"

"Yes, yes, this servant will go and investigate immediately."

After saying that, the emperor leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples with his fingertips, and said wearily, "If you want to know, your father will naturally not hide it from you. Show Fu Shou to her."

Another eunuch emerged from the corner of the room, his back hunched, and bowed as he approached Xiang An, holding a memorial in both hands.

Looking down at Xiang An, he saw a thin layer of gold powder sprinkled on the bright yellow cover, making the small booklet gleam under the lamplight.