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

A sharp pain coursed through his body, causing Xiang An's hand, which had been holding a knife, to pause. He glanced down at the arrowhead in his chest, then looked up to see a man who looked like an immortal standing not far away, beside clusters of beautiful, vibrant roses.

He held a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other, dressed in white with black hair, his clothes flowing gracefully. His thin eyelids drooped slightly, his eyes were cold, and his bloodless lips were pursed into a thin line. His serious face was full of sickly appearance, and his thin body seemed as if it could be blown over with a breath.

It's astonishing that such a seemingly frail body possesses such incredible strength. He could draw a two-stone bow to its fullest extent and release it with absolutely no difficulty.

This person was unfamiliar to Xiang An, and the original owner also had no memory of this person.

"The Third Prince of Yan Kingdom, Ogiwara Ao." A clear, crisp voice suddenly rang out.

—Fu Qingbai.

He gripped the sword hilt but did not draw it from its sheath. The hem of his dark blue robe was completely stained with blood, and drops of blood even splashed onto his chest and jade-like face.

The only reason she could be in such a disheveled state in the Imperial Garden at this moment is that she was very close to the emperor when she attempted to assassinate him.

Xiang An was very surprised. She did not expect that from the time she attempted to assassinate the emperor until she was shot with an arrow, Fu Qingbai had stood aside like air the whole time, coldly watching everything happen.

She opened her mouth to ask why, but she could no longer do so.

The system's warning countdown has ended; Xiang An is dead, but not completely.

To be more precise, she transformed into an invisible and intangible spirit floating in mid-air.

She could see herself as a corpse in the Imperial Garden, and she could see every blade of grass and every tree in the Imperial Garden after her death.

This restart is different from the previous one.

Xiang An frowned: "System, I've become like this now, how can I complete tasks?"

[Weren't you having a good time venting your anger by killing the emperor? Now you've remembered the mission? Host, your two failed attempts to kill the emperor directly prove your methods were wrong; you shouldn't have tried a third time. Otherwise, given the speed at which you're dying, you'd be praising this system's abilities if you hadn't shattered spacetime to pieces!]

"What do you mean?"

[This means you killed the emperor too quickly.]

Xiang An: "Then what should we do?"

The emperor had committed an unforgivable mistake against her, and she found it hard not to kill him.

[There's nothing we can do. Besides, you've broken the law. The system wanted to tell you this at the start of the third instance, but you acted too quickly. Before the system could finish speaking, you committed the third offense.]

"Ha! I broke the law? You didn't say anything when I killed the emperor, but now that I've done it, you're criticizing me. Why didn't you wait until I was courting death and my soul was scattered before you spoke up?"

Everyone says it's your fault for acting too quickly! That has nothing to do with this system.

Xiang An sneered and pointed out his fingers to give examples one by one, "First, the rule that I restart after I die is something you set. There is a cause and an effect. Because I die too quickly and restart frequently, the spacetime was almost shattered. This has nothing to do with me."

"Secondly, you wouldn't allow me to continue being lazy, forcing me to do tasks while I was filled with resentment. I'll show you with my actions: if you push me too far... even if our status and power are unequal, I'll still kill you without hesitation."

[Is it that this system doesn't want to remind you? Doesn't want to say anything? Clearly, you acted too quickly! You didn't listen to anything I said! And another thing! What the emperor did to you is nothing. This system has already said that human life is cheap. What's done is done, it's in the past, have a good cry, and look forward!]

Xiang An didn't respond to its interruption, his whole demeanor was eerily calm. "Thirdly, the matter of the emperor sending someone to humiliate me is of great importance. It cannot be forgotten simply by me crying to vent my emotions, or by saying 'it's over' or 'it's nothing'."

“Wrong is wrong, and right is right. If you want to easily cover up mistakes, you have to pay the price. I admit that the emperor’s power is great and the law cannot punish him, but someone has to do this, and I am willing to do it.”

The emperor was indeed guilty of heinous crimes, deserving of a thousand cuts. However, by killing him, you also incur the burden of a life, a heinous crime in itself. Even if your action was righteous, it was still wrong.

Upon hearing this, Xiang An couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing maniacally and madly: "This world is truly ridiculous. I did what is right, but I am the one who is wrong."

The system deemed her beyond redemption and decided to issue the following direct notice: [Notice: Due to the host's behavior severely disrupting the order of spacetime and violating social ethics and laws, the following punishments are hereby imposed: 1. Suspended from missions, becoming a soul. 2. The soul body must endure ten lightning strikes daily.]

[The system would like to kindly remind you: Exercising justice is your right, and using justice properly is your obligation; otherwise, justice will no longer be justice.]

As soon as the notification ended, the system disappeared and went offline, leaving Xiang An standing there laughing wildly, behaving like a madman, unseen and unheard by anyone.

Ten days passed in a flash. Xiang An wandered around like a lost soul. Taking advantage of the fact that she didn't have to walk, she saw the entire capital city in a day. As for how beautiful the scenery was or how lively the atmosphere was, she didn't see any of it. She just drifted aimlessly every day.

She didn't understand why, even though she had personally killed her enemy, she felt no joy at avenging her great grudge, but rather a deep, unspeakable sadness that weighed on her heart. She knew that none of the system's words were things she wanted to hear, but for some reason, she just couldn't forget them.

She couldn't find the reason, couldn't understand why she was so sad. The more she tried to suppress her sadness, the more it snowballed and intensified.

On the 19th day of the seventh month of the 27th year of the reign, the emperor was buried. White cloth was hung in every street and alley in the capital. All the people knelt on both sides of the main road in the city, wearing white clothes and hemp cloth, with their heads bowed and sobbing softly.

"Why are you crying because the dog emperor is dead? For the sake of so-called interests, the dog emperor would give away his own daughter without a second thought! He would arrange a marriage alliance without a second thought! A monarch without any backbone is not worthy of your faith! Why are you crying?"

"That dog emperor was a beast! He sent men to rape and murder his own daughter, disregarding all human ethics! Why are you all crying for him now that he's dead?! What is there to make you cry? There are countless talented people in the world. Now that that dog emperor is dead, wouldn't it be better to have someone who is good to you become emperor?!"

From sunrise to sunset, from one end of the street to the other, from shouting until they were hoarse to being speechless, no one heard Xiang An's heart-wrenching questions.

As the last rays of the sun disappeared, the weeping people, heads bowed, dragged their numb legs to their feet and staggered home. The crowds on the street gradually dispersed, until only Xiang An remained, or rather, her soul, standing wandering the street.

The night breeze blew by, but I couldn't feel any coolness. I looked around the street, but couldn't find my way. So, I continued to wander aimlessly.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the gate of the princess's residence. Looking at the princess's residence surrounded by high walls, Xiang An had a sudden thought and went straight through the gate.