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

The moonlight hung high, enveloping the small courtyard quietly and gently like water. In the dim light, everyone seemed like gods descending to earth.

Xiang An couldn't stay any longer and stumbled out as if fleeing. He saw more than a dozen corpses lying haphazardly on the empty street. Every household on both sides of the street had their doors and windows tightly shut. Occasionally, a dog barked, but it was quickly silenced.

"Stop hitting him, stop hitting him..."

The night was so quiet, yet the sounds of fighting were so loud that the people of the city had long been awakened and kept their mouths shut, hoping to save their lives.

Xiang An, tears streaming down her face, was overwhelmed with sorrow: "System, I was wrong. Please forgive them, restart the game. I beg you, please."

Quiet, very quiet, eerily quiet, so quiet it makes your heart race.

Unable to control herself, Xiang An wanted to hide and ran wildly. Finally, at the end of the road, she saw a brightly lit courtyard. She crashed into the wall and hid inside. The room was quiet and filled with the fragrance of books. Under the lamplight, a man in white sat behind a desk. His lips were pale, his black hair was tied up high, his profile was tense, and he was writing something with his head down.

—Ogiwara Ao.

She ended her man's life with a single arrow in the Imperial Garden.

Instantly, the thought popped into Xiang An's mind: Why is he here?

He killed her with an arrow. Logically speaking, he should be imprisoned, or at least he shouldn't be outside the palace.

He leaned closer to see what he was writing. Xiang An squinted and looked at it carefully, over and over again: "Hmm, the handwriting is beautiful and fluent, the font is bold, the only drawback is that I don't recognize a single character." It was all coded language, and he couldn't understand it at all.

He got up, strolled around the house inside and out, and then saw four armed guards in the front yard. He also spotted four hidden guards in concealed places such as the eaves and beams. Xiang An immediately understood: "It seems they haven't just abandoned us, but have placed us under house arrest outside the palace. Is the palace really that dangerous now?"

If it weren't for the insecurity, Ogihara Ao would have been treated with some respect and courtesy by the Yan Kingdom for the sake of peace between the two countries, instead of being treated like this.

In the distance, another burst of fighting could be heard. This time, it lasted for a long time, grew louder, and the screams were incessant.

Xiang An huddled in the corner, covering his ears like a turtle, unwilling to listen. Ogihara Ao, who was writing behind the desk, had already stopped writing and walked to the window, gazing at the direction of the palace for a long, long time.

Just after the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the Shenwu Gate burst open with a roar, followed by the sounds of horses' hooves and shouts. The towering flames illuminated a street, and people fell one after another, with those behind stepping over the corpses in front to rush forward. The bodies were piled up, blood flowed like a river, and the stench of blood filled the entire city.

An hour later, the sounds of fighting subsided, replaced by the rustling of sweeping, and the stench of blood gradually faded. Xiang An lowered his hands from his ears, his face deathly pale, his expression blank. Ogihara Ao sat back down at his desk, his hands behind his back, his expression unchanged, but his tightly clenched fists betrayed his inner unease.

The room fell silent as the two men were lost in thought.

The lock on the front gate jingled as it opened, and the guards standing at the door bowed and said in unison, "Greetings, General Anwu."

The deafening welcome snapped Xiang An out of his reverie. He turned to look at the door, only to find it already open. Fu Qingbai, dressed in fish-scale armor, walked in with one hand hanging naturally at his sides and the other resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

A strong stench of blood filled the air, and the dim light illuminated him. His black armor was almost entirely stained with blood, and the grooves of his silver-white sword scabbard were filled with dried bloodstains. As Xiang An approached, he noticed that the cloak he was wearing was tattered and torn, with red streaks on it that were not patterns, but blood.

Looking up at him, his handsome face was like a stone sculpture, expressionless, cold and ruthless, his eyes cold and devoid of emotion.

Xiang An realized: He had killed people tonight, so many, many, many people...

The next instant, Fu Qingbai swept past her, but whether it was Xiang An's imagination or not, his gaze seemed to sweep across the chair she was sitting on for a moment, very briefly and quickly, before she could catch it and he was already gone.

Fu Qingbai stood on the desk and said coldly, "I won."

Ogiwara Ao, sitting back in her chair behind the desk, smiled faintly and said, "Yes, you won."

Fu Qingbai looked at him with little change in expression, while Di Yuanqing looked back at him defiantly. The two remained locked in a stalemate for a while, until finally Di Yuanqing gave in and took out a token from his pocket, tossing it to him: "Hongyan Tower is yours."

Fu Qingbai held the token in his hand and looked at it for a moment. Then, he threw it back. Whether it was intentional or not, the corner of the token hit Ogihara Ao on the forehead and then fell into his arms due to gravity.

Ogiwara Ao, who had been hit, wasn't annoyed. He smiled and then took back his token: "What? You're afraid to take it back?"

"you lose."

"Yes, I lost." Ogiwara Ao admitted frankly.

"The new emperor will ascend the throne tomorrow."

Ogihara Ao nodded.

Fu Qingbai's eyes darkened: "Make them leave the Yuan Kingdom within one hour."

Ogiwara Ao's smile faded: "What did you say?"

Fu Qingbai: "Leave the Yuan Kingdom within one hour."

Ogiwara Ao slammed his palm heavily on the table, the force of which made the books on the table jump slightly, and the brush that was placed on the table tumbled off the table, the ink-dipped end hitting the ground hard, black ink drops scattering everywhere.

"Are you crazy!?"

I don't want to say the same thing three times.

"Now that you've succeeded, you want to kick me to the curb?" Ogihara Ao's face turned ashen as he sneered. "Don't forget, our deal was signed and sealed. If the Yuan people see it, do you think you can protect the Fu family's glorious reputation for generations?"

Fu Qingbai's expression remained unchanged: "Then take it out and show it to them. At worst, we'll fight to the death."

Ogiwara Ao: "...If you succeed, you'll die. Aren't you afraid that the original country will be destroyed because it has no emperor?"

The emperor?! Destroyed?!

Xiang An was startled, her gaze sweeping over the two people in front of her. She didn't know Di Yuanqing, but Fu Qingbai was different. Although she knew very little about him, the Fu family's reputation in the Yuan Kingdom was extremely high. Not only were they known for their loyalty and righteousness among the people, but emperors of all dynasties trusted the Fu family. One emperor even praised them, saying, "The Fu family is loyal. I feel very at ease entrusting the Yuan Kingdom to them."

How could Xiang An not feel uneasy when such a trusted minister was now discussing the destruction of his country with a prince from another country?

After calming down for a while, Xiang An raised an eyebrow and stared at the serious and indifferent Fu Qingbai, clicking her tongue in amazement: "I thought you were cold-hearted by nature, but I didn't expect you to be a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Fu Qingbai: "The Yuan Kingdom will be safe for thousands of years, and there is no need for the Prince of Yan Kingdom to worry."

Ogiwara Ao asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"