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

“The emperor is not me, but the eldest prince—Xiang Xin.” Fu Qingbai looked at him. “He is the best candidate that I personally chose.”

"I think you've really gone mad. The throne is in your hands, and you don't even know how to cherish it." Ogihara Ao sneered. "If you want to go mad, go mad by yourself. Don't drag me down with you. I just want you to agree to the conditions I'm going to do."

"It can't be done."

"Are you really going to break the contract?" Ogiwara Ao's eyes narrowed slightly, her warning heavy.

Fu Qingbai remained unfazed: "You are the one who broke the contract."

Breach of contract? Agreement?

What agreement did they make? When did they make it?

Has Fu Qingbai truly colluded with the enemy? But why? In recent years, border wars have been constant, and whenever a war breaks out, it is Fu Qingbai who leads the troops. The Yuan Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom have fought each other before, and because the two countries are neighbors, they have fought even more times.

Yan Kingdom has suffered so many blows from Yuan Kingdom. It's already good that the two of them didn't fight when they met. How could they possibly sit down and make an agreement in a peaceful manner?

Strange, so strange.

One question after another lingered in his mind, and Xiang An felt a headache coming on: "Intrigues and schemes are not something I can handle."

Xiang An chose to stop torturing herself, gave up thinking, and silently listened to what other earth-shattering secrets the two of them might reveal.

Ogiwara Ao, who was behind the desk, suddenly stood up: "I have said it many times. I just happened to come back from the toilet and saw Princess Miankang killing the emperor. I was so shocked that I accidentally shot her."

"..." Fu Qingbai stared at him, her eyes conveying a direct message as if to say, "No need for excuses, I know everything."

Ogihara Ao leaned on the desk, giving up on further explanation, and said with a half-smile, "Judging from your expression, you, Fu Qingbai, don't tell me you want to successfully assassinate Princess Miankang and then make a clean getaway, do you?"

Fu Qingbai: "So what if it is?"

“That’s really strange. How could General Anwu, who commands the border and wins every time, possibly be swayed by a woman… Wait! You wouldn’t be…” Ogihara Ao looked at him in disbelief, seemingly having never expected this before, as if she had just thought of something.

Fu Qingbai nodded in response to his incredulous gaze.

The two were exchanging cryptic messages. Xiang An was so anxious that he scratched his head and wished he could pry their mouths open and ask them the reason.

“You’re insane…you’re a complete madman!” Ogiwara Ao said. “A person like you, with such thoughts, is intolerable to heaven and earth.”

"...Remember to pay homage to the new emperor on time tomorrow." Fu Qingbai did not deny his question about the madman, and turned to leave without hesitation with the guards at the door. "If you don't leave within an hour, then don't leave ever again."

Undeterred, Ogihara Ao chased after him to the door: "Fu Qingbai! Even if you use your military power to support one of the princes to ascend the throne and stabilize the court by force, so what? Have you thought about the future? When your merits overshadow the emperor, the cunning rabbit dies, and the good dog is cooked. That will be your fate! You should think carefully about whether it's worth it!"

Fu Qingbai paused, but did not turn around. He slightly tilted his head, raised his chin, and gazed into the distance at the dawning sky, his eyes firm and resolute: "To die for the country is something I would gladly do."

Xiang An was shocked.

She had always known that in history, or rather, in some corner of the world, there were always people willing to do things that were wrong but right. It was only when this person appeared in front of her that she realized—that people are not just legends existing in people's mouths.

As dawn broke, the red walls and golden tiles gleamed in the sunlight, and the imperial guards stood in neat rows on both sides of the imperial road, with bright yellow banners stretching endlessly.

The sound of bells, resounding throughout the heavens and earth, came from the highest point of the palace, heralding that this city and this dynasty were about to welcome a new master.

The streets were bustling with activity, colorful flags fluttering in the breeze, as the new emperor ascended the throne and the whole city celebrated.

"The new emperor's ascension to the throne announced a tax reduction this year, so my family can build a house this year instead of waiting until next year."

"I hope the new emperor will be as diligent and loving as the late emperor, otherwise our lives will be miserable."

"What are you afraid of? We still have General Anwu. If things really get unbearable, we'll go find him."

"What good is a general like him? Daily life isn't like fighting a war."

"I'll tell you a secret." A washerwoman looked around to make sure no one else was around before whispering, "My nephew from my own family told me that the eldest prince was originally not destined for the throne, but General Anwu pushed him up against all odds."

"real or fake?"

"How could it be fake? Just wait, the news will spread throughout the entire capital in a few days."

"General Anwu is incredibly powerful. He commands a large army, and whoever he wants to be emperor can become emperor. He..."

"Shh, are you out of your mind saying such things?" Several women simultaneously covered her mouth.

"What are you afraid of? I'm telling you this already."

The words of the women washing clothes by the river made Xiang An feel uneasy. Their grief yesterday seemed like a dream, and her shouting in the street yesterday was truly laughable and pitiful.

"Even under the emperor's nose, ordinary people still have to watch what they say. How sad and lamentable."

A disheveled Taoist priest, dressed in a tattered blue robe, with messy hair and a face covered in dust, looking no different from a beggar, huddled crouching at Xiang An's feet with his hands in his sleeves, shaking his head and saying, "Girl, are they blind? I'm such a big guy here, and they're talking so loudly, as if they're afraid I won't hear them. Tell me, if I go to the government and file a complaint, I guarantee I'll get three or five taels of silver as a reward."

He glanced at Xiang An without saying a word.

The sloppy-looking Taoist priest shrank his neck and said with displeasure, "You're being impolite, young lady. Why don't you speak when I'm talking to you?"

Xiang An pointed to himself, bewildered: "Me?"

The scruffy-looking Taoist snorted, "If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?"

Xiang An looked around but didn't find anyone else in the small corner. Her scrutinizing gaze fell on the disheveled Taoist priest. Seeing that he was indeed there, she was surprised: "You can see me?"

"I can see you, but that's not right?" the Taoist sneered. "Even though you're dead, I can't see you?"

Xiang An was confused, Xiang An didn't understand, Xiang An frantically shouted in his heart to the system: "Why can he see me? Are you broken?"

The system said nothing.

But Xiang An felt that He was guilty.

After circling the disheveled Taoist priest a few times to make sure he wasn't lying, Xiang An plopped down next to him and raised an eyebrow: "You're going to perform a ritual to help me pass on to the afterlife?"

"Performing rituals is a monk's job, what does it have to do with Taoists?" The sloppy Taoist's tone was full of disdain. "However, there is one thing that I don't understand."

"what?"

"Today is the new emperor's ascension to the throne. Logically, the dragon's energy should be at its strongest, and it is currently noon, the time when yang energy is at its peak." The scruffy Taoist priest looked at Xiang An, who was sitting comfortably in the bright sunlight, and his expression of doubt deepened. "On such a special day, why is it that it has no effect on you at all?"