After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

Xie Tongchen looked at the blueprint, and upon seeing it, his pupils contracted as his gaze fell upon it. "This is..."

"A layout map of the imperial palace?"

Song Ci'an nodded, then took out another booklet, his expression grave. "There are already traitors in the palace. These people on the list are all people they can contact."

Xie Tongchen took the booklet and, upon reading it, discovered that even Prince Jin had spies among his entourage.

Xie Tongchen took the blueprints, his gaze heavy, and said, "The emperor is currently in his prime, so naturally he will not allow the princes to ascend the throne prematurely. Moreover, the emperor has many grievances against the crown prince, which has led to the crown prince's faction stirring up trouble."

"With Consort Lin at the head, the Sixth Prince and his cronies are highly valued by the Emperor. The Sixth Prince also has the support of Prince Jin, so he can fight for the throne."

"Secretly, Luo Hanfeng has long coveted the throne, and he is the one who should be taken seriously the most."

Although they knew that Luo Hanfeng was capable, they had no idea what other trump cards he had besides the help of Wen Yan and the Wen family.

They don't need to worry about the infighting among the princes right now, but the court is falling apart, and they are unaware that enemy countries have extended their reach into the court.

With remnants of the regime eyeing them covetously from the front and enemy states stirring up trouble from behind, the court itself was unable to unite.

The Chu emperor did not understand the current situation. He was single-mindedly planning to reduce or imprison the ministers who threatened his power, and there was no one who could stand against him.

Only Jun Lanjin and the Sixth Prince could hold their own.

but--

Junlan Jinshen was poisoned by a chronic poison, and his body...

Xie Tongchen had just thought of this when he suddenly realized: "You mean, the Tianshan Snow Lotus can cure any poison?"

Song Ci'an crossed his arms and said nonchalantly, "Xing'er is also vying for this Tianshan Snow Lotus."

"They said it was to save Prince Jin's life."

That makes sense.

Xie Tongchen said, "Last night, Chao Le sent troops to launch a night attack, which I happened to encounter. I ordered the entire army to be on high alert, but they didn't come over after waiting all night. They must have realized that the night attack was unsuccessful and left."

Song Ci'an smiled and said, "I originally planned to use a double agent to trick him, but I didn't expect so many unexpected things to happen. We will attack the North City tomorrow."

"North City?"

Song Ci'an took out the blueprints from the city and said, "You gather all your forces and attack the north city directly. Give me an elite army, and I will attack from the south city."

"Reliable?" Xie Tongchen frowned deeply.

Song Ci'an said, "If you're unreliable, why don't you come?"

Xie Tongchen's mind was in a mess at the moment. He turned to look at Song Ci'an, because in Xie Xing's heart, Song Ci'an would eventually become a great general.

At present, Song Ci'an is the one who knows the situation in the city best.

Xie Tongchen himself had no better options. If they attacked directly, they would suffer heavy losses and still not know whether they would win or lose.

"In that case, we'll do it your way."

"Report!"

"Young General!" A soldier came to deliver a message from the camp. He knelt before Xie Tongchen and Song Ci'an and said, "The commander-in-chief has brought back a lot of provisions!"

Xie Tongchen was stunned. He glanced at Song Ci'an.

Song Ci'an shrugged. "They were able to find the grain so quickly, they probably stole it from the city."

"We need to hurry."

Xie Tongchen glanced at Xie Yuze lying on the bed. Fortunately, the military doctor they had summoned was a member of the Xie family; otherwise, if news of Xie Yuze breaking out of the Xie family had reached the palace…

“Luo Hanfeng already knows.” As if knowing what Xie Tongchen was thinking, Song Ci’an spoke up.

"If all the military merits this time go to Luo Hanfeng, then your Xie family will never have a chance to rise again."

Xie Tongchen looked at the booklet and said, "With the register, my Xie family will not fall."

Song Ci'an scoffed: "I found the booklet; I never said I would help the Xie family."

Xie Tongchen choked.

He paused, then said, "You can hear Xie Xing's thoughts, so you should know that she can't possibly remain unscathed. The Xie family and Xie Xing are connected by blood. If the Xie family is strong, no one will dare to provoke Xie Xing."

"But if the Xie family falls from power, she'll be nothing more than a rat on the street."

At this moment, Xie Tongchen was no longer the one who wanted to kill Xie Xing.

Song Ci'an was unaware that Xie Tongchen had almost killed Xie Xing back then.

But he also knew that among the three Xie brothers, Xie Tongchen was the least friendly to Xie Xing.

Song Ci'an looked at Xie Tongchen with a sneer: "You care whether Xing'er lives or dies?"

"If you had even a shred of affection for Xing'er, you wouldn't have brought her to the military camp. Why didn't you bring Xie Mingzhu to the military camp for training?"

Xie Tongchen was speechless.

He truly had no good feelings towards Xie Xing, even now.

But since it involved the Xie family, he couldn't act impulsively.

Xie Tongchen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What do you intend to do?"

“As Xing’er’s biological parents, I naturally cannot stand by and watch your whole family die.”

"I can give you the roster, but there's one thing I want your Xie family to acknowledge."

"Take down the list. From now on, Xing'er will have absolutely no connection with your Xie family!"

"no!"

Before Xie Tongchen could speak, Xie Yuze, who had been lying on the bed unconscious, suddenly sat up. His eyes were bloodshot, and he staggered over, his pale face fixed on Song Ci'an.

"I said no!"

"Xing'er can recognize the Xie family as her adoptive parents, but it's impossible for her to have no connection with the Xie family forever."

“I disagree, my elder brother disagrees, and no one in the Xie family will agree.”

"Third brother!" Xie Tongchen supported Xie Yuze's hand, his expression heavy. "Don't get emotional."

What's wrong with the third brother?

Xie Yuze shook off Xie Tongchen's hand, glared at Xie Tongchen fiercely, and said, "Second brother, this is the only thing we cannot back down on."

"I don't need this register. I alone can bring the Xie family back to its former glory."

When Xie Tongchen heard this, the look in his eyes at Xie Yuze seemed to say: Stop messing around, Third Brother, how could you possibly do this?

Looking into his eyes, Xie Yuze felt a lump in his throat.

He coughed violently twice and said, "Second Brother, as long as you don't save Xie Mingzhu, the military merit will naturally fall to you."

Xie Tongchen pursed his lips, "You know?"

Xie Yuze sneered twice, "How could I not know that Xie Mingzhu was captured by Chao Le?"

Xie Tongchen's gaze was complex. He said, "No matter what, Mingzhu is still..."

"Foolish!" Xie Yuze said coldly to Xie Tongchen, "She wouldn't have died even if we hadn't saved her."

"If you save her, you will die, and the entire Xie family will be doomed!"

"What kind of good person do you think she is?"

Xie Yuze was unaware that Xie Tongchen had developed feelings for Xie Mingzhu, and only assumed that Xie Tongchen's reluctance to let Xie Mingzhu go was based on their years of relationship.

Little did they know, Xie Tongchen had his own plans.