After being sentenced to death, she came to her senses.

"clang--"

"clang--"

"clang--"

Three tolls of the bell signal a change in the world.

This is the death knell for an emperor!

Shang Lingzhu's laughter abruptly stopped, and she finally collapsed in a pool of blood, dying quietly.

Despite having avenged her great grudge, Fang Xiaoran felt no excitement or joy, only bitterness and sorrow.

She hugged Gu Yuqing tightly, frozen in place, devoid of joy or sorrow, unaware of pain or exhaustion.

Chu Qi and the others had already returned to her side. They all had injuries, large and small, but fortunately none of them were fatal. Mo Wen and Jiu Yuan also returned. Seeing that Shang Lingzhu had been killed, Mo Wen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, when he saw Fang Xiaoran's expression, he was immediately stung by pain.

That expression was exactly the same as when I first met her.

The Millennium Tower's Shadow Guards were powerless to resist due to the extinction of the Gu worms. Silver Crane seemed to release them, but in reality, the new central mechanism of the Millennium Tower had already begun to operate, and the secret passages were constantly changing. But this time, Silver Crane did not leave again, because he saw a familiar figure.

When Emperor Zhao passed away, he left a will bequeathing the throne to his third son, Zhao Jin.

No one knows whether the edict is real or fake. The palace and its surroundings have been controlled by Zhao Jin. He seems to be hiding in this struggle for the crown prince, but in reality, he is plotting step by step. The eldest prince is just a pawn in his hands.

The debate over the crown prince has finally come to an end, and Zhao Jin has begun to slowly close the net.

On his way back to the city, Prince Yong met with an accident and his body was never found. When the Empress Dowager learned of Prince Yong's death, she immediately vomited blood and fainted, and the medicine bowl in front of her bed was smashed to pieces.

After that, no one mentioned the matter of Prince Yong again, and the Empress Dowager no longer interfered in the affairs of the previous dynasty.

With changes in the imperial court, the ascension of a new emperor, and the change of ownership of the Millennium Building, everything is developing in an unpredictable direction.

Fang Xiaoran didn't bother with these matters. She sat in the courtyard for a day and a night until the sky turned a pale white and the morning mist condensed into dewdrops that dripped onto the back of her hand. Only then did she suddenly come back to her senses.

The moment she raised her eyes, Mo Wen had already walked towards her. Seeing that some of the spirit had returned to her eyes, Mo Wen said to her with a complicated expression, "A Ran, now that the great revenge has been taken, you should leave with me. The world is vast, and there is nowhere that cannot be home."

In the past, Fang Xiaoran would have followed Mo Wen without hesitation. After all, she was extremely reluctant to leave her master and searched for him everywhere. But now it's different; she needs to do something.

Fang Xiaoran shook her head slightly, "Master, I have something important to do."

"What are you going to do?" Mo Wen asked with some concern. He could clearly feel that Gu Yuqing's death had hit her too hard, and the impact was no less than when he learned of Bai Qiqi's death.

He was the most empathetic, so he never said much about it.

"I want to save him." Fang Xiaoran's eyes were unusually firm.

Upon hearing this, Mo Wen's guess was confirmed. He said with great sorrow, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. There is no way to bring the living back to life and restore flesh to bones. Otherwise, your mother wouldn't have..."

“No, but he’s different. He’s been infected with a Gu poison, so there might be a glimmer of hope for him.” Fang Xiaoran had a very crazy idea, and it was Yinhe who gave her this idea.

Yinhe spared no effort in using Gu to preserve Jiamu's life force for her sake. Perhaps she could also try it. Although this method is extreme and the chances of success are slim, it is still worth a try.

There were still many things she hadn't been able to ask Gu Yuqing; she wanted him to explain them to her personally.

Her idea was terrifying. Mo Wen wanted to stop her, but after seeing her expression, he ultimately said nothing and just shook his head helplessly.

Fang Xiaoran planned to finish up her work and then leave with Gu Yuqing to go to the ruins of the Yan clan, where she might be able to use the Gu Spirit Secret Technique more effectively.

Three days later, the secret letter struck Yancheng like a thunderbolt.

Gu Hou and his son died in battle, and no reinforcements arrived; their bodies were never found.

That very night, when the news reached the Marquis's residence, Jiang Yuke vomited blood incessantly, clutching the jade pendant that Marquis Gu had left her before his departure for war. She ultimately did not survive until dawn.

Upon hearing the devastating news, the old Marquis fainted on the spot and has remained unconscious ever since.

In a single day, the vast Marquis's mansion was draped in white banners and filled with the deafening sound of weeping.

Gu Yucheng, who has been traveling far and wide, has not been heard from since, and his fate remains unknown.

The Marquis's mansion declined after a sudden change in power.

Fang Xiaoran was not surprised by this. Zhao Jin had ascended the throne. How could Zhao Jin tolerate the continued rise of a powerful family like the Gu family? The so-called "death in battle" was nothing more than a high-sounding murder.

But at least the Gu family's reputation remains intact, unlike in the previous life when the entire family was executed.

In any case, the old Marquis treated her well, and the Gu family did not blame her harshly. She decided to help the Gu family with their funeral arrangements before leaving, so that she would have no more worries.

A few days later, the new emperor suddenly appeared at the Gu family residence, not to take care of the Gu family, but for one person. Unfortunately, when he asked about Fang Xiaoran, the Gu family told him that she had already left with the second young master, and no one knew where she went.

The new emperor stormed off, leaving the Gu family in a state of constant fear and trepidation.

Fang Xiaoran didn't dare to delay for a moment and headed to Lingnan alone with the ice coffin.

When she passed through Yuyang Road, she was stopped by someone.

It was none other than Gu Yuqing's younger brother, Ye Lan.

Fang Xiaoran was surprised to see him here. She didn't know much about him, but she guessed that he was probably the current owner of Millennium Building.

"Sister-in-law, His Majesty has ordered me to take you back." Ye Lan had a faint smile on her face and spoke in a calm voice, yet it gave people a strange sense of danger.

Fang Xiaoran gripped the riding whip tightly, her gaze icy as she stared at the person in front of her.

This person's martial arts skills are no less than hers; she might not win if she fights.

“Go back and tell him—” she said, her voice as cold as a knife, “that he and I are as good as dust and as bad as each other.”

"Sister-in-law, you're making things difficult for me." Ye Lan chuckled as he approached her. Fang Xiaoran immediately became wary, but then she saw him lazily raise his hand and say with a smile in his eyes, "How about this, you hand over your brother to me, and I'll let you go."

"It seems we're going to have a fight to the death today." Fang Xiaoran's expression hardened, already prepared for the battle, but Ye Lan suddenly turned around, "Never mind, he'll blame me if he wakes up."

"However, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed on this trip. If you can't save him, you can hand him over to me at any time."

He left those words behind and vanished into the night.

Watching his departing figure, Fang Xiaoran's expression was complicated.

This person is truly unfathomable, just like Gu Yuqing.

Fang Xiaoran wasted no time and rushed to the ruins of the Yan clan in Lingnan.

But upon arriving here, her eyes were immediately stung by the sight of the ruins of the Yan clan, which had been destroyed at some unknown time.

As Ye Lan said, her hopes for this trip were dashed.

Looking at the person sleeping in the ice coffin, Fang Xiaoran smiled gently. "It's alright. The world is vast, there's always a way to bring you back to life."

Her voice was soft, yet it sounded like a vow, each word carried away by the cool breeze.

The moonlight, like water, poured onto the speeding carriage.

The ice coffin lay quietly in the car. Gu Yuqing's face, illuminated by the deep blue ice crystals, seemed to be merely asleep, as if he would open his eyes at any moment.

“We’re going to the North,” she whispered, her gaze as resolute as a cold star.

The cart tracks rolled across the wilderness, startling a few night crows.

The shadows of the trees were stretched out, gradually extending into the distance.

……

end.