Senior brother is so awesome!

Zhong Zhichen was dressed in military uniform, his metal armor exuding a chilling aura from the inside out. I wonder if his second senior brother and the others were shocked and disappointed by the scene of brothers killing each other.

His hawk-like eyes deepened under her gaze, and he raised his lips to say, "You knew everything?"

She moved her dry lips, "If I don't call you back, will we meet again when the other four kingdoms have been destroyed?"

His eyes flashed, then were veiled by a deep, somber gaze. He stroked her thin cheek with his large hand. “You don’t need to worry about these things. Once the world is at peace, your godfather will be the ruler of the continent. At that time, I will repay the kindness of raising me, and we can live in seclusion with Anran. From then on, everything in this world will be irrelevant to you and me.”

"How could it be unrelated!" Ignoring the pain as her chapped lips were forced open, intense pain mingled with tears.

"Don't you care about the lives of those five people? Are they just sacrifices for your ambitions?!"

She shouted it out without thinking, her heart suddenly overwhelmed by despair and disappointment. Looking at the man who was all too familiar in front of her, she poured out all the grievances and shock she had felt since learning the truth in an instant. She couldn't help but ask herself, was the purpose of her transmigration to repeat the despair of her previous life?

Zhong Zhichen's cold eyes were filled with pain as he watched her cry her heart out. He pursed his lips and remained silent. Finally, he turned his back, his armor making a slight creaking sound with each movement.

"As long as I repay my adoptive father's kindness, I, Zhong Zhichen, will atone with my death at their graves!"

He then strode away quickly, his ruthless departure filled with a hint of panic, perhaps fearing that if she continued to cry, she wouldn't have the courage to commit the act of killing her fellow disciples...

The heart-wrenching cries could not undo the dilemma of choosing between loyalty and righteousness.

After an unknown amount of time, someone stroked her back, and she looked up, sobbing, to see Sister Yun's distressed eyes.

She threw herself into her mother's arms, and for the first time, Qin Yuechan felt her mother's scent, which was so warm.

Sister Yun's body stiffened for a moment, then she cried and laughed, patting her back with her delicate hand and gently comforting her. She was so caught up in the joy of her daughter finally recognizing her that she didn't see the ambiguous light that flashed in her daughter's tearful eyes.

The palace quieted down again. She had lived in the Xuanwu Kingdom's palace for a period of time, so she was quite familiar with the place. After the mother and daughter reconciled, Qin Yuechan often went to Kunning Palace, which was now her mother's palace, also known as Sister Yun's.

Ye Xianqing was initially puzzled, but also thought it was a good sign, indicating that she was finally willing to accept them. Although the control over her was still strict, it was not so tight.

Her mother was a great cook and a skilled needleworker, while Qin Yuechan had only learned basic needlework. She increasingly asked her mother for lessons, and the two often spent the whole day sitting in Kunning Palace.

As Qin Yuechan gazed at the familiar palace, she thought of the former Empress Feng Yunshuang, that arrogant woman who had vanished into the torrent of history, while she herself could come and go freely. Indeed, fortunes change.

There weren't many people in the palace; it was still the same staffing system as when Qin Muhan was in power. But every day, palace servants would come and go to deliver vegetables, and there were also eunuchs who would carry out chamber pots in the early morning. Because it was really unsightly, even though it was early morning, the carriages that delivered the vegetables had to take a secluded path and then transport them out through the Kunde Gate in the northwest corner of the imperial city.

That night, Qin Yuechan insisted on staying overnight at Kunning Palace with her mother. In the middle of the night, she quietly got out of bed and, like a swift and agile cat, quickly covered the mouth of the night watch maid. With a swift chop, the maid's body went limp.

She carefully dragged the maid to the bed, changed their clothes, and soon the maid, dressed in a light pink palace gown, appeared at the foot of the Kunning Palace wall. It was already curfew, and guards were patrolling from time to time. She used her lightness skill to silently climb the tree, her beautiful eyes observing the movements below from above.

There was no one there. Qin Yuechan pressed her wildly beating heart and, like a cat, leaped down from the tree in the silent night, heading straight for the path used to transport chamber pots. Because of her excellent lightness skills, she did not disturb anyone along the way. Soon, she lay in wait in a large water vat on the palace path. This was a large water vat specially placed in the palace to prevent flooding, and it was big enough to hold three people.

On the tranquil palace road, after two patrols, the sound of mule carts treading on the bluestone slabs, accompanied by the rumble of wheels, appeared at the end of the road, particularly clear in the quiet of the early morning.

As the sound of wheels drew near, she seized the opportunity and leaped out, pressing the tip of her gold hairpin against the eunuch's neck, coldly saying, "If you want to live, don't make a sound."

To everyone's surprise, the man remained completely calm and replied, "Don't be nervous, it wouldn't be good if you accidentally poked my neck."

Qin Yuechan felt powerless. It was her first time doing something like this, and her hands were trembling. But this eunuch was too calm. Something was definitely amiss. She dared not be careless and tightened the hairpin in front of her, threatening, "Send me out of the palace, and I promise I won't hurt you."

The eunuch obediently nodded and then asked, "Does the hero want to hide in the chamber pot?"

"..."

She glanced at the three large chamber pots, each as tall as a person, placed behind the mule cart. A stench hit her, and she frowned in disgust. She had been so focused on taking the hostages that she hadn't noticed the smell. Although it was unbearable, the situation was urgent, and this was the only option.

Fearing that the young eunuch would betray her, Qin Yuechan specially fed him a pill, promising to give him the antidote after he told her. She also gave him the priceless hairpin she was holding. Despite her attempts to entice and coerce him, the eunuch remained indifferent, as if listening to her talk about the weather.

Living in the palace was worse than death, so he decided to take a chance and leave. Therefore, he ignored the eunuch's strange behavior and covered his nose, preparing to crawl into the chamber pot.

"The first one has clean water; go in and hold out for now."

She opened the lid as instructed, and sure enough, there was no foul smell. However, with early winter approaching, the water temperature was freezing cold. Stepping inside felt like being in an ice cellar, and she shivered in the cold water.

Fortunately, they didn't suffer too much. The mule cart arrived at Kunde Gate. The guards at the gate were disgusted by the smell of the chamber pot, so they only sent a soldier to check it. The soldier casually lifted it up, took a look, and then turned back. They were able to leave the city smoothly.

The mule cart slowly came to a stop in a secluded spot. The young eunuch lifted the lid and saw a woman standing in a bucket of water. Her face was pale and frightening, and her lips were purple from the cold. He thought to himself, "Damn it!" and scooped her out.

Qin Yuechan only just realized that this little eunuch was actually quite good-looking, with delicate features. However, if his eyes weren't so cold, he might attract quite a few girls.

The mule cart stopped on the path by the woods. She rubbed her stiff, frozen arms and stamped her feet, thanking the young eunuch, "I am deeply grateful." She then took a gold hairpin inlaid with gemstones from her sleeve and handed it to him, her lips trembling, saying, "Take this home and don't go back to the palace."

Perhaps soon, a bloody storm will rage.

The young eunuch took it with a smile, but his eyes remained as cold as ever. "Where are you planning to go?"

Qin Yuechan shook her head, "We'll see where we end up."

“I have no father or mother, and only a job in the palace. But now I’ve been implicated by you. Why don’t I go with you?” The handsome young eunuch said in a clear, crisp voice.

She glanced back at him and said, "Since that's the case, let's go together."

The two abandoned their mule cart and went to the market. Their clothes were too conspicuous, so they had to steal clothes from ordinary people in the alleys before they could buy horses.

The young eunuch didn't ask any questions from beginning to end, but simply followed her closely. When they were choosing horses at the carriage shop, Qin Yuechan took the opportunity to go to the toilet and made a secret escape.

Although the little eunuch seemed to have no ill intentions, having him by her side was like a time bomb. She no longer trusted anyone, especially since that gold hairpin was enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for two lifetimes.

They simply covered their faces with a cloth, rented a horse-drawn carriage, and left the city.

Before dawn, taking advantage of the fact that the palace had not yet discovered her departure, she rode at full speed. Although she did not know where the battlefield was, it was always better to leave this place first.

Perhaps it was the cold water she had been soaking in and the rush of the morning wind that made her head spin and her cheeks feel hot. She was thankful that no one was chasing her; otherwise, if she had encountered pursuers, she would have been captured and taken back.

Anxious, she wanted to ask around and rush to the battlefield, but her body wouldn't allow it. She hadn't eaten all day and had a high fever, so she couldn't hold on any longer and had to find an inn on the road to stay for the night before continuing her journey the next day.

Qin Yuechan covered her face and did a simple disguise, making her look ordinary. She thought nothing unexpected would happen, but who would have thought that when the night was deep and quiet, a group of uninvited guests still broke in through the window. She recognized the uniforms of the Xuanwu Kingdom's Imperial Guards and didn't even have the thought of running away, because at this moment, she was not only weak all over, but also her mind was drowsy and she was no match for them at all.

The problem is that she didn't escape the territory of Xuanwu Kingdom.

He thought he was back in prison, but the row of people in front of him suddenly collapsed to the ground, and behind him stood a young man holding a long sword. He was handsome with delicate features, a mocking and playful look in his eyes, and an icy gaze that would never melt away.

Qin Yuechan looked at him through a pile of corpses, and in her delirium, she uttered, "You're really clingy!" before fainting from the fever.

She had no idea what happened after that. When she woke up, she was in a clean and bright inn room, without a trace of blood. He was holding a bowl of medicine with a harmless expression, as if he was about to give her the medicine.

She sat up, exhausted, and took small sips of the extremely bitter medicine from his hand. It was dark and smelled awful. She couldn't help but think of the medicine her second senior brother had prepared for her, which tasted much better.

The young eunuch's clear eyes held a smile. "Aren't you afraid I'll harm you?"

She glanced at him weakly. "If you want to harm me, you'll have plenty of opportunities. Do you get any pleasure from the victim dying awake?"

He paused slightly, then chuckled, "She really is a noisy woman."

---Aside---

Today, Yunqing went back to her parents' house again. Her mother proudly told her father about my writing, and then showered me with praise. I had a rather wicked thought: if they knew I wrote a harem novel, would they be horrified? ~\（≧▽≦）/~