Who understands? He traveled through time with a high-spec spatial ability.

Xiao Rui's expression changed drastically. He grabbed Dong Ping's wrist and hissed, "Who sent you?!"

Dongping's eyes were filled with tears, but he stubbornly raised his head: "I heard what you and the head guard said! You said... as long as Qingyun Pavilion is burned down, it will force Liang Kingdom to go to war!"

A flash of murderous intent crossed Xiao Jingrui's eyes, but he quickly regained his gentle demeanor: "Dongping, you are young and don't understand these things. Men, escort the princess back to the inn!"

Two guards immediately stepped forward, but Dongping suddenly broke free, pulled a piece of gold foil from his sleeve, and held it high: "And this?! The poison on your wine cup is the same as the poison my mother was poisoned with back then!"

Xiao Rui's pupils suddenly contracted.

Qiao Jingjing seized the opportunity and said sternly, "Xiao Rui, you even dared to kill your own mother, what else wouldn't you do?!"

The surroundings were deathly silent, and even the Northern Qi guards looked on in surprise.

Xiao Jingrui's face was extremely gloomy. He suddenly sneered, "Since you all know, there's no need to act anymore." He slowly raised his hand. "Kill."

The guard drew his sword instantly!

At the critical moment, Li Yan led the elite troops of Prince Chen's mansion out from the shadows, and amidst the flashing swords and the clash of blades, blood splattered everywhere!

Qiao Jingjing shielded Dongping and whispered, "Don't be afraid, stay close to me!"

Dongping gripped her sleeve tightly, tears streaming down his face: "Sister Qiao...did I...harm you all?"

Qiao Jingjing felt a pang of pain in her heart, but could only grit her teeth and say, "No, you saved us."

With the battle at a stalemate, Xiao Rui, seeing the situation was not good, suddenly pulled out a signal arrow from his sleeve and shot it into the sky!

"He's calling for reinforcements!" Tantai Zhou shouted sharply, "Withdraw!"

However, the moment the signal arrow exploded, the sound of orderly hooves came from afar—not from the Northern Qi, but from the Liang Kingdom's imperial guards!

The leading general shouted, "By order of His Majesty, Crown Prince Xiao Rui of Northern Qi intends to murder Prince Chen. Seize him immediately!"

Xiao Jingrui's expression changed drastically: "Impossible! How could you—"

Before he could finish speaking, an arrow pierced through the air and went straight for his shoulder!

Xiao Jingrui grunted, staggered backward, and panic finally surfaced in his eyes: "You... you set this up all along?!"

Tantai Zhou sneered: "You think you're the only one who knows how to plant spies?"

It turns out that Zhai Yizhi had already discovered the identity of the traitor and deliberately leaked false information to lure Xiao Rui into a trap!

The Imperial Guards quickly surrounded the enemy, and the Northern Qi secret guards retreated in disarray. Xiao Rui clutched his wound, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with a sinister look, finally settling on Dong Ping.

"Dongping." His voice was soft, yet chilling. "Your actions today have been remembered by your elder brother."

Dongping trembled all over, but stubbornly glared at him: "I'm not afraid of you!"

Xiao Rui laughed loudly, then suddenly pulled out a smoke bomb from his pocket, about to smash it hard into the ground!

Tantai Zhou reacted quickly, drawing his sword and using his lightness skill to rush over, interrupting Xiao Rui's actions, "Trying to escape? I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

"Brother!" The little girl held up the gold foil again, her voice trembling uncontrollably, "Did you switch Mother's medicine...?"

Xiao Rui's pupils suddenly contracted.

This momentary lapse allowed Tantai Zhou's sword to slash through his sleeve, and a letter fluttered down—bearing the secret seal of the Northern Qi emperor, approving "sacrificing Dongping if necessary to exacerbate internal strife in Liang."

"Bang—" Thick smoke billowed up, and when the smoke cleared, Xiao Rui had disappeared without a trace.

Rewind two hours...

Tantai Zhou's secret guards had quietly surrounded Qingyun Pavilion, while the bronze bells hanging from the eaves of the pavilion remained motionless—this should have been a signal for the traitor to make contact with the Northern Qi.

“Your Highness guessed correctly.” Zhai Yizhi emerged from the shadows, the tip of his knife piercing through the layer of floor tiles. “They’ve changed their method of communication.” Beneath the tiles lay a piece of gold foil, the very same gold leaf that had adorned Xiao Rui’s wine cup at the palace banquet.

Qiao Jingjing suddenly pressed her temple.

Princess Dongping's unintentional remark from the palace banquet echoed in her ears: "The Crown Prince's wine cup is always gilded; he says that way the poison will stick to the cup..." She suddenly grabbed Tantai Zhou's wrist: "It's not poisoning! Xiao Rui wants to frame me!"

As if confirming her guess, the sound of armor clanging came from afar.

Tantai Zhou sneered and lifted the hidden door of the secret room, revealing a whole chest of Liang Kingdom's military equipment, all of which were new weapons manufactured by Northern Qi. "What a clever tactic of 'treason'." He used his sword to cut the fuse, exposing the underground oil pipeline.

Qiao Jingjing secretly thought that it was fortunate that she had a spatial ability to store all these weapons; otherwise, if they were seen by others, it would inevitably spread and damage Tantai Zhou's reputation.

Meanwhile, Dongping squatted barefoot under the window of the post station, eavesdropping on Xiao Rui's conversation with the head guard.

"...Use the fire at Qingyun Pavilion as a signal, and you must immediately escort the princess back to Northern Qi." The Crown Prince's voice was unusually tense. "Remember, whatever she sees, you must bring her back alive."

Dongping clutched the gold leaf from the palace banquet that she had secretly hidden. She remembered what Qiao Jingjing had said when she taught her to identify poisons: "Gold will turn bluish when it comes into contact with arsenic."

But this piece of gold leaf had an eerie blue hue under the candlelight, just like the color of the medicine cup that the mother had overturned before her death.