After being reborn, I went on a killing spree in the imperial court.

Night quietly fell, and the earth gradually sank into darkness.

In the stillness of the night, a petite figure quietly appeared at the entrance of the Xue family ancestral hall. This person was Xue Xiqiong. After looking around, she quickly slipped into the ancestral hall.

Meanwhile, in the ancestral hall, Luo Xuemei had been kneeling on the prayer mat for several hours, and she had been kneeling on the prayer mat as punishment for the past few days.

The long period of kneeling made her legs ache terribly and her body was exhausted, so she collapsed onto the prayer mat.

Xue Xiqiong rushed into the ancestral hall, ran to her, and woke her up, "Luo Xuemei! Luo Xuemei! Get up quickly, something terrible is about to happen!!"

Luo Xuemei slowly opened her eyes, propped herself up to sit up, shifted to a more comfortable position, and looked at the person in front of her with a hint of surprise in her eyes, "Why are you here?"

"I've come to see you!" Xue Xiqiong's gaze was intense, as if she really meant it.

"Really?" Luo Xuemei didn't believe it.

Would she be so kind?

"I heard from outsiders that Liucheng is going to fall! If Qingli really dies in battle, won't we be widows?"

"We can't hold on?" Luo Xuemei panicked and grabbed Xue Xiqiong's arm, asking urgently, "Is there any news of Qingli? Is Qingli alright?"

"I've heard the scene inside the city is horrific! In just a few days, the Shu army might raze Liucheng to the ground!"

"What nonsense are you talking about! Although Qingli's skills are not as good as the prince's, he is still capable of protecting himself! He knows that we are still here at home!"

Luo Xuemei immediately retorted, though she felt uneasy and very worried.

"Qingli will definitely be alright!"

Luo Xuemei knelt on the prayer mat, her hands clasped together, praying to the ancestors of the Fan family, tears welling in her eyes, "Nothing will happen! Qingli is the eldest son, he must not be harmed!"

Seeing that Luo Xuemei seemed to be possessed, Xue Xiqiong had no choice but to speak frankly.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go to Liucheng to find him? Why don't we go together!"

"us?"

“Yes, let’s go to Liucheng together!” Xue Xiqiong’s eyes darted around, and it was unclear what she was planning.

"My father told me to stay here and pray for Qingli! I can't leave!"

"Besides, even if we went, what help could we possibly be? We'd be lucky if we didn't cause Qingli any trouble! Especially you! You don't know martial arts; you'd only cause more trouble if you went!"

Xue Xiqiong scratched her head, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes. "What's the use of praying here! Do you think that worshipping a few memorial tablets will make Qingli come back safely? Don't be silly, even the princess and the Marquis of Zhenbei are dead, how could Qingli possibly come back safely!"

"Then what do you mean?"

"Go find Qingli! Even if you have to tie him up, bring him back to me!"

"You, aren't you making Qingli a deserter? Qingli won't do it!"

Xue Xiqiong stood up impatiently. "Are you going or not? Are you scared?"

"Let me tell you, if Qingli really doesn't come back, we'll both be widows!"

Luo Xuemei lowered her eyes, afraid that her father would scold her and also afraid that something might happen to Qingli.

"Just say whether you're going or not!"

Luo Xuemei hesitated; she wanted to go but was also afraid of Minister Fan.

"go with!"

A glint of malice flashed in Xue Xiqiong's eyes. She thought to herself, "Luo Xuemei, if you go, you won't come back alive!"

-

Night had fallen, and Fan Qingli had only been lying down for a short while when a strange restlessness kept him awake. He tossed and turned in bed, finally deciding to get up.

He put on his clothes, picked up a lantern, and hurried toward the city gate. The night wind was biting cold, causing the lantern in his hand to sway from side to side, and the flame to flicker.

After climbing the city wall, Fan Qingli took a deep breath and gazed at the dark night in the distance. Just then, he suddenly felt as if there was someone behind him.

"Miss Ayin?"

"Lord Fan, you wouldn't be so disheartened as to jump off a building because you can't win the fight, would you?" Cen Yin said softly.

"Me! How could that be!" Fan Qingli laughed.

"Ayin, are you only wearing these few layers of clothing?" Fan Qingli looked at her clothes and took off his shawl.

"Put it on!"

Fan Qingli draped the shawl over her shoulders. After completing the series of actions, he paused and realized he had overstepped his bounds. He took a step back and said nothing more.

"What a pity!"

"What's a pity?" Fan Qingli asked suspiciously.

"The cannon carts I made are all in Chen. Do you think they might use them to bomb Wei?"

"You really built the Shu Kingdom's cannon chariot?"

Fan Qingli was impressed by the woman in front of her; she hadn't expected her to actually do it.

"Who exactly are you? For a woman to possess such abilities is truly remarkable!"

Fan Qingli was curious about the girl in front of him. It was a rare thing for a woman with such outstanding looks as Cen Yin to be able to make cannon carts that only the Shu Kingdom could produce.

He had always thought that Cen Yin was just a prostitute.

"You want to know so much?"

A hint of doubt welled up in Fan Qingli's heart, and he wondered if his actions just now had been somewhat abrupt. He quickly explained, "Miss Ayin, I didn't mean to pry into your background!"

After saying that, he looked nervously at the woman in front of him, afraid that she would be angry.

Cen Yin simply smiled slightly, seemingly not taking the matter to heart.

"It's alright. To be honest, I am originally from the Shu Kingdom."

Upon hearing the words "Shu Kingdom," Fan Qingli's mind jolted, and his previously relaxed nerves instantly tensed up.

Seeing that Fan Qingli's smile gradually faded and his eyes became serious, as if he was thinking about something important.

“My mother sold me to a brothel when I was six years old. I learned my skills from a man who frequented the brothel. Although he was lecherous, he often showed off his drawings in the brothel. At that time, I thought that if I learned his skills, I could become as rich as him!”

Do you hate your mother?

Fan Qingli sympathized with her plight.

"Actually, my mother wasn't from Shu. She was abducted to Shu. Later, when her family came looking for her, I knew she was going to abandon me!"

"I was born in the Shu Kingdom, and I've had purple eyes since birth! Ever since I can remember, my mother has disliked me. Seeing me is like a reminder of the unpleasant experience she had with a man she didn't love!"

I haven't seen her since then! I suppose she has a better child and a better marriage than me now!

"Miss Ayin, you are so outstanding, your mother must regret not taking you with her back then!"

Fan Qingli placed her hand on Cen Yin's shoulder to comfort her.

Cen Yin smiled bitterly. All of this was like fleeting clouds to her; she had long since regarded it as a dream.

"The snow is about to melt! The battle is about to begin. Does Lord Fan have any good ideas?"

"I wouldn't call it a brilliant strategy; my battlefield experience is far less than Your Highness's! This battle..."

Hard to beat.