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

The horses' hooves clattered through the snow. The cold wind blew, but it couldn't dispel the thoughts in my heart.

Cao Yuan arrived alone at the foot of Liucheng Tower. The guards on the tower looked down at Cao Yuan and asked, "Who goes there?"

Cao Yuan raised her head and shouted, her bright red hands gripping the reins tightly, "I am Cao Yuan! Open the door!"

"It is His Highness Prince Shuo!"

The guards looked as if they had discovered a new world.

"It really is His Highness Prince Shuo."

The city gates are wide open.

Cao Yuan rode his horse into the city and arrived at the gate of the government office.

As soon as you enter, you see a figure in emerald green sweeping the ground in the courtyard.

Cao Yuan's eyes immediately reddened, and she called out in a trembling voice, "Jinzhu!"

Jinzhu stopped what she was doing and slowly raised her eyelids.

"Jinzhu! I'm back."

"Your Highness!" Jinzhu rubbed her eyes, thinking she was hallucinating again.

"It really is His Highness!" Jinzhu put down her broom and ran towards Cao Yuan.

"Your Highness! It really is you! I knew you wouldn't die!" Jinzhu hugged her tightly, afraid that she would disappear again. Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto Cao Yuan's shoulder and staining a large patch of Cao Yuan's clothes. "Your Highness, am I dreaming? You really came back!"

"Jinzhu! I'm fine. I've made you worry for so long. Why have you lost so much weight since I left you?" Cao Yuan touched her thin face, which looked noticeably thinner than before.

"They said you went to Chen alone again, and were ambushed by Chen and fell off a cliff. You must be injured! Are you all healed?" Jinzhu grabbed Cao Yuan's arm and looked her up and down carefully.

"Is it by yourself or with Lord Chu?"

Cao Yuan easily twirled around in front of her, "It's nothing! I was indeed injured before, but look, I'm all healed now!"

"Your Highness is going too far! You didn't even send a message, making us all worry for so long!"

Cao Yuan wiped away Jinzhu's tears and coaxed, "I'm sorry, it's my fault! It won't happen again! I'll tell you everything right away from now on, okay?"

Jinzhu sniffed, her little mouth trembling.

"Your Highness, I'll go tell the Second Prince right away! His Majesty sent the Second Prince specifically to look for you! He hasn't returned yet! Will you go see him when he comes back?"

"He probably didn't come looking for me!"

Just then, Bai Lu happened to pass by. When she saw Cao Yuan return, she looked as if she had seen a ghost and couldn't help but exclaim, "Princess, you're back! I knew you wouldn't die! That's wonderful!"

"By the way! Where is Fan Qingli? Where is he now? I heard he's disappeared?"

As she spoke, Cao Yuan looked around, seemingly searching anxiously for Fan Qingli's figure.

Bai Lu scratched her head, unsure how to explain, "Fan Qing left for Chen State to find A Yin and hasn't returned for several days!"

“We sent scouts to investigate, and they all said they saw Fan Qingli leaving the military camp with Ayin, but they don’t know where they went!”

"What? They went to Chen?! Just the two of them?"

Cao Yuan sensed that something was very wrong.

"But... there's something else that I'm even more worried about? His family has arrived too!"

"Family members? Who are they?"

Cao Yuan looked at her blankly.

Bai Lu cautiously pointed to the backyard.

Cao Yuan followed Bai Lu's footsteps, walked through the corridor, and arrived at Xue Xiqiong's door.

Bai Lu stood quietly at the door, slightly raising her hand to gesture for Cao Yuan to come in, but did not speak.

Cao Yuan glanced at Bai Lu with a puzzled look, only to see a half-smile on her lips, making it impossible to fathom what she was thinking.

She reached out and gently pushed open the door, stepping into the room.

Upon entering the room, she found the hall empty. Turning to the side, her gaze fell upon a bed behind a huge screen.

Without much hesitation, Cao Yuan walked straight toward the screen.

As she walked around the screen, Cao Yuan was taken aback by the person on the bed.

Xue Xiqiong was fast asleep and had no idea that there was another person in the room.

Xue Xiqiong? What's she doing here?

Bai Lu, standing beside Cao Yuan, fanned the flames, saying, "Look at the princess, the sun is already high in the sky and she's still sleeping!"

“She’s been missing for so long, but she’s not worried at all. She does the same thing every day.”

Cao Yuan chuckled. How could she be sleeping here when her husband had disappeared?

Without saying a word, Cao Yuan pulled her up. "Get up, get up!"

"Huh? Who is it? You're disturbing my sleep!"

Xue Xiqiong rubbed her eyes and yawned lazily.

When she opened her eyes and saw Cao Yuan, she immediately lost all sleepiness. "Hmm? Princess..."

"What are you doing in my room? Why didn't you knock before coming in?" Xue Xiqiong was the first to question her, sitting on the bed while covering herself with the blanket.

"I also want to ask you, what brings you to Liucheng?"

"Of course I've come to seek refuge with my husband! Qing has gone to the battlefield, and as his wife, it's only natural that I must follow."

"Wife?" Cao Yuan narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong? I'll be right away!" Xue Xiqiong raised her head, very confident that she could become Fan Qingli's legal wife.

Why would someone so afraid of death come to Liucheng?

"You still know that Fan Qingli is your husband! He's been missing for several days, and you can still eat and sleep well," Bai Lu said.

"So what? Qingli is fighting here, and you've lost her and you're questioning me?" Xue Xiqiong straightened her back and retorted.

"Why aren't you worried about me? I traveled all the way from the capital to Liucheng and even encountered bandits. It scared us to death! It's a miracle I made it here alive."

Cao Yuan seized on the key phrase, "You guys? With whom?"

Xue Xiqiong's heart jolted, her dark eyes trembled slightly, and her pupils darted around like wild horses.

Her face was deathly pale, and her lips trembled uncontrollably as she stammered, "I...no! It was just me!"

"By yourself? A coward like you would run all the way to Liucheng alone? You wouldn't be plotting something else, would you?"

"Was he kicked out of his home by Minister Fan in the capital?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're the only one who knows!"

"You're all asking me all sorts of questions, standing here like this, interrogating me like a criminal! You might as well go find my husband instead!"

Cao Yuan ignored her and turned to leave.

Bai Lu followed behind her and whispered, "The princess is definitely up to something! Look at how guilty she looks."

Cao Yuan nodded, agreeing with Bai Lu's point of view. She stroked her chin thoughtfully and said, "She just said that she encountered bandits on the road. If she were with someone else, she probably wouldn't have helped them!"

How did she get there?

"They came by horse-drawn carriage! They didn't even have a driver!"

Indeed suspicious!

"Go and check if there are any bandits roaming around Liucheng!"

Bai Lu nodded, but turned back after taking only a few steps.

"Princess, who can I send to investigate? I have no one!"