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

Inside the Shu Kingdom's imperial palace.

Chu Yan has been kneeling outside the sleeping quarters of the Shu king for two days.

Xuanfeng and Eunuch Li stood aside waiting.

It was time for the court session to end.

Imperial Uncle Xiao Shengxi returned to the palace, holding a concubine in his arms. Chu Yan was only wearing a thin shirt in the cold wind, his frail body shivering in the cold wind, his face deathly pale.

Liu, the eunuch standing next to Xiao Shengxi, reminded him, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has been kneeling for two days. He must have something important to ask of you."

"Tell him to come in!"

"Yes!"

Eunuch Liu strode over and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence!"

Eunuch Li and Xuanfeng, standing to the side, happily said, "That's wonderful! Your Highness, let me help you!"

Chu Yan dragged his legs into the hall, his knees numb from the cold, and could only move slowly.

"Greetings, Imperial Uncle!"

Just as Chu Yan was about to kneel, Xiao Shengxi raised his eyelids and said, "Give me a seat!"

Eunuch Liu moved a chair over.

"Thank you, Imperial Uncle!"

Chu Yan sat down in the chair and looked at the dragon throne. Xiao Shengxi leaned back in the chair, and the concubine in his arms was close to him, holding a fruit plate and feeding Xiao Shengxi fruit.

"You've come to negotiate peace!"

"Uncle, could you please retract your condition of using women to negotiate peace? Women are considered a source of trouble and are detrimental to the development of the country."

Upon hearing this, the concubine in Xiao Shengxi's arms turned pale and pretended to be angry, tugging at Xiao Shengxi's clothes and acting coquettishly, "Your Majesty!"

Xiao Shengxi sneered, "Yan'er! I might believe these words if they came from someone else, but I won't believe them coming from you. After being in Wei for so long, all you've learned is useless stuff."

"You've been kneeling outside for so long, just for such a trivial matter. If I were to give you this throne, you wouldn't just hand over the entire Shu Kingdom to Wei, would you?"

Chu Yan panicked and knelt down.

"I have already issued an edict: not only must the State of Wei send women as tribute, but they must also arrange a marriage alliance!"

"A marriage alliance? But Princess Zhaoyang is already..."

"Isn't this perfect for the two sisters to keep each other company!"

"Uncle, Princess Zhaoyang's sisters are all married, so where would she have any sisters?"

Chu Yan thought to himself that it didn't matter, since A Yuan hadn't divorced yet and it shouldn't be related to her, but he still felt very averse to this behavior.

Xiao Shengxi smiled and said, "I can withdraw the decree to send women as tribute, but a marriage alliance is necessary."

"You're not getting any younger, so stop thinking about going out all the time. From now on, you'll stay in the East Palace and cultivate your relationship with the Crown Princess."

Chu Yan walked out of the hall, where Xuan Feng and Eunuch Li were waiting. Seeing their master come out, they quickly went to greet him.

"How is your highness?"

Chu Yan's expression was grave as he walked toward the East Palace. The two men looked at each other, not daring to ask any more questions.

-

When the day came to go to Shu, Jinzhu helped Cao Yuan change into her wedding dress. Cao Yuan looked at herself in the mirror, but there was no smile on her face. She forced a smile and said in a forced tone, "It's really funny. I, a princess, have been married four times."

"I'm probably the first one in history to do this!"

Jinzhu hung her head, unsure of what to say.

Cao Yuan held Jinzhu's hand and said earnestly, "I don't know when we'll meet again after I go to Shu this time. You must take good care of yourself!"

"Your Highness, I don't want to be separated from you. Let me go with you!"

"The ruler of Shu is licentious and dissolute. If he takes a fancy to you, you can't go there. General Liu won't want you to go there either."

"Your Highness really doesn't want me anymore."

Jinzhu's dim gaze fell on the hairpin on the table. Without saying a word, she rushed forward.

"Jinzhu, what are you doing? Let go!" Cao Yuan snatched the hairpin from Jinzhu's hand.

"Your Highness won't let me go because you think I'll be a burden to you. I might as well just die now and be done with it. Anyway, there's nothing in this world that I care about."

"Jinzhu..."

Jinzhu snatched the hairpin and pointed it at her own neck.

"Jinzhu, don't be impulsive! I don't look down on you, come with me to Shu! Come with me!"

Cao Yuan dared not step forward.

"Really? If Your Highness abandons me again this time, I will hang myself on the city wall of Shu."

"Okay, okay! You'll stay with me, and we'll never be apart."

Upon hearing Cao Yuan's words, Jin Zhu released the hairpin from her hand, and Cao Yuan quickly stepped forward to take it away.

As soon as Cao Yuan and Jin Zhu stepped out, Zhenbei Marquis Fan Qingli and others stood outside the door with serious expressions on their faces.

Cao Yuan knelt at the feet of the Marquis of Zhenbei, "Yuan'er bids farewell to her maternal grandfather. I do not know when we will meet again! Please accept my bow!"

Marquis Zhenbei bent down to help her up, saying, "It's because your maternal grandfather is incompetent and can't defeat the Shu Kingdom! When your maternal grandfather returns to train his troops, he will surely make the Wei army's iron cavalry crush the Shu Kingdom."

"Grandfather, you must take good care of your health and yourself."

"Yuan'er, it's time to go." Cao Yuan's eyes were misty with tears.

"May Your Highness rest in peace!" Fan Qingli and the others also knelt down to pay their respects to Cao Yuan.

They watched together as Cao Yuan boarded the carriage.

"Where is the Second Prince? Has he returned to the capital?"

Fan Qingli looked around.

The carriage gradually drove out of Liucheng.

A group of people stood facing them outside the city.

Cao Yuan's carriage stopped.

Jinzhu lifted the curtain. "Your Highness! It's the Second Prince."

Cao Yuan got out of the car.

"Second brother, are you here to see me off?"

Cao Ji smiled gently at her, "Isn't it the right thing to send the Fourth Princess to a political marriage?"

"Fourth Princess, are you really sure you want to go to Shu for a political marriage? Do you know that once you go, it will be impossible for you and Chu Yan to be together again? There's still room for regret now."

Cao Ji's expression turned serious, and he took a step towards her.

Cao Yuan curled her lips slightly. "There's more to this world than just love! For me, my country is far more important than love. I think he will respect my choice."

"Thank you for thinking of me, Second Brother. Please consider the bigger picture."

"As for Cao Shang... Second Brother, you should release her. I did hate her before, but now that I think about it, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be able to see the person in front of me clearly," Cao Yuan said wistfully, her heart completely calm.

"After returning to the capital, you must take good care of Father Emperor. After experiencing so much, Father Emperor's health has deteriorated."

She counted the days and realized that her father's passing was fast approaching, but unfortunately she would not be able to be by his side to fulfill her filial duty.

Cao Yuan turned to get into the sedan chair, but Cao Ji grabbed her arm. "Don't you hate him?"

"Second brother, watch your words! These words should not have come out of your mouth."

Cao Yuan boarded the carriage, leaving Cao Ji alone. He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it through the carriage window. "Fourth Princess, this is a letter that Father asked me to give you! He said to open it when you arrive in Shu."

"Alright! Take care, Second Brother!"

The carriage slowly drove away.

A guard trotted over, "Second Prince! What should we do about Princess Huafeng? She's lost her child too. What if His Majesty finds out..."

"Pack her up and throw her back! Don't worry, she won't dare say anything."