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

Once the imperial decree was issued, Cao Yuan and her entourage set off.

The emperor reminded Cao Yuan to keep a low profile, so Cao Yuan only brought a few attendants.

Inside the spacious and comfortable carriage, Cao Yuan and Jin Zhu sat facing each other.

Jinzhu skillfully brewed a pot of fragrant tea and took out several delicious snacks from an exquisite brocade box, saying softly, "Your Highness, please have some food to fill your stomach."

Cao Yuan took the teacup, took a small sip, and couldn't help but frown slightly and complain, "Sigh, even the tea has lost its flavor once we go out."

As she spoke, she reached out and lifted the carriage curtain, her gaze falling on Fan Qingli, who was leading the way on a tall horse. She called out with concern, "Lord Fan, you must be tired from your journey! Would you like to come up and rest?"

However, Fan Qingli straightened up and answered without hesitation, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I am here on important business and not for leisure. I dare not slack off in the slightest."

Hearing this, Cao Yuan thought to herself, "Hmph, he's got a tough tongue. I'll make him willingly submit to me after this trip."

We arrived in Anzhou.

"Your Highness, we have arrived in Anzhou. We should not be too far from the Governor's Mansion."

Fan Qingli walked quickly over and reported the situation to the prince.

Cao Yuan nodded slightly, and after a moment, she said, "The Chief Secretary of the Governor's Office is from the maternal family of the Fourth Princess. Going there would probably make it difficult to ascertain the true situation. In my opinion, it would be better to change course and go to the garrison. What does Lord Fan think?"

Fan Qingli answered without hesitation, "It is entirely up to Your Highness to decide."

As soon as you enter the garrison, you hear shouts; it turns out that the soldiers in the army are carrying out their daily drills.

Upon learning of the arrival of the Prince and his entourage, Commander Wei hurriedly came to greet them and led them to the training ground.

Standing on the training ground, Cao Yuan couldn't help but frown. What she saw before her greatly disappointed her—the soldiers' movements appeared weak and listless, devoid of any fighting spirit.

Although this is not a border area, the level of training here is truly worrying!

Cao Yuan sighed inwardly, how could such an army shoulder the heavy responsibility of protecting the country?

"Lord Fan has also been to the battlefield. What do you think of these soldiers' performance?"

“马马虎虎！”

Fan Qing left the road.

"Who are you, and what gives you the right to say we're so-so?" A man in silver armor emerged from behind Cao Yuan and the others.

"Shut up! This is His Highness Prince Shuo, acting Minister of War, and Lord Fan from the Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs."

"Your Highness, Lord Fan, this is our General Li Chengye."

"Ha, you're the Princess Huayang who killed the Fourth Prince? You don't look like it! I think it's just a rumor circulating in the capital."

General Li, watch your words!

"Your Highness, Lord Fan, our General Li just can't keep up with his words, please don't take offense."

"Your Highness, to put it bluntly, you two are just born better than us! If you were born into the same social class as us, you might not even be able to get into the garrison."

Fan Qingli was displeased. "Since that's the case, then let's have a match. I'll beat you until you beg for mercy."

"Fine! Come on, I'm not afraid of you!"

Li Chengye removed his armor, and Fan Qingli said, "Even without removing your armor, you are no match for me."

“I, Li Chengye, never bully others. Don’t blame it on me wearing armor when you lose.”

"bring it on!"

The two men began to fight bare-handed.

Commander Wei explained to Cao Yuan, "Your Highness, when the high-ranking official from the Governor's Office came before, he did the same thing. I hope Your Highness will not blame him!"

"It's alright. The official positions in the Governor's Office have always been hereditary. We just have more than ordinary people."

"General Li also had great ambitions but nowhere to put them into practice. He was too outspoken and was almost stripped of his military rank once."

"I see, no wonder he had such a bad temper!"

Cao Yuan stared intently at Fan Qingli in the arena, noticing that fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead, indicating that he was finding it difficult to withstand the opponent's fierce attacks.

She couldn't help but say, "Why don't I do it?"

Fan Qingli gritted her teeth and firmly replied, "No need!"

His tone carried a hint of stubbornness and defiance.

Her gaze never left the man locked in fierce combat with Fan Qingli, carefully observing his every move and technique.

Gradually, Cao Yuan discovered his flaws.

The situation on the field became increasingly tense.

Just when everyone thought the contest would end in mutual destruction, Fan Qingli found a weakness in her opponent and successfully launched a counterattack, turning the tide of the battle!

Fan Qingli and Li Chengye fought to a draw, each taking a few steps back and looking at the other, panting heavily.

"General Li is truly remarkable, managing to fight Lord Fan to a draw, but you still have to compete with me!"

"You? I never hit women!"

"General Li, you don't know I'm stronger than you, so you're afraid to fight me, do you?" Cao Yuan used a provocation tactic.

"General Li, fight her!"

"Yeah, let's fight him!"

"Since everyone wants to see, let's make our move!"

General Li threw a punch, but Cao Yuan nimbly dodged it.

Cao Yuan subdued him in just ten moves, which greatly surprised Fan Qingli.

"I refuse to accept this! Let's fight with weapons!" Li Chengye shouted.

He took two guns and threw them to Cao Yuan.

The two started fighting again. Cao Yuan descended from the sky and cleaved his spear in two with a single shot, while her own spear also broke.

"You win! Your Highness, I was blind to your greatness. I will obey whatever punishment you deem appropriate."

Cao Yuan picked up the weapon and examined it carefully. "General Li, there's no need for that. I was able to defeat you because I saw your moves from the sidelines."

"I just saw your weapons, and they do not match the quality reported by the court. I will go back and help you replace them."

"Really? Thank you very much, Your Highness!"

"However, your soldiers still need to strengthen their training. Lord Fan was right just now."

“Your Highness, to tell you the truth, we in Anzhou haven’t received our salaries for several months. You really can’t blame us for not wanting to train!” Li Chengye said.

"The governor here is from the maternal clan of the Fourth Prince's wife. They knew that the Fourth Prince had fallen from power, so they tampered with the money that was sent down from above."

“Every time we pass by the Governor’s Mansion, we can hear the sounds of birds singing and dancing.”

Commander Wei stepped forward to stop him, "Your Highness, don't listen to General Li's nonsense! It's not true!"

"Of course not!"

"Do you have any evidence?" Commander Wei asked.

General Li fell silent.

Cao Yuan looked at Fan Qingli.

The two left the garrison.

On the carriage.

"Does Your Highness not intend to go and take over the Governor's Mansion?" Fan Qingli asked.

"Lord Fan, do you think the two of us can just take over a governor's office like that? We need evidence!"

"You don't dare, do you!" Fan Qingli said.

"Do you dare? That's a hereditary title for the Marquis's family. I think even the Fourth Imperial Uncle's rebellion was known to the Marquis's family. Do you dare?" Cao Yuan probed.

Fan Qingli lowered her head. "I don't know. If it were just me, I would dare, but if I might implicate the entire Minister's mansion, I don't know!"

With a whoosh, a cold arrow shot in from the outside.