At this moment, dozens of poisonous darts flew towards Xue Zileng. He brushed off the darts with one hand and kicked away the sword that was pointing at him. However, in the thick fog, someone slapped his back, catching him off guard. Another sharp blade stabbed towards He Le'an in his arms. He heard a familiar voice shouting angrily: "Stop! Everyone stop!! Absolutely cannot harm the Princess of Yue and the Crown Prince Xue!!!"

  However, it was too late. In the dense fog, the enemy was determined to take He Le An's life. Xue Zi Leng, who had been weakened, turned around and blocked the enemy's blade with his back, but in the chaos, he didn't notice that the blade had pierced through his heart!

  The thick fog was blown away by a strong gust of wind, and Zhong Sunqian, dressed in white mourning clothes, saw Xue Zileng being pierced by General Andong's sword, falling on He Le'an's body, spitting out a large mouthful of dark red blood. He was stunned for half a moment before shouting: "A Leng!!"

  He Le'an only felt a warm liquid wipe across her cheek and ear, the person who originally held her, softly fell on her body. General Andong stood in front of her with a gloomy face, his sword straightly inserted into Xue Zileng's body. Zhong Sunying flew over and kicked away General Andong, shouting: "Didn't I say not to harm Princess Yuanguo and Marquis Xue!!"

  "They are wanted men, and their deaths would be no loss!" General Anton said, sheathing his sword with an air of indifference.

  "No matter what, she is still my brother's wife and sister-in-law! Even if she were a fugitive, shouldn't you show some mercy!!" Zhong Sunqian's face was as pale as frost, her eyes staring fixedly at General Andong, gradually turning red.

  "Xue Shi Zi!" He Le An hugged Xue Zilian, who sat on the ground with a stunned expression. Her eyes were filled with an unprecedented panic, and the rising water vapor almost blurred her vision. But she didn't dare look away from Xue Zilian, fearing that he would disappear in the blink of an eye. "Xue Shi Zi!!" The words came out trembling and unceasing.

  Xue Zileng's face was pale and purple, his eyes half-closed as he weakly smiled and said, "I... am no longer... the young master of the Jin Ning Marquis' manor... You can just call me Aleng like Ah Yue does."

  Tears condensed into pearls, dropping one by one onto his cheek, scalding as if flowing into his heart. He wanted to lift his hand to wipe away her tears, but after several attempts at exerting force, he couldn't raise it, his strength seemingly exhausted. His consciousness slowly ebbed away, and all he heard was her sobbing, "A Leng, don't! No, no!"

  "Hurry! Please, Prince Brother, I won't run away anymore, hurry and call the imperial physician to save him!!" He Le'an frantically lifted her head, pleadingly looking at Zhong Sun Qian, "He, he's your cousin! You must save him!" It was all because of her, it was all because of her that he... She wailed, "Hurry and save him, ah!"

  "Wait..." Xue Zileng said in a low, almost murmuring tone. He didn't know what kind of strength drove him to grasp her icy hand, but he still managed to smile and say, "I...can't hold on...anymore, don't...be sad, I promised A'ruo before that I would protect you, and I've been able to keep my promise till the end. I'm very happy, and he definitely won't blame me..."

  The large hand that had been holding hers tightly suddenly lost its strength, and He Le An cried out in a daze, "No! Don't! A Leng!!" She shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't rouse him. "A Leng!"

  A sorrowful cry seemed to shake the heavens, Zhong Sun's heart was filled with remorse, he clenched his fists tightly, restraining his anger, but witnessing his beloved cousin die before his eyes, those furious emotions surged up from the bottom of his heart, he spun around and drew out the soft sword at his waist, charging towards General An Dong!

  Ke Zhong Sun's sword was not a match for General Andong's, and soon he found himself on the defensive. Just then, a figure clad in black appeared out of nowhere and joined the fray, their moves aimed straight at General Andong's life!

  Just as General Andong was being beaten to the point of collapse by their combined forces and kicked to his knees by a black-clad figure, a sharp blade suddenly pierced his chest. He looked up in disbelief. It was He Le'an, her face covered in tears and hatred. "You... you..."

  "I didn't harm the King's concubine, nor did I kill my husband, but you, I killed with my own hands, and I won't deny it!" He Lian said calmly, using all his strength to thrust the sword deeper. "Don't worry, I know who ordered you to come and kill me, and along with them, not one will be spared. I heard you just had a newborn son, well, wait for him on the road to the underworld!!"

  General An's last expression, with his mouth open as if he wanted to say something, was forever frozen on his face.

  Her eyes, filled with tears, were a bloodthirsty regret. She regretted her recklessness in asking Xue Zilei to bring her back, and hated herself even more for repeatedly asking Xue Zilei to protect her, only to have him die for her sake. And now she was resentful of the person in front of her!

  He Le'an grasped the hilt of her sword, raised her eyes and looked at Zhong Sunqian behind General Andon. The bright red mixed with Xie Zilang's black blood on her face dripped down her chin and fell to the ground in a mess. "If Ye Ming also died, I'll have all these people buried with him." Under the thick nasal tone was a trembling sob of grief and sadness. Seeing no one making any move, she suddenly pulled out the sword, gripped it tightly, turned around and left.

  Aomori looked at Xue Zileng who was lying in a pool of blood and silently escorted her.

  Tears blurred the night, and He Le'an walked step by step forward, unaware of when Mu Jin had followed her. By the time she reacted, she was already standing in front of the Liangguo Gongfu gate. The little guard at the door looked at her with a terrified expression, "Y-you are who——"

  As soon as their voices fell, Mugen raised his hand and swept them into the Yellow Springs. He Lian was stunned, looking at him blankly, only to hear him say: "We are your lifelong servants, whatever you want to do, we will unconditionally support you, whether it's the Liangguo Gongfu or any other powerful family, just need your word and we'll be by your side!!"

  He Le'an knew that if she 'used' them, it would be to take on the responsibility of restoring Yun Guo, for Yun Guo's sake. All she wanted was a simple and peaceful happiness with her loved ones gathered together. Why was it so...so difficult? Why did Emperor Hui Xi insist on them returning to the capital as bait? Why did she have to pay such a high price for those unrelated common people?

  It's clear that everyone is extremely selfish.

  He Le An walked silently and directly towards Lian Guo Gong Fu.

  **

  The next day, the whole city of Beijing was in an uproar. Whether it was imperial relatives, high-ranking officials, or ordinary citizens, people were engaged in unbelievable discussions in streets, alleys, wine houses, and tea houses.

  "That former heir of the Jin Ning Marquis, Xue Zileng, who became a wanted fugitive, was killed by General Andong. He first plotted against the humble and kind Princess Qian, then conspired to murder her husband, the King of Yue, He Le'an, and slaughtered the entire Wan clan! The Emperor is enraged!"

  "Only in terms of sentiment, I admire it, but... isn't He Le'an the princess consort of the King of Yue? She and Xue Zilian were both wanted at the same time, could it be that they eloped? Isn't Xue Zilian the cousin of the King of Yue?"

  All sorts of rumors and hearsay spread wildly, reaching as far as the imperial city.

  In the study, Emperor Hui Xi slammed his hand on the table and stood up in anger, "She's gone too far!"

  The next one, a tired-looking Zhong Sunyan said, "Your Majesty, Ah Leng died to save her, and she is only like this——"

  "I will remember his contribution, and after the matter is settled, I will posthumously confer upon him the title of Duke of Protecting the Country. He will be known for saving the people and dying in the line of duty, leaving a good name in history, and it won't be unjust." Emperor Hui Xi waved his hand and said, "The plan will continue to quietly observe the changes, but you must also properly restrain her from acting rashly, otherwise, how can she go on as the Princess Consort of Yue in the future?"

  Zhong Sun heard that he only felt a chill in his heart, even for his plan. He witnessed the death of his cousin, knowing that his sister-in-law wanted to avenge the Wan family with blood, but was powerless to stop her, making her resent him. But in the end, the emperor in front of him just casually granted a posthumous title and that's it. Is it that the person sitting on that dragon throne only cares about their own life and regards others as insignificant?

  **

  In a certain secret room of the mansion on Jade Platform, a one-armed man slapped the face of Mu Ge with his palm and shouted: "Are you crazy?! How dare you plot against our master!!"

  He raised his eyes calmly and met the man's sharp and cold gaze, saying, "I just wanted her to see reality clearly!"

  "This is disloyal of you. If you had acted in time, Xue Zilei wouldn't have died—"

  "Brother! We want to help her reclaim the Cloud Nation, avenge the Cloud Nation and wipe out the shame. If we can't be loyal, then some of the pain she should feel must be made her deeply feel! Otherwise, she will never become the Empress of the Cloud Nation!"

  "In just a few days, you think she can truly take on the responsibility of Yun Country? Isn't that too much to ask of her? Overindulging her will only have the opposite effect. You, go and receive 50 lashes as punishment!"

  **

  The night color was swallowed up by the sky, and it gradually brightened.

  He Le'an sat in the corner of the bed, staring blankly out the window. For the first time, he felt extremely incompetent and missed Zhong Sunyue terribly. It seemed that when people were weak, they were especially vulnerable to attack. Thinking back to the past, he cried again.

  At this moment, the door was gently knocked on by someone. She didn't respond, and the door was pushed open. Originally thinking it was just a maid coming in to take a look or change the tea water, unexpectedly it was a man wearing a sandy brown robe. His jet-black hair flowed smoothly over his shoulders, his face was gentle like jade, and his transparent eyes were like quiet crystal beads in the palm of one's hand. He only had one arm, but he was as elegant as snow.

  He bowed respectfully to her and said, "I am Muxian, the current leader of the Mu family. I was unable to rush to the capital quickly, causing you to be startled. I am guilty of a million deaths and will take my own punishment later."

  "A person like me, how can I be the future ruler of Cloud Country? I'm not capable of it, just let me off. I don't want to do anything for anyone anymore," He Lian said calmly. "Heaven's will, what does it have to do with me? Time, fate, destiny... when Cloud Country was destroyed, I hadn't even been born yet. I grew up in the Zhonglin aristocratic family, receiving a peaceful education. I'm not a general, why must I go to war? And I'm not an emperor, I don't need to do things for some empty, vain things..."

  "I know you can't accept some things for the time being, no matter what they are. Just go with the flow," said Mu Mian. "There's no regret medicine in this world. Even if we regret, hate, resent and get annoyed, we can only move forward, either by accepting our fate or going against the tide."

  He Lan An closed her eyes, not wanting to argue, thinking he would leave on his own. But she suddenly felt a breath approaching her, and the blurry face gradually became clear. He raised the handkerchief that had unknowingly grasped it to wipe away her tears. "I too have lost a close friend, just like you, he sacrificed himself to save me, but I never feel that he has left me. All these years, he has been my guiding light. For him, for Yun Country, and for you, I will always hold firm to my conviction."

  "Now, the capital is in chaos and I have no way to bring the person you most want to see before you. I hope this can slightly alleviate your pain." He said, handing her a pomegranate hairpin.

  The familiar sound of pearls colliding made her reopen her eyes, He Le'an took it with a trembling hand, but heard him say: "This is the dowry of our Yun Guo's successive empresses when they got married, it's a very important key to opening the treasure map. Perhaps those who robbed the treasure map still don't know that the treasure map is divided into two parts, one part is the map, and the other part is this. I'm so glad that over the years, you've cherished it so much that it hasn't been lost, and preserved our only remaining hope."

  "He Lian suddenly said, 'Aren't you tired? If you don't feel tired, have you asked them if they're tired?'"

  "From the moment of birth, you have to bear the weight of hatred, living every day and night for those long-standing hatreds. Isn't it tiring? You're not even from the royal bloodline of Yun Country, why must you work so hard for someone else's prosperous era?"

  "Life is short, why not live a good life for yourself?"

  "But without a country, where is home? And if there's no home, then where are we?" Mu Mian said quietly. "We are the people of Yun Country, our Yun Country did not intentionally provoke war with anyone, but they destroyed us because of greed, blood flowed like rivers, and ruined our beautiful homeland. If we don't avenge those innocent ancestors who died, how can we let them rest in peace?"

  Mulberry Road: "If Your Majesty doesn't mind, I'll follow you."

  He Le'an silently stared at the hairpin in her hand for half a moment before responding.

  Later, she came to know that the wooden strip took her to see was the history of Yun Guo. From prosperity to destruction, all the blood and tears were kept in a box of well-preserved scrolls, as well as the efforts made by the 44th master of the Mu family who escaped from death to revive Yun Guo, and the selfless dedication of the people of the Mu family after his inheritance, which was worth fighting for, but ultimately shattered in sobs.

  Afterwards, many nights' dreams were endless slaughter.

  After waking up in the middle of the night, He Le'an couldn't sleep anymore, so he went out for a walk. He looked at the flowers and grasses in the courtyard, the pavilions and buildings of the mansion, and the water lilies in the artificial hills and streams. Under the moonlight, he gazed at the lonely reflection, thinking about someone from many days ago, recalling the pleasant scenes of the past. Just as he was lost in thought, a faint voice came over.

  Ruiqin Wang smiled and said, "Business is business, it's about human relationships, who would become a killer?" Mu Xian smiled and said, "Unlike other organizations, our Yao Tai assassins have no retirement to speak of, they are all lifelong, and will never leak secrets. So no matter what country the transaction is with, whoever asks me, I won't say anything."

  He Lian thought he had misheard, and his breathing almost stopped. Then he heard a familiar voice say, "I do believe in Mu Shouling, cooperating with you has always been simple and direct, and also pleasant. I'm not stingy either, as usual, every month, whoever buys my life, I'll buy it back double..." The voice gradually faded away and soon couldn't be heard anymore.

  She paused for a long time, as if she hadn't noticed anything. She walked back and forth, but not for long, when Mu Jin came towards her, "It's cool at this hour of the night, you shouldn't be wearing so little..." He said, carefully putting the cloak he was holding in his hand over her shoulders.

  Four eyes met, and He Le An said, "You're the leader of Yao Tai, and you also bear the great responsibility of restoring Yun Guo. You can't possibly not know that Rui Qin Wang is secretly collecting Yun Guo's treasure map?"

  "We have a mutually beneficial relationship," Mu Mian said, "he collects the treasure maps and I authenticate them for him." Of course, in the process of authentication, it's impossible to just authenticate without making any records.

  "He is not an easy person to fool."

  Mù Mián smiled and said, "However, he's a greedy person. He wants to crack the treasure map and can only rely on me. Although plotting with a tiger is indeed troublesome, just like several years ago, he had obtained a tiny clue about the key from someone around me and then found his way to Zhuō Yì Bó's residence."

  "You mean Old Zuo Yibai's death has something to do with him?"

  His men went to all the nobles who had adopted girls to search for the key, during which something unexpected happened, his men accidentally killed Lao Zhuo Yibo. Mu Mian said, "That person is not unfamiliar to you, He Lizhe of Weiwu General's Mansion, he has made great achievements on the border and will return to Beijing soon."

  "!" He Le'an did not expect that Zhong Sun's strange guess would actually hit the mark, although it was not for finding the treasure map, but indeed related to Ruiqin Wang, and it turned out to be He Lize. From another perspective, his deductive ability is really keen, worthy of being a child who grew up crawling and fighting in the border areas.

  "Your Majesty need not worry, when the time comes to suppress Prince Rui's growing power, we will suppress it." Mu Mian said, "He Lize was never a big deal, he was just a pawn promoted by Prince Rui's people on purpose, and there is no need to pay too much attention to him."

  He Lian'an smiled wryly and curled his lips, "I have no martial arts skills, and I'm already a wanted fugitive. As soon as I step out of this door, there are many people who want my life. What's the point of talking about loving my mother, Old Zhuo Yibo? Every time I rely on it, it's just the dark guard given to me by Ye Ming. In the end, I'm really useless."

  "Your Majesty can try to practice martial arts," Mu Mian said, "although it's very difficult at your age, there are shortcuts, but it will be a bit bitter. If you have the heart to persist, I can help you."

  He Lian stared at him in surprise, and he smiled confidently, "In our Yun country, everyone is good at martial arts and poison techniques. For the sake of restoring Yun country, some forbidden ancient poison techniques have also been carefully passed down."

  She recalled the thrill of avenging Xue Zilei by piercing General Andong with a single sword, and nodded firmly, "I want to learn." It was pointless for anyone to try to protect her; when facing strong enemies, she couldn't even defend herself and would only drag down those she didn't want to burden. To prevent them from losing their lives because of her again, she had to become stronger.

  **

  "Hmm!"

  He Le'an was drenched in sweat, her mouth stuffed with a handkerchief, sitting in a bathtub that only exposed her head, being tormented by the toxic liquid. She painfully opened her eyes wide and struggled non-stop, but even if she had to endure such suffering every day, she never said give up.

  Two hours later, the maid attended to her after bathing, and she was covered in blood. She had no strength left and could only let the maid support her, wash her with clean water again, put on her clothes, and eat a meal with an unusual taste. Then she practiced controlling her internal energy and read the secret manual of the unique martial art, busy without any spare time.

  Until Aomori excitedly appeared and said, "Your Highness, the king has awoken!"

  He Le'an was overjoyed, and the thoughts in his heart almost overflowed. Qing Sen continued, "However, my body is too weak, and I am under house arrest by the Crown Prince, with the Emperor's eyes watching me. For now, I cannot come to find you or make contact with you and others to set up a plan."

  "As long as he's fine, that's all that matters. After a while, I'll go see him myself." He Lian'an grasped the hand that was gradually gaining strength, feeling that these days of persistence and hard work had not been in vain. She wanted to hold up a sky for him even when he was weak, so he wouldn't have to worry about her.

  Three nights later, Mu Mian invited her to a secret room. She only saw many men and women of different ages and attire lying unconscious on the side. He said: "They are all troublemakers in the rivers and lakes, with full-bodied sins and disasters. They were originally going to die, but in order to achieve you, we decided to spare their lives. I will transfer their internal energy to you. The process may be a bit uncomfortable, you endure it, don't faint, and keep calm, otherwise you will go crazy."

  **

  In the small courtyard filled with colorful autumn chrysanthemums, swords clashed mercilessly. A blue figure and a sandy brown figure faced off, although the blue figure seemed to be at a disadvantage. However, she pressed forward aggressively, using her strong momentum to overpower her opponent.

  "Great, your grasp of the sword is getting more and more fluent." Putting away the sword, Mu Mian couldn't help but praise, "Your memory is really amazing, I gave you the secret manual of martial arts, and you absorbed it so quickly. If you had practiced martial arts since childhood, by now you would definitely be a shocking genius in the Jianghu."

  He Le'an said, "Actually, you don't have to use honorifics with me, I'm just ——"

  "No matter whether the Cloud Country can be restored or not, you are still our respected master. It is proper to use honorific language towards you." Mu Mian said, "Without rules and regulations, nothing can be accomplished. You may relax with your ministers."

  He Lian'an pursed his lips, and before he could speak, he continued: "Whether or not you are willing to take on the responsibility of restoring our country, the blood flowing through your veins is that of our monarch. It is only natural for us to treat you well, and you needn't feel guilty about it. I have no intention of burdening you with anything, and if it brings you joy, then all these years of effort and perseverance will not be in vain."

  As someone who already knew she was a descendant of the Yun Kingdom's royal family, her loyalty and righteousness wouldn't allow her to stay still, but the responsibility of reclaiming the Yun Kingdom was too great. She wasn't sure if she had the ability to undertake it. The bloody memories of history were still fresh, but those were distant scenes that had been sealed away for a long time. Now, taking action would mean another round of bloodshed and countless families being torn apart...

  "Your Majesty," Mu Mian smiled and said, "I'll accompany you in another round of sword practice."